Ain't A Hero

Season 5

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 08/10/2019

Ain't A Hero

Season 5

Dedications

Timeline

Episode 53

Episode 54

Episode 55

Episode 56

Episode 57

Episode 58

Episode 59

Episode 60

Episode 61

Episode 62

Episode 63

Episode 64

Episode 65

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

-53-

Thin threads of magical energy weave together and form a fabric sheet between Bach's hands. Concentrating upon the material, his eyes glow bright blue and swirls of flow condense into new, elongating fibers that blend into the growing mesh. The magical matrix slides down as each new row manifests. When the energy cloth touches the top of the dining table, he blinks his eyes back to normal and shakes his head of longer brown hair back to awareness. Glancing over to Aristespha, he passes the magical fabric to her. "Okay, I think I got the pattern you wanted, but might need to tweak the strand properties a bit. Don't know. I kind of drifted off midway through."

Aristespha focuses her violet glowing eyes upon the material in her ivory hands and feels the fine mesh between her fingers and thumbs. "This is very close. I think I saw how you were doing it. Honestly, it might take me a few attempts..."

She continues to inspect the cloth and bring it closer to her face. Sebastian's ghostly form hovers behind her and he lowers his head just above her shoulder, curiously watching the process. "So, what prototype material is it today, dear?"

With a playful smirk, Aristespha lightly shoos Sebastian back from her shoulder with a toss her long, silvery blue hair and rests the magical sheet upon the table top. "A magical replacement for medical gauze. I'd always prefer using properly treated and manufactured gauze, but I can't help wanting something that could be fabricated in the field."

Sebastian quirks his brow and scratches the back of his head awkwardly. "Huh. But... Um... You have spells that do similar."

Nodding in agreement, Aristespha smiles lovingly at Sebastian and shrugs. "Yes, I do, Sebastian. The idea is to have something that could be made when supplies are low, but there's no immediate need. As they taught us, a spell saved now is a spell that saves later."

As she starts to deposit the energy weave aside into a small tray, a clawed fvalian hand reaches out eagerly. Cideeda grins toothily and flicks her ears. "Can I see it?"

Aristespha nods and places the magical fabric in Cideeda's awaiting hand. Initially with caution and care, Cideeda inspects the material. She tugs upon it and tests it physically with a content smile on her face. "I NEED to learn how to do this."

Aristespha neatly readies her workspace of books, tablets, and instruments in preparation. She holds her spaced hands out, exhales calmly, and concentrates. Thin threads of magical energy grow out from her palms and weave together. A similar material manifests between and gradually extends down to the tabletop. Bach glances over to the attentive Cideeda and shrugs nonchalantly. "It's not that hard to start doing actually. The theory is simple, but it's just a lot of practice and experimentation after that."

A sly smirk appears on Cideeda face and she tilts her head to side. "Says the man who can throw lines out like some kind of comic book hero."

Bach rolls his eyes at himself and modestly shrugs in acceptance. "Yeah. But, I had A LOT of practice when I had... NOTHING else going on."

He thinks a moment and cocks his head at Cideeda with a small grin. "Actually, you might pick it up better since you have an amazing understanding of electronics and mechanics. This really isn't casting spells, it's just willing flows to form in particular ways. There's a lot of dynamics that are similar.  Capactiance, conductance, pressure, force, and so on."

Cideeda's emerald green eyes widen in anticipation and she dons an awaiting smile. "Well, what are the basics, then?"

While Aristespha progresses on her fabric, Bach demonstrates flow dynamics for Cideeda. "Now, the thing to do is to will the magical energy to condense..."

In the lull of conversation, the din of the living room television rises up from the background. The material in between Aristespha's hands stop forming and she grasps onto it. After careful inspection, she frowns slightly and sighs. "Not quite there."

Sebastian glances between the material and Aristespha. "It looks the part, dear."

Aristespha smiles and slowly shakes her head. "Yes, it does. But it doesn't feel right and don't think it could handle any stress."

A loud commercial plays out from the television and she angles her head to watch. Dretphi aims the remote to flip between channels from the couch and stares off bored. Aristespha stands up, and navigates around the table and chairs towards Dretphi. "Before I try to replicate that again, let's see how that shoulder is doing."

Dretphi notices Aristespha approaching, sits herself up from laying on the couch, and rolls her wrapped shoulder around freely. "I think it is healed. No discomfort today."

Aristespha takes a seat next to Dretphi, gestures out an incantation, and methodically inspects Dretphi's upper arm and shoulder joint. "That's very good. Let me double-check to make sure. At this point, we can get this wrap off. It has served its purpose."

While Aristespha gently guides Dretphi's arm through diagnostic motions and positions, Dretphi flips through the wasteland of channels and pauses upon a talk show.

"A Grath family house is nothing more than a cover for unmitigated amoral debauchery and polygamous perversion!"

Dretphi's narrows her steely gray glare at the screen and directs her full attention upon the show. An older human man sits in chair on a television talk show set and postures himself smugly against other guests. "I can't even qualify it as any proper family unit as it lacks even the most basic structures. It's so flimsy and sparse in definition, that I'm surprised they don't yet induct furniture as members."

Mumbles of grath curses bubble up into clarity between the man's continued rants as they slowly drip through Dretphi's irritation. Aristespha lowers Dretphi's tense arm down, squints incredulously at the television, and rolls her eyes in disgust. "Oh gods! How does that man keep getting on these shows?"

Bach twists in his chair, tilts his head to the side, and grimaces as he watches the old man's rambling. "Wait... I've seen this guy before, but I always changed the channel after hearing him for a minute. What's his fucking deal anyway?"

Aristespha sighs and slowly shakes her head with a sneering upper lip. "He's another zealot wanting to bring back those supposed traditional values to the world."

Cideeda flicks an ear over, glances briefly at the screen, and focuses back on her magic practice. "I lean more towards self-loathing hypocrite. He always changes his tune after each scandal he gets caught up in."

Aristespha glances over to Bach and Cideeda, twists the corner of her mouth, and groans. "Personally, I think his real motive this time is garnering favor from a few Evuukian house leaders that like his... sanctity minded ideals. Probably some business deals he wants to work."

Dretphi crosses her arms, fidgets out her frustrations, and spits out an angry grath phrase. Footsteps sound out from the hallway and Sotalia steps into the room. Scanning the room, she places her hands on her hips, surveys the scene, and quirks her brow at Dretphi. "Good gods, girl. What's got you speaking those words?"

Following an a gesture from Dretphi, Sotalia examines the content on the screen and snorts loudly. "Oh, THIS asshole. Pfft... He's a REAL piece of work."

The host of the show regains control of the dialog with a forceful voice which quiets the old man, and redirects the camera's attention over to the other side. "THANK YOU... Mr. Spelh. I'm certain we'll hear more from you sooner than later. But, I'd like to give a chance for the members of two grath houses to talk and elaborate on their families."

As the grath on the show explain their perspectives, Dretphi relaxes enough and rolls out the tension in her shoulders. She glances around, frowns slightly, and fights a bit of embarrassment on her face. "I apologize. Those were not words to speak around friends. This topic is... personal to me."

Sebastian casually chuckles and shakes his head. "It's okay. I'm starting to remember this guy more. He's been kinda been a prick for years. I'm just surprised he's on a show during these hours."

Scratching his beard covered chin, Bach nods as his memory recalls. "Yeah. The only time I've ever seen that guy is in the crappy, early morning time shows. The three in morning variety."

Cideeda smirks and rolls her eyes with a mocking tone. "Don't forget all his televised court appearances."

Bach nods in agreement and gazes over to Dretphi with a reassuring smile. "Also, I didn't understand what you said. So, no harm done to me."

A warm smile briefly graces Dretphi's face before tinges of embarrassment color her face and she sighs at herself. "Regardless. I should abstain from excessive use of... those terms."

Sotalia flashes a wicked grin and giggles with a hint of evil as she taps out a name on her aetherphone. "Aww, but those words are the fun ones. I found them very accurate and descriptive."

An article appears on the phone's screen and Sotalia's golden eyes search through the paragraph of text. "That Spelh guy is such a hypocrite anyway. I think he's on his third marriage-?"

She pauses, reads a line carefully, and laughs with a derisive tone. "Oh... My mistake. His FOURTH marriage."

Sarcasm completely infiltrates her voice. "I guess that must make him an expert then. But, I would argue he really could have saved himself a lot of trouble with a traditional emin termed marriage contract."

Sticking her tongue out momentarily in annoyed, disgust, Cideeda rolls her eyes and sneers her upper lip. "Maybe he shouldn't keep on getting caught with his pants down.  Figuratively and literally."

Sotalia sighs and an ill-humored eye brow. "Yeah. But, what's the fun in that? How else is he going to get something new to dump hate on and get attention for it?"

Cideeda snorts into a chuckle and shakes her head. "I still remember his rants about fvalians. Calling us hedonistic feral beasts with the sexual habits of animals."

Her furry ears lay down and her tails wags in short swipes. Sotalia twists her lips and scrolls through the article on her aetherphone. "Did he say that after his first or second marriage?"

A mean smile appears on Cideeda and she glances over to Sotalia. "Second. After he got caught on video in a bed with a few fvalians at quite the party."

The old man's jarring cadence attracts the attention of everyone in earshot. "You MUST think of the CHILDREN in these dreadfully, confusing environments. These poor children are left just to wonder who their mothers and fathers are and-"

The host's tolerance visibly wears thin and he abruptly cuts off the old man. "Well, funny you should mention that. How about we ask one of the children?"

A young grath boy walks into the scene from off stage, joins his family, and takes a seat in an open chair. The host greets the boy with a smile and calmly talks to him. "It's good to have you here today, Cettinnin. Can you tell me about your house?"

Cettinnin nods respectfully and carefully speaks up. "Yes. I have two mothers. And... two fathers. I have two brothers. And... two sisters."

The host nods and continues with a query. "What do your mothers and fathers do in your house?"

Thinking about the question, Cettinnin responds before the old man opens his mouth. "My birth mother works for a school. My birth father manages the local guild office. My house mother takes care of us when everyone is busy."

The grath woman next to Centinnin smiles and musses up his hair playfully. Centinnin laughs and glances over to the graying grath man on his other side. "My house father fixes everything we break at home."

The graying grath man sighs with a smirk, crosses his arms, nods slowly. As the grath man concentrates a cutting, stoic stare at the old man across from him, Centinnin crosses his arms and mimics the expression. The host returns his attention to Mr. Spelh and smugly grins. "It seems the young boy has perfect understanding of his family."

Mr. Spelh spouts dismissively and sneers visibly. "The poor child is deluded and obviously has been warped by these deviants! It's just a form of indoctrination. The child has no proper concept of family and it's just left to cling to the paltry aberration that's been forced upon him."

Centinnin blinks incredulously at Mr. Spelh and quips a short phrase in Grath. The grath woman snaps a surprised glare at him. The graying grath man snorts out a stifled laugh and fails to hide his approval. Dretphi covers her mouth and covers a giggle. She shakes her head while speaking a comment in grath. Sotalia snickers with a bright grin. "Again, those are the fun words to use. Really accurate, too."

Dretphi nods in agreement with a smile. The host blinks at the child's response and continues with the show. "Well, we are running out of time. So let me ask you, Mr. Spelh, what would be your ideal house structure of sorts?"

A scheming smile parts the man's mouth and he draws a long breath. "Well, I would think a prime example of proper family hierarchy would be the Evuukian family house."

Aristespha narrows her glare at the television screen, snarls her upper lip, and grumbles out sarcasm drenched works. "Why yes! Of course! It's SO obvious... If you absolutely adore family values that involve competitive backstabbing, favoritism, and power struggles... Then, look no further!"

She crosses her arms and levels an irritated stare at the screen. The show plays out its ending segment and an information prompt pops up with the title of the next show.

"Scandal Watch 3017: Evuukian Political Meltdown!"

Bach exchanges wary looks with Sebastian and directs his voice over to the gathering around the television. "Hey, you know... There's other channels with other shows we all might enjoy..."

Sebastian drifts around the room and hovers in front of the big wall mounted display and dons a politely authoritative tone. "Yeah. Let's change it to something less... Irritating?"

Aristespha sighs loudly and presents an apologetic tone. "Yeah, you are right, Sebastian. Let's put on something else. I can't weave flow when I'm angry anyway."

Dretphi nods in agreement and pats Aristespha's shoulder in commiseration. She aims the remote at the television, flips through a few more channels, and the intro of movie plays. Sotalia grins happily, and moves into the closest open chair at the dining table. "Oh, Blazing Dragons! I haven't seen this comedy in forever!"

She surveys her immediate surroundings and notices the variety of magic upon the dining table. Her golden eyes open wide and she gazes curiously at the items. "So, that's what you've all been doing. I kept on feeling something going on nearby."

Aristespha snaps her head over to Sotalia, notices her occupied seat, and hops off the couch. She twists her mouth and casually shoos Sotalia out of the seat into the next one over. Inspecting the contents of the table, she notices Cideeda's claw tip finger pointing to Sotalia's hands. She spots Sotalia studying Bach's incarnation of the magical material and commands, hinting accusation. "Don't go running off with that yet."

Sotalia blinks, furrows her brow, and defiantly sneers in a defensive pout. "I wasn't going to!"

Aristespha rolls her eyes as she sits back down in the chair. Bach and Cideeda share similar expressions with Aristespha as Sotalia divides her attention between the magical item and the movie.

----

Daedrican's lightly armored boots sink into the forest floor as he hikes forward through the dense trees. Two other Chrome Crusader troopers maintain formation out to his sides, while a coldly stoic Tassilda keeps her distance towards the back. Daedrican glances back to Tassilda with a pleasant tone. "Not much longer, my lady."

A brief sneer twitches Tassilda's upper lip. Daedrican continues his statement. "It doesn't seem like anyone has been through these wood since we came through initially."

Tassilda minimally and briefly acknowledges Daedrican's words, and avoids direct eye contact with him. The team trudges forward and minutes later arrives at a game trail. Daedrican raises his arm to signal a stop to the group. He kneels down, and inspects the path and purposeful markings on a nearby tree. The two troopers gather on either side and perform their own investigations of the area. Daedrican glances to both the troopers and stands up. "Okay. Nothing seems to have changed. Garret, check north to that one clearing and see if anyone has returned. Yuttin, see if anyone has tried to settle back into that one spot along the access road."

He pivots to face Tassilda, a few meters behind him, and inquires politely. "If it's not too much trouble, we'll go towards the stream and check it for recent activity."

Tassilda presents a proper, emotionless exterior, and crosses her arms with a slight nod. Daedrican turns back around to his team and directs them out towards their destinations. "Okay. Radio if you find anything. Otherwise, we'll meet up here and head back to camp for the day."

The two lightly armor troopers, gesture in agreement, and walk away from Daedrican and Tassilda. After a few moments, Daedrican glances over and motions to a direction down the game trail. "This way, my lady."

A brief wince sneaks out from Tassilda's rigid demeanor and she follows behind Daedrican through the woods. Gazing through the bright sun light slipping between the forest canopy, Daedrican speaks a pleasant tone back towards Tassilda. "I think it'll be slow, uneventful day, my lady."

A grimace flits upon Tassilda's face before it fades into the cold, neutral expression and a colorless voice leaves Tassilda. "It seems."

Daedrican's shoulders lax and he tilts his helmeted head in thought. Along their hike, his attempts at small talk with Tassilda falter against her short, terminal responses. After many failed starts, Daedrican sighs to silence and remains quiet. The minutes of looming silence eventually breaks to the soft babbling of water flowing down a small stream. As Daedrican arrives to the narrow banks of the brook, fits of splashing catch his attention. He gazes down the stream at a large pool of water and notices the colorful plumage of a bird fluttering. The creature pauses, cocks its brightly feathered head to either side, and dives underneath the water quickly in a flurry of flapping.

Tassilda slowly approaches near Daedrican, and traces the direction of his visor to the water. The chromatic parrot hops up onto the dry part of a rock, stands still for a moment, and releases a faint burst of magical flow. The short lived wave of force launches excess water off into a fine spray. Tassilda's light blue on black eyes lock onto the creature and curiosity cracks through her cold exterior. The zone parrot blinks at the silence of the area and chimes out a long series of complex tones. From a chaotic start, it weaves the sounds into an elegant stream of purposeful song that fills the nearby forest. A small smile graces Tassilda's face and her full attention focuses upon the music. Daedrican's head turns. He watches Tassilda's delight, and he slowly steps towards the bird.

As he closes the distance, Tassilda snaps her head over and flashes a mean glare at him. With gritting teeth, she halts a reflexive comment and maintains her ireful silence. Daedrican reaches into belt pouch, searches around, and removes a snack bar. As he opens the wrapper, the crisp crackle of the packaging halts the bird's song. The zone parrot snaps an inquisitive stare at Daedrican and its rainbows eyes spot the treat. Daedrican stops his approach, kneels down, and holds the protein bar out. The zone parrot hops off the rock, waddles at full speed along the bank, and reaches out with an open beak when it gets close to the food. Daedrican gradually moves the snack bar back and carefully leads the bird up his arm. With secure footing and the treat nearby, the zone parrot pulls off bits of the bar and casually enjoys the meal. It shows indifference to anything else, even when Daedrican stands back up with the bird on his arm and walks back to Tassilda.

In absolute, speechless awe, Tassilda gawks in a mix of bewilderment and joy when the zone parrot arrives in front of her on Daedrican's arm. After a few moments of wonder, she feels Daedrican lift her hand up to eye level with bird and put the snack bar into her hand. Tassilda blinks in confusion as Daedrican guides her other arm up to his with the bird. The zone parrot reacquires the food target, steps over onto Tassilda's gray skinned arm, and resumes eating with reaching bites to the food in Tassilda's other hand.

Tassilda smiles brightly as she watches the creature eat from her hand and wander along her arm. She manages to pet the bird's colorful feathers and it weaves a few songs between breaking off new chunks of the protein bar to hold in its claws. During the parrot's feast, contradictory emotions flit upon Tassilda's face and swirls of shame infiltrate her expression. Consuming half the bar, the zone parrot gazes up at Tassilda's face, chimes out a pleasant, happy series of tones. With a flicker of glow in its eyes, it unfurls its brightly hued wings. Tassilda holds her arm out and the zone parrot flaps up into the air. After it disappears into the dense forest, Tassilda slowly resumes her previous demeanor, but stops. She bites her lip, gazes at the ground fighting the torrents of thought in her head, and speaks in a genuine, appreciative tone. "Thank you."

Daedrican simply nods and continues down the banks of the small stream. Tassilda follows behind, and maintains a closer distance to him than before.

----

Outside the ranch style house in the side yard, Sebastian's ghostly form hovers next to Dretphi and looks at Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia. "Okay. So, since it's been a while... I figured it would be good to do a refresher on close quarters moves and how to deal with them. And, it's nice outside and I figured it would be something different."

Sotalia places her hands on her hips, dons a sly grin, and glances over to Bach. After a few moments, Bach meets Sotalia's gaze, puzzles at the attention, and resumes watching Sebastian. Directing everyone's attention to Dretphi and Sebastian floats away to give her the stage. "And since I can't exactly participate right now, due to my transparent state... I'll leave it up to Dretphi to run the lessons."

Dretphi surveys the group, notices the mischievious intent on Sotalia's face, and gazes to Bach. "Would you help me demonstrate?"

Bach shrugs nonchalantly and steps up next to Dretphi. Guiding Bach into position in front of her, Dretphi switches her stance and holds her arms up. "I will go over each step. Raise your arms up."

Settling into a faux aggressive posture, Bach stands at the ready. Dretphi gestures to Bach and instructs. "Grab my arm."

With a moment of hesitation, Bach reaches out and firmly grabs hold of Dretphi's forearm. After indicating approval, Dretphi moves in precise, slow motions and systematically demonstrates each stage of a maneuver. Throughout each segment, she carefully explains the process and reasons behind the action. Bach follows Dretphi's guidance as she leads him with care. After a few twists and turns, Dretphi reverses Bach's mock attack and works his limb into a standing arm lock. She rotates just enough to put pressure upon the extent of Bach's flexibility but cautiously halts before any painful strain. "This is an arm lock. Twisting past this point will inflict pain. Can cause injury. Most reconsider fighting before that."

She releases Bach gently and allows him to stretch his arm back to comfort. With a quick nod, she directs Bach into another demonstration scenario. With precision and care, she leads Bach through another series of motions and explains the maneuver completely. After a quick stretch and rest, Dretphi continues to guide Bach through another example situation and instructs everyone in ways to react to it. Aristespha and Cideeda watch carefully and occasionally rehearse pieces individually to refresh stagnant memories of old training. Sotalia crosses her arms, watches attentively, and presents an amused smile throughout the proceedings. Finishing the last in a series of different holds, Dretphi points out a large, thick mat nearby, and directs her request to Bach. "Would you move that near us?"

Bach nods, casually walks over, and drags the pad along the grass. "So, what is this for?"

Dretphi plainly states with a calm tone. "To cushion your falls."

Bach freezes momentarily, slowly meets Dretphi's gaze, and cocks his head to the side with an awkward smile. "Uh... Okay... Why would I be falling?"

Tilting her head to the side, Dretphi examines Bach's expression and smirks humored. "It happens when you get thrown."

Blinking blankly, Bach musters up his courage and stands up straight at the ready. "Okay..."

Dretphi smiles calmly and reassures Bach. "Not hard. Not fast. I will lower you onto the mat."

Bach ponders at moment, relaxes a bit, and nods. "Cool. What do I need to do?"

Pointing to a spot, Dretphi directs Bach's attention to place on the grass near the mat. Bach side steps over and waits. Dretphi swiftly closes the gap between her and Bach, pauses mid motion to highlight her grapple, and proceeds to hoist Bach free from the ground. In stunned silence, Bach remains pliable to Dretphi's guidance as she moves his docile mass around with modest effort. After a final halt of action to allow everyone else to examine the process, Dretphi plops Bach down upon the mat with a solid but cushioned impact. Bach's eyes dart around the area and he glances over to Dretphi. "That wasn't too bad. The mat helps out, but you controlled it the whole way."

A warm smile graces Dretphi and she politely inquires. "Do you want to continue? Help me demonstrate?"

Sotalia snickers to herself, quirks an intrigued brow, and mumbles under her breath. Flicking her furry ear back from Sotalia, Cideeda briefly glances over and twists the corner of her mouth. Dretphi resumes her careful, cautiously performed demonstrations with Bach. With great care, she ends the final parts of throws, locks, and holds by placing Bach on the target pad. Many maneuvers later, Dretphi holds her hand out to Bach on the mat. "You deserve a break. Thank you."

Bach grasps hold Dretphi's arm and follows up her assistance. "I wouldn't mind one."

Sotalia smirks mischievously, places her hands on her hips, and laughs playfully. "Oh, you aren't giving us the chance to practice, Dretphi?"

Stepping off the to side, Bach brushes off some stray glass blades. A tinge of evil taints Dretphi's grin and she eyes Sotalia. With a challenging hand gesture, she invites Sotalia up. "You can. You may take Bach's place in my demonstrations."

Sotalia's golden eyes open wide and a nervous wave passes through her body. Tossing her fiery orange, wavy hair back over her shoulders, she analyzes Dretphi's imposing form. She fights an uneasy grit of her teeth and recovers to an awkward grin. "Well, you need a break, too. Also, it might be more appropriate for me to... Oh... Practice what you've shown us with someone of similar size..."

She glances over to Aristespha and immediately cringes at Aristespha's eager stare. Aristespha stretches her neck to either side, rolls her shoulders, and flexes the definition in body. Subconscious trepidation blinks Sotalia's eyes for her and she fumbles for a self counterpoint. "Well... It wouldn't be wise to put our medic into needless danger..."

Resting her gaze down upon Cideeda, Sotalia dons confident smile. "I'm bit taller and larger that you, Cideeda. But, do you think you could help me practice these moves? Please?"

Cideeda presents a toothy grin, perks her furry ears, and happily chimes. "Of course! I might be a bit rusty, since we last practiced. So, we'll just take it a bit slow."

A flash of evil sparks in Cideeda's emeralds eyes and she focuses her attention upon Sotalia. "I believe I help you through the all the moves."

----

Blades of grass wave with the frustrated snorts of Sotalia as she rests her chin upon the ground. Moments later, she attempts to lift her upper torso off the ground and curl herself off the dirt. Squirming and struggling, she settles her chest back onto the grass with a slight, cushioning bounce and grumbles. "Okay! You've proved your point now!"

Cideeda grins triumphantly and adjusts her weigh as she sits on small of Sotalia's back. Her tail wags smugly and she squeezes up her grip on Sotalia's hands, pinning them firmly behind her back. Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian stand around Sotalia in a circle and observe attentively. Cideeda smiles sharply and cheerfully explains. "Now, most mages will attempt to cast a spell. You can fold their wrists to limit finger motion and push down on the head to make it hard for them to speak."

Sotalia exhales out her irritation, puffs away a few stray orange hairs out her face, and groans. "Gods! I'm really trying here! You just keep winning out somehow... I even have a height advantage!"

A sly smirk cracks from the corner of Cideeda's mouth and she secures both of Sotalia's arms with one hand. A flash of impish intent flickers in her emerald eyes, and she lightly grabs Sotalia's side between her claw tips. "Don't forget weight advantage, too."

Kicking her lower legs and squirming, Sotalia fights a reflexive giggle and yelps out. "AaHhHh! S-S-Stop that!"

Cideeda chuckles darkly, sighs, and releases her clawed hold of Sotalia's midriff. "Okay."

Sotalia grumbles and pouts. "You're just too flexible or something! I don't know. Last time we did this type of practice, I was able to get you a number of times, girl."

With a long sigh, Cideeda shakes her head dismissively. "That's because I had a bad headache and let you get the holds so you'd get the experience."

Dretphi searches the top of her mind and nods in agreement. "I remember that. You were moving slow. Seemed distracted."

Sotalia sighs her defeat and idly taps the toes of her shoes onto the ground. "I thought I did really good."

Her voice trails off and she mumbles under her breath. "If I had known you let me win last time, I wouldn't have asked you to give it your all this time."

Cideeda pats the top of Sotalia's head between her horns and grins toothily with a patronizing tone. "Don't feel bad. You did just fine last time, and you did really good today."

Annoyance appears on Sotalia's face and she grumbles lowly. Cideeda sighs and leans to the side to meet Sotalia's glance. "I had to try a few times. You need a lot more practice, but you are getting better."

Sotalia sighs irritably and mutters a few frustrated comments in a variety of languages with hints of sarcasm and a mocking tone. A sly cadence slips into in Cideeda's voice. "Now, there's one last thing I want to show."

She winks to Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian. "Now, you can only do this if you have claws-"

Sotalia golden eyes widen and dart around warily. Cideeda shifts herself back, slides a claw tip lightly down Sotalia's shirt-covered back, and stops abruptly near her side. "You find this particular spot and clamp down HARD-"

Cideeda leans forward, curls her fingers to keep her claws away, and harmlessly exaggerates her movements. Sotalia screams out, kicks her legs frantically, and tries to buck Cideeda off her back valiantly. "AHHHH! HELP! STOP HER! SHE'S OUT TO GET ME!"

Cideeda holds her hand away, watches the continuing, frantic spectacle, and rolls her eyes. Sotalia's fervor fades and she studies the humored reactions of everyone else around her. With an annoyed glare on her face, she plops her upper half down upon the grass with a slight bounce and growls out through gritted teeth. "I think I'm done with this."

Chuckling, Cideeda releases her grip on Sotalia's hands and pats her shoulder. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist TEASING you. Just remember, your supposed advantages can just as easily weigh you down without the right skill behind them."

Sotalia sweeps her arms back in front and underneath her. She glances back at Cideeda with a playful, mischievous smirk and quips a sentence in Fvalian. Cideeda perks her ears, lifts her brow with an amused grin, and replies in fvalian. She chuckles darkly and reaches both hands of flexing fingers out towards Sotalia's arms. "Oh wait! We really SHOULD go over the basics of tying up captives!"

Immediate motivation sends a surge of strength into Sotalia's arms and she pushes herself up off the ground. Cideeda deftly tumbles back and springs herself up to stand away. She places her hands on her hips, strikes a proud pose, and smiles brightly. Aristespha and Dretphi help Sotalia up. Brushing the stray blades of grass off her clothing Sotalia, resumes her confident demeanor and smirks back at Cideeda. Sebastian rolls his eyes and sighs ethereally. "Okay. I think that's enough today. Let's get cleaned up. Our favorite show is coming on soon enough."

Aristespha walks towards the back of the ranch style house along with Dretphi. Sebastian tags along behind. When Cideeda leaves the area, Bach follows behind and inquires. "You know, I am actually curious where you learned all that."

Cideeda crosses her arms and flicks her ears with her memories. "Honestly, I just took a bunch of physical education electives in college. I did learn all about tying ropes from my dad when securing scrap pieces in the junkyard. Lots of odd shapes and sizes that normal knots and wraps don't work for."

Sotalia catches up to Bach and Cideeda, and probes further. "Aww, so no childhood self-defense class for fvalians that you got black belt in?"

A devious chuckle leaves Cideeda's lips and she flexes her hand of claw tipped fingers in front of her. "Oh, my parents put me in self-defense courses. But, most fvalian specific classes taught us how to use our claws."

Sotalia thinks back in her mind and muses. "Huh. That's interesting. Anything emin specific I learned was all about using my horns and thick nails."

Bach continues along without comment until he notices casually inquisitive glances over to him. Shrugging his shoulders, he grins awkwardly. "Uh, all I ever was taught was to throw a spell and run as fast as I can."

Sotalia nods in agreement and rolls her eyes at herself. "To be fair, that's usually what I've ended up doing anyway."

Cideeda twists the corner of her mouth and snorts. "Yeah, most people tend to not chase you after a laser blast or two."

----

A long, low creaks groans out as Nash rocks back in his rolling office chair. He sighs and levels his bored stare at the computer monitors in front of him. A calm pattern of imagery plays out on the displays and a smooth scroll of status messages rise up in output windows. Nash eyes the wall clock and witnesses the constant, slow tick of the second hand. Tilting his head back, he breathes out. "Fffffuck..."

Leaning himself forward, he glances disdainfully at the stack of paperwork occupying a significant portion of his desk. He averts his gaze away and idly stares at the placid information graphics on the monitors. He eyes over the pile of papers, narrows a glare at the clock, and slumps in his chair. "Gods dammit..."

Mustering the willpower, he guides his hand up, grasps hold of the top packet of paper on the stack, and halfheartedly holds it in front of his field of vision. A frown forms on his face and he snorts in contempt at the task before him.

A chime rings out from the displays. Green statuses flip quickly to yellow and lines of streaming log data highlight against the rest of the digital noise. Nash immediately tosses the paperwork back onto the pile and snaps his full attention to the new activity. Typing quickly, he enters a series of commands into the system and adjusts the context of multiple onscreen windows to relevant data. Nash studies the information, cocks his head to the side, and puzzles at the digital disturbance. He continues to analyzing the changes and emerging patterns with developing intrigue.

A jarring alarm echoes into the room and spots of yellow immediately turn red. New windows appear, captured data streams onto monitors, and status icons transition in sequence from green to yellow to red. Nash's eyes grow wide and he grins expectantly. "Finally decided to check in you son of a bitch!"

An account information prompt appears and prominently shows the name "Isaac Kurt Huxley". Nash enters instruction after instruction into the system via his keyboard. Different system functions launch status windows and indicate their progress. Database activity monitors on the office wall switch to the current queries. After a feverish spree of command entry, Nash hits the speakerphone mode button on his office phone, and execitedly taps out a number. The phone rings a few times before a voice sounds out. Nash immediately responds over the greeting. "Guess who decided to log in on this fine, quiet Friday!?"

Background din from another room resonates through the speakerphone. Harvos stumbles to an astounded response. "Good gods! Isaac Huxley?!"

Nash nods and grins with a snarl. "Hell yes it is. I was wondering if that bastard was ever going to check in again, but here he is."

Sounds of Harvos fumbling with the phone slip out before his voice carries his words. "You ARE recording everything he's doing right?!"

A smirk briefly appears on Nash's face and he laughs amused. "Oh, of fucking course! I got everything he's doing logged and any data he's pulling is being copied on the fly. And, if there's anyone paying attention at our network egress, I should have someone trying to track down where he's connecting from."

Chat windows open up on a side display and Nash types in responses. "There they are. Good, it looks like they got the alerts, too. They're going to try to trace out the aethernet route."

Harvos sighs out his nerves over the line and calms his tone. "Okay. I hope we get something useful. I just want this whole mess to be over with."

Nash nods in agreement and grumbles. "Tell me about. I'm getting REAL tired with learning about our predecessors dirty little secrets and having to be the fucking ones to deliver the bad news to the higher ups."

Harvos groans with disgust and frustration. "I could use A LOT less of these mysteries in my life right now."

He pauses and his curiosity directs his tone. "What is Isaac doing right now, anyway?"

Nash flips through the numerous interface windows on the many displays in the office and hunts down a particular output. He studies the lines of text scrolling upwards and tilts his head to the side. "If I'm reading the database queries correctly, he is hammering the shit out of the system for research done by a... Dr. Malkav?"

Harvos hums in thought over the speakerphone. "I've heard of him, but I haven't delved too much into his work exactly. Do you have any examples of his work?"

With a humored snort, Nash directs his computer to open up a document. "Plenty. Isaac is mass downloading everything from this guy. Let's take a look at... Uh... This one."

He grimaces, puzzles at the title, and scratches his head. "Post Abstract Prism Elder Energy Acquisition and Applications?"

Harvos's cadence shifts along with a dawning realization. "It's coming back to me. Dr. Malkav did a lot of... Well... Out on the fringes research on elder energy magic and theoretical possibilities of access to it. But... If I remember correctly, he proposed a lot of theories but none of them ever really worked out."

Nash contorts his face and ponders audibly. "What the hell is Isaac doing now? I mean he is wholesale dumping everything Dr. Malkav we have. Does this guy still work for the Grand Library anymore?"

A long sigh escapes Harvos and handset noises telegraph the shake of his head. "Oh, no. I think he left the Grand Library officially a long time ago. But, I think he was involved in some unofficial capacity? I don't know exactly. Honestly, after the whole Orth Ridge ordeal, I've been combing through this damn department's project records for any other strangeness. So, I might prioritize that mystery. I do NOT want to blindsided by something like Orth Ridge again."

Nodding empathetically, Nash rolls his eyes and sighs. "I know the feeling. Got sets of the original blueprints for a few buildings and I've been double-checking to see if they match up with the buildings now. If I don't find revision notes or any other updates to the plans, I still got the sledgehammer from engineering."

Harvos chuckles with a humored tone. "How the hell do you still have that? Didn't Vetra take that back?"

Nash smugly smiles and laughs. "Yes. It was last seen in engineering. Don't know if they've bothered checking to see if they could still see it where it was last seen."

A status monitor icon flickers from red to black. Streams of data slow to a halt and capture systems close out. Nash searches the information before him and grits his teeth. "Well, he disconnected. Let's see what the crew up the pipe got."

He glances over to a side monitor and reads the information dumps in the chat windows. Shaking his head, Nash directs his disappointed voice towards the speakerphone. "They traced him decently. But, unfortunately, it seems like he was connecting via an aethernet tower along some highway in the middle of fucking nowhere. Roughly somewhere between GAA and Appaland territories. So, not too helpful."

Harvos hopefully comments. "Still, it means he was around there at this time. He can only move so far so fast. It will be useful in the right hands."

Nash slowly nods in agreement and settles back into his office chair with a long, groaning creak. "Yeah. Yeah. I definitely know some people who'll want this. Well, I'm going to dig into this more. I'll get you a copy and send one to Aristespha."

Harvos replies appreciatively. "Thank you. We'll figure it out yet."

He pauses a moment and inquires. "Quick question, Nash."

Nash quirks his brow and eyes the speakerphone. "Yes?"

Harvos sighs from the other side of the connection. "When the hell are you going to get a new office chair? I keep hearing that damn thing and it sounds like it's going to fall apart at any moment."

A defiant laugh bellows out from Nash. "Never! We got history, this chair and I... And... Well... All the new chairs feel weird to me. Strange back support and all."

Harvos grumbles in commiseration. "Yeah... Let me know if you find any of the old ones in storage somewhere."

Nash nods and hovers his finger over the call end button. "Will do. Catch ya later."

With Harvos's goodbye, Nash terminates the call and stares at the screens in front of him. He glances over to wall clock, eyes the paperwork, and settles upon the task before him. "Ffffuuucckkk..."

-54-

Deedri sorts through a pack of medical supplies and inspects the contents thoroughly. Her furry ears flick along with her investigation and she resettles her seat upon a blanket near the camp fire. Trakenthin flips to the next page in his book and rubs his back against the trunk of a tree. The dimming dusk sky illuminates the area, but the glow of the fire light gains dominance every second. The lightly armored form of Daedrican walks up calmly to the camp site and waves to Deedri. "Good evening, Mage Preeta. I hope your day went well."

A smile appears on Deedri's face and she nods happily to Daedrican. "It did. Nothing too exciting today. Overall, very quiet."

Daedrican sighs in pleasant agreement and tilts his helmeted head. "It was for me, too. I get the feeling that whatever bandits we didn't capture, we have mostly certainly scared off this road for a while. We have yet to find any signs of them trying to set up camp again."

Trakenthin glances over from his book, bows his head slightly to acknowledge Daedrican, and calmly adds. "I concur. Heavy team has not found anything new. They have made their presence known. Doubt observant bandits will stay in the area."

With a light chuckle, Daedrican shakes his head in good humor. "Well, that's what they do. And, that's why we have them. If you ever want to make the enemy reconsider their plans, you release some of the heavy armor team out."

Keeping modest attention upon the conversation, he gazes through his visor and scans the general vicinity. "It seems like you all have found yet another a good spot to make camp for the night. Hopefully, there are a few more good places left along the way for the next few days."

Lifting a curious brow at Daedrican, Trakenthin quickly surveys the secluded alcove under a lush tree canopy. "Smaller layout. Better choice of sites. We should have options."

Daedrican nods slightly in agreement and turns his head slowly in a final visual sweep of the camp before waving again. "Well, I don't want to keep you all. Again, it has been pleasure having your group along with us during this patrol. I hope these last few days end the patrol nicely. A good night to you all."

Deedri bows slightly to Daedrican. Trakenthin nods and resumes reading his book. Daedrican pivots precisely and continues his patrol away from the camp, sneaking one last check of the area. A few minutes later, Deedri bites her lip in thought and directs her voice to Trakenthin. "I'm not the only one who thinks he was looking for Tassilda, right?"

Trakenthin rests his book down on his chest, turns his head to meet Deedri's gaze, and nods slowly. "He was looking. He hid it well. Still was looking. Do you know what happened?"

Cocking her head to the side, Deedri's ears perk contemplatively and she eventually shakes her head. "No. She hasn't said anything... Which is kind of weird, since she has been coming up with reasons to talk about him."

She grits her teeth briefly and twists her lips. "She's been acting odd lately. It seems there's something on her mind."

Trakenthin nods in agreement and hums in thought. "I have noticed. There is a grath word for it..."

He speaks a single word of grath in his native dialect and searches his mind for the correct translation. "It means... Thoughts which hinder progress of thoughts."

Deedri blinks her auburn eyes, brushes back her multi-colored hair over her shoulders, and idly picks her claws as she process the definition. "That actually describes it nicely. She's thinking about something and she can't get past it for some reason."

Trakenthin shrugs his shoulders and lifts up his book, tugging the corner of his mouth. "Those thoughts are not easy to resolve. You can avoid them. Temporarily. Easy at first."

Rolling her eyes at her memories, Deedri releases a long sigh and shakes her head. "Gods. I know that feeling."

She closes up the medical pack, taps out a few notes on the aetherphone on her lap, and eyes Trakenthin thoughtfully. "Do you think we should ask her about it? We are a team and we should try to help each other out."

Trakenthin's hazel eyes widen and he winces briefly. Recovering to an uncomfortable grimace, he gazes warily at Deedri and sighs uncertainly. "I do not know. Those are affairs we should not needlessly pry into."

He searches the more obscuring spots around the campsite's perimeter and sates his paranoia after assuring himself that the areas are empty. With a mildly frustrated grumble, he frowns at Deedri. "We are not in ideal... circumstances... to discuss those topics. Privacy is a luxury currently."

Deedri darts her eyes around, irritably squirms, and groans in defeat. "I know. I'm so tired of checking for a damn camera crew out here. At least at the house, I'm afforded some peace."

Trakenthin shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly. "They have not followed me on patrol. I think the crew are afraid to get squashed by the heavy team."

A dry grin cracks from the corner of his mouth. "I can confirm. It is a valid fear."

A brief, dark giggle slips out from Deedri. She blinks back to awareness, resumes her previous demeanor, and exhales longingly. "I'll just be glad to get back to house for a bit. I just hope we get a few days to rest for a bit before the next mission."

She pauses in thought, glances over to Trakenthin, and perks her furry ears. "By the way, have you heard anything about our next mission?"

Trakenthin searches his mind, blanks at the lack of results, and shakes his head. "No. Chad mentioned he did not know. He said the crew was going to choose?"

Deedri sneers her upper lip, droops her ears, and rolls her eyes. "Oh. Great. That fills me with confidence."

Modoran appears out from a shady region behind a tree, casually strolls up to the low campfire, and takes a seat on a nearby log. "Good evening. Anything new or exciting?"

Deedri presents a happy smile to Modoran and rests her head on her hand. "Not really. Just talking about things we can't get the answers for easily."

Shifting his gaze between Deedri and Trakenthin, Modoran grimaces awkwardly and attempts an uneasy smile. "Does this discussion involve politics or religion?"

Trakenthin snorts and smirks. "No."

With an exhale of relief, Modoran relaxes and gestures to Deedri to relay the information. "Oh, good. Thank you. I avoid those debates. So, what are these things you can't get answers for?"

Deedri crosses her arms, rolls her shoulders, and twists her mouth thoughtfully. "Well. We've been trying to figure out what's happened between Tassilda and Daedrican. And... What's our next mission going to be?"

Modoran tenses a bit, scratches the back of his light gray and white haired head, and grits his teeth. After telegraphing obvious knowledge of the subjects, he notices the eager gazes of Deedri and Trakenthin upon him. Following a few idle fidgets and false starts, he slumps slightly with sigh and shakes his head. "Oh gods. I have theories for both of those based on what I've found while... doing my usual... um... information gathering...?"

Deedri and Trakenthin exchange glances and focus their full attention upon Modoran. With an awkward grimace, Modoran bites his lip, shrugs his shoulders, and mumbles. "So... Uh... What theories do you want to hear about, first?"

----

A few large white clouds overhead cast massive shadows across the land near the ranch style house. Gentle wind blows both grass blades and trees leaves equally, and a faint drone fills the vicinity. Sebastian's ghostly form stands in front of Bach. Crossing his arms, he grins eagerly and nods towards his brother. "Okay, bro. I think it's about time to show you how to activate THE sword and some of the main features of it."

Aristespha walks up to Bach with the Sword of the Spirit realm in its scabbard. She places the weapon in Bach's awaiting hands and presents a calm smile. "Originally, I would have told you there's not too terribly much to the sword. But, as Sebastian found out along with the rest of us, it seems to have some... undocumented features."

Bach carefully examines the magical item and alternates his gaze between Aristespha and Sebastian. "Have you found out any more info about the now not-so-hidden functions?"

With a long sigh, Aristespha shakes her head and grumbles as she rests her hands upon her hips. "Not as much as I would like. Good or bad, it seems this sword was unique, even for magical swords."

She cocks her head to the side, tosses back her silvery blue hair, and dons a smirk upon her ivory face. "One interesting thing I did come across in some research was how many of the magical activation locks worked during the era the sword was made."

Lifting a curious brow, Bach follows Sebastian's instructive gesture and slowly slides the sword out from its sheath. He smirks in amusement and his voice grows sarcastic. "Neat. So what was it? Some special sequence of words? Secret magical arts unique to the device? A dark, morally questionable blood bonding ritual?"

Aristespha lightly chuckles, steps forward, and places her finger firmly upon the top of Bach's forehand. She curls her finger around the white streak contrasting his brown hair and guides in down into Bach's vision and rolls her eyes in amusement. "Nope. Simple detection of Pre-Cataclysm genetic modifications."

Incredulously frowning, Bach eyes his white streak of hair and combs it back with his fingers. "Really? Wow... I'm not going to lie, I was kind of hoping for something a bit more significant than that."

Sebastian snorts ethereally and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to his sides. "Same here, bro. At first, the sword was really vocal about the whole chosen one thing and we thought there was something more going on with its decision process."

He scratches the back of his head and averts his eyes away in a fit of shame. "We really didn't dig too deep, since we were busy chasing Noxian around. It was only after Noxian blasted me we really tried to figure things out. And well..."

Aristespha frowns slightly, sways her hips, and sighs out her frustration. "The sword has always been awkward and brief with its messages. When it... captured... Sebastian, it got even more brief... and less helpful in some regards."

Bach examines the blade, squints as the sun glints off a sharp edge, and puzzles at Sebastian. "Maybe it's redirected its power to holding or supporting you?"

Sebastian nods slowly in agreement and furrows his brow. "That's my best guess, too, bro. I think its elder energy detection range is a lot less than it was, or at least it's not as sensitive? Also, it seems to be trying to inform me of things by... feel? I don't know. I'm still sorting through all of it myself and it's really abstract about it. But, the sword definitely keeps informing me about you."

Narrowing a suspicious stare at Sebastian, Bach sneers and briefly grits his teeth uneasily. "Uh..."

Blinking in confusion, Sebastian shakes his head and laughs with ghostly reverb. "Oh! No. When we got close to your house in Tullachester, it was pinging you as a new wielder. Hence, why we were a bit over zealous... Heh..."

Returning his attention to the partially unsheathed sword, Bach lifts an expectant brow and maintains a wary demeanor. "Okay. So, supposedly because I've got this white streak in my hair, it'll just work for me?"

Aristespha nods slowly and smiles with a snort. "Well, yes, I believe. The sword is a bit cryptic in how it explains itself. That must have been some style choice by the creator. But, given what Sebastian has felt and the obtuse explanation from the sword, we think that's probably it."

She sighs, relaxes her posture, and rolls her hand in thought. "It's not so much the white streak as much as the genetic traces the biological modification left behind. The white hair streak is just a visual indicator. Using cosmetic genetic mods was a popular thing for First Period mage royalty to do to prevent their powerful magical artifacts from getting used against them."

She searches her mind for further information and relays it in an explanatory tone. "Biological and genetic modifications post-Cataclysm were extremely rare as the resources didn't exist to fashion new stocks. The mage royalty had the ruling power to acquire the remaining mods that still existed and the methods to augment their magic to detect the mods."

Bach shifts his attention to an emerging realization and returns to the conversation with a smug grin to Aristespha. "Wait... So... Sebastian and I are descendants of ancient royalty?"

Sebastian smiles proudly, postures pridefully, chuckles with his brother. "I know, right?!"

He gazes at Aristespha eagerly curious. "Oh yeah! Dear? Did you ever find a possible royal line that may have created the sword?"

A dark, playful grin graces Aristespha's lips and she flashes an evil gaze between Back and Sebastian. "Well, it has proven a bit difficult to track down any records. Especially, since that after the Second Cataclysm, most mage royalty lineages were systematically hunted down and slaughtered by the new commoner mages."

Her expression morphs to an ill-humored smile and she presents facetious tone to the brothers while tapping her finger tips together. "They even more thorough and zealous than most school history books would have you believe. A few rebel organizations went so far as second and third cousins. Seems they were exceptionally motivated."

She shrugs her shoulders with dramatic gestures of her hands and winks to the two uneasy brothers. "So, either you are descendants of unknown, illegitimate royal bastards... Or, your family line just happens to have the same genetic modification present in it."

Bach and Sebastian remain wide-eyed, and awkwardly quiet. After a few exchanges of disappointed, uncertain expressions, the two accept their either questionable or lack of lineage. Bach shrugs his shoulders with a weak smirk. "I'm perfectly cool with just somehow having that same mod."

Sebastian nods with a tight smile and cracks a halfhearted grin. "Yeah, bro. Let's just say we just got really lucky by circumstance."

Rolling her eyes with an amused snicker, Aristespha places her hands on her hips, and focuses her attention upon the sword. "Anyway... The sword activation is simple enough. Draw the blade, grip the handle firmly, and flow some magical energy into it."

Bach perks his brow, grips the handle of the sword, and draws it out. With the scabbard in one hand and the blade in the other, Bach calmly exhales and readies himself. Sebastian quickly slides into Bach's view and waves his hands for his attention. "Bro! Just a fair warning. It'll feel a little weird when it activates. Nothing bad. Just strange."

Confirming with Sebastian, Bach bites his lip, rolls his shoulders, and concentrates. A faint trace of magical flow glides along the surface of Bach's arm and sinks into the handle of the sword. Moments later, Bach's face contorts uncomfortably and his hand tenses up. The Sword of the Spirit Realm pulsates to a steady, faint blue glow. Sebastian's visage warps slightly but stabilizes. Bach squirms out some discomfort and shakes off a shiver down his back. He grits his teeth briefly and grimaces. "Gods, that feels fucking WEIRD."

Sebastian turns his head to Aristespha with an accusing stare and points to the sword in Bach's hand. "SEE! It feels weird for him, too. It's not just MY wild imagination or some psychosomatic thing!"

Aristespha narrows a glare back at Sebastian, crosses her arms, and briefly snarls her upper lip before groaning. "Yes, Sebastian. I SEE that now."

After a few seconds, Sebastian softens his gaze and dons an apologetic tone. "Sorry, dear... It's just nice to have someone confirm it. A little vindication, you know?"

A smiles graces Aristespha's face and she nods understandingly. "I know, Sebastian. I just find it strange that would be an aspect of its function."

Sebastian shifts his focus to Bach and inquisitively gazes over. "So, how did it feel when it activated?"

Bach blinks in thought, idly flexes his arms with the sword, and mulls over the recent experience. "Well... Like something reached into my arm and... grabbed hold of it?"

A satisfied smile appears on Sebastian's translucent face and he nods in complete agreement. "Exactly what I fuckin' felt. But, apart from that?"

Methodically moving the sword through a number of practice maneuvers, Bach gauges the weight and balance of the weapon in his hand, and finishes the motions with a final fanciful flair. "Not bad at all. Balanced. Really light, too. And, I'm sure that blade could easily slice through some things."

His eyes flicker to a blue glow and he studies the edges of the blade closely in growing astonishment. "Oh yeah. There is some serious enchantment magic on that edge. Gods, that can do some serious damage."

Sebastian grins eagerly and chuckles. "That sword is pretty capable. Sharpest edge I've ever swung on a blade. And if you lose grip of it, you can will it back into your hand."

A mischievous, sly smile emerges upon Bach's face. "So... Does that mean that if I throw it-"

The ethereal glare of Sebastian zips up to Bach. "You throw this sword with me in it and I'll make sure it returns the worst way to you."

Bach blinks blankly, darts his eyes to either side, and nods slowly. "Just... Checking..."

An amused smirk forms on Sebastian and he drifts away with a playful sigh. "Ah... Just fucking with you, bro. But, seriously... Don't throw around the ancient artifact we need. We ALMOST lost it once."

Bach snaps a perplexed glance over to Sebastian. "Wait- What?!"

Sebastian awkwardly grins and shrugs his shoulders. "Long story, I'll tell you later."

He gazes lovingly at Aristespha and smiles. "Just know that despite how things went, really good things came of it."

Aristespha responds to Sebastian's attention with happy smile and blushes slightly. She gazes to Bach and resumes the subject at hand. "Back on topic. The sword ultimately, from research I've done and what has been witnessed, is an Elder energy sink. The primary function of it seems to be to absorb Elder energy and send it somewhere."

Bach narrows a questioning stare at Aristespha and cocks his head to the side. "Somewhere?"

Mild embarrassment mixes with frustration upon Aristespha's face. She rolls her shoulders and gestures out her thoughts. "That part has been difficult to determine. There is NOT a lot of documentation about that aspect of the sword. Any information I have found is prone to terrible translation errors. Or, it is just too cryptic to make any sense of."

An unamused expression bubbles up onto Bach's face with a sarcastic tone. "And, I'm certain the sword has been the most helpful in filling these gaps of information?"

Aristespha's cadence matches Bach's with a wry smile. "Oh yes. Most certainly. It has been an absolute fount of knowledge."

Sebastian crosses his arms, groans with a slight reverb, and rolls his eyes dismissively. "It certainly showers its wisdom the same on the inside as it does on the outside."

With a shake of the head, Aristespha tosses back her long hair, stretches her arms, and sighs. "Regardless, it does have its purpose, and hopefully absorbing the Elder energy stored within Noxian will not only defeat him, but return Sebastian back."

Bach's attention drifts away briefly and he narrows his eyes upon the sword. "Thinking along those same lines..."

He gazes at Sebastian's ethereal form. "Has it absorbed any ambient Elder energy, recently?"

Sebastian nods calmly and frowns slightly. "Yeah. From what I've felt, it's... Kind of a... Drop in the bucket?"

Slumping his shoulders, Bach tugs at the corner of his mouth and mumbles disheartened. "There's goes that idea for now."

Shrugging his shoulders, Sebastian floats next to Bach with an appreciative smirk. "Hey, bro. It's not gone to waste or anything. But, I feels like there's A LOT more energy needed for me to get back in one physical piece."

Aristespha rests her hand upon Back's shoulder and presents a hopeful smile. "There is a merit in your idea to try for site of power and ancient ruins for left over traces of Elder energy. A strong enough residual source should get us closer to our goal, so we should keep an eye out. Also..."

She lifts an intrigued brow and focuses her violet eyes at Bach. "When we examine the nature of your access to elder energy further in the future, I believe the sword would serve as a convenient safety measure. Any excess energy will probably help out Sebastian."

Bach nods thoughtfully, slowly pondering the idea. He examines the sword, and hoists up the scabbard up in his other hand. With a smooth motion, he slides the sword securely back into the sheath, and shudders as he lets his hand go from the handle. He eyes Sebastian with an awkward grimace. Sebastian shakes his head and grumbles. "I know, bro. It just feels weird no matter what you do."

Bach twists his mouth and tilts his head to either side. "Did you get used to it after a certain point?"

Sebastian grits his teeth briefly and uncertainly ponders. "Not really? You just start to expect it and take comfort in anticipating it?"

Aristespha rolls her eyes at exchange between the brothers and takes the scabbard and sword from Bach. "You two..."

----

Thomas Blaureiter stands near the back steps of a long brick house and idly surveys the worn dirt track in the middle of a field. He glances up to the expanding orange glow of the morning sky and winces briefly when beams of sunlight flicker over the tree lined horizon. Lifting one of his cybernetic arms up, he shields his eyes while they adjust. The back storm door opens with a propping push from Kaleb's hand. Shadeesa slips past Kaleb, and walks down the few stair steps with a mug of coffee in each hand. Kaleb follows a step behind her and watches her progress. Shadeesa glances behind her with green on black eyes, tosses her dark green hair, and shows a loving smile on her light gray, white freckled face. "I do appreciate you being so watchful, but I can still manage these stairs... Even with balancing coffee cups in each hand."

Kaleb awkwardly grins and momentarily averts his eyes in embarrassment. "I know."

He gazes down Shadeesa's pronounced belly beneath her apron, smiles to her, and rests a hand on her back when he moves to her side. "Just trying to be protective and all that fatherly stuff. Think it's all starting to hit me as of late. Hope I'm not going overboard or anything."

As the couple walks to Thomas, Shadeesa giggles and smiles happily. "You're doing just fine."

She presents a cup of coffee to Thomas and nods to him. "Good morning. I didn't know how you liked your coffee, so I kept it as it was brewed."

Thomas grabs hold of the mug, graciously bows to Shadeesa, and smirks contentedly. "That's just fine. I learned to drink it plain and fresh a long time ago."

Kaleb slips from the mug in his other hand and his face sours slightly. "Yeah... I'm trying to do the same. Keeps it simple when I'm out somewhere remote."

A lighthearted chuckle escapes Thomas and he shakes his head of short, gray hair. "It only takes a few desperate times to break your taste buds to it. Don't worry."

He peacefully enjoys the scenic morning landscape as the sun casts its light upon the dew sparkling grasses and leaves. The trio soak up the quiet moments with coffee for minutes. Thomas sighs appreciatively and smiles. "By the way, thank you for having me for a few days. Gods. Times like this I miss being out on the family farm."

A sly smirk creeps out from the corner of Shadeesa's mouth and she lifts an intrigued brow to Thomas. "Hmm. So any farm related retirement plans when you get your years at the university?"

Thomas shrugs his cybernetic shoulders, slowly sways his head side to side, and mulls the idea over. "It's come up between Albert and I. But, that's still a number of years off. I'm going to need quite a few more years of service before I get most of my retirement benefits from the university."

Kaleb laughs and grins towards Thomas. "I could totally see you and Albert growing food to feed a few dragon lines."

Thomas blinks blankly, twists his lips, and mumbles barely coherent. "Don't know about that..."

Shadeesa furrows her brow and stares with incredulous hints at Thomas. "Oh, why not? You cannot tell me you wouldn't want to raise your own swarm of dragons."

The thought weighs on Thomas's mind. He indulges in a long swig from his coffee cup, and grits his teeth momentarily with an indecisive sigh. "I don't know. Nachta was unique in just every aspect. If I'm going to have another dragon in my life it'll have to be something special..."

A loud, rumbling snore reverberates through the open doors of the huge hangar at the corner of the field. Lagi twists and rotates his large blue and black scaled form around the confines of the massive metal building. His gaping maw opens up to a dramatic yawn that abruptly ends with an echoing belch. Following the gaseous flow, an oily mass of plant matter flies out and plops down meters away into the field. Kaleb snorts, lifts his hand off of Shadeesa's back, and holds a finger up. "Wait for it..."

Lagi's face contorts, a wave tension radiates down his spine, and his tail momentarily stiffens. A long, rumbling expulsion of gas sounds out against the acoustically reflective walls of the hangar. With an expression of satisfaction, Lagi lethargically rests his head upon a large, canvas pillow and resumes a droning snore with his long tongue hanging out. Shadeesa covers her snicker with a hand and tries to maintain her composure. "So... Something special?"

While Shadeesa shakes her head and guides her stray locks of hair over her horns, Thomas smiles warmly and laughs as fond memories rise up. "Nachta had similar habits. I hope Lagi doesn't inherit her more infamous ones."

Shadeesa lifts a curious brow and focuses her attention upon Thomas. "Like what? I'm actually curious for my own research."

Thomas glances over and snorts out an ill-humored smirk. "Well... She was more... Um. Well, attuned? Yes, attuned... to her biological functions. ESPECIALLY, when angry. Which she was often."

Kaleb swallows down more of his coffee with a grimace and chuckles. "Oh, Lagi's perfectly capable of feats like that. But, he's just usually so goofy and laid back, that I don't think it even crosses his mind to be mean or vindictive."

Relief grows upon Thomas's face and he nods in agreement, curious. "I'm glad he's kept that attitude. It HAS to be something from his father, because it DID NOT come from his mother."

As an old subject rises up in Shadeesa's mind, inquisitive hints bubble into her gaze towards Thomas and she ponders. "That reminds me. Any new information about Lagi's lineage?"

Kaleb quirks his brow and glances over to the new topic. "Yeah. Did that one dragon fan club that Tellerran guy is part of it have anything useful?"

Thomas scratches his chin contemplatively, and thinks about the subject over while contorting his face. "Nothing too new. But, I was really surprised how thorough they were and how much information they had on a number of dragons. They must have some inside sources, because I distinctly remember A LOT that information being restricted in some shape or form by most government organizations."

He pours back the last remainder of the coffee in his mug, pauses in thought, and nods. "They did have Nachta's family tree theorized decently. They still haven't fit Lagi anywhere yet. Last I checked, they were still bickering page after page about that."

Shrugging his shoulders, he smiles nonchalantly and rolls his eyes. "If anything useful comes from all of it, I'll be sure to let you two know. Still trying to keep my official distance and all."

Kaleb furrows his brow at Thomas and cocks his head to the side. "Are THEY still keeping tabs on you?"

Thomas snorts with a dismissive smirk and shakes his head. "I don't think so. I think they gave up trying to find out any secrets from me a few years after I gave them-"

A sly smile graces his face. "All the eggs Nachta's nest. Plus, not having a dragon for this long and working at the school, they probably think I've distanced myself from my past so much, that I'm not worth the effort."

Shadeesa grumbles unamused. "I still find that clause of that treaty so ridiculous."

Thomas nonchalantly rests a cybernetic hand on his side. "Yeah. But, it saved a bunch of lives and kept me from spending time in some nation's military prison. So, I'm not one to complain about it."

The three casually watch the sleeping Lagi. Thomas narrows an analyzing stare at the slumbering dragon and tilts his head to the side. "One interesting thing I found while browsing that club's aethersite is that many of Lagi's traits we've assumed were his father's... They've seen individually in other dragon lines. But, not all together in one dragon."

Kaleb, Shadeesa, and Thomas distantly study Lagi with developing serious interest. Lagi stirs groggily to partial consciousness, lazily winks one eye after another at the group, and slowly wags his tail. Kaleb shrugs his shoulders, Shadeesa smiles happily, and Thomas grins at the goofy display.

----

Steam rises out of a large pot on the glass stove top and swirls into the overhead vent fan. Red rings of light pulse steadily around the large pot and two other pans, and the digital display on the appliance's console indicates the temperature of the different items of cookware. Dretphi guides a knife down repeatedly upon a cutting board and slices up a variety of vegetables. She glances over at one of the pans, cuts off a modest slab of butter from an unwrapped stick, and flicks it onto the heated surface. Swiftly, she presses a button on the oven door, leans to study the tray with cooking slices of meat inside under the internal lamp, and stands back up. She surveys the progress of the meal, and wipes her brow with her arm. Sniffing the air, she glances over at a plate of precisely cut, caramel topped, brownies covered in draping sheets of wax paper, and smiles with pride. Her attention switches back over to the buttered pan, and she sweeps the vegetables from the cutting board onto the hot surface.

The odors of steam, frying vegetables, cooking meat, and sweet treats floods the air in the kitchen and wafts out the rest of the ranch style house. Bach plods casually through the archway leading to the hallway and gradually halts in the middle of the combined living room and dining area. He sniffs the air, guides his head to focus on the sounds, and steps inquiringly towards the kitchen entry. Stopping at the entrance point, he admires the meal in progress and nods approvingly. "It smells amazing in here. And, it's looking really good."

Dretphi glances over with a warm smile and idly stirs the vegetables in the pan with a wooden spatula. "Thank you. It will be ready soon."

Bach remains clear of the kitchen walkway and watches Dretphi switch between tasks in different areas. During a lull in activity, he wanders in thought and directs an inquiry towards Dretphi. "It always seems like you're the one cooking for the group. Any particular reason why?"

Searching her mind during the break, Dretphi thinks about her response and nonchalantly replies. "I like cooking. I am proficient at preparing meals for groups. Why do you ask?"

Accepting the answer, Bach approaches his own response carefully. "Well, I just wandered if there was any special reason. You seem to know what you are doing."

Dretphi perks an intrigued brow, reaches over to dial down a temperature on the stove top controls, and gazes thoughtfully at Bach. "My mother taught me. She took the responsibility to feed the house. When I was old enough, she taught me. I helped cook for the house until I went to college."

Bach nods, leans against the entryway, and puzzles. "Your mother took the responsibility?"

Lifting the lid of the pot carefully, Dretphi releases a wave of steam up in to the air, inspects the fluffy rice inside a holder, and tilts her head to the side. "Yes. She prefers to eat good food. She makes sure of that."

Replacing the lid, she rolls her shoulders into a stretch, and sighs, flitting her steely gray eyes wide. "Many house duties she defers to my fathers. Brothers for some. Cooking has been hers since house formation. By her unchallenged claim. My fathers were astounded when she let me help in the kitchen. She takes pride in that contribution. Her teaching me was significant."

Bach gradually acknowledges the weigh in Dretphi's tone and observes her efforts in preparing the meal. "Wow, that sounds like house duties are pretty serious business."

Dretphi twists the corner of her mouth and grumbles. "Depends on the house. My mother is... very... exacting with her standards."

A smile graces her face and she sighs to a relaxed demeanor. "She means well. Sought to prepare me. She taught me cooking for my benefit. Instructed me it was the right skill to keep a house together."

Bach nods understandingly with a contented smile. "Oh, well, that makes sense. It does sound like she has good intentions there. Good survival skill."

Dretphi glances over with an uncertain twist in the corner of her mouth and lifts an eye brow. "She said similar about sword fighting, grappling. I would consider her sentiments carefully."

Cideeda peeks quietly through the entryway into the kitchen next to Bach and surveys the feast in the making. Her emerald eyes lock onto the caramel topped brownies and she unconsciously licks her lips. The growing toothy grin halts when she spots the wax paper covering the dessert treats. Her furry ears droop slight as her mind processes options. With a hint of resignation in her tone, she chimes out quizzically to Dretphi. "So, how much longer? Should I set the plates out?"

Dretphi stands back, analyzes the status of each part of the meal, and processes the figures. "No longer than ten minutes. Set the table. Thank you."

With swift nod, Cideeda slips away quickly and steps long the floor with a light pats of her feet and soft clicks of her claws. Bach gawks at Cideeda's previous location, cocks his head to the side, and shakes in disbelief. "Good gods... I didn't hear her walk up..."

A sly grin parts Dretphi's lips and she tosses her thick, long braids of platinum blonde hair over her shoulders. With a quiet voice, she directs her voice to Bach. "She smelled the dessert. Always tries to sneak one away when I do not notice."

Bach quirks his gaze at the plate of brownies, and glances over to Dretphi puzzled. "Well, she probably could have gotten one. I certainly didn't know she was there."

Dretphi presents a proud smile and chuckles to herself. "I use countermeasures designed for my brothers. They discourage the wise."

Squinting at the plate of brownies, Bach ponders a moment and crosses his arms with a humored smile. "So, you were the one that helped keep your brothers in line?"

Grasping hold of a tray of cooked meat from the open oven with mitten covered hands, Dretphi sets the cookware upon a clear section of kitchen counter, and groans out old frustrations. "Yes. Crettaken is five years younger. Arvenerrin is six years younger. I helped my mother raise both. Kept them out of trouble."

A proud smile appears on her tan face and she chuckles to herself. "It took effort. They are better now. Both are searching for adventuring schools currently."

She grumbles and slowly shakes her head. "That has been an ongoing debate between my mother. House fathers. Brothers."

Bach blinks and contorts his face with memories of the past. "Yeah. My mother and father went to rival adventuring schools. But, they eventually settled on High Alton college since it was conveniently closer. And, mom agreed it that it was a lot cheaper."

Dretphi quickly nods in agreement as she balances out the contents between frying pans. "Good reasons."

Heavier foot steps sound out from beyond the kitchen and Sotalia slides into view around the entry next to Bach. She smiles slyly and visually searches the forming feast. "It's looking really good."

She brushes past Bach through the gap between him and the entryway frame, lightly steps into the kitchen, and maintains a watch of the busy, distracted Dretphi. "So, how much longer? Cideeda almost has the table together... Oh, I could get the drinks going... and-"

The crisp crackle of wax paper sharply contrasts the low, soft background din of the kitchen. Another fit of sheets crinkling fills the air with the sounds of clumsy struggle. Dretphi's postures stiffens as she pivots in place and focuses a stoic glare down upon Sotalia. Bach follows the path of ire. Sotalia remains frozen, slowly turns her head to greet Dretphi's stare with innocent, pleading golden eyes, and attempts to nonchalantly release her grip on a caramel covered brownie. Awkwardly wiping the gooey topping upon a nearby wash rag, she slinks closer to Bach in the doorway. "So... I'm going to get those drinks... Ready..."

Dretphi narrows her hard stare, crosses her strong arms, firmly nods to weak statement. Sotalia grins uneasily as she maintains eye contact with Dretphi, slips behind Bach, and shifts him over slightly by his shoulders to the middle of the entry. As Sotalia disappears, Bach blinks blankly before shuddering. "Whoa, that's death glare if I ever saw one."

Working the expression off her face, Dretphi bites her lip with hint of embarrassment. "I learned that from my mother. It has proven useful."

----

Chad examines the edge of his Stalwart sword, squints at a few spots, and slides the weapon back into its scabbard. He places it to the side, resettles himself upon the floor mat in the large tent, and slides over his Flames of the Phoenix branded breastplate. The tent flap unzips quickly, shaking the overhead electric lamp, and reveals the dark night sky contrasting the camp site glow. Veevi ducks inside, zips the front opening back up, and lowers herself into a seductive crawl. She suggestively moves onto the large bedroll and lays herself out with a smug grin. She fluffs her long, bright pink hair to drape upon her chest, arcs her tightly clothed body into a stretch, and flicks her short-haired tail. "Gods! What a night!"

With a mildly interested perk of his brow, Chad smirks and narrows his brown eyes at Veevi. "How so?"

Veevi twists her mouth, flicks her fuzzy, upright ears, and reaches her tan, brown striped arms out to her sides. "Ungh. Tassilda."

Chad grumbles with a sigh and tilts his head, shaking his short brown, coiffed hair. "Okay. What happened this time?"

Pausing in thought, Veevi dons an uncertain expression and squints her pink pupil eyes. "That's the weird thing. Nothing. It was so... Weird. She's been riding my ass to teach me the proper way to do everything and complains how I'm taking too long to do everything-"

She sneers her upper lip and scrunches up her nose in disgust. "And she's just spacing out between every exercise she runs me through. I had to get her attention like, totally, six different times."

Chad glances up from his inspection of the armor and quizzically stares at Veevi. "That doesn't sound like her. Especially, when dealing with YOU."

Veevi groans as her frustration colors her tone. "Every time I asked what the hell was wrong with her, she'd fucking snap back to her usually bitchy self for a few minutes then lose interest in teaching me anything."

Chad searches his mind and frowns gradually as concern infiltrates his demeanor. "That's really not normal for her. I wonder what's happened. I probably should talk to her and see what's going on."

Sticking her tongue out petulantly, Veevi rolls her eyes and snorts. "Oh, I bet it's something to do with her and that Chrome Crusader paladin she's been chasing."

She gazes at Chad with a smug, sharp grin and slides open the bedroll beneath her. "She was going after him so hard. Now, she's not chasing him around anymore."

Chad crosses his arms, draws a long breath in, and hums in thought. "That is weird. Well. Huh. We'll see if they sort it out themselves, I guess? Any ideas what it may be?"

Veevi covers herself with the blankets of the bedroll, pauses her motions under the sheets, and shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know. Must be some serious hang up with her to stop her so quickly. But, I don't fucking know."

Setting the branded breastplate to the side, Chad closes his eyes, frowns, and grumbles. "Well. I don't think I should intrude yet. Especially, if it's of a... personal... nature."

Drifting of into a long thought, Chad searches for an answer inwards. A minute later, a small shirt flops upon his lap. He returns to awareness, studies the garment briefly, and notices a pair of shorts landing on his shoulder. Lifting his gaze up, he watches the devilish, seducing grin of Veevi as she tosses a sports bra his direction. Smirking smugly, he catches it and waits patiently. Veevi lifts a dark pink eyebrow at him and giggles suggestively. "Well... If you are waiting for THAT to come off, you'll be waiting all night."

Chad cocks his head to the side and chuckles. "Why's that?"

Veevi smiles impishly with a bite of her lip. "I wasn't wearing anything after the bra."

She slides out a bare arm from under the covers, grips the bedroll blanket tightly, and flaps up the sheets. Fully revealing her tan, brown-stripped, thin, and shapely form, she guides the covers back down over herself and winks with a sharp, eager grin. Chad blinks blankly as his mind recovers from the brief scenery, and smiles confidently as he approaches.

Outside the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent, other tents around the campsite reflect the faint glow of the campfire. The sounds of the forest settle into the area as lights inside darken and other members of the group ready themselves for slumber. Soon only the soft crackles of the low fire fill the quiet air. A long peace looms over the area for nearly a quarter hour. Interrupting, the familiar noises of carnal gymnastics from the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent pollute the soundscape. Faint grumbles of annoyance, frustration, and disgust punctuate the area as others recognize the current sounds. Deedri's voice rises out of the background and she directs a whisper. "Anyone else want cotton balls for their ears?"

-55-

Daedrican peers out from a row of underbrush and surveys a clear area. He steps forward, investigates the space, and searches the up towards the highway. "It does not seem like there has any been new activity here, my lady."

Tassilda rigidly moves into the thin of grass underneath a large tree and scans the vicinity, putting obvious effort in avoiding eye contact with Daedrican. She grants a simple, quiet nod before crossing her arms. Daedrican gives a final sweep and proceeds to push away brush in his path. "I must say, your magic is and was exceptionally impressive with those three bandits."

Chuckling lightheartedly, he motions Tassilda ahead while holding back the obstructive plant life. "I still think that was one of the easiest captures of multiple bandits I've ever had. I'll admit there's been a few easier single captures. But, your magical prowess still makes the top of my list, my lady."

A wandering cringe flows over Tassilda's face as she passes by Daedrican and continues up a hill between the trees. Daedrican follows and hikes up beside her. He pauses in thought for a moment, turns his helmeted head towards her briefly, and resumes facing forward. "It will be a light day on patrol. There are only a few other locations to inspect for new activity."

He waits for an audible response from Tassilda, but she only grants him another emotionless, existence confirming nod. After a few silent seconds, Daedrican sneaks a quiet sigh under his breath, and steps forward to the lead down a narrow passage. The two travel along a winding path through the older trees and around scattered clumps of underbrush. The sunlight leaks through the thick overhead canopy and lights up the forest floor with leafy outlines. Reaching the top of the hill, Daedrican glances back to the trailing, stoic Tassilda. "The meeting point is nearby. Garret and Yuttin are still a bit of the way out. Both are double-checking the area around another location."

He lifts his lightly armored arm towards a direction and dons a happy tone. "Since, it'll take them some time to arrive at the meeting spot, I was curious if you want to take a long route and explore a nearby stream?"

With a chuckle, he shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly. "If we are lucky, we might run into your feathered friend or maybe one of his friends. I don't know how far they travel, but there still might be a chance."

An obvious stirring out emotions sneaks out through Tassilda's stoic facade and she vainly attempts to firm up her resolve. Her rigid exterior wavers and a contemplative expression spreads across her face. Daedrican gently bows and presents a respectful demeanor. "I thought with the time at hand, it might be a nice diversion to enjoy before we have to trudge back. The choice is yours to make, my lady."

Tassilda crosses her arms tightly, tries to roll out the tension in her shoulders, and curls the corners of her mouth into a frown. Her body language loosens, and her demeanor calms down. Her light blue on black eyes search within, darting through her mind. As a pleasant smile starts to form and the stress fades from her exterior, the transition halts the moment her eyes lock onto something within. Her posture grows rigid. She assumes a cold exterior and quickly reshapes her composure. She narrows her eyes at Daedrican with an icy stare and radiates a superior aura. As Daedrican tilts his head at the sudden shift, she drones with a proper, deadpan tone. "No. I am NOT interested. We should go to the meeting point."

With a slow nod, Daedrican's voice shakes slightly and he straightens his back in mild surprise. "O-Oh. As you wish, my lady."

When Daedrican pivots forward to face another direction, Tassilda's firm, hard cadence weighs down the air. "AND... I would prefer YOU stop calling me my lady..."

Daedrican pauses mid step, nods slowly, and apologetically voices his genuine concern. "My most sincere apologies... I only meant it as an honorific. If you find it disrespectful, I will immediately cease. Thank you for informing me of my error."

A quieter, meeker tone leaves him, and he points out the direction ahead of him as he walks. "This way leads to the meeting point."

Tassilda watches Daedrican march away in front of her. She lags behind and maintains a distance from him. A flit of smugness flashes upon her face, but quickly fades into a cold background. Following behind the junior paladin, she presents an air of superiority and proper stance, and flashes a mean glare to Daedrican when he glances back. While her face presents a invulnerable, frozen, and defensive resolve, Tassilda's eyes fight against her will to telegraph a torrent of doubt, confusion, and worry. Her pace occasionally slows as her thoughts try to overtake her. Daedrican patiently waits quietly for her to close the distance when she strays too far back.

----

Sitting around the dining table, Cideeda, Bach, Dretphi, and Aristespha watch Sotalia flow magical energies around a small foam ball and suspend it above her palm. Sebastian hovers above the table and idly listens. Sotalia with an excited smile guides the sphere through the air with a dramatic wave of her hand. "This was one of my favorite magical toys when I was little."

As the flow wanes, she catches the ball in her hand and presents it to Cideeda and Dretphi. "The foam is treated with a magically resistant alchemical compound. So, when it you flow your energy towards it..."

Waves of colorful energy travel around Sotalia's forearm and swirl up from her palm beneath the foam ball. The lightweight sphere jumps up to a steady height above Sotalia's hand and she manipulates the rotation with slight flexes her fingers. "It rides your energy up into the air."

With a wide grin, she twists her hand and the magic spirals around. The foam orb spins and floats down back into Sotalia's palm. Cideeda and Dretphi immediately shift their attentions to the similar foam balls in front of them and take them in hand. Sotalia excitedly observes as both Cideeda and Dretphi attempts to will their magic flow to the toy spheres. Cideeda rolls her shoulders, deftly balances the ball in her open palm, and focuses her emerald green eyes upon the object. Grimacing with twitches of frustration upon her face, her furry ears level to the sides of her head and she grits her sharp teeth. Seconds later, she grumbles out an irritated growl. "Come on..."

Aristespha's violet eyes light up and she slips a hand underneath Cideeda's forearm. Patiently analyzing, she smiles calmly at Cideeda. "Take it easy. You're actually flexing your arm muscles more so than you are willing your energy."

Cideeda twists her mouth and snorts out her frustration. "Gods... It's hard to not think about moving my arm."

Bach blinks out his glowing blue eyes and nods in agreement. "Yeah. I remember having that problem. Bad habit from watching too many cartoons. You might try closing your eyes and relaxing your arm on the table."

He places his forearm upon the tabletop in front of him and opens his hand up palm up. "Just imagine like... water flowing around your arm and a fountain in your palm."

Mulling the idea over, Cideeda draws a deep breath in, relaxes herself, closes her eyes, and exhales slowly. Everyone else watches as faint threads of green magical flow flicker into existence. The thin trails slowly glide over Cideeda's forearm and collect in a haze beneath the foam ball. As more flow condenses in Cideeda's palm, wisps swirl unevenly upwards around the sphere. The foam ball's balance drifts around until a stronger pulse of flow rolls it out of Cideeda's hand onto the tabletop. Cideeda's ears perk immediately and track the faint noise. She opens her eyes wide in surprise and dons an eager grin as she swiftly the snatches the ball into her clawed fingers. "Wait! I didn't move it! Well, I did. BUT, not physically... Oh... That's SO cool!"

Cideeda quickly resets for another attempt to the proud amusement of Sotalia. Dretphi shifts her attention to the foam orb in her hand. She readies her arm, focuses her steely gray eyes upon the target, and concentrates. Bach glances over, perks his brow, and blinks his eyes to a glowing blue. He tilts his head and begins to instruct. "Uh, you might want to ease it-"

Flows of red stream into Dretphi's palm, collect into a growing bubble under the foam ball, and briefly burst upwards. The orb launches quickly into the air, through Sebastian's ghostly form, and bounces off the ceiling. When the ball falls back through Sebastian's ethereal visage, he shudders visibly and glances uncomfortably downwards at the group. "aAhungh... Gods, that never stops feeling weird."

Dretphi catches the ball securely in her hand, and darts her embarrassed gaze around at the rest of the onlooking group. "My... Apologies."

Bach subdues a humored smirk and relays an understanding tone. "It's fine. Given that flow sword you've been practicing with, you're just used to leading with a lot more force."

He presents a genuine smile with awkward tinges and gestures a pinching thumb and forefinger. "Just start with a tiny amount."

Cideeda cocks her head to the side, watches the thin threads of green flow dissipate from her arm, and searches for a response between the mages. "I've always wondered this... Why does magical energy seem to be different colors? For example, why is my energy green and Dretphi's red?"

Bach gazes at Cideeda, pauses in thought, and shrugs his shoulders. "Because you willed it that way."

Cideeda directs an incredulous stare at Bach and lifts her eyebrow. Bach blinks as he blatantly struggles to thins of a prompt response. Aristespha sighs and nods in agreement. "That's an unfortunately complicated topic. For what you are doing right now, it's what you are willing the color to be."

With curious curl in the corner of her mouth, Cideeda shifts her attention to her hand and concentrates with her eyes closed. Thin threads of green flicker and swirl into her palm and transition to a reddish color. Cideeda peeks through one eye and immediately opens both to watch the energy colors waver back towards green hues. "I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty sure I'm going to spend way too much time trying for different colors."

Aristespha giggles and sighs with a roll her of eyes at herself. "Don't worry, every mage does it."

Sotalia holds out her hand and showcases a shifting spectrum of flow in her palm to the intrigue of Cideeda and Dretphi. "It's true. A long time ago, I fashioned a whole routine of different color effects to put on some of my spells during my more... dramatic era."

Sebastian chuckles with an ethereal snort and eyes Bach with a sly grin. "Oh, the HOURS some spend on the COLOR of a spell. Right, bro?"

Bach shrugs his shoulders and laughs. "Yeah... When you are flowing just general magical energy, it tends to react to light and emit light to your... expectations? I think that's the best way to put it? At least, the best way I know since I never got around to taking those really high level theory courses."

Easing into a long groan of past frustration, Aristespha tilts her head side to side and eventually nods in acceptance. "Expectation is a good way to explain it. Especially, if you want to avoid getting into long drawn out theories that involve psychology, sociology, and a lot of history."

She bites her lip briefly, idly taps her fingers on the tabletop, and sorts through her knowledge. "When you are flowing unshaped magical energy from the collective spectrum you receive from the abstract prism, you can relatively will it to be a specific color."

Searching her mind, she carefully constructs a further explanation with contemplation blatant on her face. "When you cast spells or will specific magical energies, the properties of the specific energies can influence any visual phenomena."

Dretphi pauses from manipulating the hue of her magical flow and glances over to Bach curiously. "Is that why your barriers are golden?"

Bach nods to Dretphi. "Yes. That particular kind of energy tends to just have a gold color with normal light."

A spark of comprehension lights up Cideeda's eyes and she grins eagerly. "So, that's why those magical materials you all were working on were different colors... Okay. So, depending on what energies and properties you are using, it changes how light is affected?"

Sotalia nods in confirmation, holds her palm up with a foam ball in the center, and directs magical energy to float it upwards. "Pretty much. Honestly, it seems more like a side effect than anything. It's not as fantastical and clear as all those old magic color charts would lead you to believe."

Aristespha rolls her eyes in disgust and snorts derisively. "Oh gods... One of these days I'll have to take you all to see the History department's magic categorization chart collection at the Grand Library. Our ancestors tried SO hard to fit everything into a color chart."

Dretphi ponders a moment, and gazes a Bach curiously. "Can you make a red barrier?"

Bach scratches his chin, sways his head gradually side to side, and nods as he evaluates the concept. "Yeah. I should be able to. Might take a bit of trail and error to get to just right so the barrier isn't compromised. That's why I don't bother trying for anything special color wise when I'm in a hurry."

Smiling warmly at Bach, Dretphi nods contentedly and resumes her attention upon her foam ball. "I may have a project. In the future."

----

Within a large layout between rows of parked Chrome Crusader utility vehicles and cargo trucks, personnel flow through food lines and sit down at tables underneath lighted camp canopies. At the larger, more prominent table in the center of the encampment, the heavily armored Senior Paladin Maxon laughs heartily out and grasps hold of a heavy duty cup on the table. "Now, that's another story for another time. And well, one to tell when the cameras aren't on."

He eyes the Next Adventurers of Nexus camera crews surrounding with a clipboard wielding Samantha overseeing, and smiles slyly. Chad dons his trademark white smile and nods in agreement. "I'll gladly take you up on that offer anytime. I am always wanting to hear more about my grandfather's exploits."

Maxon grins amused and perks his graying brow at Chad. "I know quite a few. But more importantly, I hope to add more of your great adventures to the list."

With a heavy but gentle nudge of his power suit gauntlet covered hand, Maxon playfully pushes on Chad's shoulder. "I'm still quite impressed with how you challenged that bandit leader, Red Hat. Nice display of swordsmanship.  You never needed that shield belt we lent you."

A smug, bright grin spreads upon Chad's face and he puffs out his chest out in pride. "Oh, someone of his skill would have never been able to touch me with a blade."

With a light chuckle, he tilts his head to the side towards Veevi sitting next to him. "Admittedly, I may have needed to block his lackey's bullets, but Veevi here took care of that."

Veevi's pointy, upright ears perk and she shifts her attention to Chad into an appreciative smile. She leans against his arm and grins with a flutter her pink pupil eyes in view of the cameras. "Well, I just saw that gun pointed at you and I had to do something."

Trakenthin twists his mouth in between bites of food and mutes a grumble as he witnesses the attention absorbing display from Veevi. Maxon searches around the table at the higher ranking Chrome Crusader officers and notices a number of empty seats. He glances over to Chad and puzzles. "Chad? Where is the rest of your group?"

Chad blinks back to awareness from the half-fvalian upon his arm and quirks his brow in thought. "Oh. Deedri was assisting with the medical team. Modoran had something to discuss with your scout captain. And, Tassilda went to change her clothes before diner."

Maxon nods in acceptance of the answer and slides a spoon into a bowl of stew. "You have a good team, Chad. The Flames of the Phoenix have proven themselves quite capable. I am happy to report that all my captains and officers report only good things about them during this mission."

Veevi leans herself out on the tabletop and turns to face towards Maxon with a cute smile and fluttering eyes. "Even me?"

Maxon meets Veevi's gaze, pauses in thought a moment, and chuckles heartily with a wide smile. "Especially you! We haven't seen such... Entertaining marksmanship in a LONG time. That story is going to be told for years to come."

Veevi grins happily, poses for the cameras, and resumes eating the food in front of her. Chad glances to Maxon, and rolls his eyes with a smirk. Maxon nonchalantly shrugs and smiles in good humor.

A distant, loud wooden crash echoes out into the area. Observant personnel, Maxon, Chad, and Trakenthin search around the area. Veevi's ears flick towards a spot in the woods and she guides her head to face the source. Another distant cacophony bounces around the surrounding forest. Everyone including the camera crew seek the origin of the latest noise. Multiple flares launch out from different, far away locations surrounding the camp, and burst brightly against the night sky. Radioes chime out and alarms upon vehicles blare out. Maxon stands up quickly from the table and snaps his concern to a nearby officer. "Status?"

The officer nods as he listens to the fast paced radio traffic from his ear piece and reports. "Inner patrols spotted multiple quadrupedal, armored magical entities closing in fast on the camp from different approach vectors. A heavy patrol is moving to-"

A distant bright flash of light erupts out from the obscuring forest and a thunderous boom radiates through the trees. A chorus of fast, sequential gunfire echoes out in a long repetitious roar. Loud metallic crashes meet into hard thuds against heavy wooden snaps. Chrome Crusader personnel quickly confirm the situation, rush clear of the tables, and to awaiting vehicles and stations. Chad, Veevi, and Trakenthin leap up from their seats, while the camera crews nervously congregate and seek an escape. The officer blinks to Maxon and processes the stream of voices over the radio. "Heavy patrol is engaging. There are other targets closing fast!"

A nearby armored personnel carrier violently rocks to the side and teeters close to the edge of its tipping point. Loud, angry crackling swears blare out from the other side of the vehicle and harsh metal impacts against stone in slow, solid rhythm. Scrapes resonate through the structure of the carrier as it sways from a powerful force. Heavy footsteps sound out as opposing entities struggle towards the front of the vehicle. Sparks erupt as a golem shoves a heavily armored soldier through a narrow gap between the front and back ends of vehicles. The loud groans of straining hydraulics and servos fill the air around the fight as the Chrome Crusader Heavy Squad captain grapples with the magical construct. Trakenthin eyes open wide and he grits his teeth. "Captain!"

Trakenthin sweeps up his nearby helmet onto his head, snatches up his sword and shield into his hands, and charges forward. Maxon narrows his stare upon the golem, and lunges forth into the fray. Chad watches in momentarily shock, blinks back to awareness, and secures his equipment nearby before heading out. Veevi stares in wide-eyed horror at the monstrosity muscling around the huge, heavy powered suited man, and freezes up. The camera crews split up into teams to share anything roughly resembling cover and train their recording equipment at the fray. In the scrambling moments, Veevi shudders back to the situation, frantically pats around for her laser pistol, and quivers in place with a shaky grip upon the weapon.

Trakenthin rushes up to a safe perimeter around the captain's struggle and observes the magical creation. A mishmash of worn, ancient stone and metal parts assembled in rough function, the over a meter tall and two meter long golem fights against its own construction to brute force the heavy powered armored man. Flows of green, red, and other energies pulse brightly around the structure and surface of the construct. Maxon yells out as his powerful, armored form bounds towards the magical machination. "It's a golem! Look for an opening inside! There's a power source somewhere in there!"

He runs past Trakenthin, slides around the back of the creation, and dives into a grapple of the back half. The partially intact head of the magical monstrosity roars out in a warping, twisting audible distortion. Chad reaches Trakenthin's side, and the two exchange glances. Both raise their shields and ready their swords. Maxon calls out to the captain. "Lift and drop! On three! One! Two! THREE!"

The two powered armored men throw their upper bodies up and hoist the golem into the air, freeing its feet of the ground. A chorus of servos and hydraulic pumps sound out and the duo powerfully, violently drop to their knees, and slam the magical construct into the soil with an earth shaking thud. Flecks of stone and old metal fracture off the golem and pepper the shields of Chad and Trakenthin. Both search the construct. A glint of glow through loose armor plating catches Trakenthin's eye and he points it out. Chad nods in the agreement and readies his blade. "Let's see what's in there!"

The golem sluggishly flails about, but regains vigor by the second. Trakenthin lunges forward, sends his blade firmly between the outer plates, and pries loose one with all his strength. Inside the chaotic nest of glowing cables, a crude chunk of crystal pulses out energy flows outwards through rough connector. Chad focuses his stare upon the junction, runs forth, and stabs precisely. A plume of smoke swirling with magical miasma vents out and the golem shakily spasms. Chad grabs hold of Trakenthin's shoulder, signals him away with a pull. "I hit it! Get clear!"

Maxon and the captain release their grapples, leap up to their feet, and rush away. From safety the team of four watch a final blowout of magical energy. A brief moment of silence looms before the noises of distant and nearby combat rise out of the background din. Maxon snaps a stern stare to the captain. "Where the fuck did you find that thing?!"

The heavy armor captain responds through his helmet's voice box. "Found me, sir! I was on my way to gather the rest of the squad to backup the patrol and that fucking thing jumped me."

Maxon growls in frustration at the situation and nods. "Okay. Summon your squad and get your patrol back to camp for defense."

His attention shifts briefly away and a holographic overlay appears in front of his face. He draws in a deep breath and commands as built-in radio unit keys up. "This is Senior Paladin Maxon! We are under attack. All personnel to defensive positions. Arm up and form up!"

He glances down to Chad with a grim nod. "They should be establishing a defensive perimeter near the center of the camp."

Chad pants out his nerves, slowly regains his composure, and opens his eyes wide with a realization. "Oh, shit! We need to find Deedri, Modoran, and Tassilda!"

Trakenthin nods his concern and readies himself at Chad's side. Chad takes a deep breath, exhales out his nerves, and scans the area. He notices Veevi still shaking in place and points to her with a commanding tone. "Veevi!"

Veevi startles back to awareness stares blankly at Chad. "Y-y-yes?!"

Donning a brave, heroic gaze, Chad directs Veevi's attention to the camera crews. "Escort the camera crews to safety."

Blinking out of her daze, Veevi quickly accepts the task and calls out for everyone to follow her. Chad glances over to Maxon. Smirking understandingly, Maxon nods and departs quickly. Chad motions a direction to Trakenthin and the two take off. Samantha watches Chad and Trakenthin run off, and glances to Gerald. "Okay! So we need to-"

Gerald firmly grips Samantha's arm and ushers her along with the rest of the crew toward the interior of the camp. "NOPE."

----

Deedri's auburn eyes search the vicinity quickly and she keeps her aetherphone pressed against her furry ear. "Chad? What's happening? It sounds like explosions, gunfire, and large things breaking from all the way over here... ..."

While balancing her attention between her surroundings and the conversation, she cautiously steps over near a large tree and watches the underbrush at the perimeter of the small clearing. "What?! I didn't hear that last part, the signal is breaking up. ... Golems?! ... No, I'm fine. I was on my way back from our campsite to join you all for dinner. I went there after assisting the medics."

Her demeanor grows stern, and a serious expression overtakes her face. She glances around the area as her instincts guide her paranoia and she pushes up against the tree. "Yes. I saw her there. ... I have not seen Modoran. ... I agree. I'll see if I find Tassilda along the way and we'll meet up with you there."

She sighs out her frustration and nods. "I'll see if I can radio call them from where I'm at."

With a quick confirmation, she ends the connection on her aetherphone, closes her eyes, and exhales out her nerves. Slowly drawing a deep breath, she halts midway. Her furry, tuft-tipped ears flick frantically and quickly settle towards one direction. She pivots pressed against the trunk of the tree and carefully leans out to peek around. Quietly, she observes through the contrasting darkness of the forest, past the clearing perimeter, and spots a pair of yellow, triangular glows swaying rhythmically. The angular eyes grow larger in size and the motion syncs to low, thumps upon the forest floor.

Deedri grits her teeth and widens in eyes in terror as the faint light from the overhead night sky cast down upon an emerging, mechanically skeletal head. Jagged metal and rough stone cling to an anciently damaged skull frame. The quadrupedal magical construct stomps through the thick underbrush without a single sign of hindrance, and continues across the clearing. Deedri watches in momentary terror as her mind traces out the meter tall, two meter long, sharp tooth and clawed golem, and realizes its chosen path passes next to her. She slips behind the tree, frantically scans the area around her, and then snaps her head upwards. Determination floods her face and she sinks her finger claws deep into the bark of the tree. With quick and careful motions, she pulls herself swiftly and quietly up. High above, she stares fearfully down around the trunk and witnesses the incomplete outer shell of the magical monstrosity shift with the locomotion of the exposed interior framework. Streams of magical flow pulse from within and animate the golem forward, closer.

Deedri clamps her the claws on her fingers and toes tightly into the tree. Hugging the tree, she presses her form flush against the trunk, and ceases most movement. She only allows the slightest shift of her chest for each slow, silently, shaky breath. The golem continues along its course and arrives next to the base of the tree. It stops. The head swings side to side in a methodical scan of the area ahead. Deedri pales as the magical machination narrows its search to her trail in the grasses. The construct strafes itself around the tree and its head slowly follows the fresh, small disturbances in the scenery towards the roots. Deedri stares in wide-eyed horror. In a brief pause from panic, she releases a hand grip of the trunk and reaches out and around. Securing a new hold, she eases herself into an opposite, obscuring position from the golem below. Seconds later, the golem lifts its head up and aims its triangular, yellow eyes into the tree above. Deedri holds her breath and gazes up pleadingly upwards.

Through a gap in the canopy, she catches the fast motion of a tumbling object, arcing low over into the distant forest. After the mass drops out of sight, crashing noises, wooden snaps, and a solid thud upon the ground echo out. The golem snaps it's partially armored metal skull and focuses on the new sounds. Pulsing a brighter yellow glow in its eyes, the magical construct darts off in the direction of the noises and flattens a large bush effortlessly as it leaves the area. Deedri keeps her mouth firmly shut and remains absolutely motionless for tense, long, agonizing seconds.

A faint hiss triggers the perk of her ears. The noise occurs again, slightly louder. A hushed voice directs a whisper from below. "Deedri!"

Deedri gradually angles her head downwards and her eyes lock onto the creeping form of Modoran at the base of the tree. An explosion of relief passes through Deedri and she quickly pulls air into her lungs. Modoran searches the area, gazes back up to Deedri, and signals her down. With expeditious maneuvers, she climbs down to the bottom of the tree and braces herself against the trunk. "Oh... Thank the gods... That was too close."

Modoran looks over Deedri with concern and readies to assist. "Are you okay?"

Deedri gazes into Modoran's dark blue eyes and smiles with a sigh. "Yes. I'm fine. We need to get back to the camp. Chad and Trakenthin are heading there. And, I last saw Tassilda there."

Modoran blinks in thought and briefly shakes his head back to awareness. "Uh, yeah! I've been trying to contact anyone, but I think that damned thing has a radio jammer or something. I had to stay back from tracking it, so I could get a working signal to alert the Chrome Crusaders about it."

With worry and relief mixing upon his face, he grins to Deedri. "When I finally caught back up to the thing, I saw you getting around the trunk."

Deedri searches recent memory and tilts her head. "You caused that noise in the woods?"

A sly smile graces Modoran's lips and he nods with tinges of pride. "Yeah. Never underestimate a well thrown rock."

He peers uneasily around the tree and points out a direction to Deedri. "Speaking of which... I don't think these things are that intelligent, but I think it'll figure out it was rock soon enough. We need to move."

Deedri rolls her shoulders, shakes off the tension, and get ready to move behind Modoran. "Lead the way."

Tassilda grits her teeth and narrows her light blue on black eyes at her aetherphone. The erratically fluctuating signal bars frustrate her, and she spews forth a series of curses in a dialect of Emin. With each call attempt, another dialog appears on the screen and chimes out to inform of another failed radio call. Growling out her irritation, she tightens her grip on the device before throwing her hands down to sides of her outfit with snort. Slowly pivoting in place, she searches the edges of the campsite and stares out into the obscuring darkness deeper in the forest. Rolling her shoulders, she summons her composure and eases out a calming breath. Her attention gravitates towards the black sports utility vehicle at the perimeter of camp and Tassilda cocks her head in thought. Glancing around at the contrasting border of the low light the campfire gives against the dark, she gradually nods to herself and walks quickly to the vehicle. Maintaining a stern facade, her nervous stare searches around with a growing paranoia. As she reaches the sports utility vehicle, she stows away her phone, grips hold of the rear passenger's door handle, and lifts up. It moves but the door does not open. Tassilda leans her face close to the window, and searches inside. She attempts the open the door a few more times and grits her teeth with another angered Emin phrase.

Tassilda halts her frustrations as a shiver freezes her spine and her eyes widen at the growing, glowing reflections in the windows. She spins around to the watch a massive, red-eyed form charge through the campfire and aim long, sharp horns at her. With a rhythmic, thunderous cacophony of heavy feet upon ground, the red miasma billowing bull form rockets towards Tassilda. Absolute shock and surprise plain on her face, Tassilda claws along the side of the vehicle to the towards the back, while the haphazardly assembled golem bull adjusts its trajectory. A loud crash upon a chorus of armored footsteps and servo assisted movement interrupts Tassilda wide-eyed horror.

A large polymer shield slams powerfully into the side of the bull's head with the full weight of the light power armored Daedrican. Fragments of ancient metal and stone rain upon the dirt, as the construct stumbles off course and embeds one horn solidly into the heavy rear bumper of the black sports utility vehicle. The over a meter tall form violently twists and turns its roughly constructed head, and shakes the truck frame. Daedrican hops back, raises his fully extended, constantly arcing stun baton, and squats down. With a power armor assisted jump, he drops forward, drives the baton into a plating gap on the back of the magical beast, and implants the baton inside. Releasing his grip, he leaps back, draws a heavy energy pistol from his holster, and keeps the shield and himself between the rampaging golem and Tassilda. He glances his helmeted head to Tassilda with a composed, calm tone. "Are you okay?"

Tassilda blinks to awareness of the her surroundings and quickly nods as she backs away from the stuck magical machination. "Y-Y-yes!"

In between the momentary spasms, the bull thrashes about, shifting the heavy vehicle's tires along the ground. Daedrican backpedals deftly, keeps his pistol targeting the golem, and fights the worry in his voice. "We need to move. There's a number of these things around. We need to regroup with your team and get to the defensive line."

Tassilda remembers to breathe, swiftly draws in air, and musters her composure. "Agreed. I'm ready."

As Tassilda and Daedrican rush meters away from the black sports utility vehicle, a loud metal groan abruptly halts to loud stone crackles. Despite the constant shudder in sync to the shocking stun baton, the golem tears the last magically imbued fibers free from the embedded horned section of its mechanical skull. It trains billowing red eyes upon Daedrican and Tassilda. It digs its feet into the ground and launches in a full speed charge. Daedrican braces himself, watches the golem's approach, and calls out. "Keep behind me and turn with me when I say so!"

Tassilda readies her stance and quickly alternates her attention between the charging construct and Daedrican's body language. As the bull gets close, Daedrican's body tenses and he yells out. "GO LEFT!"

As Tassilda hops to the left, Daedrican side steps, pivots, and shield bashes the golem towards the right. The bull tumbles off course and slides into a thick patch of brambles. Daedrican aims his heavy energy pistol and bolts of blue-white plasma repetitiously launch out. The projectiles impact and explode in powerful eruptions of bright energy. The illumination reflects off the fresh cracks in Daedrican's transparent, polymer shield. His head glances down, notices the damage, and sighs. "Our options are running out. I may be able to shield you a few more times. But... If there's anything your magical prowess can do for us... We need it now."

Tassilda stares blankly as her mind races through options. Second pass on by, and the golem struggles to right itself. Blinking in thought, she feels her shirt, finds the strap of a satchel, and quickly slips her long, black nailed fingers inside the bag. She grips onto something inside and removes three vials filled with a faintly milky substance. With an uncertain grin, she presents the containers. "These are dispelling charges. They're not going to bring it down, but it might hinder it enough."

Daedrican glances back, and cocks his helmeted head puzzling. "How do we use them?"

Tassilda holds one forward toward Daedrican's pistol wielding hand. "Throw them hard enough to break upon it."

With a quick motion, Daedrican holsters his heavy energy pistol, grasps the vial, and nods. "Understood-"

The golem flings itself back up, aims its head and single horn towards Daedrican and Tassilda, and powers ahead. The moment the magical beast arrives close, Daedrican yells out. "GO RIGHT!"

Tassilda leaps clear, Daedrican steps out of the way, grinds his shield to set the golem off course, and pulls his arm back. He flings the vial with all his strength at the construct and the container shatters upon the side of the magical machine. A wave of transparent energy pulses out and the red flows of energy along the armored surface of the golem waver and dim. Swiftly, Daedrican draws his pistol, aims, and fires three round bursts of plasma. The bolts contact the dark plates and explode out energized clouds of super heated gas and fragments of ancient armor. A few projectiles slip into the beast, and sounds of malfunction and internal damage ring out. The bull golem barely maintains balance and sloppily stumbles when it pivots the breached section away. Daedrican holsters his pistol quickly and holds his open hand behind expectantly. "That did NOT agree with it."

Tassilda places another vial into Daedrican's hand and collects her confidence into a developing smile. "If these don't hurt it enough, I can charge up a dispelling blast that might do it."

Daedrican nods facing the construct. "Excellent. Let's see if I can hit from here."

He aims his visor briefly at the numerous new cracks in his shield. "Close range is not working out for us."

The red flows pulse with new vigor and a wave of energy reestablishes the previous routes along the surface of the stone and metal beast. It takes aim and launches into a full sprint. Daedrican tightens his grip of the vial, pulls his arm back, and pitches the container. The vial spirals perfectly and splashes milky fluid and grass upon the front leg on the construct. A transparent wave of energy erupts out and the leg fails when the flows of red halt. The golem crashes down upon the dirt and slides to stop. Daedrican reaches back and feels the last vial pressing into the palm of his gauntlet. He searches for a target and tosses the container upon the side of the beast. Another wave of transparent energy disrupts the red flow, and a barrage of plasma bolts from a heavy energy pistol blow out the ancient armor plating. Daedrican continues to fire upon the downed magical creation until a warning alarm screams out from his pistol. He inspect his weapon, holsters it, and braces himself as the golem stirs. "Get your magic ready."

Tassilda nods and concentrates on a series of incantations and gestures. After an initial sequence, she bites her lip and sighs out her nerves as the sounds of struggle grow louder from the magical construct. "I will charge it up as must as I can. I will need a clear shot."

Daedrican nods and motions for Tassilda to move back. "Let us back away as much as we can."

The two backpedal away cautiously. Daedrican maintains his watch of the recovering golem and Tassilda condenses her magical flows to a growing ball of fluctuating energy. A loud thump forces a plume of red miasma out from the core of the bull golem. Metal and stone scrape powerfully in the obscuring mist and two bright orbs of red light cut through the haze. The magical mechanical beast erupts from the smokey mass and rockets down towards Daedrican and Tassilda. Erratic red flows jet out from every seam and stream in raging gouts. Daedrican telegraphs his utter shock at the flaming monstrosity. Tassilda peeks around Daedrican, blinks at the situation before her, and glances at the significant sphere of energy.

Summoning all her courage, resolve, and will, she sidesteps out from behind Daedrican, hoists the large orb of transparent, disruptive magical energy, and aims. With the golem tens of meters out, she releases the sphere and it jets towards the construct. The golem angles it charge at Tassilda and subsequently impacts the massive ball of energy. A wave of transparent energy erupts and engulfs the golem. The red flows flicker, dim, and halt. The mass of ancient stone and metal drifts lifelessly forward from momentum alone.

A shrill, high pitched whine screams out and an explosion rips apart the back half of the construct. The fiery upper half zooms towards Tassilda. Stumbling from the spell, Tassilda only manages to lift her arms. Daedrican swiftly plants his feet in the way, raises his shield, sweeps his free arm behind to guide Tassilda into his shadow. A wall of fiery debris violently crashes and blasts around to the destructive chorus of scraping metal, grinding stone, and shattering plastic.

Silence fills the area. Within the ambient darkness and faint illumination of the starry night sky, Daedrican and Tassilda remain standing. Tassilda slowly opens her eyes and searches to either debris ridden side of her in utter astonishment. She gradually pivots, and inspects the area. Daedrican stands, drops the shattered remains of his shield, and slowly removes a cylindrical device from a waist belt. He points the tube upwards and clicks a button. A flare launches out into the night sky, bursts red, and slowly drifts down flashing red and white.

Tassilda watches the flare as a faint breeze blows. In the brighter illumination, she notices a splash of red to match the cool, wet feeling upon her shirt. In panic, she pats and searches herself. A realization dawns in her horrified eyes. Following Daedrican's limp right arm, she traces up to see the tip of a red coated, metal horn poking out of Daedrican's upper right back. Daedrican drops unceremoniously to his knees, coughs, and sways, as his remaining horn on his helmet falls off. "I will not... be able to assist you any further..."

As Daedrican tilts back, Tassilda slides down behind him and props him up. She eases his transition and lays his upper body across her folded legs, keeping the golem horn point from touching the ground. Guiding his helmeted head onto her lap, she gazes through the visor in absolute, silent shock. In the eerie quiet, her eyes trace the length of bull golem's horn into the pierced right chest and shoulder armor, and pales at the slow ooze of bubbling blood. Modulated labored breathing sound out from Daedrican's helmet. When Daedrican fumbles to release the locks on his helm with his left hand, Tassilda feels around and disengages the mechanisms with his guidance. Carefully sliding off the helmet, Daedrican's calm, tired face gazes up and meets Tassilda's conflicted expression. Tassilda stares into Daedrican's golden pupil and white sclera eyes. She holds his face with her trembling hands. Struggling to form the words, she finally breaks the silence. "S-s-stay with me..."

Daedrican smiles calmly and gazes up into Tassilda's light blue on black eyes. "As you wish..."

He holds his tone and watches as tears well up in Tassilda's expectant eyes. "My lady."

Tassilda firmly closes her eyes, and sobs as she cradles his head. Daedrican maintains a calm expression and concentrates on each labored breath. His helmet chimes out medical beacon and radio transponder alerts. An aetherphone chimes out and Tassilda fumbles through her pants pocket to answer it in between fits of tears.

-56-

Isaac adjusts the blue scarf around his neck and relaxes his white haired head onto the car's driver's headrest. Maintaining the wheel near the center, he watches the long road ahead and taps buttons through a number of radio channels. After minutes of surfing the few stations coming through to the remote vicinity, his gray eyes squint to a number of stopped vehicles ahead in the distance. As he drives his sedan closer, the Chrome Crusader logos grow large enough to see upon the many cargo and military vehicles. A uniformed man holds up a stop sign and signals Isaac's car to a halt. Isaac slowly brakes the sedan and cocks his head curiously at the parked convoy. After passing a minute pondering the situation, he rolls down his window, leans out, and waves for the man's attention. The uniformed Chrome Crusader walks up to Isaac's window. "Hello, sir. Apologies for the delay. Once another truck passes through, we'll hold it clear for you."

Isaac nods understandingly and directs his query to the activity ahead. "That's perfectly fine. Thankfully, I'm not in that much of a hurry today. But, I must admit I am quite curious as to what is going on... If I might inquire?"

The man thinks moment and acknowledges the request as he sorts through the information in his head. He stands up straight and points out to both forested sides of the highway to Isaac. "Last night the convoy was attacked from the forest. The threat has been dealt with by our forces, so you are not in any immediate danger."

He bows forward towards Isaac's window and shows a bit of concern in his tone. "Though I would highly recommend not stopping in these woods until we've fully completed our investigation of the area."

Isaac's eyes widen and he frowns slightly at the information. "Oh my! I do hope your group fared well against such an attack."

The uniformed man nods appreciatively with a bit of sadness slipping through his professional facade. "There were some injuries, but thankfully no one was killed. Our medical staff and nearby clinics made sure of that."

Pondering the new information, Isaac focuses an inquisitive gaze upon the rear guard. "Oh, good. That's excellent news to hear. I do hope everyone recovers full as soon as possible. Admittedly, that must have been a significant threat to have done anything to your sizeable, well-armed group. Is there anything I should be on the lookout for?"

The man searches his mind for a moment and sighs with tinges of uncertainty. "I am not authorized to release much information. But, the attack involved magical beings. So, if you notice strange magical phenomena... First, evacuate to safety as quickly as possible. Then, please contact local authorities with as much detailed information as you can provide. Apart from that I can' t say much more at the moment. Hopefully, an official release will be made public with more details soon enough."

Isaac nods in agreement and presents a smile to the man. "Very interesting. If I am unfortunate enough to see anything strange, I'll be certain to report as soon as I get to the safety. But, let's hope fortune is on both our sides today."

The rear guardman acknowledges and turns his attention to the large truck rolling through the last stretch of the roadway near the convoy. As the huge cargo truck rolls through, a wiry man with short white hair nods to the uniformed Chrome Crusader, while a head bandanna wearing fvalian woman waves energetically. When the cargo truck clears, the rear guard confirms the clearance on his radio and directs Isaac's attention. "The way is cleared for you, sir. Try to keep it on the slow side, there's still a number of personnel about. You have a nice, safe rest of the day."

Isaac nods, rolls up his window, and accelerates his sedan into the clear lane. The vehicle rolls through the corridor on the highway at a modest speed. Isaac takes moments to glance to at the various Chrome Crusader vehicles around the area during his passage. His attention shifts to black sports utility vehicle in the middle of a group of "Next Adventurers of Nexus" vans. Next to the black vehicle, a brown haired man in a "Flames of the Phoenix" breastplate stares in a mix of frustration and resignation at the massive hole in the rear bumper of the sports utility vehicle. Isaac accelerates his sdean upon noticing the number of camera crews in the area and moves through the rest of the route quickly.

Near the exit point, he spots a large flatbed truck and strange debris upon it. He unconsciously slows his car down and watches as another heavy utility truck's crane hoists up the mostly intact remains of golem over the flatbed. A few power armored Chrome Crusaders stand at the ready to assist and maintain a protective perimeter. Isaac gawks in disbelief as recognition over takes him and his eyes search between the familiar construct components. Situational awareness calls him back present surroundings and Isaac remembers to drive his sedan. Clearing the exit checkpoint, Isaac stares out his windshield distantly and searches his mind. A mix of thoughts telegraph their struggle upon his face. Soon determination overtakes his expression and Isaac reaches a hand out to rummage through his backpack. Balancing his attention between driving and searching, he finds a collection of maps, flops the mass of papers upon the passenger's seat, and focuses his gaze at the road ahead. He spots a few road signs indicating an upcoming intersection. A frown grows upon his face as he idly taps upon a highlighted spot in the middle of a dense forest north of an access road.

----

Traces of late evening moonlight lights up the front living room through the windows of the two-story house. Dim outlines of unloaded adventuring equipment contrast against the shadowy shapes of furniture in the room. A faint, constant drone of water drifts down the stairwell from upstairs. The water fall rhythm occasionally fluctuates behind the upstairs bathroom door with the sounds of movement. Behind a frosted sliding glass shower door, Tassilda stands under the constant spray from the shower head. With her hands propping herself against the tiled wall, she releases a long, despondent sigh, and stares distantly ahead. Her light blue on black eyes blink once and shift downwards. The shower rains upon her head and shoulders. The flow of water streams through her long, straight, raven black hair, drips down off her swirling horns, and runs off her gray, patterned skin into the drain.

Over the minutes, Tassilda darts her eyes through a maelstrom of thoughts and blinks hard into pained winces. Eventually, she grits her teeth, curls her long, black nailed fingers up into her balling fists, and lifts her face into the shower stream. Water immediately obscures tears and washes away the drying paths upon her cheeks. Tassilda draws in a long, shaky breath, reaches down with both hands, and quickly shuts the water off. The drone of water fades to a chorus of wet patters upon the shower floor. Tassilda blinks out of her stupor, glances up to the late evening sky through a small skylight, and slides the shower glass door open. She plods slowly and sways spiritless towards the bathroom vanity. Her hands feel around aimlessly and eventually secure a grip to either side of the sink counter. She gradually angles her face up and levels her head at the mirror. Moment pass in silence, and soon she refocuses her sight ahead from some distant point in her mind. Tassilda makes eyes full eye, unbreaking contact with the person in the mirror.

Painful confusion infiltrates her expression and she stares harshly into the eyes of the other. Her lips twist and she frowns as she reluctantly acknowledges the reality before her. With each passing minute, she tightens her grip upon the counter, grimaces, and painfully recognizes herself. A swell of shame washes up regrets to the front of her mind. Closing her eyes hard, she averts her stare away from the mirror, drops her head down, and squeezes heavy drops of tears into the sink between raven black hair. Despite her best efforts, the sounds her sobbing trickles faintly through the bathroom door into the dark upstairs hallway.

----

The humvee rolls to a stop outside the main entrance of the Amaranth Valley clinic within the lines of a side parking spot. Cideeda glances over her shoulder from the driver's seat and perks her furry ears at Aristespha. "You sure you don't want us to wait? It might take us a while to get back here."

Bach smirks and rolls his eyes in amusement from his rear passenger's side seat. "I mean, we are going to the game shop after we get supplies. And very likely get purposely distracted in there."

Cideeda smiles in guilty acceptance and shrugs her shoulders. "There's new releases... We'll probably take forever to gawk at everything new they have."

From the back bench seat, Dretphi sighs in agreement and bites her lip. "Series with new installments... I need to buy."

Aristespha nods with a calm smile and opens her rear driver's side door. "It'll be fine. This chore might take some time anyway. Along with the regular supplies the clinic can sell, there's a few materials that require authorization which can take a long while."

She glances over to Sotalia and smirks. "Also, I'll be showing someone else on the process."

Sotalia smiles proudly, pulls the handle, and opens her front passenger side door. She glances over to Cideeda and directs a whisper. "Remember to get me ALL latest issues of Tinkering Tina."

A toothy, mischievous grin appears on Cideeda and she playfully winks back to Sotalia with hints of sarcasm. "Oh, but of course."

Pausing a moment, Sotalia narrows her gaze at Cideeda's face before twisting her mouth to a pout. "You better..."

Cideeda acts out an aura of innocence and waits for Sotalia to leave the vehicle. Aristespha steps out of the humvee onto the sidewalk leading to the entrance, pats her side, and momentarily startles. She snaps a glance back into the cab of the vehicle and calms down with her embarrassment as she sees the sword at Bach's side. While Aristespha shakes her head at herself with a sigh, Bach nods to Aristespha. "Don't worry I got it for the moment."

Aristespha smiles appreciatively to Bach and rolls her eyes at herself. "Do not mind me. I'm just so used to checking for it."

Sebastian's ethereal voice resonates from the sheathed blade next to Bach. "Don't worry. I'll make sure he doesn't lose me."

Sotalia closes her door, skips quickly around the front of the humvee, and waits next to Aristespha. With slight hints of unease, Aristespha nods thankfully and pushes the vehicle door closed. The humvee shifts into gear, and Cideeda accelerates with a wave out the window. The vehicle rolls off through the mazes of lanes and parking spaces towards the main road. Sotalia visually follows the team until she winces from a flash of late morning sunlight. Stretching her shoulders with a roll, Sotalia follows behind Aristespha's lead and adjusts the shoulder strap to a carrier at her side. "So, anything in particular we're shopping for?"

Aristespha pulls out a tablet from her backpack and flips through a few menus thoughtfully. "Mostly general medical supplies. But there's a few controlled substances that I need to get to refresh my stock."

Sotalia nods and wanders her gaze along the main clinic architecture. "For all the potions and compounds I'm not allowed to make?"

Aristespha sighs as she brushes stray locks of her silvery blue over her long, pointed ear. "Indeed. I really wish you could assist me, but they are have gotten ridiculously strict these days about who can handle what."

With a nonchalant wave of her hand, Sotalia smiles contentedly and laughs. "Oh, don't worry, girl. Anything with that much paperwork surrounding it, I'm perfectly happy letting you handle. You went to school to get that privilege."

Aristespha snorts sarcastically and rolls her eyes. "Yes, quite the privilege. Nothing like your license being on the line whenever you purchase certain compounds and there's that surprise audit always lurking around the corner."

As the automatic doors of the clinic entrance open, Sotalia shakes her head slowly and gazes at Aristespha respectfully. "You handle all that FAR better than I could ever attempt to. If they tried put that regulation crap on my higher power spells, I'd lose any license in the first month out of spite alone."

An amused smile graces Aristespha face and she chuckles. "No offense, but I doubt you'd last a week."

Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and sighs. "Well, can't take offense to what I know would be the truth."

Aristespha leads Sotalia through the public hallways of clinic and the duo reach a large counter space in front of a huge storage area. A uniformed woman greets Aristespha and Sotalia. "Hello, I'm Dr. Ricketts. How can I help you, today?"

Showing the display of her tablet to Dr. Ricketts, Aristespha directs the woman's attention to a number of items on a neatly arranged, bulleted list. "I am refreshing and restocking medical supplies for my adventuring group. I was curious if you had anything on the list available for sale at the moment."

Dr. Ricketts carefully examines the list and sways her head side to side as she mulls over the options. "I could have probably helped out more Monday, but we had to pull back quite a bit due to recent events."

She narrows her eyes upon a few things and nods her head confidently. "But, I can definitely help you on a few things. I should be able to discount the overstock a little bit. And, I should have plenty of the controlled substances in stock."

Aristespha retrieves her medical profressional identification cards and presents them to Dr. Ricketts. With a quick nod, Dr. Ricketts scans the information at a nearby computer station and begins typing. "This will take some time depending on how long the release authorization process is today. So, have a seat and make yourself comfortable."

Sotalia glances around the area, sees a few chairs, and pauses in thought. She feels her stomach, frowns with a twist of her mouth, and gazes at Aristespha. "Hey, do you know if there's a snack machine or something around here? I'm going to need something to keep me until lunch. That plain coffee didn't do it for me this morning."

Aristespha thinks a moment, checks her surroundings, and points down the hallway. "If I remember right, it's most of the way down the hallway on the second left from here."

Dr. Ricketts overhears the conversation and nods in agreement. "Correct. You have to try out that new fancy coffee machine. It makes damned near anything. And, it is all good."

Sotalia perks up, rests the carrier off her shoulder into a seat, and departs with a hint of excited anticipation in her step. She disappears down the second left branch.

Aristespha paces with long stretching steps and hides the occasional yawn over the next few minutes. Deedri rounds the corner of a corridor down the opposite end the main hallway and slowly walks down the path, gradually collecting her thoughts. Aristespha pivots around, looks down the hall, and notices Deedri. "Deedri?! Why are you- Is everyone okay?"

Deedri blinks to attention and her moods lightens quickly upon seeing Aristespha. She picks up her pace and steps closer with relief. "Yes. Everyone is relatively okay in my group. I'm here to check up on a few patients I assisted in stabilizing before they were medevacked here."

Aristespha's eyes widen and she concentrates her concern upon Deedri. "Medevacked? Oh gods. What happened?"

Deedri sighs uncertainly and grimaces as she tries to gather the words to explain. "It's quite the story really. All has happened in a very short amount of time. I'll try to sum it up the best I can. I don't want to take up too much of your time."

Aristespha smiles comfortingly at Deedri, rests a hand on her shoulder, and directs her attention to a row of chairs with the other hand. "I'm waiting for a controlled substance release authorization on a few compounds."

A chuckle escapes Deedri with an understanding smirk. "Oh... You have time then."

Dr. Ricketts nods with a confirming hum as she carries a list into the labyrinth of medical shelves.

----

Sotalia steps into a small lounge area littered with chairs, tables, and vending machines. She surveys the vicinity and locks her gaze upon the prominent, new, fancy coffee dispenser. Her attention immediately wanders across the range of colorful options that gradually scroll across the large touch on the front. Sotalia stands before the advanced coffee machine and studies the seemingly endless options with great interest.

As her mind assembles an appropriate caffeine concoction for the device to manufacture, a sad, soft sigh tickles her ear. Blinking away from her task, she notices the long skirt covered, gray, patterned legs of someone sitting in the chair row, immediately next to the machine. Sotalia leans to the side, opens her eyes wide in recognition, and narrows her gaze upon Tassilda. Sitting silently and unaware of anything else in the area, Tassilda stares down at the cold, black cup of coffee resting in her hands. Sliding in front of Tassilda, Sotalia crosses her arms, aims a glare down, and hems. "Hi."

Tassilda stirs sluggishly from a stupor, slowly inspects the floor before her, and notices someone standing. She gradually lifts her head up and reveals her face to Sotalia. With a distant, disconnected stare, the overhead lighting showcases the regret and shame evident in Tassilda's expression. Sotalia's gaze softens as stark familiarity surfaces old memories, and her empathy forces her to recognize and remember. A surge of ire swells up within Tassilda. She tries to summon up spite, but falters when she focuses upon Sotalia's golden eyes. Tassilda's head her drops down with painful wince and she bows her distant stare towards her rippling reflection in the cold, black coffee.

Two remain in silence. Their reserved, awkward body language demonstrates how neither know how to address the situation. Eventually, a slight frown curls the corner of Sotalia's mouth, and she sighs. "Started hating the person you see in the mirror?"

Tassilda's light blue on black eyes open wide in surprise and she cautiously lifts an inquisitive gaze to Sotalia. After a few seconds of studying Sotalia's intent, Tassilda bites her lip and nods with a hard close of her eyes. "Yes... I- I mean... H-How do you know?"

Sotalia dons a sad smile with a genuine tone. "I've seen that same look before in my own mirror... More than once."

She averts her uncertainty around the small lounge, but settles her focus back upon the waiting Tassilda. "Okay... This might sound odd, but... Would you like to talk to someone who has been... Well... There before?"

With a nervous squirm in her posture, she twists her mouth and expresses her awkward sincerity. "I know I'm probably the last person you person you want to talk about anything... But, as someone who has been through some serious self-reflection... I just... I just remember always wanting someone to talk to each time."

Tassilda blinks her stare away, fidgets with the cold coffee in her hands, and ponders. Seconds later, she nods her head appreciatively with a hint of hope. "Y-yes. That... That would be really nice right now."

Sotalia relaxes her stance, smiles sympathetically, and redirects Tassilda's attention. "Okay. First thing, let's get you some fresh coffee. My treat. Then, let's find somewhere nice to talk. I think they have a garden or courtyard around here."

----

Tassilda rests her back against the courtyard bench and tilts her head reflectively, her eyes searching through her collective memories. "And... After that... Well, I have been mentally tracing it all back since Monday night and spent most of Tuesday in a haze. Without it becoming a long sad tale, it all grew from when my father didn't renew the marriage contract with my mother."

She slowly sits up straight, glances over to Sotalia on the other side of the bench, and sighs. "At first my mother was devastated as to why he would ever leave her. Then, a few months later, she found out he was dating a human woman. That's when her devastation turned into... Absolutely irrational hatred."

Sotalia takes a long sip of her extravagant cup of coffee and nods understandingly with a slight smirk. "Yeah. No offense, but I don't think anyone born and raised in Laski would take THAT news nicely."

Tassilda rolls her eyes and groans in begrudging agreement. "Oh, most certainly not. I was only six years old, but that didn't stop her from ranting about her feelings whenever she felt like it. I guess if you hear it so much that young, it just sticks in your head."

Shaking her head slowly, she grimaces and sighs. "When my half-sister was born, that's when she shifted her targets from mixed couples to half breeds. Well, more accurately anyone who wasn't pure Emin in her eyes."

Lifting a puzzled brow, Tassilda sips her warm, black coffee and blinks in thought. "To her credit she never said anything directly about my half-sister. But, that didn't stop her from offhand comments in general."

Tassilda remains silent for a few seconds and sighs regretfully. "Gods, I should have asked for equal time with both my mother and father. Maybe I wouldn't have fallen completely in line with whatever she wanted for me."

She grits her teeth, tosses her black hair back over her shoulders, and mulls the past over with a conflicted tone. "The sad part is that my step-mother seems really nice and I truly miss being around my little sister. And, my father seems so happy being away from my mother. But, I don't know... I just wanted to make my mother happy, despite how miserable it was at times."

Biting her lip, Tassilda twists her mouth and sighs deeply. "Gods, I hate to admit it, but I mostly took the contract with the Next Adventurers of Nexus to avoid having to live with my mother again after graduating."

Sotalia chuckles lightly and shakes her head with a smirk. "Well, don't feel too bad about that one. No one really wants to head back to their parents after being one their own."

Tassilda curls a quick smile and nods. Her emotional search plays out on her face and she tries to find an appropriate expression in vain. "It just feels so weird to... finally examine it all... And, realizing what's happened... Fully, I guess? I had been going along with it for so long, I guess I forgot to check to see where I was going?"

Sotalia nods slowly and presents a commiserating smile to Tassilda. "Yeah. Admittedly, you got to this point a much different way than I did, but it's the same situation. You've come to a point in your life where you look around and realize... You really don't want to be on that path anymore."

She turns her head to meet the gaze of Tassilda and sighs. "It's a really strange place to be when you sit down and figure out why you are what you are... So, you can stop being what you are."

Tassilda nods in dramatic, absolute agreement and tightly grips one of her horns as she sorts through her thoughts. "I know. I mean, you know you need to do something else that's NOT what you are doing right now. But... How? And, what?"

Sliding her hand off her horn and holding her coffee with both hands, she gazes over inquiringly and appreciatively to Sotalia. "Do you have any advice to share?"

Sotalia pours a bit of her fanciful coffee into her mouth, ponders the question while swallows, and shrugs her shoulders uneasily. "Not really. Truthfully, you just have to take it a day at a time and remember what you are trying to accomplish. Well, or at least what you are trying to NOT accomplish. And, try to do what you can for those you've wronged."

Tassilda searches her thoughts inbetween sips of coffee. She quirks her brow inquisitively. "Did you ever make things right with that old group you were a part of? The one you mentioned?"

Sotalia grumbles in frustration at herself and snarls her upper lip unsatisfied. "Well... I don't really know. I mean they basically left me behind with note and paperwork to fill out."

With a long sigh, Sotalia squirms uncomfortably and grimaces as she stumbles to relate her feelings. "As much as you should try to make things right... Sometimes that's not really possible. Sometimes the best thing you can do is give them the distance they want."

Rolling her shoulders to work out the anxiety, she tilts her head side thoughtfully. "I made an honest attempt at least. I sent message to them to let them know they were right about me. I apologized, and wished them best. Then, I left that whole area. I occasionally look them up and they all seem to be doing just fine. And, I'm okay with that."

Tassilda blinks a bit surprised and shifts her focus to her present situation. Sotalia smiles, lifts a brow, and narrows a gaze at Tassilda. "You have to understand, my situation was different. I think you have a good chance to make amends with someone here... The one you came here for anyway."

Anxious energy fills Tassilda and she squirms in her seat as wave of unease passes through her. After weathering her nerves, she nods in agreement with a hint of a smile. "Yes. The least I could do is apologize in person to him. And, at least, leave it on a decent note."

Pouring back the last half of her coffee in preparation of the task ahead, Tassilda turns her head to face Sotalia. Another recent memory rises up to the front of her mind when she notices Sotalia's fiery orange, wavy hair. Tassilda bows her head ashamed and sighs. "Um, before that... Thank you for talking to me despite my past behavior. And... Also..."

She grits her teeth briefly and sighs. "I'm very sorry for putting that dispelling charge in the hot tub."

Sotalia sneers briefly, draws a breath in, and exhales out the animosity with an accepting groan. She eventually smiles and nods. "Apology accepted. Admittedly, that wasn't the worst prank ever played on me, but it was quite the clever one."

Hints of pride slip into Tassilda's smirk. Sotalia dons a genuine expression and sighs. "And, I guess since we are trying to clear the air... I'm sorry for mocking you at the convention... AND... Teaching Veevi all those annoying tricks."

Tassilda grumbles to a similar acceptance and rolls her eyes. "It's not like she wasn't going to learn them at some point. I truly wish she would stick to those instead of trying whatever half-formed versions she's learning off of random aethersites."

Sotalia shakes her head and gazes at Tassilda with a tinge of pity. "Still, it's already a bit cruel to have to teach such a fucking brat anyway. No one deserves having that job made any worse."

The two spend minutes silently watching the courtyard and the wildlife wandering among the landscaping. Tassilda draws in a deep breath, and exhales reluctantly. "Well, I guess I need to start on my path of self improvement and redemption."

Sotalia nods as she stands up from the bench. "One thing at a time. One day at a time. Just remember why you want to be better and go from there. If nothing else, just tolerate the change enough so you can complain when no one else is looking."

Tassilda rights herself up from the seat and quirks her brow at Sotalia. "Yes. Speaking of which, would you be against keeping up some appearances with the camera crews that often stalk me at the moment? It'd be one less thing to contend with for right now."

A sly grin appears on Sotalia's face and she chuckles with an eager tint. "Of course. I'm not against a little professional competition. I quite enjoyed our match up at the convention."

A smug smile graces Tassilda's lips and she giggles confidently with a bit of excitement in her tone. "I would not mind another such event. Might be fun to drum up the theatrics for the cameras."

The two walk down a concrete path through clinic building encircled courtyard. As they approach an entry door, Sotalia inquires. "So, a bunch of small magical constructs attacked everyone?"

Tassilda eyes Sotalia with a twist of her mouth. "Well, I certainly would NOT call them small. They were quite substantial from my experience."

Sotalia grits her teeth and sighs. "Well, we've run into a far bigger one lately."

Tassilda blinks in surprise and turns her attention to Sotalia. "Really?"

----

Aristespha blinks her eyes in astonishment and shakes her head slowly in disbelief. "Gods. That is unbelieveable. I'm glad no one was killed in such an attack."

Deedri releases a long sigh, relaxes her shoulders, and droops her furry, tufted ears. "It was pretty scary overall. I'm just glad Modoran helped me evade that one and I got to Paladin Daedrican to stabilize him long enough for the medical team to ready him for transport."

Sorting through recent memory, Aristespha lifts a curious brow towards Deedri. "I think we really need to compare notes. We recently encountered a massive, well-made war golem during the exploration of an ancient site. Judging from how you described the ones your team encountered, they are very likely to be related somehow."

She leans close to Deedri and whispers cautiously. "The site seemed to have been a manufacturing facility and we found signs that parts had been looted."

Deedri's eyes open wide and her ears flick up as she glances to Aristespha. "Wow... I actually wouldn't be surprised if this was some kind of crude test run. Despite how badly put together these seemed, they were still very hard to fight. Incredibly dangerous."

She gazes down the hallway and shifts her attention. "Oh! I should really check on Tassilda. I totally forgot about her. She really should be to hear all this, too."

Aristespha's eyes widen in worry and she hops up out of her seat. "Tassilda is here?!"

Deedri cocks her head confused. "Yes. Why?  What's wrong?"

Aristespha stares uneasily at Deedri and grits her teeth. "Sotalia is here, too!"

Covering her mouth and opening her auburn eyes in surprise, Deedri meets Aristespha's gaze. "Tassilda went to the lounge down the hall and-"

Both read the realization plain upon each other's faces and stare down the hallway branching from the second left. As they ready to move, Sotalia and Tassilda round the corner in casual conversation. Sotalia postures confidently as she recounts a story, while Tassilda grins, delightfully amused. As the two continue their exchange of tales and prideful boasts, Aristespha and Deedri gawk in complete bewilderment. They remain wordlessly flabbergasted and watch the peaceful interchange between Sotalia and Tassilda. Seconds later, Deedri shrugs her shoulders with clawed hands out to the sides. "Okay... I have no fucking clue how this has happened. I got nothing that could explain THIS."

Aristespha contorts her face between variations of confusion, and settles upon a clueless stare. "Gods, I'm glad I'm not the only one. To be honest, I would have expected a LOT more blood."

Deedri glances over and nods quickly. "Yeah. Me too. And FIRE. Quite a lot of fire."

Dr. Ricketts lifts an intrigued brow, studies the two groups momentarily, and shrugs. She hoists up an assortment medical supplies in bottles, packages, and bags. She arranges them neatly upon the counter and directs her voice to Aristespha. "Not to interrupt, but I have your order ready."

----

Afternoon light filters in through the blinds of a large window and onto the floor of the clinic room. Medical equipment lines the wall upon rolling stands and screens display vital information quietly. A few bundles of thin cables and tubing slip underneath the covers of the single hospital bed in the room. An over-dramatic gasp of actor on the current television show sounds out and wakes Daedrican from slumber. He flutters his eyes to consciousness and surveys his surroundings. After recognition reminds him of recent events, he apprehensively eyes the show on the television mounted on the wall across from him. A long grumble escapes him and searches the area immediately around him.

Spotting the remote on a nearby table, he pulls his left arm out from under the covers and reaches his hand out, shifting himself on the bed. He stretches forth until his right side moves and he winces in a sharp reminder of his current state. With the device of his entertainment freedom out of grasp, he carefully resettles into his bed, sighs, and checks himself. He cringes from the flits of pain, but curls his right forearm up and flexes the fingers of his hand. Gradually lowering his arm back down, he lifts the blankets upon him and casually examines the series of bandages and dressings wrapping up his chest and right shoulder. He hums unamused and replaces the bed sheets over him. Glancing around the room, he eyes his horns upon the nearby nightstand and frowns slightly.

The door cracks open and a male evuukian nurse peeks in. "Oh, good. You are awake."

Daedrican smiles and chuckles lightly. "Well, just awake enough, really."

The nurse nods, glances behind him briefly, and returns his gaze to Daedrican. "Awake enough to have a visitor?"

Cocking his head to the side, Daedrican's interest piques. "Certainly. A visitor would be very welcomed right now."

The evuukian nurse bows slightly and pulls back into the hallway. "You may go in. There's a few chairs along the wall you may pull out and unfold."

Daedrican watches the entry door curiously and waits. The door opens wider and Tassilda steps in slowly. She tries vainly to keep her shame and embarrassment from influencing her posture. Tilting his head to a side, Daedrican lifts an intrigued eyebrow and puzzles. "Hello."

Tassilda musters the courage and meets Daedrican's gaze meekly. "Hello."

She awkwardly walks forward, but stops when she gets close to Daedrican's bed. "Um... I don't want to take up too much of your time... But..."

Drawing a shaky breath, she concentrates upon her words, gazes into Daedrican's eyes, and relays a genuine, deeply apologetic tone. "I am so terribly sorry for how I treated you in the last few days. You did not deserve such treatment, especially from a superficial, bigoted idiot like myself."

Closing her eyes for a moment, she contorts her face and sighs sadly. "I also wanted to let you know... That my experiences with you have made me question a lot of things and review many aspects of myself. Quite a deal that I should have dealt with long before this point."

She grits her teeth and grimaces in self-reflective pain. "To say the least, I have a lot of personal issues to work out, in time. But... I wanted to make sure that... Well... Thank you for allowing me to accompany your team and assist you in your assignments."

An appreciative, happy expression swells upon Tassilda's face. "Thank you for the many fun, fascinating distractions during those assignments. I truly enjoyed them all."

A regretful mood weighs heavy upon Tassilda and she frowns ashamed at herself. "And... Thank you... For coming to my aid when I needed you the most... Even after how disrespectful and mean I was to you."

Daedrican blinks and only partial hides his astonishment. Eventually the stun wears off, and he slowly nods. "I greatly appreciate your words..."

He pauses his sentence and watches Tassilda's demeanor. "...My lady."

A smile sneaks out of the corner of Tassilda's mouth. Daedrican smirks and draws a long breath in. "And, while the circumstances leading to it were quite dramatic, I must say I am very hopeful about you reexamining things in your life. Despite what I experienced, I do believe you have many wonderful, redeemable qualities that I have enjoyed."

Tassilda sniffs a bit, wipes a tear from her eye, and nods graciously. "That's very kind of you. Thank you."

She fights off nervous energy and glances back towards to the entry door. "Well, I don't want to bother you any more than I have to. You need to recover and all. So, I'll take my leave."

As Tassilda turns to walk away, Daedrican smirks and coyly pleads to her. "If you must... But, surely a fine, young lady as yourself seeking to turn over a new leaf would not leave an injured man to suffer the horrors of daytime television?"

Tassilda stops in place, pivots around, and blinks puzzled. Daedrican points his finger at the remote control just out of reach upon a nearby nightstand, next to his horns. A smile graces Tassilda's face and she walks next to Daedrican's bed. She picks up the remote, hands it over to Daedrican's awaiting hand, and glances over to the television. "I do hope this isn't the only thing they receive here. Then, again, it might be their ploy to encourage patients to go home sooner."

Daedrican grins and aims the remote, hovering a finger over the button to change the channel. "I believe it was the attending nurse that changed it when I was sleeping. I recognize the show. The other evuukians in my group seem to be hooked on this one."

Scrutinizing the dramatic interaction of the characters and elaborate sets in the scene, Tassilda rests her hands on her hips and cocks her head to the side. "It looks familiar... But admittedly, a lot of evuukian shows as of late seem centered around that re-imagined late First Period or early Second Period."

Nodding in agreement, Daedrican rolls his head over to face Tassilda. "They have a name for the genre. If I remember correctly, it literally translates to knifeblock backs contest."

Tassilda meets Daedrican's golden eyes and blinks with a humored twist at the corner of her mouth. "I must admit that seems strangely descriptive and probably very accurate."

Her gaze wanders over to the nightstand and she notices Daedrican's horns. She frowns as she examines their state and spots a number of nicks, scratches, and marks all over. With a disheartened sigh, she leans over to study them closer. "Oh my. It looks like your horns have seen far better days."

Daedrican eyes over to the table and chuckles carefully. "Yes they have, my lady. Thankfully, they found both relatively intact. Unfortunately, I think they had to pull one out of a tree. I haven't decided if they used channel locks or a pry bar to get it free."

Tassilda steps away from bedside, picks up a folding chair along the wall, and sets it up next to the bed and nightstand. Sitting down, she rummages through her side satchel, retrieves a small glass bottle, and grumbles as she stares determined at the container. "This won't take care of everything, but it'll at least treat the unsightly blemishes. I'll have to bring the rest of my..."

She pauses herself and a wave of embarrassment fills her face. "Um... If you don't mind me mending your horns..."

Daedrican smiles happily, nods, and focuses his attention upon Tassilda's swirling horns. "I am not going to turn down such a gracious offer. Especially, not from someone who seems to be quite the expert in horn care. Then again, you may not need to do much at all."

Tassilda blinks momentarily and blushes when she traces Daedrican's gaze to her own horns. She coyly brushes back some of her raven hair over her horns and presents a flattered smile. "I'll claim the latter, but demonstrate the former."

A dialect of Evuukian plays out loud as a heated exchange happens on the television show. Daedrican watches the scene transpire, smirks, and speaks a phrase in a form of Emin. Tassilda snickers, slips out a snort, and shakes her head. Daedrican glances over to Tassilda with a bit of embarrassment and rolls his eyes at himself. "What did I mispronounce?"

Tassilda smiles with a giggle and recites a similar phrase of Emin with a slight difference. "Still actually appropriate, but it might get you strange looks in proper company."

Daedrican nods and sighs. "My apologies, I've never gotten a chance to practice the Laskian dialect."

A slight frown forms on Tassilda's face and she picks up one of Daedrican's horns. "Well, that's certainly no fault of your own. As someone from that region, I can assure you that many would very likely not bother to talk at length to you due to their own misconceptions and biases."

He gazes over to Tassilda and smiles pleasantly. "Would you mind helping me practice? It's actually a very lovely form of Emin. If it's not too much to ask of you, my lady."

Tassilda smiles as she bites her lip and shakes her head slowly. "Of course not. It's the very least I could do for such a brave, noble Paladin."

Daedrican smirks and sighs. "Still very much Junior Paladin, technically."

A grin grows upon Tassilda and she flutters her eyes towards Daedrican. "Oh, I most certainly would hope a promotion would be in order after such demonstration of bravery and strength in face of such danger. If Senior Paladin Maxon is any example of what the Chrome Crusaders desire in their Paladins, I doubt Paladin is that far away for you."

Smiling with a snort, Daedrican lifts an amused brow to Tassilda. "Well, I can't rightfully claim to have taken on such danger alone. I'll have to split that honor with you."

Tassilda chuckles, tosses her hair back, and postures with a bit of pride. She articulates a few graceful sentences in the Laski dialect of Emin and smiles alluringly. Daedrican grins smugly, and replies back in an elaborate sentence of similar Emin. Tassilda vainly hides her blushing cheeks and continues the conversation while applying the bottle of horn fixer.

As Tassilda works on mending the surface blemishes on Daedrican's horns, both converse in Emin and often pause to laugh and comment about the drama on the television.

-57-

Bach alternates his gaze between Aristespha and Sotalia. After a few rotations, he blinks his eyes with a grimace, shakes his head in disbelief, and leans his back against his chair. "Wow... Just... Wow..."

Aristespha nods thoughtfully, agrees in a similar bewildered fashion, and sighs as she runs her hands through her long, silvery blue hair. "From what Deedri described, these golems weren't as well constructed as the one we fought. But... Fighting multiple constructs of that variety at once. That's an absolutely frightening thought."

Sotalia settles her elbows upon the dining table and props her head up with her hands. "From what I heard, they were nothing as large as the ONE we fought, thankfully. Even then, I think five was the final number. At least that's how many piles of leftover parts they saw."

Still processing the scope of such an endeavor, Bach glances over to Aristespha and twists his mouth uncomfortably. "Well, if we haven't sent over anything official about that ancient golem factory to the authorities, now might be a good time."

With a few taps upon a tablet in front of her, Aristespha sighs with an uneasy smirk and gazes down upon paragraphs of text on the screen. "That's exactly what I've been working on today. I figure sending copies over to both Captain Hackle and Captain Hays would be good, too. Maybe bypass a few of the usual hurdles."

Bach and Sotalia nod with Aristespha's idea. Grumbling out her irritation, Sotalia sneers her upper lip and narrows her eyes down at the table. "It's GOT to be that Terra Priest group around there. What the fuck are those nature nut jobs thinking? And, how the hell did they get them working?"

Searching his mind for possibilities, Bach shrugs his shoulders and gazes over to Sotalia. "They probably got enough working parts and just slapped them together to see if anything would happen. I mean, that's what it sounds like from what you all told me."

Sotalia drops a hand down on the table and drums her long, black nails upon the tabletop. "But... I thought they needed Faelatelia for their plans?"

Aristespha shakes her head slowly and sighs as she realizes situation. "I believe they needed Faelatelia to bind spirits to the golems. But... It is very likely that Meredosia has enough working knowledge to get the constructs together from the parts. She did spend some significant time in that hidden factory. Not the ideal solution she probably wanted, but still viable."

Gritting her teeth, Sotalia's ire briefly flares and she growls. "It was probably her that got that big one working and put it on patrol. That fucking bitch."

Bach ponders a moment, tilts his head to a side, and searches his mind with his eyes. "Yeah. I could totally see that. She probably either found it inactive or missing just a few parts, and reprogrammed it to attack anything that wasn't with her."

He quirks his brow towards Sotalia. "Because, I doubt she would have stayed long enough to get anything useful if that thing was stomping around like it was for us. And, from what Chelindia and Faelatelia said about her... I doubt she'd leave that facility unguarded after finding it."

Sotalia nods slowly and taps her fingers upon the table in sync with her frustrations. She lifts her head up from her propping hand, settles back into her chair, and slowly shakes her head of wavy, fiery orange hair. "Still... WHY are they doing anything like this now? It seemed like they were perfectly content to sit around in the woods and feel superior to everyone. They're going to attract A LOT of attention now."

Bach curls the corner of his mouth down with a hint of worry. "I hope Chelindia's group got out. Sounds like things have gone from crazy to completely insane."

Drawing a deep breath, Aristespha rubs her temples and frowns. "Unfortunately, that's probably why the attack happened."

Bach and Sotalia shift their attention to Aristespha. After a few moments of collecting her thoughts, Aristespha explains with a saddened tone. "Chelindia and the old members were very likely THE major regulating element in that organization. If they've left, you've got a leader that no longer has someone to question her."

Bach rolls his eyes at the situation and groans. "Ah shit... And, there's no longer enough people in the group to keep the rest from going too far."

Sotalia cringes and crosses her arms uncomfortably. "Oh, that's never a good recipe for anything. I know THAT from personal experience."

Aristespha aims her gaze upon the tablet in front of her and slowly shakes off the dour mood. "Regardless, I'll be getting the report together to send off. I don't know what the official response to this all will be given the location and situation, but... At this point, we NEED to report it now."

Sotalia nods her head and tinges of concern leak into her expression. "Yeah. Gods. Still so strange to have seen how distraught Tassilda was. I mean, I understand completely. I don't think I would have been much better. But, just to see her in that state..."

Bach smiles at Sotalia with an encouraging tone. "That was pretty nice of you to talk to her and help her out."

Sotalia lifts an eyebrow and smirks with a bit of embarrassment. "Well... As much as I wanted to be the superior queen bitch and get back at her... It was... It... It hit close to home. I don't know. Didn't feel right to be an ass to her."

She shrugs her shoulders and holds her hands up in the air as she smiles genuinely. "Something in me just wanted to maybe help her along like I wished someone had done for me."

Bach nods and chuckles lightly. "Yeah... Well, you did good in my opinion."

Sotalia grins appreciatively to Bach. After a few seconds, she blinks back to awareness and scans the area. "Well, are we going to do magic drills today or what?"

Bach glances around the room and turns his attention towards the archway leading into the hallway. "I've seen Cideeda today. She borrowed of the latest issues of Tales of the Orion from me to read. But, I haven't seen Dretphi leave her room yet. The was door was open though."

Sotalia laughs and snorts with a sly smirk. "Oh! She's catching up on all her stories. It seems like all the series she's following had new issues. Might be hard to pull her away from them."

A flash of frustration rises upon her face, and she crosses her arms tightly. With a pout, she grumbles petulantly. "It's still not fair that Cideeda keeps me away from the issues of Tinkering Tina until AFTER she gets done reading them."

Bach narrows his eyes at Sotalia and cocks his head to the side. "You did spoil that one major reveal for her."

Sotalia groans and dramatically rolls her eyes. "Once! I did that once. How long is she going to hold that over my head?"

With a shrug, Bach glances around again and lifts a curious brow at Aristespha. "Do you know where my brother is? I actually haven't seen him today either, now that I think about it."

Aristespha blinks, lifts her head up from the tablet, and thinks for a moment. She smiles and laughs. "Oh. Sebastian is probably hovering nearby Cideeda reading along. He can't turn the pages himself, right now."

Sotalia grumbles to herself quietly with an occasional clear mention of unfairness and special treatment.

----

In a brightly sunlit room, Dretphi fidgets with anticipation as she slowly turns to the next page of the graphic novel. She bites her lower lip lightly, and adjusts the pillows propping her back up on the bed quickly. Her steely gray eyes scan the pages of dramatic scenes and elaborate dialog, and she smiles eagerly. Expectation gradually sways her body side to side, as the literary tension builds.

Bach glances through the open bedroom door into Dretphi's room and watches her pore over the book. He scans around the room and settles upon the significant stacks of reading material next to Dretphi on her bed. Squinting at the collection of paperback books, he notices various bookmarks in one stack, none in others, and then one stack of older volumes. Dretphi blinks her eyes wide and reflexively mutters loudly a few phrases of grath, swirling with incredulous and astonished sentiments. She puzzles to herself in mumbles of grath and quickly flips back through a number of pages in a frustrated search for explanation.

Bach gently knocks on the door frame and smirks with a laugh. "One of those plot twists?"

Dretphi shifts her attention towards the doorway, subdues a flit of embarrassment, and smiles warmly to Bach. "Yes. You can say that. Trying to find justification for this recent decision."

She cocks her head to the side and curiously gazes at Bach. "Is there something you need?"

Bach points a thumb over his shoulder down the hallway and shrugs nonchalantly. "Oh, Aristespha wants to do some magic practice drills outside, since it's a nice enough day. We just wanted to know if you'll be joining us?"

Dretphi nods happily, glances at the book currently in her hand, and picks up a bookmark off to the side. As she places the bookmark in the volume, she grumbles with an unamused smirk. "I am at a stopping point. I will... Process it later."

Lifting an intrigued brow, Bach focuses his gaze at the book in question as Dretphi rests it on top of one of the stacks, and inquires. "So, what's that particular one about?"

Sliding off the bed carefully and resting her feet on the floor, Dretphi stands up, stares at the book, and describes in a calm, thoughtful tone. "It is multifaceted. Political intrigue in the background. Primary plot about a young lady caught between choosing the interests of two men."

Bach blinks a moment and puzzles at the statement. "Interesting..."

Dretphi braces herself against her bed, works on her shoes, and smirks curiously. "You seem surprised."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach smiles awkwardly as he stumbles about his point. "Oh, I'm trying to figure out the draw of such book. I mean... I guess that sort of situation is a bit of rarity in Grath society?"

Straightening up and tapping her shoes upon the floor, Dretphi smiles with blatant amusement and shakes her head. "Similar happens. Joining a house is significant. Choosing one between multiple can be stressful."

Bach nods as his understanding develops, and crosses his arms as he leans against the door frame. "Yeah, I can imagine having to choose something on that scale can be daunting. Especially, if you have significant relationships with two houses."

Dretphi gazes at Bach, thinks a moment, and smiles with a slight chuckle. "Oh... You do not have to forgo those relationships when you join another house. Houses handle everyday aspects of family. Legal liability. Finances. Child raising. Housing. Food. Support.  Still a significant choice."

She pauses, searches her mind with her eyes, and carefully pieces together her explanation. "A house does not bind you exclusivity to that house for personal relationships. Most have preference.  Aligns that way over time. Not a requirement."

Bach tilts his head to the side and cracks a humored smirk. "Oh, okay. So... Keep business and pleasure separate."

Dretphi rolls her eyes with a tight smile on her face and shrugs her shoulders as she walks up to the doorway. "Yes. It works for grath. Acceptable. Helpful in properly managed houses."

As Bach and her walk down the hallway, she glances over to Bach at her side and hunts for the right terms to relate. "Most grath are not... Possessive? Encouraged to be mutual? Honest? Open? It is hard to translate."

Bach gradually nods as the concept solidifies more in his mind and he arrives to a rough understanding. "I think I get the idea. It seems to work really well for most the grath I've run into. Though, I've heard of a few bad stories."

Dretphi sighs in begrudging agreement and shakes her head. "Those serve as lessons to heed. There are no strict rules. There ARE best practices."

She frowns gradually and glances over to Bach. "That cultural aspect gets scrutinized in an unfortunate way. Houses function like family units. My house shared vacations with other houses. We would gather for sport events. Different members from houses would get together to experience new restaurants. Normal parallels to other families."

As Bach slides open the sliding glass back door for Dretphi, he shrugs nonchalantly and nods. "No, I get it. That sounds pretty typical. Honestly, a bit more than some families I've know do on any regular basis."

Dretphi smiles warmly to Bach and brushes back her platinum blonde braids. "My mother always encouraged everyone to go out of the house. Figuratively. Literally."

Bach furrows his brow as he notices Dretphi's tone shift. Dretphi averts her eyes briefly with a shake of her head, and grumbles amused. "My mother's encouragement hid an ulterior motive."

Sliding the door shut and wincing at the drastic change from interior light to exterior sun, Bach carefully approaches the topic. "Which was?"

Dretphi sighs in good humor and rolls her eyes. "Read romance novels without distraction."

Bach blinks in surprise and narrows an inquisitive stare to Dretphi. "Wait... Is that where you...?"

Nodding quickly, Dretphi snorts and cracks a smirk as she remembers with hints of old irritation. "Yes. Happened when I was a teenager. I grew tired of the... frustrating... antics of a boy I was dating for the night. Left. Arrived home early."

She grits her teeth briefly and tempers her past feelings with an acceptance of herself then. "I was upset. Sought out my mother. Found her in the living room. In my birth father's favorite chair. Wrapped up in a blanket. Reading a romance novel."

Bach twists his mouth, raises a curious eyebrow, and puzzles. "You mean the ones with the ridiculous covers?"

Dretphi sighs and nods her head with curl in her smirk. "Yes. Got over the surprise. Told her about my dating issues. She sat me down. Handed me the first volume of a series. Told me to read. I read."

A happy smile appears on her face and she softly laughs. "I got hooked. It is a hobby we share. My preference changed to graphic novels. We still trade titles. Seek out new books to inform the other of."

Bach shakes his head, brushes his brown hair back, and scratches his bearded chin speculatively. "I can't help to think there's some aspect of taboo with the differences of cultures going on that must be the draw."

After a few blinks, Dretphi ponders the notion, crosses her arms, and sways her head in thought. "To a degree. We have never been interested in harem themed graphic novels. Possibly an exotic allure to the strict fashions of romantic relationships in the novels?"

She snorts and glances over to Bach with a slight, humored grin. "Any appeal fades after five chapters of torturous drama."

Bach chuckles and shakes his head as he walks up to the rest of the group with Dretphi.

----

Meredosia struts confidently across the shaded clearing in the middle of encircling, gigantic trees and ancient buildings. She beams out a smug grin to the world as she leads an accompaniment of thematically uniformed evuukians. As the gathering follows along, many present excited praise towards Meredosia. A number prompt Meredosia for answers to many questions in evuukian. While most of the decorated members seem eager, a few show their concern upon their faces and in their tones.

Meredosia smiles brightly, and responds boldly and dramatically to the queries presented before her. Determination floods her demeanor, and she elaborately dictates the her motives in extravagant gestures to her followers. She finishes her impromptu speech with a slow grasp of her outstretched hand into a balled fist, and grins with a dark, distant stare ahead. The group enters the largest of the ancient structures and moves down the long, tall hallway towards a set of massive double doors.

Closing in on the entrance, Meredosia grimaces and a shiver zips up her spine. The amulet on her chest shakes on its own and she reflexively grips it tightly with her hand. She speeds up to doors in a near panic and forcefully shoves them wide open.

Inside, she quickly scans the area in front of her and sees many elaborately robed evuukians on the floor, unconscious. Sounds of struggle alert the followers gathering around Meredosia to a few evuukian mages subdued in immobilizing weaves of white magical energy. Meredosia snaps glances to their faces and traces their eyes ahead to the central platform. Upon the middle of the rostrum, a thin man with wispy white hair stands calmly as thin threads of white energy swirl into him from the platform. A blue scarf floats slowly with the ethereal flows around him. The man tilts his head momentarily, gradually pivots in place, and aims his white glowing eyes at Meredosia. He curiously perks brow at the gathering.

Anger erupts upon Meredosia, and she energetically points towards the man, yelling out an order. Guards escorting her don their bows, knock arrows, and take aim. Energy flows stream into the bows and arrows heads from the archers, and they let loose a volley. The missiles streak trails of magical miasma across the length of the cavernous room and halt abruptly in front the man. Hints of amusement leak through the blue scarf wrapping the man's face, and he addresses Meredosia and her followers. "Pardon my manners. I am Noxian. I must say, you have quite an impressive setup here. It seems you've been very busy researching so many subjects, and have even organized a team of mages. Who am I speaking to?"

With a blatant disgust for the words and boiling ire for Noxian's mere presence, Meredosia snarls her upper lip and growls out her demanding proclamation. "YOU speak to the Meredosia, leader of this revolutionary chapter of the Terra Priests. Now, why are YOU here in MY chambers?! ANSWER. ME. NOW!"

Noxian lifts an annoyed eyebrow at Meredosia, grumbles under his breath, and narrows a harsh, accusatory glare upon her. "Well, with that attitude... Let us cut straight to the point. I was eventually going to investigate this location in the future, but decided to make it quite a bit sooner. So, tell me... Do YOU have any involvement with the recent golem attacks upon the Chrome Crusaders?"

Meredosia grins with near manic pride and levels a dark, spiteful glare upon Noxian. She crosses arms, puffs up her posture, and turns her nose up at Noxian disdainfully. "Why? Would like to experience a demonstration... personally?"

Sighing out his frustrations, Noxian wags a finger at Meredosia and chides her with a scolding tone. "So, I am to understand, that a capable young, individual like you... Finds a source of ancient power. Educates herself how manipulate magical machinery. Learns how to use that power on magical machinery. And then... Decides to build a number of golems for some inane attempt to demonstrate some supposed superiority over others to bolster a poorly formed ego?! While, mind you, harming those that are trying to better the world for everyone else!"

He narrows a glare upon Meredosia, lifts his head up, and aims his eyes down upon Meredosia. "Such disappointing, childish, and utterly stupid use of such ability and power. What makes you think this is the right way to use such!?"

Meredosia's ivory skin reddens, locks of her gray hair float up, and she grits her teeth furiously. She spits forth a volley of outraged evuukian and directs spiteful phrases upon Noxian. "I WILL NOT BE LECTURED BY A LOWLY HUMAN! A wretched defiler of nature. An undeserving being! I wield the power that I have gained myself. And, I will be the one to decide how I use it!"

Noxian laughs loudly and shakes his head in disbelief with a mocking tone. "Aha! So, the whole might makes right argument? Okay. Well, if you have such might... Then, let us see how right you are?"

He straightens his posture, extends his arm out, and flexes the fingers upon his hand in a challenging gesture. Meredosia's dark crimson eyes light up manically. She stretches a wide grin across her face and commands her followers. Guards at Meredosia's sides ready more arrows and magic users within her followers ready spells. Waves of magical energy from the mages' spells splash uselessly upon the barrier surrounding Noxian. With a few quick gestures and white light gazes of concentration from Noxian, threads of elder energy stream out along the faint back trails, latch onto the originating casters, and swiftly tie up the mages. Archer guards unleash their arrows and watch as their projectiles halt abruptly upon the surface of the barrier surrounding Noxian. Glancing between all the suspended missiles, Noxian smiles underneath his blue scarf and his eyes emit a flash of white. The arrows spin around, rocket back a blinding speed, and target their owners. The missiles render bows broken and release concussive eruptions before impact that knock out the guards.

Meredosia in a fit of absolute rage, musters enough focus to draw out a ball of elder energy from the amulet on her chest, and launches a massive bolt at Noxian. The magical projectile impacts Noxian's barrier and visually distorts the outer layers. Noxian directs his full, undivided attention upon Meredosia, and calmly walks off the platform towards her. Trails of elder energy continue to flow into him from the rostrum, stretching out into long, swirling tubes. Meredosia fights rage, shock, and disgust, and manages to maintain enough concentration to fling powerful bolts of elder energy. Noxian cautiously moves closer, and studies each impact upon his barrier with analytical inspection. A few meters away from Meredosia, Noxian throws is hand out, and unleashes fibers of magical energy out. The threads weave effortlessly through a bolt mid-flight, absorb the projectile's power, and explode upon Meredosia into an immobilizing web that wraps her up.

Noxian slowly steps forward, moves close, and levels his glare centimeters away from Meredosia's face. Infuriated, he stares through her with glowing white eyes, grips the Meredosia's amulet, and yanks off her chest. Noxian explains with a cold, purposeful cadence. "You may think yourself the prettiest flower in the field... But, you do not know that you are just simply another flower in the playground of elder giants."

He stands up straight, glowers down at Meredosia, and tightens his grip on the amulet in his hand. A loud crackle echoes out into the room and a torrent of white energy erupts out from his hand. The flows rush forth and quickly settle into Noxian, until nothing more. He opens his hand, and the crumbling remains of the amulet trickle down into a powdery coating upon the floor. He glances over his shoulder, holds a hand out towards the platform, and a pulse of energy streams through the swirling streams into Noxian. Mere seconds later, the flows fade away. The rostrum glows brightly for a moment, and shatters into a pile of rune decorated rock. Meredosia gawks utterly horrified, unable to form words in her mouth. Noxian turns his head back around, stares into Meredosia's shocked, dark crimson eyes, and leans in close. "I truly do not know who should ultimately wield this power... But, I am DAMN certain... IT. IS. NOT... YOU."

He steps back away from Meredosia, walks over the incapacitated guards, and calmly strolls to the doors leading into the main, large hallway. As he nears the double door archway, his form fades to transparency, and he quickly disappears from sight as he steps out into the hallway. Seconds later, the white energy dissipates in the room and the immobilizing spells fade away. Meredosia stumbles straight onto the ground in shock and stops herself before face planting into the remains of her amulet. She stares down at the dusty fragments upon the floor, until drops of water land to wet the mess. Lifting her head up slowly, she grits her teeth, and forces seething breaths through. She squeezes tears down her reddening face as intense, furious rage boils from within. She focuses upon the fractured central platform and manages to only breathe in an infuriated stupor.

----

Bright noon sunlight slips through the double doors leading to the third story wooden balcony. Gerald eases his back upon a stack of pillows on his bed and winces briefly as his weight settles upon the mattress. "Okay... Request from me. Oh, gods... Can we avoid any more long hauls, through the woods, in the middle of nowhere for at least THIS season? Holy hell, my back is still not on speaking terms with me."

Samantha pulls a can of beer from a package, cracks it open, and places it into Gerald's hand with a smirk. "Sorry to say, Howie, but I'm with Gerald on this one. The last part of that run was a bit much."

Howard's voice sounds out from the aetherphone upon a nearby desk and an audible worried sigh resonates. "Yeah. I was not expecting ANYTHING like that. Especially, on the very last night of the patrol. Seriously, I mean... A full out attack with multiple fucking golems?! And, just the idea of taking on the Chrome Crusaders of all people. Just... Shit... That just blows my mind. You literally have guys in walking tank suits. Why would you start something with them?"

A pause of silence allows for background noise from the other side of call to echo into the room with Samantha and Gerald. An eager tone colors Howard's cadence and his excitement leaks through the phone speaker. "But, it will be an... AMAZING... episode tonight. We've needed some good action for the season. Despite running for your lives, you all did really good to record what you could."

Samantha stands proudly with a sly smile and chimes in with a sinister giggle. "Happy to deliver as always, Howie."

She cross her arms, pouts with a grumble, and glances over to Gerald. "I SO wish I could have caught just a few seconds of the fight between Daedrican and Tassilda versus that bull golem! But, SOMEONE decided to drag me to the safe zone, out of the action."

Gerald pours a long swig of his beer down his throat and eyes Samantha incredulously. Samantha sighs and groans annoyed. "We had to settle with Veevi going around trying to be heroic while running away with the rest of us."

Rolling his eyes, Gerald directs his voice towards the aetherphone and mockingly pleads his case with growing sarcasm tainting his words. "Yes. I did drag her away. Away from being near the fight where a POWERED ARMED, TRAINED PALADIN got IMPALED by a MASSIVE, MAGICAL STONE BEAST... I felt my actions were properly justified."

Howard sighs, and speaks through the speakerphone with a firm, thankful tone. "Gerald. Thank you. Really. Sorry, Samantha, but I'm with Gerald on this one. You damn well know my policy about camera crews getting hurt. We already got way too close at the beginning of this season with risking the crew. If the stars get themselves hurt on by their own stupidity, that's one thing. They signed those release forms. Crew safety comes first."

Samantha snorts petulantly and eventually groans out in defeat as she accepts her boss's words. "Fine... I just hate missing those opportunities."

She gazes at Gerald, smiles appreciatively, and rolls her eyes at herself. "Still, thank you again, Gerald."

Lifting his beer up in acknowledgment, Gerald nods briefly and sips back the beverage. "No problem. We got plenty shots, anyway. Should be able to milk these for probably another episode or two."

Samantha places her hands upon her hips and sways her stance. "Still frustrates me that we can't record at the clinic. Something is going on with Tassilda and damned if I have anything concrete to show for it."

Howard's humored chuckle sounds out from the aetherphone. "We'll see what we can get of that. And, it might serve us better if we didn't show anything. Let the fans speculate on that. The community team has shown me some choice debates on Tassilda's and Daedrican's relationship. I think we'll just let that continue. Fan theories are always so much fun, and make for great polls the advertisers love."

Samantha blinks to attention as she remembers a topic. "Oh, Howie, the crew have voted and pretty much all of us want to do the resort springs mission."

Howard hums briefly and mumbles in thought for a few moments before projecting his curious tone into the room. "That works just perfectly fine for me. I get the feeling that three certain members of the crew may have pushed the vote that direction?"

Gerald snorts and shakes his head with a smirk. "Yeah. But, after that golem attack, it didn't take much convincing. Urdi barely got through half of her description of the place before she had most of the team ready to vote with her."

A scheming tinge fills Howard's voice as it resonates through the speakerphone. "This will actually fit quite well with my plans. It'll be interesting to see what happens on that particular mission. I definitely hope to capture more of the evuukian market with the... Interactions... I'm hoping will occur."

His laugh echoes from the other side of the connection. "Also, we've been needing to get the Flames of the Phoenix close to... Oh, how to put it... Recreational water of some kind. Got to keep the ratings up with some fan service."

Gerald sighs, rests an empty can upon a nightstand nearby, and adjusts a pillow underneath him. "Well, hope my back is up for it by then. Otherwise, I might get some of the younger crew to sneak around for those shots, even if they'll probably be distracted the whole time."

Samantha rolls her eyes, shakes her head with a chuckle, and grins impishly to Gerald. "Oh, it's not for a few weeks. They'll have some down time and a maybe a small job to break up the monotony. You should be ready to peep with the best of them soon enough."

Gerald reaches carefully out with his arm, slides a laptop across the bed onto his chest, and stares incredulously at the screen. "Yeah. Hopefully, a few nights on a real bed rather than a van seat will put me back on speaking terms with my back."

Howard laughs and presents an assuring tone. "You'll be fine. If you don't get better in a few days, hit the clinic. My orders. Can't have one of my best camera guys down when the best shots are going to happen. And anyway, I want some tastefully done shots from you specifically. It's more work to censor and creatively edit when the rookies try."

After a brief moment of silence, typing sounds out from Howard's side of the call and he groans unamused. "Well, I must leave you two for now. Production needs me to decide some things for tonight's episode. Before I go... Though... One thing I want to share with you two..."

Gerald turns his attention away from the laptop and focuses upon the aetherphone with an intrigued quirk of his brow. Samantha steps over to the aetherphone upon the desk, leans close, and speaks curiously. "And what would THAT be, Howie?"

Howard's dark chuckle fills the room through the speaker. "I've confirmed what is in store for Trakenthin."

----

A reddish orange cast colors the darkening evening sky outside the second story bedroom window. Tassilda glances around the corners of the room with a long pauses of paranoid suspicion. She seats herself on the floor next to her bed, rests her head against the mattress, and pulls her aetherphone off the nearby nightstand. Unlocking the security code, she opens her contact list, scrolls to a name in emin, and pauses. She holds her phone in front of her, draws a few long, deep breaths, and presses the call button on the display. The phone initiates the connection and displays status graphics. After a few seconds, the display flickers, and video stream shows a teenage girl. The girl brushes her dark hair over her swirling horns. She briefly contorts her patterned light gray and tan face in confusion and narrows her light blue on white eyes. A flash of recognition obviously surprises her and she shifts to a careful, reserved expression. "Tassilda?! Hey! How are you doing? I didn't expect... a call from you."

Tassilda sighs with a warm smile and calm tone. "Oh, I know... It is a spur of the moment thing. I just... really wanted to call you and... I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

The half-emin girl blinks uncertainly and glances around herself. "Um... No. I was about to lay down and maybe read. Maybe, write a bit? I really hadn't decided. I picked up this book on magic and wanted to start on it."

A slight frown curls the corner of Tassilda's mouth and she continues to present a happy tone. "Well, I do hope you didn't pick up that book I suggested a while back. That was a paid endorsement deal."

With an awkward, nervous laugh, the teenager shrugs her shoulders and bites her lip. "Oh, no. Not this one. I exchanged THAT one and bought this one instead."

The video feed moves off from the young, half-emin's face and focuses upon a book titled "The Illustrated Guide to Magical History." The teenager's voice sounds out through the aetherphone speaker. "It's really cool and fun to read. They tell all the stuff about magic history with a really cute romance story. To be honest, I don't know what I'm reading it more for..."

Tassilda's smile fights against the emotional swell within and she wipes the tears waiting in her light blue on black eyes. The video feed settles back onto the teenager's face and she narrows a concerned stare through the phone. "Are you okay, Tassilda?"

Sniffing her remaining composure, Tassilda gazes into her aetherphone screen, quivers her lips, and releases a stream of tears with a hard blink. "Tessalla... I... I..."

Fighting through a cringe, Tassilda gasps for air through a sob and wipes her eyes. "I called to apologize to you. For... Well, EVERYTHING."

Tessalla blinks in bewilderment and focuses her attention upon Tassilda. "I, uh... um..."

Tassilda sighs deeply, summons up her resolve, and looks into Tessalla's eyes on the aetherphone screen. "I want to apologize for being an absolutely awful big sister to you the last few years. The time you have probably needed me the most, I've just was too wrapped up in hate that's not even mine own. And, I kept myself away from you for stupid reasons..."

Her voice cracks. She closes her eyes hard and wetly sobs. Tessalla gawks in sheer astonishment. Tassilda forces a breath in her lungs and focuses on her words. "I am so sorry. You never deserved any of that terrible treatment. You deserve a proper big sister that I haven't been for quite some time. I just hope that... It's not too late to be one for you, eventually."

Tears well up in Tessalla's eyes. She musters a smile upon her face against the flood of emotion and speaks in between sniffs. "It's okay... It's okay... Really... It's NOT too late. I'm just- I'm just- I'm just happy to talk YOU right now."

Tassilda breaks down in mess of sobbing along with Tessalla. Both release surges of hidden emotions up and make eye contact through their phones in the lulls between outbursts. Minutes later, both slowly regain their composure and sigh out some stability. Tassilda flutters her eyes, sniffs her nose clear, and awkwardly laughs. "Oh gods... I doubt that'll be the last of that. But, oh wow, I guess we both needed that."

Tessalla smiles as she cleans her face with a few tissues from off screen. "Yeah. I-I uh... Have to agree. That was a pretty big thing to drop right there."

Rolling her eyes at herself, Tassilda smirks with a shrug of shoulders. "Well, I'm not terribly good at this. So, you'll have to forgive me. And, also you'll have to forgive me this next bit..."

She closes her eyes, slowly exhales, and gradually draws in a breath. With a meek, ashamed tone, she cautiously approaches a question. "I know this is sudden and out of nowhere. But, I thought I needed to check with you first before I do anything else..."

Biting her lip, Tassilda musters the courage, and presents her query. "I've been reviewing a lot in my life lately. And, I think... After my contract with the show is over... Um... Would you be okay if I stayed with you, father, and your mother for a while?"

She braces herself for the response. Tessalla stares blankly at the screen, completely dumbfounded. A surge of exited glee fills her face and she joyfully sounds out through Tassilda's aetherphone. "Y-y-yYES! OF COURSE! I'd love to have my big sister here! Father would be so happy to hear that! And, I don't think my mother would have any major problems with it."

A wave of relief washes over Tassilda and peace tempers her tone as she calms the teenager. "Okay, Tessalla. There's nothing official yet. I thought I should check with you first before I asked father. There might be a few bridges I need to fix first."

Tessalla smiles brightly and energetically nods in understanding. "I know, I know. I've just always wanted you around and I just hope you can stay. You just have to promise me one thing."

Tassilda cocks her head to side and perks a curious brow. "And, what would that be, dear sister?"

Biting her lip, Tessalla grins excitedly and gazes eagerly. "You have to teach me some magic."

With a proud smile, Tassilda chuckles lightly and nods in agreement. "But, of course! I am no longer going to deprive you of proper magical knowledge. We'll certainly go over the basics and see where that takes us."

Tessalla pauses in thought, guides a lock of dark hair over a horn, and run her fingers along the keratinous swirl. "Um, also... I REALLY need someone to show me proper horn care. Father does okay, but really doesn't know how to do it nice. And, my mother tries, but you know..."

Tassilda sighs with a slow nod. "It takes someone with the horns to know how."

Tessalla speaks a few phrases of a dialect of emin in agreement. Tassilda furrows her brow, twists her lips, and gradually shakes her head. "We will need to work on your emin, too. That was very close, though."

The two share a giggling moment and calm silence. Tessalla tilts her head to the side and inquires carefully. "Okay, um, not that I have a problem with everything that's happened tonight- It's been awesome so far. But, I'm just really curious as to... what... prompted all of this?"

Tassilda glances around momentarily and tries to hide her embarrassment in vain behind a bit of sarcasm. "Well, of course, it's all over a boy."

Tessalla's light blue on white eyes open wide and a grin of teenage glee appears on her face. "Go on."

Brushing back her raven black hair over a horn, Tassilda combats a her shyness to continue. "Well, his name is Daedrican. He's presently a junior paladin of the Chrome Crusaders."

Sheer interest and intrigue draw all of Tessalla's attention. Tassilda draws in a long breath and smiles. "He's tall. Young, but not too young. Fit and quite muscular. A lovely shade of dark gray skin. Thick, black horns. Beautiful, flowing long silver hair."

Tessalla soaks in the descriptive terms and giggles. Tassilda looks upon the mental image in her head. "Of course, high cheek bones and a square jaw. And, his eyes... A wonderful shade of gold... upon white."

Caught up in the visualization, Tessalla smirks at the description and abruptly blinks. "Wait- What?"

Tassilda grins slyly and attentively watches the video feed. "He's quite the wonderful half-emin man."

The view of Tessalla tumbles to her hands and surroundings as she fumbles her phone from shock. With sounds of frantic handling, Tessalla secures her phone and display centers on her face. "Okay, I'm laying on my bed and I've got the phone against my pillow. SAY THAT AGAIN?!"

Hiding her laughs of amusement behind her hand, Tassilda rolls her eyes at herself. "You heard me. I'll be happy to explain it all to you soon enough. To the say the least, he's gone well beyond any measure I had ever known to prove himself to me."

Tessalla stares through the video feed and gradually nods. "Okay. You have picture of him, right?"

Tassilda smiles smugly and nods. "Of course. But, I'll need to explain what all happened first before I send it to you. There's quite the story behind it all."

Twisting her mouth, Tessalla grumbles and sighs. "Okay. You have to tell me soon."

She ponders a thought for a moment, gradually frowns, and gazes with concern towards Tassilda through the video feed. "I know this probably none of my business, but... Um... Have you told your mother any of this yet?"

Tassilda blinks blankly. She frowns slowly, and averts her eyes away from the screen of her aetherphone around the room. Working through a wince on her face, she uncertainly gazes at Tessalla's face on the aetherphone display. "No."

Tessalla nods slowly and expresses her worry. "Oh. I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have asked and-"

Tassilda smiles warmly and shakes her head with sigh. "It's fine. I just haven't gotten that far yet. And, I honestly don't know what to do about her. That's going to be far bigger problem in the future. But, well, I've got enough to concern myself with at the moment."

Tessalla smiles in commiseration and weakly shrugs her shoulders. "I wish I could help you there, big sister. That doesn't sound like it'll be easy."

Exhaling out her anxiety, Tassilda shakes her head slowly. "It's okay. I should be able to get a better idea on how to handle that soon enough. But, for now..."

She smiles warmly to Tessalla on the aetherphone screen. "One thing at time, one day at a time."

The sisters agree on the sentiment. Quickly, they move onto the subject of Daedrican and exchange knowledge in many sisterly topics as the minutes pass through the evening.

-58-

Dretphi lowers her head from gazing up at the white, fluffy clouds above in the blue sky, and smiles at Bach with a persuading hint in her voice. "I thought we could practice close quarters maneuvers. Weather is suppose to be bad Tuesday. Take advantage now. Practice magic flow when we do not want to be outside."

Bach blinks, glances around the immediate vicinity, and scratches his head of longer, brown hair. "Uh, sure, I guess. The ground mat isn't out here. Do you want me to go get it? I think I remember seeing it in your room against the wall."

Shaking her head, Dretphi kneels down, picks up a well padded practice shield, and stands up with both hands holding it and a growing grin. "No grappling. Punches. Kicks. With this shield. We will take turns."

His stare widening, Bach's uncertainty leaks out and he averts his eyes away, searching for a diversion in vain. He nervously chuckles and struggles to demonstrate a nonchalant exterior. "Well... Uh... Maybe? I'm not that good at the whole close quarters thing... I'm sure you know..."

The smile on Dretphi's face wavers and she gazes down towards the ground, lowering the shield down. "Yes. I know. We can start slow. Simple. Easy."

Bach notices the shift in Dretphi's body language and grimaces. "I guess. I just don't think I'd be the best one for this."

Dretphi smiles hopefully and bites her lower lip with a shrug. "You are the best I have."

Bach cocks his head to the side and puzzles at her statement. Dretphi sighs, fights back embarrassment, and briefly twists her mouth. "We have similar weight. Height. Strength potential. Sebastian helped before. He can not now. Cideeda tries. Too light. Aristespha helps. Have to be careful to not wear out our medic. Sotalia..."

Both Bach and Dretphi make eye contact, ponder similar thoughts, and roll their eyes. Bach nods with an understanding groan and snorts. "Yeah... I can imagine that would get a bit old after a while."

Dretphi smirks and hides an impish flit of satisfaction. "When I tire of her... Hit the shield hard a few times. She stumbles. Wants to do other things."

Bach chuckles and shakes his head with a sigh. "Yeah... You do have a point. I'll do what I can... But, don't expect that much."

A bright smile appears on Dretphi's face, and she lifts up the padded practice shield along with her spirits. "Thank you. I think I am the best to help you practice. You know how... resilient I am."

She stands in front of Bach, holds the shield up at the ready, and waits expectantly. "Go first. Punch. Try it out. Take it slow. Work on form."

Bach glances over at the practice pad securely positioned by Dretphi, pauses in thought, and slowly changes his stance. Carefully balling up his fists, Bach rolls his shoulders and breathes in preparation. He pulls back arm, aims his posture, and glances towards Dretphi for confirmation. She quickly releases one hand from the shield, demonstrates a proper form with her arm, and gestures towards deficiencies she sees. Bach studies a moment, adjusts his raised fist, and waits for Dretphi to return her hand to the shield. He tenses his muscles, drives his punch forward, and lands in the ample padding of the practice pad. Dretphi barely rocks from the meek force. Bach pulls back his hand, readies himself again, and glances over again for confirmation. Dretphi lifts a curious brow and nods quickly. "Punch. Hard."

Bach narrows a stare at the middle of the practice shield, stretches his muscles, and flings another punch into the cushioned surface. He repeats the process many times and switches to his other hand. Dretphi studies each impact and watches the form of each of Bach's punches. After a number of punches, her expression towards Bach hints at annoyance, and she examines the motion of each attack. With another few impacts, she steps back, stands up straight, and focuses her scrutinizing stare upon Bach. "You are NOT punching hard. Why?"

Bach gradually lowers his fist, blinks at the examination by Dretphi, and fumbles for an answer. "Uh... Um... I... Well, I don't want to hurt you?"

Dretphi cracks a confident smirk, glances at the thick, ample cushioning of the practice shield, and places her hands on hips with faint flexing of her muscular frame. "Appreciate the sentiment. I should be able to manage."

Studying Dretphi's figure for seconds, Bach blinks back to awareness, sighs uneasily, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well... I'm just a bit hesitant to go full strength in attacking anyone really. Probably sounds silly given our current line of work, but..."

A warm smile appears on Dretphi's face and she relaxes her stance. She holds the practice shield low in front of her with both hands, nods understanding, and calmly explains. "It is not. Restraint is admirable. A good quality."

She steps forward, turns the shield around, and presents it to Bach. A eager grin sneaks out from the corner of her mouth and she lifts her eyebrow as she gazes at Bach. "You should not sacrifice potential from over restraint. This is practice. This shield will soften powerful impacts to a small force. Here."

Bach takes hold of the shield. Dretphi gestures with both arms and demonstrates. "Hold it like this. Brace one foot back. Stand firm. Not stiff. Flex with the force."

Nodding slowly, Bach grips hold of the practice pad by thick, well made straps, shifts his stance, and readies his upper body. Dretphi waits patiently as Bach presents the shield in front himself, while cringing uneasily in anticipation. Quickly assuming a proper posture and maintaining her form, Dretphi targets the shield with her steel gray eyes, pulls back her tensed tan, faint gray striped arm, and launches a fast fist solidly into the cushioning of the practice shield. The force radiates through the outer fabric covering, and sends a shock wave of air rippling outwards from the center to outer vent holes. The whole shield pushes upon Bach and rocks him back smoothly. Following the force through, Bach bends back and returns forward with little effort. He blinks a few times in surprise, examines the padded shield closer, and smiles amazed. "Well shit... That wasn't that bad at all. Just a general push backward, but nothing sharp or hard."

Dretphi grins eagerly and gestures her fists at the ready. "Want to continue?"

Bach shrugs his shoulders with a snort, holds the practice shield to Dretphi, and plants his feet back in preparation. "Well, sure. Hell, if that's all I've got to worry about, I'll be fine."

Dretphi unleashes series after series of punches into the cushioned pad, waiting for Bach to return to the ready after each volley. She motions for Bach to move the shield to another position, explains her intentions, and waits. After Bach resets to a new direction, she performs a new series of physical attacks upon the practice pad. In between breaks, she explains the maneuvers in careful and specific detail, and slows the process down to showcase motions to Bach. Minutes later, Dretphi wipes her forehead of sweat, rolls her shoulders as she stands straight, and holds her hand out. "Your turn. I will hold the shield."

The two switch jobs. Bach cautiously attempts a series of punches, with each repetition growing more forceful. Dretphi smiles encouragingly and utilizes the lulls in Bach's flurries to point out areas of improvement. Going through a similar routine, Dretphi leads Bach through and changes the shield's positions for another type of attack. Bach maintains his pace with plenty of panting from the intensity of the work out. Minutes later, Bach performs a series of sloppy maneuvers under the influence of tired, heavy breathing, and Dretphi steps back afterwards with a hand out. "Switch. That was good. This time, move the shield to a position away from center. I will hit it. You choose a new one when you feel like it. Repeat."

Bach nods as he takes the practice shield from Dretphi, draws a few deep breathes, and tries to stem his panting as he rolls his shoulders. "Okay. Sounds good. I'll see what I can do."

With a spring of excitement, Dretphi flexes her form, assumes a readied posture, and waits. Bach grips the padded shield with both hands and maintains in the center. He watches Dretphi's eager gaze upon the target and ponders a few moments as a smirk grows. He slides the practice shield in one direction, feels the impact, quickly shifts back to the center, and chooses another spot. Leading with a series of slow transitions, Bach speeds up the pace and varies the where the next spot will be. Dretphi's attention focuses upon the developing game between her and Bach, and she smiles happily as the challenge continues.

From across the field behind the ranch style house from the corner of the lot, a distant but audible groan from Tassilda rises out of the natural background. "... Again... You must FIRST perform protective incantations BEFORE you do the other parts of the spell..."

Veevi's distinctive irritated whines peaks into the airspace, but very little traveling the distance remains coherent. Bach and Dretphi both pause, glance over confused, listen a moment, and simultaneously roll their eyes. Bach shakes his head and smirks with a grumble. "Okay. A few more rounds, and let's go inside for a bit."

Dretphi nods in agreement and twists her mouth, fighting tinges of frustration. "Yes. I like peace when I practice."

The two resume as Bach shifts the practice shield to a new position and Dretphi tags it with a swift punch. Tassilda's voice breaks out in shrill shout. "...What are- OH GODS! FIRE IT UP IN THE AIR! NOW!"

A small bolt zips up into the sky, past the corner of the backyard. Bach lifts the practice pad up in front of him. Dretphi pushes forth her fist towards her target. A sharp, jarring crack concusses out suddenly into the area. Bach startles, reflexively tenses his upper body, and snaps his eyes towards source behind him. Dretphi's focus switches to the origin of the sound for a moment. Bach returns his gaze forward in time to catch a glimpse of Dretphi's fist approaching and realizes the shield followed his tensed arms down. Dretphi returns her gaze ahead to her fright. In mere moments, she loosens her tight fist, attempts to will her arm another direction, curls her hand inwards, and turns her body away. Despite her best efforts, momentum continues to carry her forward. The back of her wrist lands solidly into Bach's upper cheek and slides rigidly across his nose. A wet snap sounds from the collision. Bach's head turns away from the impact, and leads the rest of his body in a stumbling twirl. Dretphi lands on her side upon the ground. Reflexively, she puts her hands down to push herself, and winces sharply when her wrist bends. Back on her feet, she rushes over to Bach as he steadies himself, still on his feet. "Are you okay?!"

Bach pivots slowly in place to face Dretphi. His eyes water and red streams out of bent nose. Bach snorts out a crimson spray from his nostrils and blinks through his hazy vision with pained, unsure tone. "Uh... Maybe? Ow..."

Dretphi pales in horror as she covers mouth in shock with her other hand, and speaks direly apologetic phrases of Grath. She quickly places her free hand upon Bach's back and gently guides him inside the house.

----

Aristespha quirks an investigative eyebrow and narrows her glowing violet eyes towards Bach's nose. Her medically gloved hands carefully guides his head around as he sits in a turned around dining table chair. After a few more sways of Aristespha's head and focusing her attention to crooked ridge of Bach's nose, she nods her head with a neutral smirk. "Certainly broken, but nothing too serious. It seems to have fractured cleanly in a few locations. So nothing that can't be fixed quickly."

Cideeda passes another clean bundle of paper towels to Bach and plucks the red spotted mass of old sheets from him. Sotalia leans close and curiously stares at the swollen section of cheek and bent nose. She blinks in surprise and glances over to Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. "Good gods, girl. What did he do to get this from you?"

Dretphi snaps a unamused glare back at Sotalia and gently rubs her wrist while she stands away from the gathering. "Nothing! It was... An accident..."

Bach gradually nods, sniffs shallowly with a wince, and glances over to Sotalia. "Yeah. Some loud noise startled both of us at the wrong time. I think it came from the other team. At least the yelling sounded familiar."

Frowning as she watches Bach explain, Dretphi rolls her shoulders uncomfortably and keeps her gaze low. "Yes. Tassilda. Veevi."

Cideeda twists her mouth in thought, places her hands at her hips, flicks her furry ears, and squints her emerald eyes through the glass of the back sliding door. "That explains where that noise I heard came from. Still don't know what it was."

Sotalia cross her arms, rolls her eyes with a groan, and shakes her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "Gods, probably another magical mishap from that annoying little shit not following instructions. Tassilda really needs find a way to get out of teaching that pink bitch anything else. As nice as it would be for her to blow herself up, she'd probably take all of us out doing so."

Sebastian hovers next to Bach and cranes his head over with a smirk. "Damn, bro. Looks like quite the hit you took. Should be able to get you fixed up. But, gods, that has to hurt."

Bach manages a smile through discomfort and breathes out a laugh. "Yeah. But, I was at least still standing. Even if stumbled around a few times. To be fair though, Dretphi pulled it as much as she could at the last second. Probably would have knocked me out cold otherwise."

Dretphi's shoulders tense and she bites her lower lip. She averts her gaze and tries to hide the growing embarrassment and shame upon her face as emotion obviously seeps into her body language. Aristespha sighs, adjusts her chair opposite of Bach, and stares with a professional demeanor at him. "Okay. Since it is very recent and clean, I can perform a very powerful series of spells to realign it all back into place. Then, I'll fuse the bones and bind the softer tissues enough that it will secure it. After that, a few alchemical treatments to aid the natural healing process."

Bach nods in understanding, pads up a slow trickle of blood from under his nose, and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay. That sounds good."

Aristespha draws in a long breath breath, and sighs with a grit of her teeth. "Unfortunately, due to the nature of the spells involved and how much focus and care they require... I can't afford any magical pain management during the process."

Bach's gaze towards Aristespha shifts quickly towards uneasy and he awkwardly smiles. "Well, any other options?"

With a calm, proper demeanor, Aristespha explains the situation to Bach. "I can't use anything alchemical before the procedure. I can give you some mild pain relievers, but those will provide very limited relief and take time for your body to process. Ideally, we do this as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the longer it will take to properly align and fuse tissues together, as I will have to fight more of the body's natural reaction to this injury over time."

She presents a reassuring smile and patient, calm exterior. "There are other options, but they will take a lot more time and effort to perform over the course of two weeks or so. It's up to you on how I proceed."

Bach ponders and his eyes search his mind. After a few seconds of thought, he sighs with a grumble and rolls his eyes at himself. "Let's just get it done now and quick. We all got bigger things to deal with. Shit, even I have better things to worry about."

Aristespha nods with a slight, confirming bow. "Understood."

She glances over her shoulder and gestures Dretphi over. "Dretphi? Could you come over and hold the sides of Bach's head."

Dretphi blinks to attention, nods, and steps over behind Bach's chair. Aristespha gazes her glowing violet eyes at Bach and precisely gestures out an incantation. She readies her hands near Bach and calmly explains. "I'll be as gentle as I can when moving bones in place. Stay as relaxed as possible. Stay as still as possible. You will have some help there."

She glances to Dretphi and motions to the sides of Bach's head. "Just keep his head from reflexively turning away. It sometimes happens even when people are trying their best."

Dretphi nods, places both hands firmly but gently on either side of Bach's head.  She subdues a wince as the wrist on one hand bends. Bach eyes over to the side as he feels the subtle quiver of Dretphi's hand. His eyes scan through his recent memory and search through hazy details. Aristespha smiles comfortingly with hints of amusement, and rests her gloved finger lightly upon Bach's nose. "Here's the glamorous part of my job they tell don't anyone."

Each of her pinkie fingers slide into respective nostrils of Bach's nose and flows of magical energy stream through her hands into a radiant coating upon the nasal structures. She stares at Bach and signals him with a nod. Bach closes his eyes tightly. Aristespha concentrates her full focus and prepares. After a few seconds of study, her fingers move quickly and precisely. A wet series of muffled crunches spike into the air over the next minute. Sotalia quickly covers her pointed ears, shudders in full body wince, and wretches briefly as she steps away. Cideeda's ears droop back and she grits her teeth, tensing her shoulders. Dretphi presents a stoic facade but barely hides her discomfort and concerned gaze upon Bach. Sebastian twists his mouth as uncomfortable familiarity washes over his ethereal visage. Bach staggers a gasp through his teeth. "G-g-gods... Fuck..."

Aristespha keeps her attention upon her task and pauses briefly to update Bach. "The bones and cartilage are back in place. Now to secure them to each other. Hang in there, Bach."

The energies surrounding and within Bach's nose flash up to a bright glow. Bach opens his blue eyes wide shock and painfully grimaces. His fists clench, forearm muscle tense, and gasps in air. Dretphi keeps Bach head in place against unconscious motions to turn with a cringe. The few minutes pass by slowly for Bach and the group. The flows fade out quickly, and Aristespha gingerly removes her hands from Bach with a relieved smile. "It's done."

Dretphi releases Bach from her hold. Bach sways his head side to side in a momentary daze and blinks back to clarity. Dretphi rests her hand upon his shoulder and steadies him in the chair. Bach sniffs up a long draw of air through his nose and flutters his eyes. "Wow! Just... Wow... Oh, holy shit..."

He eyes Aristespha briefly with a weak smile and laughs lightly. "So... Can I get something to help the natural healing process... And my sanity?"

Aristespha grins in commiseration with a single nod, removes the thin, transparent medical gloves off her hands, and tosses them into a nearby trash can. "Yes. Most certainly."

She glances over to Sotalia with a smile. "Could you get me a vial from the latest batch of analgesics we made?"

Sotalia nods and departs quickly, occasionally shuddering and shaking it off mid stride. Bach pauses in a thought briefly and curiously glances up to Dretphi concerned. "Oh yeah. How is your wrist? Now that I think about it... That's what actually hit me. Not your fist."

Dretphi eyes widen and she glances around in a thinly veiled facade of calm. "Oh. It will be fine."

Bach hoists an unconvinced eyebrow up on his face and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "How is it, currently?"

Embarrassment leaks out into Dretphi's uneasy smirk with hints of guilt, and she sighs uncomfortably. Cideeda pulls out a chair from the nearby dining table, slides it over next to Bach's, and gestures Dretphi into it. Aristespha turns her chair to face the new seat. Sebastian smiles understandingly and shakes his head slowly. "It's okay. Bach is fine. You're next. Sit down and let's get it taken care of."

Dretphi sides steps around, sits down in the empty chair, and presents her aching wrist. While Aristespha examines her injury, Dretphi turns her head towards Bach with a soft tone. "I am... very... sorry. I wanted the training to be fun. Not end like this."

She frowns and exahles sadly. "I will understand if you are hesitant to participate in the future."

Bach slowly angles his head to face Dretphi, shrugs his shoulders, and grins nonchalantly. "You don't have worry. As if I'm letting something like this stop me, especially at THIS point. It's not like it's the first injury I've gotten by accident from friends or family."

A wave of relief washes over Dretphi and she smiles warmly towards Bach. "Thank you."

Bach groans with a twist in his smirk. "Also, it's not like I've haven't been in your position before."

Sebastian rolls his eyes and grumbles ethereally as he crosses his arms. "No shit there, bro."

Narrowing his glance briefly at Sebastian, Bach grins mischievously to Dretphi and points generally to a few of his front teeth. "For example, the points on two of Sebastian's canines are... or were reforms."

Snapping his glare at Bach, Sebastian's ethereal form tightens his arms and sneers. "Well, maybe if SOMEONE had remembered look for the pieces after he ACCIDENTALLY lead me into that metal post... I wouldn't have had to sit in that dentist chair for hours as they formed new ones!"

Concentrating an accusatory glare to Sebastian, Bach mumbles loudly as he flexes his wrist and holds it with his other hand. "Oh, only fair after convincing me to jump THAT creek with my bike. Again, that cast up to my elbow was SO MUCH fun."

Sebastian's expression blanks and his eyes search around the area to avoid Bach's stare. "Uh... Well... In all fairness, bro, I kind of thought you'd make it. And, you did... But... I just didn't know that rock would catch your front wheel like that on the other side."

Aristespha rolls her glowing violet eyes as the brothers continue to dig up old sibling battle wounds and smirks to Dretphi before inspecting the wrist further. Dretphi leans close to Aristespha and smiles whispering. "Reminds me of my two brothers."

Quirking her brow, Aristespha responds in similarly quiet manner and directs her voice to Dretphi. "Including the accidents?"

With a slight grumble, Dretphi curls her upper lip slightly and nods slowly. "Unfortunately."

----

A bright orb of light hovers above Meredosia's palm as she swings it slowly around. The light casts a few meters upon the floor of the massive, cavernous, and dark space. Walking carefully ahead, she shines the illumination upon large industrial machinery and golem parts at many stages of construction. Speckles reflect from stone, glints flicker from metal, and light diffuses through crystal in the area. Meredosia narrows her dark crimson eyes out into the shadowy space at the perimeter of her light and snaps her head down upon the floor. She kneels down, and pulls her gray hair out of the way and over a long, pointed ear. She cocks her head in a mix of curiosity and worry as her ivory fingers trace out unfamiliar, recent footprints in the dirt and dust. She lifts her head up, stares ahead determined, and stands up with a growing sneer.

Meredosia maintains a cautious pace but keeps her attention forward towards the tunnel archway past a small building within the gigantic, dark cave. Her gaze shifts briefly towards the wrecked interior of the structure and strewn debris sprawled out in front of its entryway. Squinting through the dim outer edge of her light, she speeds up her pace towards the huge tunnel archway. She stops momentarily, and studies the dust disturbances upon the smooth floor. Her hard stare follows five distinct, recent trails upon older tracks matching the outlines of her boots. She closes her eyes, and remains silent. Only the faint sounds of air flowing contrast the eerie silence, as her long ears twitch. Her eyes open up with a dark crimson glow radiating out.

Each of Meredosia's steps propel her forward at a fast pace down the tunnel leading to the barely ajar, massive double doors at the end. She grits her teeth and grimaces as concern, dread, and anger mix upon her ivory face. She quickly slips through the gap between the doors, stands upon the dimly lit stone path surrounding a deep, dark pit. Snapping her head to either side, she searches the immediate routes down the walkways and focuses her attention to the crystal embedded cave ceiling overhead. Puzzlement overwhelms her and she mutters a series of confused Evuukian phrases as expectation remains unsatisfied. Blinking her glowing crimson eyes, she returns her gaze forward towards the platform. Her jaw drops open. Her eyes widen in absolute horror. She silently gawks blankly at the partially collapsed central platform. A few squeaks of disbelief escape her lungs as she recognizes the scattered and strewn parts of the dire wolf golem, draped upon the ruined structure.

Stepping slowly and staggering, she yells out a single word in a dialect of evuukian as the light orb in her palm dissipates in sudden puff of miasma. Her astonished gawk searches vainly between the devastated mechanical corpse of the dire wolf construct and the torched, tipped central platform. Her attempts at speaking start and stumble to abrupt halts as comprehension evades Meredosia entirely. Horror fills her face as she curls her fingers in her gray hair. Seconds later, her ivory face reddens deeply and she throws out her arms down in a pained scream of rage. She gasps for air, panting unsteadily, and tenses her whole body. Enraged words shriek from her mouth and each new phrase leaves her with peaking levels of spite and hate. She stomps down the walkway towards a twisted central access ramp, diverts from her course, and stops to scream out a single name. "NOXIAN!!!"

Meredosia's bright crimson gaze locks onto an old crate and she sends a clenched fist into the ancient wood. She pulls out her hand, kicks another box with all her might, sending dry rotted splinters into the air. Her fury wanes with each outburst until she drops to her knees. Tears stream from Meredosia's eyes with each wet, angry sob, and spatter upon the dusty, carved rock walkway. Doubling over at the mercy of her emotions, she slams her fists upon the hard path, punctuating each charged evuukian word leaving her lungs. Her vigor leaves and she collapses fully onto the floor in panting, shaky pile. Minutes pass as her exhaustion leads her to silence in the massive crystal cave. Over time, her breathing returns to normal and she gathers some semblance of composure. She gets her arms underneath her, and gradually rights herself up in a sit upon the cold stone walkway. Meredosia releases a long sigh and stares distantly, her attention well within her own mind. While her blank gaze wanders aimlessly around her vicinity, a gradual flow of air flutters a pile of debris nearby. Meredosia's long ears twitch and she slowly pivots her stare upon a few recent, medical supply wrappers. She reaches out, plucks the paper off the ground, and puzzles over the writing. In a daze, she reads the ink stamped writing next to the printed text out loud. "... Sold at Amaranth Valley General Pharmacy..."

She tilts her head to the side and ponders the torn wrapper in her hands as idle silence returns to the crystal speckled cave.

----

Veevi dons a determined grimace, hoists up her wooden practice sword with both hands, and side steps in a circle around Trakenthin. She stops after a few meters as the wind blows locks of her pink hair in her face. Keeping her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin and hands on the sword, she tosses her hair back, tenses her muscles, and grits her sharp teeth. A moment of silence falls upon the back lot of the two story house, with only the bored, annoyed sigh from Trakenthin contrasting the quiet. Veevi digs her feet into the grass, charges forth towards Trakenthin, and swings for an open spot upon the tall, large grath. Trakenthin watches halfheartedly, waits for Veevi to get with a meter, and swiftly swings the mop handle. With slight shift in his stance, Trakenthin parries Veevi's attack, redirects her momentum, and lightly presses the pole in the exact spot to throw her off balance. Veevi yips in surprise as her shoulders tip past her center of gravity and she flops awkwardly onto the ground. Her fuzzy ears flick and her short-haired tail wags with her agitation. She lifts up her head from ground, draws back her hair from her face, and spits out a few blades of grass.

Trakenthin glances over at the half-fvalian annoyed and maintains his stoic front. Veevi hops up to her feet, brushes off her tight fitting shirt and shorts, and readies her practice sword again. She ponders a few moments, changes up her pose, and switches up her grip upon the sword. After circling around the stationary grath a number of times, she sprints suddenly at Trakenthin. Her attack swings to another perceived opening. Trakenthin deftly handles the sloppy attempt upon him and guides Veevi back onto the ground with minimal effort. The cycle repeats with Veevi rotating through variations of attacks, approaches, and methods. Each meets a similar minimal effort counter from Trakenthin. Finally, Veevi flops on the ground and remains upon the grass, panting.

She grumbles to herself, lowers her ears, and pulls up a handful grass as frustration flares up on her face. Working the grimace off her face, she narrows her eyes in thought, glances over to Trakenthin, and smirks slightly. Switching to a lighter expression, she sits herself up on the ground and catches her breath. Trakenthin quirks a curious brow with a hint of hope coloring his tone. "Finished?"

Veevi presents a cute smile with a flutter of her eyes. "Oh. No. Just taking a break. Having to spar with such a big, tall, powerful warrior is a bit tiring."

Trakenthin twitches his upper lip and rolls his eyes with a sigh. "Whenever you are ready."

Veevi smiles slyly, props herself up with her arms behind her, and arches her back in long, figure revealing stretch. She extends her legs out, gradually flexing her form, and works herself into near side split upon the ground. Donning a seductive, sharp grin, she gazes towards Trakenthin. Her facade falters as she notices Trakenthin's attention poring through paragraphs of text on his aetherphone. With a sneering frown, Veevi sits up, folds her legs, crosses her arms, and petulantly pouts. Her glare examines Trakenthin and settles upon the many faded spots and scars upon his dark bronze skinned arms and legs. Veevi smiles sharply and lifts an intrigued dark pink eyebrow. "You seem like such an amazing fighter. You've certainly shown me your... impressive skill. But, I have to ask, where did you get all those scars?"

Trakenthin's hazel eyes flit wide, but he maintains a calm, stoic exterior. Veevi stares blatantly at Trakenthin, rests her head upon her hands, and grins with a seductive tone. "Hmm. I can barely imagine the amazing battles you must have been through."

Trakenthin's cheek twitches and a frown lightly weighs down the corners of his mouth. With a soft, alluring tone, Veevi sways with her tail and bites her lip. "After all you've shown me, I find it amazing that ANYONE got even a chance to put a scratch on you."

Fighting a curl of his upper lip, Trakenthin lifts his gaze up from his phone and stares ahead with a distinctly unamused tint. "My scars came from no battles."

Veevi blinks surprised, and presents an impressed smile. She slides gradually along to grass towards Trakenthin, keeping her gaze upon him. "Well. That's interesting... Would you tell me how you got them? I'm sure each has a story... I'm especially interested in the ones that... I can't see right now."

A wave of discomfort over Trakenthin cracks his stoic demeanor and he stares distantly ahead. Moments into his mind, he shudders, shakes his head briefly, and plainly states. "No good stories. Came from training. Long time ago."

Veevi cocks her head to side, genuinely surprised. She halts her stealthy approach towards Trakenthin, musters back her seductive demeanor, and dons a sly grin. She reaches out her hand, moves it near Trakenthin's leg, and hovers a finger over a faded scar on Trakenthin's thigh. "Wow... That had to be some serious... intense... training. It certainly made you quite the tough, strong man."

Tension builds up in Trakenthin's shoulders as he grimaces. He shakes his head with a cringe, and quickly regains awareness. His cold, irritated stare aims down at Veevi, and he snarls his upper lip. With loud snort, he raises the mop handle above Veevi and growls lowly. "DODGE."

Veevi glances up bewildered right before she touches Trakenthin. "Wha-"

Her pink pupils narrow and her eyes widen in terror as she witnesses the tensing muscular arms of Trakenthin and the mop handle at the ready. She reflexively cowers backwards onto the ground and crosses her arms in front of her face to shield herself. Trakenthin narrows his glare upon her, watches her squirm awkwardly away, and rolls his eyes. He relaxes his arm, sighs out his anxiety, and regains his stoic facade. "Pay attention. Keep your weapon with you."

Veevi peeks out through uncrossing arms, nods her head, and turns to grab her practice sword. As she faces away from Trakenthin, a satisfied, sinister smile creeps upon her lips. She quickly hops up on her feet, and pivots to Trakenthin with her sword ready and a confident grin upon her face.

----

Aristespha and Bach sit cross legged upon folded towels on the floor in the middle of the garage. Sotalia touches up the complicated magical markings encircling Aristespha and Bach, draws a few paths near her with a fine tipped piece of chalk, and glances over to read from an open tome. Sebastian hovers overhead and floats down to land next to Dretphi. Patiently waiting and observantly watching, Dretphi stands at the ready with the sword in its scabbard just outside the circle. Cideeda adjusts an electronic camera on a tripod a few meters way and leads a cable up to the holoplayer resting on a workbench near the corner of the garage. Bach surveys the activity around the room, slowly squirms in discomfort, and grumbles lightly. "I know a lot of this is precautionary and for information purposes... But, I really can't shake the feeling I'm some kind of dangerous science experiment about to go wrong."

Aristespha presents a comforting smile to Bach, and nods calmly. "I know. You aren't the only one. I think we've all seen those movies. Still, if you don't feel comfortable with doing this, we should be able to try it another time."

Cideeda shrugs her shoulders with her clawed hands upwards at her side, and smirks nonchalantly. "Yeah, it's not like we park anything in this garage. We can keep the monitoring equipment set up for a while."

Sotalia looks up from her thick, large book, smiles with a kind tone. "Don't worry. We'll work with you."

She resumes her examination of the detailed information in the tome and slowly turns the page with great interest. Bach twists his mouth in deliberation and shakes his head with a smile. "No, it's okay. I need to do this. Well, at least start figuring out what... I can do..."

He sighs, rocks his head gradually side to side in a stretch, and straightens his posture. "With everything going on... The golem attack... Whatever crazy shit Meredosia is trying to do... Finding all those Elder energy collection platforms, especially at that hidden factory. And, well, Noxian in general. I... I just need to stop putting off exploring this more."

Sebastian nods to Bach with a proud grin on his ethereal face and appreciative voice. "Hey, bro, we'll do what we can at whatever pace you choose. Don't think I don't understand the fact you're putting yourself at risk here."

Bach smiles, draws in a deep breath, and exhales out his nerves. "Thanks. Okay... I guess I'll try to draw out a small orb. A very little one."

Aristespha nods, blinks her eyes to a glowing violet, and prepares herself. "That's a good place to start. After I prepare a few protective measures and Sotalia charges the circle, you can begin."

She carefully recites a long chain of incantations, precisely gestures out a series of complicated motions with her hands, and concentrates upon Bach. Sotalia places her hands upon intricate lines leading to the encircling runes around Bach and Aristespha. Magical flows swirl gently around her forearms and sink into the paths upon the concrete floor. A faint glow radiates throughout the protective circle and gradually pulsates idly. Bach glances around, notices Cideeda press a record button, and Dretphi grip the sword tightly. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, and reopens them a bright blue. Magical energy from all parts of his body flow out and condense into complicated structures around his arms and upper body. Layers upon layers materialize from the magical miasma venting from Bach. Minutes later, Bach carefully draws a nervous, wary breath, and slowly exhales as he musters his focus. Lifting his hands close in front of him, he aims his full concentration to a space between his palms. He remains silent as everyone's attention shifts. The growing tension causes minor shakes, twitches, and shudders to flit across Bach's body. Gritting his teeth with a pained grimace, tiny pinpoints of white shine in the middle of Bach's brightly blue illuminated eyes. The sword vibrates in Dretphi's secure grip and Sebastian's ethereal form wavers and flickers.

"NEW FLOW DETECTED. FROM FAMILIAR SOURCE."

Bach's hands tremor constantly, his face wears an ongoing wince, and his breathing staggers. He brings his hands closer as he struggles to will something out from within. Punishing moments later, faint threads of white drift out from Bach and travel within the encapsulating confines of the magical constructs around his arms. The flows dissipate into a mist near Bach's hands and condense gradually into a bright white point between his palms. Swirling miasma gathers slowly onto the tiny, hovering orb. With each minute, the ball of Elder energy solidifies larger from the cloud of magic vapor around it.

The threads of flow fade off completely and the final traces of energy haze collapses upon the brilliant white orb. Bach's tense muscles relax slightly, pain lessens from his form, and relief sounds out in each of his breaths. The dimmer blue glow in his eyes seals away the bright white. He braces his arms upon his knees by his elbows and shifts his hands underneath to cradle the tiny ball of Elder energy. Aristespha studies the orb in absolute, pure fascination. Sotalia gawks in utter, sheer awe. Cideeda stares in astonishment, occasionally switching her attention to the holoplayer's unsteady holographic display. Dretphi gazes upon Bach with concern, and notices a shift in Bach's body language.

Aristespha blinks back to awareness, glances ahead to the exhaustion quickly overtaking Bach, and gestures towards the sword. Dretphi promptly drops down next the containment circle and brings the sword close to the small white orb across the circle perimeter. Aristespha carefully steadies Bach by his shoulders and watches as wisps of energy peel clear from the ball into the sword. As Sebastian's visage warps, he furrows his brow searching his own sensations. The sword vacuums up the last of Elder energy in seconds. Aristespha inspects the vicinity with her glowing violet eyes and calls out. "All clear. The sword absorbed it all."

Bach's head sways back and the rest of his upper body rocks back. Sotalia and Dretphi move in and each steady one of Bach's shoulders. Cideeda steps over swiftly with a medical kit the second Aristespha lifts her hand to gesture her over. Consciousness surges up in Bach. He shudders back awake, and balances himself. He rubs his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of his nose and winces briefly as he removes his hand from a tender spot. Glancing around, blinking off his daze, and sighs in relief. "I'm okay. I think? Gods... It's so weird. The second I stop flowing... It just hits full force."

He gazes around the rest of the group as Aristespha performs a routine inspection, and inquires. "Um... Have to ask, but what did you all see and feel? Kind of curious, since I've never had anyone else around in such a controlled environment."

Aristespha twists her mouth, sighs uncertainly, and slowly shakes her head. "It's hard to describe. I'll need some time to think through it all."

Sotalia gently rubs Bach's back and presents a comforting smile. "Well, it felt similar... BUT... noticeably different from Noxian's use."

Bach nods in between deep, long breaths. Sebastian hovers close to Bach and deliberates. "Well, from what I've felt so far while in this sword, that was a very small amount that got sucked in."

Cideeda shrugs and sighs with an unsatisfied smirk. "Wish I had anything to add, but the readings were everywhere. But, the video looks like it recorded. We'll see how good it was."

Aristespha frowns and slowly shakes her head. "I apologize I can't be any clearer at the moment. I just can't think of the right words at the moment."

Bach snorts and chuckles weakly. "Ah, it's okay. I've been dealing with this for far longer and I have less information about it."

Standing up from her seat, Aristespha nods in agreement and dons a hopeful tone. "It was just a first attempt. And... I, of all people, should know better than to expect all the answers from the first trial. When you want to try again, let us know. I think this process worked."

Bach sighs out his relief, lifts himself up with help from Dretphi and Sotalia. "Yeah. Thanks for the assistance. I'm up for another go... in the near future."

Dretphi pats Bach's back and looks to everyone. "Dinner?"

The group agrees and departs through the door leading inside to the kitchen.

-59-

The warm glow of morning light radiates into the open combination living and dining room. Thomas grasps his mug of black coffee with his cybernetic hand, and slowly enjoys a long sip. Kaleb calmly grabs hold of his cup of equally dark liquid, and pours it back into his mouth. His smirk curls downwards with an overall grimace upon face, and his nonchalant facade cracks. Thomas lifts an amused gray eyebrow and snorts. "You should really stop trying to force yourself to drink the coffee black, if you don't like it that way. You have nice things to put in coffee here. I often didn't."

Shadeesa brushes her dark green hair over one of her horns and narrows her green on black eyes at Kaleb. She sighs as she rolls her eyes towards Thomas with a shake of her head. "I keep telling him that. And, it's not like I don't put plenty in his travel pack. We have a wonderful jar of honey we got from one of the farmers at the market. Absolutely amazing in just about everything."

Thomas's interest piques and he tilts his head to the side. "Oh, I might try some, then. What type of honey is it?"

Shadeesa smiles while gazing down into her mug of milky tan coffee, and idly wraps her hands around it. "Protellow. Mostly. She mentioned keeping a field of protellows going in the middle of a large area of forest her family owns."

A chuckle escapes Thomas and he slowly shakes his head. "Which usually means they found an established patch and decided to not throw their money away in trying to remove it. Good gods, all the ways my dad and I have tried to clear out stray protellow plants."

Kaleb grins and laughs as a memory pops up to the front of mind. "Oh, yeah! Have you ever told Shadeesa about that one time you and your dad tried to use dynamite on one?"

Thomas sighs out old embarrassment, grits his teeth as he rolls his cybernetic shoulders, and glances towards Shadeesa. "I don't actually know. Have I told you?"

He puzzles and studies Shadeesa's flexing grip upon her cup of half-empty coffee. Kaleb notices the nervous tension in Shadeesa body language and her downwards stare. He wraps his arm around her, and gently rubs her shoulder with a calm, concerned tone. "Hey, you okay?"

Shadeesa blinks back to awareness, glances around with hints of embarrassment, and settles her loving gaze upon Kaleb. "Oh. Yes. I'm just nervous about seeing a patient here today."

Thomas nods understandingly and smiles kindly. "You'll do fine. From what you've said, it just sounds like someone needs a professional to do a check up and provide a proper opinion. Both you can provide, and then some."

With a long sigh, Shadeesa nods in agreement and twists her mouth with hints of dissatisfaction apparent. "I know. It's just I really wanted to have all the right things in a nice, professional looking place before people brought their pets here. Going on house calls to farms is one thing... But coming here..."

Kaleb turns his head of short, blonde hair towards Shadeesa and gives her a quick peck on her light gray, white freckled cheek. "All in a good time. You need to start somewhere."

Shadeesa grumbles lightly and smiles with affection. "I know... I know..."

Thomas takes a long gulp of his black coffee, shrugs his shoulders, and smirks. "I learned to ride pseudo-dragons in packed mud arenas. If your day doesn't involve getting repeatedly bucked off into a fresh pile, you're doing just fine."

A strong breeze blows through the back door screen, and drives a draft of air through the living space to the cracked open front windows with a faint whistle. Kaleb watches the indoor potted plants sway gently with the wind, and angles his stare towards the horizon through both outside views. "Damn. Well, I see that storm they've been talking about is getting pretty close."

Thomas nods slowly and sighs with a trailing grumble. "Yeah. Been keeping an eye on that one. I just hope it doesn't cause too much chaos on the roadways. I need to head back to High Alton, since Albert should be back in a few days."

Shadeesa smiles happily to Thomas. "It's been wonderful to have you here. Lagi will certainly miss having his grandfather around."

Kaleb laughs and nods with a smirk. "Yeah, really hate to see you go. But, I guess you need to get up there and get the place back together for Albert."

After a humored snort, Thomas rolls his eyes at himself, and holds his hands out to the sides with a shrug of his cybernetic shoulders. "Well... Back together might be asking... a bit much. I'm just hoping for cleaning up enough before we start the next project."

He grins slyly to the couple across the table and winks. "But, if you two are still willing to host, I'm certain after we tear up half the house... We might NEED a break from the chaos. Just to remind ourselves what a nice home is suppose to look like."

With a bright smile, Shadeesa nods, relaxes her posture, and settles a calm grip on her coffee. "Oh, thank you. Whenever you and Albert want to visit, just let us know."

Kaleb thinks a moment and turns to face Shadeesa. "I'm all for it, and we could invite Bach, Sebastian, and everyone else down here for the day, too."

Lagi cranes his black and blue scaled, white plate armored head close the back screen door, searches inside with his bright green eyes, and spots the three at the table. With a purposeful pattern, he weaves together a series of whirs, clicks, purrs, and whines, and gestures his front claws towards the other side of the house. Kaleb gazes out a large front window, and watches an old pickup truck roll up the long drive way. "You are right, Lagi. Thank you."

Lagi nods in confirmation and disappears from view of the back door. Thomas perks his brow and curiously gazes between Kaleb and Shadeesa. "Has Lagi been able to vocalize any words? I've been curious if he's picked up anything, since Nachta had a decent vocabulary... Well... When she felt like using it."

Kaleb thinks moment and nods slowly, twisting his mouth in contemplation. "He's getting a lot better with practice. But, he's still not comfortable with words still."

As the truck gets closer to the house, he squeezes Shadeesa gently with his arm wrapped around her, and smiles lovingly. "Time to be professional."

Shadeesa blinks to attention, swiftly pours her coffee down her mouth, swallows hard, and scoots her chair back. She stands up with the cautionary assistance of Kaleb, brushes her apron off, and adjusts her clothing as best as she can manage around her pregnant figure. "Gods, I'm glad these scrub pants have a forgiving elastic waistband."

She walks towards the side door of the house, picks up standard diagnostic equipment along the way, and adorns herself to professional veterinarian expectation. As Kaleb and Thomas walk from the table, Kaleb glances over to Thomas. "But, Lagi seems to understand Americ just fine and he's actually been picking up a lot of Emin dialects from Shadeesa. He just just prefers to respond in that dragon language you taught him when he was young."

Thomas scratches his chin, ponders for a few seconds, and explains. "Well, that does make sense. The language was designed to use easy sounds for most large dragons, and based on lot of sounds they've been known to make when communicating."

He twists his mouth and crosses his arms. "But if you can, you should really get him speaking Americ regularly. His voice box should be capable with some practice."

Kaleb slowly nods in agreement, glances out a nearby window, and hums in thought. "Yeah. Definitely on the agenda."

Shadeesa sighs, rolls the tension out of her shoulders, and glances behind her. "I've been thinking of a way to magically help Lagi vocalize words... But, it's still a theory."

The darkening sky gets Kaleb's attention through a window and he sneers his upper lip apprehensively. "Man, that storm must be closing in quick. You want to get your bike covered up and under the carport?"

Thomas squints towards the horizon out the same window, grits his teeth with a tinge of concern, and grimaces. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea."

Shadeesa stands at the side door to the house, listens to truck doors opening and closing, and draws a long breath in. She opens the door, gently swings out the storm door, and presents a welcoming smile to her clients and patient. "Hello. I'm Veterinarian Serania. I assume you are Mr. Frenzacia?"

The middle aged emin man nods his head and laughs. "I hope so, else I've been paying some other guy's bills for way too long."

A bit of tension leaves Shadeesa's posture, she turn her attention to the young teen-aged girl next to Mr. Frenzacia. She pauses a moment to decipher the girl's appearance and presents a happy smile. "You must be Fawna."

Fawna's long, pointy ear tips behind her head sway in the gust of wind as her very long, silvery, red tinted hair blows around. She contorts her face in frustration and attempts to toss her head around to sling stray locks off her horns, and eventually settles to gazing up to Shadeesa with one blue on white eye and one blue on black eye. "Um, yes. Sorry. Uh, the wind."

Mr. Frenzacia rolls his eyes and quickly assists moving hair tinted the same color as his own off of horns resembling his own. Shadeesa sighs understandingly and moves her gaze down to the creature supported in both of Fawna's arms. "Don't worry. We'll be inside soon enough. I just need to check a few things out here first with your whelp, Varan..."

Shadeesa blinks surprised and puzzles at the whelp in Fawna's arms. The huge, pot bellied whelp sits upright against Fawna's torso, lower feet upon on an arm, and upper clawed paws idly flexing gently on Fawna's other higher up arm. Varan aims his calm, attentive gaze up to Shadeesa. After a few seconds, Varan glances his aqua eyes up to Fawna, and softly chirps out a few purposeful tones. Fawna kisses the top of Varan's amber head and smiles warmly to him. "It's okay. She's going to see why you've grown so big and your wings haven't yet."

Varan blinks to a long, thoughtful pause, purrs out a confirmation, and studies Shadeesa with the same calm, attentive aqua eyes. Shadeesa's stare widens in a mix of fascination and bewilderment. Kaleb exits the side door and holds it open for Thomas. Kaleb and Thomas give a friendly wave to the father and daughter, and grant Shadeesa distance to perform her work. They both approach the motorcycle off to the side of the carport. Near the bike, Kaleb glances over, halts mid way through moving a nearby tarp, and finally fully notices the huge whelp in the teenager's arms. He tilts his head side to side, shakes off his surprise, and chuckles with an awkward smile to Thomas. "Wow, that has to be biggest whelp I've ever seen. I know a few breeds got big, but... I mean he looks like how Lagi did... when he was really young..."

Thomas stops in place as he hears Kaleb's voice trail off and watches faint recognition dawn upon his face. He pivots around to gaze over at the whelp. Varan senses the attention, cranes his head to face Thomas, and watches him with a glints of curiosity in his eyes. Thomas cocks his head back and visually scrutinizes the creature. Varan blinks, tilts his head side to side, and thoughtfully pauses a moment. He focuses upon Thomas, and chirps out purposefully with patient anticipation. Thomas eyes widen in genuine surprise, nods with fascinated smile, and whispers to Kaleb. "That's not a whelp."

----

Sotalia stares her golden eyes out into the darkening gray sky through the sliding back door. She taps her foot in frustration, sways her hips, and crosses her arms as sparse, occasional drops of rain splatter on the glass. With an irritated groan, she retrieves her aetherphone out of her yoga pants pocket and flips through the menus. "Gods, it's just getting worse out there."

She shrugs her shoulders, pivots around, and walks with a dissatisfied hum. "Oh well, I was hoping for even a small window to do some magic practice. I guess that's just not going to happen today."

Aristespha rolls her eyes, glances away from the gathering at the dining table, and smirks at Sotalia. "You can still practice a variety of magic indoors."

Sotalia cracks a grin and lifts an amused brow. "Oh? Well... Not the type I wanted to practice. Unless, you think we can get away with throwing bolts and streams out the back window from inside?"

Shaking her head, Aristespha groans her gaze away from Sotalia back to tablet on the table in front of her. "NO. I distinctly remember a significant section of the lease paperwork from the landlord detailing extensively about magic use. We are already pushing it close, and I would very much like to see some of our sizable security deposit back in the future."

Dretphi leans forward on the table and studies the dark gray cast to the world past the back glass door. "It was predicted the storm would be bad tomorrow, Tuesday. It is Monday. This much is already here."

With emerald green eyes analyzing the frames of radar animation, Cideeda slides a clawed finger on her screen and watches the historical progression of the storm on her aetherphone. "Yeah. This one could be really bad. It brushed against the northern edge of the Perimeter Weird Zone and is cutting through the local weird zone, too."

Bach shifts his attention to Cideeda and lifts a vaguely worried brow. "Uh, have they said if it's going to go full maelstrom or anything?"

Cideeda narrows her gaze, reads through the list of update reports, and shakes her head. "Nothing headed towards us, at least. There's sections they think are going to go that way, but those are headed above and below us."

Aristespha pauses in thought, taps out of a strategy game on her tablet, and opens up another application with a guild logo splash screen. "We all should keep on eye on the guild job postings for the next few days. There could be emergency response jobs we might be able to do."

Sebastian's ethereal form nods and he floats nearby to peek over Aristespha's shoulder. "Thanks for reminding me, dear. Yeah, if anyone spots anything of interest, let everyone know. If nothing else, there will probably be a bunch of small magical clean up jobs."

Bach blinks a moment and glances over to Sebastian curiously. "Magical cleanup jobs?"

Nodding towards Bach, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly. "Yeah, bro. If it's a bit too strange, scary, and weird for the local emergency response crews, they'll often drop jobs to the local guild office for groups to handle them instead. Can't blame them, since it's not what they're trained to handle."

He crosses his ghostly form's arms and twists his mouth in thought. "Most of the time it's just some weird magical anomaly left over from a maelstrom that needs to be dispelled carefully. Sometimes though..."

Gritting his teeth, Sebastian uneasily grimaces and his past experiences make his apprehension transparent. "Sometimes... The maelstroms disturb old ruins... Or, drop something that REALLY should NOT be outside a weird zone."

Bach frowns briefly, shudders the expression off his face, and sighs hopefully. "Well, let's just hope for nice clean up jobs this week. I'm not against doing a little magical janitorial work."

Aristespha nods in agreement, and smiles with an intrigued flit of her brow. "So do I. As a team, we're actually very well suited to do such work. We have three mages of different specializations, and now we have a magically familiar technical expert and wilderness expert. And, Sebastian, from everything we know, can safely approach anything too suspicious first."

A toothy grin graces Cideeda's face and her furry ears perk up eagerly along with the wags of her long tail. "We could EASILY take on a bunch of small jobs, optimize them geographically, and efficiently get decent payouts in a few days."

A smile grows on Dretphi and her interest piques as she processes the plan more in her mind. "We will need to sort by difficulty. Easy work in the morning. One difficult job after lunch. Easy work in the evening."

Cideeda mulls over the suggestion and gradually nods in agreement. "Yeah. Definitely need to pace ourselves and schedule possible flex time in case of unexpected problems. We could still get a lot done in even a day at that rate."

Aristespha chimes in as particular aspects arrive to the front of her thoughts. "Also, we need to plan for containment and transport to authorities if there turns out to be something that can't easily be dispelled or is too dangerous to do so on site."

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian exchange ideas and commentary about how to approach possible mission arrangements. Sotalia blinks out from thought, springs an excited grin on her face, and perks up. "Yes! That'll work just fine."

As she rushes off through the archway into the hallway, she points over to everyone at the table with a happy smile. "Stay here. I've got something we can do for magical training today."

The conversation stops at the dining table, and puzzling expressions appear on everyone's faces. Close to a minute later, Sotalia arrives back from the hallway with a game box in her hands. A guilty grin graces her face, and she shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored embarrassment. "I originally bought this at the game store for my nieces and nephews... But... I think we could totally test it out for them. Just to make sure it works right."

She sits down in a chair at the dining table, opens the box, and starts taking out long, rectangular wooden blocks. Everyone watches Sotalia stack up a tower out of the pieces, three per layer, alternating alignment with subsequent layers. Cideeda tilts her head in recognition, cracks a sly smirk, and flexes her hand of clawed fingers. "Oh, I remember this game... I have to warn all of you, I was always pretty good at it. Manual dexterity and all."

Sotalia flashes a devilish grin to Cideeda and hoists an amused eyebrow at her. "That MIGHT help you. But, THIS version is the magical variant. All the pieces have been treated to be magically reactive. You have to carefully flow your energy into the piece, and then remove it."

She taps her finger against a wooden block, wills a fine flow until the block glows a faint green, and lifts her hand up with the block sticking firmly. "There's a few different types of blocks. These stick to your finger and allow you to pull them away. There are others that move away from you, lightly cling to other blocks, and some that get really slick."

Fascination dawns upon Cideeda and Dretphi as they attentively watch the demonstration by Sotalia. Bach chuckles to himself, leaking out confidence. "Oh, man, this is going to be fun."

Sebastian eyes Bach with an unamused frown and smirks with a mocking evil tinge. "Oh, really... By the way, my bro cheats in these games. Watch him carefully."

Bach narrows a playfully insulted glare at Sebastian, and gestures back. "Man, fuck you. I never cheated, you were just terrible at these games."

Aristespha fights to quell an ill-humored smile on her face and nods gradually to Bach. Sebastian glances between Bach and Aristespha, crosses his transparent arms, and snorts ethereally. "OH... I don't know if I can do anything to those blocks, but I AM going to try for you two."

Sotalia finishes stacking up the last long, rectangular piece, and happily explains the remainder of the rules. "Okay! I'll go first. You can feel the blocks first without moving them too much. You must flow until the block glows before you move it. And, once you flow a block, you are committed to pull that block."

She breathes out in preparation, studies the wooden stack tower, and reaches out carefully towards the tiny structure. "When you get a block free, try to stack it on top. If the tower falls you because of you, you take a point and stack the tower for the next round. Lowest score wins after how many rounds we want to play."

With a slight, tense shake, her thick, black finger nail taps gently against a piece. A flow of magical energy sinks into the wooden block, and Sotalia grits her teeth in anticipation. She releases a sigh of relief when the blocks glow green, pulls it free from the tower, and gingerly places it up on top. The turns rotate around the table as the tower climbs higher. Flowing energy challenges Cideeda, but her steady dexterity and quick reflexes let her handle trickier pieces. Dretphi's precise focus and strength restrain a blue glowing, slick piece long enough balance on top. Aristespha's studious observations guide her to find the most forgiving blocks. Sotalia's experience leads her through difficult spots with a bit of luck. Bach carefully maneuvers his pieces with subtle manipulations of flow to adapt to the type of block to aptly counter their effects. Sebastian provides encouragement for Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. He switches over to playfully antagonistic interference when it becomes either Aristespha's or Bach's turns.

With a teetering tower swaying more and more with each new wooden piece on top, Bach attempts to calm himself and breathes his nerves as he lowers a new blue glowing block towards the top. The rest of the group watches as the piece taps the top of the tower and Bach lets it go. It slides with the pillar's gradual tilt, moves towards the outer edge... tipping the rest of the stack. The tower tumbles upon the tabletop to the cheers of everyone. Sotalia grins at Bach and giggles. "Well, you get the first point. Start stacking."

Bach glances over to Sotalia, and cracks a smile. His eyes faintly glow blue, and he holds his hands out towards to pile of fallen blocks. He chuckles lightly and focuses his attention at the table. "Sure..."

Flows of magical energy radiate out upon the tabletop. Pieces lift up without glowing, and the horde of blocks begin to assemble into a new tower in front of the group. Sotalia eyes Bach during the process and scrutinizes him carefully. Bach glances back, perking his brow in confusion. "What?"

Sotalia hums in thought with dramatic contemplation and looks over to Sebastian. "You might be right..."

Sebastian nods in agreement, while Bach rolls his eyes back to the task.

----

Sheets of rain heavily splatter upon the sliding glass door of the two story house. Water flows from the narrow brick patio into growing pools in the back yard. Tassilda turns her head to watch another wave splash upon the glass, and blinks her light blue on black eyes in surprise. "Good gods, they were not wrong about this storm."

Deedri pauses from mixing reagents in a large pot near the kitchen sink, flicks her tufted ears to listen to the outside din, and nods slowly. "I thought it got dark yesterday, but..."

She carefully taps a claw tip on her aetherphone's screen nearby on the counter, and reads off the time. "It's noon, and it's almost night out there."

Tassilda slowly shakes her head, turns her head to face the chime from her aetherphone, and reads the new message. She smiles warmly as she sits at the dining table. Tapping a few options on the screen, she aims the phone at the dreary, chaotic scene on the other side of the sliding glass door. With a quick tap and an indicator beep, she rights the aetherphone back in her hands, and swiftly types up a response. Deedri squints her auburn eyes over towards Tassilda, and cranes her head around to peek from a distance. She grows a sly grin, and directs a whisper to Tassilda. "So, what's Daedrican saying?"

A brief flush of color fills Tassilda's gray cheeks as she briefly startles at the attention. After a moment, a smile graces her face and she whispers back to Deedri. While the two converse, through the connecting archway into the living room, Chad resettles himself on the couch and idly watches the television. With a bored sigh, he checks his phone, stares at it longingly for new alerts, and rests it back down on the couch arm next to him. Modoran slouches deeper into the couch cushions and tilts his head back. He rolls it side to side to stretch out, and slowly lifts it back forward to stare at the television screen. When he realizes the show that's playing, he grumbles heavy with apathy, and tilts his head towards Chad. "Is there ANYTHING worth watching on?"

Chad blinks to attention, gazes blankly at the screen, and shrugs his shoulders with a sigh. "Normally. Yes. But, it seems like every damn station we get right now is too busy covering the storm rather than running shows."

He reaches over to a side table next to the couch, picks up the remote, and aims to the screen. "But... Let's see if they've finally gotten around to unfucking some of the other channels. Storm must be disrupting some downlinks, or something."

Veevi quickly descends down the stairs, and sticks the landing into the living room with a bit a dramatic flair and physique shaking spring. She fluffs back her long pink hair, wags her long, short-hair tail, and struts towards the couch. She hops onto the middle seat between Chad and Modoran, and gradually leans onto Chad. With a smile, Chad puts his arm around Veevi, and she quickly snuggles up to him. Modoran glances over, rolls his dark blue eyes, and shifts his attention ahead to the television. A light flashes outside through nearby windows and a low, strong rumble of thunder vibrates the structure of the house. The fur on Veevi's tail reflexively poofs out and she squeezes her arms gently around Chad. Glancing at the half-fvalian, Chad cracks a humored smirk and comfortingly squeezes Veevi's shoulder. The tension in Veevi's body dissipates. She gazes ahead to the television and cocks her head to the side. "What ARE you guys watching?"

Chad's brown eyes blink to attention. He focuses upon the screen, and shrugs his shoulders. "Uh... I don't know... I was just flipping through channels to see if we could get anything worth watching."

Modoran sighs with hints of annoyance leaking through despite his best efforts to maintain a nonchalant facade. "It's another one of those Evuukian dramas. They seem to be REALLY popular as of late..."

He sneers his upper lip and grumbles to himself. "Haven't the slightest clue as to why..."

Veevi smirks and muses about the subject with obvious interest. "Oh, you just don't get it! All the plots, schemes, manipulation, and political power plays... All, so wonderfully done. You just never know what's going to happen next! Just so satisfying to see a devious power move during all the struggles."

Modoran briefly narrows his dismissive stare at Veevi, studies her reaction, and rolls his eyes away with a snort. "You say that. It's not that great when you are near and in it all, from my experience."

Veevi glances over to Modoran with a genuinely curious expression and honestly inquires. "Really? Wait... Are you part of a house?"

Chad pauses in thought a moment, maintains his head towards the television, but carefully listens in. Modoran flits his eyes wide in surprise, suppresses a bit of anxiety with his calm, nonchalant exterior, and plainly states. "Oh. No... I've just been close enough to all that insanity to know to stay away from it. It's hard to avoid depending on where you live. Anyway, it just boils down to a bunch of Evuukians with too much power and too little to do."

Narrowing a scrutinizing stare upon Modoran briefly, Veevi huffs and resumes watching the show. "Whatever. I still love these shows."

Trakenthin steps into the room from another entry, carrying a large hamper of towels. He walks next to the couch in front of an arm chair, and places the laundry tub on the floor. Modoran glances down at the container of towels next to him, and perks a curious brow at Trakenthin. "That's... That's a lot of towels."

With a twist in his mouth, Trakenthin sighs and slowly shakes his head. "Backlog of laundry. I decided to clean towels first. We may need them soon."

Modoran nods in agreement, glances at the evuukian drama on the television, and faces Trakenthin with an amicable smile. "Well, I'll help you fold them. Actually got pretty good at folding towels at one of my old jobs."

Trakenthin quirks his brow and smirks amused as he gazes at Modoran. "Can you fold animals?"

A sly grin parts Modoran's mouth and he chuckles. "Of course. You had to know a few depending on what theme you were working with."

Brilliant light floods into the room from nearby windows in stark contrast to the previous darkness. Instantly, a powerful explosion of thunder rattles the window panes and rumbles the very structure of the house. Muffled, distant thunks echo into the area from somewhere in the house, and power completely cuts out in the two story house. The team startles briefly. Chad and Trakenthin quickly retrieve their aetherphones and tap on the flashlight function. Deedri and Tassilda both swiftly gesture out simple incantations, and present small light orbs in their palms. Chad stands up from the couch, sliding out of Veevi's grasp, and surveys the area. "Okay, everyone. First thing. Is power out for the neighborhood or is it just us?"

Tassilda walks over to the back sliding glass window, and squints outside with an uncertain twist to her frown. "Don't see lights from anyone across the way, but it's hard to see right now with all this rain and haze."

Trakenthin steps over to a window on the front face of the house, opens the blinds, and scouts the view of the street and neighboring houses that are visible. "Neighbors have power. Street lights are still on."

Deedri leans out past the archway from the dining area, and makes eye contact with Chad. "I heard something mechanical and solid switch off hard, somewhere in the house."

Chad nods appreciatively, breathes in, and dons a commanding tint to his voice. "Well. Let's check out the circuit breakers..."

The group pauses to ponder a sudden, shared thought. Trakenthin tilts his head to the side and puzzles. "Where are the circuit breakers?"

Chad gazes over to Trakenthin, twists his mouth, and contemplatively hums. "I don't know. We've never needed to use them before, so no one has told us."

He sighs with a smirk, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I guess we need to find them. Okay. Trakenthin. You and I will check the front half of the house."

Directing his voice towards the dining area with Deedri and Tassilda, Chad instructs the two. "If you both could check the back half of the house, that'd help. It should be on the first floor somewhere."

Modoran ponders out loud a moment. "Yeah. Probably near the laundry room. The main run from the power poles is on that side of the house, and the breaker box shouldn't be too far from there. Probably covered up by something knowing all the random furniture they have here."

Chad nods in agreement to Modoran, and leads the way. The two teams of two head out, illuminating small sections of the house as they travel. After a minute, Veevi searches around the darkened room and looks over to Modoran. "Aren't you going to go help them?"

Modoran nonchalantly replies and stretches. "No. They've got it. Four people is enough to hunt down a breaker box. If flipping the breakers doesn't fix it, I'll go outside to scout things out... IF it comes to that."

A smile slowly creeps upon Veevi's lips and her body language loosens up. She slinks gradually along the couch closer to Modoran in the dark room and seductively colors her tone. "You know... I've been really wanting to train more... with YOU..."

Pausing a moment to listen carefully and observe Modoran still seated at the end of couch, she eases her hands closer and allows her fingers to lead the rest of her body along. "In other aspects of stealth... Especially, certain night time activities..."

Within the obscuring shadow of the room and noise of the storm outside, her body lightly contacts Modoran's form on the other end of the couch. Her arm glides along the back of the couch, and lightly caresses the back of his neck. "Hidden from anyone else..."

She flexes her figure, licks her lips, and rests her other hand upon his leg near the knee. With gentle brushing of her fingers, Veevi rubs sensually up the length. Grinning with accomplished, sinister satisfaction, Veevi slips her hand down between his legs. Perking her fuzzy ears, she turns her head to the side, leaning in for the kiss. From somewhere else in the house, Chad's muffled voice calls out. "...the hell... ...well, here they are... Found them!"

A moment later, the lights flick on brightly, and ambient sounds of power flood the house again. Veevi winces as her pink pupil eyes readjust, and regains awareness of her surroundings. She glances over and witnesses a mass of dissipating magical miasma venting from static visage of Modoran. Seconds later, Modoran's illusion vaporizes to transparency and leaves behind a collection of towels arranged in the rough approximation of his volume. Veevi leans away from the rough towel dummy occupying where Modoran was, and releases her grip on towels comprising the crotch section. She searches the area completely bewildered and blinks confused as she tries to understand what just transpired. But, a surge of frustration and petulant anger ceases her puzzling, and she topples over the towel collection into a heap off the couch. She stands up, shudders as the indignant irritation swells within her, and struts away with frustrated twitches of her tail.

----

A flash of light radiates out into the massive, dark cavern. The rolling thunder rumbles through the partially opened, heavy exterior doors. Meredosia stares out into the ongoing chaotic storm, and ponders deeply. The wind sprays waves of water through the wide gap between doors onto the concrete floor surrounding the entryway. The patter of raindrops echoes upon all the hard surfaces throughout the massive space of golem parts, manufacturing machinery, and assembly equipment. Meredosia blinks back from her distant thoughts, searches around her modest campsite away from the entry, and scoots her salvaged metal chair over to another stack of paperwork. Sorting through the pile of old loose notes, she stops at one section and draws out a collection of sheets. With a long, sad sigh, she settles her dark crimson eyes upon the material and slowly reads the old, handwritten paragraphs. Under her breath, she mumbles to herself in evuukian about the content, and occasionally squints to carefully reexamine puzzling sections.

Realization sparks in her eyes, and an intrigued smirk appears on her face. Quickly hunting around her immediate vicinity, she swiftly digs through nearby piles of books, and grabs hold of one particular volume. She flops the old tome on her lap, flips through the pages, and reads samples of the content. After a number of minutes, a proud smiles grows on her face, and she nods in agreement with her thoughts. Sliding the loose notes between the pages of the tome, she pulls out a worn notebook from her backpack, and opens it to a bookmark. With graceful handwriting, she adds a new entry to the comprehensive journal.

After a brilliant burst of light through the entryway, another concussive acoustic blast bounces around the huge cave. Meredosia startles briefly, tensing her body overall. Moments later, she finally relaxes with a long exhale, and finishes the latest paragraph into her journal. She rests back in the chair, stretches her arms out, and gazes around her campsite at the small orbs hovering midair and radiating illuminating flames. With a content smile, she shifts her stare at the other piles of notes, books, and electronic media nearby, and resumes her research.

Minutes later, a massive gust funnels through the heavy, exterior doors, and disperses into the area. The breeze eventually rolls over the camp site, and the flaming spheres flicker and waver. Meredosia slowly lifts her head from her studies, watches the orbs dim briefly, and gradually return to normal. She grimaces as worry and concern swell up, and quietly stares out into the storm. A long sigh escapes her as she gazes out distantly into the chaotic storm, and she uneasily bites her lower lip. Brushing back her gray hair over her long ears, she returns her attention to her chore and focuses herself back on task. Occasionally, she glances out to the storm, her concern obvious on her face.

----

Fighting against the tremendous gusts of wind, two evuukian men in nature themed uniforms trudge through the harsh storm. With each blast of wind, they brace themselves and maintain their footing upon a water logged, mucky trail. The nearby underbrush struggles against the weight of the downpour of rain, and submits to the force of the powerful winds. One of the men spits out a series of angered curses in evuukian when he slips and drops to a knee in the thick mud. He glances over to the other man, irritably gesturing out a question incredulously. The other man shakes his head under his poncho, and throws his hands up dismissively with a commiserating reply. The muddied man growls as he gets back up on his feet with the help of the other.

The two pause their travels and stand to witness the fury of the storm around them. Tall, ancient trees flex and audibly creak and groan as they stretch to their limits. The rustle of leaves blends into the overwhelming chorus of wind driven rain. A bright eruption of distant light ignites the darkened sky briefly, and the illumination scatters down to the misty haze filling the forest below. The two evuukian men witness the chaos around them in pure awe, as the cacophony of thunder pulses past them. With a massive burst of air high above, a loud explosive snap sounds out. A tremendous, wooden crackle echoes harshly against the background drone, and a few meter long branch crashes down to a powerful, earth shaking impact. Both men tense up, grit their teeth reflexively, and freeze motionless. Seconds later, both study the large, fallen limb, and exchange nervous glances. The muddied evuukian man shakes his head, and spouts a single explicit phrase. The other nods in total agreement, and yells out similar sentiments. Both turn around, and quickly rush down another path, towards a distant clearing encircled by giant, ancient trees, and barely visible through the haze of rain and mist.

Out into the forest, hidden in the underbrush, a few camouflaged military scouts wait motionlessly against the brutal weather, and stealthily watch the two evuukian men depart. Rain rolls along their slick, form fitting polymer suits. The exterior patterns of the suits gradually blend with the environment immediately around them, and create an intricate mesh of outline obscuring patterns. One operative at the lead finally moves his visor covered face, and silently glances to both of his sides to the two members in the three person team. Synchronously, the squad precisely gestures out the same incantation, get up as their forms fade into the ambient forest haze, and carefully slink forward, closing in on the distant clearing.

Seconds later, a dozen lightly armored special ops soldiers in actively camouflaging, hooded cloaks settle into the area, ready their compact rifles, and observe the area. A few slide down advanced visors with different optics, and thoroughly scan the vicinity. Minutes pass as they remain silent and hidden in the churning chaos of the overwhelming storm. The commanding officer rises up from prone on the forest floor to kneeling stance in the center of the group. He visually confirms with his subordinates, and nods in confirmation. Resting his hand on the side of his helmet, taps upon a control panel of a radio module, and turns his head to stare behind his team.

In the hazy, stormy backdrop the forest, faint disruptions in the mist swirl around a massive volumes. Peaking out from the background din, heavy, muffled, slow, and repetitious noises sound out into the forest. Muted snaps from the water soaked, ground struggle against the noise of the constant, overwhelming drone of rainfall. A blinding eruption of light above ignites the dark sky to a brief full daylight. In the brightness, half a dozen four meter tall, angular outlines barely contrast against the mist and ambient haze. As the massive, mechanical forms lumber closer with slow, methodical steps, their existence only reveals itself with the warping view of the forest through them. Sheets of rain blast through the trees above, and splash midair upon a transparent volume. The droplets stream along the angular crevices, merge together in hard corners, and flow down upon translucent, mechanical feet leaving heavy indentations into the forest floor.

The giant forms step cautiously, weave between large trees, but show no mercy to underbrush and debris below. They arrive together many meters behind the dozen special operatives, and wait. The commanding officer at the center of the team, studies the area ahead through his helmet mounted visor, and remains still. At the quiet prompting of his soldiers, he trains long stares in different directions, and analyzes distant points of interest. Minutes of still existence pass on by.

Then, with a simple nod, he raises his fist high. Meters behind, the nearly transparent mechanical forms stir. Pairs of weaponized arms visually flicker as they raise into position and direct their arsenals, before fading back into the background. Soldiers on the ground, inspect their weaponry, ready their stances for action, and await further orders. Another arc of lightning streaks through the sky above, and brightly lights up the area. The brilliant, brief illumination, reveals hidden details of the large, mechanical forms. The flat painted, composite shells of mechs reflect back the sudden, intense light, and upon each a symbol of mountains on a flag outline contrasts the dull, dark exterior shoulder sections. Under the flag logo, one word remains clear on all before the forms fade back to transparency. "Appaland"

-60-

Aristespha narrows her gaze out into the large city park, and sidesteps bright orange and white barricades. Closing her eyes momentarily, she reopens them to a glowing violet. She stares out into the gentle hills, sidewalks, playground, and shady gatherings of trees, and glances down to the aetherphone in her hand. "We definitely have our work cut out for us."

Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia filter in through the gaps between warning signs and underneath plastic strip barriers. Bach blinks his eyes to a bright blue illumination, and searches out into the distance. "Oh... Yeah... Looks like this area caught a lot of the weird stuff from that one maelstrom cell."

Cideeda glances over to Aristespha and Bach, and focuses her survey out towards a few strange phenomena. She quirks her brow curiously at the leafy debris gently hovering above the ground many meters away, and nods in agreement. "That's an understatement. I need to do some scouting with thermal camera and a radio sweep. Also..."

She reaches into a large pouch at her side, retrieves a big rusty nut with a small rag tied through it, and rolls it idly in her hand. "There's nothing like a physical check."

Deftly sliding her grip to the cloth tail, she casually twirls the weight and releases it into an arc towards the hovering leaves and sticks. During its natural descent, the nut sharply rises, coasts level above the debris, and then plummets hard upon the ground. The rest of the team quickly focuses their attention to the dent in the dirt. Cideeda smirks while flicking her ears back, rests her hands on her hips, and sways her stance with her tail. "Not the worst I've seen, but that got pulled down quicker than normal gravity for sure."

Dretphi stares distantly out into the park, puzzles at the scenery, and closes her eyes. She carefully angles her head around to scan the soundscape, and hums intrigued as she reopens her eyes. "It is quiet. Wildlife have retreated. Not unexpected. Worrying still."

Sotalia crosses her arms, stands confidently, and grins with shrug. "I'm not feeling anything too terrible from here. Probably a bunch of small annoying things to dispel."

The wind blows across the area, and waves of air roll over the grasses in the park. A tree in the distance sways hard, prompting a loud crack. A small branch tumbles out, and lands upon a very dry spot in the middle of damp pavement. Within the air above the arid circle, the branch's leaves quickly dry out, and the bark cracks open. In the next minute, smoke wisps out from the wood and the crispy leaves ignite to flame. Sotalia blinks in a mix of surprise and interest, and smiles as she unfolds her arms. "Well, that's a neat one."

Aristespha glances down at her aetherphone, taps out a few lines of notes, and returns her attention ahead. "Good. That one is on the list. So far, it seems like whoever checked the area made good notes for the mission brief."

Bach watches the distant branch burn within the dry circle surrounded by damp concrete, and warily smirks towards the rest of the group. "Let's see if we can dispel that one from a good distance."

With nod and a reassuring smile, Aristespha gazes over to Bach with an understanding tone. "Most certainly. I'll guide you through the usual processes for handling many known anomalies. But, I think you'll be able to figure out means more suited to your abilities."

She retrieves a tablet from her small backpack, clicks it out of sleep, and places it into Bach's hands. "Most should be disarmed by manipulation of flow dynamics. But, if not..."

Sotalia flashes a prideful grin towards Bach and Aristespha, interlocks her fingers, and stretches her arms out. "I'll provide the raw dispelling power."

Bach nods and returns his stare out towards the park scenery. Strange flits of light blink out from different locations in the area. Odd, unusual disruptions in the landscape contrast typical, natural expectations. The rag tied to the test weight lifts up, flutters, and gradually rises with the rest of the rusty hardware. Cideeda points over to the change and watches it with fascination. "Huh, it reverses after some time."

Sebastian's ethereal forms materializes in front of the group, checks around for anyone else, and relaxes to a nonchalant pose. "Good, no one else is around. Okay. So, overall we'll do the usual scout, mark, and remove plan. Nothing on the mission description indicated anything out of the ordinary for this type of job. So, I believe standard operating procedure?"

The group nods in collective agreement. Sebastian grins, stretches his ghostly visage, and studies the area. "Well, I think I'll best serve everyone by going around and making use of intangible self. Get a good close look at any possibly dangerous anomalies."

Bach slowly shakes his head in astonishment as he watches more strange phenomena appear in the previously serene park. "It always amazes me how these things can ride out storms, and continue to function after landing."

Aristespha nods in agreement and sighs uncertainly. "I know. Quite a few people at the Grand Library are still trying to figure out exactly what creates these anomalies and how some are so portable. So many theories..."

With an intrigued flit of her emerald green eyes, Cideeda glances over to Aristespha and twists her mouth. "Any favorite theories? These things always seemed like seeds or spores to bigger and weirder stuff to me."

Dretphi pauses in thought, ponders, and shrugs her lightly armored shoulders. "Similar behavior. Do not grow into anything more. Maybe changing the environment to suit another purpose? There are plants that do such."

Stepping forward into the conversation, Sotalia strokes her chin thoughtfully and sways her hips side to side in contemplation. "I don't know. Most of the anomalies seem really erratic and just crazy. I don't see how they'd help anyone or anything. I've always just figured they're just leftover zone garbage that got carried away."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach sighs indecisively and furrows his brow. "You got me. Maybe they're scattered pieces to something bigger? Individually, they don't make sense. But, if you got them together in the right way, it does something useful? I don't know. The stories I heard from weird zones never explain the reasons why."

Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers, rocks her head side to side, and thinks for a moment. "Yeah. They're cool stories still. Oh well... Let's start cleaning up. I'd like to hit the Pancake Shed at a decent lunch time and get a punch on my new card."

Sebastian nods in agreement, and hovers up slightly into the air. "Yeah. We got a busy morning with this and a few small jobs. After lunch, we got a tougher job to contend with."

He gazes at the team and individually addresses them. "Okay... Summary of the plan. Dear. Give my bro a quick refresher, and keep us informed on what we are tackling. Bro. You should figure this out in no time, just do what you do where you can. Sotalia. Feel around the area, and let us know where things seem off. Cideeda. Run the scanning equipment around the area. And, help us out with your eyes, ears, and nose. Dretphi. Check the area and let us know if the natural is being unnatural."

Glancing over his shoulder, he motions out to the landscape behind him. "I'll do the overall sweep for anything that immediately sticks out, and see how much I can scout out. Sound good?"

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia relay their agreement to the plan. Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up, and drifts off into the park proper. Aristespha begins to point out key information on the tablet in Bach's hand, while Sotalia peers over shoulders curious. Cideeda and Dretphi walks over to the humvee, past the safety barriers, and begin sorting through equipment.

----

Tassilda's glowing light blue on black eyes focus upon swirling streams of magical flow as they wrap around a warping, transparent mass. Deedri cautiously gestures out an incantation, gently wills out thread like strands of magical energy along current flows. Tassilda nods calmly but rigidly to Deedri, and the two synchronously gesture out another series of complicated incantations. From the translucent containment field, magical miasma vents out slowly into the area, and dissipates harmlessly out. The warping mass shrinks quickly and soon collapses onto the hot, dry dirt, quickly fading from existence. Tassilda lowers her arms, blinks her eyes hard to normal, and releases a long sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you so much for the assistance. I got the distinct impression that one could have been troubling without someone else."

Deedri perks up her tufted, furry ears, and presents a content smile. "It was not a problem. I could feel it getting unstable towards the end, so it was a good call."

She pauses a moment, glances around the area, and cocks her head to the side curiously. "Not that I want to tempt Fate, but where is Veevi? I thought she wandered off with you."

An evil smirk cracks out from the corner of Tassilda's mouth, and she flutters her eyes with a chuckle. "Oh. I put to her work on a task befitting her abilities."

Deedri narrows an incredulous gaze at Tassilda and twists her mouth uncertainly. "Oh... What would that be? Given her... abilities?"

Tassilda tilts her head towards the shade of a distant tree, and smiles impishly. "Oh. Trying to dispel those light anomalies over there."

Shifting her weight to one side, Deedri narrows her auburn eyes towards Veevi, and watches her knelt down, holding her hands out in front of disembodied flickering lights, and straining herself magically. After blinking a few times, Deedri leans closer to Tassilda and whispers confused. "If I remember correctly, those require a significant about of energy to dispel."

Tassilda grins widely, and winks to Deedri as she responds quietly. "I know. But... She doesn't."

Deedri bites her lip, tries in vain to hide her satisfaction, and rolls her eyes. "I guess THAT is the best use of her time for now."

Across from Deedri and Tassilda, Modoran approaches Chad and Trakenthin, whistling a tune, and stops next to them with a nonchalant bow. "Gentlemen. I've scouted around this place, and don't think there's anything else that looks out of the ordinary. Past that last row of trees, it just goes into farm plots. And, I didn't see anything."

Chad nods his head, scrolls through lines of text on his aetherphone, and studies a small list. "That's good to hear. So, it looks like nothing outside this reported area has anything to worry about."

He hums in thought for a few moments, glances up to Trakenthin, and points over towards the forested section near Veevi. "Trakenthin, could you check in the woods over there? There's a mention of something weird going on in the forest near the flickering lights on the quest report."

Trakenthin nods stoically and pivots around to set off. Modoran lightly taps Trakenthin on shoulder and leans over to direct his voice. "Hey, be careful in the woods. I think they have a bullymunk infestation around here. I mean, I kept to the tree tops, but looking down I saw a bunch of holes that looked like their burrows."

Trakenthin thinks a moment, smirks appreciatively, and pats Modoran back on his shoulder. "Thank you for the warning."

He walks slowly towards the trees near Veevi, and sighs midway with hints of annoyance slipping out into his tone. Veevi huffs in frustration, rolls her shoulders while gritting her teeth, and throws her arms out while grumbling to herself. Faint flows of magical energy swirl around her arms, condense in her hands, and pulse out towards floating, flickering lights. Trakenthin halts his travel, turns his gaze towards Veevi, and studies her inept attempts. The hovering orbs of light continue their erratic patterns in defiance against Veevi's weak emissions of magical energy. Trakenthin slowly shakes his head, turns his attention to the forest perimeter near Veevi, and steps forward. After a tiring attempt, Veevi plops down upon the grass, and pants as she props herself up with her arms behind her. She regains awareness of her surroundings, and notices Trakenthin nearby parting some underbrush. A sly smiles graces Veevi's lips, and she narrows her eyes upon Trakenthin. "Hey, Trakenthin. What's the big, strong warrior doing over here?"

Trakenthin snarls his upper lip out of sight Veevi, and grumbles out. "Chad instructed me to investigate this area."

Veevi blinks, glances around, and hops up to her feet with a smile while flexing her posture. "Oh! Can I join you?"

With a faint grimace leaking out into his stoic expression, Trakenthin slowly shakes his head and focuses his attentions forward. "Not necessary."

Veevi frowns, lifts her nose at him, and crosses her arms petulantly. Trakenthin ignores the behavior and continues to scan the forest area. While surveying the vicinity, he spots a small hole in the dirt at the base of a tree leading to a tunnel. Sun shines down from above and highlights the rough meter perimeter cleared of debris surrounding the entrance. Trakenthin studies the area carefully and recognition colors his stoic expression with caution. He steps back away from the forest, and starts to walk off, following the forest edge. Veevi glares at Trakenthin and growls out. "Well?! I thought you were going to explore the forest there. What's wrong? Too scared?"

Trakenthin sighs with a long roll of his eyes, and slowly pivots back to face Veevi. "No."

Veevi puffs up her chest, sneers with an indignant stare at Trakenthin, and quips. "I guess none of that childhood training you got taught you how to brave the wilderness."

Narrowing his cold stare upon Veevi, Trakenthin draws in a long breath, twists his mouth with a brief curl in his upper lip, and grumbles. "No. I know how to travel through the forest."

A sinister smirk creeps out upon Veevi's lips, and she straightens her posture defiantly while checking her sharp nails. "Whatever... I was so hoping to see a brave, strong warrior in action. But, I guess that's just not going to happen. Oh well..."

Trakenthin focuses an annoyed glare upon Veevi, and examines her silently. Veevi retorts with a dismissive glower, and rolls her eyes dramatically. Trakenthin briefly clenches his fist, and searches his mind. Then, he cracks a slight smile. He blatantly sighs, relaxes his stance, and slowly shakes his head. "I apologize. I sought an easy route for you. So you can join me."

Veevi blinks in surprise, concentrates her attention on Trakenthin, and shifts to a seductive smile upon her face. "Oh? Really? Well, I may have been a bit too quick to judge."

Trakenthin dons a calm gaze and looks down at coy posturing of Veevi. "I judged, too. You have shown you should take lead down this path."

A sly smirk parts Veevi's lips and she steps forth towards the underbrush near Trakenthin. She bites her lower lip, examines Trakenthin up and down, and peeks into the forest. "Doesn't look bad at all. This could be really fun... for the both of us."

Trakenthin grabs hold of the tall plants, parts a path through, and gestures with a his free hand for Veevi. "You first. Consider it part of your training."

Veevi perks her dark pink eyebrows at Trakenthin, struts seductively through the brush, and steps towards the cleared area near the base of a tree. Trakenthin quietly waits, and watches Veevi continue stepping past the perimeter into the debris free area around the small hole. Veevi pauses a moment as her fuzzy ears twitch towards a sound below her, and gazes down curiously. Moments later, a small brown and tan rodent, with black and white stripes and a short tail, waddles out of the small burrow. It quickly pans its head around side to side, before quickly snapping its stare up at the figure shading out the sun. Veevi kneels down slowly in front of the small creature with smile, and focuses upon the critter with enthralled delight. "Hello. Aren't you the cutest little thing? Is this your home?"

Trakenthin's eyes open wide with familiarity, and he quietly releases the parted underbrush. He slowly steps back from the forest edge and waits. Veevi's head rolls side to side as she continues to be amused by the small critter staring at her, and wags her tail excitedly. "I've never seen anything like you. Would you like something to eat?"

A high pitched growl bellows out, seizing the attention of Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and the nearby camera crews. An ear piercing shriek splits the air, and Veevi erupts out from the forest edge in wild eyed fright. As she sprints off in an erratic panic, the rodent pursues her relentlessly in a constant fit of furious, angry barks. Trakenthin barely contains his ill-humored snorts, and covers his face. Everyone else watches in pure bewilderment as the small creature chases the flailing Veevi. It keeps pace with her and occasionally hops to nip at her puffed out tail when it waves close. Chad blinks in absolute astonishment, before spitting and snorting into uncontrollable laughter. Tassilda covers her mouth in sheer shock and amusement. Deedri gawks briefly, before turning her stunned gaze towards Modoran. Shrugging his shoulders and maintaining his nonchalant demeanor, Modoran tugs at the corner of his mouth and grits his teeth briefly. "THAT is why you don't bother bullymunks."

Veevi musters her coordination, concentrates on running, puts distance between her and the angry bullymunk. Modoran shakes his head and sighs towards Deedri and Tassilda. "They're REALLY. FUCKING. Territorial."

In a frantic flurry, Veevi leaps onto the trunk of a large tree, scratches her sharp nails on her hands onto the bark, and scrambles up awkwardly into the branches. Modoran smirks with a devilish satisfaction and calls out into the area. "They easily climb trees, too!"

Veevi's horrified, shrill yell echoes into the area, and guides the camera crew recording equipment. "THEY WHAT?!"

The bullymunk runs up the trunk of the tree without missing a single step.

----

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk down a long gravel path through aisles of bamboo patches, rock encircled flower gardens, and shrubbery. Bach pauses a moment at a bend in the walkway and slowly scans the area intrigued. "I didn't expect all this to be here, especially given the really run down fencing and parking lot."

The wind tickles Cideeda's furry ears into a few flicks, and she gazes forward down the route ahead. "Well, most of these shrine gardens are only funded from donations these days. So, sacrifices have to be made."

Dretphi smiles calmly and nods as a gentle breeze passes through her platinum blonde braids. "Reminds me of the ancestor gardens from home. Peaceful. Perfect for reflection."

Sotalia kneels down to a small patch near the path, and curiously cocks her head to the side as she studies the plants growing. "Gods... I should know what this plant is. It looks so familiar..."

Dretphi stands next to Sotalia, stares down at the distinctive leaves, and studies the plant's attributes. "Oh. A type of mint. What variety... That is difficult. Hard to narrow down without a full examination. The flowers have not bloomed."

From behind a row of neatly trimmed bushes, a young fvalian woman steps out on the path. She tosses down a handful of weeds and debris, wipes the sweat from her brow, and pants with brushing off her apron. After a few seconds, she turns her gaze towards the group, blinks in surprise, and happily greets the team. "Oh! Hello! Welcome to the Freesbo Shrine Garden. Um, are you here for the guild job?"

Aristespha steps forward to meet the fvalian woman, bows slightly, and presents a smile. "Yes, we are. You must be?"

The fvalian woman's furry ears perk up through her long black, patterned hair, and a sense of relief washes over her. She removes a pair of gardening gloves from her claw tipped hands, and sighs with a slow wag of her short haired, tuft tipped tail. "Rekeeka Tarodeena. The current and... Well... Only shrine maiden here."

After an exchange of names and greetings between the team, Rekeeka bows respectfully to the group and manages to maintain a cheerful tone despite the concern weighing upon her. "Thank you so much for responding. I apologize for the job not paying that much despite the significant task. I'm a bit surprised anyone took the job so quickly when I posted early this morning."

Bach shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly. "Well, it wasn't too much out of the way from all the other jobs we had to do in the area. And, we had lunch at the Pancake Shed down the road."

Rekeeka's ears flick up and a she dons a toothy grin as her tail sways. "Oh! Do you have any customer cards with you?"

Cideeda lifts an intrigued eyebrow, opens a pocket on her vest, and deftly draws her new card with a single punch into view. "I do. Why?"

A sly smile graces Rekeeka's face and she swiftly pulls out a pen from her shorts pocket, clicking it. "I work there on the night shifts. And, while I can't offer that much monetary compensation for the job ahead, I can comp a free punch."

Grinning toothily, Cideeda gives the Pancake Shed card over to Rekeeka and nods appreciatively. "No complaints here."

Rekeeka quickly presses a thumb claw through a punch spot on the card, swiftly initials next to the spot, and returns the card. She clicks the pen again, stows in her pocket, and gestures down the path. "Well, I shouldn't take too much of your time, since you probably have other jobs after this one. So, follow me, and I'll give you a little tour on the way."

The team follows Rekeeka down the path. Following a few twists and turns, Rekeeka glances back with an explanatory tone. "This particular shrine garden is one of the oldest in the area. We... Well, I maintain close to twenty five different locations on the property, part time. And, while I'm still learning traditional magics..."

She flashes an entrepreneurial grin and playful wink. "I pride myself on providing both herbal and alchemical plant reagents... For a fair donation."

Waving her arm out, she points out number of paths leading to different areas in the distance. "We house a variety of worship sites to many gods, goddesses, spirits, and other entities today. But, historically, we used to only house shrines for-"

She speaks out a complicated phrase in a fluently paced dialect of Fvalian. Cideeda's interest piques. Sotalia nods, while the rest of the group remains in polite confusion. Rekeeka senses the loss of understanding, giggles with a bit embarrassment, and sighs apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry, the name doesn't have an easy translation to Americ. Um, it roughly means the religion of experience? There's a lot of context lost in that translation unfortunately."

Cideeda nods to Rekeeka, smiles happily, and gazes over to the rest of the team. "The simple version is you take all the forces you experience in life, give them easy names, and assign personifications that describe them. Then, by proxy, seek guidance from or to guide those forces."

Rekeeka grins appreciatively. "That's a wonderful explanation. You seem quite versed."

Shrugging her shoulders with a nonchalant smirk, Cideeda chuckles and rolls her eyes at herself. "Versed enough. I mostly tend to pay tribute to Fate and Karma."

She quirks her brow as thought reminds her of something. Twisting her mouth, she sighs with a tinge of embarrassment. "Which reminds me, do you have shrines to those two? I've been meaning to give a proper thanks for recent things."

As Rekeeka continues to the lead the team down the route, she points down a neatly tiled stone path and chimes in. "Of course! They're down there in an alcove. After you're done with your job, I'll be happy to take you there. After last night, I need to be a thankful, too."

Bach glances down the route briefly, ponders a few seconds, and returns his attention ahead, puzzling. "Huh. That's actually a neat concept and practice, thinking about it. A bit different approach than Gnost's, but he's mostly about seeking knowledge. His book of fables my mom would read to Sebastian and me were always good."

Aristespha lifts her head up from studying her tablet and glances over to Bach. "I've read that book. One of the better religious texts out there for its age. SO MUCH better than any of the Evuukian Light Gods tomes I had to tolerate growing up."

Sotalia chuckles lightly, grins impishly towards Aristespha, and leans close. "Oh, but that group does have one hell of party god."

Stifling an amused snort, Aristespha slowly shakes her head with a roll of her eyes. "Wherever red cups fall, honor him braced upon an altar of porcelain... Gods, and that's being kind with the translation."

Snickering briefly, Sotalia sighs, smiles playfully, and rest her hands upon her hips. "At least, your gods occasionally loosen up. I could never get into any of the emin deities. They're so self absorbed most of the time... But, I just CAN'T resist the holiday celebrations. Oh, especially throughout winter solstice."

She rests a hand on her chest, sighs, and grins slyly. "I may not know who to believe, but I'm not turning down an excuse to enjoy all those treats."

Dretphi nods with her thoughts, and shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored guilt. "They are good. My family has adopted fun traditions. We believe our ancestors grow bored of stale methods to honor them. The spirits appreciate the variety."

The discussion continues between all. Minutes later, Rekeeka leads the party to an open area near the corner of the property and stops when the path fades into the taller grasses. Her body tenses, and she slowly pivots to the group with a wary gaze. "This is the spot. It's called Avis Mark. And well... It has always been considered a cursed spot. So, we try to discourage people from going near it."

She sighs, rolls some tension out of her shoulders, and grimaces. "It just seems to attract strange things from maelstroms, and usually the dangerous variety."

Pointing out a clawed finger out into the tall grass clearing, she frowns uneasily, and directs the team's attention to a strange swirling of air stirring a large swath grass blades. "Right there. I've never seen this kind before. But, I believe it has trapped a small animal within it. It's hard to make out, as it seems to warp light, too."

Aristespha's eyes blink to a glowing violet, and she focuses her full attention to the shimmering mass. Bach squints as his eyes illuminate blue, and studies the visual fluctuations revealing a small opaque outline briefly. Cideeda pulls out a small camera, holds her aetherphone out, and taps through the menus. A visual thermal representation of the constant vortex appears on the display. Cideeda alternates between examining the screen and watching the swirling air with her ears trained upon it. Dretphi carefully approaches the edge of the tall grass field, and cautiously investigates the perimeter. Sotalia stares at the anomaly, shudders briefly, and twists her mouth with a slight grit of her teeth. "Okay. That's definitely not a nice one. I'm starting to feel it now."

Rekeeka bows respectfully, and steps out of the way with an appreciative smile. "Thank you so much for taking on this task. I'll excuse myself for now. I don't want to get in the way. But, if you need anything, please let me know. I'll be at the temple area in the middle of the property."

She departs after acknowledgments from the team. A minute later, Sebastian's ghostly form assembles next to Aristespha, and he peeks over her shoulder at the tablet. "So, dear, what are we dealing with?"

Aristespha grumbles to herself, brushes back a lock of her silvery blue hair over a very long pointed ear, and sighs in frustration. "It's one of a few things, Sebastian. Nothing good."

She glances to Bach and inquires. "Do you see the flow radiating from the ground, too, Bach?"

Bach aims his stare down through the tall grasses at the base of the sluggish vortex, flits his eyes wide open, and gradually nods. "Oh... Yes... I think this is one of those anomalies with a source object."

Cideeda contorts her face, furrows her brow, and cocks her head to the side. "I'm not getting anything too unusual on the thermal camera. It's moving air around, but it's not heating or cooling it. But..."

Her furry ears flick and perk towards a point in the shimmering mass. "I hear some kind of small animal in there. Maybe squirrel or rat? I can't tell, the sound is all distorted."

Dretphi walks up to the group and shakes her head with a frown. "Nothing unusual in the surrounding area. It seems localized. I do not know any more."

Aristespha nods appreciatively to Dretphi, drags through paragraphs of text, and focuses her gaze upon a few lines. "Thank you, everyone. That actually narrows it down a great deal. Sebastian?"

Sebastian turns his ethereal form towards Aristespha. "Yes, dear?"

Aristespha's eyes quickly read through the mass of information on the screen, and she points up to the top of the swirling air at flecks of debris drifting in the currents. "I'm going to need you up there to keep an eye on this. It's a tricky one to disrupt and disarm, but can be done."

Bach glances over quizzically. "What's the process?"

Biting her lower lip, Aristespha sighs as she collects her thoughts. "Okay. This is called a Vacuum Snare. It uses sudden vacuum to draw anything within proximity into a folded space pocket in the middle."

Sotalia blinks in surprise, stares awkwardly at the anomaly, crosses her arms, and uneasily picks at one of her horns. "Good fucking gods... It's got a folded space pocket? That's NOT trivial magic there. It felt strange, like it was warping something... But... Wow..."

Aristespha nods in commiseration at Sotalia's observations and continues reading the literature. "Unlike the folded space frames, this is not properly stabilized. Anyway, there are two key things. One, we must cut the current effect off from its source in the ground. Second, we must keep powering the effect from our own sources, and gradually allow the effect to fade, unfolding the space."

She gazes up from the tablet to the team around her. "Otherwise, the space unfolds immediately, and releases a massive burst of all the air it has drawn inside it... along with anything else."

A nervous tension looms around the team. Bach draws a long breath in and releases it with a grit of his teeth. "So... Who's got what?"

Aristespha perks a directed eyebrow at Bach, twists her mouth, and hands over the tablet. "You should be able to handle cutting and isolating the source. I believe you have a few tricks for remotely manipulating the flows and sealing up the source."

Bach nods in agreement, glances over the information on the tablet, and smiles as he thinks. "Yeah. You're right. Probably could flow some cables, and then construct a barrier around it."

A smirk graces Aristespha's lips, and she gazes over to Sotalia with a composed stance. "And, with a little redirection from me, our raw power house will be able to easily keep the effect powered long enough to let it wind down gently."

Sotalia grins slyly, poses confidently, and brushes her fiery orange, wavy hair back. "Oh. Well. Of course."

Sebastian smiles proudly, ponders in thought, and glances over to the transparent warping of spiraling air in the middle of the plot of land. "That sounds good. I guess I'm keeping an eye on things from above the anomaly."

He gestures towards to Cideeda. "Cideeda, you keep an eye out for anything going strange on the ground. If it starts to look weird or sound bad, let us know."

Cideeda nods in agreement, flexes her arms, and stretches out her back. "Sounds good to me."

With appreciative tone, Sebastian points to Dretphi casually with both hands. "And Dretphi, you are on over watch. If it looks like things are going bad, be ready to pull us out of harms way. With the amount of focus required, we all may not be that observant when needed."

Dretphi grants a simple, confirming nod. Sebastian looks to the team and hovers upwards. "Okay. I'm getting into position."

He floats above the high top of the anomaly, and begins to observe the tiny flecks of debris trapped in the flows of air. Aristespha quickly explains the details to Bach and Sotalia, while pointing out positions for Cideeda and Dretphi. After many minutes reviewing the steps, the team readies themselves. Bach kneels down, blinks his eyes a glowing blue, and guides elongating cables of magical energy through the grasses towards the base of the transparent vortex. Sotalia stretches her arms out, flexes her legs and hips, and poses her hands forward at the ready. Cideeda keeps her attention split between the anomaly and the thermal display on her phone. Dretphi kneels down behind Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia, and inspects the path behind the group for a clear escape. Aristespha places her tablet in her backpack, releases her nerves in a long exhales, and readies herself. "Okay. Bach. Start isolating the source."

Bach nods as his eyes flash a brighter blue, and pulses of magical flow radiate down the cables from his hands. Aristespha quickly gestures a series of incantations, and projects out faint corridors of flow towards the bottom of the vortex. Cideeda's ears flick as whistles of wind stream out from the top of the anomaly, and flecks of debris fly through Sebastian's ethereal form. A rising gust of wind billows out from the bottom of the swirling mass, and pushes down the surrounding grasses. Sunken into the ground, a crystal speckled rock flickers brightly while the vortex above sways more erratically. A golden sphere of hexagonal pieces slowly builds up from the dirt, and gradually conceals the stone orb. As flows of energy erupt out between the tightening gaps through the barrier field, Bach directs his concerned tone to Aristespha. "Ready?! I'm about to cut it off!"

Aristespha nods quickly, pushes her arms outwards, and directs a powerful flow of magical energy through the swirling, ethereal conduits. "Yes! Get ready, Sotalia!"

The golden sphere completes around the crystal speckled rock against strong flow resistance. The vortex shimmers and releases out blasts of air into the area. Aristespha grimaces and grits her teeth. While the anomaly draws relentlessly upon the flow conduits, she maintains the massive amount of energy through the magical pathways. She turns her palms upwards, pivots carefully towards Sotalia, and winces as powerful gale blasts onto her. "NOW!"

Sotalia grasps hold of Aristespha's hands, and tenses herself as a wave of magical flow spirals out from her body and concentrates into the energy conduits. The vortex shimmers opaque, spins quicker, and sways wildly. Sotalia grits her teeth, dons a determined stare, and growls out. "Holy shit! It's pulling some serious power."

Aristespha nods, turns her head to shield away from the growing gale, and calls out. "Yes! Keep feeding smaller amounts over time."

Sebastian yells out from above and energetically points. "Watch out! It's really starting to swing around."

Dretphi reaches out, and taps on Bach's shoulder. Bach glances over, and watches Dretphi gesture him backwards. He nods, and carefully moves back with Dretphi's guidance, gradually lengthening the cables in his hands. As Aristespha and Sotalia lean back from the wind, both Dretphi and Cideeda brace the pair from behind. The air grows loud as a torrent blasts out and magical miasma vents out. With a final poof, the wind suddenly stills and faint traces of shimmering magical mass disappear. Aristespha breathes out a long sigh of relief. Sotalia releases her grip, steadies herself, and places her hands at her sides with a prideful grin. Cideeda and Dretphi relax, and Bach rests prone on the ground. Sebastian searches the air above briefly, squints down towards the ground, and scans around in utter bewilderment. "What the- The hell was that?"

Aristespha combs her hair back out of her face and chuckles lightly. "Nicely done, everyone. That had a LOT more air in it than I expected."

Sotalia lifts her brow at Aristespha, crosses her arms, and smiles proudly. "Oh, yeah. Quite the challenge... But, not too terrible.."

Cideeda's ears twitch and she searches around the tall grass. "What's that noise?"

Dretphi flits her steely gray eyes open wide and focuses upon the trail of shaking plant blades towards Bach. She reaches out to grasp Bach's shoulder. Bach lifts his head up from rest, pushes himself up, and glances down ahead. "What's going-"

A small, furry creature leaps out from the grass right onto Bach face. As it scurries in a panic upon his head, Bach tilts backward while flailing wildly, and shrieks out. "OH, GODS! AH! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

----

As the team walks along the path through the shrine garden, Dretphi bites her lower lip in a mix of glee and embarrassment, reaches her hand out above Bach, and gently pets the flying squirrel securely nestled upon Bach's head. The critter enjoys the affection, leaning into the attention. After a few seconds, Dretphi slides her fingers underneath the creature, and applies a gradually amount of upwards pull. The squirrel hunkers down, tightens its grip onto Bach's hair and scalp, and stubbornly resists. Bach grimaces, and grits his teeth briefly with wince. "Ow. Stop. Please. He's still not letting go."

Sotalia snorts and shakes her head, covering her mouth. Dretphi sighs with a warm smile, pets the soft furry, loose coat of the flying squirrel, and pats Bach on the shoulder. "Sorry. I believe it is a ruin squirrel. I have read about them. They do not have many predators. They are friendly. Not easily scared. Do not understand why he is attached to you."

Bach grumbles to himself and rolls his eyes blatantly annoyed. Sotalia grins wide, reaches up, and gently strokes her long nails along the cheeks of the ruin squirrel. "Oh, he's so cute! We might have to keep him."

From the sword at Aristespha's side, Sebastian's ghostly voice snickers. Bach eyes downwards irritably and snarls his upper lip. "Are you- Are you laughing? Seriously..."

Sebastian's echoing tone sputters out a few laughs, and settles down. "I'm sorry, bro. Just watching you stumble around screaming when it was crawling all over you was too much."

Bach glances over to Aristespha with a dry smirk. "Hey, Aristespha, could I hold on to the sword for a bit?"

Aristespha lifts a suspicious eyebrow at Bach and meet his gaze unamused. A devious grin cracks across Bach's face and he darkly chuckles. "Don't worry, I'll return it... Eventually. Just wanted to see how far I could pitch into that pond we passed on the way here."

With a sharp growl, Sebastian voice emanates from the sword. "Don't. YOU. Fucking. DARE..."

A spark of sinister glee lights up Bach's eyes, and he curls the corners of his mouth. "Oh, I mean, I just wanted see if I lost my touch with throwing swords around."

Aristespha groans annoyed, gazes upwards, and places on firm grip on the handle of the sword as her eyes glow faintly violet. "Sebastian. Stop provoking your brother, and apologize."

Sebastian's voice quietens down and mumbles out. "Sorry..."

With a sigh, Aristespha glances over to Bach with a firm, understanding expression. "I'll contact Captain Hays. I'm certain the Borderland Rangers will be able to help somehow. Just stay calm."

She reaches over Bach's head, and pets the affectionate ruin squirrel a few times with a guilty smirk. "And... Keep the little one content for now."

Bach sighs and stares ahead unamused. Seconds later, he feels a familiar five claw points of slight pressure on his forearm and glances down to Cideeda. "Yes?"

Cideeda gestures him down closer. Bach leans down close to Cideeda's eye level, puzzling, cocks his head to the side, and whispers. "What?"

With a toothy grin, Cideeda raises her hand to the top of Bach's head, and playfully pets the ruin squirrel to it's enjoyment. She fights a bit of guilt and shrugs her shoulders. She flutters her emerald with an awkward smile in the face of Bach's narrowing stare. "Sorry. I didn't want to be left out. And, I couldn't reach that high."

----

Heccaeh carefully slips his clawed fingers underneath the sleeping ruin squirrel, gently lifts him up from of Bach's head, and quickly carries him off into an awaiting cage. Chana swiftly closes the door when Heccaeh hands clear, locks it shut, and covers it with a dark blanket. Bach immediately brushes his fingers through his long brown hair with a white patch, and shakes off a few seed shells. "Oh man... Thank you! Every time we tried to get him off, he'd just claw onto my skin."

Heccaeh chuckles lightly, grins, and flicks his furry ears. "Not a problem. I've had to do similar to when Ralli and Orrento get too riled up. Those seeds are tasty, and mild sedatives."

He pauses a moment in thought and gazes over to the covered cage, shaking his head. "That's still strange how he latched on to you. The only time I've ever seen them that stubborn is when they are in their nests."

Bach searches his mind as he stands up from a seat on the ground, and curiously inquires. "Really? Where do they make their nests?"

Heccaeh thinks a moment and plainly explains. "Well, they're ruin squirrels. They live around old ruins in the zones. They like to be high up, and fly from spot to spot. But... They REALLY like to make their nests in places where old magical power once was. Don't understand it, but if there's an old magic circle, they nest all over it."

Bach eyes flit wide and dart around uneasily, as he continues to brush himself of with an awkward tone in his voice. "Oh... Um... Interesting..."

Aristespha bows slightly and politely to Captain Hays. "Thank you so much for meeting us so quickly."

Captain Hays smiles with a chuckle, and tips his wide brimmed hat respectfully with his cybernetic arm. "Not a problem at all. Actually, you saved us some time."

He motions over to the cage and small magical containment tank holding a golden barrier enclosed, crystal speckled stone. "Even if you turned that anomaly source to the guild, we would have had to pick it up anyway. This just saved us the trip. We've been running around lately, so one less drive to make helps."

His smile fades to a grimace, and his tone shifts to a serious cadence. "Also, I've been meaning to relay some information to you all. It's a bit of of mix, so I'll start with the good news."

He draws a long breath in. "Both Captain Hackle and I have been contacted by all those ex-Terra Priest folks. Some didn't have criminal records with anyone that mattered, so many going back to regular lives. The rest have records with a few places, but Hackle and I are brokering some deals to get them to work it off... With appropriate service and trades of information."

Relief and satisfaction emerge on Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia hearing news. With a grim expression overtaking his face, Hays sighs sadly. "And, that information has gotten more valuable. Since it seems like that group is the only resource we have anymore."

A wave of concern and confusion washes over the team. Captain Hays grits his teeth, rests his hands at his sides, and slowly shakes head. "Simply put. After that golem attack on the Chrome Crusaders, Appaland army sent a clean up team. I'm not sure if Captain Hackle can't say or doesn't exactly know... But... If I know Appaland... It probably wasn't good."

An uneasy, dour mood looms above the gathering. Seconds later, Captain Hays sighs loudly and dons a calm smirk. "My apologies for being the bearer of bad news. But, don't let that discount the good you all did."

Bach nods appreciatively. "Ah, it's okay. Just feels weird."

Similar expressions appear on the rest of the team. Captain Hays smiles understandingly, adjusts his hat, and crosses his arms. "Yeah. It's a strange one."

He studies the dark blue night sky overtaking the reddish glow of dusk on the horizon, and proposes an idea. "Well, it's about dinner time for my team. You all want to join us over at the local Pancake Shed? End the night on a nicer note?"

A toothy grin grows on Cideeda and an eager spark lights her eyes as she studies Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "No objections from me."

-61-

Cideeda slowly drags a finger tip along her aetherphone, and watches the text scroll on the display. Her furry ear flicks towards the television, and she rolls her head over towards the screen from the couch. She lazily reaches a hand out on the coffee table, grabs hold of the remote, and presses a clawtip onto a series of rubber buttons. Satisfied, she settles back on the couch, stretches her body out along the cushions, and wags her tail with a yawn. Her attention returns to her aetherphone and she releases a long, relaxed sigh. "Well, I think all the easy jobs got snatched up yesterday. There's nothing I really want to do left."

Aristespha turns her gaze away from her tablet, and glances from the couch chair over to Cideeda. "Yes. It certainly seems the case. I tried looking last night and didn't see anything new."

Adjusting the pillow under her head, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly and smirks as she drapes a blanket over her from the back of the couch. "Yeah. Wouldn't have minded doing another day of small clean up jobs. But... What remains is too scattered to bother."

She grins comfortably as she rests her phone down on her chest and shifts her attention to the television. "And... Well... I'm already settled in for this marathon."

Aristespha smiles understandingly with a chuckle to herself, switches her focus to her tablet, and studies the information prompts on the screen of her game. Sebastian's ethereal form reaches out a hand and points out an area of the game map. "I think you need to build fortifications here, dear."

Waving her hand to playfully shoo Sebastian off his perch near her shoulder, Aristespha twists her mouth and grumbles. "I know, Sebastian. But, not yet. I want to get the refinery going now."

Sebastian drifts back slightly, rolls his eyes with a smirk, and mumbles. "The computer is going to start poking your defenses soon..."

Aristespha angles the tablet screen slightly away from Sebastian's prying eyes, and he floats above to get a new view. Aristespha's long pointy ear twitches at Sotalia's frustrated groans and she glances over towards the dining table. Sotalia narrows her competitive glare at Bach, and points accusingly at the last block on the wooden tower. "Oh, come on! You KNOW that should have fallen off..."

Bach grins widely, weaves his fingers upon the table top, and waits patiently, expectantly. "Maybe... But... It didn't. So, now it's your turn to pull."

Sotalia focuses her golden eyes upon the smug smile of Bach, cracks annoyed smirk, and sighs through her gritting teeth. "Fine. There's just no good choices."

Rolling his eyes, Bach slowly shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, you probably shouldn't have been trying to stack it so badly to trip me up."

Staring a few seconds at Bach unamused, Sotalia groans in a partial acceptance and gradually nods to a begrudging smile. "I know... I know... Gods... There's just nothing obviously good to work with."

A tinge of evil satisfaction creeps into Bach's demeanor as he watches Sotalia's hand hover indecisively around the barely stable wooden block structure. She summons a flow of magical energy to her finger and presses a long nailed tip to a loose piece in the tower. The block flickers to a purple color to Sotalia's surprise, and pushes away from Sotalia's finger. The tower sways back and forth while Sotalia struggles to stabilize the purple glowing block, but eventually the structure's high center of gravity pulls it down. Sotalia crosses her arms upon the table top, lowers her head down, and quietly curses to herself. Bach maintains a muted grin and watches Sotalia slowly scoop her arm out to gather all the pieces near her. Heavy, energetic foot steps sound out from the archway leading to the hallway, and Dretphi nearly hops out with a bright grin on her face and brushes a few stray braids off to her shoulders. "Have good news!"

Attention from the other team members turns to Dretphi. After taking a few moments to temper her excitement, Dretphi collects her thoughts and focuses on her words. "House traveled to investigate a school for my brother. Storm delayed original flight back a week."

Dretphi breathes out, averts her eyes with a humored smile, and shrugs. "Mother... negotiated... with the travel company. They will arrive in an Amaranth Valley hotel tomorrow night. Free Saturday. Fly out Sunday."

A bit of anxiety slips in her expression and she gazes out to the group with a bit of tension. "Would it be okay to invite them here Saturday? For the day?"

Sebastian responds quickly with a delighted smile. "Well, of course! I don't believe we have anything going on Saturday? Any objections?"

Aristespha shakes her head and nods pleasantly to Dretphi. "None from me. I'd be honored to meet your house."

Cideeda gives a thumbs to Dretphi and grins toothily. "Fine with me. I mean, they're all the way out here. They may as well stop on by."

Sotalia smiles to Dretphi and chuckles to herself. "I've only seen pictures of them, so it'll be interesting to see the family resemblance in person."

Bach nods to Dretphi and tilts his head curiously. "Sounds good. By the way, where are they flying to Sunday?"

Dretphi gazes at Bach, thinks a moment, and plainly responds. "Verdan. In Radotahin. My home town."

Blinking in thought a few seconds, Bach gradually turns his head as he processes the information and eventually quirks his puzzled brow. "Oh. Okay. Where is that exactly?"

After pondering a few seconds, Dretphi points westwards and adjusts her aim a few degrees to the north. "Approximately one thousand seven hundred kilometers that direction."

Bach's blue eyes widen and he blinks astonished. "Wow..."

Sebastian chuckles, flies across the room, and lands next to the dining table. "Yeah. That's a story right there."

Dretphi grumbles slightly, sighs briefly, and resumes a happy expression on her face. "Another time. Now... I want to make a nice lunch to celebrate."

She quickly walks around the dining table into the kitchen area, opens the refrigerator door, and inspects the contents. Seconds later, she frowns, and sighs with disappointment. "Missing certain ingredients."

Cideeda begins to stir from her rest upon the couch and under her blanket. "I guess we could make a run to the store..."

Bach blinks back to awareness, glances over towards Cideeda, and gazes through the sliding glass window to the pleasant glow of the sunny, calm morning. He slides back his chair, stands up, and looks around to the group. "You know. It's a nice day. I'll run out on my bike. The sidecar can hold the groceries easily."

Halting her rise from the comfortable spot on the couch, Cideeda slowly lowers her self back down and grins approvingly. "I'm not going to argue. Saves us the extra synth diesel, anyway."

Bach smirks to Sotalia with a competitive perk of an eyebrow. "Rematch after I get back?"

Sotalia presents a scheming grin and interlocks her fingers together. "Of course. I'll stack it nicely for you."

Rolling his eyes in amusement, he walks around the table into the kitchen, retrieves his aetherphone, and stands next to Dretphi. "So, what do I need to get?"

Dretphi lists off a few items, waits for Bach to record them in his phone, and peeks over his shoulder to double-check. After Bach reads off the list to Dretphi's approval, he steps over towards the kitchen door leading to the garage. "Cool. I'll get the bike warmed up, throw my gear on, and I'll be off."

Dretphi smiles warmly to Bach as the door closes. Sotalia eyes over to Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. Moments later, Dretphi rolls her shoulders uncomfortably, notices Sotalia's gaze, and puzzles. "What?"

Sotalia snorts, waves it off, and rolls her eyes to Dretphi's confusion. "Oh... Nothing."

----

Isaac flexes his grip upon the steering wheel of the sedan and glances over to large metal sign indicating distances. Brushing a few stray white hairs out of his face, he focuses upon the single digit number next to Amaranth Valley at the top, and then studies a few of the other locations. He stares out at the highway and modest amount of traffic, and hums to himself as he thinks. Glancing over, he checks over his supplies, and sneers uncomfortably as he realizes the unfavorable ratio of open containers to full ones. Turning his head forward, his eyes drop down briefly, and he notices the fuel gauge indicator moving closer to empty. Grumbling at the circumstances, he stares off into the distance and surveys the scattered stores in the area ahead. While scouting a fuel station along the opposite side of the road, he squints his gaze down the highway as a sidecar motorcycle catches his attention. Issac's eyes open wide in sheer surprise when he recognizes the familiar helmet, duster, and face of the rider as it zips past the gas station. Quickly tracking the motorcycle, he watches as the vehicle and rider turn into a grocery store parking down the road.

Isaac resumes his attention forward and maintains control of the sedan. His mind spins up with thought and his face plays out a mix of apprehension and intrigue. The wind from the cracked window flutters the edges of pictures in his open backpack upon the passenger floorboard. Pondering the photographs, determination swells within Isaac, and he cracks a smirk. Slowing down into the middle lane, he steers the vehicle around in a tight turn and guides the car down the road towards the grocery store. Surveying the area, he spots a secluded section of alley road behind the gas station and turns into an entry. Checking the vicinity, he finds a obscured section of access road, parks the vehicle out of the way, and stares down the long stretch that leads towards the large market parking lot. Slowly breathing out his nerves, Isaac searches his mind, contemplates his options plainly upon his face, and... Pulls up his blue scarf to hide his face. Noxian opens the door, steps out, quietly pushes the door shut, and walks quickly towards the parking area.

----

Bach exits the market holding two stuffed paper bags by the handles. Dodging around traffic and other customers, he eventually manages to get to his motorcycle between two large, tall vehicles. He glances to either side of the spot and sighs at the encroachment upon the dividing lines of paint. "Really people?"

He shrugs off the annoyance, maneuvers through the remaining space, and lowers each bag into the sidecar. After carefully arranging the contents and securing the cargo, he stands up, brushes off his duster, and fans out some heat. From behind a familiar voice stuns Bach motionless. "It is a nice day for a ride, Mr. Warwick."

Bach's blue eyes open fully upon his blank expression as he stiffly stands up straight. He gradually pivots in place to turn around to the source of the voice. Noxian smiles wide underneath his blue scarf, crosses his arms, and grows fully visible. "I apologize for interrupting your shopping, but I believe we need to have a little discussion."

Every muscle in Bach's body tenses, his eyes dart around the area frantically, and he remains still, completely bewildered to what should happen. Focusing his gray gaze upon Bach, Noxian gently gestures his hands for Bach to calm down. "Put yourself at ease, Bach. I did NOT come here to a populated area to pick a fight with you."

As the din of people rises up of the background, Bach cringes briefly, grits his teeth, and grumbles uneasily. "Okay. That's good to know. Wasn't really looking forward to a fight, much less here... Much less with you..."

Noxian nods with the outline of a grin visible under his blue scarf, and unfolds his arms to place his hands upon his sides. "Good. I expected as such. Anyway... I distinctly believe that fighting would not serve to benefit either of us."

Narrowing his stare through Bach, Noxian chuckles slightly and tilts his head intrigued as Bach puzzles at the attention. "While I have grown quite the expert in manipulation of elder energies... I certainly don't have access to the RAW POWER like... YOU... do."

Bach pales as abject horror overwhelms him and trembling fits sneak around his body. "Uhh... W-what are you t-talking about? I don't have-"

Hoisting his brow incredulously, Noxian rolls his eyes, sighs with a shake of his head, and glares right at Bach. "Let us NOT do this act. I KNOW you have tapped into something. Proper evidence shows even."

His expression softens, his tone lightens to a polite cadence, and Noxian gazes to Bach with genuine curiosity. "All that ask is you just tell me... How did you do it?"

Bach's mind searches for a response and he continues to stare right at Noxian completely uncertain. While Noxian patiently waits and the sounds of grocery store customers fill the ambient air, bravery swells up into Bach's face and he narrows his glare. "Well... I'm not going to lie to you..."

He grits his teeth, sneers his upper lip, and plainly states. "I. DON'T. KNOW."

Noxian scrutinizes Bach carefully, a flicker of white gracing his eyes as he contorts his face. Bach's nerves push out a further explanation and he sighs uneasily. "It's the truth. I was in a bad situation. I panicked... Reached out? Ah, that's the best way I can explain it. And... Something happened I did not expect and it completely caught me off guard. After that, I don't know. So, even if I wanted to help you, I honestly can't."

After a few second, Noxian slowly nods, relaxes his gaze, and twists his mouth unsatisfied as he shrugs his shoulders. "I see. That is very unfortunate. But, I cannot fault you for not remembering specific information in a dire situation. Oh well. No easy answers today, I guess."

He dons an apologetic tone, softens his expression towards Bach, and bows slightly. "Since we are here and conversing, I think I need to make some amends for my past behavior towards you. Let me say, I'm very sorry for how I acted before and my hostilities towards you. My ambitions got the better of me and lead me to actions I should not have even considered."

Apprehension overtakes Bach face, and he fights bewilderment as he glances around the area before focusing back on Noxian. "Um... I... Appreciate your apology?"

Noxian smiles under his scarf, nods respectfully, and stands tall with a calm voice. "Good. And, as a gesture of goodwill... I want to offer you assistance with learning how to control your elder energy, and train you how to use it more effectively."

Bach freezes solidly for seconds in outright terror, manages to force a step back, and lifts his hands up. "NO."

Carefully watching every motion of fear plain upon Bach, Noxian quirks his brow intrigued and concern colors his voice. "Interesting. Why are you hesitant?"

Anxiety rages out into the whole of Bach, and he breathes shakily as he pushes another step back away from Noxian. "Whatever I have... I-it doesn't n-need your help. Not YOUR ways."

Noxian ponders a few moments, searches Bach fearful demeanor, and sighs with a genuine worry. "Please, calm down. This is not some kind of scheme. I honestly do want to help you. You shouldn't fear this power you have access to. It's not some kind of evil thing. It is dangerous and should be well respected, but there is nothing bad about it."

He slowly steps forward, maintains his gaze upon Bach, and presents a cool, collected attitude. "To summarize a very long discussion quickly... You've been lied to. The whole Elder Energy and Dark Lords subject? It's a bunch of fear mongering crafted by ghosts of the past to keep people from exploring what they eventually should."

With a long pause, Noxian searches his mind and constructs the next parts of his explanation. "There may have been good reasons for what many wise mages did at the time, but NOW... We need to move on. Those of us who can show the restraint and dedication... Like YOU have... need to not be afraid to utilize this power-"

A mental spark jolts Bach's body free, and a pressure surge of panic launches out a defiant rant from deep within. "FUCK. THAT. Just FUCK that! You don't know what should and shouldn't be utilized. The only gods damned reason I'll explore any of this power is to figure out how to one day... CUT MYSELF OFF FROM IT! Because of this bullshit, I spent YEARS of my life as a washed out, useless, lame mage. A fucking disgrace! A worthless disappointment! And, the worst joke around! I'm NOT about to turn this miserable, shitty curse into anything more than a means to its own end! I want it long gone, and just cast spells like I used to be able to! Like EVERYONE else does! ... Fuck your inane bullshit!"

Noxian rears his head back momentarily in absolute surprise and frowns as he witnesses Bach's trembling stance and anxiety stressed breathing. With a soothing, paternal cadence, Noxian meets Bach's eyes and sighs. "Bach. Listen. You have been given a unique opportunity for some reason. Yes, it was granted to you in a terribly awkward, and obviously devastating manner. But... THIS is something I DID NOT think was even POSSIBLE in this day and age. You should take this chance and do great things!"

Uncertainty drives Bach's fight against the concept and he dismissively rejects. "Nothing GOOD is going to come from using this energy. They put the Abstract Prism in place for a good gods damned reason. And, I'm not about to push my shitty luck and find out WHY in the worst fucking way possible."

A surge of irritation mixes with frustration upon Noxian's face, and he quickly closes the distance between him and Bach. He concentrates his narrowing glare through Bach and slowly, purposefully pronounces each word. "It CAN be for good. It COULD have done good... ..."

His attention shifts to a distant place in his mind and he reflects upon old memories while Bach studies the change. Seconds later, Noxian drills his stare right into Bach's soul. "And... It HAS done good."

Bach searches around in his brain in utter confusion. Noxian steps back, draws in a long calming breath, and sighs to a deeply appreciate cadence. "The Nightmare Geist in Hattan. Thousands of people spared from untold destruction... And one little girl that draws you as her hero of light against the darkness that almost took her."

Jarring memories rise up to the front of Bach's mind and abruptly redirects his focus within. Noxian focuses upon Bach and directs his voice carefully. "Also... Care to explain to me how Cideeda is flowing magical energy now? Something I've never seen or heard of her being able to do... Until you joined the group?"

Bach sifts through another collection of thoughts and mumbles an argument to himself. "But... That was an accident and... Gods, it could have seriously hurt her... It just shows that power should be used... Just sealed away..."

Noxian trains his full attention upon Bach, awaits the for moment Bach meets his stare, and explains with determination. "Bach... You should NOT be afraid of this power. Don't act like you haven't made willing, purposeful choices to use it. You could have easily not used it, stuck to those hollow principles, and tried to live with the results. But... You made a choice. The RIGHT choice... I'm sure Sotalia would say so."

An uncomfortable revelation washes over Bach and paralyzes him while he wanders through his own head. Noxian watches the perplexed Bach patiently and steps back. An awkward eerie silence looms between two. Eventually, it fades as another wave of grocery store parking lot activity rises out of the background. Noxian sighs while shaking his head of wispy, white hair, and gazes at Bach with a hopeful tone. "You still need time to accept all this. I can see and feel that it's been a serious burden upon you. And truly, I wish I had known sooner. I could have... and still will help you if you want. That's my standing offer to you. Keep it in mind."

Pondering a moment, Noxian crosses his arms and nods slightly. "And maybe, when you learn more, you'll hear me out about other things."

He searches around the area as the market gets busier, and smiles under his scarf. "But, for now, I do terribly need to take my leave. As much as you have errands to run, I do so, too. Elsewhere... Briefly... Take care of yourself, Bach. I believe Fate will have us running into each other soon enough."

As Noxian begins to fade into transparency and turns to walk away, Bach snaps to attention and stares out to Noxian. "Isaac?"

Isaac freezes in shock, slowly turns around, slips backs into visibility, and gawks at Bach. Meeting Isaac's gray eyes, Bach plainly states to Isaac's confusion. "Your journal."

Distant memories flood into Isaac's consciousness and he winces with past pain. Bach sighs earnestly and frowns slightly. "You have my most sincere condolences. I don't know what I would have done. Hopefully for the best, that place is no longer forgotten."

A long, somber silence hangs between the two. Seconds later, Isaac clears his throat, turns away to depart, and begins to fades into invisibility. He pauses momentarily before disappearing and glances over his shoulder to Bach. "Thank you..."

He thinks a moment and sighs. "Understand... There's a good reason for what I do. I think you'll understand eventually."

Isaac visage blends into the air and his presence fades from sight. Bach remains upon his feet for another minute in a tense watch of the area. His vigor wanes and he drops to a seat upon the motorcycle. Panting in shuddering breaths, he shakily retrieves his aetherphone from his pocket.

----

At the diner table, Bach sighs out a swell of stress from within, combs his fingers through his hair, and props his head up with his arms upon the table top. In a wavering, uneasy tone, he slowly shakes his head and meekly speaks. "Gods... Dammit... I should have followed after him or something... But... Fuck. I just wasn't thinking. I'm so sorry."

Sebastian cranes his head down in front of Bach, awaits eye contact, and presents a comforting smile with hints of fading worry. "It's okay, bro. Really. There's NOTHING to apologize for. You did the SMART thing. No need to get into a showdown with Noxian, and in a crowded place."

He dons a humoring grin and gestures towards his ghostly visage. "I'm certainly not going to criticize you for NOT going one on one with Noxian. We all know how that ended. I'm just glad you're here and safe."

Sotalia gently pats Bach on the back and leans over to smile calmly with a soothing tone. "There was no point in running off by yourself to chase after him. I mean, you only followed the same advice YOU gave me."

A slight smirk lifts up the frown on Bach's face and he glances over appreciatively to Sotalia. Cideeda raps her claw tipped fingers on the wooden top of the table, ponders possibilities in her mind, and gazes over to Bach curiously. "Did you catch how he was getting around?"

Bach lifts his head up, blinks in thought for a moment, and regretfully shakes his head. "No... I was too upset to check when I should have. But, I don't think it was anything in the parking lot I was in. Before I came back here after calling, I mage sighted an odd trace around the bushes at the edge of the lot. I followed a little of it, but it just lead to an access road in an alley behind a few stores and fuel stations."

Searching her mind, Cideeda's eyes dart around her thoughts and she nods with a plotting grin. "Oh, I bet there HAS to be camera pointed somewhere along that route. If nothing else, there's probably one angled to catch an exit or entry point."

Sebastian's ethereal form scratches his chin and he hums with a ghostly reverb as an idea grows. "Yeah. Definitely. We have the rough time frame and know the general area. If we check footage from the point from the call, we can see if anything left soon afterwards. Then, we can check to see if any of the same arrived beforehand."

Aristespha halts her pacing next to the sliding glass door, concentrates on the conversation with her aetherphone, and sighs. "No. No... I completely understand... But- Fine... Yes, don't hesitate to call his number or the guild if you get any further information... Thank you."

She removes the phone from her long pointy ear, sneers her upper lip, and groans in frustrated resignation. With a slow pivot, she steps towards the gathering around the dining table with heavy dissatisfaction looming over her. She pulls a chair out, tries to gracefully slide in, and finishes with a slump. "Well, the local police force has been notified now. I doubt they're going to do anything to actively stop Noxian."

Sebastian rolls his eyes, grumbles, and shifts to a hopeful smirk. "Yeah, dear. Well... Honestly, can't fault them for not wanting to chase after a dark lord. But, maybe they might be able to get some camera data in the area from all the store owners."

Aristespha nods in agreement with a reserved smile, and gazes at Sebastian lovingly. "That's true, Sebastian. I was hoping for a bit more cooperation. And, I haven't heard too much from Nash lately. So, I don't know exactly what's happening at the Grand Library."

She chuckles lightly to herself and shakes her head. "But, I have feeling after he listens to the voice mail I left him... He will be contacting me soon enough."

Sotalia stands up straight, rests her hands at her hips, and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair, gritting her teeth. "Still... How the hell DID Noxian know about everything that went on in that golem factory?! The only thing that makes sense is that he was actually THERE with us!"

She grumbles out a string of emin swears to herself and slowly shakes her head with aggravation plain on her face. Cideeda squirms in her seat uncomfortably and searches her head for explanations while she idly flexes her fingers. "He had to have been there for a while watching us to notice me flowing magical energy."

Sebastian crosses his arms with an irritated frown, groans in frustration, and rolls his eyes dismissively. "Yeah... Thanks a lot for the non-assist, Noxian. Still..."

He lowers his head in thought, mentally pieces together circumstantial facts in his mind, and cocks his head intrigued. "That list of coordinates we've got... It's definitely the list he's using. I can't think of any other reason he'd show up there."

Bach sighs, rests against the chair back, and closes his eyes with worn tone. "Well somehow that site we got the data from must be able to detect elder energy or some kind of signature of it. Wish we knew what all the other numbers meant."

He reopens his eyes, slumps his shoulders, and stares within his own head, puzzling at a memory. "Something I did not think was even possible in this day and age... Elsewhere... Briefly... Gods dammit. I can't shake this feeling he's changing his focus to something else. FUCK. I feel like I just let him know about something he shouldn't."

Aristespha smiles comfortingly and shakes her head slowly. "It's not your fault, Bach. Just because he knows something exists, does not mean he'll be able to replicate it."

A scheming smirk graces her lips and she tilts her head to the side with a plotting expression. "In fact, it may serve to our benefit if he is distracted. Isaac worked at the Grand Library, and if has any of the bad habits that entitles... He will probably be researching this new development. Which will take him off the his previous path..."

Cideeda's emerald green eyes widen, her furry ears perk up, and she grins toothily with a chuckle. "And, while he's busy chasing something that might not turn up anything, we can go through the list and beat him to other sites."

Hope grows within Bach and he nods in agreement. "Yeah. It really felt like he was changing his focus to something else... If only for a little while."

Sotalia crosses her arms, shifts her weight, and grins with competitive spark. "It'd be nice to get ahead of his plans for once."

She glances down at Bach with a wry smirk, lifts an examining brow at him, and leans closer with an amused tone. "So, how about that offer from Noxian to help you?"

Bach blinks back to full awareness, narrows a stare at Sotalia, and twists his mouth in ill-humor. "Oh yeah. That sounded like a GREAT offer. I'm certain taking magic tips from a dark lord will REALLY help me out in the long run... And TOTALLY not set me up for an inevitable betrayal after he learns what he wants from me."

Sotalia snickers as she rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. "I'm just kidding. That was still really strange of him."

Bach nods, stares out across the table bewildered, and furrows his brow as he reprocesses recent events. "I know. He seemed genuine when he offered. I just don't know..."

Dretphi walks in from the kitchen carrying a large tray full of different, delectable lunch items in each hand, lays out the huge platters on the tabletop, and looks over the group. "Lunch is ready. Please enjoy."

She gazes at Bach with a warm smile, and asks hopefully. "Are you hungry now? I can set aside a share for later. Give your appetite time to recover."

Bach sniffs the air, surveys the variety of delicious food in front of him, and shakes his head. "No, I can certainly eat. My stomach acid has been working on me for the last hour, so this amazing food is perfect right now."

Dretphi nods appreciatively, waits as the rest of the group sits down around the table, and slips into a chair to join in the feast.

----

Dretphi stands under the morning shade of a tree with her hands securely gripped around her flow blade. With slow, careful breaths, she concentrates her gaze at the large sword, and affixes her full attention upon it. Moments later, flows of magical energy seep out from her arms, glide over her hands, and sink into the handle of the flow blade. Bach stands close by with his glowing blue eyes studying the energies at play, and keeps his hands at his sides. "You're doing just fine. Keep it steady and gradually press the flow harder."

Gritting her teeth slightly, Dretphi closes her steely gray eyes, tosses her platinum blonde braids back, and flexes her tan, gray stripped arms. The flows brighten, the energy channels within the blade illuminate a radiant red, and the color gradually climbs up from the hilt to towards the tip. Dretphi contorts her face as she maintains her attention upon her strenuous task. Bach nods slowly, leans his head closer to examine, grabs his shorts securely at the side around the waist, and encourages her with a soft tone. "Okay. Keep it right there for now. Focus on how it feels rather than the amount of power. Find the paths of least resistance."

The red patterns creep up the surface of the sword, pulsating slightly with occasional flits of brightness as Dretphi strains. Subtle tremors from Dretphi's arms shake the flow blade noticeably at the sharp tip. Eagerness and excitement slips into Dretphi's face and fights against her sheer determined stare as the red progression graces the end point. Bach grins, and calls out with signaling hand gesture. "Now! Full power!"

An expectant smirk sneaks out from the corner of Dretphi's mouth, her body tenses, and a rush of flow swirls across her body into her flow blade. The sword ignites in a brief burst ethereal red fire, and a solid glowing crimson lights up the long blade's edge. A brilliant grin explodes on Dretphi's face, and she watches the magical aura of the blade with recognition and familiarity. Seconds later, the energy drifts from the blade, and the glows fades from the sword. Dretphi gently lowers the flow blade back down toward the ground, relaxes the muscles in her arms and body, and releases a long sigh of relief and accomplishment. "Thank... You..."

Bach applauds and laughs. "You're welcome. Wow! Is that how you remember it looking like when your mother used it?"

Dretphi rests the blade down, props upon the nearby tree trunk, vents air through her T-shirt, and smiles to Bach. "Similar. There are differences. Does not matter. This was me. That is what matters."

Nodding in agreement, Bach blinks briefly, pulls his shorts up by the waistband, and pulls his shirt down to cover. "Definitely was you all the way powering it. Did if feel a bit easier?"

Wiping sweat off her brow, Dretphi crosses her arms, searches her recent experience, and mulls the question over. "In ways. It felt easy to... Reach? Hard to... Fill?"

Bach's eyes sort through his mind and he scratches his beard covered chin. "Yeah. That makes sense. You can guide the flow well enough to go through all those channels. Throughput is always rough, though. Especially with the worn out channels in that sword, but... A little brute force can make it cooperate for a little while."

Dretphi averts her gaze away momentarily, bites her lip, and glances uncertainly at Bach. "Does this demonstrate enough mastery for you to teach me magical augmentation?"

Bach's eyes flit wide open briefly, and he grits his teeth with an unsure groan. "Uhh... Well..."

A frown curls the corner of Dretphi's mouth, and her expression saddens quickly with hints of self disappointment. Bach draws in a long breath, sighs, and crosses his arms. He stares at Dretphi with a serious gaze, and twists his mouth questioningly. "Listen... Can you tell me why you want to learn that? You mentioned before that someone you know uses this type of magic. Who is it?"

Dretphi blinks to attention, looks around a bit, and finally presents a small smile to Bach. "My mother. I have heard tales her power in battle. The flow blade. Magical augmentation of her body. If the stories are true, my mother has defeated tanks."

Bach tilts his head to the side, and gazes at Dretphi in astonishment. "Tanks? The armored battle machine type of tank? Not the big metal container type of thing?"

Thinking for moment, Dretphi brushes her braids back over her shoulders, rests her hands on her hips, and shifts her weight idly around. "Yes. The vehicle. Probably containers, too. If she had to prove a point near one."

Scratching his head of brown hair and guiding his white streak out of the way of his face, Bach blinks in disbelief a few times and searches Dretphi's face for an answer. "How did she defeat a tank?"

Dretphi shrugs her shoulders plainly, and explains simply. "Close in. Cut the treads. Jam the turret. Slice the cannon barrel."

Bach's stare drifts off into the vicinity as his mind visualizes the scene, and he eventually lands his focus upon Dretphi's flow blade propped upon the tree truck. "That blade, has taken down... Tanks."

Dretphi glances over, meets Bach's gaze, and nods nonchalantly. "Yes. I have heard the stories. From my fathers. Soldiers who fought with her. Historical documents."

She pauses a moment, sighs heavy with shame, and lowers her head. "I have wanted to learn that ability from her. She refuses to teach me. I do not know why. That is why I want you to teach me. Basic proficiency should demonstrate that I... am worthy to learn from her..."

Bach frowns briefly, turns his head away for as he contemplates the situation, and returns his gaze to Dretphi with a reserved smile. "Okay... Wow... Alright. I want you to understand that magical augmentation of your physical body can lead to disastrous things if you are not careful or prepared. UNDERSTAND?"

Dretphi snaps her full attention upon Bach and focuses. "YES."

With a growing grin, Bach chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. "I'll show you the very basics. It's going to take a long time to get going. And, you still need to keep practicing your ability to flow magical energy. Thankfully, you certainly have the physique to handle some very simple stuff safely... I believe."

A delighted smile grows wide on Dretphi's face and her excitement leaks out into her body language. Bach holds up his hands in a slowing gesture, and sighs with a smirk. "Just promise me you'll stick to just simple running and free movement for now. This isn't like the cartoons where you can charge up start punching through walls."

Dretphi nods happily. "I know. Promise use for regular movement. Only. Thank you."

Bach nods, pauses as his attention shifts to a more immediate issues, and he pulls his shorts back up. Dretphi glances down, quirks her brow, and points. "What is wrong?"

Fighting off embarrassment, Bach rolls his eyes at himself and grumbles. "I don't know. I think the waist must of stretched out in these or something in the last wash. I've had them for a while anyway, so it's not surprising they're falling apart. But, they've just not been fitting right lately."

Dretphi slowly shakes her head amused, giggles to herself, and cocks her head to the side. "You may need a belt. I could take in the waist."

Bach blinks at a realization, lifts his head up, and gazes at Dretphi unsure. "Really? You think I'm slimming down? I haven't lost that much weigh and all..."

He continues to study the looser fit of his clothes as he notices other details, while Dretphi watches with a warm, humored smile.

----

Meredosia stares out from a small opening in the underbrush and slowly scans the huge clearing in front of her. Wind gently rustles the leaves of the giant trees encircling the area beneath the evening sky. Uneasy tension freezes her body still, and Meredosia's dark crimson eyes search carefully. Her face alternates between unsettling recognition and unnerving discovery as she scans her vision. At a distant part of the clearing, a number of uniformed military personnel stand guard outside a scorch mark spattered ancient structure, while other troops investigate both old and recent ruins. Surges of terrified bewilderment rise in Meredosia's expression as her focus shifts between small blast craters, long draws of laser burns, deposits of black soot, bullet holes in structures, and dark red blood stains throughout. Her stare freezes upon a faint humanoid outline intertwined within the chaotic patterns of destruction upon an ancient stone wall.

Blinking out of her stupor, Meredosia remembers to allow air into her lungs and shudders her head away from her view of the ancient clearing. She closes her eyes, carefully draws in silent breaths, and musters back her composure. Determination swells out from within and her focus concentrates upon the largest building in the area. She slides out from her hiding spot in the underbrush, slinks out onto a game nearby game trail, and swiftly sneaks along the path. Over the minutes, she proceeds quickly from obscuring spot to concealing patch in the overgrowth. Eventually, she rushes out from the perimeter of the clearing and arrives in a darkened alley along the side of the large main structure. She creeps to the front corner, cautiously leans out, and surveys the immediate vicinity. A few soldiers walk slowly in a long patrol up to the front entry, stop, and begin to converse with a number of other military guards.

Meredosia draws back away from the corner, gritting her teeth in frustration, and mumbles under her breath a series of evuukian swears. She finds a secluded section of the architecture, sits down, and vents out her unease. She brushes her ivory hands through her gray hair, grasping hold her very long, pointed ears, and closes her eyes to summon a moment of calm. A minute later, she gathers her awareness and investigates the structural features above. Her eyes lock onto an open window, and she cocks her head to the side as memory coincides with recognition. Quickly checking the area, she quietly mutters out an incantation and expertly gestures out a spell. Positioning herself below the high up, open window, Meredosia presses her hand onto the ancient stone building, flows a stream of energy to her hand, and pulls herself up the wall. In a careful repetitious sequence, she places hand or foot up, flows energy to secure herself to the climbing face, and moves higher towards the window.

Meredosia arrives below the open window sill, and waits with her eyes closed and ears hunting. She opens her eyes, raises her gaze above the bottom of the window frame, and checks into the room. In the dark room, an eerie silence looms. With a final pull, Meredosia hoists herself up and slides herself through the opening onto a cold tile floor. Quickly gesturing, a small orb of light forms within the palm of her hand, and she surveys the dimly illuminated bathroom around her. She stands herself up, traces the muddied footprints upon the floor, and feels the dried dirt leftover upon the sill. Trickles of hope allow a smile to form upon her face, and she stares out into the forest scene from the window.

Quietly, Meredosia slowly steps up to the closed bathroom door with a destroyed jam. She presses her long ear against the wood, waits before withdrawing, and gently pulls the door back. Her light casts out into the room and reveals a scene of chaos and upheaval. She stares blankly out into the large bed room of dumped bookshelves, emptied drawers, upturned furniture, ripped cushions, pried open chests, and shattered entry door fragments. Meredosia freezes in shock, crosses her arms tightly, and shrinks back a bit as her mind fumbles to process the scene. Steeling herself, she steps forward through the room, stepping over debris, and pausing momentarily to notice the previous stains of combat below the surface of destruction. Slowly, she navigates to a spot on the floor beside her upturned bed, and kneels down. She feels around on the stone work, guides her finger tips along the grooves, and finds a slightly different section than the rest. With an incantation and working her fingers underneath, she lifts a section of floor and reveals a hidden compartment with a modest backpack.

Meredosia gazes at the backpack, reaches out to the top, gradually unzips it, and looks upon the contents as past memories surge in her mind. She picks up a booklet, flips it open, and sighs sadly at the sight of a past picture of herself upon an evuukian identification document. Closing the paperwork, she places it back inside the backpack, zips it up, and lowers her head, her breathing straining from nerves.

A sharp crack echoes distantly down the hallway leading to the bed room entry, and Meredosia's ears twitch and lead her head to gawk in fright. A muffled conversation bounces dully down the hall and grows louder with each second. Meredosia takes hold of the backpack, puts it on as she deftly sprints to the bathroom, and gestures out an incantation. Maneuvering through the window, she leaps out of the building, glides gently onto the ground, and rushes off into the forest. She cautiously navigates between patches of underbrush, and proceeds further out. As the distance from the clearing grows, her sprints between hiding spots lengthen and her caution gives way to speed. Far from the start of her escape, terror overtakes her mind and she runs in a full out, panicked pace across the forest floor. Fear blatant on her face, Meredosia flees in blind terror. Panting harder the more distance she covers, a glimpse of situational awareness briefly graces her enough to recognize a section of forest, and guides her to a secluded patch of closely grown old trees. Without a second thought, Meredosia darts into hiding, collapses out of breath into a curled up ball, and trembles sobbing. She closes her eyes to world and focuses within, tears flowing with her horror. Time passes, her crying wanes, and she settles to a distant stare out into the forest. As her mind wanders, a thought catches her attention, and she searches her outfit's pockets. With a firm grip, she retrieves a medical supply wrapper, studies the text stamped on, and focuses her eyes upon two words.

"Amaranth Valley"

-62-

In the front yard of the ranch style house, Dretphi paces near the steps leading to the front door. She occasionally glances out to the road and visually follows routes down each direction. Staring out to the horizon, she searches and waits. Moments later, she slowly walks around idly and investigates the opposite way. The wind picks up to a gentle breeze, blows the grass, rustles the leaves, and sways Dretphi's platinum blonde hair braids. The front door opens and Sotalia leans her head out to peek around. She tracks Dretphi's repetitious path and smirks with a sigh. "You know you can wait inside. It's not like there's many other houses out here. I'm sure they'll find this place and knock on the door."

Dretphi perks up, pivots in place, and smiles appreciatively with a tinge of embarrassment. "I know. Just can not wait. It has been a while."

Sotalia slides out from behind the door, steps down the stairs, and stands next to Dretphi. "Oh, I totally understand. Back when I had a more permanent address, I'd always run around the place making sure everything was perfect for my little nieces and nephews when my sisters would visit."

She rolls her eyes at herself and grumbles playfully with a grin. "Now, there's more and they're older, too. So, it's harder to keep them all entertained anymore."

Dretphi nods in agreement and sighs with a twist to her mouth. "Similar to my brothers. Hard to keep their attention now."

Sotalia lifts her brow, and glances over to Dretphi inquisitively. "How old are they now?"

With a slight groan, Dretphi rolls her eyes and slowly shakes her head. "Twenty. Nineteen. Still frustratingly immature."

Sotalia snorts, chuckles, and twists her mouth in commiseration. "Interesting. And, they're just now looking for schools to go to?"

Dretphi grumbles out her dissatisfaction, crosses her arms, and shrugs her shoulders. "Decided to take a break from schooling. Work part time at menial jobs. Party the money away."

Cracking an evil grin, Sotalia puts her hands on her hips and laughs. "Ah, so the fun times have run out."

A satisfied smirk grows on Dretphi's face. She chuckles to herself and nods slowly. "Yes. Tekennin is first. Arrenten is next. Go to school funded... Work proper jobs to fund the house... Their choice."

Sotalia rolls her eyes with a sly smile. "Oh, I bet I know the answer to the question."

Dretphi glances over with a humored smile and nods. "You do."

In distance, a large passenger van drives down the road. It slows down as it approaches the mailbox in front of the property, and turns into driveway. The vehicle rolls to a stop right behind the humvee and the engine cuts off. Dretphi waves excitedly to the people inside the van. "That is the rental my mother negotiated."

She rushes over with a skip to her step as the van doors open and slide. Sotalia quickly steps up the stairs, pushes the front door ajar, and calls out inside. "They're here!"

From the drivers seat doorway, a tall, fit grath man steps out of the van, brushes a leaf from a nearby tree off his graying, short brown hair and gazes to Dretphi happily with steely gray eyes. Dretphi rushes over to his open, gray striped arms, and both hug, exchanging loving greetings in the same dialects of grath. From the sliding door, two other older grath men work their ways out, one similar height to Dretphi and heavier, and the other shorter and wiry. Following behind from the very back seats, two young grath men with similar features awkwardly crawl out. Both stand for a few moments stretching and muttering complaints to each other.

After hugging and greeting the older men, Dretphi walks over with a hidden smirk to the two young men, and focuses a questioning gaze upon both. The heavier young grath notices the attention, and pats the other young, thinner grath quickly to point out Dretphi. Both straighten their postures and wait patiently when Dretphi approaches. Silently, Dretphi dons a stoic posture and stares at the two, visually scrutinizing them. As the examination continues, Dretphi's expression softens to a delighted smile and she pulls both of them close. During the group embrace, Dretphi sneaks her hands to the top of their platinum blonde heads and musses up both their hair styles. The thinner man grumbles annoyed as he quickly tries to brush his hair back to how he had it. The other young man laughs, mocks the vanity before him, and a quips a joke in grath to Dretphi.

Walking calmly and confidently around the front of the van, an older grath woman with long braids of platinum fading to dirty blonde passes the older men, and stands behind Dretphi with a collected smile upon her tan face. "Dretphi."

Dretphi reflexively tenses a moment, slowly pivots around, and meets the woman's piercing blue eyes at the same level as her own steely gray eyes. She presents a stoic front in response to the strong presence before her. The two stare at each other for seconds before the older grath woman smiles warmly and embraces Dretphi. Both share a laugh. The woman poses a question to Dretphi. With a roll of her eyes, Dretphi shrugs her shoulders and sighs her response. Nodding in agreement, the older grath woman comments a similar sentiment.

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Sebastian, and Sotalia stand in a loose grouping near the steps leading to the front door, and wait curiously around the tall, large congregation of grath. Dretphi's situational awareness returns and she fights a flit of embarrassment as she lead the grath group over. "I am sorry. Got carried away. This is my house. House Veranattin."

Dretphi straightens up her posture, smiles proudly, and gestures to the older grath woman. "This is my birth mother. Meranni Karrenna Prakkenten Veranattin."

Meranni gazes over the team before her, stands with pride, and bows slightly. "Please. Call me Meranni."

With a happy tone, she stands next to the older graying grath man with excitement leaking out. "My birth father. Commander Ralthetanen Heri Reti Veranattin."

Ralthetanen sighs with a smirk, chuckles to himself, and bows to the group with ease and calm. "Ralth is enough. My parents gifted me syllables. I will not burden you with them."

Dretphi stands between the two older grath men, nods to the larger of the two. "My house father. Doctor Kettan Arrentit Crettaken Veranattin."

Kettan grins jovially and chuckles has he put his hands in his pants pockets with a hint of shyness. "Kettan please. Gods. Have not felt this official for a while."

Dretphi turns to introduce the other older, shorter, wiry grath man. "My house father. Matakinen Prezzanit Arvenerrin Veranattin."

Matakinen smirks nonchalantly and raises a hand to wave to the group. "Just Mata."

Dretphi glances over to the two young grath men behind the front lineup. The two whisper to each other. The thin one gestures towards the ground at stray gravel rocks, hides a thumb flicking motion from others, and asks the heavy young man a question as he eyes Sebastian's transparent form. The other young man pauses in thought, weighs the idea in his head, and shrugs with a curious glance over to Sebastian. The thin young man begins to kneel down with a plotting grin. Both young men freeze in place when Dretphi's hands firmly grip their shoulders from behind, and she directs the two up to the front with everyone else. "These are my brothers."

She narrows a suspicious stare to the heavier young man, and recites with a stern tone. "Tekennin Prakkenten Crettaken Veranattin."

Tekennin stands up straight, bows properly, and innocently replies. "Tekennin is fine."

Dretphi's attention shifts over to focus upon the mildly defiant expression of the thin, young man, and she plainly speaks. "Arrenten Prakkenten Arvenerrin Veranattin."

Arrenten grumbles quietly to himself, musters up the posturing, and briefly complies with a bow. "Arrenten."

The team exchanges greetings with House Veranattin in full and sparks of small talk lead into the starts of larger discussions. A few minutes later, Sebastian glances above to the overhead sun and addresses the group. "Hey, everyone. While the heat doesn't bother me as much in this form, we do have air conditioning inside."

The collective pauses, briefly ponders this fact under the near noon sun, and organize to filter through the front door. Dretphi waits with her mother as they discuss an important topic in grath. After being informed by her mother, she squints towards the van and notices two large, full, canvas sacks in the back. Pointing to the bags, she asks a question, gestures to herself, and motions towards the house. Meranni grins, pats her daughter's shoulder, and shakes her head. She narrows a stare to Tekennin and Arrenten as they are about to climb up the steps, and recites their names in a motherly, commanding cadence. Both brothers halt, pivot to face their mother, and wait. Meranni glances over to the van, instructs them with a snap of her fingers, and walks to the front door. Dretphi follows behind with a hint of a sly smile. Tekennin and Arrenten maintain their silent compliance until both Meranni and Dretphi go inside. The two commiserate in mocking tones as they gather cooking supplies from the vehicle.

----

A large gathering converses around the dining table. Dretphi's house and the team exchange many individual conversations while sitting on a mix of regular dining chairs and extra seating pulled from other places. Meranni and Dretphi work on a variety of tasks in the kitchen areas. Performing their jobs by memory, they converse in grath about many other topics as they carry out their responsibilities. Occasionally, in between flurries of activity, they pause for a breather, coordinate the next steps, and listen in on the current discussions going on. Arrenten and Tekennin competitively play a fighting game on the old gaming console attached to the television, with playfully antagonistic bouts of banter.

Ralthetanen chuckles lightly, glances over Sebastian, and slowly shakes his head. "Quite the story. Must have been an adjustment to that form."

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders as he hovers nearby, and sighs ethereally. "Tell me about it. It still is an adjustment. I wouldn't say it's great, but... Could be worse. Being kind of intangible has been useful, though. Still don't think it's worth it in the long run."

Nodding in agreement, Ralthetanen smiles calmly to Sebastian with a compassionate tone. "Sentiment I can understand. Never let unique benefits sway your judgment over undesirable situations. Why I resigned from my position in the military."

Lifting a curious brow, Sebastian smirks intrigued and respectfully pries for information. "So... If it's okay to ask... What was the story behind that?"

Cideeda narrows an inquisitive gaze at Ralthetanen and crosses her arms. "I'm curious about that, too. I've read so many different accounts and waded through SO many aethernet arguments."

Rolling his steely gray eyes at himself, Ralthetanen sighs with hints of embarrassment, and shrugs his shoulders. "Never understood the drama. I thought they wanted me gone before that point. Seems strange they had issue with it."

Aristespha twists her mouth in thought and tilts her head curiously. "Indeed. From what I've read, your company had the lowest attrition and never permanently lost any territory they were defending during the Red Gear Uprising. An admirable achievement."

A snort spurts out of Matakinen's wiry frame, and he dons a sly grin as he chuckles sarcastically. "Oh. He was admirable... NOT VICTORIOUS. Did not lead the troops to GLORY. Whatever that may be."

Ralthetanen shakes his head, and groans out tinges of past annoyance. "True. I valued defense over offense. Trickery over... glorious battles. I believe it worked."

Kettan laughs loudly, nudges Ralthetanen with his elbow, and grins out to the rest of the gathering. "Never will forget high command's faces when we delivered the Red Gear general. Alive."

Donning a satisfied smirk, Ralthetanen shrugs his shoulders humbly and chuckles lightly. "That was our redemption. They could not ignore it. Think that is why they let us all leave."

Matakinen smiles smugly, crosses his arms, and sits up in his seat proudly. "They did not want our influence to spread. It worked out for us. Red Gear leadership destroyed. No interest in chasing stragglers."

Bach scratches his chin, glances over to Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen, and poses a question to all. "So, you all served together. I'm kind of curious... What exact positions? And, how did that lead to what you do now?"

Ralthetanen nods thoughtfully, and calmly replies. "Served as a Commander for the Radotahin Defense Force. Truth be told... Promotions via attrition. Assumed command when circumstances demanded it."

Kettan shrugs his shoulders, and smiles happily. "Field medical mage. Worked up to field surgeon. Experience helped fast track to medical doctor later."

Aristespha perks her brow in genuine interest, cocks her head to the side, and studies Kettan eagerly. "Really? That's fascinating. I have to ask, how was the transition from military to civilian medicine?"

Thinking carefully and searching his memories, Kettan mulls over the idea while scratching his head of short, dark hair, and weighs out his judgment with a humored smirk on his light toned face. "Pleasant. Only got shot at once during my tenure as an emergency room doctor. His aim was awful. My punch hit the mark."

Aristespha blinks her wide violet eyes a few times, and stares blankly, stunned. Matakinen furrows his olive toned brow amused, resettles into his chair, and relaxes his posture with a swift brush of his longer auburn hair. "Scout. Infiltration specialist. Sabotaged equipment. Wandered in the woods. Explored mountain ranges. Captured enemies."

Cideeda's ear perk up, her tail wags, and she toothily grins to Matakinen. "Did you blow up anything?"

Matakinen draws a wide sly, smile, and nods slowly with a greatly humored, thoroughly satisfied cadence. "Gods... Yes. Countless times."

Old memories of past blatantly amuse him for a seconds. Ralthetanen gazes over to Meranni, waits until she pauses from preparing food, and speaks with a directed, pleasant tone. "Meranni was known as the Crimson Sword Maiden. Terror of the Red Gears."

Meranni glances over, lifts an intrigued brow, and grins proudly with prideful tone. "Was? I am."

She gazes over to the distracted and busy Dretphi, smiles hopefully, and mouths a simple grath phrase to herself. Ralthetanen turns his attention back to the gathering at the dining table and continues to the conversation. "We left the military. We adventured for years. Settled. Formed a house. Now. I am a consultant for the Radotahin Defense Force. Baffles me. Significant pay. I cannot complain."

Sparks of excitement flash in Kettan's eyes as he explains with expressive gestures. "Went to finish my residency. Spent time in the capital at a big research hospital. Great experience. Very demanding. Still... Quite fun. After I received my specialization in regenerative medicine, rejoined the house in Verdan. Found my niche with sports medicine. Always interesting... Very rewarding work."

Matakinen pauses moment as the attention shifts to him. He glances around at the gathering, sighs with a roll of his eyes, and grumbles. "Surveying. I wander around the mountains to settle arguments about who owns what. Map the area. Place markers. Report the results. They pay me. Repeat when they argue again."

He eyes over towards Arrenten and Tekennin, snorts with a shake of his head, and smirks to the gathering at the table. "Between assignments... I try to keep those two out of trouble. It has been difficult without Dretphi."

Dretphi takes a moment of rest from her tasks, looks up to the dining table, and places her hands on her hips with a humored smile. "How much trouble could they have they gotten in?"

Arrenten and Tekennin shift their attention away from the screen, and begin to play the game sloppily as their focus drifts over to the conversation nearby. Matakinen leans his wiry frame back against his chair, eyes the thin Arrenten, and cracks an ill-humored smirk. "Arrenten. How is your back feeling today?"

Tekennin stifles his snorts, and averts his face away. Arrenten tries to maintain his composure as his face reddens and he suppress his embarrassment. "F-fine. Feels normal."

Kettan glances over to Matakinen, elbows him lightly with a tight smile, and leans close to whisper in grath. Matakinen shrugs his shoulders as he slowly lets his chair's front legs lower back on the floor. Dretphi quirks her brow at her mother. Meranni softly speaks a few sentences of grath in Dretphi's ear. Widening her eyes, Dretphi glances at her mother, stares at her brother, and returns to her mother.

Sotalia notices the lull in conversation, slinks away from the table, and walks over near the bar area to examine the lineup of food near Dretphi and Meranni. "So... You two need any help back here?"

Meranni narrows a subtly defensive glare at Sotalia. Dretphi blinks back to awareness, studies Sotalia for a moment, and checks around the kitchen areas. "No. We are done with prep. Meat needs to marinade more."

She thinks moment, and perks up with a realization. "Oh! You can get the grill ready. It is in the garage. I think you can light it the fastest."

As a confident grin parts Sotalia's lips, she rests a hand on her hip and gestures a simple incantation to a small flit of fire with her other hand. "Well... Of course."

Sotalia walks through the kitchen examining the prepared food hungrily, opens the door leading to the garage, and steps out. Dretphi cleans her hands, lifts her apron off, and turns to her mother. She bites her lip, draws in a long breath, and carefully poses a question to her mother while pointing to the back sliding glass door. Meranni removes her apron, furrows her brow briefly, and nods puzzling. She walks past the dining table gathering, exits outside through the glass door, and turns to walk to the side of the house.

Dretphi quickly moves around living room and right through the hallway archway, her focus elsewhere. Conversations at the table slow as everyone attempts to determine exactly what is transpiring, searching each other for possible explanations. A minute later, Dretphi walks out with a stoic, determined expression upon her face and a firm grip upon her mother's flow blade. Matakinen, Kettan, and Ralthetanen immediately silence themselves, and watch Dretphi as she crosses across the front of the television. Arrenten and Tekennin halt playing the game, and witness Dretphi exit out the back sliding glass window, both dumbstruck. The two brothers stand up partially, and crane their heads around to angle a better view of the outside through the glass door.

Ralthetanen slowly returns his gaze to the team of Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sebastian. He scans around at their expressions thoughtfully, and calmly inquires while fighting confusion. "I must ask. Has she been practicing her use of that blade?"

Bach glances around, scratches his head, and nonchalantly replies. "Well... I've been helping her learn how to flow her magical energies better. She's been doing a lot of the practice exercises I've showed her."

As Kettan and Matakinen turn their heads towards him, Bach smiles happily. "And yesterday, she got the sword charged up all the way. It took a bit out of her, but she's figured out the basics and..."

Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen focus upon Bach. Arrenten and Tekennin both snap their heads around to face Bach in pure astonishment. Bach grows nervous at the attention upon him, and shrinks a little in his chair. Ralthetanen weaves his fingers together, presents a delighted smile, and nods slowly. "Interesting..."

Kettan laughs loudly and shakes his head. "She is NOT going to expect THAT."

Matakinen slides out from the table, rolls his shoulders, and slinks away towards the back door while beginning the gestures of a spell. "This I MUST see."

----

In the side yard next to the ranch style house, Dretphi stands, and firmly grips the flow blade in her hands. Determination drives her whole body and concentration affixes her focus upon the sword. Meranni watches nearby with a cool, stoic stare. Dretphi grimaces and tenses her arms. Magical flows of energy radiate out from her, swirl down to her hands, and condense into the handle of the flow blade. A radiant red glow pulsates along the energy channels embossed into the metal of the sword, and the crimson light slowly flows up to the very tip of the weapon. Meranni's eyes widen as she witnesses the progress in stunned silence, and awaits expectantly for her daughter's next move. Dretphi releases a long exhale, summons her focus, and grits her teeth. With a sudden surge of flow, the blade expels out a magical miasma, and promptly ignites a brilliant, crimson, ethereal flame around itself. Meranni gawks in sheer, absolute astonishment, covers her mouth with both hands as joyful tears well up. From around the corner of the house's brickwork, a figure of warped light disappears around the corner excitedly.

Dretphi maintains a resolute demeanor, exudes a stoic grath composure, and swings the sword in a demonstration of handling mastery. She finishes, and watches her mother approach. The flow blade continues burning a bright crimson and challenges the natural light of the afternoon sun. Meranni gazes on, swells with pride towards her daughter, and observes the demonstration of magical sword prowess. A minute later, the flow blade flickers out and the glow fades. Dretphi lowers the blade to the ground, steadies her brief loss of balance, and quickly reasserts her resolute stance. She bites her lip slightly, and lowers her head in slight disappointment. Meranni swiftly embraces her daughter in a strong, loving hug, and quickly states an excited, uplifting stream of grath praises. Dretphi's stern expression melts away a in joyful smile and she wraps her arms around her mother.

Meranni pulls away slightly, gazes proudly into her daughter's eyes with a simple smile upon her tan face. Dretphi briefly shies away from the attention, but returns a similar smile on her equally tan face. Moments later, her mouth twists and her expression strains. She draws a long breath in, lifts up the blade in both her hands, and concentrates an inquisitive stare at her mother. With a gentle lead up, Dretphi asks a cautious, firm question to her mother in eloquent grath, and nods her head down to the blade. Meranni blinks thoughtfully a few times, sighs sadly as she looks upon the blade in her daughter's hands, and takes hold of it. She steps to the side as she explains, goes through a series of practice moves with the blade, and grins. While masterfully performing maneuvers with a hand holding the blade, she points at herself, gestures towards her motions, and gazes at her daughter with confidence in her own ability. A frown forms upon her face. She brushes back her long, platinum blonde braids as she lowers her head at the flow of red rising in the blades. She directs Dretphi's attention to the magical energies building up, taps the side of her head with a free hand, and grips her daughter's shoulder firmly. Slowly shaking her head, she explains to Dretphi with a sad tone, absent of previous confidence, and apologizes regretfully.

Dretphi contorts her face in a mix of emotion, studies her mother's genuine expression, and calms to an understanding gaze upon her. She inquires more at her mother's energy flow into the blade, and witnesses Meranni's demeanor grow uncomfortable and vulnerable. Her mother sighs deeply, fails to start a sentence a number of times, and slowly shakes her head at her lack of knowledge. Dretphi musters up a smile, steps beside her mother, and wraps her arm around her, leaning her head of platinum blonde against similar longer ones. In the silent moment, she whispers comforting, beautiful grath in an forgiving cadence to her mother. Meranni closes her eyes, sheds a few tears, and pats her daughter's face with her free hand.

Seconds later, Dretphi sniffs her nose clear, clears her throat, and exhales lightly. She nods in thought, and relays a question in similar context to her mother as she demonstrates flexing her arm and flowing some magical energy. Meranni grits her teeth briefly, frowns, and shakes her head as she calmly replies counter to her daughter's expectations. The response dumbfounds Dretphi, and her mood sharply drops as her worry and doubt flood into her demeanor. She averts her eyes away as fear and shame overwhelms her voice, and meekly asks a painful question about herself to her mother. Meranni's eyes flit wide open, and she snaps her gaze to her daughter. She plants the sword into the ground, takes hold of Dretphi by both forearms, and looks her directly in the eyes. Meranni smiles lovingly, proudly, and confidently. She extols every virtue of Dretphi with her motherly and assuring voice, and avidly dashes away her daughter's fears. Relief washes over Dretphi, but she puzzles at why. Meranni smirks knowingly, and states a protective reasoning. A spark of defiance ignites a bit of rebellion within Dretphi, and she emphatically retorts with a question, her tone incredulous as she motions to her physique. Meranni grins in thorough amusement at the reflection of herself, rolls her eyes, and shakes her head.

Releasing her daughter's arms, she gestures towards Dretphi's hand and points to her shoulder. Dretphi awkwardly places her hand on her mother's shoulder at Meranni's guidance, her confusion obvious. Meranni moves her arm through a series of sword handling exercises. While smooth and expertly performed, at far extensions of her range, Meranni subtly winces with painful annoyance, while Dretphi eyes widen in shock. After shaking her arm out, Meranni guides Dretphi's hand to feel around her elbow joint and the tendons as she slowly flexes with faint tremors. Dretphi's pales as she feels the motion her mother's arm. With a long, frustrated sigh, Meranni nonchalantly explains a few other joints and places on her body to Dretphi, mustering a tough smile as she lays out her weaknesses before her daughter. She regains enough confidence to grin, mentions Kettan in her discussion, and gazes to her daughter with a hopeful smile as she finishes the explanation.

Dretphi stares at her mother. The revelation ushers forth a torrent of fear, sadness, and reflection in her, when thoughts never entertained before rise up prominently in her mind. She reaches out, wraps her arms around her mother, rests her head close to hers on her shoulder, and hugs tightly. Meranni blinks in surprise, hears the sounds of soft sobbing from Dretphi, and smiles while she embraces her daughter. Patting Dretphi's back, Meranni speaks softly and comfortingly to Dretphi with motherly assurances and quips wisdom. In between gentle surges of emotion, Dretphi acknowledges and calms down. Minutes later, Meranni grins with small jokes to prompt Dretphi's light chuckles. Dretphi finally releases her hold, stands back up straight, and recomposes herself apologetically. Her mother shakes her head, and reassures there's nothing to be ashamed of. Meranni nods understandingly, places her hand on her chest, and recounts her past feelings to similar. Dretphi smiles appreciatively and rolls her eyes at herself with a comment.

Meranni glances over to the flow blade stuck in the ground, gazes at Dretphi, and lifts a curious brow with a prying query. Dretphi begins to explain, smirks guiltily, and mentions Bach. Her mother pays careful attention. Dretphi recounts the various magical flow exercises, pantomimes holding a staff during one explanation, and relays the number of practice sessions. Meranni thinks to herself as her daughter continues on, and notices Dretphi's smile. She develops a sly, evil grin, giggles to herself at her thoughts, and gazes at her daughter. She pats Dretphi on the shoulder, speaks a quick comment, and waits. Dretphi talks a few moments more, processes what her mother said in her mind, and halts mid sentence. Her face blushes bright red bashfully, her eyes widen in surprise, and she stumbles upon the rest of the words. Dretphi covers her face with her hands, searches for her mother, and awkwardly tries to unconvincingly debate the notion, while her mother walks off laughing.

----

The large congregation converses outside around the plank wood picnic table, snacking on plates of food in the middle of the large tabletop. Dretphi arranges the serving line on a fold out table, and readies the main course, while shooing off those who wander too close with hungry looks. Meranni surveys the progress of large cuts of meat on the grill, and grins satisfactory at the progress. Sotalia steps up, watches the flashes of sizzling fire rise up from the coals, and smiles politely to Meranni. "Oh, that reminds me. Could I get my steak well done?"

Dretphi pauses briefly from her task, stifles a snort, and resumes while biting her lower lip humored. Meranni slowly lifts her head up, angles it towards Sotalia, and concentrates an examining glare upon her. She silently stares through a puzzled but defiant Sotalia. Pondering briefly, she grabs hold of the tongs nearby, digs into the open bag of charcoal briquettes with the tool, and plucks out a single piece of black, dusty fuel. With a swift motion, Meranni picks up a transparent green plate, drops the charcoal on top of it, and presents it to Sotalia. "Here. Same taste. No meat wasted."

Sotalia lowers her stare to the solitary chunk of grill fodder upon the surface of the plate, contorts her cool composure, and eyes Meranni irritably. "Okay... Fine... Medium Well?"

Meranni cracks an amicable smirk, nods slightly in agreement, and waits for Sotalia to walk away in mild defeat. She directs a dismissive, annoyed quip back to Dretphi. Sotalia halts in place, snaps her head back to glare at Meranni, and crosses her arms perturbed. Dretphi sighs, rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. "Mother. She understands most grath."

Meranni chuckles with a greatly amused grin towards Sotalia. "Oh. There is hope for you."

Around the picnic table, conversations shift around the pockets of debate in the midst of the large gathering. Sebastian gazes curiously at Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen, and puzzles. "I'm surprised you all are looking for a school all the way out here. Any particular reason why?"

Ralthetanen nods with a calm smirk. "To get experience elsewhere. They have not lived outside their home town. Tekennin. Arrenten. Both need to see some other part of the world."

Chuckling in agreement, Kettan snorts with a smile, and shrugs his shoulders. "I just want them to get an education. ANY education will do. Prefer it come from somewhere they are NOT familiar with. That way they can learn about life."

Matakinen grumbles with a roll of his eyes, but settles to a nonchalant grin. "Taste of the real world. I have done what I can to get them ready. Time for THEM to see what Nexus has in store. Even it requires force."

Bach chuckles to himself with a humored grin, and glances over to Sebastian. "Could always suggest they go to High Alton. It's a decent enough school for things."

Sebastian snorts ethereally and twists his mouth as he eyes Bach mockingly dismissive. "Come on, bro. They don't need to be digging the bottom of that barrel so soon. Let's be honest, man... We only went because it was local AND cheap."

With a tight smile, Bach draws a breath through his gritting teeth, and eventually nods in agreement. "Yeah. High Alton University isn't terrible, but it's not exactly setting any great standards. What about the Grand Library?"

Aristespha blinks to attention, thinks a moment, and slowly rocks her head contemplatively with an awkward smile. "Um... Well, it's a great organization if you can get in. Unfortunately, they are very particular about who they take in, but they do make offers to those who distinguish themselves in other schools. But, it is still costly to attend without a scholarship. Thankfully, they have programs that forgive loans if you work for the Grand Library for so many years."

Ralthetanen quietly thinks about the suggestions and thoughtfully hums an appreciative tone. "Both worth considering in the future. Our main goal is to get them out the nest..."

Meranni glances over to the group, sighs out her frustration, and slowly shakes her head. "Love them both. Would like those rooms back."

Noticing something missing, Matakinen quickly searches the vicinity of the backyard around the picnic table, scouts out the further perimeter of the forest edge, and grumbles a phrase in grath. Dretphi directs her voice to Matakinen, motioning towards the ranch style house. "They went inside... To play the game."

With a long sigh, Matakinen turns around on the bench seat on one side of the table, stretches his back out, and shakes his head. "I should fetch them."

A grin creeps out on Dretphi's face, and she waves off Matakinen's progress. "No. I will send them here. I need to go inside."

Matakinen bows his head appreciatively to Dretphi and smiles with a thankful phrase of grath. After Dretphi quickly departs, he pivots back to the group and resumes discussion of schools. Crossing the stretch of lawn to the back patio, Dretphi opens the sliding glass door and enters. Moments later her stern and commanding tone leaks out the open doorway with a loud snap of the fingers. Arrenten and Tekennin stumble out on the back patio, glancing back as the sliding glass door shuts. Both grumble as they plod slowly towards the picnic tables, both complaining quietly to each other in grath. They watch the gathering ahead. Arrenten sneaks a point over to Bach and smirks slyly as he asks Tekennin a question. Tekennin blinks in thought, distantly studies Bach and shrugs his shoulders. Arrenten pantomimes out a belly from his thin frame and snickers. Tekennin snorts, lifts his hand up, and holds it centimeters short of his height with a chuckle. Arrenten scratches his chin in thought and mulls the ideas over. Tekennin elbows his brother with a revelatory grin. He gets his brother's attention, mockingly gestures out fake spell motions, and mumbles out gibberish words. Arrenten cackles briefly, nodding in total agreement. The two brothers continue their commentary.

Arrenten and Tekennin fail to notice Dretphi right behind them. Blushing with hints of anger, Dretphi slowly speaks their names in a maternal, disciplinary tone. Arrenten and Tekennin stop in place and wait. Dretphi firmly grips a shoulder each, draws in a long breath through her nose, and sighs out her annoyance. She regains her stern, commanding composure, and squeezes the her grasp upon each brother's shoulder. With a calm but foreboding voice, she explains what they need to do in firm grath. Releasing her grip, she lightly grasps an ear each with her fingers and recites a warning very familiar to them. With a long sigh, pats them gently on the back and firmly pushes them onward to the picnic table. Siblings rejoin the main group and prepare to enjoy the meal all together as they eventually join in the conversations.

----

Late afternoon sun shines down upon the green sea of forest canopy. Shadows from the clouds above project large sections of shade, and drift slowly along the leaves. A fast moving, four-winged dragon outline zips along the tree tops. Lagi flaps his back pair of blue and black scaled wings, deftly adjusts his large front wingspan, and maintains a level cruise in the skies above. Shifting his attention to Kaleb upon his back, he weaves together a series of chirps, clicks, growls, and hisses, and sighs loudly. Kaleb glances to the side of the holographic display in front of the saddle, nods his fully helmeted head slowly, and pats Lagi on his back. "I know. I know. Just one more location and you can fly as fast as you want home. Okay?"

Lagi's green eyes flit open happily, his tail wags slightly, and he releases an excited rolling chirp. Kaleb chuckles to himself, focuses his gaze towards the back of Lagi's head, and taps the side of his helmet. "Well, it looks like you can still hear me okay with the new radio. Still comfortable on you?"

Thinking momentarily and rolling his head to feel out the tiny device tucked away between white, bony armor plates, Lagi clicks affirmatively and concentrates back on flying. Kaleb returns his attention to the holographic display, controls the system through a series of handle mounted modules, and studies an interactive map. "Good. Hopefully this will keep me from wrecking my voice trying to yell out over the wind to you."

He manipulates the buttons and switches, and a high resolution photograph of a huge outer security doorway into a very old ruin appears. Nodding as he scrutinizes the image, Kaleb retrieves a camera with a large lens from a side bag, readies the device, and steadies himself upon the saddle. He points out a distant clearing, and gets Lagi's attention. "Over there. To your left, that clearing. Should be able to get this one quick, and then we head home."

Lagi calls out eagerly, flaps his massive front wings, and pitches into an approach vector. The dragon balances Kaleb upon his back, lines up his flight path, and holds it near perfectly stable. Kaleb lifts the camera, takes aim while adjusting the zoom and focus, and presses down the shutter button. Holding down the button, the wind obscures the camera's mechanical noises as Kaleb quickly handles it into different shots. The duo pass over the clearing with a large doorway into the hillside. Lagi gradually gains altitude and wags his tail in anticipation for a sharp turn to a familiar heading. Kaleb laughs as he holsters the camera into the saddle bag, and operates the holographic display's control system. "Hang in there, Lagi. I need to double-check to make sure I got good pictures and nothing has changed about that site."

Lagi grumbles as he waits and keeps eyeing a particular direction. Kaleb brings up the older file photo of the location, and chooses a recent one to load from the camera. He carefully studies the images, leans his head close to the bright ethereal projection, and narrows his scrutinizing stare. Rocking his head to the side, he reaches back into the saddle bag for the camera, brings the back interface screen close to his visor, and switches around to a preview of the same new picture. With an uncertain hum, he adjusts the zoom on both images up on the holographic display, and analyzes one major difference about the opening. Gritting his teeth, Kaleb sighs, pats Lagi on the back, and gestures back towards the site. "Something's not right. We gotta go back. Swing around low and wide, and bank me towards that opening. I need to get some better pictures of the entrance."

A frustrated whine bellows out from Lagi as he adjusts his wings. In between the irritated hisses, clicks, and grumbles from Lagi, Kaleb nods understandingly, rubs Lagi's back, and commiserates with him. "I know! Never fails that it ALWAYS is the last one of the day that has something off with it. Hopefully, it's just some strange magical interference messing with the camera's optics or its sensor."

Kaleb readies the camera in his arms, tweaks the complicated mechanisms of the lens, and fires off a few test shots while Lagi ferries him close. When the two close in on the site, Lagi air brakes down to a very slow speed, dives low just above the tree canopy, and banks hard in a wide semicircle along the side of the clearing opposing the ruined, constructed entrance. Kaleb balances himself in sync with the centrifugal force, steadies his camera above his shoulders, and focuses the aim right at the metal security archway, into the dark space beyond. Shutter clicks faintly echo into the area while Lagi expertly navigates his run along the perimeter. With a smooth roll back to level, Lagi pitches upwards to a safer altitude and levels off. Kaleb quickly operates the camera and holographic system, and brings up imagery on the display. Shaking his head, Kaleb mumbles out his surprise. "Well, shit... It's showing up here the same as I saw it. Looks like whatever barrier, I guess, is gone now. Must have gotten hit by something from one of those maelstroms."

He pauses to think a moment, leans over to the side, and glances towards Lagi's face. "Did you feel, smell, or see anything weird when we went by it?"

Lagi blinks, puzzles in his own mind for seconds, and grunts completely unsure. Kaleb sighs as he glances back at the clearing, growing smaller with the increasing distance. He returns his stare forward, smirks ambivalently, and places his camera securely in the saddle bag. Settling down low in the saddle, Kaleb tightens up his safety harness, and firmly grips the handles. The hologram fades off and Kaleb calls out to Lagi. "Ah, fuck it. It's getting dark. Let's go home! The GAA will get their pictures with my write ups. It's up to them to figure out how handle that place."

A loud excited shriek bellows out in the vicinity, and Lagi turns sharply to a familiar heading. His huge front wings power through the air, sweep back with the increasing velocity, and flicker with flows of magical energy. The waves of magical power synchronize into ripples of propulsion around the dragon, and Lagi adjusts his aerodynamic profile towards expediency and minimal drag. Both Kaleb and Lagi jet off towards the horizon, leaving a fading, faint trial of prismatic miasma adrift in the air behind.

From the silent clearing, obscuring overgrowth rustles against the breeze, and the wind sweeps layers of old dust from the concrete floor beyond the steel reinforced archway. Past the perimeter between daylight and dark shadow, a distant bright spark flits. A row of overhead, rotating red lights illuminate for a fraction of a second. They spin momentarily to a halt as they quickly dim. The dark corridor falls completely silent, blending back into the obscuring darkness as dusk sweeps over the area.

-63-

Bach narrows his intensely focused stare upon the television, and contorts his face as he quickly presses buttons on the game console controller. He leans forward from his seat on the couch and keeps fidgeting in response to the fight going on the screen. As the characters on the television battle it out, Cideeda presents a toothy smirk, and unconsciously twitches her tail along with fast clicking of her claws on her game pad. Sotalia stands off to the side, swaying in place with her attention fully on the tense battle playing out on the screen. Near the dining table, Aristespha sorts through a stack of paperwork and tablets. She occasionally pauses a moment to glance over at the ongoing duel between Bach and Cideeda, and resumes filing through documents. Sebastian hovers next to Aristespha’s seat at the table, and glances over her shoulder when she lifts up a form. After a bit of discussion, Aristespha taps out an entry into a tablet and Sebastian distracts himself with game battle, idly mimicking the button presses for certain character moves. Dretphi watches from the kitchen area, and studies the maneuvers and methods upon the screen.

The life bars dwindle down to the near ends at equal rates. The power meters fluctuate wildly. The characters attack and defend in sync with each other. Only minute gaps of proficiency allow for any opportunity to gain ground. A smug smirk emerges upon Bach’s face and he chuckles to himself darkly. Cideeda’s furry ear perks over and her stare tightens with her anticipation. On the screen under the “Ionis” name label, the man clad in form fitting blue, electric armor slams his fist into the ground, and sends a shockwave of electricity along the floor. Under the “Tataelee” side of the battle, the fvalian woman in a fanciful ninja attire leaps over the front of the arcing burst. Bach quickly taps out a fast series of buttons and grins eagerly. Ionis drops his fist down again, and another flow of power coasts lightning fast across the wake of the previous wave. The second shockwave overtakes Tataelee and knocks her to the ground in a spark swarmed slump. Sebastian grins proudly and nods to his brother. Bach laughs with a confident air and commands Ionis on the screen. “Stunned and low on power... What can you do?”

Ionis widens his stance, brings his hands close together, and pulls back. Ambient electricity from the area arcs out in chaotic flows towards him, and travels to a growing, bright blue white orb of power. Cideeda’s emerald green eyes search the battlefield, pull in all the information possible, and settle upon her character's gradually increasing power meter. She ponders briefly and cracks a sly, hopeful smile. “I don’t know... What can YOU do?”

Bach lifts a puzzled but amused eyebrow, and laughs. “Oh... This.”

Ionis flings his arms forward, hands open and wrists touching. A brilliant blue white beam launches out towards Tataelee. In the splinters of time before the energy column blazes through Tataelee, she disappears in a puff of smoke leaving behind a cheap dummy of herself that quickly disintegrates in an explosion of flame. Bach’s blue eyes widen in sharp realization. In the narrow moment, his gaze shifts from the destroyed decoy up to Tataelee’s power bar. He begins to comprehend the implications of a freshly zeroed energy meter and an unchanged life gauge. Cideeda presents wide, toothy grin, and feverishly taps out a series of clacking buttons on her game controller. Tataelee fades in from the shadows of the game background behind Ionis while stuck performing his super move. Bach’s jaw drops and he gawks in astonishment, barely able to utter a word. “Oh.”

Tataelee grapples Ionis from behind, shifts her weight around, and power kicks Ionis high up into the air. She launches up immediately above Ionis midair, releases a mighty spinning kick down, and plants him into the dirt with a dramatic descent and cratering impact. The game animations slow down, the music changes to a character matching victory tune, and the announcer blares out. “K! O! Winner, Tataelee!”

Sebastian breaks out into half-hearted, commiserating laughter at Bach. “Holy shit! Aww, that’s rough, bro. But, I warned you she was pretty awesome with Tataelee.”

Bach blinks as the rest of his brain catches up with the dramatic situation flip. “Uh... Yeah. Damn. You got just enough for a decoy swap right then.”

Wagging her tail in contended victory, Cideeda smiles with a bit of relief as the tension fades from the match. “Yep. I saw the rate it was increasing, and got ready to trigger it when I could. Preloaded it in the combo system and hit the last button before the move buffer timeout happened.”

She reaches out her hand to Bach and waits. Bach nods in agreement, shakes with Cideeda, and sighs in astonishment. “Wow. Nice game. Did you ever go to any competitions?”

Cideeda stretches her arms out, curls her back in a stretch, and shrugs. “A few local ones, but nothing too serious. I mean, I probably had enough skill to maybe make it mid way through, but those pro players get a bit scary for me.”

She grins toothily and chuckles to herself with a sigh. “It didn’t seem like a good return on my investment to go to that level.”

A greedy glint in her emerald eyes, Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers and rolls her shoulders. “Anyway... I made plenty of easy money from stomping all the wannabe pro players in the neighborhood when they wandered in the comic book shop I worked at.”

She gazes to Bach with a sly, devious smile, and giggles as she works the controller through the game menus. “Always got a kick out of the ones that looked like they wanted to cry afterwards.”

Dretphi smirks in amusement and slowly shakes her head. “My poor brothers. Did not anticipate you.”

An evil grin slips out onto Cideeda’s face, and she rolls her eyes at herself as she directs her voice towards Dretphi in the kitchen area. “They challenged me. I delivered. What can I say?”

Nodding in complete agreement with a smile, Dretphi resumes cleaning up another section of counter top with a rag. “Nothing to say. We all saw the challenge. They received what they deserved. Thank you for educating them.”

Cideeda smiles toothily and nods victorious. “Anytime.”

Bach twists his mouth in ill humor, shakes his head with a roll of his eyes, and scratches the back of his head. “So... Your boss was okay with you running a betting operation out of his store?”

Cideeda snorts with a laugh, and nods with a grit of her teeth. “Oh yeah. It brought in customers. Officially, we billed them as free tournaments with prizes... But, we had a secret system for where the real action was happening.”

She winks to Bach with a smirk. “And, my boss got a percentage of all action. So, he was PERFECTLY fine with it all.”

Sotalia taps Bach’s shoulder, holds her hand out, and hems with an anticipating grin. “My turn?”

Bach passes the game controller over to Sotalia, slides over to the middle seat on the couch, and glances ahead at the television. Sotalia excitedly sits down, settles into the cushions, and mulls over the character selection screen. “So, Bach, who should I use against her?”

Twisting his face in thought, Bach indecisively ponders the options on the display and glances over to Sotalia with a shrug. “I don’t know. I thought Ionis would be a good one to keep Tataelee from working too many of her ninja arts. But...”

Cideeda arches her brow curiously and smugly at Sotalia. “Choose whoever you like... I’ll beat them all the same.”

Sotalia perks her gaze briefly over to Cideeda, smirks, and playfully mutters a quick string of phrases in a dialect of fvalian. Cideeda’s tail twitches. She eyes Sotalia with a chuckle, clicks a button on her controller, and replies in kind to Sotalia with a similar dialect of fvalian. Bach’s blank stare bounces to either side between Cideeda and Sotalia, and he sinks back into the couch cushions to position himself out of the line of fire.

Sebastian slowly shakes his head, glances over to the tabletop of tablets and paperwork, and notices an alert on notification on a screen. “Hey, dear, looks like you got a message or something.”

Aristespha snaps out of her concentration daze, blinks around to survey the table, and picks up the tablet in question. “Oh. Thank you, Sebastian.”

She unlocks the tablet with a code, navigates through the user interface, and opens up the prompt into an aethermail application. As she quickly reads the short message, she cocks her head curiously to the side and glances over to Sebastian. “Interesting. The guild sent us an alert about a job nearby.”

Sebastian furrows his brow briefly, thinks to himself for a moment, and cranes his head over to get a glimpse of the screen. “Okay... Must be similar to stuff we’ve done lately if they are pinging us about it. Not used to them alerting us first.”

Aristespha nods in agreement, tugs at the corner of her mouth, and taps through interface screens to a guild app. “Yes. I have heard that the guild will try to alert groups in an area they think can get a particular job done, upon request of the client. And, we have been in the area for a while, and have done plenty of jobs successfully.”

While pondering the past, Sebastian settles his suspicions and analyzes the mission post on the tablet. “Yeah... That’s true. We’ve never really been in one area that long in the past... And, we were kind of focused on one thing... So, what do we have?”

Aristespha’s violet eyes trace the words on the screen, and she mulls over the potential assignment. “It seems like an initial exploration quest. A small, old ruin site with a single entry archway that’s been sealed off with barrier until recently. No other obvious signs of activity. Verified from aerial photography.”

Sebastian leans his transparent form close to the screen as Aristespha props it up for him to read. “Yeah. Everything says it’s just been left alone for at least a hundred years and left that way. I bet it was too well hidden and by the time it was found the Doctrine of Dormancy was in full effect.”

Aristespha slowly nods as she scrolls up the guild brief on the tablet and rocks her head side to side in deliberation. “Plausible. It is still strange that just now opened up.”

Shrugging his ethereal shoulders and holding his hands out to the sides, Sebastian nonchalantly smiles and laughs lightly. “Something that old? If anything, the power probably finally went out.”

With a long sigh, Aristespha leans back into her seat at the dining table, stretches her neck out, and gazes lovingly at Sebastian. “So, Sebastian... Should we bid on it before everyone else does?”

Sebastian calls out to rest of the team and glances over the area. “Any of you against doing a little ruin exploration tomorrow? We got notification of a job to check out a site. Some old ruin had a barrier preventing entry and it’s gone now.”

Dretphi walks over from the kitchen, studies the guild job post as Aristespha angles the tablet towards her, and twists her mouth as she states out loud the key points. “Nearby. Acceptable pay. No past reported problems. No other recent activity. Cursory inspection only.”

She gradually musters up a nod, and turns to Sebastian. “I have no problems with the task.”

Bach gazes over from the couch, fights a mix of past experiences upon his face, and sighs. “Maybe? Just haven’t had the best of luck at exploring ruins lately.”

Cideeda taps in a few quick combos onto the game controller, watches Tataelee on screen piledriver Ionis into the dirt, and glances away from the victory screen towards Sebastian. “Yeah. I have to agree there.”

She gazes over to Bach with a sly smile. “But, if it’s only an initial check of the area, we probably won’t get that far in there before running into another sealed door. Then, we take a pictures, confirm the state it’s now in, and go home early with full day’s pay.”

Sotalia grumbles out of her frustration at the game, rolls her shoulders out, and turns her head towards the discussion. “So no signs of anyone trying to crack it open? Strange. The barrier probably just ran out of power.”

Sebastian nods towards Sotalia. “Yeah. That’s what I was thinking.”

Bach’s attention turns inwards and he searches his mind for a few seconds. He gradually nods and voices his opinion. “Probably something to do with the maelstroms that were in the area. But, it might be good to check it out. Given a certain someone’s habit of stirring up old ruins in the area...”

Aristespha blinks as she twists in her chair to look around to Bach, and mulls over the idea. “Previously undisturbed ruin of no known importance being opened up randomly... That indeed does sound familiar.”

Everyone exchanges dutiful expressions that lead to an eventual acceptance. Sebastian musters up a proud smile to everyone else. “Well, if there’s no major objections, we’ll put the bid in and spend the afternoon getting ready.”

----

Samantha slowly paces across the floor in the small bedroom towards the windowed doors leading to the balcony. She pauses at the doorway, crosses her arms, and grumbles to herself. “Damn it. We need something else to carry us to the next big job. But, there’s no small jobs right now.”

Gerald glances over his shoulder from his chair at the desk, switches out data cartridges in a camera, and twists his mouth in thought. “Yeah. That storm with all the maelstrom cells really helped us out get some material for the episode. But, I don’t think a clip episode will keep the ratings going.”

Groaning out her frustrations, Samantha pivots, tosses back her brown hair, and sighs with a grit of her teeth. “We need some kind of drama... Some kind of upset... Gods dammit, Veevi! You need to get your manipulative bitch self into high gear.”

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Gerald snorts as he returns his attention to the equipment on his desk and frowns. “Well, it’s NOT from lack of trying. That’s for certain. I thought Trakenthin was going to cane her for a second there. And, Modoran keeps on giving her the slip… Which makes for great comedy clips.”

Samantha sneers her upper lip briefly, searches her mind, and shrugs her shoulders in a modest acceptance. “Yeah, that clip of her grabbing the crotch of the towel dummy has made it’s way around the fan forums pretty quickly. Lucky that living room camera caught it even in the dark.”

Gerald grins proudly and chuckles to himself. “Howard might hate the budget costs, but battery backup and night vision features pay for themselves in moments like that.”

Pulling out her aetherphone, Samantha slowly slides through her contact list on the screen and glances over to Gerald. “Speaking of Howie... I think we need to contact him and see what he thinks.”

Gerald rocks his head side to side indecisively, eyes over to Samantha, and sighs in eventual agreement. “Yeah. We need to figure out a plan now, so the crews can be where they need to be.”

Samantha taps an entry in her contact list, and the phone flips between prompts as it dials out. After a few seconds, the call connects and Samantha rests the phone on the desk. From the aetherphone, Howard’s plotting voice sounds out into the room. “Hello?”

With a happy chime in her voice, Samantha speaks towards the device. “Hi, Howie! I hope we didn’t wake you up. I know Sunday is your recovery day and all.”

A humored chuckles echoes out from the other side of the conversation and Howard dons an amused tone. “Actually, you didn’t. I actually woke up at a decent hour. Even had breakfast at the proper time.”

Samantha perks a playfully astonished brow and giggles with a sly smile. “Good gods... What was the occasion?”

A long sigh sounds out from the speakerphone and Howie mumbles out with a bit of embarrassment. “It’s mother’s birthday and I took her out to her favorite breakfast place. After I get a few things taken care of, I’ll be taking her and the family out to dinner tonight.”

Gerald glances over to the phone and tilts his head curiously. “Oh. Where to? Somewhere fancy?”

Howard remains silent for a moment and laughs loudly. “No. Not really. As per her request... And maintaining family tradition, we will be dining at the illustrious... Draco-Burger.”

Samantha blinks blankly in shock, slowly aims her bewildered stare upon her aetherphone, and takes a few steps closer to voice her incredulous retort. “Really, Howie? Draco-Burger?”

With a mildly annoyed tone, Howard’s voice addresses the issue firmly. “Yes. It’s a long running family tradition for big birthdays. This particular Draco-Burger will actually reserve a huge section for the entire family. Her, my grandmother, and my relatives love the casual gathering... It distracts all the kids for long enough... And, it’s the cheapest I’ll be able to feed them all for.”

He clears his throat, draws a long breath in, and regains control of the conversation. “Anyway... I’m glad you called me, because there is something I need to discuss with you two.”

Samantha lifts an intrigued brow and shifts her weight onto another foot. “Would it happen to be about something to do before the next job?”

A dark chuckle sounds out from the phone into the room, and Howard’s tone brightens. “Yes! I see you two saw the same issue I saw, too. And, I’ve got a solution!”

Gerald looks up to Samantha’s curious face, and stares apprehensively at the aetherphone on the desk. “And, that would be?”

Howard’s satisfaction resonates out from the speakerphone and his plotting cadence hints at potential. “Trakenthin’s surprise will arriving in town... Tomorrow.”

Samantha’s eyes open widen in surprise and she leans over closer to the phone. “Really?! You think it’ll give us what we need for the next episode?”

Howard’s sly amusement leaks out into the room with Samantha and Gerald. “Oh, yes. I plan on making it the main focus.”

Gerald twists his mouth, crosses his arms, and dons a dubious gaze between the aetherphone and Samantha. “So... When the hell are you going to reveal this surprise? I mean, I’m going to need to know at least the WHEN, much less the WHAT.”

With a calculated tone, Howard simply replies. “He will be arriving at their doorstep, Tuesday.”

----

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia push through overgrowth along an old, barely visible path. The trail empties out into a small area in front of the a large stone and steel meshed archway opposite of the team. Aristespha gazes up from her tablet, eyes the image on the screen, and compares it to the huge entrance across the clearing. “It looks just like the pictures.”

Sebastian’s ethereal form drifts back onto the ground, and slowly pivots to scan the area. “Okay. Here’s the plan. They’ve only asked for an initial inspection of the place. So, we don’t need to check in depth for anything. So, go in as far as we can without breaking into any sealed off area, and take a bunch of pictures.”

He pans his examining stare across the perimeter of the forest surrounding the grassy area, and twists his mouth apprehensively. “So... Before we barge on in there, let’s check the outside for signs of anything going in or out, first.”

The team fans out into the clearing, and carefully progresses in methodical searches of the area. Dretphi steps out a few meters, narrows her gaze around the vicinity, and aims her attention downwards. She taps her heavy boots onto the flat dirt, judges what she feels, and kneels down. Her gauntlet covered hands dig into the loose, rocky soil, and she sifts through the material in her hands. Underneath the grassy top covering, a mixture of dirt, gravel, and asphalt leftover rains down from Dretphi’s fingers back onto the ground near the fresh, shallow hole. Sebastian drifts down from above and lands next to Dretphi. “Find something?”

Dretphi brushes her hands upon the soft under armor between the hard plates, stands back up, and nods in thought. “Yes. Curious why there was a clearing here. Asphalt underneath the dirt kept trees from taking deep root.”

Sebastian ponders the information and glances over to Dretphi curiously. “Any idea how long this thing has been sitting here?”

With a slight frown, Dretphi lifts up the full visor on her helmet, crosses her arms, and sighs uncertainly. “At least as long as the report says. Would not be surprised if older. This build up took time.”

Drifting back up in the air, Sebastian nods appreciatively and glances over towards Cideeda walking the perimeter. “Okay. I’m going to check to see if Cideeda’s found anything on that side.”

Dretphi points over to the side opposite of Cideeda and waits for Sebastian’s attention. “I will inspect that side.”

Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up to Dretphi, and floats slowly over in the direction of Cideeda while surveying the area from above. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia stand in the middle of the clearing and stare at the archway. Aristespha blinks her glowing violet eyes, cocks her head to the side, and glances down at her tablet. “This is an interesting design. I’ve seen similar, though. I think this would date it at least right after the Second Period? Maybe at the very end?”

Sotalia squints her dimly lit, golden eyes for a second before closing them hard. The illumination fades, and she focuses upon the rusted out and weather worn sign on a bent up post. Quirking her brow, she rests her hands on her hips, and snorts in mild frustration. “Yeah. The few remaining letters that on that sign would put it roughly in that time period. But, it’s really strange to see that language here.”

Bach narrows his gaze upon the sign, eyes over to Sotalia, and inquires. “So what does it say exactly?”

Sotalia crosses her arms, sighs with a twist to her mouth, and slowly shakes her head. “All that I can make out is Storage Bunker. There was probably more on the missing parts of the sign.”

With a gradual nod, Bach grumbles and grits his teeth briefly. “Yeah... Anyway, what’s so strange out that language being here?”

Aristespha shifts her focus upon the sign, narrows a growing glare, and growls to herself. “It’s an earlier variant of the language the Dark Evuukians adopted as their own.”

Bach and Sotalia aim their inquisitive expressions at Aristespha and wait. After long irritated sigh, Aristespha rolls the anxiety out of her shoulders, and presents an unamused smirk to Bach and Sotalia. “Officially, they never left that doomed city of theirs. But, it seems before their whole society imploded, they had plans to expand.”

Sotalia lifts an apprehensive brow, leans her stance back in surprise, and motions towards the archway. “You don’t think there’s anything left over from them in there?”

Aristespha rolls her eyes and shakes her head with a long exhale. “Oh, gods no. In all likelihood, they built the structure and it was left abandoned long enough for someone else to use.”

Bach stares off into the deep dark past the archway and glances over uncomfortably at Aristespha with an awkward smile. “Yeah. That doesn’t make me feel that much better about it.”

Presenting a confident smile, Aristespha points up to the mix of stone, modern materials, and magical markings on the entrance way. “The Dark Evuukians stuck to strict magical mechanisms, so someone added this after they were gone.”

Sotalia shrugs her shoulders, contorts her face in thought, and tilts her head to the side. “And who would do that and why would they not get rid of the sign?”

Bach scratches his head, aims his gaze at a very prominent landmarks in the area, and points out a few features. “Well... If you were looking at this from the distance, you would think it was just some abandoned hole in the side of a hill. Maybe some old survival bunker? I mean, unless you were really bored or knew this place was here, you weren’t going to just stumble upon it. So, why do anything to make it stick out more?”

The trio of mages stand for a minute and slowly inspect the archway from their distance. Bach sneers his upper lip uneasily, and sighs. “Yeah... Thinking about it... THAT doesn’t make me feel any better about this place. Now there’s intent behind it all.”

Sebastian drifts down and lands behind the mages, walks around to Aristespha’s side, and eyes the darkness beyond the gateway. “So? Any more info about what we’re dealing with, dear?”

Aristespha smiles to Sebastian, indecisively mulls the situation over, and taps through a few menus on her tablet. “Not particularly, Sebastian. Apart from the fact the archway seems relatively undisturbed, except for that scorching on the top the matches the recent pictures.”

While Sebastian peeks over Aristespha’s shoulder, Cideeda and Dretphi rejoin the group. Cideeda adjusts her vest, stretches her arms out over her head, and flicks her furry ears. “No signs of anything moving in or out from my side.”

Dretphi nods in agreement and gestures towards one side of the clearing perimeter. “Nothing on my side. No disturbances in the underbrush. No oddly broken branches. No fresh paths through the overgrowth.”

Sebastian hums ethereally to himself, stares ahead towards the entrance, and floats a few meters towards the archway in front of the group. He stops, pivots around, and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to his sides. “Well, I guess there’s only one way to find out. Let’s head inside. I’ll scout ahead. Cideeda and Dretphi will be on point. Aristespha and Sotalia will maintain the middle. And, Bach, keep an eye behind us.”

With shared unease and foreboding, the team assembles into their march order, turn on their lights, and slowly cross the threshold into the dark hallway leading deeper inside.

----

Down a long, dim corridor, open sliding doors line the old walls. As the team searches around, flashlights shine out along the hallway, magical glows illuminate the immediate area around the team, and small orbs of light drift to surfaces. Aristespha peers around the metal door frame into a room, casts the light from her magical orb inside, and slowly inspects the contents from a distance. “This one seems like an office. Relatively good condition given how long it has been sitting.”

She holds up her tablet in front of her, aims the rear camera inside, and taps the screen. A brief flash floods the room with light and then fades immediately. Dretphi guides the aim of her flashlight along the corridor and twists her mouth puzzling. “Simple design for this place. One main corridor. Have yet to run into another large branch. Just opened doors.”

Cideeda sniffs the air, sways her head in an attempt to track the smell, and frowns slightly. “There’s that smell again. I can’t quite pick it out. It just seems to be everywhere.”

Bach glances up, points to a charred spot on support structures underneath cabling above in the ceiling, and furrows his brow curiously. “You think it might be the leftover funk from these spots?”

Aiming her bright light up, Cideeda guides the flashlight around, tracks a few paths, and indecisively rocks her head side to side. “There’s definitely a smell for those. But, this... This smell feels familiar.”

Bach’s eyes illuminate blue and he narrows his stare at the thick conduits running through the supports above. “There still some residual magical energy on these lines. I guess whatever happened was pretty recent.”

Sotalia adjusts the aim of her aetherphone’s camera, taps the on screen button, and waits outside another room. The flash reflects off of various research implements and light glints off of several magical apparatuses. Sotalia rests her hands on her hips, twists her mouth in thought, and tosses her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side. “This room had to of been a magical research lab. It has all the usual tools. Surprising how they haven’t changed that much over the years.”

Sebastian drifts down the dark hallway, pauses to peek into another opposing pair of open sliding doors, and thoughtfully scratches his chin. “Okay, what’s everyone’s guess as to what this place actually was? I’m leaning towards a survival bunker of some kind. One of those that has everything to rebuild society.”

Aristespha slows to a stop, and pivots in place as her mind processes the information. “This might be my personal bias, but I think it was a research facility, Sebastian. You have a mix administrative offices, along with labs.”

Sotalia lifts a brow inquisitively towards Aristespha, and smirks slightly. “Magical research lab, maybe?”

Dretphi inspects the frame to one of the sliding doors, carefully analyzes the support wall, and hums in contemplation. “Military depot. The doors for the storage rooms are reinforced. We have found guard posts. Empty armories. Barracks.”

Slowly nodding agreement as the pieces fit in his mind, Bach crosses his arms with an uneasy, awkward smile. “Military something. It’s like they only had one kind of door for everything in this place, and it was heavy and armored. Even the janitor’s storage had a door that looked like it could take a rocket launcher.”

Cideeda points up towards many cameras and other monitoring devices sitting dark and inactive. “Well, they were doing something worth the security coverage.”

She steps by another open door, halts immediately, and sniffs the air carefully. She wafts over the stale air from the door, smells it cautiously, and ponders the aroma. Her emerald eyes widen in recognition, and she slowly pivots to face the rest of the team with a very uncertain expression. “Okay... I know I’ve smelled this before. It’s faint, but this odor reminds me of the ruin with the cybernetic zombies.”

The rest of the group exchanges uneasy looks, cautiously searches the immediate vicinity, and share a very similar sentiment. Eventually, they group back up and start to venture further down the dark corridor, deeper into the facility.

----

Following the huge overhead bundle of conduits within the ceiling supports, the team reaches a T intersection and the main junction point of the thick power lines. Reaching the center point, the group shifts focus down one path. Down the hallway, the faint glow of an emergency light escapes through an open heavy, sliding door. After surveying the open doorway, the team shifts focus over down the other passage. Expressions turn towards the curious, apprehensive, and cautious upon seeing the massive, heavily reinforced, and securely sealed double doors. Dretphi cocks her head back warily upon seeing the unusual doors, and glances over the rest of the team. “That is strange. This is the only closed door. Every other door has been opened.”

Cideeda flicks her furry ears around, twists her mouth apprehensively, and narrows a stare at the huge double security doors. “Yeah. That is really strange. Especially given that this one is of a completely different design from the others.”

Sebastian hovers out in front of the group, contorts his face uncertainly, and sighs ethereally over his shoulder to the team. “Well, as much as I don’t want to get too close to something like that. We need to at least check to make sure the doors are securely locked... and there’s no immediate threat to us or anyone else in the area.”

Understanding but reserved expressions emerge upon the group, and they ready themselves to approach. Slowly and methodically, the group closes in on the massive double doors and carefully fan out inspecting the gateway in their own ways. Aristespha and Bach both illuminate their eyes in magical radiance, and study the doorway. Aristespha tilts her head to the side curiously, and lifts an inquisitive brow. “I’m not seeing anything blatant, but there seems to be a good deal of old traces of some kind of enchantment on the join between the two doors.”

Bach grits his teeth and contorts an uneasy frown. “Yeah. I’m seeing that, too. I’d put my money that is was some kind of sealing or locking enchantment. Which... Doesn’t make this situation feel any better...”

Cideeda steps forward upon the concrete and metal floor, kneels down in front of a large vented panel, and shines her flashlight through the grates. “So what do we have going on here... Oh...”

She cranes her head around to find the best viewing angles into the cavity beyond the panel through the venting, and narrows her emerald green eyes as her ears perk. “That’s really strange... Okay, now THAT is really strange.”

The group congregates closer to Cideeda and gaze on trying to see her discoveries. Cideeda notices the team looming nearby, points out a few key things, and explains with a puzzled tone. “The hydraulics for this big thing are on THIS side of the wall. Even the control lines. Which isn’t something you do if you want to keep from going IN.”

Sebastian blinks to attention, stares at the huge metal double doors, and carefully drifts closer. He glances at the group and puts forth a brave smile. “Well, let’s see if I can get a peek at what’s on the other side?”

The group agrees and Sebastian phases through one door, disappearing inside. A minute later, he slowly emerges from the doorway, paler than his usual normal ethereal self. He gathers his thoughts at the prompting stares from the group, releases a nervous ghostly exhale, and points a thumb over his shoulder at the gateway. “Okay... It was really dark in there... But, I did make out a HUGE fluid filled tank that could fit our humvee in it... And SOMETHING floating in there.”

He releases another long ethereal breath, mulls over his feelings about the situation, and gazes over the group. “I couldn’t make out exactly what it was... And I REALLY didn’t want to get close to it... Just in case.”

In the moments following the explanation, a silence looms over the team. Seconds later, an unspoken agreement occurs, and they collectively, slowly move far away from the heavy, reinforced doors. Once at the intersection point, Aristespha lifts her tablet up and takes a picture without using the flash. The team orientates itself in the opposite direction and head down the hallway to the open room with dim emergency light. Peering inside through the door way, the team angles their gazes to look upon all the partially working control consoles and barely functional generators. With a few beeps and chimes, the group spots a bank of operational computer equipment giving constant updates, warnings, and alerts about the current status of the facility. Cideeda directs her voice towards Sebastian and inquires in an affirmative tone. “I think it would be best if we investigated this room at bit more?”

Sotalia crosses her arms, nods in complete agreement, and eyes Sebastian. “Yeah. It’d be nice to at least see what was going on here and maybe figure out what else we need to be on the lookout for.”

Sebastian slowly nods with a smirk, and hovers into the control room. “After what I saw, I can’t argue with that sentiment. We should probably figure out if we need to call in the army or something, or if everything is going to stay roughly this way.”

The team files in, fans out, and starts searching the room for more clues.

----

Hovering within the dark hallway down from the intersection, Sebastian stares out down the opposing corridor and sneers uncomfortably at the darkness leading towards the heavy, suspicious double doors. He crosses his arms and watches the spot of light from Dretphi’s submachine gun accessory methodically travel from one edge of view to another. Dretphi squints her steely gray eyes behind her full visor, and twists her mouth with hints of anxiety leaking through her stoic facade. Sebastian’s ethereal form rolls his shoulders, releases a long sigh, and glances over to Dretphi. “You doing okay? Need to rotate out for a bit?”

Dretphi blinks to attention, makes eye contact with Sebastian, and dons an appreciative smile. “I am okay. I can continue to stand watch. Just wish we could get the information we need soon.”

Sebastian nods, returns his stare down the shadow blackened hallway, and grumbles. “I’m with you on that one. We’re probably going well beyond what we need to do. But, I think we need to give the guild the info they need to send the right forces out to deal with this potential mess.”

He briefly grits his teeth, crosses his arms, and glances over to Dretphi with a sarcastic tone. “You know... Let them know how many tanks they need to bring to take out whatever that thing is.”

Dretphi searches the top of her mind for a second, shifts her weight to the other foot, and mulls a thought out loud. “Tanks would work. My house father would recommend detonating explosives to collapse the entire front of the entry corridor. No need for an encounter.”

Sebastian thinks to himself for a moment, slowly agrees, and resumes his watch of the dark corridor across the intersection. “Yeah. Honestly, at this point, I would do the same and just have our report say we found it that way.”

Dretphi twists her mouth in deliberation, but eventually settles to a slow nod. “Simple solution. Pity we do not have enough explosives.”

A dry smirk appears on Sebastian face, and he chuckles lightly. “Don’t let Cideeda hear that, she’ll think of it as a challenge.”

Pivoting partially to gaze into the nearby room at the end of dimly light hallway, Dretphi smiles and checks on the activity in the emergency light illuminated area. “A challenge I wish we could attempt.”

Inside the control room, Cideeda checks on her shotgun propped up against the computer console bank, returns her focus to the constantly scrolling alerts and messages on a screen, and bites her lip as she tries to decipher it. Bach sits in a chair next to Cideeda’s, and stares an informational graphic of the power system flashing sections with prompts. He scratches his bearded chin, hums in thought, and eyes over to Cideeda. “I don’t know... It seems to be prioritizing power to something at the expense of everything else.”

Cideeda grits her teeth, taps her finger tips together on both hands, and grimaces as her ears lower. “It’s GOT to be that damned area beyond those ridiculous double doors. From what I can figure out so far, this system is redirecting power from EVERYTHING else to keep that area saturated in power.”

She points a claw tip at a long log list on the screen, taps through the entries, and shakes her head. “It looks like this thing was frantically trying to balance power around to all these other systems, then just gave up and stuck to just one.”

Cringing uneasily, Cideeda directs Bach’s attention over to another screen showing a slowly descending graph line against a constant line of another color. “This worries me. If what we’ve translated is correct, then this line is the power output from some generator. We’ve got maybe a day before it drops below the demand.”

Bach grimaces, shudders briefly, and glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia. “Yeah... That’s not a good margin to work with. Any more luck with those manuals and documents?”

Aristespha carefully flips through another set of pages in an old binder and slowly shakes her head with a frown. “Nothing that would seem useful for the power system. Still finding daily memos and written orders.”

Stacking another old book upon a pile nearby, Sotalia brushes her hands off on her cloak, cleans off a bit of cobweb on her horn, and sighs with shift of her stance. She retrieves her aetherphone, navigates through a few menus, and sorts through a series of photos taken of the facility. With an uneasy frown, her golden eyes recognize elements in the pictures in a new light. “I get the feeling we were all correct in some way. This place seems like some kind of strange cybernetic, biological, and magical research base for military applications. At least, that’s what half these documents keep hinting at.”

With a long uncomfortable sigh, Aristespha nods in agreement, puts another binder in her backpack, and closes it up. “Yes. I have to agree. And, given recent events, I’m not too terribly keen on sticking around here for much longer.”

Cideeda stands up from her chair, brushes of the dust from the back of her tight body suit, and throws the carrying strap of her shotgun over her shoulder. “Yeah. I think we have all the information we need. Let’s get out of here and call someone with some serious firepower.”

Sotalia releases a sigh of relief, stuffs a few choice books in large pockets inside her cloak, and walks towards the door of the room. “Don’t have to tell me twice.”

Bach and Aristespha head out the exit with Cideeda and Sotalia. The four meet up quickly with Dretphi and Sebastian. After studying their expressions, Sebastian quirks a curious brow at the group. “So, what’s the consensus?”

Bach grins awkwardly and shrugs his shoulders with a facetious tone. “Well... This place is creepy as fuck and we want to go home.”

Sebastian snorts, and nods quickly. “Sounds good to me, bro. I think we’ve done all we can... and all we probably should.”

As the team faces towards the center of the intersection-

A sharp, mechanical thunk resonates from some place beyond the power control room nearby. The emergency light flickers, and faint arcing and sparking vibrates through the structure of the building, originating from the dark corridor and behind the secure double doors. Suddenly, the corridors light up in emergency lighting and klaxons blare out. The team frantically surveys their immediate situation, and searches for answers. Cideeda leans over to get a glimpse inside the control room and watches a the screens chaotically spew forth new information alerts. An electronic voice sounds out over the intercom system and echoes out through the facility. Sotalia listens carefully, looks to Aristespha, and translates, growing more worried with each word. “Lockdown failure?... Lab... stasis field... generators... malfunction?! Oh gods... Am I understanding that correctly?”

Aristespha’s light complexion pales more as her understanding of the voice coincides with Sotalia’s. “Yes. Unfortunately so.”

Sebastian gazes over the team wide eye, points down the hallway, and yells out determined. “Form up, and let’s GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!”

A powerful, thunderous slam rattles the structure of the complex. Dust breaks free from overhead and old rust flakes off support structures. Bach reflexively spouts out in fright. “THE FUCK WAS THAT?!”

Another earth shaking thud shakes the area as something large impacts a solid surface to the resonating groans of metal strain. Sebastian gives the signal and flies out to lead the team towards the intersection. The overhead lights flicker when a massive object rams into a structural piece of the bunker. At the intersection Dretphi’s steely gray eyes widen in utter shock, and she points out down to massive, double doors. “THEY MOVED!”

Hydraulic strain gives away to cacophony of loud spraying as thick fluid gushes out from the vented access panel. The heavy doors crack open... Something moves around from behind, in front of a backdrop of chaotic light... And peers out.

-64-

Alarm lights spin within their aged glass enclosures and circle a red cast upon the main intersection of the facility. Klaxons blare a jarring drone that echoes throughout the long halls. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia gawk in sheer, utter horror as something watches on from behind the heavy, double security doors. A chaotic display backlights the amorphous, silhouette as it peers out the small gap between the failing doors. Red cybernetic eyes upon magically inscribed platforms glide across the featureless surface of its huge, undulating form. With mechanical precision contrasting its warping mass, the creature’s glares affix upon the team and study them during a brief lull from the chaos. It shifts closer to the gap, pauses at the opening, and waits. Slipping through the divide, slim, black appendages slick out, lap the exterior face of the reinforced doors, and flatten securely onto the metallic surface. Tentacles writhe in between the door gap, unnaturally coil up with purpose to bridge the divide, and brace against the edges. Slowly, the flexible limbs pulsate thicker with each second, and press against the weakening door. With each surge of growth, hydraulic fluid blasts out in a torrent and the gap between the doors widens.

Sotalia’s fear suppresses her urge to wretch. Aristespha’s intellectual calm falls to pieces as she gawks in frightful terror. Cideeda grits in teeth, drops her furry ears, and leans back reflexively disturbed. Bach blinks in blank horror as his jaw hangs open. Sebastian remain frozen in stunned fear. Dretphi stoic exterior gives away to utter fright as she grips tight hold of her sub machine gun. Sebastian snaps out of his stupor, glances over to the group, and shouts. “RUN FOR IT!”

Situational awareness slams the team back into the immediate, terrible reality. The group sprints off down the long main hallway, while the sprays of hydraulic oil mixes with the din of alarms, and grinding shrieks of strained steel resonate loudly through the structure. The team flees down the lengthy corridor deep in the structure, and frantically navigates around debris and other obstacles. A frightening chorus of strange beast and machine roars out from the main intersection behind them. Powerful thuds shake the facility and rattle dust and rust off overhead supports.

The electronic announcement system crackles out a new series of phrases over the ambient noise. Sotalia briefly closes her eyes to sort through the words in her mind and glances over to Aristespha puzzling. “Something about emergency containment measures? Being armed?!”

Aristespha nods quickly as she navigates through a narrow passage between old storage containers, and searches around fruitlessly for some kind of indicator. “Yes? That’s what it sounded like to me. I don’t know what it could mean!”

Cideeda grits her teeth as she maintains her pace with group, and grimaces with worry. “I hope it doesn’t mean that force field at the entry. Because that might not work anymore! Or it can, and we’re on the wrong side of it!”

Fighting off the growing panic in his tone, Sebastian maintains a hover above the team and keeps a watch behind them. “Okay! Once we’re out of here, we head straight to the humvee, and run for it. I have no fucking clue what that thing is and I don’t want to find out right now. Especially, not in this gods damned tunnel!”

The loud crashes against the overall structure halt. Sebastian focuses his stare upon the distant intersection. From the side corridor, thick, black tentacles slap and stick upon the floors, walls, and ceiling. A huge bulbous, spherical mass shifts out into the middle of the junction. Gliding upon the dark exterior skin, platforms of cybernetic eyes aim down the long main corridor and witness the team running away. With pulses of brightness, the red dots shine and the mass undulates its form forward. From the featureless surface, slick tubes emerge, stretch forth, and thicken as they reach out into new tentacles. The contorting limbs launch out, splat upon the floors, deform upon the walls, and coil around the ceiling supports. Pulsating with frightening strength, the creature pulls its dark, fluctuating mass forward and quickly coasts towards the team. Tentacles from behind release their strangely dry, powerful adhesion, shrink to thin tendrils, and merge back into the shapeless, amorphous whole, while new limbs grow out to continue the beast’s locomotion. The platforms of red, cybernetic eyes steadily concentrate their full focus upon the team despite all the motion.

Sebastian's ethereal form pales as abject horror overwhelms and fear sparks new motivation within him. “KEEP THE PACE UP EVERYONE! MOVE AS FAST YOU CAN!”

Bach glances over his shoulder. He witnesses the fast moving entity and snaps his head forward, eyes wide and an expression of survival driven determination plainly visible. He draws out his plasma pistol from the holster, and turns it on to a high pitched, charging whine. Cideeda’s furry ears guide her quick gaze at Bach, and she peeks behind her. Her emerald eyes snap ahead and she deftly moves her hands to activate both her laser pistols at her sides without breaking stride.

The synthetic voice blares out over the announcement system again, and Sotalia darts her eyes around searching for the source. “Containment locks... Engaging?!”

Cideeda’s furry ears flick forward, and she cringes towards a muffled explosion ahead, followed by the dull rush of water. On both sides of the hallway, two side panels fall open into a dwindling flow of orange brown, stagnant water, and the edges of a pair of rust coated, sliding doors grind out. The massive, water soaked steel plates creep slowly together with an unsettling mechanical strain. Cideeda cringes and covers her nose while coughing. “Fucking great! The containment doors are junk.”

Sebastian glances back to see the incoming beast and directs the team’s attention ahead. “Doesn’t matter! Maybe they’ll slow that fucking thing down! Focus on getting through the gap before it closes!”

He gazes ahead, judges the speed of the closure, and commands out to the team. “Single file, everyone! Sprint through!”

The team lines up into a single column, aligns to the closing gap between the massive, rusted doors, and rush on through. Seconds after they clear the divide, the edges meet solidly, and mechanisms strain to come to life. Interlock systems resonate metallic groans until a muffled snap abruptly halts them to silence. The team slows their pace briefly, attempt to catch their breaths, and stare behind, hopeful but wary. A powerful mass impacts the doors with a rattling crash. Large sheets of rust drop off the surface of the heavy doors and shatter upon the hard ground. The team slows to a brisk walk, and watch expectantly. Another series of massive slams constantly pound upon the doors, and punctuate the shrill unnatural roar of the... Thing... on the other side. Each crash flakes off rust and corroded metal from the other side, and a slight warp of the steel grows to a visible bulge. The assault stops and no noise emerges from the other side. A brief spark of hope ignites in the eyes of the team. It vanishes when thin oily tendrils seep through the irregular, rust chiseled gaps between doors. They pulsate into larger tentacles, and begin to pry the containment doors slowly open. Dretphi leads the team’s curses of frustration with a grath phrase, as the group launches into another sprint down the long corridor.

Hurrying through the tunnel, Sebastian, Aristespha, Sotalia, Cideeda, Bach, and Dretphi keep up the pace as they head towards the distant daylight at the end of the long corridor. Each occasionally glances back to check behind them when mechanical strain blasts out over the constant drone of klaxons and alarms chimes. The automated base announcement system blurts out a partially garbled phrase that leaves Sotalia perplexing. Aristespha searches her mind, pieces the parts together, and widens her gaze forward. “Layer two containment engaging?! Another set of containment doors!?”

Loud explosions boom out from the section of hallway ahead, and the team staggers their progress between covering ears and shielding themselves from bright flashes of light. A pair side panels from the walls violently crash clear of closing tracked doors and land meters away from the team, leaving deep gouges in the reinforced floor. Sotalia winces through the confusion, shakes her mind out of the stunned haze, and focuses ahead. Two massive, steel doors launch out from the newly opened compartments, and quickly slide towards the middle of the corridor. She grits her teeth, tears off in sprint while gesturing out an incantation, and shouts out. “NOT FUCKING TODAY!”

A surge of magical flow erupts from her body, swirls in an energetic spiral towards her hands as throws them forward, and blasts out towards the closing gap between the door. A translucent, billowing mass of magical energy expands out onto the edges of the heavy steel, and stiffly envelops them. Mechanical strain groans out from either side of the hallway as the massive, reinforced doors slow down to crawl. Sotalia staggers as the magical energies blockading the containment gateway fluctuates and she summons another surge of energy to deadlocks the doors, seizing a narrow gap between. Bach and Dretphi keep at her sides, and escort her towards the gateway divide. Sebastian stops at the doors, hovers above, and watches down the red alarm illuminated hallway. Aristespha slips through the space between the doors. She turns around, quickly gestures out a similar incantation, and flings out a similar wave of energy upon the powerful doors. “I can stabilize it for a while... But... HURRY! Please!”

Sotalia summons her strength while maintaining her contribution to the spell, and speeds up to a fast walk towards the gap between shuddering containment doors. Cideeda deftly moves to the other side, and frantically searches the compartments housing the doors. She digs her claws into a vented panel, and yanks it open. “Gods dammit! Where the hell are the controls for these things?! There’s GOT to be an override or something! Who the fuck designed this garbage?!”

Bach and Dretphi keep to Sotalia’s sides as she moves towards the opening, and stare watchfully down with plasma pistol and sub machine gun drawn. A chorus of unsettling noises sounds out from deeper within the compound. A rolling series of forceful, heavy splats peak over the background drone of alarms, and increase in ferocity and volume with each passing second. From the fluctuating crimson illuminated hallway, a black spherical mass appears distantly into view from around the corridor’s gentle curve. It flies down the tunnel upon a chaotic swarm of adhesive tentacles, and multiple red, pinpoint cybernetic eyes lock onto the team. Overhead support beams break loose under the short, thick coils torquing them free, walls coverings flex against the hard pulls of thin appendages, and chunks of old floor loosen under the twisting, undulating tentacles. Bach and Dretphi exchange glances, nod in silent agreement, and pivot in step. Both slip an arm underneath Sotalia’s shoulders, hoist her up, and jog her over to narrowing doorway, much to her surprise. The trio reach gap. Bach and Cideeda lead the tiring Sotalia through, and turn around to aim their weapons at the approaching beast. Cideeda reaches through the divide and helps guide Sotalia along.

The entity arrives meters away from Bach and Dretphi, and multiple eyes affix upon them. Bach and Dretphi simultaneously flip the safeties off. Front protrusions emerge from the featureless skin of the creature as it supports itself in the middle of the air, and lash out towards their targets. Bach and Dretphi open fire. A rapid volley of plasma bolts pelt the black mass, and the impacts ripple out across the surface of the monster. Dretphi unleashes burst after burst sub machine gun fire, and sends rounds into the bulbous body of the amorphous entity. Upon the support of its tentacles attached high and low, the monster swings it form around and warps its shape to avoid the attacks. A few plasma bolts and sub machine rounds bounce off briefly opaque energy fields protecting its many eyes. Emitting an omnipresent, unnatural roar into the area, the monstrosity flings out its tentacles in wide swipes towards Bach and Dretphi. Dretphi maneuvers her tall self around, expertly avoiding strike after strike. Bach frantically avoids each attack, moving unusually fast and wildly shifting his balance into dodge rolls upon the floor. Cideeda spins around after getting Sotalia to the other side, draws her laser pistols, and reaches through the door divide. Two beams of bright blue light up against red ambient cast, and drag across the slick surface of the thing ineffectively. A beam crosses a red cybernetic eye and the red pinpoint blinks out as the platform sparks violently. The eye jets frantically away from the beam along the exterior of the beast.

A pained bellow rattles the vicinity, and the creature momentarily looses its focus. Bach and Dretphi quickly retreat towards the gap between shaking containment doors. Sebastian flies out in a chaotic flight path around and in front of the monster. While many eyes track Sebastian, one red eye creeps out from hiding behind the massive orb, and spots Dretphi lining up her approach through the gap. Three thin, quick tentacles eject out from the black, undulating mass. One wraps around Dretphi’s helmet, one slaps firmly attached upon her chest plate, and another splats upon a shin guard. Each sticks firmly upon glinting golden surfaces millimeters away from the armor.

Terror overwhelms Bach as the limb around Dretphi’s helm pulsates thick and coils tighten with each moment. Surrounding Dretphi’s helmet, a golden barrier pulses visible and buffers the crushing forces upon it. Watching the familiar golden barrier, Bach snaps back to awareness with determined grit of his teeth, and pivots towards the monster. Putting his hands together, an energy orb forms within. Layers upon layers of chaotically spinning rings build up in mere fractions of second to a ten centimeter ball of disintegrating energies. Charging forth, Bach thrusts his hand containing the ball of magical energy right into the pulsating tentacle leading to Dretphi. Upon impact, a fine black mist erupts as the slick surface disrupts to a thick spray of ichor. The spherical blob vibrates out in pain and shudders as it frantically reels back. In the flurry of creature panic, Dretphi frees her head from her helmet as tentacle yanks back and drags it off. Balancing herself against the pull of the adhered limbs, she deftly slides her hands underneath her chest plate, and tears through the hook and loop fasteners in a loud fabric release. With final lift her leg, she rips off the fastening straps holding the shin guard, and kicks it away with the tentacle.

Bach grabs hold of Dretphi’s shoulder, ushers her through the gradually narrowing door gap, and fires his plasma pistol wildly towards the monster. Cideeda snags hold of Dretphi’s arm and pulls her through with all her might. As Dretphi clears through the space, she reflexively grips onto Bach’s arm, braces herself upon the other side of the door, and pulls Bach through with her strength. When Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi clear away from the opening, a flurry of tentacles whip out through the gap and lash out wildly. Sotalia witnesses the horror reaching from the other side, and immediately releases her spell.

The containment door slams shut hard upon the writhing mass. The flailing appendages quickly slack and hang limply from the join between the doors. Unnatural moans of pain and misery reverberate through the thick containment door, as the team distances themselves from the doorway. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi and Sotalia muster their strength and catch their breaths in the lull of activity as the constant drone of klaxons fills the air. Sebastian quickly phases through the door and lands next to the team. “IS EVERYONE OKAY?!”

Dretphi combs her hand through her platinum blonde braids, slows her panting to calmer, longer breaths, and nods to Sebastian. “Yes. Missing plating. Fine otherwise.”

Bach braces himself up with his hands on his knees, glances up briefly to make eye contact with his brother, and gives a thumbs up. “Yeah... Whew... That mini D-ball took a little out me, but I should be fine in a minute or two. Still can move.”

Aristespha wipes a bit of sweat off her brow as she supports Sotalia up, and sighs. “I’m fine, Sebastian. A bit taxing, but I should be okay.”

Sotalia pops open a pouch on her belt, pulls out a large vial, and quaffs the potion down in one swift motion. She exhales a mix of relief and exhaustion, and blinks her golden, graying sclera eyes. “I’ll be fine. Potion should kick in a soon, and keep me moving.”

Cideeda shakes her head, drags her clawed fingers through her short multi-colored hair, and calms her breathing. “Oh gods, that was too fucking close. I’m okay...”

While Sotalia passes Aristespha and Bach similar potions, Sebastian smiles his relief and gazes towards the door. “Good. Very good. Okay... Now, the next question is... Will that hold... It... back?”

The team’s attention shifts towards the limp tentacles hanging out from between the doors. As the minute passes, they watch as faint pulses of life pump into the slack limbs, and thin tendrils ooze out through the joint between the pair of steel barriers. Dread looms over the group and as visible anger and fear erupts. Cideeda growls, baring her teeth as she walks away. “Oh, to hell with this thing!”

Sotalia clenches her fists and shakes her head as she turns to walk away. “Gods fucking dammit! Who the fuck thought THIS was a good thing to make? Well, let’s not hang out here any longer.”

Dretphi grimaces with a contemptuous sneer of her upper lip, and glares. Her ire boils up to her face, and she scowls as she concentrates her anger. With a swift breath in, she spits on the ground in front of the doors, checks her sub machine gun, and joins Sotalia in the march towards the exit. Aristespha gathers her composure, checks her equipment, and catches up to the group. Sebastian and Bach follow along behind the recovering team, and glance back at the growing black, slick vines gradually prying the doors apart. After a few moments of inner thoughs, Bach glances over to Sebastian. “That door isn’t going to hold it for long. It’s making a lot of progress on getting it open.”

Sebastian drifts along side, slowly nods in agreement, and peers into his mind for a solution. “I know, bro. I don’t what the hell we are supposed to do against something like that.”

He glances ahead at the portal of daylight at the end of tunnel, and shakes his head uncertainly. “I mean, once we catch our breaths... The only thing I can think of to do is to head to the humvee, get as far away from this place as possible, and send an alert to the guild to send a military emergency containment force.”

As Bach picks up the pace with the team as they regain their strength, a terrifying thought crosses his mind, and he stares at his brother. “Brother... It’ll probably get out before they can do anything about it.”

Sebastian turns to face Bach, blinks as his mind processes the situation, and releases an ethereal sigh of dread. “Ah... shit... I know...”

He glances ahead towards Cideeda and inquires. “Cideeda, do you see anything ahead that looks like another set of containment doors?”

Cideeda glances over her shoulder briefly, thinks a moment, and squints her eyes down the corridor leading outside. After a few seconds, her emerald eyes widen in surprise and she directs her concerned tone back. “Actually, no. I don’t see another set of those panels anywhere...”

Dretphi’s awareness returns to her surroundings, and the anger fades from her face as worry replaces it. “Those doors may be the last means to seal it.”

Sotalia grumbles, rolls the frustration out of her shoulders, and grits her teeth. “A lot of good those damned things did! It’s going to use the same trick to get through those soon enough.”

Horror washes over Aristespha as the possible end result appears frighteningly in mind. “And, it will escape outside.”

The group shares a pseudo moment of silence with the drone of alarms long filtered out unconsciously. They quietly deliberate their options. Sebastian speaks up as he hovers along with everyone else. “Any one have any ideas?”

Cideeda’s ears perk up, and a reserved grins graces her lips. “We could try to collapse the entrance. It might not be enough to stop it from digging itself out, but I bet it’d slow it down a lot. I’ve got a powerful concussive round for my shotgun that might rattle enough of these old supports to drop them down.”

While Aristespha, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia judge Cideeda’s option, Bach gazes to the team determined. “A barrier.”

The rest of the group shifts their attentions and await an explanation. Bach draws in a long breath and relays his thoughts. “I can craft a barrier to try to seal the damned thing in. The only way it has getting through so far is if it can pry open the doors and force them apart. Maybe... Just maybe... If I made a really slick matrix and seal off the gaps, it won’t be able to use that trick and it’ll be trapped behind it.”

He pauses to gauge reactions and pleads in a worried tone. “It’s risk, but... I mean... Something needs to be done. It’s going to crack those doors open soon enough. As much as, I like to run to the humvee and get away, it’ll get loose and probably go on a killing spree. Or worse, disappear into the woods and terrorize the whole area for who knows how long?!”

As Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia jog closer to the archway exit, the team ponders individually about the predicament. Eventually, Sotalia nods in agreement and glances over to Bach with a grin. “I’m willing to give it a shot.”

Dretphi firmly grips Bach shoulder, and smiles warmly with a determined cadence. “It can NOT leave here.”

Giving a clawed thumbs up, Cideeda winks back to Bach with a toothy grin. “Sounds good to me. And, it might work to our advantage! If you can get it sealed away, that’ll give me plenty of time to set up some real explosives, and we’ll see if we can collapse this whole entrance.”

Aristespha nods to Bach simply with an appreciative tone. “I think we’ll all sleep better if it never leaves here. And... This place is too close to a town to just leave it alone.”

Sebastian grins proudly toward his brother, and gazes over to him. “Okay. So, where do you want to set this thing up?”

Bach blinks slightly surprised and points out ahead. “Um, maybe ten or fifteen meters away from the mouth of the entrance? Far away from those doors, but down from the entrance enough to have a good section of tunnel to collapse?”

With single nod, Sebastian smirks in agreement and points out a spot ahead. “Let’s do it there.”

Gathering his determination, Bach glances briefly over to Sebastian before studying the spot ahead. “I’ll try to put up the best damn barrier I can, then... I just hope this is the better option...”

Sebastian laughs nervously, slowly shakes his head while he flies next to Bach, and grits his teeth. “Don’t worry about that, bro. I think we’d all rather risk containing it, than risk have to face that fucking thing out in the open woods while we rush back to our ride. And then, hope it doesn’t chase us down while we’re trying to drive away.”

He looks into his brother’s blue eyes and speaks resolutely. “Do what you can, and we’ll do the same. This is the best plan we’ve got at the moment. Thanks for giving it to us.”

Bach draws a slow breath in, cracks a smile, and nods. As the Sebastian hovers nearby, Bach positions himself in the middle of the long corridor, fifteen meters short of the exit archway, and raises his hands up in front of him. “Okay, looks like this spot will work. Seems structural and there’s no obvious panels. Gods... Here we go.”

Closing his eyes slowly along with a long exhale, he relaxes his posture briefly. His eyes reopen a bright glowing blue, and fine streams of magical flow swirl around his body, and condense to a billowing haze in front of his hands. Thin wisps of energy travel rigidly along straight paths to the floor, walls, and ceiling of the hallway, and collect upon growing structures. Seconds later, a translucent golden lattice of large hexagons form and solidify from the constant output of magic. The stabilized energy support beams layer out in increasing diameters, anchor points root deep into the very structure of the facility, and smaller hexagon lattice work emerges within the larger cells. While the demanding process continues Sebastian maintains a careful watch down the tunnel to the red, cyclically illuminated void, and catches glimpses of the emergency lighting glinting off the distant, slowly opening containment doors.

Cideeda perks her ears and trains her emerald eyes upon the architecture of the facility’s entrance. She points to various location near structural intersections and support girders, and mentally calculates the requirements for destruction. Dretphi walks over near Bach, stretches her body out, and readies her sub machine gun. She raises the barrel, tosses her platinum blonde braided hair back, and maintains her aim down the corridor. Sotalia stands near the other side of Bach, rolls the tension out of her shoulders, and stares fiercely down the chaotically lit tunnel in a casting stance. Aristespha stands at the mouth of the entrance, holding her aetherphone out, and slowly moving it around in search of a signal.

The golden barrier shimmers with each surge of magical flow radiating across it. Hexagonal patterns within hexagonal patterns shrink the largest openings gradually. Bach’s full attention focuses upon the sealing structure in front of him as he fights off traces of fatigue. Sotalia studies the wall of golden energy in front of her, and grins eagerly. “There’s no way it’ll get through this!”

Bach smiles briefly, breathes carefully, and continues his intense work. “Yeah... I hope so... But, these gaps are taking forever to close up properly...”

A loud metallic pop echoes out from the distance containment door. Cideeda’s ears flick over and her eyes widen in fear. “Something blew loose in the door’s hydraulics! I hear fluid spraying! Nothing is stopping it now!”

Sebastian squints down the fluctuating crimson lighted hallway, and watches as the huge, reinforced containment doors open faster behind a misty spray of hydraulic oil. He yells down below to Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. “Bach keep doing what you can. But, Everyone... Get ready to run for it!”

Bach grits his teeth angrily as determined surge swell up within him. “FffffUCK! NO. No. No. You ARE NOT GETTING THROUGH! NOT... TODAY!”

A wave of prismatic energy pulses out from surface of Bach’s body, gravitates towards his hands, and weaves into the flows entering the golden hexagonal barrier. Core structural components ignite into a bright glow and radiate out towards the rest of the magical mesh work. Bach winces his eyes closed as he strains more into the sealing structure before him while muttering. “Come on... close the gaps... close the gaps...”

A structure shaking snap reverberates through the facility, and a loud, bright explosion of fire erupts as the hydraulic fluid ignites into a plume of flame. The distant containment doors slam wide open, and a black orb mass launches out the gate in a shadowy blur through the roaring inferno. A chaotic cacophony of tentacles smashing onto floor plates, ripping off wall panels, and yanking apart ceiling supports blast out. The spherical black, amorphous form ripples through the corridor at great speed, keeping all of its brilliantly bright, red eyes focused at the group. Sebastian pales in wide eyed terror and shouts. “INCOMING! RUN!”

Bach remains upon his task, his awareness lost within his work. Sotalia ready herself and glances over to Bach. Dretphi sharply and firmly grasps hold of Bach shoulder, and shakes him back to the immediate. Bach blinks out of his haze and snap his gaze over. Dretphi speaks firmly with a commanding tone. “WE GO NOW!”

While Bach regains his understanding of the situation, Sotalia snatches hold of his arm, and rushes off towards the entrance. Dretphi pushes Bach forward along as they all escape towards the outside beyond the archway. Bach returns to his senses and soon drives the pace forward. The creature flies down the hallway and slams it’s full weigh into the golden barrier. Its form deforms upon the barrier from the thunderous impact, and the shock ripples across its featureless, black exterior, while eye platforms drift aimlessly in the confusion. The golden structure glints with strain and gradually flexes with the force, but quickly settles back to unmoved stability. Bach glances back to see the monstrosity frantically feeling around the partially constructed barrier, and grins triumphantly with a fitting hand gesture. “HA HA! Try that out you wretched shit! Have fun in there forever!”

A synthetic voice blares out a message over the facility’s speaker system. Sotalia searches her mind, puzzles a moment, and yells out. “The hell is it saying now?!”

She slows her sprint down after passing the threshold of the entrance to the outside air with a sigh of relief. Bach follows shortly behind with exhaustion creeping into his gait. Dretphi maintains her rear guard over Bach, as he stops to catch his breath. She pants out, relaxes her body, and slowly shakes her head. The later afternoon sun casts a calming light upon the moment of peace.

Three thin, long black tendrils shatter the tranquility as they swiftly wrap around Dretphi’s waist and legs. The dark flexing limbs yank her to the ground, and pull her across the entryway. Bach hears Dretphi fall onto the ground, watches her slide inside, and reflexively dives after her outstretched arm. Both secure a grip onto each other’s forearms, and Bach tugs back against the thinly stretched tentacles. He slides along the dirt, manages to wrap his other arm around the archway structure, and maintains his hold. Dretphi tightens her grip, and grimaces under the strain as the competing forces lift her off the ground.

Starting deep within the facility cascade of electrical junctions loudly switch, and a loud hum resonnates nearby. Cideeda quickly grips hold of Dretphi’s free hand, digs her claws into the ground, and pulls as hard as she can. Sotalia rushes over, immediately takes aim, and unleashes a power bolt of energy towards the tentacles. The bolt solidly impacts, sends ripples along the limb’s slim form, and shakes its violently. Dretphi’s boot loosens free and the tentacle snaps harshly back along with the armor, and slicks back through a small gap in the golden magical barrier. Aristespha quickly gestures out an incantation, points towards the remaining two tentacles, and unleashes a bright beam. The ray drags across the general path of the slick, black lines and sears the beast’s limbs. The stretched appendages thrash about against Dretphi, and tearing a thigh plate free. The limb snaps back and one tentacle remains around Dretphi. It pulsates thicker, tightening it’s grasp around her waist.

Sparks of life flicker within the archway. The ambient hum grows louder, and an energy haze begins to fill the plane encapsulated by the force field generator. Cideeda grits her teeth, tries to maintain her grip on Dretphi’s arm, and winces as the energies building within the space of the archway electrocute her away in a powerful arcing burst. Bach maintain his grip as the field thickens against his arm and sparks crackle against his burning duster. The beast pulls upon Dretphi while she continues to tense her body to buffer the tension. Bach feels the strain, grits his teeth with determination, and focuses his glowing blue eyes. Flows of magical energy glide along his body, and seep his into arms and back. With a powerful draw of breath, new levels of muscle definition emerge in Bach’s arms as he pulls hard to get Dretphi closer to the developing force field and away from the monster.

Aristespha and Sotalia hurry over, quickly cast spells, and work together to repulse the energy away from Bach, gradually widening a hole in the archway barrier around his arm. The monster roars out in an unnatural, shrill scream, and contorts it’s form. The pull of the tentacle around Dretphi surges. The force travels through her, and yanks Bach helmet first into the translucent force field. In a spray of sparks and arcs, Bach maintains his grip despite the repeated impacts against the crackling field and the golden barriers on his helm fracturing. Cideeda gets back on to her feet, and frantically searches for kind of controls for the archway. Sebastian flies off towards the monster, and desperately tries to distract it. Many of abomination’s cybernetic, red eyes watch Sebastian, but one maintains watch upon Dretphi.

Dretphi gazes on. She watches as Aristespha and Sotalia focus their energies to keep the force field from collapsing upon Bach’s arm, as smoke fumes off his burnt duster. She looks into Sotalia’s gold on black eyes and the struggle apparent on her face. Her steely gray eyes follow Cideeda in a panic trying to find something she can override on the archway. She hears Sebastian spew forth taunts and insults behind her to try to distract the beast. Then, her gaze settles upon Bach’s flickering blue eyes behind his visor. Through a shattered golden barrier, she watches the steel of Bach’s helmet heat up against the constant contact with force field wall. Trembles sneak into Bach’s grip as his muscles tense to strange definition and spasm from the unnatural magical augmentation. Dretphi smiles warmly to Bach, grips hold her sub machine gun with her free hand, and closes her eyes sadly.

A chorus of mental terror blasts out in Bach’s mind as he watches with blood chilling horror at the scene about to play out before him. He grits teeth, releases a torrent of emotion from within, and mutters loudly. “Gods. Damn. You. Isaac.”

Dretphi opens her eyes towards the black mass monstrosity, aims her gun, dons a grimly stoic expression, and lets go of Bach’s arm.

She doesn’t move.

Her bewilderment snaps her glance back towards the outside.

“FAMILIAR FLOW DETECTED.”

Dretphi feels a renewed, powerful grip upon her gauntlet covered arm, and gazes into the brilliantly glowing white eyes of Bach. She immediately snatches her grasp firmly back upon Bach’s forearm. Flows white energy protectively coat around Bach and wisps sink into his body. Struggling with each word, Bach glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia, and commands. “Save your strength... Will need your help to open the field for Dretphi... Wait for it...”

From Bach’s powerfully clamped hand, threads of elder energy weave down Dretphi’s arm, spread out across her shoulders, travel between her and the tightly wrapped, pulsating tentacle, and envelop her legs. Seconds later, Dretphi feels a wave of relief as the tension upon her body fades, and the white matrix of energy flickers across her under armor suit, and absorbs the pulling and crushing forces. Bach musters a smirk as he slides his hand from the outer edge of the archway, and presses his elder energy coated forearm against the barrier. Pushing against the arcing and crackling energy field with his elbow, he releases the straps of helmet, tears it off, and flings it clear. It rolls along the dirt, trialing behind wisps of smoke from a faintly orange-red glowing spot, and flaking shards of golden magical energy. Supported sideways by the constant pull of the monster’s tentacle, Bach slips up each of his elder energy coated knees up onto the powerful field, sparks and arcs erupting out with the sustained forceful contact.

Gazing towards Dretphi, Bach braces himself against the force field, pulls his free arm back, and concentrates a surge of white energy in his hand. In a fountain of sparks, flames, and plasma, he drills his arm through the barrier, opens his hand, and reaches for Dretphi’s other arm. Dretphi immediately grabs hold tightly. Against the tugs and yanks of the enraged beast, Bach and Dretphi coordinate their grips and ready themselves. Sliding his knees up relatively underneath him and positioning his feet between him and the archway energy barrier, Bach releases a surge of energy throughout his body, and calls out. “OPEN IT NOW!”

Aristespha and Sotalia simultaneously cast their spell into the barrier, and pierce a widening hole from between Bach’s arms. With muscle definition highlighted by magical energy flow, Bach power lifts himself into a standing position. Crackles of energy spew forth from the contact between his boots and the fully powered energy barrier, and splatters of magically infused plasma rain upon the ground. Dretphi emerges from the widening hole as Bach stands up straight. She puts forth all her strength to climb up Bach in a coordinated fashion, and he changes his grip on her to help continue to hoist her clear. The moment Dretphi clears the barrier, she curls her legs away. Aristespha and Sotalia immediately release their spell.

The opening slams shut on the stretched, black tentacle. It still holds onto Dretphi, and powerfully wrenches against Bach and Dretphi, and tries to harshly yank the two back through the field. Bach grits teeth in a painful wince, and stabilizes his foothold against the barrier upon flows of elder energy. Cideeda witnesses Bach struggling and Dretphi trying her best to get free. She bares her sharp canines, and marches towards the force field. She pulls her shotgun into her hands, reaches into a large pocket on her vest, and retrieves a long metal shell with a sharp, pointy tip. Loading it into the under-barrel of her shotgun, she calls out to Aristespha and Sotalia, and points to a section of force field. “GIVE ME AN OPENING!”

Aristespha and Sotalia quickly exchange glances, summon their magical energies, and pry open a portal in the archway barrier. Cideeda quickly thrusts her shotgun through, takes aim towards the beast, and searches for an opportunity. In the fractions of a second, Cideeda studies the monster, the surroundings, and the small gaps Bach’s golden magical barrier. Many eyes pay attention to the distracting antics of Sebastian, but she notices one lone cybernetic eye fully focused on Bach and Dretphi. She snarls her upper lip, narrows her emerald eyed glare, and shouts to Sebastian. “SEBASTIAN! Go for the eye at the bottom!”

Sebastian halts a moment, glances down to the solitary eye, and zips right in front of it. Summoning his fury, he releases a fiery radiance around his ethereal form. All of the beast’s eyes pay attention to him. Cideeda pulls the trigger. The projectile fires out the under-barrel, rockets through the hallway, slips through a gap in golden barrier, and flies straight underneath the center mass of the monster. It sticks perfectly into a floor tile and remains for a second.

A concussive wave of flame bursts out. The shock wave concentrates beneath the amorphous blob, launches its warping form up into the air, and slams the twisting mass in a thunderous splat against the ceiling plating. Cybernetic eye platforms fly in chaotic orbits around the body, crash into each other, and drift aimlessly across the featureless, dark surface. Tentacles reflexively deflate and retreat to the stunned center blob. The wave of concussive force vents through the many small gaps in the golden magical barrier, and the outer archway force field bulges slightly. Dretphi and Bach free fall down to the ground.

An eerie silence floods the area for seconds, until the sounds of nature return with the faint, muffled background din of a large mass quickly retreating fading away. Dretphi stirs and blinks back to conscious thought. Her eyes search the area from her prone perspective in a confused daze. Eventually she lifts her head up slightly, brushes her hair clear of her face, and notices the strange, awkward expressions upon Sebastian, Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia. Puzzling an absence in her mental haze, she starts to search for Bach, but a strange sensation distracts her. She feels a warm, moist flow of air alternating with a cooler draw of air... upon the middle of her chest. Tilting her head downwards, she recognizes the familiar top of Bach’s brown, white streaked head. But, his face is smothered... by her under armor suited figure.

Dretphi blushes brightly, pushes herself up off of Bach, and immediately swings over to the side to give him some room to breathe. She quickly checks on him as Aristespha rushes over to investigate, and awkwardly states fact. “He is... Breathing.”

Aristespha maintains a professional demeanor as she evaluates Bach’s vitals. “Yes. I believe he passed out from the strain and halting the energy suddenly. He should come to soon.”

Minutes of investigations later, Bach stirs back to consciousness and groggily opens his eyes. Gazing out to the gathered team, he lifts his head up slowly, catches a glimpse of the archway, and immediately backpedals along ground away from the entrance in a fear reflex. The team shifts with him and resettles down to rest a bit. Cideeda lays out on the ground, stares up at the clouds over head, and sighs out all her stress with a wavering laugh. “Oh gods... I think that explosive round sent it packing.”

Sebastian nervously chuckles with hints of hope. “Yeah. I think it did. It took off the other direction after that. Hope it stays deep in that hole.”

Bach props himself up, sniffs sharply through his nose, and rubs the bridge out to the tip. Aristespha quirks her brow curiously, and asks. “Something wrong with your nose?”

Contorting his face to work out the discomfort, Bach perplexes over the odd feeling. “Not really. It’s not broken or anything. Just feels a bit off... or something. Like it got pushed to the side... By something soft? I don’t know how to describe it. I think I’ll be fine. Must have bumped into you Dretphi when we fell down? You okay?”

Dretphi blinks briefly, presents a tight smile while averting her gaze, and nods quickly. “Oh. Uh. Yes.”

Aristespha continues her professional exterior while see eyes Sebastian into silence. Sotalia pivots away covering her mouth, suppresses the chuckling snort fighting to escape, and narrows her humored gold on black eyes at Dretphi. While concentrating a stoic glare firmly upon Sotalia, Dretphi fails to hide the embarrassment slipping through into her slightly red cheeks.

-65-

A gentle cast of purple from the long set sun radiates into the living room of the ranch style house. A soft ambient drone of domestic convenience looms in the air, as the refrigerator’s compressor kicks on and the rush of wind filters through the vents of the wall mounted air conditioner. From behind the kitchen door, light, muffled rumbles of machinery rattle as the sectioned metal panels of the garage door open. With a swift turn of the knob, the door swings quickly open. Sotalia steps in, tilts her head back in dramatic wave of relief, and spreads her arms out. “Oh gods... So good to be back here...”

She moves through the kitchen area, slides out a dining room chair, and plops down. Blinking her gold on black eyes, she rolls her neck in a stretch, slacks her shoulders, and relaxes on the seat. “Dessert may have been a bit too much, but I think earned that much.”

Cideeda walks across of the kitchen floor, faints clicks from her claws upon the tile tapping out. Sighing out her relief, she loosens her body suit, and quickly rounds the table into the hallway. “I’m calling first shower! Need to wash the funk of this mission off of me. Surprised no one said anything at the Pancake Shed.”

Sotalia rolls her eyes playfully and smiles. “Oh, you were fine. I think Rekeeka and the rest of the staff could tell we had rough enough day.”

Aristespha nods as she climbs the steps from the garage, turns around when in the kitchen, and smiles encouragingly to Bach. “Your muscles are going to be VERY sore. While I detected no significant damage, you put your body through a lot of strain and it is going to need to heal.”

Bach winces in a mix of sharp pain and frustration as he braces himself on the door frame. Gritting his teeth with each foot step, he manages to travel up the short stairs into the kitchen with Dretphi behind at the ready. He stands idle as the soreness radiates throughout his body, and he settles a worn gaze to Aristespha. “Yeah... It’s REALLY starting to feel like a did week of workouts in a one day... Oww... Gods, I didn’t realize I had muscles in so many places and how badly they could ache.”

Aristespha smirks sympathetically, nods her understanding, and swiftly moves towards the hallway. “Give me a moment, I have a potion that will help soothe your muscles and boost your natural healing.”

Bach plods ahead through the kitchen gradually, vainly tries to work out the aches in his body, and grimaces during the process. “At this point... Ow... I’ll try anything. Because, I think it’s going to feel a whole lot worse before it gets better.”

Dretphi brushes off her under armor suit as she glances at the remaining armor plates in the garage. She keeps close to Bach while he slowly walks. “Do you need help?”

Bach smiles appreciatively with hints of embarrassment, and braces himself upon one of the dining chairs. “Uh... I think I should be good, but I wouldn’t mind someone keeping me from falling flat on my face. Legs are getting real sore and stiff. Thought I was doing okay when we were eating, but it’s hitting me fast.”

Aristespha arrives from the hallway, presents a vial to Bach, and meets his eyes. “This is a particularly potent potion, and it WILL cause drowsiness. So, I wouldn’t take it until you are ready to go to bed for the night.”

Grasping the glass container from Aristespha, Bach observes the colorful, shifting mix inside while curiously tilting it around. “Oh, okay.”

Sebastian’s ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha, and he studies the vial in Bach’s hand. His eyes widen briefly, and he chuckles with an amused smirk. “Oh, THAT stuff. Yeah, that stuff is pretty powerful. Drowsiness is an understatement, bro. It hits me pretty hard.”

Bach squints his eyes at the concoction, blinks the fatigue out of his eyes, and barely shrugs his shoulders. “Honestly, I wouldn’t mind going to bed early. It’s been quite the day, and my fun bucket is really fucking full right now.”

He manages a hearty chuckle, before he winces and his arm covers his side. “Ow... Yeah, I’m going to bed.”

As Bach stiffly steps ahead, Aristespha catches Dretphi’s attention and nods to her. “I’ll have a similar potion for you in a few minutes.”

Dretphi nods thankfully and stays behind Bach with her hands ready to catch him. Bach grimaces with each step down the hallway’s hardwood floors, and plays off the aches lightly laughing. “I know how I’m feeling. But, how are you holding up?”

Deliberating her response, Dretphi smirks slightly and perks an amused brow. “Stretched thin.”

Bach reflexively snorts in a laugh, holds his stomach, and shakes his head slowly. “Ow. Nicely put.”

Opening the door, he plods slowly into the room. He sheds off his scorched duster onto the floor, stands next to his bed, and plops himself upon mattress. A long sigh of relief escapes him and he closes his eyes briefly. “Gods... What a day...”

Dretphi slowly nods agreement, crosses her arms, and quietly thinks to herself for a moment. Bach blinks his eyes open, carefully sits himself up, and gazes over to Dretphi with hints of concern in his voice. “Hey... You doing okay?”

Snapping back to attention, Dretphi glances over with warm smile, and uncertainly rocks her head side to side. “I will need to... process... today.”

Bach sighs and presents an awkward grin back. “Yeah. Definitely going to need to think through all this. Soon. Not before getting some sleep.”

He lifts the potion from Aristespha up in front of him, unscrews the cap, and sniffs the vial. “Let’s see how hard this stuff really hits.”

Tilting the small bottle back, Bach quaffs down the liquid, grimaces briefly at the taste, and screws the lid back on before setting on the nightstand. “Well, that was... not tasty...”

Dretphi smiles warmly with a light chuckle, catches a stray thought in her mind, and presents it inquiringly. “I have a question.”

Bach settles back down upon the bed, slowly stretches out upon the top, and rests his head on the pillow before gazing to Dretphi. “Okay, what’s the question?”

Pondering out her query cautiously, Dretphi asks and watches Bach’s expression. “Why did you not blast the beast with energy? Would it not have been simpler?”

Searching his mind, Bach sheepishly grins and averts his eyes briefly. “Well... Yeah... But... I didn’t want to... Let you go.”

He sighs deeply, lays out his thoughts, and fights off a yawn. “To be honest... I barely had anything under control. If I was going to do anything with what had, I wanted make sure you were safe. It may have not been the optimal solution... But, it’s the one I know I could live with.”

Dretphi blinks in surprise, bows her head down, and speaks warmly. “Thank you. Bach.”

Bach briefly opens his eyes against the drowsiness, yawns, and smiles. “You’re welcome. You’re worth it. Just forgive me if I’m... Not eager to run laps anytime... Soon...”

A faint blush of pink fills Dretphi’s cheeks. She mulls over a thought, lifts her head up, and starts to open her mouth. A snore halts her, and she studies the sleeping Bach, momentarily confused. After a few seconds, she smirks and giggles quietly to herself. Stepping over to the end of the bed, she grabs hold of Bach’s boot, and gently tugs upon it. Bach stirs briefly in slumber, and mutters incoherently. Dretphi pulls and shakes a bit harder. Bach’s fatigue securely keeps him sleeping, only squirming a bit in defiance. Quirking an intrigued brow, Dretphi gazes over Bach and sighs with a kind smile. She curiously eyes Bach, unstraps his boots loose, and pulls the footwear off. While Bach continues to slumber, Dretphi contemplates the bed covers underneath the sleeping man. She carefully rolls Bach onto his side, pushes the sheets under, and guides him over the opposite way momentarily. With a swift motion, she drapes the covers over Bach, and tucks him in.

Gazing at the slumbering Bach, Dretphi gently brushes his long hair out of his face, holds her hand on his beard covered cheek, and watches him gently snore. She softly pats his face, smiles warmly, and steps quietly on her under armor covered feet, out of the room. With a flick of the light switch, she pulls the door closed and walks down the hallway. Sebastian’s ethereal form drifts down the passage and he smirks humored. “Let me guess, it hit him hard, too?”

Dretphi nods simply and smirks. “Yes. In minutes.”

Grinning with the knowledge, Sebastian laughs softly. “I knew it.”

His expression grows more serious and he meets Dretphi’s eyes. “Hey, just wanted to ask how you are feeling. It was quite the day for all of us, and especially you.”

Dretphi frowns momentarily, sighs, and musters up partial smile. “I will need to process it all.”

Sebastian nods understandingly, placing his hands on his sides. “Yeah. I know how that goes. Just remember we’re all here for you, and you shouldn’t think twice about asking any of us for help. We’ll do what we can.”

An appreciative full smile emerges upon Dretphi’s face. “I know. Thank you.”

A sly grin creeps out from the corner of Sebastian’s mouth and he points his thumb over his shoulder towards the archway into the living area. “Now the other reason I’m here is that Sotalia is mixing up some drinks and wanted to know if you wanted to partake.”

Dretphi’s steely gray eyes light up, and she nods eagerly. Sebastian leads the way as Dretphi follows.

----

Faint traces of very early morning illumination barely contrast against the cold darkness of the room. The outline of an armor stand with an incomplete suit of plating momentarily emerges from the uncomfortable, silent shadows. Dretphi’s steely gray eyes stare widely out into room as she calms her breathing down. She tosses and turns on her bed, settles herself into a workable position, and concentrates on relaxing her body. Muttering comforting logic to herself in grath, she slowly allows her fatigue to guide her to slumber. The moment she drifts off, and her mind kicks her body abruptly awake. Eyes wide in panic, she pants as she rests a hand on her pounding heart. Frustration and fear surge up into a teary mess upon her face. Dretphi sniffs as she rolls over to her side, tightly clenches the sheets, and trembles as her eyes sort through the chaotic thoughts in her head. She struggles to muster any kind of calm as the night surrounding isolates her further into her own frantic state.

A light flicks on out in the hallway and beams into the room from underneath the bedroom door. Bach’s muffled, grumbling voice complains. “...fucking... bright bathroom light...”

The glow dims as another door closes to the hallway. Dretphi sits up on bed, wrapped in the sheets, and stares longingly at the illumination pushing away the surrounding darkness.

Bach opens the bathroom door, steps out into the hallway, and turns around stiffly to fumble for the light switch. Mid rotation, he notices Dretphi peering out from behind her door, and pauses. He blinks to awareness, sighs, and apologetically waves. “Hey. Sorry if I woke you there.”

Dretphi shakes her head, and smiles. “No. It is okay. I was... awake. Why are you up?”

With a slow, careful shrug of the shoulders, Bach awkwardly grins. “Well, going to bed early threw off my sleep schedule a bit. And well, I just can’t convince myself to go back to sleep. Aching muscles and all...”

He looks at Dretphi curiously and returns the question. “What are you doing awake at this hour?”

Dretphi briefly grits her teeth, glances away hesitantly, and fights an avoidant urge. She pauses in thought, and gazes to Bach as she opens the door more. “Yesterday will not leave my mind.”

Bach frowns slightly, ponders a moment, and nods in similar sentiment. “Yeah. Me too. Thoughts are really keeping me awake right now.”

The two share a silent minute, as Bach thinks to himself, and Dretphi wanders off into her head as she idly fidgets with her pajama shirt and shorts. Cracking a smirk, Bach glances over to Dretphi and motions towards the living area archway. “You want to join me and watch some terrible early morning TV? I figured something mindless to watch would be nice. And, I might be more comfortable in the couch chair.”

A smile grows on Dretphi’s tired face and she nods thankfully. “Yes.”

Bach maneuvers rigidly towards the living room with Dretphi following along behind. The two plod over in front of the television. Bach snags the remote off the coffee table and wanders towards the recliner. Dretphi settles along the length of the couch, resting her head on the side next to the recliner. She adjusts a couch pillow underneath her head. Bach eases himself into the chair, and glances over to Dretphi curiously. “By the way, did you take my boots off and tuck me in?”

Dretphi blinks, and awkwardly twists her mouth. “Yes. You fell asleep. Could not wake you easily. Did what I could.”

Bach nods as he reclines back, and points the remote towards the screen. “Oh, okay. Thank you. Was trying to figure that out. That stuff knocked me right out.”

The television flips on with the press of a remote button. After lowering the volume, Bach proceeds to flip through the channels of early morning broadcasts. Eventually, one show contrasts the rest of the entertainment wasteland.

“Next up on Relic Roadshow, famous and infamous episodes marathon...”

Bach glances over to Dretphi. “You okay with Relic Roadshow?”

Dretphi tilts her head up and directs her voice softly. “Yes.”

The two settle their attentions towards the screen and watch items of strange antiquity get evaluated to unexpected prices. Arrogance earns the reward of embarrassingly low values, while humble people realize their unexpected treasures. A sleep deprived, humored Dretphi blurts out softly. “Cannot be worth... much...”

Blinking slowly and fighting off a yawn, Bach smirks with a lift of an eyebrow. “I don’t know. We’ve seen some real garbage get a decent price.”

Dretphi hums in modest agreement, lets her eyes close, and settles into the couch more. Bach stifles a snort and quips as the appraised value appears on the screen. “Really? Huh.”

Groggily opening her eyes, Dretphi glances to the screen and notes the final price. She drifts her gaze over to Bach in the recliner, smiles tired but warmly, and settles her head back on the pillow. “Surprising...”

She closes her eyes fully and allows herself to relax. Minutes later, the end credits for the episode appear on the television. During the intermission between, Bach turns his attention to Dretphi and watches her lay quietly. He slowly folds up the recliner, lifts himself up, and stiffly walks as silently as possible through archway into the hallway. Dretphi cracks an eye open and listens to Bach’s mumbling as he searches through a linen closet. Seconds later, Bach returns with two blankets in hand. He tosses one over to the recliner and opens up the other. Slowly and cautiously, Bach maneuvers around the coffee table, flaps the blanket open, and glides the cover over Dretphi. He pulls the corners around for maximum coverage, and then eases back over to his recliner. Grabbing the blanket, he settles back into the chair, covers himself, and resumes watching Relic Roadshow.

Dretphi stirs slightly. Her hand grips hold of the cover, and she snuggles up in the blanket. Soon she drifts off to slumber with a content smile.

----

The tall, thin Captain Hackle walks thoughtfully with his arms behind his back and studies the archway barrier sealing off the large entrance at the perimeter of the circular clearing. He pauses a moment to notice the morning sun, glances over to Sergeant Violet with a calm smirk, and lifts an intrigued brow. “So, what is the situation at the present?”

Sergeant Violet flips through a clipboard of paperwork, and recites a few key entries from a collection of notes. “The facility force field is still active after reactivation. It seems to be maintaining strength at the moment, but minor fluctuations have been detected. The adventuring team’s report detailed the state of the facility... and the hostile creature within.”

Captain Hackle nods as he ponders further with each step towards the gathering of Greater Azure Alliance specialists keeping distance from the shielded facility entrance. Sergeant Violet follows dutifully along side Hackle, spots a familiar lanky, half-emin man, and calls out to him. “SPECIALIST THAYAL! Status report!”

Specialist Thayal nearly twists himself back around as he pivots abruptly to salute Sergeant Violet. “God fu- Yes! Sergeant! Barrier is still stable. We have done initial scouting of the area and have not found any other entrances given current knowledge of the structure. A team has been dispatched to use ground penetrating radar and survey magics to properly map out the extent of the structure. We are maintaining safe distance for now.”

Captain Hackle glances over to Sergeant Violet with a humored smirk, and settles his inquiring gaze upon Specialist Thayal. “Good to hear. Any sighting of the creature?”

Specialist Thayal contorts his face and uncertainly grimaces as he eyes over to the facility’s archway barrier. “Nothing confirmed. A few of us believe we saw movement beyond that second golden magical barrier, but it’s been hard to get a good visual going through the force field and that magic barrier.”

He pauses in thought, narrows a curious glance to Captain Hackle, and asks. “Captain, is this the same adventuring group from that one cybernetic research base a few months ago?”

Captain Hackle nods calmly with a smile, chuckles, and steps purposefully closer towards the archway barrier. “Yes it is. And, I see they’ve left quite an impressive feat of their handiwork behind.”

Disappointment washes over Specialist Thayal as mild annoyance appears in his expression. “Yeah... That’s going to take some doing to remove, Captain. It looks way more involved than that last barrier we pulled off.”

Sergeant Violet flips through a few pages of notes, quickly skims over a section of a report, and directs her voice to Captain Hackle. “It says here they constructed the barrier as a means of sealing the creature long enough to explore other more permanent options. They did not know the facility’s systems were going to try to reactivate the archway force field, or even if that was a possibility. They had to evacuate quickly, but felt they needed to make efforts for containment due to the dangerous nature of the creature.”

Captain Hackle’s brown eyes narrow upon a warping mass in the darkness, and he sneers his upper lip, curling his graying mustache. He focuses through the outer energy field, and aims his gaze through an opening in the golden magical barrier. His posture shifts to a rigid, straight and readied stance. He speaks cool and stern to both Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal. “I think we’d be wise to leave that barrier in place for now...”

Both Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal notice the dramatic shift in the Captain’s tone, and quickly focus their attention towards the strange, distant movement in the unnatural darkness past the golden barrier. Around the furthest gentle bend, a black mass briefly contrasts against the cyclic red glow of emergency lights. In the visible moments, an array of pinpoint crimson eyes peer out down the long corridor, gliding along the featureless body of the beast. Behind Captain Hackle, Sergeant Violet, and Specialist Thayal, a number of other military personnel notice the creature. Tension floods the air as mages ready themselves, and soldiers draw their weapons. Two heavily armored, three meter tall mechs stomp into place as access panels close up and armor surrounds the each pilot in protective layering. Both of the robotic suits raise their arm mounted weaponry and await further orders.

The creature’s form warps and undulates slightly. It’s eyes retreat from view along with the black spherical mass. After a minute, Captain relaxes his posture, exhales a long sigh of relief, and slowly shakes his head. He pivots around, clears his throat, and calls out. “Stand down! It’s not looking for a fight right now. Let us hope it keeps it that way.”

He gazes over to Sergeant Violet and instructs with a calm demeanor. “Please coordinate a rotating watch. Until we have the facility externally mapped, I want to make sure there’s a mage, technician, and someone in a mech ready to act... In case it decides it wants that fight.”

Sergeant Violet nods quickly, salutes Captain Hackle, and dashes off to the other troops. “Yes, Captain!”

Captain Hackle thinks a moment and calls out to Sergeant Violet. “And, tell the drivers to get the trucks with mounted guns up here. Even if it means clearing out a path. We may need such for larger equipment anyway.”

After seeing Sergeant Violet acknowledging his orders, he turns to Specialist Thayal and speaks with determination. “Thayal. We did restock the explosive rounds for the auto cannons on the mechs, correct?”

Specialist Thayal nods and quickly replies. “Oh, yes, Captain.”

Captain Hackle stands up straight, creeps a grin out of the corner of his mouth, and narrows his glare towards the darkness deeper within the facility. “Good. Tell the crews to load up both mechs with those rounds. And, if you run into the explosives crew before I do, send them my way. I need to have a selective conversation with them.”

He frowns slightly and twists his graying mustache to either side of his face. “As much as the higher ups would like access to what is in there, I’d much prefer to keep what terrors sealed in there permanently.”

----

Upon the table in the dining area of the two-story house, both Deedri and Tassilda sort through magical reagents and other supplies. While Deedri inventories items, her furry ear perks over to the sound of another message chime from Tassilda’s aetherphone. Pausing from her task at the earliest convenience, Tassilda grabs hold of her aetherphone off the tabletop, flips through a few menus, and begins to tap out a response in a messenger application. A smile appears on her face as she rereads the paragraph and double-checks her own reply. Deedri sets aside her work for the moment, gazes over to Tassilda with a sly smile, and inquires. “So, how’s Daedrican doing?”

Tassilda blinks in surprise, glances up from her phone to Deedri, and bites her lower lip with hints of embarrassment. “Oh... Um... He’s set to be released. He’ll be back with the Chrome Crusaders on light duty for a while, until he fully recovers. It sounds like a bunch of paper work filing and doing inventory.”

Deedri smiles happily, and wags her tail. “That’s great news! I’m sure he’ll be happy to get back to work. Did he mention when the group will be heading out?”

A tinge of sadness darkens Tassilda’s mood, and she sighs with a slight slump of her shoulders. “This coming Saturday. He says they’ve got another patrol run to do on the side routes towards Hattan. They’re finishing up repairs on equipment and he’s the last one they are waiting on to be released.”

Noticing Tassilda’s shift in attitude, Deedri leans over with a scheming grin, and speaks in a whisper to Tassilda. “I could stand to stock up on some supplies from clinic. Would you like to join me next time I go?”

Tassilda’s face lights up with an appreciative smile, and she flutters her light blue on black eyes with nod. “Why, of course. How could I turn down such an offer?”

Deedri settles back in her seat with a grin, and resumes sorting through medical supplies. “I’ll make a list and convince Chad to drive us out tomorrow then. You can assist me with properly transporting supplies, after an hour or two.”

Over in the living room through the archway, Chad sits on the couch and studies a number of documents out on the coffee table. He slowly shakes his head as he processes the schedules, itineraries, and other lists of lodging information. “For a resort retreat, this is ridiculously complicated.”

Veevi stretches out on the couch next to Chad, groans dismissively, and lounges playfully. “Tell me about it! Are we ever going to get a chance to actually enjoy the resort?! It just seems like we’re running around from one appearance to another with no break in between. Then, we have to patrol around... Ungh...”

Modoran scans over the paperwork and nods as he ponders the information. “It’s just the resort trying to minimize problems. I get the feeling they’ve hosted this ordeal a few times and know who they are dealing with.”

Chad furrows his brow, glances up to Modoran, and puzzles over the comment. “What makes you say that?”

Sitting down on the floor across from Chad at the coffee table, Modoran points out a few evuukian names and room assignments, and taps out on matching floor maps. “They’re trying to keep all the main houses separated into all the different sections. But... They’ve also placed them in areas where they’d have large enough spas and hot spring pools nearby. That way they won’t be inclined to split up and wander off in smaller groups.”

He places a dusky, bluish gray hand down to rotate the map, compares it to another list of evuukian names, and gradually nods. “Oh yeah. They know who they are dealing with. They’ve put the infamous drinkers close to small side lounges with bars, so they don’t have far to stumble to get back to their rooms. They’re also setting up extra staff to be at the ready to escort people back to their rooms.”

Arranging papers for his point of view, he studies more of the room assignments, hums to himself, and mutters out a few names while contemplating. “They have done a good enough job. But, I can see there’s going to be a few problem areas we may need to keep watch over.”

Chad blinks in surprise at Modoran’s knowledge, and leans over to inspect the documents Modoran examines. “Really? Why?”

Modoran sighs gritting his teeth, rolls his eyes, and grumbles out his frustrations. “Well... These two smaller houses just had a big trade deal go sour between them, and neither side is exactly in the forgiving mood. I don’t think they’d fight over it in the open. But, I doubt it’d take much if they had a few drinks in them, and spot where they knew no one was looking.”

Trakenthin narrows his gaze upon Modoran from his seat in a couch chair and studies the information upon the table top. “Our schedules are not forgiving. We could patrol that spot. There would still be large time gaps.”

Modoran scratches his chin thoughtfully, deliberates the situation in his mind, and taps out a spot on the room assignments. “THIS might be a solution. Let’s see if the resort can switch these rooms around. I know this guy. Both those small houses have been wanting to get on his good side for YEARS. I doubt they’d want to cause too much trouble near his room and look like dumbasses in front of him. Also, he might like being further away from the rest of his house at the moment.”

Slowly shaking his head, Chad continues to stare at the mass of information on the coffee table, and directs a curious tone to Modoran. “I’ll see if they can manage that. How do you know about all this?”

Modoran shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly as he analyzes the schedules, making mental notes. “I worked in the service industry for a long time to make ends meet. When you get big conventions or meet ups like this, you have to factor in everything to keep it as peaceful as possible. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for total fucking disaster.”

Chad nods gradually, impressed, and cocks his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. “I see. But, how do you know about all the Evuukian politics going on right now? I didn’t think you were that close to any of those houses.”

Modoran’s dark blue eyes flit wide momentarily out of sight of everyone else, and he hides a reflexive grit of the teeth. Presenting a casual demeanor, he plays off the question. “Oh, that? It’s kind of hard to not hear about all that stuff. There’s scandal after scandal that hits the evuukian news networks ALL the time. You can’t browse big news aethersites without seeing some article talking about the latest incident between houses.”

Veevi’s fuzzy ears perk up, and she reaches for the nearby remote. “That reminds me. That new evuukian drama is coming on.”

Chad ponders Modoran’s answer and agrees as he studies the paperwork more. “I can see that. If they’re making shows about it, then it must be pretty common place.”

Modoran awkwardly smiles, briefly nods, and points out another possible issue on the room assignment map. As Trakenthin examines the general layout of the resort and mulls over some areas, a knock sounds out from the front behind him. He pauses a moment, sits up, and glances over to the door. Meeting the puzzled gazes of everyone else, he stands up and walks towards the door. Veevi twists her mouth and tosses her pink hair back. “Did someone order anything?

Chad shakes his head as he watches the front door. “No. I don’t think so. But, that reminds me, we do need to think about what to do for dinner.”

Trakenthin steps up to the door, places his hand on the door knob, and pauses for moment. He shakes off an odd feeling, turns the handle, and pulls open the door inwards. Standing just outside the door, an older grath man stands waiting outside. Similar in height to Trakenthin, the grath man turns slowly around and smirks proudly. Trakenthin’s hazel eyes open wide as he recognizes the graying variant of his dirty blonde hair on the man, and looks upon the similar dark bronze skin face. He remains speechless for moments until the man greets him with a friendly grath greeting. Shock and sheer confusion hide behind Trakenthin’s stoic facade as he notices the teams of camera of crews lining up recording equipment for the perfect shot of the developing scene. After a few moments, Trakenthin forces an uncomfortable smirk upon his face and returns the greeting rather awkwardly. The grath man chuckles slightly, shrugs his shoulders, and gazes right at Trakenthin. “It has been a long time.”

Trakenthin slowly, stiffly nods, and meekly replies. “Yes. It has.”

The grath man looks around, peers inside, and presents a stoic lift of the chin. “May I come in?”

Pausing in thought and clenching the door knob out of sight, Trakenthin draws in a long breath of air, and speaks simply. “Yes...”

He steps back and aside to allow the grath man to come in. While the man surveys the room, Trakenthin closes the door shut and releases a quiet, nervous sigh. The rest of the team’s attention shifts over to the new person in the house and gaze curiously at the grath man. Chad stands up from the couch, walks towards Trakenthin and the man, and puzzles at the situation. “Well, we weren’t expecting company. Um, Trakenthin, who is this?”

Trakenthin stands next to the man, glances over briefly, and settles his gaze out into the room after calming breath. “This is my... Birth father...”

As the rest of group interest piques with the new arrival, and they get up to greet Trakenthin’s father. Trakenthin stands by, quietly, a nervous tremor sneaking into his hand as he remains stoic and amicable.

----

Relaxing in a recliner, the elderly, well-dressed Dr. Dawkins stares distantly out onto the evening skyline and eases out a long sigh. His eyes wander around the room of artifacts, awards, and photographs upon the walls and shelves. He idly taps his fingers on a half-full glass of brown liquor, and slowly frowns as he wanders into his own thoughts. Minutes pass by and his expression saddens at the conclusion of each thought. He cocks his head slightly as a knock soft echoes out from his front door. Briefly he focuses his attention towards the sound, quickly searches his mind, and squints his green eyes at an empty Tuesday spot on a wall calendar. Another series of polite knocks tap out on front door.

Dr. Dawkins tugs the corner of mouth, perks up his brow, and eases himself standing. He walks initially stiff into the nicely decorated dining room, steps into a cozy entry room with a fireplace, and stands at the front door. He closes one eye, peers through the peephole, and tries to see who is on the other side. Pausing in surprise, he pulls his face away from the peephole blinking dumbfounded, flips a nearby light switch, and looks through to the other side of the door again. His jaw drops agape, he stands up straight, and stares blankly. “My gods...”

In series of motions, he undoes the small security chain and unlocks the deadbolt, and opens the door. Isaac greets Dr. Dawkins with a pleasant smile and bows slightly as he adjusts his blue scarf against the wind. “Sorry to drop by so unexpectedly, but I didn’t have time to send a proper advance notice.”

Dr. Dawkins stares at Isaac for a few moments, dons a short grin, and chuckles to himself. “My gods... Isaac. What an unexpected, though welcomed surprise! Please come in, my friend.”

Isaac smirks with a little reservation, glances around, and steps inside. “Thank you.”

Dr. Dawkins directs Isaac inside with a delighted smile, and pats him on the shoulder. “I told you that you may darken my doorstep any time. You will always be a friend to me and welcome in my home.”

As Isaac steps in, a slight frown appears on his face and he gazes over to Dr. Dawkins. “I really do appreciate the sentiment. I just didn’t know if the invitation was still valid after all these years, and after all that I’ve done during them.”

With firm squeeze on Isaac’s shoulder, Dr. Dawkins stares right into Isaac’s gray eyes, and narrows his gaze briefly. “I’ve come to be more aware of your activities as of late... As have some others. Admittedly, I’ve had my suspicions for quite some time. But, right now all I see if Isaac Huxley, my old friend. And, someone I wouldn’t mind sharing an evening drink with.”

A bright, gracious smile appears on Isaac’s face, and he nods thankfully towards his friend. “Thank you, again, Dr. Dawkins.”

A similar grin appears on Dr. Dawkins as he steps more energetically while he leads Isaac through the house towards the living room. “Gods almighty, there is so much catching up we have to do. You ARE going to stay awhile are you?”

Isaac blinks to attention and quirks an eyebrow towards Dr. Dawkins. “You certain about that? I mean if you know exactly what I’ve done over the years... I wouldn’t want to impose upon you...”

Dr. Dawkins slowly shakes his head and scoffs with a curl of his upper lip. “Bah. Impose all you want. No one bothers me out here. I’ve got a spare bedroom with a wonderful view of the backyard, a fine desk, and a recently purchased bed.”

With a snort, Isaac chuckles and shakes his head. “So, you finally got rid of those antiquities?”

Nodding his head while he directs Isaac to another recliner in the room, Dr. Dawkins laughs and grins with a sarcastic edge. “Yes, I finally realized there are some museum pieces not worth curating.”

He settles down into his recliner, glances over to Isaac, and rolls his eyes at himself. “Truth be told, I was sitting around one day pondering about random things, and damned if it didn’t dawn me to do the math. Once I figured out how many years I had those things, I just couldn’t really bring myself to lay on them anymore.”

While setting up another glass next to Isaac on the small table between the recliners, he laughs and shakes his head with a bit embarrassment. “Gods, I really should have done it years ago. Those new beds are so much nicer on my aging back.”

Isaac supports his glass as Dr. Dawkins pours a healthy portion of brown liquor in. Dr. Dawkins tops his glass up, rests the bottle down, and picks the drink up. Isaac lifts his glass up, and the two clink glasses together, and share long sips of the alcohol. They quietly stare out at the evening light through the windows and share a few minutes of silence. Dr. Dawkins glances over with a sly grin and hoists an intrigued brow. “So, the fateful question... What ever brings you back to these parts?”

Postponing his response with a long swig of liquor, Isaac deliberates the query upon his face, and hums in thought. “Well, to be perfectly honest, I recently encountered a strange, unexpected turn of events... That left me reconsidering how I was approaching things... And, I felt I needed to consult someone I felt was wiser than me.”

Dr. Dawkins snorts out his amusement, narrows his quizzical stare at Issac, and frowns slightly as he gazes back out into the evening skyline. “You are more than welcome to what wisdom I may still have, but it is quite ever full of doubt these days.”

Isaac narrows his concerned gaze at Dr. Dawkins, and settles his white haired head against the back of the recliner. “You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. Orth Ridge was NOT your fault.”

A regretful wince creases Dr. Dawkins face as the glints of tears form in the corners of the his eyes. “I truly do appreciate the sentiment, especially coming from you. But, gods, I have not been able to find it in me to bring forgiveness to myself. Haven’t been as sure of myself since, either.”

A sad expression washes over Isaac, and he pours a long swing of alcohol down his throat. Dr. Dawkins hems, and dons a mild, hopeful smile to Isaac. “But, it has humbled me greatly and tempered my opinions... I’ve certainly learned to be whole lot less judgmental of anyone’s methods. Just do not feel like I’m really of any authority to question them.”

Isaac cracks a smirk, slightly shrugs his shoulders, and nods understandingly. “Well... The truly tragic are the ones who gain no wisdom from their adversities.”

The two men peacefully sip on their liquor in silence for a few minutes, and idly think. Isaac eventually breaks the quiet with the main topic. “So, I’ve come here for your help on a few matters.”

Dr. Dawkins steadies his drink, perks up a white eyebrow, and smirks intrigued. “I figured as much. And with most matters, I will be happy to assist. But, I am not the big mover and shaker I used to be with the Grand Library. Still... I do have a few favors I need to cash in before they go too stale. So, you may as well benefit from them.”

Isaac smiles appreciatively and nods with a lift of his glass. “You are ever so kind. Unfortunately, there might be one thing that could prove a bit too difficult for the both of us.”

An inquisitive expression warms on Dr. Dawkins and he narrows an intrigued gaze towards Isaac. “Oh. Really? Now whatever would that happen to be?”

Twisting his mouth while gauging Dr. Dawkin’s reaction, Isaac calmly replies with a bit of reservation in his tone. “WHERE Dr. Malkav is?”

Dr. Dawkins’s green eyes flit wide, and he cocks his head back as he stares curiously at Isaac. “Good gods... Now you have my intrigue. Why ever do you want to find that crazy old bastard for?”

A sly grin appears on Isaac’s lips, and he chuckles out his amusement. “What if I told you, that crazy old bastard... Was RIGHT.”

Slowly sitting upright in his recliner, Dr. Dawkin’s rests his drink down on the table between, and focuses an intense gaze upon Isaac. “NOW... You have my full attention. I do hope you are not playing some elaborate joke at my expense.”

Isaac meets Dr. Dawkin’s look with an excited smile, and his face lights up. “What if I told you I have PROOF that there IS a way...”

An examining stare analyzes Isaac’s face, and Dr. Dawkins cocks his head to the side in genuine wonder and academic excitement. “Well... I certainly would hope you wouldn’t keep me waiting, and present such evidence before me.”

Resting his drink on the table, Isaac leans himself off the recliner and stands up from it. He smiles eagerly and nods. “Of course not. I have that particular evidence in my car. It might take some time to fully explain the significance, but it’s a fascinating process I learned from a very bright future prospect for the Grand Library.”

Dr. Dawkins quickly rises up from his chair, steadies himself, and follows Isaac, as the two head towards the front door. “I am a retired man. I’ve got a frustrating surplus of idle time I’d love to find a good use for.”

A new excited energy sparks youthful life in Isaac’s eyes, as he opens the front door. “Well, then you might be quite interested in a few other of my notes and other unpublished discoveries.”

Waving a finger at Isaac, Dr. Dawkins grins slyly at him as the two approach his car. “Gods almighty, I am so glad you finally came here. I do hope you are planning to stay for at a least week or more.”

He points over towards one of the doors in a large garage, and motions Isaac to it. “Let me get the garage door open, and you can hide your car in there. That way we can take our time tonight and how ever long we need.”

Isaac furrows his brow as he stands next to his sedan, and laughs as he scratches his head of white and gray hair. “Well, I didn’t mean to completely upset your schedule.”

Dr. Dawkins shakes his head and scoffs with a dry grin. “Bah, to hell with my schedule. I’ll just tell everyone I’ve got a terrible case of something in graphic detail, and you won’t believe how happy they will be that I stayed home.”

Isaac blinks in utter surprise and cocks his head to side. Dr. Dawkins smirks and rolls his eyes at the notion. “You will NOT believe what you can get away with when people think you are a senile, old washed up retiree.”

Stifling his laughter, Isaac nods in agreement and ponders a moment. “I have to ask, is that old Pancake Shed on highway two thirty one still around?”

Dr. Dawkins grins with a chuckle as pauses in thought. “Oh, yes. Despite what’s changed over the decade, that’s still a fixture. I can’t fathom how the damned thing stays in business being on that ancient route.”

Isaac dons a bold smile and opens his car’s door. “I think people like us later tonight. If you don’t mind sneaking out, and keeps a low profile.”

Pausing in thought for a moment, Dr. Dawkins wags finger at Isaac and nods. “They do have good late night coffee.”

Timeline

March 3017

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