Ain't A Hero

Season 10

Bryan Schuder

Ain't A Hero: Season 10 by Bryan W. Schuder is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 InternationalCCBYNCSA

Official Enough Release

Updated 03/24/2025

Ain't A Hero

Season 10

Dedications

Timeline

Episode 118

Episode 119

Episode 120

Episode 121

Episode 122

Episode 123

Episode 124

Episode 125

Episode 126

Episode 127

Episode 128

Episode 129

Episode 130

Epilogues

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

Timeline

March 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

Episode 17

Episode 18

Episode 19

Episode 20

30

31

Episode 21

Episode 22

April 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

Episode 23

Episode 24

Episode 25

Episode 26

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Episode 26

Episode 27

Episode 28

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Episode 29

Episode 30

Episode 31

Episode 32

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

Episode 32

Episode 33

Episode 34

Episode 35

27

28

29

30

Episode 36

Episode 37

Episode 38

May 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

Episode 39

Episode 40

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Episode 40

Episode 41

Episode 42

Episode 43

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

Episode 43

Episode 44

Episode 45

Episode 46

Episode 47

18

19

21

22

23

24

25

Episode 47

Episode 48

Episode 49

26

27

28

29

30

31

Episode 49

Episode 50

Episode 51

Episode 52

Episode 53

June 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

Episode 54

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Episode 54

Episode 55

Episode 56

Episode 57

Episode 58

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Episode 58

Episode 59

Episode 60

Episode 61

Episode 62

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

Episode 63

Episode 64

Episode 65

Episode 66

Episode 67

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

Episode 68

Episode 69

Episode 70

Episode 71

30

31

Episode 71

July 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

Episode 72

Episode 73

Episode 74

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Episode 74

Episode 75

Episode 76

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

Episode 76

Episode 77

Episode 78

Episode 79

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

Episode 79

Episode 80

Episode 81

Episode 82

27

28

29

30

31

Episode 82

Episode 83

August 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

Episode 83

Episode 84

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Episode 84

Episode 85

Episode 86

Episode 87

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

Episode 88

Episode 89

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

Episode 89

Episode 90

Episode 91

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

Episode 92

Episode 93

Episode 94

Episode 95

Episode 96

Episode 97

31

Episode 97

Episode 98

September 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

5

6

Episode 98

Episode 99

Episode 100

Episode 101

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

Episode 101

Episode 102

Episode 103

Episode 104

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

Episode 104

Episode 105

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Episode 105

Episode 106

Episode 107

28

29

30

Episode 107

Episode 108

October 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

4

Episode 108

Episode 109

Episode 110

Episode 111

Episode 112

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Episode 112

Episode 113

Episode 114

Episode 115

Episode 116

Episode 117

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Episode 117

Episode 118

Episode 119

Episode 120

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

Episode 121

Episode 122

26

27

28

29

30

31

Episode 123

Episode 124

Episode 125

November 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

1

Episode 125

Episode 126

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Episode 127

Episode 128

Episode 129

Episode 130

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Episode 130

-118-

Emanuel blinks his green eyes and cocks his head. Staring at Max just outside the threshold of his house, he narrows an incredulous stare and firmly grips the door frame. "Excuse me? What do you mean, what the fuck I was thinking-"

Max's eye twitches, and he snarls his upper lip. "Don't fucking bullshit me now, Emanuel! You damn well know exactly what I'm talking about! You sent the gods damned Dark Lord FUCKING Noxian straight to ME!"

Glancing around in the darkness upon the well kept front lawn of the remote house, Emanuel twists his mouth uncomfortably and narrows annoyed his gaze at Max. "I sent Isaac to you. I figured he was likely the most capable person that could possibly find you. And, I might say, he obviously did."

Rolling his blue eyes in disgust, Max pinches the bridge of his nose, draws a long, sharp breath in, and groans loudly. "Don't pull this shit on me, Emanuel. We're both too old for this game."

He glares at Emanuel, rolling his shoulders, and grimaces. "Listen, I'm willing to overlook the sheer gods damned stupidity that possessed you. But, I HAVE to know how deranged your thought process had to be you doddering, ancient FUCK UP!"

Emanuel straightens his posture, tilting his head back slightly, and glowers at Max. "Maxwell. I did what I thought was right. I would hope you would be the one to understand the needs of someone like Isaac and assist him."

Straining to keep his calm, Max leans his neck to one side with a faint crack and angles it the other way with a hissing breath. "Oh, yeah! I helped him. The only way someone having to entertain a lunatic could... Give him just enough to be satisfied, and pray that he leaves you alive afterwards!"

Focusing his contempt upon Max, Emanuel huffs derisively. "He was perfectly reasonable with me. I don't see what the problem is with helping a former student on his path."

Max blinks in disbelief, leaning forward, and grits his teeth, growling. "Stop playing stupid. I thought we both AGREED that we were to leave Isaac to his own path. Especially, to keep out of his supposed less-than-legal activities under his alter ego!"

Emanuel tightens a grip on the door handle, glares at Max, and stiffens his upper lip. "Yes. And... I DID. But, there was nothing in our agreement if he came to us for honest assistance-"

Snapping a point at Emanuel, Max snorts and yells out. "Oh, fuck you! Don't you try that skirting around the language shit with me! You can be such an exacting asshole!"

He sighs long with a faint grumble, wincing his eyes closed, and draws in air through his clenched teeth. "So... Are we going to keep arguing out here? Or, can I come inside, and we can discuss how to unfuck this situation you've put yourself in?"

Slowly pushing the door closed, Emanuel twists his mouth and shakes his head. "Max. It is late. And, I believe you need some time to calm down and become a bit more reasonable than you are currently."

The gap between the door edge and frame narrows. A dirt caked boot shoves itself into the divide and blocks the way. Max places a hand on the front door, leans close to the opening, and grumbles out. "I've traveled A LONG way to be here. Don't think I haven't had the time to reason this all out. So, let me in and let's talk."

Emanuel pulls in a stiff breath, gradually nodding, and sighs. "That is true. And, it would be awfully rude of me to not provide some lodging to an old friend..."

The door slowly pulls open. Rolling his blue eyes, Max straightens his thin frame and moves his hand away from the front door. "Okay. Good. Now let's-"

Heavy wood slams against Max's boot. Emanuel drives the solid core front door against Max's foot, repeating attempts to close the entry without mercy. Reflexively yanking his boot out of the way, Max hops back and braces against a porch support column with a yelp. Strings of curses merge into an elaborate weave of anger. Max focuses a vengeful glare on the sealed doorway. "YOU BASTARD! OW! FUCK!"

From inside the house, Manuel yells with a hint of satisfaction. "You are free to sleep in my front lawn! I will talk to you in the morning after you

’

ve had a decent night of sleep... And... Stop being a petulant shit!"

Listening to the locks sound out from the other side of the heavy door, Max growls under his breath, eases himself down the front porch stairs, and limps over to his landed hover truck. He drops the back tailgate, flips up a tarp covering boxes of cargo, and searches through the dim light from the house. In the middle of his hunt, the outside lights go dark, and Max growls out. "Real fuckin' cute, Emanuel."

Max rummages through his pants pocket, pulling out his battered aetherphone, and taps upon the menu. A bright light shines out from the device, and he resumes his search. Minutes later, a wide, determined grin grows on Max's face, and he hefts up a meter long, weathered crowbar. He snaps his attention over towards the house, noticing Emanuel's short, white haired head peeking through the curtains, and waves the tool at him. "Don't worry! I got my house key RIGHT HERE!"

Emanuel's green eyes widen, and he calls out from inside. "Don't you gods damned dare, you lunatic!"

Max plods up to the porch, hops up the steps, and stands in front of the door. With a mean chuckle, he places the crook of the crowbar firmly against the front door. A few hard taps against the solid wood later, he calls out. "Listen, we're having this discussion. Stop stalling and avoiding shit like you always do!"

From the other side of the door, Emanuel sounds out with heavy irritation. "I think avoiding some deluded maniac is perfectly acceptable. Especially a deranged old, fucking twat like you! Now get off my lawn! And go find some abandoned lot to park that shit heap you call a truck in."

Silence swells out from the conflict and pushes away the natural, night-time ambiance. Cracking an amused grin, Max rhythmically raps the crook of the crowbar against the front door. "Emanuel... Come out and play... Emanuel! COME OUT... AND PLAY!"

Projecting his disgust out from inside, Emanuel yells out. "I'd like to see your ancient ass try! You'll probably throw your back out from trying to get that crowbar into the door."

He shouts out commandingly. "NO. Why don't you just STOP before I have to call the cops AND an ambulance for you."

Max blinks a few times and glances around, tapping the crowbar on the front of the house. He turns his gaze over to the side and narrows his attention upon the large, tall front windows. Stepping slowly along the front porch, he constantly raps the crowbar along the brick wall of the house. "You know... You're right. So..."

Stopping in front of the middle, largest pane of glass in the frames, he smirks defiantly. He harshly taps the crowbar upon the clear surface. "Your choice! You open the door, or I open the window!"

Emanuel glares from the entry room through an archway into a long dining room, and jabs a point at Max on the outside of the window. "Don't you dare, you miserable psychopath! Gods damn it, I just got those replaced."

Pausing his rapping crowbar, Max quirks his brow and cocks his head of tied-back white hair. "Psycho? That REAL funny coming from you! Have you forgotten your own body count in your old age? Because, I still distinctly remember where we planted a few bandits."

Narrowing a furious glare, Emanuel pivots swiftly and rushes down the hallway. Max cracks a satisfied grin, laughing, and draws back the crowbar. "Finally! Dropping that fragile old man act..."

With a firm swing, the metal crook smashes through the front pane. Fractures cascade out. Shards split free. Fragments rain down upon the hard wood. Running the crowbar around the frame perimeter, Max clears out the remaining glass, stomps his boot upon the floor, and slips inside. He glances around the dimly lit house and calls out. "Okay. I'm inside. Let's stop this and talk now. I'll even pay for an Adventure Burger run..."

Walking around the table, he pauses a moment, pivots partially towards the front window, and rolls his eyes. "AND, the window, too."

Cautiously investigating the house, he slowly leaves the dining room, crossing through the entry, and steps into the hallway. He glances into the living room full of decorations and awards. Max freezes, hearing a familiar cough. Straightening his thin frame, he turns slowly and faces down the hall, tilting his head in surprise. Emanuel smirks confidently, gripping hold of a large, barrel ended rifle, and narrows his gaze. "OH. We'll talk about how much you are going to pay for that window... TOMORROW."

Max squints his blue eyes and cocks his head to the side, muttering to himself. "Is that the..."

A chuckle surges into a cackle, and he stifles a snort. "Gods almighty! That old thing?! Emanuel, you must be getting old. We NEVER found a power cell for that vortex cannon."

Emanuel flicks a finger across a power switch. Illuminated channels ignite to life across the weapon, a low hum builds to a higher pitch whine, and a faint glow shines within the dark, wide muzzle. Max blinks in disbelief, and Emanuel grins triumphantly, laughing. "Of course, I know. That's why I had one made to specifications I found."

Max's glances to either side of him and steps out of the hall into the living room. "Okay... Well... Do you even know how to fire it?"

Emanuel lifts an indignant brow. He spins down a dial to the lowest setting, carefully aims the weapon away from the archway into the living room, and levels the sights towards the garage door at the end of the hallway. Squeezing the trigger fully, a pulse of energy bursts out. A tight ring of translucent power zips down the hall. Air whips around the torus, stirs up dust, rattles picture frames, and ruffles loose paperwork down the length of the corridor. The ring splashes against the garage door, briefly bending the wood, and dissipates. The blasts sounding out from down the hallway, Max peeks down towards the garage and snaps his wary gaze back at Emanuel. He slinks back into the living room and pats around his shirt. Checking his shirt pocket, he retrieves a hexagon artifact with fine, intricate channels. Reciting an incantation, he carefully gestures out with one hand and flows magical energy with his other into the handheld trinket. The channels in the artifact spark to life and translucent barrier forms as the device hovers up. The transparent tower shield forms fully, and Max wills the cover at the ready in front of him, calling out. "You aren't the only one with new tricks!"

The hovering shield launches out into the hallway with Max behind it. He charges down the length. Emanuel grits his teeth, levels his aim, and hesitates, his sights wandering away from Max's outline. The hovering barrier stops short of Emanuel and forces him to point the weapon away. Max reaches around the shield and grips hold of the weapon in Emanuel possession, yanking it free. Switching the device off, Max tosses it to the side and snaps his full attention upon Emanuel, huffing. "Okay! You stubborn bastard, ready to give up-"

The sentence stops short with a right hook into Max's face. With Max recovering and the tower shield spell drifting off, Emanuel flexes his arms, readying his stance, and plants his feet on the floor. Max shakes back to his senses, barely getting his defense up. Emanuel deftly unleashes a flurry of blows. Strike after strike falls upon Max and drives him back down the hall. Emanuel's body tenses in anticipation for each attempt to counter. Growling out his frustration, Max grits his teeth, snorts out a spray of snot and blood, and glares back. "So, tell me... How many of those students have you conned into your old man routine?"

Emanuel cracks a smirk and laughs. "Every one of them."

Nodding, Max keeps his distance from Emanuel and chuckles. "Yeah... Figures..."

Immediately dropping down low, he lunges into Emanuel's mid section and grapples onto him. Emanuel rains quick punches down upon Max in frantic anticipation. Changing his footing, Max shifts his weight, wrapping his arms behind Emanuel's legs, and jerks up. He hoists up Emanuel free from the floor, lifting him up, and sharply halts. His blue eyes widen in surprise and pain. Emanuel crashes up on the ground, and Max flops upon him.

The brief peace in the house breaks with the pained moans and groans of age and bad ideas realized. Max lifts himself off, straightens his back to a seat on the floor, gasping, and carefully leans against the wall. Emanuel coughs, slides up against an opposing wall, and flexes his popping fingers. Seconds later, the two old men gaze at each other, both emerging from their dazes. Cracking mutual smirks, Max sighs with a roll of his eyes. "We're still idiots, I guess."

Emanuel winces, feeling his back, and nods. "Obviously."

Glancing down the hallway towards the archway leading to the living room, Emanuel motions into the room. "Grab the whiskey."

Max nods, slides his butt along the wooden floor between different grimaces, and reaches around into the room. "The opened one?"

Emanuel shakes his head and laughs humored. "No. The good one."

Pausing a moment, Max blinks in surprise and grips hold of a dusty, sealed bottle. "Where did you find THIS?"

He admires the finely crafted label, the dark, clear amber color inside, and dated seal. "You sure?"

Emanuel nods and sighs, resting the back of his head against the wall. "Certainly. I promised that if you came back, I'd share it with you."

Max scoots slowly back near Emanuel. Breaking the seal, he pulls the cork and holds the bottle out to Emanuel. "Your booze, your house, you first."

Emanuel grips the neck of the glass, slugs a healthy portion back, and passes it back. Max pours back a long swig of the dark liquor and rests the bottle between them, shaking his head at Emanuel. "Why does it ALWAYS taste so much better after we get the shit beaten out of us?"

Rolling his green eyes, Emanuel combs back his white hair with his fingers, glancing around, and shrugs his shoulders. "I do not know."

The two share a few moments of silence. Twisting his mouth, Emanuel rests his head against the wall and sighs with tinges of frustration. "So how do you want to handle my situation?"

Max barely shrugs his shoulders, fighting against a wince, gazes at Emanuel, and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Fuck... Don't know. All depends on what the hell you were thinking... So..."

Narrowing his stare, he perks an intrigued eyebrow. "What the hell were you thinking?"

----

Bach hoists up a rolled up sleeping bag from the floor of the living area and stacks it on top of others on the couch. His blue eyes gaze over the different arrangements of supplies surrounding him, and he scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. Glancing around towards the dining table and kitchen, he waves at Dretphi and motions towards the area around him. "Hey, um, anything else you need me to check?"

Dretphi darts her steely gray stare between the bags, boxes, and organized collections near Bach. Playing with the darker end of her platinum blonde braid, she ponders out loud. "Do not think so."

She extends her faintly gray striped, tan arm out, wanders a finger point around, and visually accounts the items. "Tents... Sleeping bags... Rations... Rope... Cookware... Blankets... Covers..."

Glancing down at all the items around him, he pivots slowly and assesses the supplies, slowly nodding. "Yeah, it looks like all the normal things are here. At least, to me. I don't think we're going to be gone for as long as we were for Perimeter, but... You know."

Smiling warmly, Dretphi walks over near Bach and crosses her muscular arms. "I do."

She furrows her brow, cocking her head, and eyes Bach with a smirk. "Any requests?"

Thinking a moment, Bach searches his mind and idly pats the pockets of his pants. "Not really. I mean, I saw what you had packed in the cooler."

He smiles back at Dretphi. "I think you got it covered."

A proud smirk grows on Dretphi, and she nods. "Good. Let me know otherwise."

From the archway leading into the hallway, Sotalia walks out into the living area next to the dining table. She combs her long, black nailed fingers through her fiery orange, wavy hair, and holds up a paper list with her other hand. Her golden eyes focus upon the lines of items, descriptions, quantities, and notes, her hand feeling a black, swept-back horn on her head. An amused smirk appears on her lighter tan, dark gray edged face, and she snickers. "Gods, girl. I swear I don't know if I'm reading a reagent list or the ingredients for some elaborate dessert."

Stepping next Sotalia from the hallway, Aristespha glances over at the list and rolls her violet eyes with a snort. "It is just something with that whole practice of magic. Despite the complicated incantations and diagrams, these spells require the most mundane reagents."

She brushes back her long, silvery blue hair over her very long, pointed ears. Donning a curious furrow of her brow, she gazes over at Bach and Dretphi, resting her hands on her hips. "How is the equipment inventory?"

Bach and Dretphi exchange glances and nod towards Aristespha. Dretphi rolls the strain out of her shoulders, inspects a condiment stain on her apron, and motions towards the kitchen. "Almost done packaging meals for the trip."

Cracking a smirk on his tan face, Bach chuckles and lifts an intrigued brow at the list in Sotalia's hands. "I guess you figured out everything we need to get for Mark and the big ritual he's planning."

Aristespha shifts her weight between her feet, twisting her mouth, and sighs. "I hope so. Truthfully, I am not that well versed in these types of spells. I find the measurements and components a bit... Imprecise?"

Rolling her violet eyes, she briefly grits her teeth and groans playfully. "I trust Mark to get the job done. But, I cannot help to think he is taking the opportunity to stock up his personal supplies."

Hovering into the room through the wall, Sebastian's ethereal form drifts onto the dining table top, and he grins in good humor. "He's not charging us money for doing all this for us. So, if he wants us to do some grocery shopping for him... I think we're still getting a good deal."

Sotalia smirks, narrowing her gaze with a quirk of her eyebrow, and snorts. "We're definitely doing some shopping for him. He requested a bag of limes."

Blinking his blue eyes, Bach searches his mind and shrugs his shoulders. "He might need them for the citric acid and oils."

Rolling her golden eyes, she tugs at the corner of her mouth and holds the list out towards Bach with one hand, resting her free hand upon her pants. With a sway of her hips, she smirks at Bach. "Read the things after the bag of limes."

Bach steps over, leans down, and reads the list, squinting. Moments later, he stands back up straight and gazes down at Sotalia. "Okay... I mean... Alcohol is useful for all kinds of things and well..."

Meeting the unconvinced glances of Aristespha and Sotalia, he tilts his head to the side with an awkward grin and scratches his beard. "But, yeah, the two liter bottles of mixers really doesn't help with credibility."

Sebastian quietly snickers with an ethereal reverb, Aristespha shakes her head dismissively, Dretphi blinks in disbelief, and Sotalia subdues a snicker. The door leading to the garage in the kitchen opens up. Cideeda walks across the floor with faint clicks of her claws tapping upon the surface. Her emerald green eyes focus upon the gathering in the living area, and her furry ears perk up. "Okay. I got to know what you all are talking about. I heard something about limes?"

Wiping her hands upon a stained rag, Cideeda methodically cleans the specks of machine grease and grime off her fingers. She cracks a toothy grin upon her light brown face and studies everyone's expressions and body language. With Cideeda stepping up to the dining table, Sotalia presents the list to Cideeda and snorts. "Girl, read the last few things on the list."

Cideeda perks her brow, cocks her head of short, multicolored hair, and idly wags her long, fluffy tail. She narrows her emerald gaze, flicks a furry ear, and contorts her face with suspicion. "Well, I hope we get to enjoy whatever drinks he's planning on making."

Rolling her emerald eyes, she wrestles a twinge of annoyance into a faint grit of her teeth. "Especially since we are paying for it."

A renewed fit of snickers and laughs sound out from the team. In a lull from the humor, Aristespha fights against her concern and dons a faint frown. She gazes at Bach, inquiring. "Now. Bach. There's a good chance we may deal with some demanding spirits that will want Elder energy payment, if they sense it around. I am confident that Mark commands enough respect that they should listen to him. But... I do NOT want to put you on the spot like last time."

Bach's focus wanders internally, and he sighs long. Debating himself quietly, his grimace waivers between degrees of determination and moments of worry. Within the surrounding quiet, he blinks back to awareness of the team surrounding and draws in a long breath. Straightening his posture, he presents an appreciative smile at Aristespha. "It should be fine. Really. At this point, I just want to get this done and over with."

His mood darkens briefly, and he sighs. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm a little tired of this whole Isaac, um, Noxian thing. If we can get whatever he's after shut down, then I'm ready to do what needs to be done. It's a small price to finish this up."

With a reassuring smile, Sebastian nods at Bach and drifts his visage closer. "That's the plan, bro. We get Mark's help to find it. Then... We shut it down."

He briefly glances off to the side. "OR fuck it up beyond recognition. I'm really not picky at this point."

Bach smirks at his brother. Blinking upon a thought, he tilts his head to the side. "I just wish I knew what this thing looked like exactly. Any ideas yet?"

Crossing his arms, Sebastian ponders to himself and contemplates. "Yeah, bro, I still don't know. I've been racking my brain on everything since Anta. But, nothing sticks out. So, we're flying blind on this one."

Dretphi grimaces with a faint grumble. "Nothing previous is relevant. All new."

Shaking her head, Aristespha holds up her ivory hand with a shrug. "I have yet to turn up anything other than historical documents about known anchor points. Unfortunately, this sounds like a unique structure. So, I do not think we can completely trust our references to determine what it looks like."

Bach nods in understanding and smirks. "Yeah, I figured that was the case."

Rolling his blue eyes, he chuckles. "The harder, convoluted way it is."

Rapping her claw tips upon the dining table, Cideeda smirks and shakes her head. "You know, given our usual luck, that means it'll work out just fine."

The team quietly ponders the sentiment. Seconds later, they arrive to humor and dismissive acceptance.

----

Trakenthin leans his tall frame through the laundry room doorway, darts his hazel eyes around the room, and slips into the space. He carefully presses himself against the nearby wall and reaches up with his dark bronze arms. With a tight grip around the cable connecting the mounted camera, he plucks the tether free. Peeking out around the door frame, he smirks satisfied and motions everyone else in.

Tassilda, Deedri, and Modoran quickly step on through into the utility area, and Chad stares down the hallway. Seconds later, he walks into the room, and Trakenthin securely shuts the door behind him. Drawing in a long breath, Chad straightens his posture and pans his brown eyed gaze at everyone else. "This is probably a little overkill now, to be honest. I don't think anyone is really paying attention to this thing now."

Crossing her gray arms, Tassilda perks her eyebrow, rolling her light blue on blue eyes, and smirks. "I believe so, too. I actually haven't seen anyone with a camera in a few days now."

A relieved sigh escapes her, and she tosses back her raven black hair, feeling her swirling horns. "Gods, it has been... Nice."

Deedri scoots over on top the dryer closer to Modoran and leans her head upon his shoulder. "They stopped trying to sneak around and record us. We walked past a few teams, and they didn't even acknowledge us."

Narrowing her auburn eyes, she perks her brow and flicks her furry, tufted ear. "I've overheard a lot of discussions about work conditions and pay raises. I didn't even have to try. They're pretty open about it."

A sly grin cracks out from the corner of her mouth upon her fair face, and she wraps her arms and long tail around Modoran. "While I hope they get what they want... I hope it takes time for it to happen. A LOT of time."

Standing against the washer next to the dryer, Modoran smirks lovingly at Deedri and puts an arm around her, chuckling. "Unfortunately, I do not think it will last for too long. They still need to produce episodes for the show."

He furrows the brow on his dusky bluish gray face, tilts his head of short, white hair, and narrows his dark blue eyes at Chad. "Any idea what their plans are at this point? There is only so much filler you can stick together to stretch whatever they got from the convention center."

Chad crosses his tan arms, straightening his posture, and addresses the team. "Well... The official word I got is that they just want us to help close out the season. It seems like they just need us to act out scenes for drama, and they're going to patch them together to make something... Well, I guess, coherent enough?"

He shrugs his shoulders at the team and scratches the back of his short, light brown coiffed hair. "Yeah... That's about it. The crew problems are almost shutting down production completely. Gerald dropped off his notice. Samantha barely can keep employment negotiations going..."

Narrowing an amused gaze towards Trakenthin, Chad grins slyly and chuckles. "And rumor has it, that Howard has gone quiet over quite a few lawsuits recently filed by a very litigious grath woman..."

Trakenthin combs his hands through his short, styled blonde hair, crosses his arms behind his head, and casually leans against the wall with a smug smile. "My house mother believes elements of my contract were not honored. Sent me contact information to give out. We signed the same contract."

The rest of the team blinks, exchange interested glances, and retrieve their aetherphones. Tassilda taps through the menus on her phone with her long, black nailed fingers, and eyes Trakenthin with an eager smirk. "I think I might need to talk to your house mother. Please send me a copy of her contract information, if you could, please?"

Deedri eyes the screen on her aetherphone, idly playing with her braided multi-color hair, and grits her teeth briefly. "Me too, please?"

With Trakenthin typing up a message, a sinister smirk appears on Modoran's face, and he chuckles to himself. "Sounds like I need to introduce her to my family's lawyer."

Team members receive messages and eagerly store contact information. The group idles in the quiet for a few moments. Glancing her eyes around, Deedri slowly draws in a wary breath and presents a pleasant, wary smile to Chad, sighing reluctantly. "So... I have to ask... Since you recently saw her... How is Veevi doing?"

Chad blinks back to awareness, noticing the interest of the surrounding team, and twists his mouth. Wrestling a mix of uncertainty and confusion, he settles upon a light smirk with a hint of hope in his tone. "All things considered, she's doing good actually. She's trying to figure out things."

Twitches of suspicion bounce between Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin. Watching the apprehension build momentum in the team, Chad pulls a long breath through his nose, standing up straight, and addresses everyone. "I know. I know. I didn't know what to expect when I got there. But... Something is DIFFERENT. I don't quite know how to say it..."

He narrows his stare distantly into his mind and ponders out loud. "It's like... Um... It's like the facade is gone. Whatever was there that wanted the attention that put up the fake front... I didn't experience it at all. It felt like I was talking to someone else."

A faint frown curls at the corner of his mouth, and he furrows his brow with a trailing cadence. "Someone that's been hiding..."

Tassilda tenses up her shoulders, crossing her arms, and narrows an unconvinced stare at Chad. "Could be another new act for attention. A new twist to her usual routine."

Holding up his hand, Modoran works a grimace off his face, rocking his head side to side, and searches his mind. "Well... Maybe not? I do not know. After going through what she did... This might be an honest attempt to turn towards a better path. Nearly dying puts things into perspective."

Summoning up an understanding tone, he pleads with tinges of compassion. "I hate for this to be a genuine attempt to do better and for us to shut it down without giving her a chance. I do not know. I just know how THAT feels."

Chad grits his teeth briefly and gazes over the team. "That brings me to something I wanted to ask everyone... How would you all feel if she was to come back to the house?"

Watching the building surge of rejection bubbling in the team, he holds up his hands and motions the gathering to wait. "She explicitly wanted to make sure everyone would be okay with it. And, she understands if anyone is against it. From what she told me, she just wanted to get out of the clinic and sleep in a normal bedroom."

Hesitation manifests into defensive body language from Deedri, Tassilda, and Trakenthin. Modoran shrugs sympathetically at Chad and twists his mouth uneasily. Chad sighs and nods. "I know. I know. It's just..."

He searches his mind, recounting his memory. "She seems different now. Again, it's kind of hard to explain. I went in expecting one thing, and I got something else entirely. There was no attitude. She was just sitting on the bed, and just happy to see me. She had totally forgotten it was her birthday. It seems that after a falling out with her mother, she had completely lost track of everything."

Crossing his arms, he narrows his gaze internally and ponders out loud. "It just didn't seem like the Veevi we've had to suffer through. It feels like there was some honesty in what she said. After she split her cupcake with me, we talked about things that have happened..."

Chad continues relaying the discussions with Veevi. Tassilda and Trakenthin focus upon a single point in Chad's last statement. Gradually, their thoughts wear down the defensive front and hesitation wanes into cautious acceptance. Refocusing, Chad gazes over the team and sighs. "Well, I guess, I think something is different now. And, maybe we should at least let her stay until the show is over, and they close things out here. But... Only if everyone is okay with it."

Tense silence weighs down upon everyone. Seconds later, Tassilda rolls her light blue on black eyes and groans out, fighting a dismissive hint. "If she tells me where she hid my spell book, I will give her a chance."

With a prompting glance from Tassilda, Trakenthin narrows a stern stare at Chad. "If she informs me of where my box is, I will do the same."

Inhaling a long breath through her nose, Tassilda stiffens her posture and tenses her body, gritting her teeth. "GODS, it has taken every bit of my patience to keep quiet about those. BUT, I know if I mentioned it before, she'd remember and do something bad. Thank the gods, she got distracted with everything else and didn't try anything."

Trakenthin nods in solidarity with Tassilda, and refocuses his stern stare back upon Chad, crossing his arms. Chad thinks a moment. "Even if we don't agree to let her stay here, I'll talk to her to get that info and send it to you as soon as possible."

With tentative agreements from Tassilda and Trakenthin, Chad gazes towards Modoran and Deedri. Noticing the glance from Chad, Modoran nonchalantly shrugs his shoulders and smirks. "Fine with me. If she really is trying to do better, I am not going to stop her."

Attention shifts to Deedri. Darting her auburn eyes between the rest of the team, Deedri frowns and tightens her hold of Modoran. She dons a defiant grimace, sighs out her frustration, and remains quiet, deliberating. Moments later, Modoran cranes his head around, smiles lovingly, and gazes into Deedri's eyes. "If we promised to throw her outside and lock her out if she tries anything, would that make you feel better about it?"

With a tight smirk, Deedri rolls her eyes and snorts with a hint of laughter. "I guess. I just have been enjoying the quiet so much."

Chad nods in agreement and grins reassuringly. "I make that a stipulation, too. She starts drama, she starts packing. Does that sound fair to you?"

Flicking her tufted, furry ears, Deedri sighs and smiles. "Yes. I would be okay with that rule."

Checking his aetherphone, Chad examines the time on the clock display and glances over the team. "Okay. Thank you everyone. I know that was a lot to ask of you all, but I appreciate you giving her this chance. And, as strange as it sounds given the past, I think she will appreciate it, too. We'll see, one way or another."

He cracks open the door to the laundry room, peeks outside, and signals Trakenthin towards the wall-mounted camera. "Okay, looks clear."

With Chad leading the way, the team quickly departs, and Trakenthin plugs the camera back in, slipping out the door.

----

Slowly chewing on a bite from a greasy burger, Max shifts his jaw around and rubs his face with his free hand. Moments later, he eyes Emanuel across the dining table with an amused smirk and snorts. "Fuck... I always forget you actually boxed back in school."

Plucking a fried potato wedge from a large pile in the middle of the table top, Emanuel squirms in his chair, straightening his back with a wince, and adjusts a pillow underneath him. He narrows his gaze at Max and rolls his eyes. "Well, it seems I needed to be reminded that you wrestled, too. So, I guess we're equally forgetful in our old age."

Max nods, shifting his attention to a paper wrapped sandwich in between them, and points towards it. "Are the Trap Chicken Specials still as good as I remember them?"

Emanuel slides over the colorfully labeled bundle over to Max and nods with a smile. "Of course. Adventure Burger knows better than to change a winning recipe like that. Help yourself."

Setting down his partially eaten burger, Max picks up the Trap Chicken Special, opens up the wrapper, and sniffs the aroma. A nostalgic grin grows across his face, and he chuckles quietly. "That sauce you can smell anywhere. GODS, I bet they haven't changed the fryer grease for months... So... Good..."

Cocking his head to the side, Emanuel smirks and perks his eyebrow. "I guess there is a scarcity of fine dining down in the PWZ then?"

With a drawn out bite, Max pauses to think and searches around his mind with his blue eyes. "Oh. If you are in Precipice, there's a few amazing places. But, you are on your own once you leave there. I'll admit, I stayed extra days at the Inn just for another good meal."

A disgusted groan slips out with his sigh, and he grimaces. "There's only so much you can do to make noodles and ration packs flavorful. After you rotate through the same freeze dried meat chunks, it starts to get OLD... Real quick..."

A lull in conversation allows the two men enjoyment of their adventuring themed fast food. Minutes later, Max carefully eases back into his chair and winces briefly, shifts his weight a little. "So... Regardless of what you do, I have to turn in what info I have to the Grand Library. That's also going to include the whole encounter with Isaac."

He twists his mouth uneasily and narrows inquisitive stare at Emanuel. "It's probably going to bring A LOT of trouble your way. Especially, since it seems like every other government in the area has parked themselves up the administration's collective asses."

Tilting his head in anticipation, he draws in a long breath and hums. "So... What do you plan on doing? Because, I'm certain they

’

re going to follow everything back to you."

Emanuel slowly nods, releasing a long sigh, and contorts his face uncomfortably. "That is the crux of my problems."

Max grits his teeth and darts his gaze around. "Not to shit on your life here, but... I don't have any option, since I got a lot of funding from the Grand Library in the first place for this expedition."

Cracking an understanding smirk, Emanuel glances over at Max and shakes his head. "Oh. I know. Oddly, it could be seen as some kind of karmic justice, since I did send him your way to begin with."

He lifts up the large, Adventure Burger branded paper cup up, and sips a long swing of the dark, carbonated beverage. "I'll give them MOST of the truth. I did meet up with Isaac and humored him a bit. I'll claim that I initially had my doubts about Isaac being Noxian."

A sly smile appears on his face, and he sorts through the thoughts in his head, swirling the ice inside his drink. "BUT, I was in too deep when newfound suspicions got confirmed. Then, I did what I thought at the time would cause the least amount of damage to everyone."

Max narrows his stare at Emanuel and twists his mouth. "Which was?"

Emanuel shrugs his shoulders, takes another long draw of his beverage, and snorts dismissively. "Told a few well placed lies, and hoped I had sent Isaac off on a wild goose chase down in the PWZ. Something similar to what every one of the older Grand Library administrators would be guilty of."

Rolling his eyes, Max nods in frustrated agreement. "Yeah... That's the truth. Doubt they'd be willing to indict themselves by proxy."

Narrowing his green eyes, Emanuel furrows his brow and rocks his head of well kept white hair side to side in deliberation. "If it was just the Grand Library, I think this would be over in a day. I'm retired and helped them smooth over a few other situations. But..."

Max groans and contorts the growing discomfort upon his face. "GAA, Appaland, COIL, PDF, and even Vukasin... to name a few."

Pulling a long breath through his nose, Emanuel shakes his head and gazes out a pane of the large front window not broken and covered by plastic. He stares into the fading evening light, sighing deeply, and wrestles with the persistent unease. "They don't have that much hold here. And, hopefully, I can provide enough information that they'll figure further pursuit would not be worth their time."

Max weighs the options, pondering out loud. "That... That just might work. From a few conversations I've had with Nash and Harvos, everyone is busy chasing down other things and addressing concerns directly related to their own needs. If you give them a few choice bits, they should see you as cooperative enough and just write you off after a certain point."

Pausing a moment, he settles a stern stare upon Emanuel and levels a demanding tone. "SO, what are you going to tell Nash and Harvos? They seem like good kids. I think they deserve some kind of explanation from you."

Emanuel nods and frowns slightly, shifting his gaze over towards Max. "Indeed. I think it'd be best to tell them the truth."

Max quirks his brow and eyes Emanuel suspiciously. Moments later, Emanuel shrugs his shoulders and smirks humored. "Well, I did lie to them to protect them. That's the honest truth of the matter. They didn't need to dig after someone like Isaac, and I threw them off the trail in hopes they wouldn't pursue it further after getting some feasible explanation. You're right, they are good. Gods know they've been cleaning up after all our messes. Last thing I wanted them to have to do is clean up after THIS."

Darting his eyes around his head, Max slowly arrives at a nodding agreement. "Yeah. I think that'll work. Sorry, I have to be the one to start the chain reaction of investigations, but..."

Emanuel shrugs his shoulders and smiles simply. "You know as much as I, that you can only delay the truth for so long. Admittedly, I was hoping such would come to light long after I was gone or no longer lucid. But, I've gotten tired of keeping track of the complicated fabrications. This will be a way to lighten the load a bit."

Max rolls his eyes, shaking his head at Emanuel, and smirks with a sarcastic tone. "Oh yeah, I'm certain this will noticeably light your load."

Lifting a humored eyebrow, Emanuel snorts and chuckles. "As if I'm the only one..."

Max holds his hand up and furrows his brow. "I didn't say THAT. I've got plenty I'll need to pay for in the future. Speaking of which, pass me the alchemist fire sauce..."

Emanuel tosses over a few foil packets to Max. The two reminisce about past adventures and other wild tales.

----

The humvee powers up a gradual incline, crests over the top, and coasts down the paved highway. Cideeda squints her emerald eyes ahead through the early morning light, navigating the gentle curves of the road, and flicks her furry ears with her thoughts. "I'll miss this when we get out of GAA territory. It's going to get real bumpy."

Upon the way back bench seat, Dretphi arches her back up, shifts another pillow underneath her, and settles back down. Tapping a player interface on her aetherphone, she watches a video on the screen. Sotalia pivots in her front passenger seat, glances between Bach and Aristespha, and perks her eyebrow. "So, what's the plan for tonight? Any places worth staying at along the way?"

Aristespha blinks her violet eyes back to attention, pulls away from her tablet, and meets Sotalia's inquisitive gaze. "Unfortunately, no. All routes take us too far from Goff's. And, the other options are..."

She glances off to the side briefly and tightens her smile. "Questionable. At best."

Bach lifts up his aetherphone, turns the screen towards Sotalia, and grimaces with a hiss. "Yeah... You should read some of these reviews."

Brushing her fiery orange, wavy hair over her swept back horns, Sotalia reads the text on the display, forming a frown of disgust. "Oh. My. Gods... So, I guess we're camping tonight?"

Stifling a snort, Bach glances over at Aristespha with a twist in his smirk. "I think that's the plan, right?"

Aristespha nods slowly, drawing in a deep breath. "Yes. Given my research, I think it'd be a more pleasant experience."

Sebastian's voice sounds out from the sword within its scabbard in the middle aisle. "We might as well get used to it, since that's what we are doing once we get to Mark's camp."

Turning back around, Sotalia settles back in her seat, stretches her arms out, and smiles. "Works for me. Especially after reading that one review."

Tinges of disgust and traces of horror rise in Sebastian's ethereal tone. "The sad part is that I read far worse ones. I'm not even tangible, and I wouldn't want to be around those places."

Narrowing her stare ahead, Sotalia furrows her brow and retrieves her aetherphone from her yoga pants pocket. "Okay. NOW, I have to read this."

Bach shakes his head, glancing at Aristespha, and diverts his gaze out his window. Sebastian trails off. "You've been warned..."

Searching the northern skies, Bach sighs to himself and frowns distantly. He sorts through his thoughts and works twinges of emotion off his face. His blue eyes stare far off into the horizon. A reflexive groan of disgust from Sotalia catches his attention, and he twists a sly smirk. "Oh, if you think that's bad, look at the next one. There's pictures."

An eager grin widens on his face, and he leans out into the aisle, anticipation growing. Sotalia's golden eyes widen, and she turns her gaze away from the phone screen with a grossed out shudder. Only a string of emin curses leave her lips, and various snickers fill the cab.

----

The sun glints off the lenses of a pair of binoculars peeking out from the thick brush. On a hill next to a long stretch of highway, another camouflaged soldier crawls up next to another. One slowly pans the optics along the road way, and the other squints out towards the horizon, searching. Minutes of peaceful morning pass under the windy skies with beams of sun slipping through white clouds. The lookout taps the shoulder of the binocular wielding scout and points towards activity on the road.

The blue all terrain truck rolls into view. The two soldiers shift their positions and focus their full attention upon the vehicle. A wandering ray of light coasts over their location, and faint reflections of GAA insignia reflect under the bright illumination. Patiently watching the truck roll along with a single driver with white, wispy hair and a blue scarf around his neck, the two soldiers whisper to each other. With confirming nods, the lookout retrieves a field radio from nearby, keys up the device, and speaks. Second later, a message crackles out. "Confirm. We picked him up on remote cameras and drones. Please send us the time of contact and coordinates."

The lookout with the radio glances over to the soldier with binoculars. A few moments later, a sneering grin widens on the man's face, and he adjusts the focus on his binoculars. "Welcome back to the GAA... You son of a bitch."

-119-

Threading through the narrowing forest path, the humvee rolls cautiously in the passage between the dense trees. The vehicle eases to stop short of two large trees in the light of headlamps, contrasting the shadowy woods behind. Cideeda scans her emerald green eyes into the evening horizon beyond the illuminated trees ahead. Twisting an uncertain frown, she sighs. "Shit. I think this is as far as we are getting driving."

Sotalia squints into the distance, searching between darkly shaded gaps between moss caked trunks, and glances up towards the evening sky. "Gods dammit. It's getting really dark, too. I really don't want to hike right now."

She cranes her head around her seat and gazes between the team in the back seats. "How close are we to this camp?"

Holding a tablet out into the aisle for Bach, Dretphi, and Sebastian to study, Aristespha sighs and wrestles an unsure grimace on her ivory face. "We should be very close. I do not believe it would be much further."

Dretphi supports the back of the tablet, moves her fingers on the screen, orientating the digital map, and ponders out loud. "We are close. Walking should not take long. Enough time to explore to confirm the location of the camp."

She narrows her gaze momentarily at the display, stares down the aisle through the windshield, and tilts her head curiously. "Strange that an established trail ends abruptly."

Bach turns his attention away from the tablet, presses his head close to his window, and angles his attention towards the surroundings outside. "You know, now that you mention it... This path seemed really consistent? I mean, you'd think something this remote would be a little harder to drive on."

Cideeda's furry ears flick with her thoughts, and she quirks her brow with a glance into the rear view mirror. "Yeah... We've driven on some paved roads that were rougher than this. And, there's no way anyone this far out is keeping this thing up."

Furrowing her brow, Sotalia perks an eyebrow and focuses upon Sebastian's ethereal form floating attentively at the map, smirking. "So, what's the call? Hang here until morning, or hike around?"

Sebastian blinks back to attention, meeting Sotalia's inquiring gaze, and crosses his arms thoughtfully. "Well, how about I look around the perimeter and see what's going on around us. Then, we can see if we want to chance walking it at night."

Lifting herself up, Cideeda leans close to the wind shield and dims the headlamps. She narrows her adjusting eyes out into the dark areas under the thick forest canopy ahead. "Huh. That's weird. The land past these trees seems even and..."

She tilts her head to the side and squints. "It looks like there's a lot of flat stones scattered about?"

Cocking her head curiously at Cideeda, Sotalia directs stray fiery orange, wavy hairs out of her face and over her swept-back horns. She searches into the darkness and grimaces uncertainly. "Where do you see that-"

She blinks her widening golden eyes, glancing around, and stiffens her back. "Does anyone else feel that?"

Aristespha flutters her violet eyes away from the tablet, straightening her posture, and puzzles. "Feel what..."

Pausing a moment, she exchanges a glance with Bach, sharing similar confusion, and searches out her window. "Yes. There is some significant magic stirring."

Bach nods in agreement and blinks his blue eyes to illumination, focusing his attention out his window. "Yeah... Uh, you could say that."

Sebastian starts scanning around, Dretphi blinks in thought, and Cideeda tightens her grip on her steering wheel. "I think... I think I'm feeling some of that, too."

She peeks around her seat, notices Dretphi's confirming nod, and returns her attention forward. The team watches the outside world from the humvee cab, waiting in anticipation.

Flits of faint light smear through reality in a translucent haze. Traces of activity swirl around nearby trees. Pulses of energy flow through the packed soil of the path and radiate past the blocking trees. Specks of glow flutter into existence around the trunks of the trees. A wave of energy disrupts the obscuring illusion and hundreds of entities emerge into view.

Synchronous pulses of power flow through the small magical beings coating the surroundings. The pair of blocking trees shudder and gradually lean away, slowly shifting apart. The trunks gently rotate with the motion, and their large roots curl up, the huge plants sliding clear. Sparks of energy coat flat stones floating through the dirt, and the rocks fit themselves together. Loose stones leading deeper into the forest organize into a humvee wide passage.

The trees settle into new positions. The rocks form a solid path. Hordes of spirits fade from view. The team gawks in wonder. Seconds later, the awe wanes, and Sebastian darts his blue translucent eyes between the group. "So... I guess that's the invite to come on in? I mean..."

One by one, orbs of shifting hue light ignite overhead in the trees near the crude cobblestone road and shine upon the passage. Moments later, a dimming cascade chases down the chain of magical lamps. Cracking a humored smirk, Aristespha brushes back her silvery blue hair over her long, pointed ears, and sighs. "Yes, Sebastian. Mark knows we are here. We best go before he gets creative and more blatant about his signals."

Cideeda settles back into her seat, turns up the brightness on the humvee head lamps, and accelerates the vehicle. "Well, I can take a hint. Nice that he made a road for us."

With the humvee rolls ahead, Cideeda deftly navigates the vehicle through the impromptu natural roadway. Bach notices Dretphi peering out the back window. Pulling her attention for a moment, Dretphi glances at Bach and points outside. The two watch swirls of magical flow behind encircle trees and brushes. Seconds after the humvee clears, the trees lean and shift through the forest floor. Shrubs coast into place, obscuring the passage. And, ivy vines creep over, concealing the road. Dretphi cocks her head of platinum blonde braids and blinks her steely gray eyes. "Thorough concealment."

Bach nods in astonishment, sliding his attention over to Aristespha. "Okay... I'm going to admit, I may have not quite grasped how powerful this Mark guy really is."

Perking her eyebrow, Aristespha smiles and sighs. "To clarify, he himself is not THAT powerful. On the other hand, all the spirits he has befriended are exceptionally powerful in their own ways."

Observing the new attention from the team, she pauses in thought a moment and shrugs her shoulders. "Spirits can be very powerful in very specific abilities. All this involves multiple varieties of entities that are not powerful individually. But, when coordinated and organized, they can do amazing things."

Drawing in a long breath, she smirks and chuckles. "Despite appearances, Mark is extremely capable in getting all these entities to work together when they naturally would not do so. It takes significant effort to set up a location like this to allow all this to happen. I also suspect this location is special in itself."

Sotalia furrows her brow, raps her long, black nailed fingers upon the side of her seat, and cocks her head. "Oh, so he prepared all this beforehand."

Aristespha nods toward Sotalia with a confirmation. Bach tilts his head, entertaining a memory in his mind. "Yeah... I remember Valavera said it took days for her to get that whole wind wall and vine thing going."

Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia barely attempts stifling a snort and chuckles with hints of sarcasm. "Well, I wouldn't use THAT as a gauge for anything."

With a slow nod, Bach sighs and glances over at Sotalia. "Yeah. But, same concept, for the most part. Still impressive to actually see what can be done when you got somebody who has a clue of what they are doing."

The humvee gently rolls around a long curve, and the stone roadway opens up into a large forest clearing. Cideeda's furry ears perk up, and she points a clawed finger ahead. "I think we're here."

The humvee slows down to a gradual roll, and the team wanders their gazes across the open encampment. A fire burns beneath a large stonework cooking oven, with rocks containing the brilliant glow. The nearby camp fire flames radiate a warm light upon a few large, solid huts of woven root and vine. The natural structures cast shadows upon neatly arranged stacks of supplies within rustic, finely crafted containers. From the larger hut, an older man in plain, natural toned robes eases himself out, takes a few steps, and slowly stretches his back out. A long time of straightening himself out later, he squints towards the approaching humvee. He waves calmly, and a warm smile appears within his bushy beard. Points over towards a stony patch of land, he motions the vehicle in that direction, stepping across the central camp.

Cideeda turns the steering wheel and coasts the humvee to a stop, parking the machine. The powerplant spins down into the silence, the doors open, and the team exits. Aristespha swiftly steps around the humvee, waves at the man with delight, and smiles brightly. "My apologies, Marcus... Um, Mark. It took a little longer than we expected."

Shrugging his shoulders, Mark walks over to a pot upon the stonework oven and pries up the lid curiously. "Ah. Don't worry about it. To be fair, it's not like I make it that easy to get here. And... The stew needed a little longer."

He grins with a chuckle. "SO, it worked out just fine."

He turns to the approaching crowd, donning a welcoming grin on his dark tanned face, and motions out to the rest of the camp. "I hope you all are hungry. I've requested some places for you all to settle in for the night, and I was able to find my old stash of dishware."

Rolling his darker hazel eyes, he snorts, shaking his head. "A few of the more kleptomaniac sprites hid them in my absence since last year. Thought I'd never find them in time. But, here we are."

Refocusing his attention towards the team, he points out the logs benches around the fire and walks to one with a blanket upon it. Slowly easing himself upon the seat, he smiles warmly and motions around. "Please. Sit down. Gods know you've been cooped up all day long in that machine. Relax a little. Enjoy some stew. And..."

He nods his head towards the group. "Let's just catch up on things."

Perking his white haired brow, he cracks an intrigued smirk, stroking his beard. "I get the distinct impression you have plenty to tell me, and I'm very interested to hear it all."

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia sit down upon the logs around the campfire. Between idle chit chat, attention and hunger wander towards the stew.

----

The front door leading into the living room opens up. Chad peeks in briefly, glances his brown eyes around the room, and motions forward. "Looks like everyone has headed off to their bedrooms. Should be clear."

Nervously biting her lower lip, Veevi warily steps inside, searching the dimly lit room, and stops a few meters inside. Moments of scanning the vicinity uneasily later, she glances back at Chad and curiously perks her dark pink eyebrow. "I don't see any cameras set up. Like, at all."

Chad closes the door behind him, locking it, and nods. "Yeah. Things are winding down with the show. They say they're going to try to finish off the season as best as they can and figure out what they are going to do next."

Cautiously walking through the living room between the large screen television mounted on the wall and the coffee table, Veevi pans her pink pupil gaze around the familiar setting and eases out a long sigh of relief. "That's... Good to hear. That'll make it a lot easier."

She brushes back her long pink hair, tightly clutches a travel bag in her tan, brown striped arms, and keeps her pink, short-haired tail curled close to her legs. Flicking her fuzzy ears low, she breathes slowly and purposefully. She flexes her sharp nails upon the travel bag, working out some nervous energy. Chad furrows his brow with some concern, stands next to Veevi, and calmly whispers. "You doing okay?"

Veevi tenses briefly, donning an awkward grin, and glances up to Chad. "Um. Yes. I, uh... I think I just need to go to my room. That'd probably be the best thing to do right now. It was a really long day checking out of the clinic."

Nodding his head of short, brown hair, Chad smiles reassuringly. "Yeah... Just try to get a good night's sleep. You can worry about everything else later. Plenty of time for that from the looks of it."

An appreciative smirk curls out the corner of Veevi's mouth. "I think so, too. I feel a little overwhelmed right now... To be honest."

With a faint twitch of her long, pink, short-haired tail, she blinks at a thought and eyes Chad with concern. "Did, um, Tassilda and Trakenthin get their things out of my room?"

Chad confirms with a light chuckle, walking towards the kitchen archway. "They did as soon as I told them where to find everything. Don't worry. They were quick and didn't disturb anything else."

Veevi draws in a long, calming breath, exhales slowly with a trailing nervous shudder, and summons up a smile upon her weary face. "Good. That's good... It might be best if I just keep out of everyone's way for now."

Glancing back towards Veevi, Chad grants a gentle nod. "If that makes you feel comfortable. It really seems like everyone has calmed down after everything that's happened. And well, the lack of crews watching our every movement has helped a lot."

Stepping closer to the stairwell, Veevi presents a weak smile, brushing back some of her wilder, unkempt hair, and laughs quietly. "I can imagine. Yeah... Um... Goodnight."

Chad nods, stopping at the kitchen archway, and gazes at Veevi. "Goodnight to you, too."

Placing her shoe upon the first step and resting a hand upon the wooden handrail, Veevi halts and feels familiar nail grooves in the surface. A memory sparks in her mind, and she grimaces through the painful thought. Shuddering back to awareness, she glances over at Chad and smiles genuinely. "Um, thank you again."

Shrugging his shoulders, Chad states simply. "Not a problem."

Moments later, Veevi returns her focus towards the stairs in front of her and swiftly steps up. She carefully climbs the stairwell as quietly as she can. With flicks of her fuzzy ears, a surge of tension goes through her body, and she darts up the last few steps to the upstairs hallway, hugging the side of the corridor. Reaching the top of the landing, Deedri steps into view and pivots obliviously towards the stairwell.

Both Veevi and Deedri startle at the presence of the other. Holding uneasy eye contact, the two stare uncomfortably at each other. Seconds pass one by. Fighting through waves of embarrassment and tinges of fear, Veevi squeaks out a sentence between the trembles of her frayed out tail between her legs. "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

Deedri blinks her auburn eyes, straightening her posture, and maintains a neutral gaze upon Veevi. "It is okay. I didn't either."

Sliding against the wall of the stairwell, Veevi slowly passes by Deedri and averts direct eye contact. Deedri perks her brow curiously and directs her voice at Veevi. "Did you just get back?"

Veevi tenses her shoulders briefly and smiles with a nod. "Oh, yes. Just a few minutes ago actually. It was a really long day of filing out release paperwork..."

She awkwardly chuckles and rolls her pink pupil eyes. "And, well, you know... Scheduling all kinds of follow ups and getting all the referrals processed. Just a whole lot all at once... You know..."

Deedri blinks through a moment of confusion, softening the tone of her voice. "That I can imagine. It gets a little excessive."

Seconds of heavy silence later, she draws a long breath in, cocking her head of tied-back multi-color hair, and works her mouth into an amicable smile. "I do have copies of some of your medical records. If you need those, please let me know. It might save you some time with certain forms."

Darting her pink pupil eyes around, Veevi smirks and nods appreciatively. "Yeah. I probably will need those. With everything that's happened, it's a little hard to focus on digging through everything. It's a bit much... at times..."

Narrowing an inquisitive gaze upon Veevi, Deedri assumes a professional attitude and dons a reassuring tone. "If you need help with those forms, I can provide some assistance in understanding them."

With a perk of her fuzzy ears, an appreciative smile grows on Veevi's tan face, bits of stress escaping within her sigh. "Thank you. Really. I need all the help I can get."

She glances around with a few nervous twitches of her tail and steps slowly away, motioning towards her bedroom door. "You have a good night. I really need to get to sleep. Thank you, again."

Swiftly, Veevi darts away towards her room with wary glances towards Trakenthin's and Tassilda's bedroom doors. She grips the door knob, twists it, and slinks inside her room. In the quiet afterwards, Deedri blinks, puzzling to herself. She crosses her arms, tilts her head to the side, and wrestles a grimace on her fair face, her furry tufted ears perking. Idly picking her shirt sleeves with her claws, she contorts her face away from suspicion towards confusion. She glances around the area distantly in her mind, hints of pity slipping between vague grimaces.

With a final snort, she shrugs her shoulders and steps down the stairwell, shaking her head in fit of disbelief.

----

Upon the blanket covered log, Mark rests an empty bowl to his side and wanders his gaze across the assembled team. Moments of quiet thought later, he nods with a hearty chuckle. "I have to say... It sounds like you've all been really busy dealing with a whole bunch of things."

Hovering next to Aristespha, Sebastian's ethereal visage sighs, and he briefly grits his teeth. "Yeah, you could say THAT. It's really been one thing leading straight into another. And, unfortunately, we've discovered something a bit more... Troubling? Worrying? Um..."

He glances between the rest of the crew, and Bach meets his wandering gaze, shrugging his shoulders. "Uh, I guess more immediately pressing?"

Dretphi's steely gray eyes search around her mind, and she nods in agreement. "Accurate."

Aristespha rubs her temple and contorts the concern on her ivory face. "It seems as if this could potentially be more dangerous than Noxian himself. So, we want to see if it is a suitably credible threat."

She rolls her violet eyes and groans out her frustration. "But, in order to do that... We have to find it, first."

Stroking his fingers through his bushy beard, Mark nods in agreement with a tight smile and hums to himself. "Can't fault you there. Now... It's going to take me pulling some old favors from all kinds of things to get this happening."

With a slight bow, Aristespha sighs and presents a grateful smile. "I would like you to know we are appreciative for any help we can get. I apologize for being so demanding on your-"

Furrowing his brow, an amused grin pulls across Mark's face, and he chuckles humored. "Oh. Don't be that way. If there was anything I needed to cash in those favors for, this is it. Goris has given me enough history lessons to know that anything that allows people to mess with core magic functions leads to gods awful things."

He leans forward, wanders his darker hazel gaze across the team, and points at everyone present. "Something like THIS has the potential of becoming everyone's problem fast. SO. We need to figure out what the hell it is and take care of it as quietly as possible. Don't need word getting out that such a thing is around..."

Narrowing his aged stare off to the side, he smirks slyly. "At least until it can't do anything. Then, everyone can argue over what to do with the leftovers."

The team sits, listening. Cideeda's furry ears flick towards the surrounding woods. Sotalia squirms uncomfortably, and her golden eyes dart around, searching. Mark straightens his back out, starts to open his mouth for another sentence, and pauses. Turning his head towards the emerging glow from the surrounding brush, he cracks a wide grin and directs his voice back over his shoulder. "Don't you think so, Goris?"

A towering radiant figure effortlessly pushes through the dense brush and overhead branches. Calmly navigating through the obstacles into the camp clearing, the humanoid being steps solidly onto the ground with meticulous care. Shifting its smooth, precise form, the glowing white figure approaches the camp fire behind Mark. Stopping, it narrows illuminated orb eyes and rotates a curious stare towards Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Tilting its angular head, it focuses an inquisitive gaze upon Sebastian and quickly shifts its attention to the sword at Aristespha's side. It briefly focuses upon Cideeda with a hint of satisfaction. A casual glance towards Bach develops into a long examining stare through him.

Bach nervously watches the five meter tall elder energy being, noting the imposing blend of smooth muscular frame and angular exterior, and cracks an awkward smile. Rolling his darker hazel eyes, Mark stares up at the passively intimidating form and hems. "Don't you think so, Goris?"

Goris breaks its visual examination away from Bach, gazes down respectfully towards Mark, and nods. Moments later, a calm, collected tone resonates from Goris. "Yes. If such exists, it needs to be handled."

In the looming silence around the campfire, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Sebastian continue gawking in awe at Goris. Aristespha recollects herself, presenting a calm smile, and bows slightly. "Goris, it has been a while. I hope you have been well."

Goris pivots its head towards Aristespha, nods respectfully, and gradually softens his tone. "It has been some time, Aristespha. I am glad to see you again."

It surveys the quiet tension from the team, pondering a moment to itself, and gently addresses. "I hope I did not interrupt anything. I seem to have dissipated the prior conversation."

Aristespha laughs, takes a deep breath, and sighs. "We are not as experienced as Mark in existing in your presence. Even after my time with you, I still have to grow accustomed to it again."

Goris pauses, straightening up his imposing stature, and nods slowly. "Understood. It is by design. Admittedly, I find it reassuring that my aura still functions after all these years. Mark is no longer a reliable indicator."

With snort, Mark shakes his head and waves his hand up towards Goris, gazing over the recovering team. "I guess I'll do the introductions. This is Goris. A good friend and a pristine example of an Elder Geist."

He glances up at Goris and motions out towards the others around the campfire. "These are the nice people I've been telling you about and you saw me talking to from afar."

Narrowing its glowing eyes, Goris shifts his focus between the team. "Yes, I remember. Cideeda. Dretphi. Sotalia. Sebastian. And... Bach."

Bach blinks his blue eyes, struggling to present a smile through flits of nervousness. Mark sighs, pinches the bridge of his hose, and shakes his head with a smirk. "Goris. Sit down, join us, and relax a for a while."

The towering figure of Goris settles down onto the ground nearby, sitting upright, and calmly waits with a gentle dimming of his form. Mark smiles towards the rest of the team, the awe waning from their faces, and motions at Goris. "Old habits die hard. Goris actually knows a little bit about the old anchor points for the Abstract Prism."

Sebastian gathers his composure and inquires intrigued. "Really? Um, how do you know about them, Goris?"

Goris gazes over at Sebastian, tilting his head, and flickers his eyes. "I was summoned by the architects to guard the construction of two of them."

Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia train their full attention upon Goris. Aristespha's very long, pointed ears twitch, and she furrows her brow puzzling nearly bewildered. "Wait... You were AT the construction of the anchor points?"

Blinking her violet eyes, she cocks her head and contorts the disbelief upon her ivory face. "How did I not know THIS? You told me so much of history, but you never mentioned this?!"

Goris glances around his mind, nods his head simply, and resonates an apologetic tone. "You never asked? It was not relevant at the time to your questions then."

Sotalia fights against an amused smirk, covering her mouth with her hand, and averts her golden eyes. Crossing her arms, Cideeda narrows her emerald green eyes at Goris and flicks her furry ears, her tail wagging. "So, you were a guard. How much of the construction were you around for? How much did you actually see?"

Remaining silent for a few moments, Goris pivots his gaze over towards Cideeda. "From the planning of the foundation to the first functional tests."

Surprise widens the eyes of the team. Sebastian sorts through his thoughts, resting his chin on his palm, and eyes Goris. "Wow... Huh. So, which two anchor points were you around for?"

Goris tilts his head to the side and gazes at Sebastian with a calm tone. "One located on the northwestern coast of this continent. The location names I know are old and not easily recognized by current geography. The other is located in the Perimeter Weird Zone. I believe you are familiar with that one now."

Stunned silence fades into eager curiosity from the team. Aristespha buries her face in her hands and groans out her self frustration. "Oh gods... I have SO many questions."

She holds up her hands, glancing around, and sighs. "I need to get my tablet. I have got so many notes to take down."

Dretphi gently pats Aristespha's shoulder and stands up, smiling. "I will get it. Sit. Prepare."

Mark maintains a humored smirk and shakes his head, chuckling. "Don't go too overboard tonight, Aristespha. We have a ritual site to work on tomorrow, and I'm going to need your help."

Aristespha flashes a deflated stare at Mark, and he grins wide, laughing. "Don't worry. Goris doesn't go too far. Right, Goris?"

Goris shakes his head. "Not far from you."

With Aristespha collecting herself, Bach slowly stands up and picks up a few empty ceramic bowls. He helps clean along with Cideeda and Sotalia and occasionally catches the brief glances from Goris.

----

Bach opens his eyes. A long sigh escapes, and he stares blankly into the dark at the interwoven vines and roots at the top of the hut. Flickers of dim orange light seep around the heavy cloth flap covering the opening to the space. With an annoyed grimace, Bach lifts his head up, repositions the pillow underneath, and flops back down. Squirming in his sleeping bag, he resettles inside and shifts towards a comfortable spot upon the thatch mat floor. Drawing in a long breath, he sighs, closing his eyes, and purposefully relaxes his body. Seconds of stillness wear into minutes of idle frustration.

Reopening his eyes, Bach groans quietly and slowly sits up in the hut. He glances around the dim space at the shadows dancing upon his gear, the naturally woven walls, and the gravel floor. Rubbing the lack of sleep out of his eyes, he sighs out his aggravation and rests his attention ahead at the flap to the hut. He watches the dim orange light slip around the heavy cloth and the faint illumination seep through the fabric. A long silence later, he unzips the side of his sleeping bag, flings it open, and reaches for his boots off to the side.

Peeking out from inside, Bach slides the flap open, steps out onto the dirt, and stands up straight. He surveys the campsite, pausing his gaze upon other huts, and listens. Only the idle night time ambiance fills the air from the surrounding forest. Bach plods aimlessly closer to the low fire. He glances down at one of the logs and settles down into seat. Holding his hands out towards the warmth, he stares distantly through the fire. Twitches of emotion find their way onto his face in the reflective minutes. Blinking back to awareness, he shakes his head with a shudder down his back. Averting his gaze from the fire, he turns his head up. His eyes widen. Starlight from above glints upon the blue and mixes with the dim, warm orange cast from the fire. Faint pops and cracks crest above the muted sounds of the forest, and a weak smile grows on Bach, staring at the clear night sky above.

Quiet, solid steps barely rise above the idle noises. Bach lowers his head down, spotting his shadow cast against the rocks surrounding the fire in contrasting white light. Puzzling a moment, he stiffens his body and gradually turns his head, peeking behind him. Standing nearby, Goris stares down at Bach and silently watches. Bach meets the attention from Goris's, glances around, and waits. The two remain still for tense seconds. Bach draws an audible, awkward breath in. "Um... Can I help you?"

Goris sits its imposing elder energy frame down, dims its radiance, and focuses its eyes upon Bach. "I have questions for you. I was not able to ask earlier. Could you answer them?"

Darting his eyes around, Bach gradually turns himself around on the log and shrugs his shoulders. "I guess I can. It kinda depends on the questions?"

With a hint of understanding, Goris nods its head, and its voice softly radiates. "I would like to inquire about your experiences with... Nightmare Geists? I believe that is the current nomenclature for them?"

Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach twists his mouth uncertainly and sighs. "I mean... I'm not really an expert on them. I've only run into two proper Nightmare Geists, and one thing that was using that type of energy. That one was more like a golem, I think. I don't know how you would classify it."

Tilting its head to the side, Goris focuses upon Bach and puzzles out loud. "That is new. I will have to ask more about that later. Could I ask about how you encountered the two... proper Nightmare Geists?"

Bach crosses his arms and takes in a deep breath, grimacing. "Well... The first one I ran into was a few years back. I was on a class trip to study and view some old ruins, and one showed up. And, after a long fight, I was the last one still able to fight."

Gritting his teeth, he winces at the memory. "Somehow... I still don't know how... I was able to destroy the Nightmare Geist."

Goris cocks its head, furrowing its brow equivalent. "I assume this is related to your... Connection."

Bach blinks in surprise, freezing reflexively. Moments of thought later, he rolls his eyes at himself and smirks uncomfortably. "Oh, yeah. I guess you can probably sense THAT. Yeah, it's related to my connection to Elder Energy."

With a simple nod, Goris inquires further. "The second Nightmare Geist encounter?"

Thinking a moment, Bach scratches his beard and shrugs his shoulders. "That happened a few months back. From what I remember, the thing for some reason left the Perimeter Weird Zone and headed straight to Hattan. It went on a rampage through the town, until..."

He glances off to the side and grimaces. "Um, I dealt with it. Sort of like I did with the first?"

Goris remains quiet, and Bach watches in anticipation. Traces of emotion morph the smooth, simple features upon Goris's face, and it gazes with a remorseful tone sounding out. "I apologize for what you have had to contend with."

Bach blinks his blue eyes, glances around in confusion, and settles his attention back upon Goris. "Apologize for what? I don't think you sent them after people or attracted them... Uh, right?"

Shaking its head, Goris averts his gaze briefly, sadness weighing down its ethereal voice. "No. It is an indirect responsibility for their existence."

Cocking his head, Bach eyes Goris curiously, waiting expectantly. Goris meets Bach's stare and straightens its form's posture. "My kind have thought about this. If you follow the chains of responsibility, they eventually lead to us. If we did not exist, the need for Nightmare Geists would not exist. If we were more proficient, the number of remaining Nightmare Geists would be less. Finally, if we were more brave now, we could locate the remaining. We are uniquely able to contend with them despite their ability to damage us. So, they are our responsibility."

Bach rocks his head side to side, twisting his mouth uncertainly, and hums thoughtfully. "I don't know about that. I mean, if I remember right, you all were created first as just defenders. If anyone deserves the blame, it's the people who made the Nightmare Geists. And, maybe the people who created you?"

Goris nods in agreement. "Yes. It would be so... If any of them were alive. Since Nightmare Geists are incapable, the Elder Geists take responsibility."

Wrestling an unsatisfied frown, Bach shakes his head. "Yeah, that still sounds unfair to you all."

He furrows his brow and glances up at Goris. "Wait... Nightmare Geists are incapable? Just how... Um... Aware are they? The two I've run into didn't seem dumb but still not smart."

Goris flexes the fingers on his large hands and shakes his head. "Barely. They do have sentience, but I would not consider them to be sapient. They are also VERY unstable and unpredictable. It's the nature of their construction. I believe there has been significant degradation over time to compound this."

It pauses in thought and ponders out loud. "The best equivalent is to consider them rabid animals. They are conscious... enough. That is by design. Single minded but erratic."

Bach slowly nods and stares upon the ground ahead. "Yeah. That's the impression I got, too. Certainly far different than you and, I guess, other Elder Geists."

Goris tilts its head to the side. "Yes. We were designed for a purpose and carefully crafted. We were defenders and threat suppression."

It stares distantly off to the side and furrows its brow equivalent, hints of annoyance reverberating from it. "Unfortunately, our goal was proven to be unmaintainable. Our purpose was further... Outmoded... by the Abstract Prism."

Stiffening his posture at the tints of frustration from Goris, Bach narrows an inquisitive stare. "Um, you have problems with the Prism?"

Goris's glowing eyes search within, a resonating sigh escaping its being. "For a very long time, I... Questioned... The wisdom of the architects. Some who were my creators."

It lowers its smooth and angular head and narrows its gaze distantly. "It seemed like a short-sighted plan to block off Elder energy. As you have experienced, there are many remnants from previous eras that should be dealt with. Some of these require the Elder power to handle effectively."

Within the quiet lull of the conversation, Bach sniffs in a long breath, quelling his nerves, and gazes at Goris. "So, I have to ask you... With this old access point that could connect to the Abstract Prism... What would you do, if you could access it?"

Goris slowly turns its head, focusing its full attention upon Bach, and ponders silently. Seconds later, it tilts its head and calmly resonates. "Nothing. Other than closing it off."

Bach blinks his blue eyes and furrows his brow. "Really? I mean, some would say finding a way to open things up would help many people. Change things for the better?"

Shaking its head, Goris narrows its eyes at Bach. "Possibly. But, this world is far more peaceful now. I have been in many conflicts and know of great tragedies. My purpose was to defend and help make the world more peaceful. That has happened. Despite problems, the world seems better off."

It stops in thought and angles its head up to the stars. "I have only ever been a pawn during my life. I still sense there are bigger things happening... Even if I do not fully understand them."

Glancing down at Bach, Goris's tone lightens with traces of hope. "I believe the architects may have designed their creation more thoroughly than I originally granted. You may be evidence of such."

Bach averts his gaze and scratches the back of his head with an unsure smirk. "I guess. I'm not so sure of that some days."

Goris nods simply. "I understand that."

Both Goris and Bach stare up at the stars in silence. Minutes later, Bach yawns and rubs his eyes. Standing up from his seat upon the log, he points over towards his hut. "Well, it was good talking to you, but I need to try to get back to sleep. I think it's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Goris rises up to his full height from the ground, acknowledges Bach, and pivots, facing the woods. "Yes. I need to resume my patrol."

Goris steps softly and meticulously upon the ground, and Bach walks back to his hut, fighting off a fresh wave of drowsiness.

----

Flutters of activity swarm through the surrounding forest. Flickers of magical light shimmer, darts of light launch between trees, and translucent forms warp the sunlight overhead. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia gawk in awe at the spirits and other magical beings flowing through the area. Sebastian hovers overhead, shifts out of the way of the streams of life, and dodges ethereal creatures flying about. Aristespha steps ahead of the group along the path and catches up to Mark. "The spirit activity is amazing out here."

With a grin, Mark glances back briefly, walking along the gradually meandering path, and gently nudges an orb of light off his shoulder. "Oh, yes. This is a haven of sorts for all of them. So, they're a little bit more bold about showing themselves."

He adjusts his tunic, waiting for a large ethereal beast to cross ahead. Turning to the team, he motions out towards the spirit filled forest. "They run the show out here. So... Be on your best behavior."

Sotalia tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair, glances her golden eyes at a pack of glowing squirrel forms, and returns her attention to Mark. "What does that actually mean?"

Mark stands back up from checking the laces of his boots, glances around, and shrugs his shoulders. "Oh. Nothing too demanding. Don't blow anything up. Don't pester them."

He twists his mouth into a grimace , furrowing his aged, sunned brow. "Definitely, DO NOT try out your common spirit spells on them. That'll make them not like you real quick."

Walking along, Bach surveys the vicinity and calls out to Mark. "So, I mean... Anything else we should know magic wise?"

Stopping in front of a pile of rocks in the middle of the path, Mark crosses his arms, searches his mind briefly, and smirks. "Not that I know of. You all shouldn't have the, um, smell of typical spirit wrangling magic on you. Since you are with me, they should be nice enough to you all."

Dretphi watches a large translucent dire boar briefly appear between distant trees and fade off. She blinks back to awareness, the astonishment fading, and cocks her head curiously. "You have large beings here."

Mark chuckles, kneeling down slowly in front of the stones on the path. "Oh yeah. They just tend to hang out here really. It's far away from all the things they don't like."

Focusing his darker hazel eyes upon the pile of rocks, Mark whispers in a kind, soft tone. "Hey, sorry to bother you, but would you slide over enough for us to get by?"

Rhythmic pulses of flow radiate through the stones and magical miasma coalesces to a pair of glowing eyes. The rest of the team behind Mark halts under the scrutiny of the stern stare from the shifting rocks. The stones stack up within fine weaves of flow threads, roll over each other off the forest path, and settle upon the nearby grasses. The magical energies disappear from sight, and the ethereal eyes close away. Mark eases himself back up, brushing off his pants, and straightens his back with a wince. "Thank you. You have a nice day."

Running his hand over his very short haired, nearly bald head, he cracks a grin at the anxious team and shrugs. "There's a few of them around here. They tend to just stop wherever they feel like, since I'm usually the only one that uses this path. You just have to ask nicely. They'll move rather than risk getting stepped on."

The group starts walking ahead down the path again. Cideeda hangs back briefly, narrowing a curious emerald eyed stare at the mound of minerals, and studies it. A pair of ethereal eyes form and crack open half way into an unamused gaze. Blinking off her surprise, Cideeda grins toothily with a nervous chuckle and brushes down the spooked fur on her tail. "Huh, uh, wow. Um, good camouflage. I never would have guessed. Have a nice day..."

Rushing back up to the group, she slips between Bach and Dretphi and glances around with a newfound paranoia.

Through a dense narrowing passage, the team and Mark approach the end of the path leading into a tall wall of bushes. Mark steps within a few meters, and prismatic flows of energy pump through the flora. Leaves curl back, branches bend, and small trunks lean away. A divide splits in front of the path and grows to a large opening. Without a second thought, Mark steps through. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia traverse through the plant archway, and Sebastian phases through the brush.

Mark pivots around and spreads his arms out towards the vast area. "Here's the ritual site!"

Through the forest edged opening above, morning sun beams down upon a massive stone dais. Remnants of morning dew glisten off the mosses between the meticulously carved stone bricks. Flecks of quartz within the rock reflect the light and contrast the dark carbon within the thin runic traces upon the surfaces of each block. Mark steps up onto the circular platform, gazes over the thick engravings between finer detailing, and nods with a satisfied smile. "Yep. It's been awhile, but I still remember all the important enough parts."

Aristespha's violet eyes widen at the vast space. She gawks at the inscriptions faintly glowing against the bright sun, shaking her head in disbelief. "After all of your descriptions of these places... It is still so much different to actually witness them for yourself."

Sebastian's ethereal form crosses his arms, drifting down next to Bach, and whispers. "I guess this is one of those ancient places of power you talked about."

Slowly nodding, Bach pans his amazement across the scene and chuckles lightly. "Uh, yeah. This would definitely qualify. It reminds me of the other collection daises we've run into..."

With Sebastian waiting expectantly, Bach contorts his face in thought, crossing his arms, and tilts his head to the side. "But... This one... This one is different."

He squints at the runes upon the stonework, visually tracing the nearby channels in the rock, and cocks his head. "This feels like it was designed for specific things. A lot is etched in already, but there are still pieces to fill in."

Mark furrows his brow, pivots towards Bach, and nods with a smirk. "That's correct. It was designed to get the common pieces for big, complicated ritual spells laid out. All you have to do is to fill in the blanks for what you want to get going, and you're ready to go."

Smirking, Sotalia lifts her eyebrow and rests her hands on her hips. "Oh, well, that's nice of them. This shouldn't take too long to get set up then."

Curling an amused grin on his dark tan face, Mark chuckles slowly at Sotalia. Seconds later, Sotalia crosses her arms and twists her mouth uncertainly. "This shouldn't take too long, RIGHT?"

Mark smiles brightly and shakes his head. "No. It'll take some time to get it done right. That's why I brought you all down here. I'm going to need some help to get everything ready."

He places his hands on his lumbar, stretches his back, and groans. "Well... You see, this old back can't take too much time on my hands and knees anymore. So..."

With a sly smile, he motions over towards an alcove of magical supplies along the outer circumference. "So... Who wants to volunteer for what? Plenty of work to go around."

-120-

Tassilda adjusts the pillows behind her back. She glances around the top of her bed, settles into a comfortable spot in the middle, and relaxes upon the cushions. She pans a slow gaze around her neatly arranged room, pausing upon the clean desk, put away books on shelves, and a folded laundry pile. She stares through the afternoon sun glowing upon her window blinds, peeking out into the outside world. She draws in a long breath and sighs, loosening the tension in her shoulders. Pulling back her raven black hair over her swirling horns, she inspects her long, thick black fingernails and frowns slightly at a minute chip at a tip. Feeling the blemish, she rolls her light blue on black eyes and shakes her head. Her attention drops down to a plain, leather bound book. Picking up the tome in her hands, she smiles with satisfaction and supports the spine carefully. She opens the book, flips through the pages, and settles upon a partially inked page opposite a blank section. Her eyes dart around the detailed diagrams, sections of finely written notation, and penciled in comments. Minutes of study pass, and her light gray brow furrows with concentration.

Her focus locks onto the end of a paragraph, and her hand plucks up an ink pen from a case next to her on the bed. Drawing up her sweat pants covered knees, she supports the back of the leather bound book against the top of her thighs. Hovering the tip of the ink pen over the page, she narrows her eyes upon the wording of the sections of text above and contemplatively hums to herself. Perking up her brow, she meticulously writes out further explanations in Emin, carefully minding the alignment and width of the sentences upon the paper. In between pondering pauses, she fills out the page with new paragraphs. She switches over to a small arrangement of pencils with different tints of color. With methodical precision, she inscribes new drawings of magical patterns and arrangements of symbols, switching between different colors.

Noises outside her bedroom interrupt her studies. Tassilda blinks back to awareness, summoning her attention to the movement visible through the gap under her door. Narrowing her stare, she glances at her work, gently blows the last sheen of wet ink dry, and gently sets her spell book off to the side. Sliding slowly off her bed, she quietly stands up on her floor and stealthily slinks up to the door on the balls of her sock covered feet. Thinking a moment in front of entrance, she straightens her posture, stiffens her upper lip, and tightly grips the knob. With swift twist and quick pull, she opens the door, and her stare hunts for a target. Her light blue on black eyes snap onto Veevi partially leaning down.

Veevi freezes in place, halting mid motion. With her pink pupil eyes wide open, she stiffly stands up straight, dons an awkward smile, and nervously chuckles. "Uh, um, hey... Tassilda..."

Tassilda's cold stare wanders down towards the package in Veevi's hands. A spark of recognition of the fanciful Emin script puzzles her. Veevi glances down at the box, grins uneasily at Tassilda, and presents the box of Emin chocolates. "Well, um, these are for you."

Tilting her head to the side, Tassilda blinks out her confusion and cautiously accepts the parcel of treats. "These are..."

Veevi cracks a smile, flicking her fuzzy ears, and combs down the spooked fur on her tail. "A replacement box of those chocolates of yours I... um... ate. I think I got the right ones. There were a lot of different ones, and I had to use a translator app to figure out the Emin."

Twisting her mouth uncertainly, Tassilda cocks her head to the side and examines the box. She inspects the different sides and nods slowly, furrowing her brow. "Yes. These are the right ones. I'm curious..."

Holding her arms tightly, Veevi maintains a weak smirk, averting her gaze from Tassilda's direct attention. "Oh, I found a specialty shop in Amaranth Valley on the Aethernet and got a delivery service to get them here."

Tassilda gazes at Veevi, grimacing through her suspicion, and lifts an intrigued brow. "Okay. But... Why?"

Veevi blinks, brushes back stray pink strands of her long, pink hair, and laughs uncomfortably with a tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Well, um. It's something my counselor suggested. You know, try to make the amends you can to your past wrongs. Correct the mistakes you are able to. That kind of stuff. The little things... really..."

Narrowing her stare upon Veevi, Tassilda alternates between hints of suspicion and bemusement. Veevi notices the attention and emerging visible contemplation and pulls into a deep breath. "D-don't worry. I know that I can't fix everything. But... Replacing things like this is something that I can do."

A surge of nervous laughter colors Veevi's tone, and she shrugs her shoulders with a fading smile. "And, my counselor said it's progress. No matter how small it seems to the other things I'm working on... Like dealing my mother-"

She springs her eyes wide in surprise and embarrassment, closing her mouth tight. Tassilda focuses her scrutiny upon Veevi. Her eyes watching the body language and shifts in facial expression, her gaze softens. Glancing down briefly at the box of Emin treats, Tassilda sighs with a genuine tone. "Thank you, Veevi."

Perking her fuzzy ears, Veevi tilts her head up and gazes at her with a small smile. Tassilda lifts her eyebrow and maintains a reserved hint of a smirk on her light gray face. "While I'm not forgiving you for everything else... You've made good on this."

Silent pressure weighs down on the two. Tassilda darts her gaze around, squirming uncomfortably, and sighs with a trace of sympathy. "And... Mothers can be troublesome. It is understandable to have difficulties."

With a few blinks of surprise, an appreciative smile grows on Veevi, and she nods. "Uh, yeah. It's not easy..."

She glances awkwardly around, steps back, and points to her room. "I'm sorry I bothered you. I just wanted to get that to you. So... You have a nice day, I'm going back to my room."

With an acknowledging nod, Tassilda watches Veevi swiftly step over to her bedroom door and disappear inside. Studying the box in her hands, she inspects the intact seal with her fingers and shakes her head in disbelief. Lifting her chin up, her eyes dart over to another section of the hallway and spot a six pack of grath beer in front of Trakenthin's bedroom door. Honest surprise opens her mouth, and she furrows her brow. Moments later, she covers her lips with her hand and searches her mind. Glancing between the Emin treats and the Grath beer, she settles a long stare upon Veevi's bedroom door, blinking her confusion. Tassilda steps back into her room and taps a finger upon the door, another thought pausing her. Slowly closing the door, she glances once more through the shrinking gap towards Veevi's room and returns to her new thoughts.

----

The late, orange sunlight beams through the large opening above in the surrounding forest canopy. Bach stands up straight, wipes the sweat off his brow, and gazes down at a section of the massive stone dais in the woods. He narrows his blue eyed stare at the numerous carbon caked inscriptions upon the lighter rock and leans down with his hands on his knees. Seconds of study later, he steps closer towards a rock slab upon the surface. With the toe of his boot against the huge stone tile, he firmly taps the intricately carved piece a centimeter to the side. Leaning down again, he scrutinizes the positioning of the rock tablet against flow channels surrounding it on the dais. He stands back up fully and scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair, glancing around the area. He spots Aristespha nearby, waves for her attention, and motions down at the section of stacked stonework. "I think this one is in place now. Everything lines up, and the channels are ready to be painted."

Aristespha blinks her violet eyes, following Bach's point, and nods in agreement. "That seems right. Correct, Mark?"

Combing his bushy beard, Mark squints his eyes and shrugs with a nonchalant grin. "Ah, it looks close enough. Anyway, Dretphi and Cideeda seem like they got the hang of getting it in place and painting the connections."

He chuckles with a smirk, wandering over, and inspects the latest finishing touches from Cideeda and Dretphi. "I'm going to do some test flows anyway to make sure everything is in place. Thankfully, they put a lot of checkpoints on these things."

Dretphi grips the edges of the stone tablet upon the rock dais, tenses her muscles, and gradually aligns the markings of the slab. Focusing her steely gray gaze upon the faint grooves shifting onto each other, she grimaces with the careful adjustment. Stopping, she releases the stonework and perks her curious brow over towards Cideeda. Wagging her long, fluffy tail, Cideeda lowers her head close to the many dark lines in the rock, darting her emerald green gaze between the gaps, and slowly nods her head. "That looks right."

Her hand pats around off to the side, her fingers feel a very old jar, and her claw tips rap upon the glass. Drawing the container close, she swirls around a stiff paint brush in the thick, inky mix inside with her free hand. Plucking the brush out, she wipes out the excess paint on the lip of the jar and deftly guides the tip over a corner intersection between two channels. With careful strokes, she layers on a join, linking the two flow pathways. Mark nods with a satisfied smile and chuckles to himself. "Ah, you two got it. You kids learn fast."

Sebastian coasts down from a high hover, landing next to Aristespha, and peeks over her shoulder. "I think all the pieces are in place, dear. At least, it looks a lot like what's on your tablet now."

Inspecting her tablet, Aristespha slides her ivory fingers on the screen, zooming in on sections of the composite imagery, and sighs with a thankful smile. "That is good, Sebastian. We will test it thoroughly before the ritual tonight."

Glancing around briefly, she leans closer to Sebastian and whispers. "This is honestly the biggest one of this type of spell I have ever done. Figuratively. And, quite literally."

A confident, loving smile appears on Sebastian's ethereal form, and he comments with a reassuring tone. "Mark thinks it'll work, and we're checking on everything else. Don't worry, dear."

Easing out a long breath, Aristespha cracks a happy smirk and pulls back a wind-freed lock of silvery blue hair over her very long, pointed ear. "Thank you for the vote of confidence."

Nearby Bach blinks back to awareness from an idle stare up into the reddish orange skyline and surveys the massive, circular platform. He wanders his gaze between different arrangements of stone tablets and drying paint. Glancing over at Mark, he crosses his arms and furrows his faintly sun reddened brow. "So, uh... Anything else you need from me? It looks like things are... Roughly in place?"

Mark turns his head briefly, nods in agreement, and waves Bach off. "Yep. It's looking good. Sit down for a bit. It's been a hot one today."

Bach swiftly pivots and walks off the stone dais towards the shade near the perimeter of the surrounding forest. His eyes adjust to the change in light, and he watches Sotalia washing a wave of translucent energy over a stone bench with one hand and directing heated flow away with another. She promptly lays down upon the frosting slab and slacks her arms and legs out. A delighted moan of relief escapes her, and she relaxes upon the chilled stone. Bach stands next to her and glances down with an amused smirk, shaking his head. "SO. This is where you went off to."

With a sly smile, Sotalia cracks open a golden eye and laughs softly. "Yes. Oh gods. Why is it this hot in the middle of October? Ungh."

She aims a lazy stare at Bach, stretching her arms over head, and sighs. "Thank you for getting those last few slabs in place. Doing all those telekinesis spells over that hot stone took it out of me."

Bach rolls his blue eyes, snorting humored. "Well, I mean, you could have just moved them physically."

Narrowing an incredulous stare at Bach, a playful tone fills Sotalia's voice. "Yes, but... Magic is what I do. Got to keep my skills in shape."

Settling down into a seat on the ground next to the bench, Bach chuckles with a smirk. "Doesn't stop you from keeping in physical shape."

Sotalia lifts an eyebrow and rolls her golden eyes with a dramatic groan. "Gods, now you're sounding like your brother. I'll consider it... In the future."

Resting his arms on his knees, Bach hangs his head forward and slowly breathes out the exhaustion of the day. Sotalia watches quietly. With a slow gesture and a soft incantation under her breath, she wills misty flows towards Bach and fans of heat away with her other hand. Seconds later, a reflexive shiver snaps Bach out of his stupor, and he glances around. Feeling the chilly air drift upon him, he smiles at Sotalia. "Thanks."

Sotalia nods, quirking a curious brow. "So... How are you feeling?"

Bach blinks and cocks his head to the side. "Good, I guess?"

Narrowing her inquisitive gaze, Sotalia eyes Bach expectantly. Twisting his mouth, Bach rocks his head side to side and shrugs contemplatively. "Still feel off. Some times more than others. I feel better? Yeah, better overall."

Donning a comforting smile, Sotalia softly pries. "That's good. Anything else?"

Bach searches his mind and wrestles with a grimace. "Still plenty of self-doubt?"

Sotalia furrows her brow and smirks with a bit of amusement. "The usual amounts?"

Rolling his blue eyes, Bach snorts and shakes his head. "Pretty much. So, business as usual."

Squirming her back to a new spot on the cooled stone bench, Sotalia twists her mouth. "Whatever THAT is these days."

Bach eyes Sotalia with an amused smirk and shakes his head. "Yeah. I swear if you all had told me half of the crazy stuff I'd probably be doing back when you first picked me up..."

Perking up an intrigued eyebrow, Sotalia waits expectantly. Bach grins slyly, laughing. "I would have tried a whole hell of a lot harder to get away from all of you."

Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia rests her head of fiery orange, wavy hair upon the bench and snickers. "Oh gods. That was so terrible of us. Honestly, you probably would have gotten away, and then we would have spent weeks trying to track you down."

Bach shakes his head and curls a vague frown in the corner of his mouth. "It wouldn't have taken you THAT long. I really didn't have much of a plan to go on."

Sotalia turns onto her side, resting the temple of her head on her hand, and grimaces through a flit of embarrassment. "To be fair, neither did we."

A smile appears on Bach's tan face, and he shrugs at Sotalia. With a warm smirk in return, Sotalia sighs and flicks a stray wave of orange hair over her swept back horn.

Sebastian drifts over to the two and motions them towards the gathering group. "It's all been prepped now. Mark is leading us back to camp to rest up before the whole thing tonight."

Sotalia peels herself off the cool stone bench, grumbles, parting from the surface, and rises to her feet. "That sounds good. I could really use something to eat before anything else happens."

Rocking forward, Bach pushes himself up to standing, stretches his back, and nods. "Yeah. That works for me."

Sebastian leads Bach and Sotalia up with Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Mark, and the group form up back on the forest trail.

----

Under the dim illumination of a hovering orb, Mark inspects the engraved pathways leading to the center of the circular stone dais. He gazes up at the waxing crescent moon overhead in the star flooded sky and rubs his hands together in anticipation. "Well, it's dark enough, let's get this started."

Pivoting in place, he calls out to Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia spaced out around the perimeter of the platform. "Okay. Start flowing in some energy to get the channels primed. Just a little pressure, nothing more."

Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia exchange glances under their own magical lights. Mark settles down upon the center point. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia kneel down and place hands upon darkened grooves in the stonework. Prismatic flows sink into the pathways and slowly radiate through the complicated passages. With the energy seeping further out into the vast, intricate engravings, Mark breathes out calmly, crosses his legs, and closes his eyes. Waves of colorful flow waterfall down off him and soak into the stonework, pulsing brightly. The network of channels glow brighter with each burst of power into the system. Chaotic vibrations sync with the magical pumps, and orderly energies rush out down dim segments of the dais. The activity sweeps up idle flows near Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia into the arcane processes. Mark opens his glowing hazel eyes, cracks a confident grin, and calls out. "I got it from here. Now stand back and watch the show."

Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia remove their hands from the stonework, the current pressuring the magical power towards a new purpose. Stepping away and around the perimeter, they rejoin with Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian on the sidelines, all watching in growing awe. The prismatic energies surge up painted connections onto the joined stonework. Flickers of activity flutter above the sections. Magical constructs materialize and pillars of light form up into the sky. The columns of illumination stabilizing, the colorful energies flowing through the fine, stone channels brighten. Drawing in a deep breath, a plume of miasma rushes out of Mark and swirls down into the torrent of powers surrounding him.

Cideeda's ears search the area, the ambient forest din subsiding. Sotalia squirms, tension forming in her shoulders, and crosses her arms uncertainly. Surges of energy burst up the towers of light. From the center of dais, a translucent magical pulse erupts out. It radiates past the team, phases into the forest, and fades out of sight. Sebastian's ethereal form shudders, and he gazes over at Aristespha seeking an answer. With a reassuring smile, she nods and returns her attention towards the ritual flooding the area with light.

From the surrounding trees, tiny specs of light dart out and gather upon any surface in the area. Small orbs shimmer into existence drift aimlessly around, flooding the sky above. Translucent shapes wander into sight, fade into opacity, and perch upon convenient spots. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia gawk at the thousands of entities gathering above, below, and near them. Larger beings peer out from the forest, their visages flickering tentatively into reality. Ghostly animals peek out from the brush, lean down from the trees, and coast high above in the air. Cideeda's furry ears flick towards a spot, and she narrows her emerald green eyes into the distance. She points a claw tip out and tugs at Dretphi's shirt sleeve. Searching the distant horizon, Dretphi's steely eyes widen in surprise with a small smile. A far off radiant, ethereal glow surrounds a huge dire boar. The creature patiently watches in company of her children that attentively witness the ritual.

Sotalia's back stiffens, and she glances around at Aristespha and Bach. Sebastian's visage flickers, and Cideeda and Dretphi share confused stares. Hazy clouds of red materialize around the perimeter of the dais. From the forest, humanoid figures appear near the ritual site and wait patiently. A humanoid figure in old era armor steps close to the team, and the familiar messenger spirit glances over. Akalab cracks a smirk and nods a respectful greeting.

Sparks crackle from the centers of the misty crimson plumes, and entities push through the veil. The beings emerge. Humanoid creatures, with radiant figures, straighten their ethereal attire and acknowledge each other. In their surveys of the area, a few concentrate intrigued stares upon Bach and narrow wary glares at the stoic Elder Geist behind. The spiritual congress settles their attention fully upon Mark and waits expectantly.

Slowly rising his feet, Mark straightens out his back, wincing with a sharp breath, and eyes the nearest, prominent spirits. "Well, it has been a while. I apologize if I have distracted you from other things, but I have an urgent request."

A slender figure with wispy flows of energy swirling around it narrows its glowing aqua eyes, and a soft resonating voice echoes out. "We figured this was not a trivial matter for THIS strong of a summoning. You have been heard."

Orange light flickers through another tall, broad, imposing being, and a rougher tone grinds out. "What do you ask of us? What prompted this?"

Mark gestures out an incantation, guiding flows into the piles of nearby documentation, and the materials drift up. Ethereal copies of their contents separate and hover high up, scaling in size for better viewing. Pivoting to focus his attention upon the spiritual congress, Mark presents with a calm, explanatory tone. "We need something found, if it even exists. It's likely an old place of power that contains very dangerous magical mechanisms that need to be dealt with. We know the rough region it possibly is located in. We have many clues, but we don't have time on our side to exhaustively search for it. So, I am requesting assistance in locating this place, if it should exist."

A heavy silence presses down over the meeting. Distant echoes sound out from an angular being with a viridian aura, and it narrows shifting orbs of light at Mark. "You called us to find some place that may not even exist?"

Arms cross over the chest of a smokey being, and it sighs with loud annoyance. "How can this forgotten place be of any importance, and specifically require US to go find it for YOU?"

A sly grin cracks out the corner of Mark's mouth, and he perks his brow, combing his bushy beard with his fingers. "The information my friends have gathered indicates it might be a backdoor access point to the Abstract Prism."

The spiritual congress focuses their full attention upon Mark. The slender figure blinks, its wispy flows shuddering. "THAT... That should NOT be sought after. You should know that... Why are you asking us to find it for you?"

Mark sighs sadly, nodding in agreement, and gazes upon the spirit. "Because someone else that is quite troublesome is already seeking it. While his knowledge isn't as complete as what my friends have been able to acquire, the trouble is that it is still enough for him to likely find it given enough time. AND... "

Narrowing his stare out towards the entities surrounding him. "He seeks to use that access point, if it exists, to get to the Abstract Prism. AND, we all KNOW how well that usually goes."

Faint signs of surprise and traces of worry spread through a few of the inner circle of spirits. Tilting its cloaked head to the side, the tall, robed dusky entity leans forward and aims a dire yellow glare right at Mark. "With all respect due, why should YOU receive the knowledge of its possible location? It seems counter productive to find something that should not be found. Seems more prudent to allow whoever to waste their time trying to find it. They might be more likely to die before they locate it."

Mark furrows his brow, meeting the spirit's attention, and grimaces uncomfortably. "He is quite capable. So, the trouble remains that he could find it. Then, we have no idea where it is or how functional it could be. As risky as this proposition is, I think it makes more sense to know if it exists, where it is, and what exactly we are dealing with."

A translucent cloud of flickering specks upon folding, layering traces brightens, and a noisy voice refines itself into speech. "That is logical. Knowing is safer than not."

The smokey robed entity rumbles out a dismissive growl. "Of course it's logical to YOU."

The angular being with the viridian aura ethereally sighs and calmly resonates. "Let us see what the information presented indicates. Then, we'll determine how to proceed."

The slender spirit nods its wispy flows. "Yes. If you can excuse us. We will discuss this quickly."

Shrugging his shoulders, Mark smiles respectfully. "That's not a problem. I know it's quite a bit to ask for. Take your time."

The most powerful entities shift their attention to the pages of ethereal notes displayed in the air above. Other humanoid spirits gather around and attentively observe the debate beyond visible sight or audible sound. The discussion continues. The team warily exchanges glances, fighting down visible unease. Sebastian leans close to Aristespha and whispers. "So... Dear... What happens next?"

Aristespha blinks her violet eyes, turning her ivory face towards Sebastian, and smiles awkwardly, hints of tension hiding in her gray and blue facial tinting. "Sebastian... I do NOT know. I just really hope that Mark is able to convince them."

Bach glances behind him, gazes up at Goris, and eyes Akalab. "So, uh, you two know how these usually go?"

Goris furrow its brow. "It depends."

Akalab's ethereal form crosses his arms, and he shrugs unsure. "We shall see. These are powerful beings well beyond what I am capable of. They operate on a different level. I am not even certain how Marcus Harold knows how to call them."

Bach blinks his blue eyes, gritting his teeth briefly, and turns his head back towards the spiritual congress. "Well... That makes me feel good. Yeah... Real good..."

Darting her emerald green eyes around the area, Cideeda positions herself between Dretphi and Sotalia and whispers with her furry ears flickering between the chorus of strange surrounding sounds. "This is pretty tense."

Dretphi swallows hard, maintaining a stoic exterior, and nods. "Indeed."

Sotalia wraps her arms around herself, tensing her shoulders, and grimaces. "No shit, girl. Gods, I think I'd rather be back at the camp and hear about this afterwards."

The powerful spirits level their attentions back upon Mark. The angular, viridian being gazes upon Mark with orbs of light and nods. "I will honor your request. We need to know if such exists regardless."

A noisy tone from the cloud of light specks filters to a consistent voice. "Yes. I concur. We need to know, as the information indicates it could exist."

Glowing aqua eyes narrow upon Mark, and the slender figure crosses its arms, wispy flows slowing. "I am not certain. This could cause more problems than it solves."

Mark nods understandingly, presents a comforting smile, and perks his brow. "I know. I know. But, I think the problems in us not finding it are worse than the problems in finding it. My friends are committed to making sure it doesn't function and shutting down that connection, if it does exist."

Furrowing its brow, the wispy being pans a hard stare through the team, flows radiating out. Seconds of examination pass over each member, with a long pause resting upon Bach. The faint hint of smile appears, and the spirit nods to Mark. "I will trust you on this."

The tall, imposing ethereal being flares up bright orange and grinds out a loud grumble. "This will be extremely taxing on our resources. This is quite a demand."

The cloaked, smokey entity bellows out. "Exactly! You are asking a lot from us, and I don't see anything in return."

Mark straightens his posture, squinting, and frowns. "I know. That's why I am calling in my favors. I don't believe we have the luxury of time. Otherwise, I would have prepared something substantial."

The misty robes of the smoke entity flutter, and brilliant yellow eyes pulse out from under the hood. "That's not going to cut it."

The orange light dims, and the broad being stands resolute. "You need to provide something to compensate us."

With a respectful nod, Mark sighs with hints of frustration and furrows his brow, combing his fingers through his bushy beard. "I understand. Then, let me trade in favors to buy me time to assemble an acceptable payment for your services. I have quite a few resources, but it will take time to tap them."

The imposing, tall figure remains quiet, fiery glows dimming within it. The smokey entity focuses its yellow glare upon Mark. "That won't be enough for me..."

Mark sternly stares back, frowning sharply. "Remember... I've done A LOT for you."

The stand off pressures negotiations, and Bach cringes with the team. He ponders to himself, searching his mind. Darting his gaze between his thoughts, he blinks his eyes and shifts his stare over near Akalab. Cocking his head to the side, Bach blinks his widening blue eyes. A spark of determination ignites a stoic gaze on his face. Watching the souring debate of compensation happen between Mark and the smokey entity, he stands up straight. Summoning his confidence, he draws in a deep breath, sighs slightly, and gazes over at Aristespha. "Hey, Aristespha?"

Aristespha shudders back to awareness and glances over at Bach. "Yes?"

Wrestling a bit of hesitance, Bach musters up an awkward grin. "Can you put that sword in something that'll keep it quiet for a bit?"

Mark and the smokey spirit argue, with others watching on. The conversation halts abruptly. Spirits in the area settle their attention firmly upon a single point. Bach places his boot upon the glowing, stone dais. He lifts his head of longer brown hair up, stiffens his upper lip within his beard, and narrows his glowing white eyes. The spiritual congress observes. Bach holds out his hand palm up and releases a bright white orb, letting it hover above. Threads of elder flow condense into the ball of power, and Bach presses a firm tone at the hooded entity confronting Mark. "Would something similar to this convince you to honor your favors to Mark?"

Every spiritual entity in the area watches Bach. The powerful beings gawk in surprise, and smaller ones drift closer. Maintaining a stoic front against the pressure, Bach sneaks a hard swallow, steadies his breathing, and stares right at the yellow eyes of the smoky being. He slides his gaze at Mark, tilting his head questioningly. Mark cracks a confident smirk with a nod and addresses the dissenters. "As I said... We have quite a few resources, as evidenced by my friend. It just simply takes a little time."

Lifting a curious brow at Bach, he continues with a grin. "But, if you show a little faith and understanding, I think we might be able to arrange a token of goodwill?"

Bach pulls in a long breath, placing his free hand over the white orb, and pulses elder flow into the growing ball. "That can be arranged. And, I would like to be fair. So, I might be convinced to provide equal shares to your other associates."

The hooded spirit blinks, noticing the concentrated, demanding stares from the other powerful spirits upon the dais, and settles its smokey aura. "This is... Acceptable."

Winking at Bach, Mark pivots around and addresses the spiritual congress. "Okay. My favors with a token power from my friend here. Consider it a show how serious they are."

A round of agreeable motions later, the lead spirits wait patiently. Bach hands off the first elder orb to the smokey entity, and faint appreciative traces flicker in its yellow eyes from under the hood. With Bach forming up another ball of power, Mark points over at Aristespha and signals her over. "Bring your tablet, they can use that information."

Aristespha startles to attention, waving off the energies surrounding the sword at her side, and cautiously approaches. Mark directs her towards the cloudy being of flickering specks and smiles reassuring. "This one understands technology."

Glows trace upon layers mesh pathways within the being, and its voice settles to a human cadence. "Yes. I will not harm the device. Merely copy the information within. If that is acceptable?"

Blinking her violet eyes, Aristespha nods with a nervous tinge and holds the device out. Flows of energy from the spiritual entity sink inside. Moments later, ethereal manifestations emerge and drift into the cloudy mass of the spirit. With a simple tilt of its essence, the being departs towards Bach. Each lead spirit takes an elder orb, studies the information drifting above the dais, and returns into the hazy red mists. Pressing through the cloudy membrane, they slip out elsewhere. A few humanoid spirits, dozens of animal-like beings, and countless smaller entities follow through. The crimson clouds surrounding the large dais dissipate. Illumination wanes in the channels on the stonework dais. The swarms of light specks drift off, back into the woods. Over the seconds, the ambient din of the forest returns and fills the air.

Resting his hand on his side, Mark sighs and chuckles loudly. "WELL. THAT was a bit rough, but it turned out good."

He motions the rest of the team from the sideline. "We're done now. Don't worry. It should be safe."

Sebastian darts over and lands next to Aristespha, and Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia quickly walking over to the gathering. With a proud grin, Sebastian laughs and shakes his head. "Nice save there, bro. Way to step up to the plate... Literally, even."

Bach blinks his dimming blue eyes. "Yeah..."

Mark yawns, stretches his lower back, and grumbles. "That one arch spirit has ALWAYS been difficult. But, you certainly shut him up."

He smirks with a nod, stroking his bushy beard. "Thanks for coming in and offering up that power. Shut down their usual nitpicking. Could have been here for hours."

Bach forces his eyes wide briefly. "No... problem..."

Perking her curious brow, Sotalia narrows an intrigued golden eyed gaze at Bach. "I'm surprised you were able to produce that much elder energy and still be standing."

She grins slyly and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "You must be getting the hang of all that power."

Bach remains quiet, his stance gradually teetering, and his stare drifts. Aristespha blinks her eyes to a glowing violet, glances over at Bach, and signals Dretphi. "Bach."

Turning his head carefully, Bach's gaze refocuses upon Aristespha. "Yes?"

Dretphi gets behind Bach, and Aristespha smiles reassuringly, steadying him. "You can stop forcing yourself to stay awake."

Bach closes his eyes, yawns loudly, and follows Aristespha guidance back into Dretphi's awaiting arms. "Oh... good..."

Fighting for more moments of consciousness, he sighs fading, Dretphi supporting him. "...sorry..."

Dretphi smiles warmly and slips her arms in place, readying to carry Bach. "It is okay."

With a few maneuvers, she hoists Bach upon her shoulders and gently balances his unconscious form, the precursors of snoring sounding out. The team regroups towards the path leading back to camp.

----

Bright beams of outside light sway with the breeze against the heavy canvas flap of the hut. The illumination waves across Bach's face, and he stirs from slumber. The chorus of rustling from the trees against the wind and crisp cracks of free leaves bouncing along the ground filter into the space. Fluttering his blue eyes open, Bach stares blankly up at the woven vines and roots forming the roof above him. Awareness gradually arises in his mind, and he glances around the confines of the hut. Furrowing his brow, he pat his hand around, feels his boots nearby, and grasps his aetherphone inside one. He focuses his eyes upon the display, presses a side button, and reads the time. "Noon... Wait... What?"

Reaching arms forward, he counterbalances himself and tilts body up from the sleeping bag and blankets. He blinks hard, squinting at the bright light slipping around the edges of the hut's front cover, and mumbles. "Shit... I guess it is that late..."

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he twists his mouth uncertainly and stretches his neck. He idles into his own thoughts, and a shadow forms from the other side of the canvas. Claw tips cling to the edge of the hut entry, and an emerald green eye peeks inside. With a soft voice, Cideeda inquires. "You awake?"

Bach shudders to full consciousness and scratches the back of his head of longer brown, sleep styled hair. "Yeah. Uh. For the most part."

Slowly pulling the flap open, Cideeda leans her head in, flicking her furry ears within her short multi-color hair, and smiles. "You really wore yourself out last night. I didn't hear anything but snores from you until a few minutes ago."

A twinge of embarrassment fills Bach's tan face, and he chuckles awkwardly. "Uh, yeah... Sorry. Just put forth a little more than I expected to."

Sliding the heavy canvas over, Cideeda settles down into a seat on the threshold, and her long, fluffy tail wags into the space. A toothy grin grows on her light brown face with a proud hint, and she narrows a sly gaze at Bach. "Quite the power move with the negotiations. Just walked right up there, whipped out the most valuable thing they could want, and made a deal they wouldn't dare refuse."

Bach blinks, shrugging his shoulders, and sighs. "Yeah. Probably could have gotten away with a little less on the amount of elder energy I gave them."

Searching the top of her mind, Cideeda smirks and idly curls her claw tips into the thatch pads upon the gravel floor. "Oh. Definitely. But... I think you only really had one chance to make that deal. So, you had to impress them on the initial presentation. Even if it costs extra, that makes a difference in the long run."

She cracks a humored smile, furrowing her brow, and perks her furry ears. "Nice touch in bumping up orb size while everything was watching. And good move on keeping the sword quiet. Wouldn't want it to steal your thunder."

With traces of regret, Bach groans and shakes head. "Gods, I don't know what I was thinking. It was the only thing I could think of to make them take us seriously. I was scared in place."

Cideeda giggles, rolling her emerald green eyes. "It worked out. Stood strong until after everything else was gone. So, that's all they got to experience."

Placing his forehead in his hand, Bach combs down his hair with his fingers and exhales. "I'm just glad someone said something to me. I was barely conscious at that point and about to collapse."

He blinks in thought, glancing to either side, and grimaces inquiringly. "So, has anyone said what we are going to do next? I mean, it's probably going to take them a while to find this access point."

Stretching her back, Cideeda darts her eyes between her thoughts, wagging her tail, and flexes her clawed fingers. "Everyone is just taking it easy today. We'll have to head back soon."

She furrows her brow and leans closer to Bach, smirking. "Especially if we don't want to have to dig into those survival rations on our way back."

Bach cringes briefly and shrugs his shoulders into a shudder. "Yeah... I guess we've been spoiled by Dretphi's cooking, but still... Those things are so bland. The protein crackers have the weirdest texture."

He cocks his head to the side and inquires. "So, what's everyone else doing?"

Cideeda crosses her arms, leans against the entry arch of the hut, and ponders out loud. "Aristespha is busy asking Mark all kinds of things, with Sebastian nearby. Sotalia really wanted to find some stream to wash off in. So, Dretphi joined her to help her find a place that Mark mentioned."

Perking her brow, she cracks a smirk. "I decided to be the one to stay here, so someone would be around when you woke up."

Bach chuckles awkwardly, averting his gaze. "Oh, well, thank you. I appreciate it. It would have been really weird and unnerving walking around here wondering what happened to everyone. Sorry to keep you waiting."

Cideeda rolls her eyes and snickers with a toothy grin. "I was also checking out the humvee before we traveled again. So, I just wasn't sitting around."

He reaches over for his boots and pulls the sleeping bag and blankets off his pants. "Okay, I feel a little better there. Well, might as well get up and enjoy the scenery while I can."

Glancing outside, Cideeda's furry ears flick between the different sounds from the forest creatures in the distance and the faint drone of wind through the trees. "It's really nice this time of year."

Her attention darts over to a flicker of movement that fades into a translucent haze. Leaning out, Bach peers down Cideeda's line of sight and asks in a quiet tone. "What are you looking at?"

Cideeda blinks and glances over at Bach, smirking. "A few of these things have this really high pitched chirping. But, every time I spot one, they just disappear. I haven't been able to get a good look at one."

Fitting on his footwear, he cocks his head and curiously narrows his blue eyes at Cideeda. "So... Is there anything you need help with? I mean... I don't have much else to do..."

Hopping up to her feet outside, Cideeda straightens her posture, stretching her upper body, and rests her hands on her hips. "Nah, I already checked the humvee twice. I've just been waiting to see when you woke up and when everyone else decided to show back up."

Bach stands up, surveys the camp, and shrugs. "Okay. Huh, so... Yeah... I guess just watch nature for a bit."

Moments of quiet observation pass, and the two wander their attention between the turning leaves in trees, critters in the woods, and flickers of small spirits darting around. An idea widens Cideeda's emerald green eyes, and an eager grin grows. "Oh, I know something I wanted to ask YOU about."

Bach gazes down at Cideeda, fighting a surge of trepidation, and chuckles awkwardly. "What would that be?"

Cideeda smiles up at Bach, fidgeting with bits of excitement. "All the iconography, pathway, or whatever channel magic! After all the stuff I've drawn and painted, and what I saw it can do last night..."

Her eyes widen, and she grins eagerly. "I want to know MORE."

She shifts her gaze side to side, tugging at the corner of her mouth, and whispers at Bach. "But, I want to learn it from... YOU. Sotalia gets a little too excited when she shows me anything, and Aristespha gets REALLY technical and super detailed."

Bach blinks blankly. Searching his mind, he nods understandingly with a grimace. "Yeah. I get where you are coming from."

He points over to a log near the fire pit and walks over that direction. "I'm not good enough to draft up anything like what we saw last night. But, I know enough to make scrolls and other simple things."

Bach sits down, and Cideeda takes a seat on the log bench next to him. Thinking a moment, Bach twists his mouth uncertainly. "Well, I don't know what would be a good starting point, since there's a lot of stuff. But, let's go through some of the symbols you've drawn, and I'll explain what they do... Sound good?"

Cideeda quickly nods, brushes debris off the packed dirt between her and Bach, and claws out a shape into the ground. "Perfect! Okay, I remember this was in a lot of different places."

Bach studies the icon in the soil. "That one directs energy flow one way. Once the flow builds up enough, the power that flows through it can't reverse."

A spark of recognition lights up Cideeda's light brown face, and her intrigue gazes at Bach. "Okay... Oh! So, this acts like a diode or a one-way valve?"

Bach nods in agreement, and Cideeda draws another icon into the dirt with her claw tips, pointing to it. "This one I've seen in different styles and sizes on big and small channels."

Leaning down, Bach recognizes the shape and smirks. "Yeah, that one regulates flow. There's a few variants depending if you want to limit the pressure or rate."

Biting her lower lip, Cideeda's brow furrows, her tail flicks with her thoughts, and she rests her chin on her hand. "That sounds like a resistor... But... Can these symbols exchange current, um, flow rate for voltage, um, pressure?"

Tilting his head to the side, Bach glances around the front of his mind. "Not really. They just limit. But, there are..."

He picks up a twig, scratches out another symbol, and motions the tip of the stick over. "These."

The two continue trading out explanations for drawn symbols, discuss bridges between arcane and technology, and debate equivalent analogs.

-121-

Beams of sunlight pour through the wide opening in the surrounding forest canopy and radiate down upon the huge stone dais. Loud clacks and shuffling of boots upon rough rock sound out. Bach lunges forward with his practice sword and readies a swipe at Aristespha. In the moment, Aristespha tenses and shifts from a defensive stance into a countering posture. Bach hesitates, leans away with his guard forward, and springs back. Stepping back, he twists his mouth uncertainly and grumbles to himself with frustration weighing his tone.

Sebastian's ethereal form coasts down next to him, narrows a translucent blue eyed stare, and sighs. "Bro, you had a good shot ready. You should have taken it."

Tossing his head back, Bach glances up at the cloudy, blue skies above, groaning. "I know, I know... But, I saw her tense up, and she was about to attack me."

Nodding in agreement, Sebastian furrows his brow and crosses his arms. "Yes. She was about to attack you. She hadn't gotten that far. When you hesitated, you gave her the chance to take control of the exchange."

Grumbling under his breath, Bach levels an annoyed gaze at Sebastian and grimaces. "Yeah. I know. Hence, that's why I jumped away. I didn't want to give her an opportunity."

Sebastian leans close, focusing his attention upon Bach, and whispers. "You already did. Again, you bailed on the attack too soon. You just got to go for it sometimes, bro."

He drifts in front of Bach and presents a reassuring smile. "Okay. Let's break it down step by step. Listen carefully."

Sebastian motions Bach off to the side and explains quietly. Aristespha tosses back her long, silvery blue hair, stretching her arms out, and twirls the practice blade. Resting a hand on her hip, she glances over to the side and shrugs towards the shady sidelines with a smug smirk. Sitting upon the flat stonework, Cideeda's long, fluffy tail wags, and she taps through different settings on her aetherphone. Sotalia leans forward from her seat on a bench and peers over Cideeda's shoulder. "What are you trying to do?"

Blinking her emerald green eyes away from focus on the screen, Cideeda perks her furry ears, rests a claw tip on an indicator icon, and curls a toothy grin. "Turning up the frame rate for the video capture. It should make the slow motion playback better."

With a nod, Sotalia settles back onto her spot on the bench and glances over towards Dretphi. She gazes at Dretphi's attentive body language, tilting closer to her, and smirks. "So, what do you think, girl?"

Dretphi narrows her steely gray eyes and contorts her tan face. Straightening her sitting posture, she pushes her platinum blonde braids over her shoulders and sighs thoughtfully, curling a faint frown. "Cautious to a fault. Needs to assert himself..."

Perking up her eyebrow, Sotalia cracks a humored grin and chuckles to herself. "Well, yes, but I was asking about his sword fighting."

Blinking blankly, Dretphi glances down at Sotalia confused and furrows her brow into a puzzling stare. Sotalia rolls her golden eyes, shaking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair, and stretches out her legs and arms. Nearby on the end of the bench, Mark watches with a smile and combs his hand through his bushy beard. In a lull of conversation, Bach glances away from Sebastian hesitantly and calls out. "Hey, Mark. Are you really sure it's okay for us to do all this sparring on this..."

He glances down and around at the stonework surrounding him. "Ancient ritual site? I mean, isn't it, um, sacred or something like that?"

Cocking his head to the side, Mark visibly ponders between blinks, wrestling a grimace. His darker hazel eyes dart between his memories, and he snorts loudly into a laugh. With a wide, humored grin on his dark tan face, he shakes his head and chuckles heartily. "Please. It's just an old rock with stuff carved into it."

His gaze drifts upwards through the opening to the sky above, and he shrugs his shoulders under his robe. "Can't be all too sacred when the birds shit on it everyday."

Bach furrows his brow with a hint of disbelief and eases out a reluctant sigh and eyes his brother. "Okay... I'll give it a few more tries."

Floating off to the side, Sebastian signals a thumbs up towards Aristespha and nods at Bach. "Remember. No opening is going to be ideal... Some are just better than others. Don't let that alone deter you from taking them."

Pulling a long breath through his nose, Bach straightens his back, rolls his shoulders, and walks up towards Aristespha. Sliding her boots upon the stone dais, Aristespha readies herself and smirks at Bach. "Whenever you are ready."

The two wield their practice weapons and wait. Aristespha observes each shift of Bach's weight on his feet. Bach's blue eyes dart between possibilities, settling between a few options. Tensing his body, he steps forward carefully and keeps his sword at the ready. Aristespha tightens her grip and gracefully matches Bach's movement, repositioning herself in anticipation. Cideeda taps the record button on her aetherphone, Dretphi trains her full attention upon the action, and Sotalia leans with her stare ahead. Mark watches with twitches of intensity between casual observations. Sebastian sounds out a reverberating sigh and rests his hands at his side, staring at his brother. "Come on, bro! You got this!"

Bach leads with cautious thrusts, and Aristespha calmly parries each. With a fast step forward, Bach guides a swing of the practice sword at Aristespha's side. Her violet eyes track the attack, and Aristespha directs her sparring blade, intercepting and deflecting. Narrowing his determined stare, Bach pushes forward with a flurry of swipes and thrusts, pressing the next attack after each counter. Weathering the onslaught, an eager glint sparks in Aristespha's eye, and she launches an attack during the recovery. Bach's body tenses, and he springs back, parrying thrusts. Backpedaling in his retreat, he summons the strength and empowers a deflection, shoving Aristespha's sword swing back. His blue eyes widen, and recognition seizes his focus. Hesitation emerges upon his face, Aristespha readying herself for a counter. He drifts his attention inwards. Furrowing his brow, a surge of determination from within washes over Bach, and he lunges forward, blade ahead.

Surprise springs Aristespha back, and she assumes a defensive stance. Bach tightens his grip on the practice sword, steadying himself, and studies Aristespha's maneuvers. Between mutual exchanges, Bach presses attacks, and Aristespha retreats, her frustration growing with the pressure. Both launch flurries of thrusts, swings, and swipes to the parries, deflections, and counters of the other. Aiming her aetherphone towards the action, Cideeda slinks in orbit along with the wandering duel, dipping and ducking for the best angle. Sotalia sways with the action. Dretphi analyzes each motion. Mark grins at the demonstration, watching on eagerly.

Aristespha grits her teeth, pushes back against the last in chain of attacks from Bach, and powers a heavy swing down. Bach raises his blade, intercepting, and redirects the energy, starting to back away. His eyes dart around, and a surge of determination quells stale hesitation. He steps forward into the space next to Aristespha within the shadow of her last attack. A confident grin splits from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes focus upon a target. He twists the sword grip, revealing the flat of the practice blade, and finds his target.

An echoing smack bounces off hard surfaces and filters into the surrounding forest. A reflexive high pitched yelp breaks free from Aristespha. Retreating from the broad side of the practice sword, she stiffly hops away into a stumble, her posterior cheek muscles tightly tensed. Contortions of shock, confusion, and fury mix upon her flush, ivory face. She hisses through a jaw clenching wince and covers the back of her pants with a free hand. Bach blinks blankly. Eying the practice sword in his hand, he glances at Aristespha warily and unconsciously hides the sparring blade behind him. Sputters of Evuukian curses slip out from Aristespha, and Sotalia rushes over next to Cideeda. "OH... Tell me you got THAT."

A toothy grin parts wide on Cideeda's light brown face, and she winks. "Want to see it in slow motion?"

Standing up with her hands covering her mouth in surprise, Dretphi flutters her steely gray eyes. Excitement swirls up her, and she lowers her hands to reveal a proud smile. Mark claps and chuckles with a grin. "Nicely done. I was wondering when the hell you'd get a good hit in. You picked up the pace in the end."

Sebastian's ethereal form hovers up to the side of Bach. He glances over at his brother, leaning close, and maintains a stiff upper lip. "Bro..."

Bach glances over, and Sebastian flashes a pride filled grin. "Damn... That was impressive fighting."

An appreciative smile appears on Bach's tan face, and he stands taller. "Yeah... I... I don't know. After that first bit, I just keep pushing and... Well..."

Sebastian nods, glancing briefly over at Aristespha rubbing her backside between mutters of Evuukian curses, and hovers closer to Bach. "Now. She got flustered and let her guard down. That was great work to keep the pressure up, but you can't always hope for that to happen with everyone. Some can keep their cool for a lot longer than you'd expect."

He meets Bach's gaze, smirking. "So, before the next round... Let me give you some advice."

Briefly gritting his teeth, he lowers his voice and quietly speaks, shielding his mouth with hand. "You can probably score two-"

A string of irritated Evuukian sounds out with Sebastian's name intermingling between phrases. Staring wide eyed at Aristespha, Sotalia squelches a laugh into a snort. Sebastian twists his mouth uneasily and whispers to Bach. "Let's just go for one more hit today. And, bro, I'd avoid smacks with the flat of the blade. She really doesn't like those."

Bach glances around the ghostly visage of his brother to the violet, furious glare of Aristespha, and turns his head to Sebastian. "So... There's a story behind that, I guess?"

Awkwardly averting his gaze, Sebastian releases an embarrassed ethereal sigh. "Yeah. Um. Yeah, you could say that."

----

The warm orange glow of the campfire contrasts the cool darkness encroaching the surrounding site. A light breeze sifts through the thinning trees, and a faint drone fills the air around the camp, soft patters of leaves breaking free above the din. Dretphi stacks the last of cleared plates with traces of dinner in a wood crate and glances over towards Mark sitting on a log. "Are you sure you do not want me to clean these?"

Mark gazes over from the idle conversations between others and waves off Dretphi's concern, smiling reassuringly. "Oh, I'll get them tomorrow. After that wonderful meal, I'll be happy to clean them later. Well..."

He smirks with a chuckle. "A few whelps that hang out around here will."

With a nod, Dretphi locks up the container, turns around, and walks up to the circle of log seats. Cideeda leans close to Sotalia, shows her aetherphone screen, and taps the display. A slow motion replay of Bach launching his attack against Aristespha plays in the video app. Sotalia pokes at the phone quickly, slides between frames, and smirks mischievously. Furrowing her brow, Cideeda cracks a thin grin. The two glance over at Aristespha, barely containing their amusement. Aristespha's long, pointed ears twitch, and she darts her violet eyes around. Settling upon Cideeda and Sotalia snickering, she narrows an unamused glare upon them and crosses her arms, tilting her nose up indignantly. "If you think you can match me, I welcome your challenges."

Sotalia's golden eyes widen, and she contorts an awkward, reluctant smile on her light tan face, hesitance creeping from the edges. Brushing back a stray lock of fiery orange hair, she idly scratches a dark gray patch underneath her pointed ear and laughs lightly. "I think I'll keep to my magic, girl. I leave the swords and stuff to the rest of you."

Cideeda blinks her emerald green eyes, dons a halfhearted toothy grin, and waves off the proposition, her furry ears drooping slightly. "You know I'm not one for direct confrontation."

Sebastian's ethereal form leans close to Aristespha, and he cranes his head around, meeting Aristespha's gaze. Furrowing his brow, he smirks lovingly and calmly speaks. "Dear... Come on now. We're all friends here."

Drawing in a long breath, Aristespha huffs and fights against a forming pout. Shaking his head, Sebastian chuckles with a smirk. "It's only fair after all the times you got hits in."

Bach glances over sheepishly from his seat on a nearby log, presenting a reassuring smile. "Yeah. Again, uh, I'm sorry. I got a little caught up in the moment and all..."

Aristespha relaxes her shoulders, wrestles with the smirk on her ivory face, and sighs in resignation. "It's fine. You did nothing wrong, Bach. It is just my... pride... was not anticipating that attack. But, it was a fair hit."

Rolling her eyes at herself, she cracks a smile and nods at Bach. "I am actually happy that your skills have improved."

A sinister grin appears, and she perks up her eyebrow. "Now... You are a proper challenge. I shall keep that in mind in the future."

Bach blinks blankly, tilting his head to the side. Sebastian grits his teeth and shrugs his shoulders at Bach's glance over at him. Dretphi covers a yawn and scans around at the campsite. "Think it is time for bed. Good night all."

Stretching out her back, Sotalia gets up onto her feet and steps away from the campfire. "Gods. I guess it is late. Well, I'll see you all bright early in the morning."

Popping up from her seat, Cideeda puts away her phone into her shorts and sways her long fluffy tail, working the drowsiness from her body. "Yeah. A long day of driving tomorrow for me."

She waves towards the remaining people seated near the fire. "Night. Don't stay up too late. It'll be hard to sleep on the ride back tomorrow. This is the bumpy stretch before we camp at the rest stop."

A few idle minutes later, Aristespha flutters her eyes open, glancing around, and sighs with resignation. "I should turn in, too."

Standing up from her spot on a log, she bows respectfully towards Mark. "Thank you again for being so accommodating and everything you have done for us."

With a smile, Mark nods his thinly haired head. "Oh. Not a problem. You get some sleep now. Sounds like you will need it for tomorrow."

Aristespha trails a playful glare at Bach, cracking a smile at the end to Bach's piquing confusion. Sebastian grants a wave and follows behind Aristespha.

Idle moments pass in the relative quiet of the forest. The embers in the fire pit dim with the occasional snap and crackle. Mark glances over at Bach, cocking his head, and furrows his brow curiously. "So, after all this time, you still don't know how you got that power?"

Bach shudders back to awareness and meets Mark's gaze. Wrestling different thoughts upon his face, Bach sighs his defeat and shakes his head. "No. I keep on going through each moment I can remember. But... I still can't figure out what I did that was really... Special?"

He rests his chin upon the palm of his propped up hand, darting his eyes inside his mind, and hisses out his stale frustration. "I mean. I was just desperate. Fighting that Nightmare Geist... I just kept digging deeper into my reserves. Gods. I didn't even know I could do that much. But... It felt WEIRD. Then again..."

Sitting back, he holds his hands out puzzling, narrowing his stare towards the past. "I was scared shitless, fighting an unholy horror, and trying to stay alive. So, THAT may have been it?"

Mark nods understandingly and sighs with a tight smile. "Yeah. I know that feeling. Really hard to clearly remember things when things weren't clear to begin with."

Opening his blue eyes wide, Bach shakes his head and groans out his old frustrations. "You're telling me. There was an odd feeling right before everything got bright, and I blacked out. Then, I just remember waking up. No sign of the Nightmare Geist, and everyone that was part of the trip was really confused."

Furrowing his brow, Mark cracks a smirk on his dark tan face. "Yeah. Such a thing is already hard enough to explain even when you know what it is."

Bach nods in agreement, rolling his eyes at himself. "Gods, yes. I mean, there wasn't really much to report. Big monster showed up. We all flung magic at it. Everyone blacked out. And, we woke to it being gone."

He groans and narrows an annoyed gaze towards Mark. "Damn investigators from so many places wouldn't stop bugging us for DAYS. Damn. Just remembering it all... They were NOT happy with all the gaps in information. Thinking about it now..."

Twisting a frown on his face, he sighs and furrows his brow. "They were probably frustrated that they couldn't find out where that Nightmare Geist ran off to. To them, it couldn't have just disappeared. They hadn't figured out I wiped it out."

Mark nods slowly and grimaces with a snort. "Yeah. No. They probably were more concerned with IT than anything. Partly because it was still a danger to them. But, I wouldn't doubt they had other interests."

Bach rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose, sniffs a long breath in, and groans. "Gods, yeah. After all the crazy shit people have tried to do, I wouldn't be surprised if they wanted to capture it for experiments."

Focusing his attention upon Bach, Mark perks his eyebrow, tilting his head curiously, and inquires calmly. "So, you have this power now, and you decide to go into hiding. If you don't mind sharing, why did you do that?"

Rolling his blue eyes at himself, Bach sighs heavy with old frustration and shakes his head. "At the time... Because, I didn't want to turn into the next Dark Lord... As silly as that sounds, now. But-"

He grits his teeth briefly, darts between the thoughts in his head, and combs his fingers through his longer brown hair. "Even without that reasoning... All I knew is that I had this power without any clue on how to use it. And, I didn't have any good options to find out more about it."

Squinting his eyes, Bach straightens his posture and cocks his head to the side. "I think I can explain it... Um..."

Moving his hands with his thoughts, he gazes at Mark and carefully pieces together his words. "It's like, um... It's like waking up one day and finding a bomb in your bedroom. You don't have a clue how to disarm it. You can't move it since it's bolted to the floor. And, if you do anything other than walk around the room, it starts to beep. You just know that's not good."

He scratches the back of his head, the stale frustrations, disappointments, and pain coloring his tone. "Your first thought is to leave the house. Because, it can't possibly be safe to stay in there. But, you put so much time and money in the house, and people wonder why you don't stay in your own house. You want to tell them about the bomb, but that just causes more questions that gets you all the wrong kinds of attention."

Narrowing his eyes, Bach gazes at Mark and shrugs his shoulders. "I mean, do you really want a bunch of random people interested in the bomb going through your house?"

Mark cracks a smile and snorts into a chuckle. "Actually... I totally understand. A smarter attitude than I would have had at your age."

Bach quirks his brow and eyes Mark closely. "Really? What would you have done?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Mark grins humored and strokes his bushy beard. "Well. Something stupid! I know that much. I was a wild one back in the early days. Not much would have stopped me from just trying anything."

He tilts his head back and focuses an inquisitive gaze at Bach. "Okay... If you knew then what you know now about the power, would you have done things differently?"

Bach pauses completely in thought. His stare drifts inwards and grows distant. Opening his mouth a few times, he flounders for an explanation and sighs with the hesitation. He pulls in a long breath, blinks back to awareness, and glances at Mark, frowning unsatisfied. "I don't know. I've done a lot of good things with this power. But... I've done a few things I regret. And... How easily I could do them..."

A long pause later, Bach fights with a frown on his face and swallows hard. "THAT scares me."

A gloomy mood overtakes Mark, and he eases out a sad exhale. "Yeah. Yeah... I totally understand that, too. I'm just glad that you had a lot more restraint about it all and learned that way. Because, figuring out the other ways ain't fun. It can take a lot of pain before you take a moment to pause and think about things."

Sliding his attention over upon Mark, Bach tilts his head curiously. "So, I guess you learned the other ways?"

Mark nods, slacking his shoulders, and wrestles against a pained frown on his dark tan face. "Yes. The details are pointless now. But, let's just say I got caught up in a bunch of those conflicts before you were born and did a lot of shitty things for what I thought was right. It wasn't until things went from bad to fucked that I realized the situation I was in."

Blinking his surprise, Bach inquires further. "So... What did you do, then?"

Donning a humored smile, Mark glances around and holds his hands out towards the surrounding area. "I said, OH SHIT... Then, I ran off into the woods for a few years."

He leans closer to Bach, twisting a grimace on his face, and sighs with the memories. "Not the greatest plan. BUT, I was a real dumbass. Well, if I couldn't figure out how to unfuck the situation, I figured I could at least not add to it anymore. Remove myself from the equation."

Bach crosses his arms and rocks his head side to side, searching his mind. "I can understand."

Mark bows his head down and motions with his hand, laughing. "I figured you might. Anyway, I just couldn't sit on the sidelines forever. Things happened to where I was forced to do SOMETHING. So, I had to figure a new way to do things, because I wasn't going to do the old ways."

Nodding with the sentiment, Bach cracks a reserved smile, chuckling. "Can't fault you there."

He pauses in thought a moment, straightens his posture, and exhales. "I just... I just wish I knew why I got this power. There's got to be some justification for that."

Mark shrugs, brushes out a stray leaf from his bushy beard, and dons a humored smirk on his face. "I don't know. Might be as simple as you needed it when fighting that Nightmare Geist."

Narrowing his gaze, Bach tilts his head and frowns slightly. "Yeah... But, I was done with that for years. Never used it, until recently. I mean people theorize the Abstract Prism might have some kind of intelligence to it. You'd think it'd pull back that power to make sure things don't go out of control."

Scratching his chin, Mark quirks his eyebrow. "Well, you showed restraint and respect for the power..."

Bach contorts a spark irritation through his wince and rolls his eyes heavy with sarcasm. "Oh. Good. The all powerful entity in charge of magic is misunderstanding all my hints that I DON'T want this power."

Mark chuckles and grins slyly. "Who better to grant such power than someone who doesn't want it?"

An exasperated groan escapes Bach, and he shakes his bowed head. "GREAT."

Smiling reassuringly, Mark snorts and gazes at Bach. "Hey, I don't know how all that works. Though... If there's anything I do know, it's that there's a lot more going on in this world. What you do with what you've been granted might lead to far bigger changes down the line."

A smile briefly appears on Bach. An ill-humored smirk settles upon his face, and sarcasm flows out in his voice. "Ah. So no pressure really. Don't worry, the future of how greater forces decide the fates of many might be on your shoulders."

Mark shakes his head and rolls his eyes playfully dismissive. "I'm certain such decisions take a little more to make. So, you don't have to put all that on your shoulders."

He cracks a sly grin and winks. "But, just in case, I still think some great, noble uses of that power might be good for all of us. You seem to have a good head for it. So, it seems like something made a good choice, IF there was one made."

A genuine smile grows on Bach, and he gazes over at Mark appreciatively. "Um, thanks. Really."

In the lull, the ambient sounds of forest fill in the gap. Bach gazes out into the remaining embers of the fire. The distance grows in his stare. His eyes flutter with drowsiness and close briefly. He quickly straightens his back and blinks back awake. "Well, I better get to bed."

Mark nods and smirks simply. "You should. You got a long day tomorrow."

Bach stands up from his seat upon the log, steps over towards the camp site, and pauses a moment. He glances over at Mark and nods appreciatively. "Thanks for the talk."

With a slight bow, Mark smiles. "Anytime."

With Bach's departure, Mark holds his hands up to the radiant heat from the glowing pile of embers in the fire pit. From the forest, a white glow brightens. Goris meticulously steps out, carefully approaching the campfire, and stands near Mark. "Everything good tonight?"

Mark nods, stretches out his lower back with a faint wince. "Yup. Just enjoying the last bit of heat before I turn in."

Goris turns its head and stares down at the spurts of flame above the coals. Mark glances up at Goris and cocks his head, furrowing his brow. "You think that Bach is the key to something going on?"

With a flicker from its eyes, Goris gazes down at Mark and shakes its head. It explains in a dismissive tone. "The architects never worked that way. They were careful in all affairs and designs. If they designed the Abstract Prism as they designed all other things, then there are multitudes of factors constantly being evaluated. No single vector alone could influence a great change during nominal operation."

Returning his stare to the fire pit, Mark ponders out loud. "Yeah. That makes sense. I figured as much. But, even then... It's still strange that something allowed Elder energy after all these years."

Goris gazes upwards a moment, narrowing its eyes, and emulates a sigh. "Yes. I wish I understood."

Easing himself up off the seat upon the log bench, Mark straightens his back out, gritting his teeth, and grumbles. "Me too."

Goris watches Mark wander off to the largest hut with a wave. Seconds of quiet contemplation, it picks a new direction and quietly marches out towards a new patrol path.

----

A blue all terrain truck rolls down a long stretch of highway. Inside the vehicle, Isaac keeps his head forward and stares out the windshield at the road. Guiding the truck into a gentle curve, he darts his eyes towards his side mirror and furrows his brow. His focus settles upon a worn, gray van distantly behind him. Straightening out the steering wheel, he hums to himself and gazes ahead in thought, furrowing his brow. He wrestles an uneasy frown on his face, brushes back stray, wispy white hairs, and tightens his grip on the wheel. Running the tail of the blue scarf between his fingers, he briefly grits his teeth and glances at his rear view mirror from the corner of his eyes.

Squinting into the reflected distance, he watches the plainly dressed driver and passenger of the van maintain watch ahead. Seconds pass, and Isaac grumbles to himself. "Who are you people..."

Settling his attention forward down the road, he raps his fingers on the steering wheel and sighs out his frustration. The blue truck coasts down the highway running within a valley between tall hills coated in mixes of waning green, bright yellows, brilliant oranges, and deep reds. Gentle winds sway the nearby trees of thinning branches and pluck autumn leaves free. Isaac draws a long, deep breath in. Blinking his eyes, he focuses his gaze down the highway and searches along the side of the road. Darting his eyes towards road markers, he steadies the vehicle down a long straight away and tenses against the chill going down his spine. Easing out a long breath, a shudder of paranoia accompanies his uneasy stare ahead. He mutters uncomfortably. "That same damned van... ...a few days ago... ...doesn't make sense..."

Blinking back to awareness, he settles his gaze upon a large, tall metal highway sign.

"Lands Between Train Depot"

Isaac's gray eyes widen, and an intrigued smirk emerges on his face. Furrowing his brow, he quickly reads through the reflected afternoon sun at the various icons and notations. Another chain of different advertisements and other postings spread out further from the main highway sign. A sly grin cracks from the corner of Isaac's mouth, and he briefly darts his eyes towards the rear view mirror. With a bubbling of confidence, he relaxes in his seat and taps his finger upon the top of the steering wheel.

Minutes pass, and the blue all terrain truck follows down the highway, with a distant worn, gray van keeping pace. The pair traveling down the stretch, more vehicles from other directions pass on by, and a number turn onto the main roadway from side streets. The van gradually tightens the gap, the speed limit signs reducing at each major junction. Isaac maintains a nonchalant facade, and his gray eyes dart between different mirrors, gazing upon the individuals in the van with vague familiarity. He searches the starts of civilization ahead. Glancing between the points of interest, he studies the restaurants, stores, and other facilities surrounding the dense industrial core of the Lands Between Train Depot. Drifting his attention towards the other side of the highway, he searches the different advertising signs. Springing his eyes wide open, he cracks a sly smirk and settles upon a motel around the outskirts.

He flips on his turn signal and watches his rear view mirror carefully. The passenger in the van stirs, turning to the driver. The driver maintains a calm exterior and simply nods. Isaac slows the truck into a middle turn lane and waits for oncoming traffic to pass. The gray van passes on by, and he observes from the corner of his eye. The worn vehicle continues deeper into town. It turns on its own signal and pulls off into a fueling station. Isaac draws a humored smile across his face and drives his truck into the parking lot of the motel. Guiding the all terrain vehicle into a spot, he slowly gathers his belongings and sneaks peeks towards the van at the pumps.

The driver side door opens, and a fit man in plain clothes steps out. Sorting through his wallet, he directs his voice inside. "Contact high and let them know the situation. I'm going to fill up the tank."

A woman inside nods and opens up the glove box. "On it."

Retrieving a rugged tablet, she clicks a side button and taps in a long code on the screen. She glances over at the man and calls out. "Could you go inside and find out what snacks they got?"

Stepping closer to the driver's side door, the man leans over and nods with a smirk. "Yeah, I was thinking the same. Your usual if they got it?"

With an appreciative smile, she snorts. "You know it. Get extra, it's probably going to be a long night."

The man closes the driver's door firmly and studies the pumping system's options for fuel. The woman gazes down upon the different apps on the screen, the official GAA logo and legal statement on the desktop background. She opens up a messenger app and quickly types out a message.

"Target stopped at a motel near Lands Between Train Depot. Target may be suspicious and could be preparing to change up transportation or otherwise. Request backup to monitor Train Depot and surrounding area."

----

Early morning light beams upon the wide main street in front of the fenced perimeter of the Lands Between Train Depot. Large hauler trucks pass through gateways, employees enter through checkpoints, and customers arrive at designated lots outside the protected core. Surrounding the depot, flurries of activity occur within shops. The next wave of customers filter through the Pancake Shed near the motel, and another line of trucks roll out to their destinations.

From a camouflaged observation point, two GAA scouts peer through the trees and across the street, watching the area around a motel room. One gradually pans his binoculars along the stretch of the structure and settles upon the blue all terrain truck in front of one section. He draws in a long breath and whispers. "So... What's the activity report from the night team?"

Blinking his faintly glowing green eyes, the mage scout twists his mouth and softly explains. "After checking into the motel, he went over to the Pancake Shed and ate. Seems he was talking to a few people in there and sat down with someone. They're trying to figure out if it's anyone of significance, but nothing has come up yet. Some kind of exchange happened, but we didn't have a good angle on it."

Squinting into the distance, he sighs and ponders out loud. "Apart from that, he headed back to his motel room, seemed to go to bed at a decent time... And, here we are."

The binocular scout furrows his brow and glances over inquisitively. "That's it? Anything else? Did the magic monitoring teams detect anything? Or, did the lookout over at the depot spot anything weird?"

The mage scout shakes his head and turns his stare towards another part of the motel, grumbling. "Fuck all. From what anyone can tell he's just been in his motel room all night after getting something to eat."

Rolling his eyes, he blinks hard and refocuses his gaze back upon the motel room in front of the blue truck. "There's been some magical activity. But, honestly, nothing out of the ordinary for your average mage performing basic things. Which means, this guy may have just been doing nothing but watching TV... Given what he's capable of."

Peering back through the binoculars, the other scout settles back into position and scans the building front. His aim shifts quickly and he focuses the lenses. "Hey. Check THIS guy out."

With the mage scout watching carefully, he trains his full attention upon a guy in a hoodie walking up to the blue truck. The thin man walks up to the driver's side door. The binocular scout whispers. "Is that him? Everyone reported he was in that motel room. What's going on here?"

The mage scout keys up his radio and narrows his stare. "Motel Watch to all. We have someone approaching target's truck. Can anyone tell me who this is?"

The hooded man reaches into his pocket, pulls out a set of keys, and puts them into the driver's side lock. With a twist and pull, he opens the door and slips inside. The scout with the binoculars leans forward slightly in surprise. "Oh shit! It might be him. He just unlocked the door and got inside."

The all terrain vehicle starts up, and the hoodie wearing man inspects the cab. The mage scout calls out on the radio. "Target vehicle started by unconfirmed driver. Requesting that someone track that vehicle."

Crackling over the radio, a voice responds. "Gray team ready. We'll tail behind it."

The truck backs away from the motel room, turns, moving forward, and rolls up onto the main street. The blue truck moving down the way, a worn, gray van pulls up to an intersection, merges onto the road, and follows far behind. Shaking his head and resting the radio down, the mage scout blinks his faintly glowing green eyes and grumbles. "Who the fuck dropped the ball on THAT? Gods damn it. Did he slip out the back or-"

Squinting his stare, he snaps his full concentration upon the distant structure and reflexively keys up the radio. "Magic activity at the motel door. Repeat. Magic activity at the motel door."

Training his binoculars at the building, the other scout twists his mouth uncertainly. "The door knob is turning. The fuck? Is he still in there?"

The motel room door opens slowly without anyone behind it. A massive plume of thick, obscuring smoke blasts out from the doorway and floods the parking lot. The mage scout yells out with a tight grip on the transceiver. "Eyes on the motel!"

A translucent figure launches out from the obfuscating cloud, zips through the air towards the Train Depot, and drops down out of sight in the middle of the industrial zone. The radio crackles to life, and another voice sounds out. "Something breached the perimeter of the depot and landed between some buildings. Dispatching team to investigate. No eyes on it currently."

A brief lull later, another transmission keys up on the channel. "The back window to the motel room just opened up! The smoke covered the area, but we saw something camouflaged run through it into town. Pursuing now. It just went down an alley."

Squinting hard, the mage scout searches the obscuring mist flooding the front of the motel and growls out. "DAMN IT. It's charged with energy, I can't make anything out from this far away."

Tapping through different buttons on his binoculars, the other scout grits his teeth and hisses. "Fuck. I can't see through it, either. Something is messing with thermal vision."

The two exchange glances, nod at each other, and glare towards the motel. They ready themselves to their feet, and the mage scout keys up the radio. "Motel Watch moving in closer to check the room. Requesting backup."

Rushing out from the woods, the two GAA scouts reach the road, check both ways, and rush up to the edge of the thick plume of smoke. The both peer through the vision blocking haze and glance at each other unsatisfied. The two exchange silent signals in a frustrated conversation. A faint sputtering sounds out from inside the motel room, and the two men tense at the ready. The flow of smoke wanes quickly from the doorway, and the thick plumes filling the front lot of the motel gradually drift away into thinning clouds. Both scouts carefully watch the dissipating mists and maintain their position near the motel room. The fog fading enough for semblances of visibility, the scouts cautiously approach the entryway.

With backs against walls on either side of the door, both take turns peering inside and checking their angles. Initial inspections later, they crane their heads and slowly scan the interior. Through the haze, they spot the expected, intact motel furniture and a large flask into the middle of the room. The mage scout focuses his glowing green stare at the bottle and sighs into whisper. "Some kind of alchemical smoke bomb."

He darts his eyes between a number of points around the room and signals the okay. The two step inside cautiously. The other scout gestures towards the open bathroom door. Both quietly approach the entry, tensing in anticipation. They peek inside the empty bathroom, checking the open shower curtain and the lifted back window. The two share an exhale of brief relief and shrug. Both walking towards the exit, the mage scout halts at a tap of the shoulder from the other. Turning around, he notices his partner's signal towards the bed and tenses. The two gulp hard and ready themselves. With a quick gesture of an incantation from the mage scout, the bed end lifts up, and the other scout aims a pistol down at the empty floor. Breathing sighs of relief, the mattress and frame drift back down, and the pistol slides back into its holster.

The two quickly exit the motel room. One pulls the door shut, and the other keys up a radio. They start to secure the area, and the remaining traces of obscuring mist coasts away and down onto the ground. One section of the plume maintains its shape long enough to filter into the far off brush. The cloud sifts into the forest, leaves stir, twigs snap, and movement sounds out softly. Well within the confines of woods, Isaac stands up tall from the disappearing fog, straightening his back, and continues walking deeper into the forest. He cinches up his backpack, tightening his grip on his bag, and grins slyly. He glances back towards the motel through the woods and shakes his head, rolling his gray eyes. "Have fun..."

He trudges through the woods and peeks towards the highway going away from the depot, narrowing his distant stare to his thoughts.

----

Bach stares up at the ceiling of the living area, yawns, and adjusts the pillow under his head. Scooting up the arm of the couch, he gazes around the room. Drifting his attention away from a rerun of the Next Adventurers of Nexus, he catches a glimpse of Dretphi stepping into another part of the kitchen. Pulling himself up to a seat on the couch, he notices Cideeda sitting at the dining table. Subtle twitches wag the tip of her tail, and she studies an image on her aetherphone. A few moments later, her emerald green eyes focus upon a piece of paper, and she meticulously inks in a series of connected glyph sketches. Her furry ear flicks over towards Bach, and she glances over with a smirk. "Hey. Been staring at the ceiling?"

Bach sighs, glancing outside at the bright noon sun, and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. Almost got sleepy enough for a nap, but... Then, the sun came out, and it just got too bright. Now, I'm wide awake."

He slides back against the couch arm, crossing his arms, and twists his mouth. "I hate to say this, but... I'm actually a little bored right now, and I don't know what I want to do."

Cideeda nods her head of short, multi-colored hair, rests her chin on her propped up hand, and hums in thought. "Yeah. Not much to do at the moment."

A smile forms on her light brown face, and she chuckles lightly. "You can always show me a few more of these symbols."

Bach rocks his head side to side and smirks. "Sure. But... It just feels weird to be waiting after all the other stuff we've been doing."

Stepping in through the hallway archway, Sotalia rubs her golden eyes, glances between Bach and Cideeda, and rests her hands on her hips. "Anything going on?"

Bach shakes his head, and Cideeda shrugs, finishing up inking in a symbol. "Nothing really. You?"

Sotalia arches her back, swaying her hips idly side to side, and sighs. "Got all the latest presents sorted for all my nieces and nephews. Next time any of us head into town, I need to stop by the post office."

Brushing off her apron, Dretphi steps in from the kitchen, walks up to the refrigerator, and glances through the bar window towards the dining table. "Lunch will be ready in fifteen minutes."

She closes back up the door to the fridge, pausing in a thought, and contorts her face in indecision. "I overheard. It is strange. Waiting for the information. Hoping to react fast."

Sotalia crosses her arms, puffs up her chest, and groans. "I know, girl. I wouldn't mind a simple local job off the guild board. But, I want to get to whatever before Noxian has a chance."

Nodding agreement, Bach combs the white streak in his hair off to the side over and ponders out loud with an uncertain tone. "Yeah. I know. The waiting is the hardest part, an ancient philosopher once said."

Phasing in through the wall, Sebastian's ethereal form glances around at the assembled team, and he perks up his brow. "So. Who called this meeting?"

Sotalia pivots slightly, lifting her eyebrow, and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Well, we're trying to figure out how to kill some time without it being too involved."

Furrowing her brow, Dretphi twists an uncomfortable frown. "Awkward situation."

Sebastian briefly darts his attention to another source. He hovers further into the room and settles upon a spot above a pulled away chair at the dining table. "Yeah. No sense in us running around and get caught up in other crap. Hopefully, if this access point exists, we'll get location from Mark soon. Then, we can act."

Bach slides down the couch arm and sprawls out on the cushions. Staring up at the ceiling, he shrugs his shoulders and chuckles. "I mean, I guess there's a few things we can do around here to pass the time..."

He furrows his brow at the sound of footsteps closing. Startling to full attention, he glances down at the practice sword dropped upon his chest and gazes up at Aristespha's stare. Alternating between the sparring blade and Aristespha, he cocks his head to the side quizzically. Aristespha hoists up an amused eyebrow and cracks a smug smirk. "Sounds like you might be interested in another match."

Bach awkwardly blinks. "Uhhh... Could be..."

Aristespha laughs lightly and rolls her violet eyes with a toss of her long silvery blue hair. "Good. After lunch, if you want."

-122-

Kneeling next to the wide trunk of a tall tree, Isaac watches the sky through the sparse canopy overhead. Darting his uneasy stare between the brief clearances through the swaying branches, he waits expectantly and wrestles a frown on his aged face. His posture stiffens, and he glances over his shoulder towards a distant thumping in the skies. The noise grows louder. The mechanical qualities define themselves through the surrounding chorus of leaves. Isaac darts his gaze around nervously with an irritated grimace. Fruitless seconds of searching with the aircraft drone closing later, he spots a shallow cave in a hillside. Checking the skies overhead, Isaac dashes across the leaf covered forest floor and slides down into a rough seat past the natural shale arch. Pressing close to the damp stone wall, Isaac cautiously cranes his head low and peers up into the cloudy skies above. The weak downdraft of a military helicopter high above faintly rustles the canopy and sends a colorful rain of leaves downwards. The light scout aircraft hovers above for a few seconds and tips forward to a new direction. The rotor racket fades. Isaac slowly peeks out from the shadows warily.

Releasing a long sigh, he settles back. Glancing around the small space, he brushes off a spot and shifts over towards the cleaner area. A moment later, he winces and rubs the back of his neck, slowly stretching out the aches. Slowly twisting his torso, he pulls his muscles to uncomfortable extents, waits with a grimace, and groans, relaxing again. He rests his head of wispy white hair against the cave wall and sighs loudly, gazing up distantly. "...just one night in a proper bed..."

Drifting off into his thoughts, his stare wanders to the side and watches the fallen leaves dance around with the wind. The moments passing, his gray eyes soften, and the faint hint of smile curls on his tan face. His far off gaze drifts between memories, and he unconsciously feels a tail of the blue scarf around his neck. Sadness slips into his breaths, a frown weighs down his face, and he closes his eyes with a twist into a pained wince. Slowly exhaling with a trailing shudder, he wipes the traces of tears from face and coughs through a sigh. With a final long sniff, he shakes his head and straightens his back, gritting his teeth.

Pulling close his backpack, he opens the top flap and studies the interior. Spotting his target, he reaches inside, pulls out a map, and unfolds it. He contends with the awkward expansion of paper and manages confining the document to the most relevant section. His studious stare shifts between different marks, notes, and drawings. A number of crossed out locations litter the northern region within a large search area. Narrowing his gaze, Isaac twists his mouth and slightly tilts his head to the side. Following a sketched out route down roadways, his eyes settle upon the region in the middle of the map. His gray eyes read the label "Amaranth Valley", and he grumbles curiously. "...do you know something... ...I don't..."

Tapping his finger upon a location northeast, his attention settles upon the connecting routes leading towards Amaranth Valley. He furrows his brow and mulls over the options, contorting his face indecisively. Rocking his head side to side, his attention settles upon a city icon labeled "Ark." He hums faintly through his internal debate. A smirk curls out from the corner of his mouth, and he sighs to a tentative agreement. He examines the map a moment, studies the fold lines, and attempts to guide the paper back to a proper compact size. A few attempts lead to unsatisfactory results and growing frustration. Isaac rolls his eyes, crudely forces the document to fold over itself, and stuffs it back into his backpack with an annoyed curse under his breath. Securing his belongings, he stares from the shadows of the small cave and watches cautiously. Minutes of relative silence fill the area, and no trace of the overhead scouting efforts exist.

Crawling out through the shale rock arch, Isaac eases himself up. He stretches out his lean frame and grimaces, working out the stiffness and shakes his head. Searching above for the sun, he orients himself and ponders quietly for a moment. Motioning his finger between a few landmarks, his point gradually settles upon a direction. He travels carefully underneath the thicker sections of canopy above and darts between open areas, listening for familiar thumps. Traveling through the forest, he scans the horizon and squints into the distance. Hiking up to the crest of a small hill, he gazes down, focusing ahead. He lowers his profile and carefully approaches the edge of the forest next to a highway. He gets closer. He keeps low to the ground and hides behind the brush before the high grasses bordering the paved roadway. Peeking through the bushes, he searches along the road. Within his thoughts, he points in a desired direction and traces back the highway. Narrowing his stare, he notices a few vehicles getting closer.

Readying himself, he tightens the straps of his backpack upon his back and grips his bag at his side. Small passenger cars arrive closer, and Isaac shifts his attention back towards the horizon, hints of frustration slipping into his sigh. Minutes tick by, and Isaac watches sedans, small trucks, and closed up haulers speed on by. He shakes his head, twisting his mouth unsatisfied, and returns his watch back down the road. A motorcycle rolls on by, and he perks his brow, humming thoughtfully to himself.

A low rumbles travels above the highway, down the cleared trough through the trees. Isaac snaps his full attention towards the source, waiting anxiously. Rolling down the roadway, a large cargo truck slowly navigates the road. A driver and passenger stare distantly ahead through the windshield of the rusty cab. Isaac squints and springs his eyes wide open with an eager grin. The loose corner of a tarp over bed of the hauler flaps in wind. With his free hand, Isaac quickly gestures out a few incantations and draws a deep breath in.

He quickly fades from view into a nearly transparent warping of light, hovering up into the air. The truck rolls down the highway close by. The bushes shake from a downwards force. The tall grasses in the green spaces next to the highway sway briefly in the wake behind a nearly invisible blur. The fast moving haze zips behind the slow moving hauler and flies next to the flapping corner of the tarp. A force seizes the rubber coated canvas and lifts it up swiftly. The translucent blur squeezes underneath the tarp. Seconds later, the corner resumes its previous flapping in the breeze.

Fading back to opacity, Isaac crawls between crates and barrels into a space between tall containers. Pulling his bag off a box, he fits himself into the gap and seats himself on the floor. Squirming into the least uncomfortable position, he relaxes a bit and rests his head against a wooden crate. Under the shade of the tarp, he wanders his gaze between the different labels upon the parcels. Riding out the shakes from the old truck suspension, he spots logistic markings on a package sliding around.

"GAA-AV"

Isaac nods to himself. He draws in a long breath and sighs. "Ark... first..."

Gripping nearby boxes. he braces against the rocking from a pothole and winces, stretching out his neck. He sighs, rolling his gray eyes, and rubs his back, muttering.

----

Nash leans his head heavily against his propped up hand and idly swirls the shallow remainder of beer in his glass. He furrows his brow and sighs with a forming grimace. "Well... Shit."

Across the worn and aged wooden table, Harvos eases into the back of the chair, glancing aimlessly around the dining area, and groans with a frown. "Yeah... What the hell..."

Picking up the tall glass, Nash tosses back the remnants of his drink, eyes over at the bar, and catches the attention of a server. He lifts up his empty vessel and confirms with a quick nod. Setting the glass back down, he twists his face contemplatively and shakes his head. "To be fair... We kind of figured it out, but just getting the actual confirmation that he was pulling some shit..."

Harvos stares down at the mostly full mug of dark brew in front of him, grips hold of it, and pours back a hefty sum down his throat. Exhaling a disappointed breath, he settles his bright brown on black eyed gaze towards Nash and curls vague disappointment on his face. "Yeah. It hits a little hard for me. He's a previous head of my department. I KNOW there's going to be some drama over this. It's just a matter of when... and from who."

Rolling his pale blue eyes, Nash leans his heavy frame forward, perking up an eyebrow, and snorts into a chuckle. "Eh, don't feel bad. The higher ups can't say much since Isaac came from the Library."

Wrestling a tight grimace, he scratches the back of his head of long, graying hair and trails off a groan. "And... My department looks like dipshits, too. Come on... Key research leading to some major thing that a Dark Lord wanted was hidden in my server center. It'll be years before they stop bringing that up in project proposal meetings."

A young server stops on by and delivers a freshly filled glass of amber beer in front of Nash, plucking up the empty. With an appreciative nod, Nash grants a thumbs up and picks the brew up. "Thank you."

Harvos brushes back his short, bright brown hair, quickly checking his very tall horns, and glances around at the lunch crowd. "I hope our food comes out soon. It's getting hard to hold back. I'm feeling left behind by you."

Lifting an amused eyebrow, Nash shakes his head, pours back his beverage, and sighs with a smirk. "Don't try to follow me. I got the mass and the tempered liver working in my favor. If you thought the whole thing with Dr. Dawkins was bad, I doubt the both of us coming back from lunch tipsy is really going to help our cases."

A familiar voice sounds out nearby. "Wouldn't change your reputation much, though."

Both Harvos and Nash glance up. Vetra rests her sharp, dark nailed fingers on her hips, twitches her pointed ears, and cracks a smug grin. Her bright orange eyes glance between the two sitting at the table, and her expression softens. A subtle frown forms between the skin patterns on her face, and she sighs sympathetically. "I heard the latest rumors and figured you two would be here."

Nash quirks his brow and shrugs his shoulders, snorting humored. "Well. Damn. Let it not be said you don't know us."

He pushes out a chair table with his foot and motions to it with a wave. "Sit down. We're just trying to sort through all the bullshit."

Vetra slides into the seat, combing back a stray lock of orange streaked, ruby hair, and frowns. "Gods... To think if it wasn't for those two students fucking down in the basement."

Stifling a reflexive snort, Nash chuckles and shakes his head. "You know, I want to see how they word that part when they do the big write up of all this."

Harvos places down his glass of dark beer, struggles swallowing it down against his humored grin, and laughs. "They will definitely use some selective language there. It will be some kind of technical writing euphemisms for sure. We have plenty in archaeology."

Blinking briefly, Nash gazes over at Harvos and tilts his head curiously. "Wait, what?"

Failing to suppress an amused smile, Harvos shrugs his shoulders and snickers. "Well, I mean how else do you catalog a huge collection of ancient sex toys and keep it sounding official enough to keep the grants coming?"

Nash ponders to himself for a few seconds, attempting a few responses. He sips his beer and sits back in his seat. "Huh. You know I never thought about it, but... Yeah. That would be a problem. In computer science, we just say it's for adult electronic entertainment. I mean, most people just assume over half of the things on the Aethernet are just porn. Pointless to hide it."

He cracks a mischievous grin and gazes over towards Vetra. Seconds later, Vetra rolls her eyes and sighs with a dismissive groan. "YES. We have plenty of technical terminology. SOMEONE has to design production at scale."

Nash snorts, shaking his head. "I figured."

He pauses in thought, furrowing his brow, and contorts his face contemplatively at Harvos. "Like, how much of the stuff that gets discovered is for sex?"

Harvos draws in a breath, pours back a long swig of his drink, and wipes his mouth. "A LOT MORE than you'd think. Some of the Pre-Cataclysm items were CRAZY. You can definitely tell who jumped on the cyber and bio modification trends first."

The trio sit quietly. The surrounding drone of the other bar customers fills the lull in conversation. Sniffing with a twisting frown, Nash grumbles out and grits his teeth. "Fuck. Still can't believe that shit. Feel like a real idiot."

Harvos slumps his shoulders and shakes his head. "Same here. Completely fooled us. We should have suspected him so much sooner. Gods. It's SO obvious now."

Vetra glances between Harvos and Nash, dismissively rolls her bright orange eyes, and rubs the temple of her head. "Listen. You two collectively are reckless morons for plenty of other reasons. But, this? This isn't one of them."

She narrows her stare at both of them, sighs with a softening expression, and presents a comforting tone. "You two put your trust in a highly regarded previous head of one of the major departments. Someone who had skill and experience in being deceptive and scheming greater than any of us could have known. You can't be blamed for taking the information he gave you all at face value. It was an acceptable assumption. There was no reasonable way you could have known anything was wrong until information you got much later."

Crossing her arms, she lifts an eyebrow and curls a reserved smile from the corner of her mouth. "To give credit where it is due, you two had suspicions well before you got confirmation from Dr. Malkav. It's arguable you two had more of a clue than all the official investigators did."

Harvos and Nash exchange glances and puzzle at Vetra. Noticing the emerging confusion, Vetra sighs and rolls her eyes dramatically. "I'm saying you two should stop taking turns kicking your own asses. I doubt anyone else would have done any better."

Cocking his head to the side, Nash smiles appreciatively and chuckles. "Well, damn. I'll take that as the highest praise coming from you."

Harvos nods with a gracious cadence. "Yes. Thank you, Vetra. Hearing that from you really helps."

Nash grins wide, sitting up in his seat, and tilts his head towards Vetra. "Shit. I'm feeling really generous now. I'm buying for you, Vetra."

Vetra furrows her brow and twists a suspicious frown on her patterned face. "What did you do this time?"

Darting his eyes through recent memory, Nash contorts his face and settles upon a neutral shrug. "Nothing. Just figured I'd get a head start on the incident I'll eventually cause."

A small smile grows on Vetra's face, and she chuckles quietly. "I'll take it then. What's the nicest thing on the menu here?"

Nash grins slyly, motions over towards an approaching server, and points at a stacked burger on a platter piled with different sides. "THAT is a good option. It's what I usually get."

Harvos nods in agreement and points to the other plate of fried chicken wings. "It's not bad. The wings are good, too."

The server drops off food in front of Nash and Harvos. Greeting Vetra with a smile, he takes her drink order,leaves a menu, and departs. With Vetra studying the menu, Harvos and Nash enjoy their meals. Nash pauses a moment, sitting up, and ponders out loud. "Thinking about it... Damn. That had to be fucking awkward to realize your ex-student was a gods damned Dark Lord."

Harvos springs his eyes wide open and briefly grits his teeth with a faint hiss. "And, AFTER you invited him into your home? Wow. I don't know about that."

Vetra quirks her brow and sighs, inspecting the back of the laminated menu. "Honestly... That kind of reminds me of a roommate I had."

Resting his burger down, Nash drinks his beer and narrows a curious gaze at Vetra, leaning slightly closer. "Okay. I got to know... What could a roommate have done to be compared to a Dark Lord for you?"

Vetra dons a defensive frown and eyes Nash suspiciously. With a genuine smile, Nash laughs. "Hey. I'll be fair. I'll tell you my favorite roommate story."

Harvos gulps down his drink hard, catches his breath, and stares pleadingly at Nash. "Oh fucking gods, NO. NOT while we're eating!"

----

The display updates, and a call ended message blinks on the screen. Captain Hackle leans his tall, thin frame back into the cushions of the office chair around a plain table, drawing in a slow breath through his nose. His brown eyes stare distantly into his mind, and twitches of deliberation play out on his face. With a faintly annoyed twist of his graying mustache, he releases a long sigh, tinges of frustration slipping out. Easing himself up to his feet, he quickly combs his fingers along the side of his short graying hair and pivots towards the exit of the small video conference room.

The heavy wooden door opens, and Hackle steps out and glances around the plain military base halls. Sergeant Violet perks back to attention, noticing Hackle, and salutes him. "Captain."

Hackle nods respectfully and straightens his posture. "At ease."

Violet furrows her brow and concern contorts her dark tan face. She fights against a grimace and keeps a neutral tone, cautiously prying. "How did the meeting go?"

Shaking his head slowly, Hackle sighs with a trailing grumble. "As expected. A huge web of politics slowing down progress and hindering our ability to operate."

He rolls his eyes and frowns slightly at Violet. "Not that I don't understand the wider reaching aspects, but..."

Shaking his head, he wrestles down an irritated curl of his upper lip. Violet nods understandingly, averting her dark blue eyes towards the side. "It always seems to be the case."

She straightens up her slender body, tossing back her short, light brown hair, and perks an eyebrow. "Captain, may I ask what the status of the situation is?"

Hackle smiles respectfully and points down at the other end of the hall. "Certainly. But, let's head to my office first. I need to get my jacket. I feel like going off base for dinner tonight."

With Sergeant Violet following at the side just behind Hackle, he sorts through recent memory and ponders out loud. "First, it seems that the scouting teams haven't been able to pick up Noxian's trail after he slipped out from the Lands Between Train depot. By now..."

He fights against a brief frown and lowers his tone slightly. "He could be anywhere."

Violet cranes her head around, meeting Hackle's gaze. "I am assuming they are distributing information to local offices and officials in areas along the major roadways?"

With a nod, Hackle confirms and smiles. "Correct."

Narrowing her dark blue eyes, Violet perks her brow and tilts her head curiously. "Are there any plans to alert the public?"

Hackle twists his face into a grimace and releases a frustrated sigh. "No. Unfortunately not. They want to keep it quiet for as long as possible. Too many organizations are facing significant public relations nightmares if the media connects the dots back to them and start spinning wild theories about the situation."

Stiffening her upper lip, Violet eases out a slow sigh, maintaining her composure with a trailing groan in her voice. "I cannot say that I am surprised. Unfortunately."

Nodding in begrudging agreement, Hackle narrows his stare ahead into his mind, sorting through the flurry of information. "It is the usual situation. The public has lost interest in the Dark Lord Noxian, since he hasn't made the headlines in some time. So, it has been determined that it would be best to let that waning interest continue to do so. At least until there's an immediate reason to alert the public. So... I am assuming they're hoping that reason never happens."

The two round a corner at an intersection of plain brick corridors. Violet eyes Hackle with an unconvinced quirk of the brow and a slight twist at the corner of her mouth. Hackle smirks with a faint chuckle and nods. "Exactly my thoughts. I assume I speak for both of us when I say we fully expect that reason to eventually come into being?"

Violet breathes a long sigh out through her nose and cocks her head with a tight smile. "Yes, sir."

She narrows her gaze briefly and lifts her eyebrow, straightening her posture. "Has any information been released about what Noxian is interested in?"

Granting a respectful nod to a nearby guard standing on watch, Hackle pulls out a security card from his shirt pocket, swipes it methodically, and types in a code. Holding his hand against a scanner panel, he glances over at Violet. "Enough to know there's quite a deal more. I'm certain there are a few Intelligence divisions that are frantically trying to investigate what has been turned over by Dr. Malkav and the testimony from Dr. Dawkins."

Thunks sound out, and the locks within the reinforced frame disengage. Hackle pushes open the heavy metal security door and motions Sergeant Violet through. Violet swiftly steps through, grabbing hold of the door, and waits for Captain Hackle to clear the doorway. She waits patiently until the exit seals back up and the system rearms. Rejoining Hackle at his side, Violet tilts her head to the side and aims a quiet tone over. "Not enough information for you, I suppose?"

Cracking a sly grin, Captain Hackle chuckles, perking his brow. "Exactly. If this is important enough for Noxian to go great distances, stay in the area with growing resistance, and risk direct confrontations..."

He narrows his stare with a resolute smirk. "I would like to know more. ESPECIALLY, if we may have to stand between him and it."

Violet dons a similar expression, folding her arms behind her back. "May I suggest that Sebastian Warwick's team be contacted?"

Gazing over at Violet, Hackle smiles proudly and nods in a confirmation. "I was just thinking of the same course of action. Remember. Intelligence dictates the release of information they have gotten, but not information we get out in the field."

Violet smirks satisfied, stepping up to a finely carved wooden door, and retrieves a security card from her shirt pocket. Swiping the card, she taps in a code onto the display pad and presses her hand against the device. The door unlocks, and she pushes the door open for Hackle. With an appreciative nod, Hackle steps into the modestly decorated office, walks up to a well made wooden coat rack, and lifts up a plain, drab jacket. He meets Violet's eyes, motions a subtle hand wave towards the door, and waits expectantly. Violet closes the entry securely. The doorway seals fully, and Hackle draws in a long breath, dictating. "Contact the team Monday. I'd like to have a meeting with them and discuss recent events. We will see if they want to compare notes."

Stiffening her posture to attention, Sergeant Violet nods promptly and retrieves her aetherphone. "Yes, sir."

She taps through menus and enters a series of notations into different apps. Pausing from the task, she gazes at Hackle and inquires. "Do you believe they will be that forthcoming with information? They have been guarded about certain details in the past, and I believe they will have reasons to continue to do so."

Hackle slips on his jacket, adjusting the garment neatly on himself, and cracks a humored grin. "Oh. I fully expect them to keep certain details to themselves. They are adventurers after all. Keeping secrets and withholding information is their prerogative."

He pauses in thought and smiles, zipping up his jacket. "To their credit, they have been fair to us. Also, they have been very proficient in handling a lot of extremely dangerous situations well past any reasonable expectation to do so. So, let us see what they might offer up in exchange for what we know."

Violet resumes typing down notes and nods in agreement. "Understood."

A sly smirk creeps from the corner of her mouth. "If nothing else, we will be able to confirm what details of ours they did and did not know."

A proud smile appears on Hackle, approaching the door. "Exactly. Hopefully, it'll garner us some insight in how they are handling their quest."

Stopping in front of the exit, he stares at Violet and leans close with a low tone. "I also want to put in another request for an observation team to watch them for the next few weeks. Nothing more than passive status checks. I do want to be informed of any departures from their current residence."

Violet nods with the instructions, pauses entering data, and furrows her brow. "I will make sure to specifically request NOT to have the same group that trailed Noxian."

Hackle rolls his eyes and groans with a shake of his head. "Thank you."

He turns the knob and pulls the door inwards. Walking out into the plain halls of the military complex, he waits for Violet to exit the space. Violet waits and confirms the security locks reengage on the door. She puts away her aetherphone and addresses Hackle. "Do you require anything else, Captain?"

Hackle smiles appreciatively and shakes his head. "Nothing work related. You are relieved for the night."

Tipping his head back, he meets Violet's gaze and smirks. "Now, if you have no dinner plans, I'm going to try this restaurant I've been informed of by Maria. She would like to know more about it, and I'm afraid my palette is not as refined. So, I wouldn't mind a differing opinion to accompany me."

Violet blinks her dark blue eyes in surprise and dons an intrigued gaze on her dark tan face. "Oh. I would be honored. Will your wife be coming to this base soon?"

The two walk down the hall, and Hackle grins with a chuckle, sighing. "Yes. She's had quite enough of visiting the family this summer and would like to rejoin me. She's been quite interested in this area anyway. So, I suppose it works out for all of us."

Violet smiles appreciatively and relaxes her shoulders faintly. "Apart from the recent incidents, it's not a bad location. Hopefully, we can address that."

Hackle draws in a long breath through his nose and exhales. "I believe we will."

----

Late morning sun beams down upon the road in front of the slowing old cargo truck. The vehicle eases to a stop behind a long line of cars, faint squeaks of brakes sounding out. The rough voice of the driver slips out through a cracked window. "Ah, shit. What the fuck is all THIS about?"

Another man's voice whines with a sigh. "Dammit. We've had enough delays already. Gods... And..."

A belch slips with a grunt of unease. "That breakfast wrap is NOT sitting well with me."

Hints of aggravation trickle into the driver's voice. "I told you not to eat that rest stop food. You know how bumpy this route to Ark is."

The passenger groans with a bit of pity. "I'm sorry. The truck acting up yesterday threw my schedule off. I thought we were going to get here yesterday, and I'd be eating at a nice place by now."

The discussion continues in the cab, and the corner flap of the tarp rises up. A nearly transparent form emerges out into a hover behind the cargo bed and quickly darts off into the nearby woods. The hardly visible, humanoid shape settles down onto the forest floor, and the translucent visage fades. Isaac darts his cautious stare around the vicinity and slides close to a large tree. Glancing around the trunk, his opacity fully returns, and he breathes out a sigh of relief. With a wince, he turns his head towards the side and faint pop crackles out from his neck. He hisses in a breath and grumbles. "...just one night in a decent bed..."

Arching his back with the help of a hand push, he rolls his shoulders and grits his teeth. Peeking around the trunk of the tree, he squints his gray eyed stare off into the distance and down the long line of waiting vehicles. At the furthest point, he spots a number of GAA vehicles parked near the road and uniformed troops performing checkpoint procedures. Isaac furrows his brow, brushes back his wispy white hair, and frowns with a hum to himself.

Adjusting his backpack, he grips his bag tightly, stands up with a slight stoop, and quietly travels through the woods far off, parallel to the roadway. He pauses throughout the trip and peers through the gaps between trees and distant, thinning brush. Watching the soldiers, he witnesses simple questions, casual visual checks, and basic exterior vehicle inspections. Isaac studies the process, furrowing his brow, and cocks his head to the side. With a lift of an eyebrow, he smirks smugly and shakes his head dismissively. Squinting past the checkpoint perimeter, he spots scattered houses within fields. He ponders a moment, darts a paranoid stare towards the checkpoint, and searches the forest for a path opposite.

Hiking along a game trail, Isaac navigates the thinning woods and reaches the brush covered outskirts. He stares out into the distance and locates civilization on the horizon. Pulling out a budget aetherphone, he clicks the device on and frowns at the device, boot up processing dragging along. During the minutes, he walks onto a dirt access road and follows it towards town. With a simple chime, the phone springs to full life, and Isaac eyes the device, watching an indicator blink on for network access. Sorting through the menus, he taps a map app and watches the screen chart up a representation of the area. With a few finger gestures, he squints at the screen, zooms around, and glances at the road ahead. A final confirming nod later, Isaac powers down the device. He walks down the dirt access road. He opens the back panel of the aetherphone, reaches into his pocket, and pulls out a small plastic and metal chip. Prying out the old identification token from the phone, he fumbles a new one into place and returns the devices back to his pants pocket.

Late morning sun slowly climbs towards noon in the clear sky overhead. Isaac's path leads him down paved roads. Over time, the rural access runs turn into streets with sidewalks. The tallest buildings in the area barely contrast the surrounding rural fields and barns. Isaac wanders around, gazing at the lively square of small local business, and searches the different street signs. A tiny plaza in front of a public library catches his attention, and he notices a large, colorful map encased in a plastic display. Local residents walk around, urban critters scurry, and sparse vehicle traffic pulses through. Isaac stares up the information sign and studies it closely. Glancing through the different points, his curiosity settles upon point of interest, and he mumbles with a humored tinge in his tone. "The Ark Inn?"

He places a finger on the weathered plastic cover, traces a long, scenic route from the "You are Here" icon, and cracks a smile. With the noon sun, the town livens up. People wander between the different storefronts. The hungry folks on lunch breaks gather toward restaurants. Vehicles navigate through the few busy intersections. Pets wander with owners, and wild birds and squirrels perch on the rooftops and utility lines. Only the gusts of wind filtering through the buildings interrupt the routine with autumn leaves rustling around the sidewalks and pavement. Isaac travels along, sporting a calm facade with flits of paranoia eyeing the utility equipment at major intersections. Tense moments grip him, and he relaxes, spotting the lack of traffic monitoring cameras. Peering around the corner, he notices a police station a block away. Glancing around at the street signs, he changes his course and reroutes down another way.

A breeze washes over Isaac, and he sniffs the air. He blinks to attention and narrows his stare ahead. Glints of sunlight reflect off the rippling water in the large river. Piquing his interest, Isaac pans a gaze around and spots his target. Leaves stir around the front of a thematically old wooden building. Slowing his approach, Isaac cocks his head to the side and darts his focus between the many questionable facets of the kitschy attempt at a classic inn. He stops near the entrance and perks his brow at the tourism intended facade on the modern structure. "Well..."

The large wooden double doors swing open, and a middle aged woman steps with a customer service smile. "Welcome to The Ark Inn! I couldn't help but notice you were admiring our fine establishment. If I can be of help to you, don't be afraid to ask. My name is Katherine."

Isaac blinks the initial surprise off his face to a blank expression. Moments later, he composes himself and smiles kindly. "Indeed. I was looking at your Inn. I just arrived in town and saw your business on the map in front of the library. So, I just had to see what it was about."

Katherine perks up and smiles brightly. "Oh! That's so good to hear. The Ark Inn offers an authentic experience for those wanting to feel like they are taking a day's rest from adventuring. We offer amazing room service sourced from the best Ark can offer. We also have a great selection of ale, beer, wine, and anything we can mix up."

Furrowing his brow against emerging apprehension, Isaac politely nods and stiffens a smirk. "I see."

Continuing her pitch, Katherine pulls in a long breath. "We have the best view in Ark for you to enjoy after you sleep in the most comfortable beds available for kilometers around."

Isaac blinks to full awareness, turning his focus toward Katherine, and cocks his head. "Really? You know... I'd like to know more about those beds."

With a nod, Katherine cracks an entrepreneurial grin. "Fluffy pillows, thick comforters to keep you warm against the autumn chill that's creeping in, and soft but supportive mattresses."

Closing his eyes, Isaac briefly wanders in thought. He sniffs in a long breath, smiles forth his intrigue, and nods in acceptance. "That actually sounds outstanding right now. Do you happen to have a room available?"

An eager smile widens on Katherine, and she motions Isaac into the Inn. "Of course we do! If you need a place to stay for a few nights, I can work you into an exclusive seasonal special right now."

Briefly eyeing Katherine, Isaac playfully rolls his gray eyes and sighs. "I actually would not be against that. I feel I would be remiss in not fully resting up before continuing my adventure."

Katherine excitedly leads Isaac to the front desk. "Excellent!"

She glances over at a teen-aged boy and girl playing on their aetherphones. A moment later, she dons a stern stare and hems. "Brennon. Kristine. We have a customer who needs their luggage taken up to their room."

The two startle from their stupors, glancing around, and spring up at the ready. With Isaac attempting to object, Brennon wheels over a worn luggage cart, and Kristine offers to assist with a smile. Isaac nods appreciatively and loads his backpack and bag upon the cart. Katherine works on paperwork behind the desk, and a middle aged man wearing an apron walks in from the back room, noticing Isaac. "Any requests for drinks tonight?"

Isaac furrows his brow and smirks. "What do you have on tap? I think I could stand to indulge a little."

----

A tense air hovers over the dining table. Stacks of plastic chips rise and fall in front of the players. Cards form into hands and flip out onto the table. Casual conversation ebbs and flows with stifling silence pressing into the space around the tabletop. A final contribution of chips lands in the center pile. The players reveal cards. A greedy glint lights up Cideeda's emerald green eyes, and she sweeps out her spread out, clawed fingers over the prize. "I tried to warn you... I even raised."

Sotalia rolls her golden eyes, contorting her mouth into a dissatisfied frown. "GIRL, how the hell was I supposed to know THIS was one of the times you actually have the winning cards?"

With snort, Dretphi narrows her steely gray glare at Sotalia and groans dismissively. "Stop giving her chips."

Pressing a black nailed finger upon a pair of cards in front of her, Sotalia huffs and grumbles, eyeing Dretphi. "I'm trying NOT to! These were perfectly good cards to go in with..."

Cracking a smug smirk, Aristespha tosses back her long, silvery blue hair and collects the cards. "Yes, that is true. But..."

She picks up a card from the center, flips it towards Sotalia in her fingers, and smiles with a chuckle. "This card changed all that."

Sebastian's ethereal form lowers down next to Sotalia, and he shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah. She bet that card hard,... Come on. I don't know what to tell you."

Crossing her arms, Sotalia huffs and squirms in her seat, averting her gaze against her pride. "I still had a CHANCE. There was a good chance she was full of shit this time..."

She narrows her golden glare and snaps it upon Cideeda. "Like the last few times."

Glancing over at Bach in the chair next to her, she perks up her eyebrow curiously. "Are you going to play a hand any time soon?"

Bach slowly pivots his head, facing Sotalia, and presents a mildly annoyed grimace, sighing. "Yeah... When I can get a hand worth a shit, I will play. But, thank you for dealing me CRAP last hand. Probably saved me from losing a lot."

Neatly organizing the chips in front of her, Cideeda surveys the rest of the table hungrily. She visually assesses remaining counts, idly playing with her stacks between claw tips. Her toothy grin widens, and she eyes the chips in front of Bach. "Look a little short there. Think you can survive the next few rounds?"

Bach dons a calm exterior and grants a simple smirk. Aristespha works the cards through a few shuffles and cuts, and deftly deals them out. Sebastian points at Dretphi. "Little blind."

He shifts over to Cideeda. "Big blind."

Glancing over at Bach, he motions his hand over to him. "First to act."

Aristespha places the last card in front of her, and she rests the remainder of the deck in the center. With others around the dining table checking their hands, Bach glances down at his two cards. He slides them close to the edge and tips them up into his view. His blue eyes briefly open wide. Angling the cards down, he darts his attention around the table and inspects his cards again. With twitches of deliberation upon his face, he plucks up enough chips to match. "Call."

Sotalia tosses her two cards into the discard, huffs dramatically, and playfully glares at Aristespha with a toss of her fiery orange, wavy hair. "Why is it that every time YOU deal, I seem to get the worst cards in the deck."

Lifting his ethereal eyebrow, Sebastian smirks and chuckles. "Well... At least it's free to fold for you."

Narrowing a bemused gaze at Sebastian, Sotalia shakes her head, curling a frown on her light tan face, and points at Cideeda. "True. But not playing keeps me from taking her money."

Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes and grumbles. Aristespha's violet stare shifts between her cards, her stack of chips, and the table in front of her. Biting her lower lip, she hisses in a breath, rocking her head side to side, and raps her fingers upon the tabletop. With a strong sigh, she matches the current bet. "Call."

Demonstrating a stoic exterior, Dretphi calmly plucks the required chips from her stack and places them out in front of her. "Call."

Cideeda picks up her cards, examines them for some time, and grins toothily at the waiting players. She curls her claw tips around a tower of chips and idly combs through the stack repeatedly. With sudden halt, she picks up a hefty number of chips, places them next to her existing bet, and smiles slyly. "Raise."

Attention snaps over to Bach, and he furrows his tensing brow. Easing out a long exhale, he nods simply, producing the matching amount in front of him. "Call."

Sebastian curls an intrigued smirk. "Okay, bro. We might actually see cards yet."

Leaning back in her seat, Sotalia cocks her head and smiles at Bach. "Don't you quit on me. Take all her money."

Grumbling out a few quiet Evuukian curses, Aristespha drops her cards face down with Sotalia's discarded pair. "Those HAD potential, but... Gods, I cannot pay that much for them."

Maintaining a neutral, stoic exterior, Dretphi narrows a glare down upon Cideeda, holds the stare for seconds, and matches the bet. "CALL."

Aristespha reaches out and grabs hold of the deck. She tosses a card to the discard, and reveals three cards face up in the middle. Sebastian grins eagerly with excitement in his voice. "Oh! Two tens and an ace from the start! This might get good."

Dretphi focuses fully upon Cideeda, and the two exchange hard stares. Bach blinks out of stupor and eyes the two ten cards on the table. Tipping up the corner of his cards, he glances down his hand. A moment later, he notices Dretphi break off eye contact from Cideeda and summons up all his composure for a stoic facade. Sorting through her chips, Dretphi gathers up a modest bet and places it in front of her. "Raise."

With a calm sway of her long fluffy tail, Cideeda sits up in her seat and raps her claw tips on the table top, glancing between Bach and Dretphi. Flicking her furry ears with her thoughts, a toothy grin grows wide on her light brown face, and her emerald green eyes watch the chips click through her fingers. She snatches up an entire stack and plants it near the center of the table with glee. "RAISE!"

Closing his eyes a moment, Bach tilts his head to the side and straightens his posture. He calmly opens his eyes, visually counts Cideeda's bet, and matches the bet. "Call."

Aristespha, Sebastian, and Sotalia blink in surprise at Bach and turn their attention towards Dretphi. Cracks in the stoic exterior form. Dretphi strains a breath through her nose and fights against emerging frustration on her tan face. Her platinum blonde braids slide around, rolling the tension out of her shoulders. Cideeda quietly waits and smiles slyly. With a long sigh, Dretphi places her cards into the discard and pushes her losses into the middle. "FOLD."

Aristespha discards the top card from the deck and drops another one in the center next to the first three. Sebastian glances at the card, examines the remaining two players, and twists his mouth indifferently. "I don't think that one helped anyone."

Aristespha, Sebastian, and Sotalia wait in growing anticipation. Cideeda narrows her emerald green eyes at Bach, rests her chin upon her propped palm, and leans over. "So... You think you got something. Hmm?"

Bach maintains a cool exterior and meets Cideeda's gaze. "I think so."

With a flick of the tail, Cideeda sweeps up a stack of chips, plants it in front of her, and grins with a sinister glint in her eye. "So. Do. I... RAISE."

Bach cocks his head to the side, peeks under his cards, and studies the cards in the center. He gathers up enough to match Cideeda's bet. "Call."

Aristespha discards the top card and slowly places down the fifth card at the end of the center row. Everyone reads the lackluster value and suit. All watch Cideeda and Bach. Maintaining a firm stare upon Bach, Cideeda sweeps up a few high value chips and places them out. "RAISE."

Bach glances down at the bet and presents a larger stack. "Raise."

Cideeda's tail reflexively whips to the side. Pulling her knees up onto the seat, she sits up tall and glares down at Bach. "Really? REALLY? What do you think you have?"

She motions over at the cards with a wave. "Let me tell you, those last two didn't help you. Believe me, they didn't. There's no flush. And..."

Squinting her emerald green eyes, she curls a stern, sharp grin. "If you somehow have an Ace and a Ten, you are about to be REALLY DISAPPOINTED."

Leaning towards Bach, she smiles smugly and chuckles darkly. "The question I have for you, Bach, is..."

She flutters her eyes, reveals her pronounced canines, and perks her furry ears. "How much money do YOU want to LOSE?"

A slow spreading grin widens on Cideeda's face, and her eyes stare on eagerly. "I'll put you ALL IN."

Sebastian zips over, quickly compares remaining stacks for both Bach and Cideeda, and nods at his brother. "She can do it, bro. What do you say?"

A smug smirk emerges on Bach's face. "Call."

Aristespha, Dretphi, and Sotalia stand up and watch expectantly, Sebastian drifting into a good viewing angle. Cideeda flips over her hand of two aces, postures pridefully, and laughs with a dramatic wave. "Full house. What do you have?"

Bach glances down, picks up his cards, and calmly flips them face up upon the table. "Four of a kind."

Shock flushes silence into the room. Cideeda blinks blankly, the fur on her tail fluffing out. She tips her head sharply down, stares quietly at the two ten cards in front of Bach, and cocks her head in disbelief. Cideeda sinks back down into her seat, and Sotalia excitedly cackles. "OH! How does it FEEL to be on the receiving end for once!"

Dretphi grins proudly at Bach. Aristespha sorts through the numbers in her mind and smiles satisfied. Sorting through her chips, Cideeda settles the bets in the center. She swallows a hefty gulp of pride with a droop of her furry ears and inquires with a subdued cadence. "So... Um... Bach. How much do I owe you?"

-123-

A pair of green eyes sluggishly open, and an infant bundled in a blanket awakens. His gaze wandering, he wiggles within the wrap of soft, brightly colored fabric. Seconds later, sparks of curiosity shape the expression on his tan and light gray face. In a lull of the surrounding conversation, the infant squirms for freedom from his blanket swaddling. Shadeesa gazes down at the baby securely in her arms and smiles lovingly with a bow of her head closer. "Good morning, sleepy."

The infant's face squints with recognition, and he calms quickly with a stare upwards. Shadeesa gently combs the blonde locks of hair slipping out from a warm knit cap and feels a faint pair of bumps near the sides of his forehead. She blinks her similarly colored green on black eyes and grins happily. "I'm beginning to think Cassidy's horns might come in a little early."

Across the small table, Kaleb lifts himself up in his chair, craning his view around leftover breakfast, and smiles proudly at Cassidy. "Before he teethes? Don't emin horns come in around then?"

Shadeesa gently rocks Cassidy and glances around the small dining area near the kitchen. "Usually. They can come in sooner. His horn beds are developing nicely, but the skin hasn't thickened yet."

Spotting a filled baby bottle, she frees a hand and motions towards it. "Could you get that for me?"

Kaleb follows the signal, nods at Shadeesa, and stands up from the table. Picking up the glass bottle, he inspects the milk inside and touches the outside to his wrist. "Feels a little on the cool side."

Securing Cassidy in her arms, Shadeesa rises up from her chair, nods her head towards the seat, and smirks at Kaleb. "I'll warm it back up. Why don't you feed him?"

Kaleb steps over, placing the bottle on the table top, and sits down. He reaches out at the ready, and Shadeesa carefully lays the bundled baby into his awaiting arms. Supporting the infant's weight and heavy head, Kaleb smiles proudly at Cassidy and sways with gentle rocks. "How's my little boy today?"

Cassidy watches the suntanned face of his father and calms at his voice. Shadeesa blinks her eyes to an illuminated green and swiftly gestures out an incantation. Plucking the bottle off the table, she methodically swirls the contents inside, holding the container over the palm of her other hand. Faint translucent flows of energy wrap around the glass, and Shadeesa directs her full concentration upon the task. Kaleb glances back down at Cassidy and watches the brief moments of curiosity guide his short attention span. Shaking his head with a humored smirk, Kaleb chuckles softly. "Yeah, there's all kinds of things around. Just starting to see them, huh?"

Faint puffing of air resonates into the area from a fogging window. Lagi's bright green eyes dart between the Shadeesa and Kaleb. His longing gaze settles upon the infant face peering out from the bundle in Kaleb's arms. A pining slips in from the other side of the glass and softly resonates in the space. Kaleb notices Cassidy's attempt to tilt his head towards the noise and smirks. "Yeah. There's also a really big dragon that wants to see his little brother."

Infiltrating the peaceful moment, squirms of irritation and discomfort taint the calm upon Cassidy's round face. Kaleb furrows his brow, glances over towards Shadeesa, and chuckles uneasily, wrestling a smirk. "So, how's that bottle coming? I think he's realizing he's hungry."

Shadeesa narrows an inquisitive stare at the settling contents in the glass container with a small nipple on top. She swiftly turns the inside of her wrist up,and sprinkles a few drops of milk upon it. Blinking in thought, she nods to herself, pivoting around, and presents the baby bottle to Kaleb. Quickly taking it in hand, Kaleb readies it and holds the end near Cassidy. Driven by an instinct, Cassidy latches on. Cassidy feeds happily, his calm returning in full and signs of irritation subsiding, for now. Kaleb eases out a sigh of relief and relaxes slightly in the chair. "Whew... Just in time."

Cracking a smug smirk, Shadeesa rests her hands on her hips, blinking the magical glow away from her eyes, and shrugs her shoulders simply. "Gods... We might actually figure this whole parenting thing out yet."

Kaleb furrows his brow, playfully incredulous, and twists the humored grimaces on his face. "Don't say THAT too loud. No need to tempt Fate... Fate might be listening."

Picking up a plate of breakfast leftovers, Shadeesa pivots around and walks towards the kitchen sink. Setting the dish off to the side, she momentarily stares at the dragon pressing his blue black scaled, bony plated face against the window over the sink. She shakes her head with an amused smile and lifts up the window sash, prying the stiff frame from the sill. With the dragon carefully pressing a nose in the window frame, Shadeesa pets Lagi on his head. "Thank you for waiting patiently and not constantly tapping on the glass."

Lagi purrs and chitters, trying to awkwardly fit his head further through the confining window. Trying to angle his gaze within the tight space, he catches glimpses of Cassidy in Kaleb's arms. Shadeesa sighs with a loving smile and scratches underneath the dragon's chin. "Your little brother is doing just fine. He's eating right now."

With the guiding press of Shadeesa's finger on his snout, Lagi pulls his head back clear of the airspace above the sink. He softly chirps, clicks, and snorts. Shadeesa ponders a moment and perks up her eyebrow. "Maybe. Can you use your words to ask?"

Narrowing his bright green eyes in thought, Lagi focuses and contorts his mouth in slow, purposeful motions with a rough, strained voice. "Can... brother... come... out-side?"

Shadeesa smiles happily, leaning over the sink, and scratches the sides of Lagi's face between armor plates, nodding. "Yes, of course. But, he can only be out for a little while right now with me or daddy."

She gazes into Lagi's eyes and calmly explains. "He's very little right now. Smaller than Varan. You know how careful you have to be to play with Varan."

Lagi nods with a hint of disappointment. Shadeesa cracks a sly smirk, leaning close, and calmly explains. "We have to be careful until Cassidy is older. But, if you clean up your room and make it nice, I'll carry him out and you can show him your room."

The large dragon perks up with a hopeful smile curling at the edge of his large mouth. Shadeesa focuses a parental stare upon Lagi. "Can you do that?"

Lagi nods his head eagerly and trailing purr. "Yes!"

Shadeesa smiles satisfied and picks up a nearby plate. "Good. But first, help me clean some plates."

A few sniffs later, Lagi opens his maw and waits in anticipation. Shadeesa flicks and shakes off leftovers from the dish into the dragon's mouth. Kaleb keeps the bottle at the best angle for Cassidy, and Shadeesa clears the table. Between deposits of breakfast remnants, Lagi happily munches down the bits of the meal and purrs his delight. Finishing swallowing the remaining bits, Lagi departs with a happy sway in his walk. Shadeesa glances over from rinsing dishware in the sink and furrows her brow. "Oh, any new jobs on the guild today?"

Kaleb blinks back to attention from gazing at his son, and cocks his head to the side. "Yeah, actually. Strangely, there's A LOT of aerial photography jobs lately."

Hints of relief slips into Shadeesa's tone, and she smiles over at Kaleb. "Well that's good! If you can load up on those, it'll make it easier this winter."

She narrows her stare out into the distance through the window. "Gods, I can almost plan out who is going to call when about what animals. It's going to be so busy."

Tilting the bottle up a little more, Kaleb nods his head in agreement and groans out his frustrations. "Yeah. The less time I spend up in the air freezing my butt off the better. The heated gear can only do so much against the wind."

He grits his teeth briefly and twists out stale discomfort on his sun tanned face. "And, I REALLY don't want to have to chisel ice to get free from the saddle again."

Shadeesa fights against an ill humored smirk sneaking out on her light gray face, white freckled face. Narrowing his gaze over at Shadeesa, Kaleb furrows his brow and frowns faintly. "Don't you laugh. It could have been a lot worse if my bladder didn't hold out."

Rolling her green on black eyes, Shadeesa glances over, pausing a moment, and opens up the dishwasher door. "WELL... I distinctly remember offering to get you a urinal jar."

Narrowing his stare, Kaleb tugs at the corner of his mouth with a sarcastic tone. "Oh. Yeah. As if that was even going to be possible with the wind chill on that day."

He glances down at Cassidy and inspects the level of milk in the baby bottle. "Wow, he's going through this pretty fast. He's definitely not picky about the bottle."

Shadeesa steps over, kneels down, and pats her baby's head. "He is a growing boy."

She stands back up, stretching out her lower back, and adjusts her shirt around the chest. "I'm going to need to stock up on milk so you can handle feeding him when I'm out on calls."

Gazing at his son, Kaleb nods and glances up at Shadeesa. "Yeah, I'll be hitting the job board pretty hard these next few weeks. Though... It's weird. There have been a lot of posts that are almost duplicates of each other. At least it looks like it."

Blinking in thought a moment, Shadeesa tilts her head to the side. "Huh? So, are people wanting pictures from locations in the same region?"

Quirking his brow, Kaleb twists his mouth uncertainly and cocks his head to the side. "Well... Yeah... I guess. There's a few from different sources that have coordinates that only differ by a few kilometers. I'll have to check again, but I swear I saw three separate postings that had almost the same exact location listed."

Furrowing her confused brow, Shadeesa puzzles to herself and crosses her arms, searching her mind. She bites her lower lip indecisively and tilts her head of dark green hair with a shrug of her shoulders. "So, fly over once and take three sets of pictures from slightly different angles?"

With a sly grin, Kaleb snorts humored and averts his eyes guiltily. "Well, I mean... Yeah. That's what I was thinking, too. It accomplishes the same goal in the end."

Shadeesa taps her long, black nailed finger against her chin and ponders out loud. "Still... I wonder what could so many people be looking for that would lead them all to requesting pictures from roughly the same locations?"

Cassidy slows his feeding, hints of drowsiness sneaking in. Kaleb eases the bottle away and sets it down on the table. Gently tilting Cassidy up, Kaleb smiles brightly at Cassidy's wandering gaze. Shadeesa pulls over the nearby chair from the other side of the table, bringing it close to Kaleb, and sits down. She lovingly smiles at her infant and plays with the bits of blonde hair on his head. "Honestly, as long as the payment clears to our account..."

She gazes over at Kaleb with a sly, entrepreneurial grin. "I kind of don't care."

Kaleb nods and smirks with a chuckle. "Exactly. Plus, I think some of these source IDs are government ones. So, I really shouldn't be surprised there's some redundancy happening."

Shadeesa rolls her eyes, brushes back her dark green hair over her upward swept horns, and shakes her head. "Oh. Well. That actually makes sense. Gods forbid they save money and collaborate on sourcing information together. No, each division wants their own copy."

Kaleb cracks a grin. "I'm not complaining."

Shadeesa smiles slyly with a giggle. "Oh. Me neither."

----

Isaac gazes across the common room of the Ark Inn towards the mounted television screen. He watches the news anchors recite through a scripted discussion on the latest political conjecture. A minute later, the display shows a flashy transition into a segment of local events. Narrowing his eyes, Isaac focuses on the screen, video clips of GAA checkpoints playing. A neatly dressed woman in a GAA uniform sits at a desk opposite of a fvalian woman news anchor. Drawing in a long breath, the newscaster sneaks a peek at her notes on the counter and addresses the GAA officer. "Thank you for taking time to talk with us, Major Lancaster. To get to the point, what prompted these recent GAA checkpoints along the major highways near the Lands Between area?"

With a simple, confirming nod, Lancaster maintains her neutral, stoic exterior towards the cameras and explains calmly, her tone concise. "We have reasonable suspicions that certain individuals may be traveling along these routes and smuggling contraband into GAA territories."

The fvalian anchor perks her eyebrow, narrowing her blue eyes, and tilts her head to the side, her furry ears twitching faintly. "Would this be related to the disturbance we reported on, around the Train station in the area?"

Lancaster straightens her posture slightly, meeting the inquisitive gaze from across the table, and focuses her stare. "Yes and no. While that incident may or may not have been caused by one of these individuals, this is ultimately part of an ongoing investigation. It was determined that recent developments prompted a more assertive approach to handling the investigation. We hope that these efforts will stymie any illicit transportation and aid our cooperative efforts with local law enforcement."

Contending with the bubbling unease on his face, Isaac draws in a long breath through his nose and slips out a barely audible groan. He glances down at his nearly finished plate of breakfast and eyes his mug of coffee. Picking up the beverage, he slowly slips the last remnants of the brew and frowns at the brown stained ceramic bottom. Setting the mug back down, a middle aged man with a well trimmed beard steps up next to Isaac's table. He presents a coffee carafe and perks his eyebrow curiously. "More coffee?"

Isaac sniffs the air, the aroma leading his gaze towards wisps of steam escaping the spout. He slides his cup to the side and motions towards the container with an appreciative smile. "Of course. Thank you, Johnathan."

Johnathan fills the mug to a comfortable level. Finishing up the pour, he glances over at the television screen and furrows his brow interested. "What are they saying today?"

Sliding the mug back in front of him, Isaac eyes the packets of sweeteners in a tray in the middle of the table and mulls over the selection of tiny creamer cups. "They state they are simply ramping up some investigation about contraband cargo being trafficked."

He glances up towards Johnathan, cracking an amused smirk. "I'm not exactly inclined to believe them, if I am being honest."

Nodding his head slowly, Johnathan snorts into a smile. "Well. They're not lying..."

Isaac cocks his head to the side, and Johnathan cracks a sly grin, chuckling. "BUT, it's a Train station. They're ALWAYS looking for contraband cargo coming out from it. They just use that as a cover for what they really are doing around there."

Isaac smirks, intrigue directing his focus upon Johnathan. "Interesting. What do you think the GAA is really doing out there?"

Without much pause for a thought, Johnathan glances down at Isaac and plainly states. "Manhunt."

Johnathan shifts his stare towards the television screen, and Isaac fights against an uncomfortable squirm of his body in his seat. Listening to bits of the interview playing out from the display across the room, Johnathan cocks his head and ponders out loud. "The way they are reacting... They're trying to play it cool and not cause a bit of a stir. So, I wouldn't worry about it too much. If whoever they were after was an immediate threat, they wouldn't bother with this checkpoint stuff or a cover story."

Isaac blinks his gray eyes, turns his body slightly in his seat, and tilts his head of wispy white hair up. Studying Johnathan's demeanor, he lifts up an intrigued eyebrow and inquires genuinely. "You seem very perspective and confident about your assessment. I guess you have experience with the GAA?"

Johnathan cracks an amused smirk and rolls his light brown eyes. "In a way. I worked as a pilot for the Train for quite some time. The Train and the GAA have a..."

He briefly grits his teeth and hisses out a sigh. "I guess a... COMPLICATED relationship. I think that's a nice way of putting it. Maybe the nicest I can manage."

Isaac glances around the common room of the inn and gazes at Johnathan expectantly. "So... I have to ask, how do you go from Train pilot to co-ownership of an inn?"

Shrugging off a bit of old embarrassment, Johnathan chuckles and shakes his head of graying dark brown hair. "Oh... It was Katherine's idea. When she gave up being a cycle guard for the land trains, she wanted to start a business that would let her work and raise the kids easily."

Isaac blinks in surprise, glances over at Katherine behind the front desk working on paperwork, and puzzles at Johnathan. "Interesting... I would have never guessed."

With a pleased smile, Johnathan nods and laughs lightly. "Good. She'll be very happy to hear that."

He shifts his gaze back towards the television and listens for a few more moments. Isaac glances between the program on the screen and Johnathan and pries further. "So, any predictions on what they'll do next?"

Contorting his face in thought, Johnathan hums and ponders out loud. "They'll probably expand the search and try to get checkpoints set up further out. At least until they think their target is no longer in the area. Though, they're probably already got informants further out looking for anything suspicious. All this right now is probably stalling..."

He rolls his eyes off to the side. "Until they get a clue."

The men watch the broadcast until the interview ends. The segment changes into a fanciful swipe to animated graphics. Isaac slips his coffee and narrows his distant stare out the windows along the common room walls. Searching his mind, he blinks at an idea and turns his gaze towards Johnathan. "I have to ask, especially given your experience, are there any used car places you'd recommend in town?"

Pausing a moment, Johnathan tilts his head to the side, shrugs his shoulders indecisively. "That all depends on what you are looking to buy. I only ever drove short run super haulers."

Isaac twists his mouth indecisively and mulls over the options. "Well. I'm actually open to anything that'll keep me from having to walk. But... If I'm telling the truth..."

He perks up his brow and grins slyly. "I have been thinking about a motorcycle."

Johnathan dons a confident smile and holds up a finger, pivoting around slowly. "Give me a moment."

He waits a moment, watching Katherine stretching and brushing back her longer brown hair, and calls out. "Katherine?"

Katherine perks up and smiles back at Johnathan. "Yes?"

Johnathan motions towards an awaiting Isaac and cracks a sly smirk. "Isaac is interested in buying a motorcycle from around here. Do you think you could help him?"

An eager, nearly forgotten glint lights up Katherine's dark green eyes, and she smiles brightly. "Yes. Of course. I'll be right over."

----

Captain Hackle's voice sounds out from Aristespha's aetherphone upon the tabletop. "So, that's the latest I have on Isaac Huxley at the moment. We are presently trying to locate him."

Souring moods drive down uneasy frowns and grimaces upon team members around the dining table. Hackle's sigh filters in from the other side of the call, and he presents a calm, explanatory tone. "Unfortunately, we are limited in how aggressive we can search for him, since powers higher than me have severely limited how obvious we can be in such matters."

Sotalia narrows her golden eyes, crossing her arms tightly, and straightens her posture with an unamused frown. She wrestles against her commentary within her mouth, keeping it within containment. A faint, irritated growl slips out from Dretphi. Sebastian's ethereal form glances between the emerging upset, and he stares back down at the aetherphone. "Well, I guess, you can only do what you can. So... What are you all doing right now to figure out where he's going?"

Seconds of silence from the phone later, Hackle plainly explains. "While we are not allowed to bring the public's attention back upon him, information has been sent to different field offices. We are in the process of updating other organizations that have previous knowledge of him. It is our hope that'll renew their awareness and assist their own efforts."

With a brief hem, his cadence slows with an intrigued tone. "Hopefully... We'll get new leads to follow up on. But, the prominent question that has been on my mind is..."

An audible exhale rises out of the aetherphone from Hackle. "Why the sudden change? The reports we were getting from our scouts seemed to indicate he was intent on staying in the northern regions."

Perking her furry ears, Cideeda drums her claw tipped fingers upon the wooden tabletop and rests her chin upon her propped palm. Her emerald green eyes dart over, staring at the aetherphone, and she twists a suspicious smirk on her light brown face. "Yeah. That is strange. Any idea from your side of things on what could be his reason?"

Hackle pauses a moment and faintly breathes out traces of frustration. "Unfortunately, what I have at the moment is just conjecture and theories from limited information. Most are equally plausible and impossible to make even an educated guess from."

His voice sounds out from the aetherphone, a hint of intrigue infiltrating. "If you all have any ideas, I would greatly appreciate hearing them. Anything would be useful insight at this point. Since you all have had the most direct experience with Isaac, I will take any wisdom you can provide."

The team exchange contemplative glances and pondering gazes. Moments of idle thought later, Bach's blue eyes spring wide open. Holding up a finger, he checks around at the table at the team. "The convention center incident... I bet that might have gotten his attention. That was something pretty big to happen around here."

Sebastian nods in agreement and crosses his arms, hovering near Aristespha. "Yeah, bro. THAT certainly made the news and got a lot of attention. Probably picked up on it even out there in the north."

Tilting her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side, Sotalia searches her mind with a thoughtful curl at the corner of mouth. "Maybe. The news only talked about the rampaging robots. I don't think much about that weird golem got out."

Hackle sighs from the other side of the call. "No. Thankfully not. That was a particularly challenging recovery operation."

Dretphi straightens her posture and darts her steely gray eyes around her mind, twisting her mouth. "It was an unusual occurrence. Strange events often indicate disturbances at undisturbed locations. When you do not find something in a spot, you move to another where something was found."

Flicking the tip of her long fluffy tail, Cideeda contemplates and grumbles, narrowing her emerald green eyes. "That makes sense. He's mixing it up... Trying to better his odds..."

With a suspicious twitch on her light brown face, she straightens up her back, narrowing a cautious glare upon the aetherphone, and quietly motions towards the rest of the team. "Do you know which direction Isaac left the Lands Between area?"

Hackle calmly states through the speakerphone. "Not at the moment. We are trying to eliminate possibilities and narrow down the most likely directions."

Cideeda relays a brighter tone in contrast to her frown. "Well, it's concerning that he might be near us. But... I don't think he'll be seeking us out any time soon."

Confusion leads puzzling gazes upon Cideeda from the rest of the team. Aristespha perks up her eyebrow, tosses back her long, silvery blue hair, and nods at Cideeda understandingly. Hackle chuckles lightly from the other side of the call. "I doubt he will. He has been very avoidant of conflict lately. So, I can only assume he's wanting to keep a low profile. Maybe that avoidance will work in your favor."

He draws in a breath and inquires from the other side of the call. "Have you made any progress in determining what Isaac is looking for and where it might be?"

Aristespha holds up her hand, signaling the rest of the team. Leaning gradually closer towards her aetherphone, she calmly explains. "We have made some progress based on what resources we have had access to. But, we hope to make more progress with the documents you have sent over. The best theory we have is that it seems to be a possible large source of power."

Sebastian quirks his brow, glances at Aristespha, and nods slowly. "Yeah, typical Dark Lord stuff. He's probably running a little low on power. It's kind of what he was doing before."

A distant hum sounds out from the aetherphone, and Hackle's voice resumes his inquiry. "Plausible. That could explain his hesitance for direct confrontation at the moment. I would not be surprised if he was conserving his power until he acquired a new source."

Pausing a moment, he dons a minutely more direct cadence. "If we knew where his goal was, we could definitely stop his plans."

Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia exchange uncertain glances. Aristespha narrows her stare at the aetherphone and presents a reassuring tone. "We are trying to make progress in that regard. We are working on a plan to investigate possibilities nearby and hopefully eliminate them from our overall search."

Noticing the idle silence from the other side of the phone conversation, she grimaces and lifts an eyebrow towards the rest of the team. "We have been able to contact a few subject matter experts using my connections at the Grand Library. I believe they will be able to assist in determining the least likely locations, so we can better prioritize our future investigations."

Hopeful breath slips above the background noise resonating in from Hackle's side of the aetherphone call. "Very good. Any updated information you could provide us would be greatly appreciated. If you could give some locations to me, I'll see about arranging some exploration teams to assist your efforts. As much as I don't like brute force process of elimination, I think it is our only option until either of us receive more information."

Sebastian cocks his head to the side and drifts his visage lower to the ground. "We'll see what we can do for you Captain Hackle. Give us some time to verify what we have, and we'll get it out to you soon."

Hackle's tone lightens. "Excellent. Thank you for your assistance."

He addresses the team via the speakerphone. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you for much longer. Both our teams have much to do from what it seems. Again, please keep me updated, and we will try to do the same."

Aristespha gradually nods, maintaining an appreciative tone. "Thank you, Captain Hackle."

A quick exchange of goodbyes later, Aristespha reaches towards the phone screen and taps the end call button, sliding the device closer in front of her. She presses through a few menus, confirms the end of the call, and pockets the aetherphone. Tense silence looms over the gathering around the dining table. Cideeda curls her upper lip into a snarl and grumbles out. "Gods, he was SO trying to get us to hand over information without knowing it."

Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and sighs. "Yes. I got that feeling after you pointed it out."

Bach clenches his jaw momentarily and tense his shoulders. "Shit. I hope mentioning the convention center thing wasn't a bad idea."

Tilting her head of platinum blonde braids, Dretphi smiles reassuringly at Bach. "No. Could work in our favor."

Sotalia chuckles to herself and grins at Bach. "They'll probably keep a team watching that old base. If Noxian doesn't show up, it keeps them busy. If he does, it'll keep them BOTH busy. And, we'll know where Noxian is."

She shrugs her shoulders and rolls her golden eyes with a smirk. "Works either way."

Sebastian eases out a reverberating sigh and shakes head. "Still... We have to be careful. I don't think they actually know that what we are looking for is an access point to the Abstract Prism. And, I don't think they have any better information about locations than we do."

Crossing his arms, he furrows his brow and hums ethereally. "I think we need to give them some locations to work on..."

He narrows a gaze out at the team around the table. "BUT... Maybe some of the outliers."

Contorting her face into an uneasy grimace, Cideeda huffs out her frustration and flicks back her furry ears. "Yeah. Can't give them all outliers, otherwise they might take that as a hint for where not to look."

Bach narrows his blue eyes and snorts with a wry smirk. "Yeah, no need to literally circle out our search area for them."

Cideeda points a claw tip over to Bach and nods with a toothy grin. "Exactly. Need to make it a little random to throw them off."

Shrugging her shoulders, Sotalia tosses back her hair, resettling in her seat, and groans. "I still don't like it. But... Even if they manage to check the right spot, that means Noxian will have to get through the GAA. That might slow him down long enough for us to get by."

Aristespha leans against the back of the chair at the dining table and combs her ivory fingers through her hair, exhaling. "Gods. I just hope we get an update from Mark soon."

Nodding in agreement, Bach draws a long breath in and slowly hisses out the frustration. "Yeah. That'd be nice. If we can just find it, disable it, and sneak away."

Sebastian smiles at Bach and shakes his head. "I hear you, bro. I keep hoping it'll be that simple."

Glancing off to the side, he remarks. "It probably won't be, but I keep hoping anyway."

A lull in conversation directs everyone to their own thoughts, and they ponder around the dining table.

----

The door to the front porch opens, and Chad steps through. Slowly closing the entry behind him, he releases a long sigh into an exhausted groan and shakes his head. Tilting her head up from her aetherphone, Tassilda perks her eyebrow and tilts her head of long raven black hair. "They certainly kept you forever."

Chad blinks back to awareness from staring out into the night through a window and pivots, facing Tassilda on the living room couch. "Oh, yeah... They had me do some long monologue about my thoughts and feelings for the future after the season end..."

He slides his gaze off to one side, leaning in that direction. "And, they wanted me to sell it in one way..."

Furrowing his brow, he shifts his attention to the other side, slumping his shoulders slightly. "THEN... They didn't like how it turned out, so I had to do it another way..."

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he winces with a frustrated sigh. "Finally, they settled for some version I did five takes ago."

Modoran glances away from watching Deedri fumble with a folded up towel and cracks a smug smirk on his dusky bluish gray face. "They tried that crap with me. After the third take for my bit, I just sat and stared at them. Five minutes later, they got the hint."

He returns his attention back to Deedri and points at a stray corner of the mass of twisted fabric. "You might want to tuck that corner in..."

A hint of a growl slips out from Deedri, her furry, tufted ears flicking back. She furrows her brow and narrows her full concentration to each uncertain motion of her hands. A few attempts later, she huffs with an annoyed flick of her fluffy tail. Restraining a pout, she gazes her auburn eyes at Modoran and sighs with a tinge of frustration. "Do it again. Slowly."

Modoran nonchalantly reaches out with a loving smile, picks up the crumpled towel, and unfurls it with a flick. Using slow, methodical motions upon the coffee table, he rolls ends of the fabric up, folds them in a calculated order, and positions it. Grabbing another smaller towel nearby, he pleats up the cloth, places it upon the forming fabric figure, and splays out outer edges. A few quick adjustments later, he sits back on the couch and presents the towel swan with dramatic waving motion. Deedri crosses her arms, rolling her shoulders, and wrestles an irritated frown on her fair face. "I keep seeing it done. But, I just can't figure it out..."

Modoran rests his arm on Deedri's back and playfully pulls her close. "It's okay. I had to do it multiple times a day for YEARS. It takes a little practice."

Darting her auburn eyes over, she meets Modoran's dark blue and sighs. "I know."

She rolls her eyes and combs her clawed fingers through her long, multicolored hair, and mumbling. "I can put people back together, but I'm failing to fold a damn swan."

Upon another section of couch, Trakenthin glances up from his book and smirks reassuringly. "Not a bad trade off."

Modoran nods in agreement and rubs Deedri's shoulder. "I agree."

Tassilda finishes up typing up a message and taps send with a happy smile. Resting the aetherphone down, she pauses in thought and furrows her curiosity at Chad. "So, what did they write up for you to say about your future plans?"

Chad stands up from kneeling in admiration at the towel swan and scratches the back of his head, frowning. "Some grand plans about starting up some big team, and taking on all the big dangerous jobs. You know, all the stuff that gets the ratings."

He rests his hands on his side, shakes his head dismissively, and snorts. "Whatever. About the only thing I'm planning on doing before we form up again is take our ride back to my parents and hope to fix it up right. Gods, it feels like everything has tried to kill that thing in the last few months."

Tilting his head to the side, he quirks his brow at Tassilda. "So... What are your immediate plans?"

Tassilda cocks her head and searches her mind with her light blue on black eyes. "Going to stay with my father. I have some amends to make..."

A warm smile graces her gray, patterned face. "And big sister time to make up for."

She grimaces with a roll of her eyes and contemplates, fighting against a grimace. "Eventually, confront my mother... Maybe... Might postpone that conflict... For as long as possible."

Chad nods and cracks a sly smirk. "Just let us know, and we can form the team, um, strategically earlier than expected."

Tassilda nods appreciatively and shifts her attention towards Trakenthin. "So, what are you going to do during your break?"

Trakenthin blinks back to awareness away from his book, glances between the rest of the team, and shrugs his shoulders. "Read. Catch up on releases."

Curling a short, mischievous grin, Tassilda quips. "Recommended by Shayuri, of course."

A flush of red tints Trakenthin's dark bronze face, and twinges of embarrassment sneak out. A message alert chips out from Tassilda's aetherphone. Trakenthin narrows an inquisitive gaze and lifts an eyebrow at Tassilda. "What did Daedrican say?"

Tassilda blinks blankly, holds a tight smile on her faintly reddened face, and picks up her aetherphone. Chad shakes his head, turning towards Deedri. "Any big plans for you?"

Deedri perks her furry, tufted ears up, idly wags her tail, and ponders out loud. "Um... Just go home for a bit. I really haven't thought about much more than that. It'd just be nice to see my family and relax after everything that's happened. And..."

She grits her teeth briefly and gazes lovingly over at Modoran. "Maybe see how things go from there."

Modoran smiles nonchalantly, pulls Deedri close, and chuckles. "After some family business is taken care of, I am under strict orders to coordinate a week vacation at one of my family's resorts for all of us. Paid for, of course."

Tassilda and Trakenthin perk up at the announcement. Quietly away from the conversation, Veevi slinks down the stairwell and sneaks into the kitchen archway. Pulling away his glance towards Veevi, Chad bows slightly at Modoran. "Wow. Thank you. That's really generous."

Modoran shrugs with an easy-going smirk. "It's the off season for a few resorts. There are a lot of empty rooms that would just collect dust otherwise. Not a huge deal to make use of them."

Trakenthin nods appreciatively. "Generous still."

From the dining area through the other side of the archway, Veevi peeks her pink pupil eyes out from around the corner. Cautiously observing the conversation in the living room, she warily steps out and calmly walks back to the stairwell. With a canned drink in hand and a packaged snack in her other hand, she places her foot upon the first stair. Chad quirks his brow, craning his head back, and aims his voice. "Hey, Veevi."

Veevi's tail fur puffs out slightly, and she sheepishly waves at Chad. "Oh, hey. Um, sorry to interrupt. I was just getting something to tide me over."

With a pleasant smile, Chad nods and tilts his head to the side. "It's okay, you're not interrupting. We were actually talking about our future plans, and I'm curious what you were going to do."

Blinking blankly, Veevi sorts through her thoughts and twists a nervous smile. Chad chuckles and smirks reassuringly. "I mean what you are really going to do, not what they wrote for you to say."

Veevi sighs with relief and shakes her head. "Oh, good. Because after the fifth take of the third revision of the script, my mind blanked out, and I just used the teleprompter."

Blinking her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda winces and groans. "Gods. I wish I had thought of asking for THAT. I even remember seeing it nearby, too."

Furrowing her brow, Veevi sorts through her thoughts, contorting her tan face, and ponders out loud. "As for what I'm going to do... I don't know, really. So much has happened that... I kind of just want to do nothing for a while. I mean..."

She briefly grits her teeth and huffs. "I can't do that forever. But, just some time to figure out what to do next."

Biting her lower lip briefly, her fuzzy ears perk up, and she perks up. "Oh. I do know I'm going to school. That I'm sure of."

Deedri contends with her apprehension, crossing her arms, and quirks her brow. "What are you going to study?"

Veevi frowns slightly and sighs in honest, genuine uncertainty. "I haven't gotten that far yet. I just know that... I want to do something else."

Chad smiles encouragingly at Veevi with a nod. "You'll figure it out. Take a few general education courses, and see what draws you in."

Veevi nods at the idea. An elaborate ring sounds out from the pocket of Veevi's shorts. Tucking her packaged snack under her arm, she plucks her aetherphone out. She glances at the display of the device and groans, drooping her fuzzy ears. "I have got to take this. It's my lawyer."

Smiling graciously at the team, she waves and departs up the stairs. The sounds of a Veevi's phone conversation drift away upstairs. Deedri cocks her head to the side, tugging at the corner of her mouth. Furrowing her brow, she mumbles to herself. "She is different..."

----

A gentle breeze blows out from the nearby woods and stirs up fallen leaves across the large parking lot. Isaac walks around the lot between different showcase cars and trucks. He inspects a few vehicles closer and wanders his gaze up to the blue skies above. The noon sun peeks out from behind a fluffy white cloud, and Isaac winces slightly. A heavy framed glass door clicks shut behind an emin man in a button down shirt and slacks. Flashing a reassuring grin, he holds up a set of keys on a ring. "Sorry for the wait, sir! As usual, the one time you need to find them, they hide themselves."

Isaac cracks an amused smirk with a nod. "That's usually how it goes from my experience, too."

The emin salesman motions Isaac to follow along and confidently leads the way in an aisle between lines of cars and trucks. "This way, sir."

The two men travel down the clean appearing vehicles. The sun lights up colorful fonts on the pricing placards resting upon front dashes. Isaac glances at a few condensed sales pitch blurbs and smirks at the questionably reassuring verbiage. At the end of the row, the emin salesman stops in front of something under a blue tarp. With a flourish and a deft, swift yank, he unveils a motorcycle. Donning an entrepreneurial grin, he motions towards the vehicle and guides attention towards its attributes. "After talking with our dear friend Katherine, I knew this exact motorcycle was for you. This here is a highly customized machine. Wonderfully cared for by its previous owner who traveled all over the west. Despite what it may have faced out there, it arrived in beautiful condition, shaped by its experiences to be the amazing vehicle it is today"

He waves his hand slowly out and points to the frame. "What started out life as a rugged, off-road machine slowly, through each of its adventures, grew into a long haul champion. The frame has been reinforced and tuned to be comfortable on the road just as well as the dirt."

Stepping closer to the machine, he pats on the hard case storage boxes on the rear sides with a rack on top. "Plenty of storage that's waterproof and likely bullet proof."

He kneels down and guides Isaac's examining stare along the length of the motorcycle. "Multi-terrain wheels powered by a powerful but fuel conscious bio diesel engine with a very generous tank. You'll be able to go everywhere you desire and keep the stops to a minimum."

Standing back up straight, he grants a small bow and motions Isaac towards the seat. "Have a seat. Get a feel for it. Let it talk to you."

Checking over the machine, Isaac walks up, throws a leg over, and sits down. Guiding a tail of his blue scarf over his shoulder, he places his hands on the handlebar grips, balances himself on the motorcycle, and ponders quietly to himself. Seconds pass, and Isaac feels the controls, inspecting the mechanisms closely. "Definitely feels like it has been cared for. Everything is in just about the right place."

The emin salesman grins brightly, sweeping back his yellow hair around his curled tipped horns, and winks his yellow on black eye. "As I said, it has been shaped by experience. The wisdom of the road has been baked into this number. Saves you the trouble of learning it all the hard way."

Isaac smirks, admiring the flat brown, tan, and dark gray patterned paint job, and furrows his brow. "So... How much do you want for it?"

The emin man searches his mind and evaluates Isaac with a long stare, explaining. "Well. It is a unique piece of specialized equipment. It is very hard to find such a machine that is so rugged and designed to handle the harshest roadways of the world in comfort."

Narrowing a contemplative gaze at the salesman, Isaac twists his mouth side to side. "Which also means it has been sitting around and woefully taking up useful space."

A sly smirk creases from the corner of the emin's mouth. "Indeed. Very true. So, I'll not only give you a generous friend of a friend discount, but a little extra for assisting me in clearing out my inventory."

The emin salesman pitches his high end price, and Isaac grants a slow nod. He rocks his head side to side and curls a countering smile. "Does that price include the lucrative, and exclusive, cash-today-in-your-hand discount?"

The emin's yellow on black eyes widen, and an eager, entrepreneurial grin emerges on his gray face. "Why, no. How perceptive you are, sir. I got the feeling I just might be dealing with someone special today. I think I could manage to be quite generous with that kind of discount. Spares me so much paperwork that costs my time, which is money."

He motions towards the glass wall and brown brick building in the middle of the lot and presents an expectant smile. "May I suggest we go inside and finalize everything in comfort and privacy?"

Nodding, Isaac rests the bike on its kickstand and stands up off the machine. He pauses a moment, holds out his hand, and lifts an eyebrow. "Certainly. But, one thing first."

The emin man smiles and shows the keys. "Of course. Start her up. And listen."

Isaac takes the keys in hand, puts a key in the ignition, and opens up the fuel cutoff. Twisting the ignition key to a marked notch, he holds down a button and watches a pulsating light on the controls. The light fades completely. Isaac releases the button and turns the switch all the way. The whine of the starter sounds out. A sputter of dark smoke from the exhaust shakes the machine. The motorcycle rumbles to life in a chorus of rumbling combustion and a hint of turbine whine. Isaac throttles up, and engine roars to health, muffled growl.

A minute later, Isaac turns the ignition off and flicks the fuel cut off. He waits for the machine to halt, and it combusts the last bits of fuel. Retrieving the key, he smirks confidently at the emin salesman. "That sounds like a prospective sale to me. Let's see what can be done."

-124-

The engine droning, the motorcycle rolls along the abandoned, overgrown roadway. Isaac maintains a slow speed, weaving between the missing sections of decayed asphalt and mounds of earth encroaching from the edges of the shoulder. In the long, narrow stretches of workable pavement, he stares out into the autumn scenery of the small hills and valleys, catching glimpses of wildlife scurrying around. Returning his attention ahead, he throttles up into a long curve around a tall sheer rock face and eases towards the outer edge of the remaining road. Studying the path ahead him, he navigates the motorcycle down a passage between old, weathered rubble and the rusted guardrail. He glances past the barrier and gawks at the clear view of red, yellow, orange, and brown blended forests upon hills from his higher vantage point above. His attention momentarily wanders down towards the sharp drop off, and Isaac tightens the grip on the handle bars. Blinking his gray eyes back to full awareness of the situation, he grimaces and turns his helmeted head back forward.

With each bump and dip, the suspension of the vehicle adapts with the contours, buffering the impact. The grade tips downwards, and Isaac carefully balances out his braking, tensing his body. The wind rushing around him waves the tails of his blue scarf. Isaac adjusts his trajectory and plots a path down the long, intact stretch of worn pavement. His attention briefly darts away towards the skies, a rumble resonating from overhead. Searching through the moments of clarity in the fast moving tree canopy, his wide eyes peer through the helmet visor and fruitlessly hunt the clear blue skies above. Forcing a tense breath out, he snaps his stare ahead. He fights against a reflexive jerk and forces against instinct into a hard swerve around a washed out section of road. Riding out the remaining harsh bumps from the shocks, he stiffly controls the machine. He eases on the brakes, slows the vehicle down, and finds a gentler passage through the decline. He sighs long and drags a breath through his nose. Faintly shaking his head, he focuses forward.

Isaac travels down the long, curved passage. He rolls over the transition from decayed and forgotten path onto occasionally maintained road. The roughly paved run levels out and leads into the main route with a gentle merge. Blinking in surprise with the smoother motorcycle ride, Isaac relaxes his body and resettles into a more comfortable position on the saddle. Minutes pass, and the access road leads between signs of civilization. Isaac searches ahead and spots farm houses in the middle of vast fields, the occasional old business along the roadway, and the lone combination fuel station, grocery, pharmacy, restaurant, and auto repair place. He drives up near the all-in-one business, and curiosity tugs for his attention. Isaac slows down to an idle cruise and stares over at the building. Narrowing his gaze, he peers through the large brightly lit windows. He cocks his head and perks his brow at the numerous displays of liquor, beer, lottery tickets, and gimmicky magic kits. Cracking a wry smirk that barely curls into view above the lower part of his helmet, he turns his face ahead and throttles up the motorcycle.

Accelerating through the gentle winding curves of the access road, Isaac eagerly navigates the smoother and clearer surface, hints of excitement creeping onto his face. The machine handles the rough pavement and forgives the numerous, minor imperfections. The spread out rural region gradually increases in density with hints of suburbia appearing in the thicker pockets. Squinting into the distance, Isaac tilts his head and blinks. Easing his brakes, the motorcycle rolls slowly to stop in front of a lighted T-intersection. He plants his boots down, keeps the motorcycle balanced, and waits in front of the red light.

In the pause, he straightens his back, rolling his shoulders, and cracks his neck. Gritting his teeth with a wince, he rubs the left side of his neck and mumbles. "...need to have that checked out..."

Seconds under the red light later, he idles into different stretches of his arms and back. He stares out directly across the intersection into the cleared shoulders of the main road and into the sparser leaves on the shrubs. A minute later, Isaac furrows his brow, twists his mouth, and cocks his head to the side. Slowly pitching his gaze upwards, he focuses his scrutiny upon the constant red glow of the traffic light above. Blinking out his confusion, he leans forward. He aims his stare far down the left route. Nothing other than leaves dance with the wind upon the pavement. Furrowing his brow, he pivots his gaze towards the right. No signs of traffic exist. He eases back onto his seat and crosses his arms, puzzling at the situation with alternating glances between the empty routes. The red light persists. Isaac opens his arms out wide and mutters incredulously. "Why... Why is THIS... here?"

Motioning with his hand to the stop lights along every path, he puzzles out loud with a genuinely bewildered tone. "People approved... And built this... HERE..."

He glances up at the blue skies above and late morning sun rising higher. Seconds later, his attention returns to the still red light fixture above. Hints of an annoyed frown show around the lower guard of his motorcycle helmet, and he glances down the asphalt around him. Searching the worn and tooled surface, the stoplight changes to green. Isaac places his hands on the handlebars and rolls his gray eyes. "...about time, you damned thing..."

The light flicks to yellow. Isaac narrows an irritated glare at the device. "OH, go fuck yourself, machine."

He throttle ups and shifts quickly through the intersection. He swings left, joining the main roadway, and accelerates down the smooth stretch of road. Shaking his head, his long sigh snorts into a laugh, and he speeds down the paved and maintained route. Passing modest homes and more local business, Isaac rides over gentle hills and valleys. Over the crest of a larger hill, Isaac rolls into the outskirts of suburbia and past a decorative street sign.

"Welcome to Amaranth Valley"

Glancing around he spots a fuel station on his side of the road and turns off into the parking lot. Stopping into a space, he kicks out of the kickstand, tilts the motorcycle upon it, and kills fuel to the engine. A few final sputters later, he draws in a long breath and exhales out the road weariness. Moments later, he shudders out of his daze and turns his attention towards one of the side cargo cases. He rummages through the container and pulls out a folded map titled "Amaranth Valley Street Map". Cautiously opening the paper into a large, cumbersome chart, he studies the diagram of streets and pauses in thought. Hissing out a vaguely frustrated sigh, Isaac mumbles. "...where are you..."

----

Sitting on the bench seat of the picnic table, Cideeda lightly brushes her feet over the taller patch of grass nearby and perks her brow. Flicking her furry ears with thought, she leans forward from resting her back against the table edge and scrutinizes the lawn surrounding with her emerald green eyes. She twists a deliberating frown on her light brown face, glances over her shoulder towards Dretphi, and tilts her head of short, multi-colored hair. "Think we should wait another week before getting the grass mowed."

Dretphi blinks back to attention from browsing her aetherphone and glances around at the field, pondering a moment. She contorts her face with thought, pivoting on her spot on the plank bench, and reaches a hand down. Feeling her fingers through the blades of green, she inspects the ground below. Sitting back up straight, she tosses back her platinum blonde braids over her shoulders and shrugs with an indecisive curl at the corner of her mouth. "Maybe. Do not think it will grow more this year. It is getting cold at night. Why not this week?"

A toothy grin grows on Cideeda's face, and she tilts her head with a sly perk of her eyebrow. "I'm waiting to see how many leaves fall. Then, the mower can take care of them."

Dretphi's steely gray eyes search her mind, and she rocks her head side to side, mulling over the notion. "That makes sense. I do not think we are responsible for leaves."

She aims her inquiry towards Aristespha across at the other end of the plank wood picnic table. "Aristespha? Are we responsible for cleaning up leaves here?"

Aristespha's very long, pointed ear twitches at the question, and she turns her head away from watching Bach and Sotalia. "I think the lease only stipulated mowing the grass..."

Blinking her violet eyes, she cocks her head to the side and contorts her ivory face, puzzling out loud. "But... I probably should double-check that. It has been quite some time since I actually read the details of the lease agreement."

Cideeda's furry ears flick back, and she furrows a guarded stare around. "Well... I'm not raking leaves. So, you all are going to have to figure out how to handle that yourselves."

Sebastian ethereal visage hovers down next to Cideeda, and he narrows an amused gaze at her. "I sense strong resentment towards yard work from you. Just an observation, of course."

With a humored smirk, Cideeda rolls her emerald green eyes. She pivots her gaze at Sebastian, resting her chin upon her propped up palm, and flicks her long, fluffy tail. "Let's see here... Single child growing up. My father ran a scrap yard. My mother did metal working. And, they both tended to bring their work home with them..."

Narrowing her gaze off to the side, she grumbles. "Since it was literally next door."

She widens a toothy grin, furrowing up her brow, and chuckles with a perk of her furry ears. "Want to take a wild guess what cleaning up the lawn was like for me?"

Blinking in surprise, Sebastian smiles awkwardly. "Ah. Not a typical childhood experience, I guess."

With a smirk, Cideeda sighs and shakes her head of short multicolored hair. "One of the main reasons I learned how to use a winch was for pulling out scrap car parts that had sunken into the dirt."

Flicking her ear back, she pauses in thought a moment. She swings herself around and turns her attention away from the tabletop. "To be fair, it was useful to learn. You'd be surprised how far metal sinks into soft coastal dirt over time."

A few meters away, Bach stands next to Sotalia and watches her with glowing blue eyes. Flows of energy swirl around her body and condense into a mass of magical manifestation between her hands. Bach squints and leans close to the amorphous blob of power. Moments of study later, he steps back and nods towards Sotalia. "Okay. Now, start forming the particles for the disintegration spell."

Sotalia nods and furrows her brow, concentrating her golden eyes upon the energies between her palms. The seconds pass. Bright, tiny specs of energy form into a starry cloud. Bach nods at the progress and glances over at Sotalia. "Okay. Good. Now arrange them into a few rings."

With a few faint twitches of the tips of Sotalia's fingers, the dots gradually float into a formation of concentric rings a few centimeters in diameter. Easing out a tense breath, she squints her golden eyes briefly and maintains the constant watch upon the changing energies. Bach inspects the results, rolls his shoulders, and holds his hands close. He gazes at Sotalia and catches her attention. "Alright. This is when it gets REALLY DANGEROUS. I'm going to be right here in case you need help stabilizing it."

Lifting an playfully incredulous eyebrow, Sotalia cocks her head of fiery orange, wavy hair and smirks faintly of pride. Bach rolls his illuminated blue eyes and smiles reassuringly. "Only if you need it. I promise."

An appreciative smile graces Sotalia's light tan and dark gray edged face, and she nods. "Thank you."

Bach moves his hands back a little, flows of energy coating his arms, and tenses his body at the ready. "Okay. You just do as we practiced with all the individual motions. BUT, combine them together. Spin the rings up. Roll them. Then, rotate them."

He stares right into Sotalia's golden eyes. "If it starts to shake, ease up on what you did last. Then adjust it slowly."

Sotalia nods understandingly, her arms tensing at the ready. Bach turns his attention towards the forming energy in between Sotalia's hands. "Whenever you're ready."

Drawing in a long breath through her nose, Sotalia directs her full focus upon the rings of bright specs and squints her golden eyes. The particles speed up within their circular paths and blur together into hazy, thin toruses. Sotalia contorts her face into a grimace between twitches of concentration. Growing flows of energy swirl down her arms and coalesce into the cloud of magic. The rings each adopt counteracting, slow rolls. The central structure slightly wobbles. Briefly springing her eyes wide open in surprise, Sotalia eases out a breath. She spots Bach's hands moving closer and halting at the ready. With a confident smile, she glances over and mutters against her pride. "I'm good. Really. Easing it back now."

Bach nods and gradually pulls back from the swirling energies. The rolling rings speed up in the flickering orb. A faint low noise pitches up the faster they move in unison. Cideeda's furry ears twitch at the noise, and Aristespha angles her head, listening carefully. Dretphi narrows her attentive stare, and Sebastian watches on with a hopeful smile.

Pulling in another long breath through her nose, Sotalia exhales and carefully adjusts her hands around the magic formation. The hazy ball's rhythm fluctuates. The rings rotate along different axes at increasing velocities. The flickering orb wobbles off-center. A surge of worry floods Sotalia's face, and her hands tense against the powerful forces surrounding the magical mass. Gritting teeth, she visibly strains. Rushes of flow spiral down her arms into the thickening cloud around the chaotic ball. Bach brings his hands close, halts at ready, and gazes at Sotalia, searching for a confirmation. Struggling for a few moments, Sotalia meets Bach's eyes. Glancing at the shaky ball of power, Bach smirks at Sotalia and reassures. "Go ahead. Adjust it slowly. I got you covered. You can do it."

A warm smile appears briefly on Sotalia. She snaps her full focus back upon the energies between her hands. With each second, the shuddering and erratic sway of the orb calms down into a gentler vibration. Another rush of flow sinks into the cloud surrounding the ball. The flicker visually solidifies into a constant glow. The drone rises above the background, and a sharp, white noise gains volume. With a proud grin, Bach pulls his hands away. "You got it! It's stable! Power it up to full."

Tensing her whole body, the surrounding magical miasma between Sotalia's hands rushes into the chaotic orb. The last bit of haze clears from the surroundings. Sotalia's golden eyes watch the few centimeter wide, tiny disintegration ball, hovering in place. She gawks in awe at the creation between her palms and grins brightly. Blinking back to awareness, she shifts her hands around the mini D-ball and cautiously guides the orb in the air. Orbiting her hands behind the destructive ball, she lines up a shot against the battered, scorched, chipped, and worn boulder in the backyard.

With a final rush of power, a pulse of energy propels the disintegration ball across the yard and straight into the center of the rock surface. A puff of stone dust bursts forth and hangs in the air. Moments later, the cloud drifts away with the wind, revealing a new, significant divot in the boulder. A quiet moment passes over the team. They assess the results. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian cheer and clap. Sotalia hops excitedly with a brilliant smile. "I did it!"

Moments of celebration later, she throws her arms around Bach and hugs him tightly. Bach blinks out his surprise and smirks proudly. Sotalia pulls away, holding on to Bach's shoulders, and gazes up at him. "Um, thank you for teaching me all that..."

Wrestling against a little surge of her pride, she smirks appreciatively with a quieter tone. "And... Being right there in case anything went wrong."

Brushing back stray hairs over her black, swept back horns, she grits her teeth briefly and averts her golden eyes away. "It got a little scary there a few times."

With a long sigh, Bach nods and chuckles awkwardly. "Yeah. But... You handled it just fine. A lot better than what I did when I was first figuring out the spell."

Perking her brow, Sotalia aims an intrigued gaze up at Bach and smiles slyly. "Oh. Really?"

She rests her hands on her hips and shifts her weight with a slight sway. "Is there a story behind THAT?"

Darting his gaze around, Bach crosses his arms and chuckles uncertainly. "Well, I don't know if I want to tell it. But..."

He fights with a grimace, eyeing Sotalia. "Let's just say there's a dorm room somewhere with some really suspicious patches in the drywall and really cheap paint covering them."

Lifting her eyebrow curiously, Sotalia smirks with an intrigued laugh. "Sounds like it was a fun time."

Sebastian calls out from the picnic bench. "Hey! Is that all? Let's get another!"

Cideeda cracks a sly smirk, resting her elbows on the tabletop behind her. "Yeah, one shot? That's it? Come on!"

Tilting her head up, Sotalia pivots around and furrows her brow. With a playfully indignant wave of her hand, she walks over towards the audience gathered and sighs dismissively. "Surely, you can't expect me to show you all my power all at once."

She rubs the temples of her head and chuckles softly with an embarrassed twist of her smile. "And... Gods... I need to do something mindless. That took A LOT. If I tried another one of those right now, I'd be too dizzy to stand."

Crossing his arms, Bach puffs up his chest and smirks pridefully. "Yeah. Try ten or more layers."

Sotalia pauses a moment and narrows an amused stare at Bach. A moment later, she smiles happily at him and pokes him in the shoulder. "Yeah. But, I've only seen you manage one ball at any given time, too."

Thinking a moment, Bach shrugs shoulders and sighs in agreement. "True. Very true."

He glances over at Sotalia and grins proudly. "Still, you getting this far is significant. If you can get that first layer down, it's just repetition and tweaking after that."

Checking over his shoulder, he squints at the boulder in the middle of the backyard and cocks his head. "Huh. I wonder how deep that shot drilled into that thing."

The collective attention of the team wanders upon the large rock sticking out of the ground. Sebastian tilts his head to the side and snorts. "Damn. We have really worked that thing over."

Bach nods and stares curiously, his attention shifting between the different sooty burn marks, rough chips, and smooth indentations. "Wow. Gods damn. We really haven't shown that thing any mercy."

Dretphi and Cideeda exchange glances and smirk at Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. Dretphi perks up her eyebrow, tilting her head up slightly, and snorts. "We?"

Rapping her claw tips upon the wooden plank table top, Cideeda crosses her legs and leans in her seat upon the picnic table bench. "If I remember correctly, I think most the damage on that rock has been from our more magically inclined members."

Sebastian slowly turns his head towards Cideeda and chuckles with a grin. "I, actually, distinctly remember two people having quite some fun doing target practice with a particular commander's old particle cannon."

Wrapping her arms around herself, Cideeda draws in a slow breath and furrows her brow at Sebastian. "Yes. But, to be fair, I'd consider that an exceptional situation. I mean, who could resist an opportunity like that?"

Dretphi meets Cideeda's confirming glance and nods in solidarity. Aristespha shakes her head with a roll of her violet eyes and snorts. "Well, thankfully for all of us, I distinctly remember the leasing agent mentioning how much the owners HATE that boulder jutting out of the ground."

Bach scratches the back of his head and glances over towards Aristespha. "So... Why haven't they just gotten rid of it?"

Aristespha tosses back her long, silvery blue hair and smirks humored. "I got the impression it is the tip of a very LARGE mass. So, not only would it cost a lot for removal, but you would just be stuck with a large pit to fill in afterwards."

Squinting her steely gray eyes, Dretphi distantly studies the terrain and ponders out loud. "Maybe turn it into a pond. Water table is high here."

Tilting her head thoughtfully, Sotalia twists her mouth contemplatively. "Wouldn't be a bad thing, if you ask me. Certainly would give this backyard some kind of feature to break up the plain, open field look."

The team quietly idles with the surrounding autumn wind blowing around them and carrying another wave of leaves across the taller grasses. Cideeda's furry ears flick around and lead her stare up towards the clouds forming overhead. "Think a storm is moving in."

With a collective confirmation from the group, they gather back up and walk towards the house. On the way back, Cideeda smirks and stretches her arms behind her head. "So, who's up for another Champions of Nexus match up?"

Sotalia rests her hands on her hips and narrows a competitive stare down at Cideeda. "Only if you all aren't allowed to use your favorites. You need to mix it up once every while."

Cideeda smiles smugly and nods in agreement. "Sure."

Furrowing her brow with growing suspicion, Sotalia leans down towards Cideeda. "You've been practicing with someone else. Which character?"

Stepping ahead of the group, Cideeda shrugs with a playful wag of her long fluffy tail and dons a toothy grin. "Only one way to find out."

Sotalia follows after Cideeda, and the rest of the group returns to the shelter of the ranch style house.

----

The harsh drone of rain resonates into the single bed motel room. Blasts of wind blow water spatter upon the lone window in oscillating waves. Light from a bright flash bounces through the stormy haze and flickers around the partially closed blinds into the room. Isaac's gray eyes widen in brief surprise, and he stares out into the chaos outside. "1... 2... 3... 4..."

A rumbling boom rolls over the area and rattles the structure. Glancing around the room of cheap, dated decorations, Isaac returns his focus to the fully open street map of Amaranth Valley in front of him. His studious gaze wanders over the different lines, shaded regions, and symbols. His attention drifts between different sections of the greater metro area and aimlessly meanders over towards other points of interest. Seconds of staring later, moments of frustration twitch upon his faintly sun tanned face, and an irritated frown starts curling at the corner of his mouth. Grabbing another pillow off to the side, he stuffs the cushion in front of another and behind the lumbar of his back. He lifts up his aetherphone and drags through a similar digital map of the area, comparing the information between glances of the two. Picking up a pencil to the side, he hovers the tip over a pad of paper between scribbles out notes. Pausing in thought, he idly taps the point upon the page and leaves light graphite scratches on the surface.

Isaac darts his eyes between his aetherphone, map, and notes in quick succession. The seconds of indecision pass, and he grits his teeth, hissing out a long sigh. Dropping the pencil upon the pad paper, he plops down his phone upon the mattress and eases back upon the piled up pillows behind him. He releases a long breath, placing the palms of his hands upon his forehand, and slowly drags them back past his temples, interlocking his fingers behind his head. Wrestling the persistent frown on his face, he grumbles to himself and mutters incoherent curses under his breath. He stares at the aged stained ceiling above, watching the dusty blades of the overhead fan slowly spin. An advertisement's announcement on the television crests above the storming drone from outside.

Tilting his head forward, Isaac briefly studies the screen, reaches over to the nightstand, and plucks the remote. Aiming the device at the television, he flips through the different channels. He cycles through the limited selection. His assessment wanders between mildly annoyed and vaguely accepting. A number of passes through the video wasteland later, a channel flashes fanciful graphics leading to the logo of the Next Adventurers of Nexus. Hovering his finger over the channel change button, Isaac mulls over the programming. Furrowing his brow, he shrugs his shoulders and drops the remote off to his side on the bed spread, sighing out his begrudging acceptance. He picks up his aetherphone, taps slowly through the menus, and waits for the cheaply made device to process the requests.

The voiceover fades out, and the show cuts to a segment. On screen Trakenthin follows behind his father and pleads exasperated. Undeterred, Trenannin continues his determined march across the open field. The camera maintains a shot of father and son debating, and Trakenthin's father stops. Standing defiantly, he levels a demanding scowl towards someone. The camera pans over and focuses upon Dretphi. Isaac idly glances at the screen and returns back watching his aetherphone load. He blinks blankly and snaps his attention fully back onto the television. The camera view shifts over and shows Dretphi across from Trakenthin and his father.

Isaac's eyes open wide, and he quickly pulls himself up into a seat upon the motel bed. Leaning his gawking stare forward, he pores his full attention towards the programming. On screen, Dretphi converses with Trakenthin and his father, and Isaac searches the background, catching glimpses of the backside of the ranch style house. Turning his head slightly and keeping his eyes affixed to the screen, he pats around and finds his pad of paper. He sweeps up the nearby pencil and flips over to a new page. Locating the top of the pad, he begins to quickly write out notes. Short descriptions, observations, and assumptions begin to fill the paper, and an eager smirk grows upon Isaac's face. His eyes dart between the location details, and his hand sketches out the information. Ranch style house, large backyard, forested plot along one side, near two lane road, large tree on side of house, and other morsels of knowledge appear in graphite scribbles upon the yellow, lined paper.

The drama of the scene plays out with fanciful editing, and a voice over ramps up the conflict with conjectures and leading proposals. The show fades out and leads to a brief message.

"We'll return to our Thursday catch up marathon of Next Adventurers of Nexus after a brief severe weather update..."

Isaac blinks back to awareness from his intellectual stupor and glances down upon the page full of notes. Studying the material, he slides his gaze over onto the map upon the bed in front of him. He scans over the large chart with pencil in hand. Squinting at a region, he leans down close and examines it closely. With a slow nod and intrigued smile, he circles out an area and marks it with a question mark. Lifting his head up, his gray eyes search nearby and his curiosity leads him to another spot. Scrutinizing the natural features of the area and the types of roads, he grants a simple nod and circles out another section, denoting the spot with another question mark. He hunts around for other areas that share similar suspicious aspects.

The jingle for the Next Adventurers of Nexus signals the return of the show. Isaac returns to an attentive upright seat and readies his pencil and paper.

With each segment of the show, Isaac diverts his attention away from the dramatization. His focus seeks out unique details of the surroundings, and he quickly scribbles down more tidbits into his growing collection of notes. Fighting against the draw of the show's chaos, he continues the vigilant hunt for revealing traits in the scenes. The battle between Dretphi and Trakenthin leads into the final confrontation between Trakenthin and his father, and the voice over transitions to the ending sequence for the episode. Baiting some future conflicts, the voiceover reads off boilerplate information.

"...and don't forget to go to our aethersite where you can join other fans on the forums to talk about this episode and others..."

Isaac lifts up his eyebrow intrigued. Picking up his aetherphone, he taps out a few search terms into the browser. The results return, and he presses on the most relevant link. A forum filled with posts and discussion topics loads upon the screen of the aetherphone. A sly grin emerges on Isaac's face, and he brushes back wispy, white hairs. The background advertisement noise fades away against the outside drone of the storm, and the intro music to the Next Adventurers of Nexus rises above, filling the small motel room. Isaac places his phone off to the side at the ready. He picks up his paper and pencil and settles back against his pillows. Searching around the room, his head leads his upper body into a turn. He reaches over into a paper bag with a Fval Spice receipt stapled upon it and pulls out a container of food with plastic utensils.

The waves of rain wash up against the window. Isaac adjusts the pillows for comfort and stretches his wrists and fingers into faint pops and cracks. The show cuts over to the first intro segments, and Isaac readies his pencil with an eager smirk.

----

A dense curtain of rain splashes up upon the windshield and obscures the view of the stormy landscape. The wiper blade scrapes the layer of water off and flings it off to the side of the sedan. Another wave of raindrops quickly floods over the glass, and soon another swipe of a rubber strip peels off the water. The fvalian man sighs, shaking his head, and grips the steering wheel tight. Reaching his hand over the dash, he wipes off some condensation from the inside of the windshield and groans. "Gods damn it. This is fucking ridiculous."

In the passenger seat, a tall woman with very long, pointed ears presses a few buttons on the console and rolls her purple eyes. "I know."

The fvalian flicks his furry ears and darts a side glance at the woman. "Seriously, Verkari. Are you sure you want to do the pass now? I'm all for waiting for this to blow over. It's not like we're going to be able to see much from the road with all this going on."

Sighing, Verkari feels a rush of warm air blast up from the dash vents over the inside of the windshield. "I already checked that, Tik. This is not letting until after midnight at the earliest. And..."

She tilts her head over towards Tik and glances over. "Probably not until three or four in the morning."

Tik frowns and briefly grits his sharp teeth to a hiss. "Well... Shit."

Verkari shrugs her shoulders, brushes off some fuzz from her plain t-shirt, and gazes out the water coated door window. "We will just take it slow when we go by the place. In this weather, we should not seem that suspicious if we coast on by."

She gazes over at Tik and smirks. "I would rather keep our routine consistent and believable."

Nodding, Tik steers the vehicle through a long curve and narrows his stare through the chaos of the storm. "Yeah. Can't argue there."

He twists a smile on his face and quickly rolls his dark blue eyes. "Just a couple driving back home from work after a hard day..."

Another curtain of rain dumps a thick layer of water over the outside of the sedan. Tik stiffens his arms, gripping the steering wheel tightly. "Through THIS shit. Gods damn. I wonder if we can get hazard time for going out in this crap."

Verkari snorts, shaking her head playfully, and narrows her gaze out the passenger side window. "If I could find a way, I would have already. Believe me, if posing as a dealer in Clev does not get you hazard pay, NOTHING will."

Blinking briefly with an uncomfortable shudder, Tik rolls his shoulders and chuckles. "Still can't believe half the stories you've told me. I guess I was lucky to just be wandering out the woods most of the time."

Furrowing her brow, Verkari twists an amused smirk on her dark tan, dark brown shaded face and laughs. "I do not know about THAT. Keeping tabs on those Terra Priests must have been something else."

With a simple shrug, Tik eases his foot on the brake pedal and brings the vehicle to stop at an intersection. "It wasn't too bad. Well..."

Rolling his eyes to the side, he winces momentarily. "At least until fucking Appaland decided to break up that whole commune."

Shaking his head, he squints through the torrent of rain coating the outside of the car and hisses out a breath. "What a gods damned mess that was. Damn near had a heart attack when I caught the outline of one of those Death Stalkers in the rain."

Verkari tenses up her shoulders, frowning sharply, and squirms in her seat into a shudder. "I cannot blame you. I probably would have shit myself."

Tik curls an ill-humored smirk. "I about did when I saw the second one next to the first. Got right out of there as soon as I figured out what direction they were going..."

Fluttering his eyes, he stiffly turns his head, cringing. "And went the opposite way."

Nodding in agreement, Verkari wipes off the condensation on her passenger's side window with a fast food napkin. "Completely understand. No sense in being listed as collateral damage in that post-op report."

She pauses in thought a moment, lifts up her aetherphone, and crests the camera lens just above the bottom of the window. "Well. Ready when you are."

Tik grants a simple nod, rechecks the empty intersection, and accelerates the vehicle. The two inside the cab remain quiet, the noise of rain bombarding the sedan resonating inside. The chorus water and wind from the storm drones through and fills the air with a constant background of chaos. The plain gray car rolls down the two lane highway, past a large forest section, and slows down, a ranch style house appearing in view through the stormy haze. Verkari keeps her head ahead, and her eyes quickly glance at her aetherphone. She deftly taps an onscreen button, activating the video record function. Keeping a constant pace, Tik steadies the vehicle against the gusts of wind and calmly pushes through the curtains of rain rolling across the roadway. Both aim their heads forward, sneaking glances out the corner of their eyes at the parked humvee and faint traces of light deeper within the house through the window.

The sedan rolls on past, and the view of the house fully disappears behind another long section of trees. Verkari taps the screen of her phone and sighs. "Well. It does not look like anything has changed. I swear they have not gone anywhere since we started observing them."

With an unsatisfied tone, Tik twists his mouth. "Well, nowhere far. Anything they're doing is local or close enough they're getting back home by nightfall when we drive by. They're not even setting out early in the morning."

Verkari furrows her brow, tilting her head back against the headrest of her seat, and slides an intrigued gaze towards Tik. "Yeah. You know... I have an idea on how to fix that."

The sedan slows down to an idle crawl, and Tik perks an eyebrow, narrowing a curious glance at Verkari. "You want to tag their ride. Don't you?"

Tilting her head of long, tied back hair, she smirks guilty and shrugs her shoulders. "Well. Yes."

Tik hums uncertainly and releases a contemplative breath through his nose. Verkari leans closer to Tik and whispers. "Listen. The only requirements of our mission here is to keep tabs on them and keep out of their sight as much as possible. We can do general stuff like this, but that is not going to give us the whole picture."

Fighting a frown, Tik nods in agreement. "I mean, you're right. We can't really ramp up driving passes without getting their suspicion, and there's no good way to set up an observation point without risking discovery. I'm..."

He rolls his dark blue eyes and smirks. "I'm for it..."

Rapping his claw tips on the steering wheel, he narrows at stare over. "Under one condition."

Verkari quirks her brow and cocks her head to the side. "Which is?"

Tik cracks a smug sharp grin. "You're planting the damned thing. I'm not going out in this weather."

Blinking in surprise, Verkari settles back in her seat and snorts. "Oh please. Not right now..."

She glances around the area outside the vehicle. Watching the obscuring haze of rain and hearing the drone of wind resonate, she grits her teeth and sighs begrudgingly. "Crap. It is actually a perfect time to do it. Perfect cover to hide the act, and the tracks will be washed away in minutes."

Donning a tight smile, she stretches her back straight in her seat and draws a sharp breath through her nose. "Well. Fine. Where did you put the trackers?"

Tik eases the car to a stop, puts the gear shift into park, and twists in his seat towards the back. "Right over here behind your seat."

He retrieves a rugged plastic case with combination lock and a GAA logo upon the side. Verkari takes hold of the package, deftly unlocks the container, and opens it, surveying the collection of small, plain cubes. She inspects a few, picks out one, and places it into the socket of a small computer console inside. "Okay. One magnetic mount with long logging and semi-random transmit timing. Sound good?"

Nodding, Tik checks the surroundings of the vehicle and cracks a sly smirk, pointing out a break in the trees of the forest. "That should work. AND, there's a path you can go down. Head into the woods and approach from the side of the house."

Verkari closes up the GAA tracker box and unbuckles her seat belt. She snatches up a thin, dark raincoat from a pouch on the back of her seat and swiftly slips it on. "Just what I was thinking, too."

Tik quickly searches the sedan's console, presses the hazard light button, and unlocks the doors. "Okay. I'll pretend I'm making a phone call. Try to keep it under five minutes, okay?"

Verkari nods and readies herself. Tik scans the horizon around the vehicle, pulls out his aetherphone, and winks at Verkari. "Go."

The passenger's door swiftly opens and closes with only a few drops of rain managing to reach into the interior.

----

Moonlight reflects in the pools of still water within the dips of the two lane road. A natural quiet fills the air, and faint splashes of water filter in from the surrounding area. A muffled rumble rises out of the background and grows louder. The headlamp beam of the motorcycle tilts down, the vehicle cresting over a slight hill. Specs of detail of the road glint out of the wet, mirror black surface in front of the machine. Isaac keeps the motorcycle at a subdued pace and divides his attention between the unique patches of scenery in the vicinity. He slows the vehicle down, approaching a stop sign at an intersection. Planting his feet to the side, he balances the motorcycle and stretches out his back. He wipes off the build up of condensation and lifts up the visor of his helmet, breathing in the air. Taking in generous sniffs, he wanders his gaze towards the moonlit fields, patches of trees, and a full, flowing creek.

He fights against a yawn, loses the battle. Shaking his head, he releases a defeated sigh and twists around, reaching inside a side cargo bag. He pulls out a messily folded map, opens it up to a section, and studies it. His gray eyes sort through all the notes and marks, and he brings a section of the chart close. Glancing up at the intersection, he orientates the map against his surroundings and twists his mouth uncertainly, struggling against another yawn. He shudders, and a cool breeze blows through the trees, leading a chorus of water falling upon the damp earth. He stares at the right path of the intersection and rocks his head side to side in deliberation, sighing. Staring down at the map, he shrugs his shoulders, crudely folds the map back up, and stuffs it back into the side cargo case. He stretches his arms out, grips the handlebars, and readies the controls, checking the intersection one last time.

Accelerating into a right turn, he brings the motorcycle to a slow idling pace and resumes scouting the area. He gently turns along a lazy curve and settles back into the middle of the lane down a long straight away. Glancing around the area, his attention snaps to the cut up remains of a massive protellow stalk. Furrowing his brow, he cocks his head, recognition bubbling up onto his face. He shudders awake, musters up his focus, and scrutinizes the passing landmarks and other features. Sparks of familiarity light up his eyes, and he keeps his examining stare upon the newfound clues longer with each new occurrence. Following through a slight curve in the road, he gazes down a new straight away. Two houses on the side seize his attention. Isaac furrows his brow and momentarily studies the tall three story dwelling with a number of Next Adventurers of Nexus vans parked out of the view... Next to a two-story house with a black, dented up sports utility vehicle.

Quickly, Isaac brings the motorcycle to a stop and gawks at the building. Darting his gray eyes around at the moonlit scene, an eager excitement swells into his body. Searching around, he rolls his ride up a few meters and finds an unblocked line of sight. He peers around the two-story house and between nearby trees and spots a large backyard with a huge rock within it and... A ranch style house sitting upon the slight rise behind it.

Isaac's eyes widen in surprise, and his body tenses. Glancing around hurriedly, he indecisively mutters to himself. Moments later, he calms himself and focuses on a few breaths. Straightening his back and resettling upon the saddle of the motorcycle, he takes a moment, quietly pondering to himself. He checks around the area and accelerates the machine down the road. He quickly cruises down the street, reaching another stop sign in front of a different intersection. Twisting around quickly, he retrieves his map and examines road markings against his surroundings. He pats himself over and plucks out a pencil from his pocket. Circling the area on the map, he nods satisfied. He stows away the map and gestures out an incantation. Guiding a cloud of magical flow upon the exhaust of the vehicle, the muffled rumble fades away below the ambient, damp night sounds surrounding.

Traveling down a few roads, Isaac coasts quietly down the two lane street and keeps his attention towards the side of the road. Soon the front of the ranch style house arrives into view, and Isaac smirks, gazing upon the familiar humvee. Rolling on by out of view, Isaac pulls off to the side of the road and eases behind some brush. Mounting the motorcycle on the kickstand, he hops off and rummages around a side storage container. Feeling around, he retrieves a chunk of stone from his backpack nestled inside. Nodding with confidence, he works through a complicated casting, meticulous gestures, and intricate incantations. The energies rush out and sink into the rune covered chunk of black rock. With a final motion, the stone splits exactly into two clean cut halves. Dropping one stone back into his backpack, Isaac creeps back towards the humvee in front of the two-story house and fades from view, opacity draining away from him.

Underneath the humvee, wet gravel stirs and faint pats upon metal sound out. Minutes of soft noises punctuate the dull clanks against the machine's frame. A surprised voice mutters out. "...what the fuck is..."

With a pause in activity, the gravel beneath the humvee stirs. Wet footsteps sound out, the traces of motion forming upon the driveway toward the street. Near the motorcycle, Isaac sheds off the transparent coating and glares at black tracker cube. Furrowing his brow, an irritated curl turns into angry sneer. Tightening his grip on the device, a spark of glow emerges in his eyes and fades. He pulls in a sharp breath through his nose and relaxes his shoulders, exhaling. He wanders his gaze around the peaceful moonlit scene and rests his attention upon a full, rushing creek. Isaac tilts his head curiously and searches around the area. A discarded paper fast food cup with a plastic lid and straw rests nearby, shifting faintly in a gentle breeze. A devious smirk parts Isaac's lips. He sweeps up the paper cup, pops open the lid, and dumps out the collected water. He places the black cube into the container and seals the top back on, walking next to the creek. Holding his arm out, he lines up the cup with the current and drops it off. The vessel floats on top and drifts away with the flow of the water.

Isaac rushes back up to his motorcycle, seats himself on the machine, and grins smugly, watching the fast food cup bob away down stream.

-125-

A gentle autumn wind drifts across the placid lake. With each gust, ripples form along the surface of the water and radiate out towards the surrounding shore. Two people in plain clothes stand upon a patch of damp grass before a muddy incline into the lake. Tik crosses his arms, flicking his furry ears, and wrestles a grimace on his face. Resting her hands on her hips, Verkari hisses a long sigh through her gritted teeth and fights against a shallow frown. She draws a breath in, turns her purple eyed gaze over towards Tik, and tilts her head of long, tied-back black hair. "So... Um..."

Tik maintains a stare distantly towards the middle of the lake, grumbling out a groan, and twists his mouth, briefly revealing his pronounced canines. "Yeah... Yeah... So..."

Verkari pivots her attention back over towards the water and rocks her head curiously to the other shoulder, shifting her weight idly between her feet. The two settle both their gazes upon a fast food cup bobbing around in the water within the middle of the large lake. Tik scratches the back of his short, reddish head of hair and furrows his pale brow. Narrowing his stare upon the container, he squints at plastic straw sticking out the top, swaying with the breeze. Verkari grimaces sternly, straightens her posture, and eyes Tik uncertainly. "Well. It has got to be in that cup. The signal only gets stronger when you get closer to it."

She pulls out a small device with a touchscreen. Tapping a few buttons, she watches a signal strength indicator. She adjusts the tiny parabolic dish antenna and pans the front of the device over the breadth of the lake, settling the aim upon the strongest readings. Following the direction of the device, she rests her gaze towards the floating fast food cup. Tik glances over, nods at the tracking system indicators, and sighs out his frustration. "Gods. I've got so many questions right now. Just... Okay..."

Verkari slips the device back into her pants pocket and ponders out loud with an indignant wave towards the water. "I know. How did they even KNOW there was something there? I did not detect any magical spells that would have alerted anyone. And, I placed it in a really good spot that would have been out of the way for even a thorough inspection. You would have to be specifically looking for a tracking device to have a chance at locating it."

Shaking his head, Tik picks at his claw tips on a hand, sighing, and ponders out loud. "Without it regularly transmitting, it shouldn't have been easily picked up. At least, not so soon."

Nodding in agreement, Verkari watches another cool gust of wind ripple the surface of the placid water, and the fast food vessel drifts along with the gentle waves. She shakes her head incredulously and crosses her arms, rolling her shoulders. "The log indicates it started to move, at three in the morning. Why would anyone be up that late and checking that far underneath their car after a rainstorm?"

Tik motions his hand out towards the bobbing cup and contorts his pale face, disbelief surging up within him. "I still can't figure out the gods damned cup. I could totally understand if the thing fell off. That makes sense. Or, if it was just tossed into the woods."

Throwing his hands forth towards the lake, he stares at Verkari, seeking some answer in desperation. "But, THIS? THIS took some effort. There was INTENT behind THIS."

Verkari works her dark tan face into a frown and huffs in disgust. "Well. Certainly no more tracking devices with them. It must be some kind of precaution with that group. A bit paranoid if you ask me, especially when you are parking in your own home."

Lifting up an eyebrow, a dry smirk grows on Tik, and he rolls his dark blue eyes. "Hey. It's not paranoia if they really are out to get you."

Rubbing her eyes into a pinch of the bridge of her nose, Verkari cracks a wry smile and sighs with a slight shake of her head. "Gods, I guess. Damn. So, I do not know... Hidden cameras with telescopic lenses? I think I have seen a few spots that could work out well enough for those."

Tik nods in agreement, hanging his arms at his sides, and wrestles a grimace. "Yeah. We really don't want to risk them getting even more paranoid than usual."

He swings his arm lightly towards the lake and points towards the bobbing fast food cup. "Finding this one, they'd probably rule as almost expected. Finding another one? That'd definitely put them on full alert, and we won't be able to get within a kilometer of that place."

He cautiously steps up to the edge of the lake, kneels down close to the muddy shoreline, and dips a clawed finger into the water. An uncomfortable curl warps the frown on his face, and he faintly shivers, dread dredging up discomfort's past. Verkari shifts her weight between soggy earth and holds her arms out for brief balance. "So. I believe that is the plan for the future."

She furrows her brow and frowns unsure. "What should we do about the, um, current situation?"

The two stare out across the lake surface and observe the feud between water and wind currents, the battle keeping the cup deadlocked in the middle far from the shores. Tik stands up slowly and glances over his shoulder at Verkari. "You don't happen to know a spell that can bring it to the shore?"

Gritting her teeth briefly, Verkari sighs and shakes her head with a mild frown. "No. It is unfortunately too far out for me. And, anything else I have..."

She rolls her eyes away from a bit of embarrassment. "Might push it further away?"

The idle wag of Tik's tail dies down into an uncomfortable waver, and he tenses against bubbling hesitance. Verkari perks her brow and gazes at Tik. "I take it you got nothing else that would help?"

Drawing in a long breath, Tik snorts to an uneasy smirk and rolls his dark blue eyes. "We've already risked one piece of government property. I really don't want to risk anything else trying to retrieve it."

He narrows his stare and pans his gaze around the vicinity. Focusing through the residual morning fog, his furry ears flick around, hunting for stray noises. Drawing in a deep breath, he exhales into a slump of the shoulders and mumbles. "Well, fuck..."

He unzips his jacket off and holds it out for Verkari. "Could you take this, please?"

Verkari places the garment over her arm and eyes Tik curiously. "Are you going to...?"

Tik simply nods, kneeling down, and unties his bootlaces. "YES. We could spend hours trying to figure out other options. OR..."

He sucks in a wince and grumbles. "I can just swim out, grab it, and be done with it."

He cracks a smirk and glances up at Verkari. "Plus, it's only fair. You got wet yesterday. My turn today."

Slipping out of his boots and socks, he stands upon the wet grass and stretches, the morning chill sinking into his skin. Flexing his toe claws into the dirt, a bit of relief plays out on his face. "If it was a little warmer, this might be enjoyable."

Verkari checks the nearby woods and scans across the lake, cringing with the prospect. "You will have to excuse me, if I do not stop you. That water looks REALLY cold."

Dropping his t-shirt upon Verkari's arm, Tik unbuckles his pants and sighs with what little humor remains in his voice. "Just have a spell ready to dry me off. That's all I ask. Also, be ready to pull leeches off of me."

Verkari gazes over Tik's fit form and subdues a smirk. She averts her purple eyes back towards the fast food cup. "Will do."

Cinching up his boxers, Tik steps close to the edge of the shore. He stares down into the clearer water, glimpses of the bottom revealing themselves, and manages a nod against his pleading comfort. He steps a few meters back. With a full sprint, he leaps into the water and sinks under. Breaking the surface from below a few meters closer towards the cup, he breaststrokes, fvalian curses coloring the splashes of water with each breath. Verkari vainly tries to quell a sly, amused smile, between watchful glances around the area.

----

Rolling her shoulders within her suit of red plate armor, Dretphi hoists up the multi-barreled machine gun and tightens her grip on the handles. Focusing her emerald green gaze upon the device, Cideeda hover a claw tip over the weapon, inspecting the minor mechanisms visible. She tugs on the ammunition belt leading into the machine and straightens her posture. Sweeping once last cursory check over the surface of the machine, she nods to herself. "It should be ready for a test firing."

Stepping cautiously away, Cideeda walks around a tall, translucent golden barrier curved behind Dretphi, and skips over next to Bach a few meters away. Dretphi quirks her eyebrow, glances over her shoulder at the retreating fvalian, and narrows a suspicious stare. "Is there something I should know?"

Perking her furry ears up, Cideeda dons a toothy grin and shakes her head of short, multi-colored hair. "Huh? Oh. No. I just want to take every precaution. Murphy is always around and..."

Darting her emerald green eyes around the top of her mind, she twists a smirk on her light brown face and chuckles awkwardly. "It is a heavily modified device of ancient origin, that's been tweaked and tuned to degrees it was never designed for."

Bach blinks blankly and stares down at Cideeda, Dretphi furrowing her brow. Cideeda sighs with a hand upon her chest and glances up between Bach and Dretphi. "I'm confident I did everything right and individual tests have confirmed it. But... THIS still is A LOT of opportunity for Murphy to strike in one place."

Pondering a moment, Dretphi nods understandingly with an encouraging smirk. "Okay."

She lets go of the vertical rear grip and lowers her full face visor down, locking the seal. Straightening her posture, she grips the weapon tightly and braces herself. Bach gazes down at the nervously squirming Cideeda with a reassuring tone. "Hey. I'm sure it'll work just fine. All the parts we fashioned were to your specifications. And, well, all the tests before this point worked. I mean, you flushed out all the big ticket problems."

Sliding her eyes up towards Bach, Cideeda presents a comforted smile, twinges of anxiety trying to sneak out. She hisses out a slow exhale, tensing her shoulders. "I know, I know. But... It just feels different when you do a full test of something completely assembled and all."

She waves out her hand with her thoughts and squirm down her back. "For example, it's one thing to check to see if the motor can spin and the bearings don't bind. Even test firing by turning the barrels into position one shot at a time isn't that demanding. Just... Those functional pieces of the bigger machine."

Bach nods in agreement and whispers. "Yeah. I think I get it. Kinda like when I was teaching Sotalia the disintegration ball spell. Individual parts are one thing..."

Cideeda grimaces, commiseration quelling the remaining anxious energy. "Everything working together correctly is something completely different."

Both focus ahead and watch Dretphi experiment with arm positions to hold up the minigun. Settling upon one, Dretphi slightly tips down the weapon at an angled metal target a distance away from the side of the ranch style house, in front of the dense forest. Bracing the machine against herself, she glances over her shoulder and calls out through her helmet's speaker system. "Ready."

Cideeda catches Bach's attention, motions her hands towards her furry ears, and instructs. "Pull the barrel lock, turn on the drive motor, and turn off the safety."

Glancing over the machine, Dretphi pulls back a pin, flips a power switch, and twists a knob indicator to the first red painted section. Cideeda leans out, peeking around the golden shield between her and Dretphi, inspecting the machine at a distance. Spotting the correct mechanical positions and lights on, she covers her furry ears and calls out. "Click the trigger twelve times. It should fire twelve single shots. After that, stop."

Bach finishes sending a message on his aetherphone, pockets the device, and follows Cideeda's example with his fingers firmly pressing his ears closed. Cideeda checks on Bach, confirms, and shouts out. "Go!"

Dretphi moves her finger near the trigger upon the rear vertical grip, rests it carefully upon the red painted metal, and adjusts her aim. Dretphi squeezes the trigger. The barrel assembly smoothly rotates. A muffled click sounds out to a loud bang. A projectile fractures off the corner of the metal target and fragments deflect into the surrounding grass.

Dretphi furrows her brow thoughtfully, carefully readjusts her aim, and tenses her body up. Another squeeze of the trigger sends another round down the range, the slug bouncing off the target closer to the middle bullseye. Focusing herself, Dretphi braces and readies her trigger finger. Shot after shot rings out. The metal plate hung by chains shakes, the subsequent barrage of rounds juggling it around. The final, twelfth report echoes out. Dretphi twists the mode knob back to the green, flips the power switch off, and slides the barrel lock into place.

With Dretphi's signal, Bach and Cideeda uncover their ears. Cideeda cracks a hopeful grin and steps around the golden protective barrier to Dretphi's side. "So, what do you think?"

Dretphi flips up her full face visor and smirks eagerly, an excited glint in her steely gray eyes. "Ready to try full speed."

Examining the minigun closely, Cideeda glances up at Dretphi with a twist to her smile and chuckles. "Let's do a slow spin burst first. THEN... We'll do the full burst."

Venting out stale disappointment through her nose, Dretphi nods in agreement and readies herself. Cideeda rushes back over to Bach's side and watches Dretphi ready the device. Observing the process through the edge of the meters away golden barrier, Bach directs his curious tone downwards at Cideeda. "So... How did you get a minigun to do single shot? I mean, I know you mentioned something while I was making some parts, but I didn't catch all of it then."

Cideeda cracks a proud grin, tapping her fingertips on both hands together, and shrugs her shoulders, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "OH. The hardware is simple. You just put a ridiculously powerful stepper motor on it."

Wincing briefly with a frown, she groans with a roll of her emerald green eyes. "NOW, the sensors and software... Gods, that was the really painful part with getting all the timing and cycling right. Also, setting up the safety protocols to make sure it would park itself well before any barrel's firing point."

She gazes up at Bach with a smile. "It's precise enough for it to work."

Twisting a bit of frown on her light brown face, she shrugs her shoulders. "Unfortunately, it will never have the firing rate it did before. But, Dretphi shouldn't need anything near that fast for what it'll be used for from now on."

Pausing her preparations, Dretphi slowly pivots her helmeted head and stares over her shoulder at Cideeda. Furrowing her brow, Cideeda rolls her eyes and groans into a loud sigh. "Sorry that I don't want you to spin around like a pinwheel of death!"

With a dismissive, prideful snort, Dretphi grumbles to herself and braces the weapon against her armored form. "READY."

Cideeda holds her hands close to her ears and calls out. "A few seconds, slow burst."

Glancing up at Bach with a wry smirk, Cideeda sighs quietly and rolls her emerald green eyes. "ANYWAY... At full speed, you'd use up all your ammo in seconds. Kind of impractical for most things."

With a signal from Cideeda, both Bach and Cideeda firmly cover their ears, and Cideeda yells out. "Go!"

Lining up her aim, Dretphi tenses her armored form and squeezes the trigger. The barrels spin up to a constant speed, and a stream of bullets fly down the range. The hanging target at the end of the rattles upwards against the volley impacts. Flecks of shattered metal pelt the ground below and behind it, sticking into the slight incline further along. Seconds later, Dretphi releases the trigger, engages the safety, and deactivates the weapon. With an eager grin wide on her tan face, she turns her gaze straight upon Cideeda and calls out with a brighter tone. "Full auto?"

Cideeda leans out peeking around the golden shield behind Dretphi and squints, inspecting the weapon. Dretphi hoists the machine up into better view with an eager fidget traveling down her body. Cideeda flicks her furry ears between mental calculations, the risks weighing visibly upon her face. She grants a nod and resigns with a sigh. "Might as well let you have your fun. Get ready. I'll tell you when to go."

Dretphi swiftly aims, reactivates, and disengages the safety. She turns the mode knob indicator to a brightly red painted section with multiple exclamation marks etched into it. Stepping back from the magical barrier, Cideeda slinks behind Bach. Watching, Bach blinks his eyes to a glowing blue and holds his hand out. Hexagons of flow form into a growing translucent, golden screen directly in front of Bach and Cideeda. Moments later, the barrier anchors into the ground, and Bach nods reassuringly down at Cideeda. "Got us covered."

An appreciative smile appears on Cideeda's light brown face, and she quietly whispers. "Thanks. I just don't know if physics or Dretphi is going to win out on this test."

Nodding understandingly, Bach narrows his stare ahead at the ready. Both Bach and Cideeda cover their ears and watch ahead. Cideeda calls out. "Go!"

Dretphi pulls the trigger without delay. The weapon attempts to torque around the rotating assembly in a bid of freedom from Dretphi's unyielding grip. A volley of metal erupts from the fire leaving the spinning barrels. The recoil drives the weapon against Dretphi, her muscles forcing it back into its place. The powerful, explosive roar echoes out, and violent vibrations ripple through Dretphi's body. Surprise leaps out upon her tan face. A surge of determination forces back down any doubt. Sparks erupt off the metal plate, supporting chains, and anchored framework under torrent of slugs. Grass shards and dirt specks fumes up into the air along the slight incline behind the target. The cacophony of gunfire abruptly halts. The last bullet casing drops out of the machine and clinks upon a pile of linkage hardware and brass. The motor drones on, muffled clicks punctuating the servo whine. Dretphi releases the trigger, deftly engages the safeties, and quickly locks down the machine.

Standing in the relative silence, she draws in deep breaths and gradually relaxes her tall, armored form. Bach and Cideeda expectantly observe from behind their protective barrier. Furrowing his brow curiously, Bach whispers down at Cideeda. "Is she okay?"

Cracking a smirk and showing a pronounced canine, Cideeda giggles to herself and pats Bach on the back. "She's having a moment. Don't worry. Give her a second or two."

Bach tilts his head to the side, glances over at the battered firing range target, and states in a low tone. "Now I see why you insisted on firing down from a standing position, checking the angles into the forest, and using that target in front of the dirt mound."

With a tight smile, Cideeda nods knowingly and furrows her brow. Dretphi shudders back to awareness, pivots around slowly, and walks towards Bach and Cideeda, a hint of a skip slips into her step. She flips up her full face visor and grins brightly. "It worked!"

Cideeda smiles proudly and crosses her arms confidently, ignoring any and all prior doubts. "We saw. Good. Looks like I dialed in the right speed for you."

Bach nods in agreement and points over at the target. "Yeah. You kept it pretty much on target. That was really impressive."

A warm smile graces Dretphi's face, and she glances over at Bach. "Thank you."

Curling an apprehensive frown, she shifts her attention down towards Cideeda. She taps upon the minigun with a confident tone. "I think I could handle more."

Cideeda lifts her eyebrow and cocks her head unconvinced. "Yeah. We'll see. It needs a little more testing just to make sure it can handle itself right now... Much less a faster firing rate."

With a disappointed smirk, Dretphi sighs into a reluctant agreement. "I understand. Does not matter if I can handle it, if it can not."

She rolls her shoulders, stretching her back, and hangs the weapon low. "It is still heavy to carry for a long time. Arms are fatigued already. Would be a problem in the field."

Cideeda nods and points her thumb towards the front of the house. "Yeah, we'll have to figure out some kind of carrying strap or something. I really don't know if I can change out or strip anything else quite yet. But, let's get it back in the shop for now."

She glances up at Bach with a kind smile, flutters her emerald green eyes, and waves over towards the pile of brass and linkage hardware. "Hey... Could you use your magic to gather all that up? Please? I really don't want to have to pick through the grass and dirt to find all those bits."

Smirking, Bach nods at the practical solution. "Yeah, not a problem. Making all those was pretty mind numbing. You sure they don't make those links for that caliber?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda awkwardly smiles and laughs, averting her eyes briefly. "Technically. Yes. But practically... No. You can special order them from a machine shop, but it'd be a real EXPENSIVE custom job."

Darting her gaze around, she scratches the back of her head and flicks her furry ears with a slow wag of the tail. "And well... The whole point of rechambering it was for it to use cheaper ammunition, since it'd go through a lot of it."

Bach furrows his brow at the frugal proposal. "I get that."

Cideeda steps close to Bach and speaks out the side of her mouth. "Also, you are more precise and cost effective for this type of work than any shop I've dealt with. Far better turn-around time to fix errors, too."

Rolling his blue eyes playfully, Bach shakes his head sarcastically. "Wow, it's so nice to be of such use to you."

Placing her hands on her hips, Cideeda smiles with a chuckle and perks her brow humored. "You'll be very surprised when I show a few receipts for the custom work I've gotten done in the past."

She swiftly pivots and walks past Dretphi admiring the device in her arms. "Back to the shop."

Dretphi blinks back to attention and glances over at Bach. "Oh. I am cooking protellow strips for lunch. Do you want yours regular? Crispy?"

Bach ponders a moment and searches his mind. "Pan fried?"

With a proud smirk, Dretphi nods. "Yes."

Gazing Dretphi, Bach grins eagerly. "Crispy, then."

Dretphi smiles warmly, departing towards the front of the house. "Good choice."

Cideeda and Dretphi head off into the garage with an emerging discussion. Bach surveys the ground near the golden barriers and sighs. Blinking his eyes to a blue glow, he summons up a flow of energy into his hands and glances around. "Alright then..."

----

Orange afternoon sun beams around the front corner of the house and tops of grass blades in the side yard. Bach leans up against the trunk of a tree and closes his eyes, sitting quietly in the ambience. Wavering bits of shade sway and shift across Bach's face, the autumn wind blowing the branches around. Bach eases out a long exhale, sniffing in the cooler air flowing around him, and slacks his shoulders. Fluttering his eyes open, he briefly winces against the bright sunlight slipping around the shade and turns his head towards the backyard. Watching the tops of the tall grass ripple with the currents of air, Bach relaxes his body gradually and fights back a yawn.

Phasing through the sliding glass back door, Sebastian's ethereal form glances around the patio and drifts out towards the edge of the brickwork. He searches around the vicinity, spots Bach idly staring out into the field, and hovers over towards him. Coasting down into a seat near his brother, Sebastian quirks his brow. "Taking a post lunch nap, bro?"

Bach blinks his blue eyes back to awareness and settles an amused gaze at Sebastian. "Nah. Just zoning out for a bit. Trying to think about nothing."

He turns his head towards the side yard and points his thumb over to a spot of grass. "Missing a few ammo belt links, so I gave the area another sweep."

Returning his head back from the direction Bach motioned towards, Sebastian furrows his translucent brow. "Find anything?"

Bach shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "No. So, I decided to sit for a little bit before rummaging around again."

Sebastian nods and stares distantly out over the backyard field. Bach idly watches leaves from the nearby forest bounce over the tops of the tall grasses. Breaking the long silence, Sebastian eases out a reverberating sigh and glances over to his brother. "So, bro..."

Perking his brow, Bach tilts his head of longer brown hair, a few hairs of a white streak tossing around in the wind. "Yes?"

Gritting his teeth, Sebastian works a reluctant frown on his face and groans, the topic arriving to the front of his mind. "I just got done talking to mom and dad."

Tensing up his shoulders, Bach tilts his head up and narrows a wary, inquisitive stare at Sebastian. "Yes?"

Pointing at Bach, Sebastian grimaces and averts his translucent blue eyes. "You're probably going to get a call, and THIS will be the subject..."

Slumping his shoulders, he hangs his head slightly and grumbles with a hint of annoyance. "Cousin Eddie is in the hospital."

Cocking his head, Bach leans himself forward from his seat against the tree trunk and blinks at Sebastian. "What happened?"

Pulling in a calming ethereal breath, Sebastian musters up a frown. "He was in an alchemical accident."

A rush of worry and concern overtakes Bach, and he leans closer to Sebastian. "Oh... Shit... How bad is it?"

Rocking his head side to side, Sebastian gradually clenches his teeth and hisses out a breath. "He's really lucky. Just got some cuts and bruises. But, he's probably going to go to jail..."

He glances off to the side and winces vaguely. "Again."

Bach blinks blankly and squints at Sebastian. Contorting his face into an annoyed grimace, Sebastian groans with a wince. "The accident happened because he was jacking potions to make them stronger."

Firmly placing the palm of his hand upon his face, Bach slowly drags his hand down and gawks at Sebastian in utter disbelief. "You got to be fuckin' kidding me."

Rolling his eyes, Sebastian grumbles and shakes his head. "No... No... I wish. I really do."

Bach flops back upon the tree trunk, tilting his head back, and stares upwards in confusion. "Well, what was he doing- Oh gods. He made something blow up didn't he?"

Sebastian nods slowly. Bach pitches his head back down, and Sebastian meets his brother's gaze, grinning awkwardly. "He tried to use his hooch still to concentrate a thermally reactive potion."

Leveling wide eyed shock upon Sebastian, Bach's jaw hangs open, and he simply gawks. Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and smiles uncomfortably. "Good news! Um, if he asks us to help rebuild his garage... There won't be any demo involved..."

He briefly grits his teeth. "Anymore, at least."

Tipping back, Bach rests his head against the bark of the tree and blinks bewildered. "Gods dammit, Eddie! The hell were you thinking?"

He pauses a moment, pulling his head forward, and focuses his curiosity upon Sebastian. "What are the cops going to get him for..."

Narrowing his stare, Bach wrestles with the words. "Well... This time?"

Sebastian searches his mind uncertainly. "Shit. I forgot the exact charges, since I was too busy processing what I saw from the pictures Mom sent to Aristespha's phone. I think... A bunch of permit and license violations?"

Bach rubs his eyes into a pinch of the bridge of his nose and sighs loudly. "Fuck. Eddie. Damn. There's better ways to make money, man. Come on. I think I actually warned him that stuff like that was dangerous, too."

Resting his arms upon his legs, Bach ponders to himself a moment. He rolls his eyes at himself. "You know, thinking about it, as much as I'd want to give him grief about being an idiot... I, um... I've done A LOT of questionably stupid things in just the last few months alone."

Sebastian furrows his brow, searching the top of his head, and frowns slightly. "Yeah... I don't think I should be casting any stones either."

The two sit quietly with their thoughts for seconds. Bach shudders back to the present and snorts into a laugh. "Gods damn, it's been a wild few months."

Chuckling, Sebastian agrees with a nod. "No shit, bro. It's been nice to take it easy for a bit."

Bach sighs, relaxing his body. "Yeah. Really. Just having a few days in a row without something obviously looming over our heads has been really nice. When all this is done, we REALLY need to take a long vacation."

Sebastian nods emphatically with a wide eyed gaze. "Oh yeah, bro. That has been planned out a few times over."

Fighting back an uncertain curl to his frown, Bach grumbles. "We just need to shut this new bullshit down. Then, we can focus on getting you out of the sword."

He narrows his attention upon Sebastian. "I've been getting better at controlling this elder energy I got. So, I could probably just start dumping power into the sword and maybe calculate how much is needed. From there, fast track a schedule given how well I can handle it."

Sebastian furrows his brow and tilts up his head of coiffed hair, traces of wariness coloring his tone. "If it's okay with you, I'd rather stick to the original plan of finding places of power to drain out. It's easier on you and helps clean up things in the world."

Bach struggles against a grimace and sighs. "I mean, we can do that, too. It's just that strictly doing that might take a REALLY long time... And, I don't know how long we can NOT be actively pursuing Isaac before the Grand Library gets upset."

With snort, Sebastian's ghostly form laughs and waves his hand reassuringly at Bach. "Oh, don't worry about that too much. From the last update Aristespha got, the Grand Library is too busy prying government agencies out of their asses to pay attention to anything else. It'll be a little while before they can go back to their usual business."

Nodding slowly, Bach eases out a comforted breath and smirks faintly. "Okay. That's a little relief. But, I still don't want to just hope we find something undisturbed and full of power."

Sebastian leans close to Bach and whispers. "I get it. I appreciate it. But, don't wreck yourself on my behalf. You've had way too many close calls pushing yourself too hard. We can always figure some way to bullshit them long enough to get me out of the sword. Worst case, we just won't return their calls. Make them find us."

With the silent agreement between the brothers, Sebastian tips his head back. "But GODS DAMMIT! I can't wait to be free of that sword. I don't think I even want to bring it back to the Grand Library in person."

He squints his eyes with a trace long brewing anger. "I believe budget rate ground shipping is good enough for that cursed thing."

Bach grins slyly, chuckling. "Probably cheaper, too."

Sebastian agrees and smiles with an evil tinge. "Yeah, if they want proper shipping, the Grand Library will have to pay up front. None of that reimbursement crap."

Placing his hands behind his head, Bach settles into his seat against the tree trunk. "So... What are you going to use after you send off the sword?"

Crossing his arms, Sebastian straightens his seated posture and rocks his head side to side in deliberation, humming in thought. "I don't know exactly. BUT! Nothing ancient and magical. Period. Think I'm good for the rest of my life on those types of weapons."

With a simple nod, Bach laughs. "Yeah. Can't fault you there. If you need something, I'll fix it up for you."

Sebastian scratches the back of his head and ponders out loud. "Thanks, bro. I think I'm going to ask Dretphi for any good smiths that she might know."

Lifting his eyebrow, Bach tilts his head and eyes Sebastian. "Might see if Chad has a spare Stalwart Sword around. They seemed to have loaded up with a bunch of freebies. He might still have one we could get cheap."

Pointing Bach, Sebastian strokes his chin. "Not a bad idea."

His attention wanders and another thought arrives to the front of Sebastian's mind. "I think they're wrapping up the show soon. At least, that's what Aristespha has been hearing from Deedri."

Bach turns his head towards the far off corner of the back yard lot. Squinting his blue eyes, he watches glimpses of the two story house through the thick layers of tree branches. Catching a glint of sunlight from the distant sliding glass back door, Bach furrows his brow and directs his voice towards Sebastian. "When all this shit is over, we should really invite them over just to hang out. I get the feeling we'll all need something normal and mundane after all these months."

Sebastian quickly bobs his head in confirmation. "Oh yeah. Definitely should keep in contact in case we get... Well... More normal jobs that require more people."

Blinking at Sebastian, Bach dons a confused gaze and cocks his head. "More normal?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Sebastian sighs with a playful roll of his eyes. "More typical? I don't know, bro. It's hard to define what standard and usual is in this line of work. When exploring ancient ruins to see if something monster-like has moved in is a STANDARD grade assignment, how do you gauge what is normal from THAT in comparison to everything else?"

Bach snorts into a laugh and smiles at his brother. "Yeah... Fair enough."

----

Plodding around the small bedroom, Gerald glances over the line up of open equipment cases, carrying bags, and soft suitcases. He searches around him, picks up a capped camera lens, and squints at the etched markings. Pivoting slowly around, he holds the device out. He stops, facing an equipment case, and places the lens inside the fabric padded interior next to other optics.

Stretching out his back, he wanders his attention out the glass pane doors and observes the late afternoon light radiating off the balcony railing. The tops of scarcely leaved trees shudder with the cool rushes of autumn breezes through their branches. Stepping through the doorway, Gerald combs his fingers through his short, dark blonde hair and blinks his dark brown eyes. Pulling a long breath, he relaxes his shoulders and glances around the balcony. He sweeps up a large glass with a few tea bags in a light brown brew. Reaching back through the door, he picks up a glass bottle and pours a clear mix into the sun-brewed tea. Faint translucent ripples flow out from within the solution and fade away with Gerald swirling the contents into a blend. Studying the drink for a moment, Gerald tips back the beverage, pauses in thought, and smiles satisfied. "Just right."

Placing the glass bottle back upon a desk, he stands quietly on the balcony and stares out into the shifting season before him. Calmly sipping his tea, he closes his eyes, the light radiating upon him. From the stairwell on the other side of the room, Samantha appears from the dark corridor, and her hazel eyes search around the room. She spots Gerald through the balcony doorway and calls out. "There you are! How are you doing?"

Gerald slowly opens his eyes, grimacing into a smirk, and places his drink down on the railing. Gradually pivoting around, he presents a short smile to Samantha, steps into the small bedroom, and walks over to his bed. "Fine. Just sorting through everything. Just sorting through equipment and checking to see what is mine and what is the company's."

Samantha raps her fingers upon her clipboard, glancing between the different containers, and nods her head of shoulder-length brown hair. "I see. Um, that might be difficult."

Cracking a wry smirk, Gerald perks his eyebrow and chuckles, sitting down on the top of the bed. "Oh. Not really. Turns out if there's any old water stains, dried slime, caked on dirt, plasma scorching, or browned specks of blood..."

He grins stiffly and stares at Samantha. "It probably belongs to the company. Anything with minor scratches and wear marks is typically mine."

Clenching her jaw uneasily, Samantha nervously chuckles and flips through some paperwork on her clipboard. "Huh. Yeah, I guess that would make it easy. So..."

She pulls out a neatly stapled packet of paper and presents it to Gerald with a wide smile. "I just got approval from Howie to give this to you. We think it'd just might change your mind."

Furrowing his brow, Gerald takes the document in hand, examines the cover, and flips up the first page. His eyes quickly scan over the literature, pausing upon bolded points. Samantha continues to stand quietly and patiently waits, fighting the visible signs of anticipation. Flipping through a legalese dense section, Gerald snaps his attention upon a page of summarized numbers and figures. Nodding, he studies the literature, intrigue lifting his eyebrow. "Wow. That's not a bad pay bump, and certainly really improved the benefits."

Working an amused smirk on his light tan face, he cocks his head to the side glances over at Samantha. "You pulled out all the stops on this one. I will say, I do appreciate the effort."

Flopping back over the pages upon the remainder of the document, he stares at the offer in hand and rocks his head side to side in deliberation. "Truthfully, if this had come a month or so sooner. It wouldn't have taken long for me to sign it. But..."

Samantha's grin wanes to a fading smile. Gerald frowns faintly, hands the document back to Samantha, and sighs, cool acceptance revealing itself. "I'm done."

Blinking out her confusion, Samantha uncertainly grips hold of the pack of paper and furrows her brow incredulously. "What do you mean-"

Slapping his hands upon the knees of his pants, Gerald grins nonchalantly and laughs. "I'm done with this shit show. I- I just... I just don't know how to put it any clearer. I am just done."

Fighting a rush of emotions, Samantha crosses her arms and focuses a stare at Gerald. "Come on! You don't mean THAT. This show has been good for the both of us. And, it's still got a lot left to give. There's a new season coming up, and you'll have plenty of time to rest up before that. You've put in so many years with this series, that you just can't give it up now."

She wrestles down a grimace, her tone pleading. "The team needs you. I need you. Even Howie needs you. You're always the one camera guy I can count on to get the best shots to salvage the worst episodes. You have special talent for this line of work."

Straightening his posture out with a long breath in, he shakes his head and chuckles. "Wow. Again, I appreciate the kind words to butter me up. But... Give me a few moments... So, I can explain something."

Samantha darts her hazel eyes around the room and confirms with a nod. Gerald smiles calmly and stretches his arms. "Okay. First, YOU and HOWARD have a good thing. I was just along for the ride after a certain point. I've always been a useful tool to make whatever plans you all had work out. In the beginning, I was compensated decently and honestly the work wasn't that bad. But..."

Furrowing his brow, he fends off a frown. "THAT changed."

He focuses his stare through Samantha. "What started out as a show making fun of wannabes that had no business adventuring has turned into a whole exercise of setting up desperate people for disaster. I had no problem letting incompetent, arrogant morons naturally screw up on their own with the simplest things. BUT, we now prey upon those who are just trying to make things happen the best they can. And, what's worse..."

A spark of anger lights up Gerald's eyes. "We have been putting them in gods damned dangerous situations that have almost gotten ALL OF US KILLED."

Samantha tightens her grip upon her clipboard, her posture stiffening. Gerald shakes his head and rolls his dark brown eyes. "I'm sorry. I like to sleep at night, and sabotaging some people making honest efforts doesn't let me do that. Also, given how the last few quests have gotten, this show is NOT WORTH DYING FOR."

He lays back upon a pile of clothes on his bed next to a nicely made camera bag and smirks. "So, really... I'm done with this line of work. Time to find something better to do with my time on this planet."

Maintaining a tight smile, Samantha grants a simple, stiff nod, and huffs out a disappointed breath. "Okay. Yes. I understand your position."

She fights against an irritated snarl of her upper lip and eases out a calming breath, shudders of frustration slipping out. "I just want YOU to UNDERSTAND how serious we are to keep you with the company. So, let ME explain..."

Samantha's tone wanders between a counteracting mix of pleading and demanding, and Gerald's gaze drifts around the room. Samantha's explanation morphs into a self-distracting rant, and Gerald stares out the balcony doorway. Blinking to attention, he squints through the late afternoon light and notices a fluttering around a glass glint. His eyes widen in surprise. A tiny green feathered hummingbird hovers around the partially filled glass of tea. Keeping the rest of his body still, Gerald deftly retrieves his camera from a nearby carrying case, flips it on to the exact mode, and raises it up into position. Peeking through the viewfinder, he swiftly adjusts the lens and lines up the shot, waiting. The moment the hummingbird flits around to the side of the glass in a clear light, he holds down the button. The camera repeatedly clicks, Gerald tweaking the position, zoom, and focus.

Samantha's voice peaks with her ongoing bid for Gerald's attention, and the hummingbird zips away. Gerald sorts through the images on the view screen. With a satisfied smile emerging, he examines the fresh pictures.

----

Moonlight shines down through hazy gaps between darker clouds above. Glistening specks shimmer upon the vast open field. Shadows drift over the flowing tops of long unkempt grass. Flecks of light zip beneath the surface of the green waves. Shapes flicker into reality, and faint visages coast over the area. Sparks of glowing life zip up into the sky and chaotically fly around the flat expanse of land. From the furthest edge of the open plains, a red mist condenses upon a swelling point. Crimson light beams out, and a rush of magical miasma plumes out of a widening portal. A slender figure with wispy flows of energy swirling around it steps out. Hovering out from the portal, it studies the vast field and stares out along the horizon.

Sprites dart around overhead and larger spirits fade into view. The slender figure acknowledges the beings and narrows an intrigued gaze. Slowly pivoting, the ethereal being hums softly and watches the swells of magical light fluttering through the grasses.

Sparks of energy crackle out from new points and portals open wide with plumes of reddish smoke. A tall, broad imposing being appears with a flicking orange light. Emerging from another portal, an angular being with a viridian aura follows behind a smokey humanoid figure. The group converges, and a quiet discussion blends in with the drone of wind sifting through the wavering bristles of grass.

Moments of motion and gesturing by the group later, Akalab materializes fully and stands near the deliberating arch spirits. The imposing figure stands away from the gathering, gazes out upon the vast plain, and holds his hands out. A translucent burst of energy bubbles out and warps into a wave, sinking deep into the land. Quietly, the ensemble watches. Straightening out his posture, surprise rising up through its form, the tall, broad being nods to the group.

Springing its yellow eyes wide open, the smokey, robed entity releases a long, frustrated sigh. "So... Such does exist. THAT is a PROBLEM."

The slender being's wispy energy flows shudder, and it turns towards the awaiting Akalab. "Please, inform them of this location."

Slowly turning its head, it points over to a swarm of sprites circling around a tree among a long, ancient row. "They will want to inspect that tree."

Akalab nods, spins around promptly, and walks quickly away, fading into the night. The arch spirits return to their portals. They grant one last acknowledgment to each other and disappear into the warping, crimson void beyond.

The remaining specks of light disperse out to the perimeter of the vast open tract of land. Spirits fly off towards distant surrounding woods. And the last traces of magic fade, leaving only the faint beams of moonlight slipping in through the hazy clouds above.

-126-

Faint traces of early morning glow seeps through the sliding glass window, and the light drifts further into the living area of the ranch style house. Soft pats upon a wooden floor sound out from the archway to the hallway, and Sotalia groggily lumbers out. Her golden eyes barely open into slits, her sluggish pace following a path of unconscious habit. With a wide turn around the dining table, she ambles back on course, surrendering to a long yawn. Scratching the back of her pajama bottom, she arches her back into a stretch with a grunting wince. With each pause, she lets herself steep in the old aches and stiffness. Fluttering her golden eyes briefly in the dim light, she searches through the dark outlines of kitchen appliances upon counters. She spots her target. Fumbling through the arrangement of small, colorfully labeled cups, she mumbles to herself. "...why am I awake... this hour... where is it..."

Squinting through the clinging drowsiness, she inspects a number of coffee packs and plops one right into the single serving coffee machine. She slides a cup under the spout and presses a blinking serving size button, watching the device gurgle to life. The machine goes through its methodical brewing processes, and Sotalia fights back against another yawn. Combing her fingers through her sleep mussed fiery orange, coiling hair, she pulls part of the chaos over her swept back black horns. She winces with a brief hiss, a tangle snagging upon her fingers. She mutters a curse under her breath and struggles freeing the bound strands. Gritting her teeth, she pulls through the remainder of the hairy mess and grumbles. Glancing down at her night shirt, she brushes off a few mangled hairs from upon her chest and sighs out her frustration.

The last drop of brew lands, spreading forth a dark ripple upon the sleek surface within the mug. Sotalia carefully sweeps up the cup into her hands. Bringing the mug up to her lighter tan face, she sniffs in the aroma deeply, and a wave of relief radiates through her figure. Slow, cautious sips later, her shoulders relax, and she relaxes her posture. Tapping a long nail upon the ceramic mug, an indecisive quirk appears on her face. She opens the nearby refrigerator door. Snagging a bottle of creamer, she deftly adds the right amount and swirls the mug around gently. Sniffing up the scent of the brew, a faint curl at the corner of her mouth leads into a smile. Another cautious sip leads to another pour of the drink and a quiet moment. Tipping back the coffee, she opens her golden eyes all the way and stares out at the morning light sifting through the glass of the sliding back door.

Hovering in a seat at the dining table, Akalab waves nonchalantly to Sotalia. A gasp gurgles in the brew, and Sotalia's body contorts in shock and dread at the mistake. She blasts a spray forth through the bar window, the tan spew spattering into abstract art upon the tabletop. Barely landing the mug down on the nearby counter top, Sotalia sputters and coughs between cursing breaths. Barely subduing the fits, she wipes her mouth with her night shirt and blurts out. "Gods damn it! Why can't you knock or something like a normal person?! Ack!"

Akalab lifts up an indignant eyebrow and cocks his head to the side. He slowly waves his hand through the tabletop without any resistance. Staring indifferently at Sotalia, he waits quietly and cracks a faint curl of a smug smile. Sotalia narrows her annoyed glare and groans into an unamused sigh, cleaning herself off with a hastily torn run of paper towels. "Yeah. I get it. WHATEVER... GODS..."

She clears her throat enough and yells out, fighting an urge to cough. "HEY! Wake up! We got a message!"

----

Sorting through the paper chaos upon the dining table, Bach fishes out a worn and marked up printout. "Here it is!"

He slides the packet over between Aristespha, Dretphi, and him. Aristespha tips back a long swig of black coffee from a mug, shudders into fuller awareness, and focuses upon a stack of papers. "Okay! Let us see if we can match all this up."

Nodding in agreement, Dretphi perks a curious brow at Akalab. "A large open field?"

Akalab's translucent visage drifts closer to the dining table, and he peers over the documents. "Yes. A vast plain that seems very remote. I only saw one access road to it. The map I transcribed has all the major landmarks I sensed on my way here."

Tilting her head in thought, Dretphi orients a digital map on a tablet and zooms into a region. Sebastian hovers nearby and points down at a paper map. "Alright. So that shows our location here and that mark shows the site?"

Akalab grants a simple nod. "Yes."

Dretphi bounces her stare between the tablet screen and the rough chart. With each check, she matches up distinguishing landmarks and focuses her search upon a smaller region. Aristespha's violet eyes dart through the few pages of magically inscribed notes, and she inspects the images on the tablet in front of Dretphi. "That is looking like it-"

Perking up her posture, Dretphi taps upon a thin line and zooms in upon a lone roadway. Following the winding path through a forest, it ends next to a large blank void in the middle of a sea of tree iconography. "There. This has to be it."

Bach glances up from sifting through the worn printout of locations and scribbled out notes. "What's the coordinates?"

Dretphi recites the numbers, and Bach narrows his stare upon the paperwork. He cocks his head to the side, hazy recognition gripping his thoughts. "That... Yeah... That sounds close to SOMETHING... I remember something like that..."

He traces down rows of translated coordinates, flips through a few pages, and stops upon an entry. He glances over at a handwritten note in the margins and reads it out loud. "Barely any signal. Empty field with no signs of recent activity. Nothing else of note."

Leaning back in his seat at the dining table, Bach blinks baffled and shakes his head in disbelief. "Shit... Uh, I'll be damned. It's that same open field that we completely wrote off to begin with."

Sebastian zips his visage over next to Bach, lowers his head off to the side of Bach's shoulder, and reads the line item on the printout. "DAMN... You're right, bro. What the hell? That research station's system barely detected anything from it, and even that seemed to be from a long time ago. Nothing recent."

Akalab crosses his arms, straightening his armored form, and sighs . "To be fair, what you are looking for is deep underneath the ground. Likely to dampen detection efforts."

The kitchen door leading to the garage opens, and Cideeda swiftly walks in. She pauses next to the meeting at the dining table and glances over the research chaos curiously. "What's new? Did we find it on our maps?"

With a bemused curl to her short smile, Dretphi nods and tips up the tablet into view. "Yes."

Bach turns the printout towards Cideeda and points out the offending line. "It matches up, too."

Resting her hands on her hips, Cideeda's emerald green eyes dart between the information presented, and she perks her furry ears with an incredulous flick of her tail. "No way... REALLY?!"

The rest of the assembled team nod, and Sebastian grins awkwardly, shrugging his shoulders. "I know. Hey. At least we know where it is. And, we can get to it?"

Dretphi nods a confirmation towards Sebastian's inquiring glance. "Yes."

Sotalia steps out from the hallway archway, brushing off her long sleeve top, and inspects her armored cloak. "So, we know where we are going yet?"

Cideeda rolls her eyes, drooping her ears, and sighs against her pride. "Yeah. You won't believe where."

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Sotalia steps up closer to the dining table and scans over the scattered documents. "Where?"

Dretphi rotates the tablet towards Sotalia, and Bach presents the printout packet with a point to the line in question. Sotalia narrows her stare briefly. Her golden eyes open wide in shock, and she fights back a tinge of disgust. "OH... You've GOT to be kidding!? It's on THAT list?!"

The team nods, embarrassment slipping out. Sotalia rubs her temples underneath her swept back, black horns, groaning. "That actually figures with our luck. My gods."

Bach pivots the list back towards his blue eyes and sighs. "Yeah. I mean, it is that big empty field we completely ignored, since barely anything was detected."

Pausing a moment, Sotalia's expression blanks. A dark spark leads a cunning grin across her face, and she chuckles with a sinister tinge. "That's actually GOOD NEWS. Noxian has probably written that list off completely by now. He probably hasn't touched anything that didn't stand out..."

A surge of determination rushes up her body, and she flexes her fingers into a fist. "Certainly nothing with a weak signal. We can get ahead of him for sure!"

Sebastian slowly nods with an eager smile. "EXACTLY. We should have plenty of time to check this thing out and carefully disarm it now."

Narrowing her gaze at Akalab, Sotalia tilts her head of fiery orange, wavy hair and settles upon a mild frown. "So... Where is this magical place in this field?"

Akalab pivots in place and calmly states. "Underground."

Crossing her arms, Sotalia furrows her brow and stares through Akalab. "And, how do we get to it?"

Shrugging his visage's shoulders, Akalab indifferently smirks. "Don't know. But, it seems there's something special about a tree that could be linked with what's underneath the field."

Blinking her golden eyes, Sotalia searches her mind uncertainly. "A tree?"

Cideeda rolls her emerald eyes and snorts out a laugh. "Probably some kind of secret passage. There's probably a crazy tunnel system or whatever."

She flicks her gaze off to the side. "It's ALWAYS some kind of tunnel system. Gods, I just hope it's intact enough."

Sebastian stands up straight and addresses the team. "Okay. We've got a location and, soon, a route to there. It doesn't look too far. So, let's load up and check it out as soon as possible."

He glances over at Akalab. "Would you mind accompanying us to the site?"

Akalab stands at attention and bows respectfully. "My task is to ensure you find the location. So, I will."

Donning a grin, Sebastian nods to the team. "Let's load up and move out!"

----

Tapping a pencil idly at the end of a paragraph, Isaac stares at the dense thicket of notes upon the page of the journal. Fluttering his gray eyes, he glances away from the page and rests his gaze upon the cheap decorations of the aged motel room. He closes his eyes with a wince and shakes his head of wispy white hair, shuddering the remaining drowsiness off. His attention drifts over towards the morning light slipping through the window blinds and stares aimlessly into the warming glow. His thoughts drift off. Brief moments of remembered joy fade into present pain with a waning smile. Loss slips out through his long sigh, and he glances over the collection of notes, maps, and documents upon the cheap desk. He wrestles down sparks of emotion with each twist of his mouth, and dissatisfaction creeps out onto his face. Drawing in a long breath, he mumbles incoherently to himself and snatches up a sausage and egg biscuit peeking out of a Draco-Burger wrapper. He takes a bite, pauses in thought, and glances at the breakfast sandwich, shrugging with a semblance of satisfaction.

A hard clatter rattles out into the room. Isaac darts his eyes around, surprise yielding to curiosity. Another wooden rumble sharply sounds out. Letting his ears guide his panning head, Isaac faces the old nightstand next to the single motel bed. A rune inscribed stone cube vibrates along the surface. A pulse of energy illuminates a wave across the surface of the artifact. Isaac's gray eyes open wide, and he clambers across the bed. Snatching up the cube, he holds it between his hands and waits. The stone shudders in his hand, and a ripple of magical flow lights up the rune etched surface towards a direction. Excitement drives a grin across Isaac's face, and he gazes out towards the indicated direction. Briefly narrowing his stare, he searches mind and nods, memory reassuring him.

Quickly pocketing the shaped rock, he stands up from the bed, hoists up his backpack from the floor, and deftly packs up his notes. Driven with past experience, he swiftly organizes, condenses, and packages everything without wasted action. Throwing his backpack on, he tears through the remainder of his sausage and egg biscuit and downs the cool dregs of coffee, forcing a hard swallow. Gasping for a breath between a few coughs, he quickly surveys the motel room at the threshold of the door. With a nod to himself, he swings through the door, secures it with a pull, and rushes over to his motorcycle nearby.

----

With his claws digging into the bark of the tree trunk, Tik leans out and adjusts the position of a small camera. He glances down at Verkari and furrows his brow curiously. "Any better?"

Verkari shields the morning sun from a tablet screen and squints through the glare. "A little better. Maybe a little to the left? There is that one tree branch in the way."

Tik rolls his dark blue eyes, groaning out his frustration. "We might need to try another angle."

He tightens his grip on the supporting trunk, reaches out, and carefully tweaks the aim of the device. Squinting his stare through the lattice of sparsely leaved branches, he scans across the open field towards the obscured ranch style house. Searching the horizon for a few moments, he directs his voice back down. "Any better?"

Verkari turns her back towards the sun, focuses upon the screen, and starts to nod. "Much better. I think this will work just fine. It is a nice clear shot of-"

In the sudden silence, Tik flicks a furry ear down and furrows his brow. "Uh, Verkari?"

Bringing the screen of the tablet close to her dark tan face, Verkari's very long, pointed ears twitch, and she grits her teeth with a hiss. "They are on the move... And, they are backing out FAST onto the road. They are in their adventuring gear!"

Blinking in surprise, Tik squints into the distance and catches a glimpse of the humvee through the layers of cover. "This is a Saturday morning? They're not usually up this early... In general."

Both Verkari and Tik share a glance at each other, surprise rising up in their tensing bodies. Tik focuses upon the reflections of metal slipping out from behind the obscuring brush and tracks the movement. His stare follows the humvee speeding away with the powerplant roaring loudly. "They're going south bound on the road!"

Verkari snatches up an equipment bag and rushes off through the woods. Tik climbs down the tree past the upper branches and strips coils of bark off in a final slide down to the ground. The two sprint down a rough trail, leaping over autumn debris, and launch out to the shoulder of a roadway. Verkari yanks the gray sedan door open, leaping in. Tik slides over the hood to the other side, spins upon the quarter-panel, and pulls his door open, slipping in. With both secured in the vehicle, the engine starts up, the transmission engages, and the tires spin. A barrage of mud chunks up behind the tires. The machine swerves around for a bite of asphalt and leaves a trail of muck and rubber.

Tik grips the wheel tightly, scanning the road in front of him. "Gods dammit! I think this road loops back around that direction. Need to get someone else checking around for them."

Tapping through a contact list, Verkari presses an item and puts her aetherphone to her long, pointed ear. "Working on it."

The call connects, and Verkari concentrates into a calm, commanding tone. "Targets just left southbound on route forty one. They are moving fast with a purpose. I need some coverage along that route as we are trying to catch up to them."

She nods with response from the other side of the call. "Correct. We do not yet have eyes on them. We are trying to pursue."

Tik steers the sedan hard, snaps back onto the main road, and speeds up. "Hang on. We'll catch up with them yet."

The gray car zips on by the ranch style house and stirs up a trail of fallen leaves. The flurry of autumn settles peacefully upon the silence returning.

----

Stepping up a slight rise, Bach joins the rest of the team standing along the crest of the hill. Slowly panning his gaze around the area, he stares out across a vast, open landscape. Cool winds coast across the waving sea of fading pale green, and the tops of tall grasses whip with the current. At the furthest horizon, the surrounding forests barely rise into view. With a squint, Bach follows the wooded perimeter and traces it back around to nearby trees. He glances around the wide, nearly featureless landscape, and scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. "Well. I mean, this seems like a whole lot of nothing."

Sotalia rests her hands on her hips and frowns faintly. "Yeah. I guess if you are going to hide something, you might as well put it here. Don't think anyone would expect anything to have ever been here."

She snarls her upper lip and sighs with a roll of her golden eyes. "Gods, I hope we don't have to dig around to find this thing. We'll be here for MONTHS."

Sebastian drifts down from the skies, landing next to Aristespha, and crosses his arms. "Well... I think we're probably the only people around here for kilometers. It just seems like a whole bunch of forest surrounding..."

He sweeps his suspecting stare out the vast landscape. "This gigantic clearing..."

Twisting apprehension upon his face, he darts his translucent blue eyes between his thoughts, uncertainty directing his suspicions. "Which feels a little unusual... Now that I'm thinking about it."

He pivots and turns a seeking gaze towards Dretphi. Dretphi notices the attention, surveys the scenery, pausing at sections, and furrows an intrigued brow. "Your suspicions are not unfounded. This area feels... Off. Natural features with aspects that I cannot dismiss. New questions each time I look."

Aristespha scrolls through a document on her tablet and narrows her violet stare upon the screen. "Unfortunately, I do not have any answers either. Just more questions that seem to get more convoluted and stranger."

She holds out the device and invites others to peek over at the documentation. "It seems this property is under the ownership of a natural preservation organization that received this land and the surrounding area as a gift from a donor."

Standing up on the balls of her feet, Cideeda quirks her light brown brow, curiosity leading her emerald gaze along the text. "Interesting. There's a trust funding the maintenance of the area. So... There's this legal entity that just pays for any work that needs to be done on it."

She squints with her suspicions. "It's not unheard of... But..."

Bach motions towards the tablet interface around the digital documentation and strokes his beard. "Is there a way to look up who had the property before the donor? I mean, I doubt whoever was the only one to own this."

With a nod, Aristespha deftly navigates the system, types in a query, and reads the output. Scrolling down a long list of transactions, she attempts a few frustrated flicks at the bottom of the catalog and sighs. "No. There were quite a few owners. BUT, it goes far enough back that they do not have all the records online."

She taps out of the menu and lowers the tablet to her side with an annoyed stare upon the rolling plains. "Which unfortunately means, that in all likelihood, the records do exist..."

A huff slips out, and she winces. "In ancient formats stuffed in some random corner of some government historical archives... Somewhere on Nexus."

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and cracks an accepting smile. "Well, that's not worth our effort. We know something is up here. So, let's see what we can figure out."

Akalab floats up to the gathering with his arms crossed and nods over towards a long row of old trees. "I'd recommend starting your investigation with this particular tree."

Flying down the orderly, ancient lineup, he lands next to one tree in the arrangement and waits for the team to gather around. Seconds of quiet anticipation later, he points to the tree. "This one."

Watching the expectant gazes narrow into unamused stares, he scoffs defensively and shakes his head. "THEY told me nothing more than that. The sprites were very interested in it. Unfortunately, I do not know why. That was not my responsibility, hence that was information I was not entrusted with."

The wave of moot disappointment washes over the team, and they spread out around the tall, thick tree. Dretphi angles her head upwards and studies the layers of twisting branches multiplying into thin points. A spark of recognition grasps her attention and pulls her closer towards the imposing plant. She flips up her full face visor, leans close to the trunk, and squints at the bark. Tapping upon the layers of shaggy bark, she peels up a section and pinches the thick exterior between her gauntlet covered fingers. Mild surprise pulls her head back. Dretphi steps back, squinting up into the tallest branches, and spots a few remaining leaves fluttering stubbornly against the autumn winds. Crossing her armored arms, she stares distantly into her mind and sorts through the emerging possibilities. "This is a rare tree."

Bach perks up, blinking the blue glow from his eyes. "Rare in what way?"

Dretphi glances around and surveys other specimens. "Few grow in this region. One in a forest is typical."

She narrows her swelling suspicion upon the line of trees and motions a point down the row. "THIS is not a natural possibility."

Sebastian tilts his head of short brown hair. "So, I guess someone must have planted them there on purpose."

He blinks a few times and curls a trace of frown with a long sigh. "And THAT brings up whole new questions to answer."

Walking towards another similar tree, Dretphi bounces her gaze between the equally large plants. Pivoting in place, she scans the nearby forest perimeter and wrestles with new surges of suspicion. "They are old. Too old to match the growth in this part of the forest."

With her hands on her sides, Aristespha squints with a brilliant violet glow from her eyes and aims her full concentration upon the shaggy bark of the massive trunk. With a twitch spreading from the corner of her eye, she winces and shakes her head of long silvery blue hair. Rubbing her temples, she frowns sharply and groans with traces of pain. Sebastian drifts over next to Aristespha and whispers with a concerned tone. "You okay, dear?"

Stretching her neck, Aristespha grits her teeth briefly and sighs. "I am okay, Sebastian. I am trying to detect something that is off with this tree. And, I am not getting anything."

Bach glances over his shoulder from staring at another similar tre, and closes his blue illuminated eyes with a wince. "Yeah, me neither. I've been trying to compare against this other tree. And... Well... NOTHING..."

He shakes his head into a shudder down his body and rolls his shoulders with a surge of discomfort. "Gods. I swear I think I should be getting something. Even a little bit. But, it's just..."

Squinting back at the large shaggy barked tree spreading tall into the air, he grimaces. "More normal than it should be? I don't really know how to put it."

Both Aristespha and Bach meet each other gazes and shift their curious stares upon Sotalia. Noticing the attention, Sotalia furrows her brow and tosses back her hair, swaying her weight onto another foot. "What? I'm not feeling anything unusual. It feels like every other plain old tree I've stood around."

An idea hops to the front of Dretphi's mind, and she uncertainly addresses the team. "I... Remember that these trees can have magical properties. Can not remember how exactly. I believe it can vary depending on factors."

Aristespha nods in agreement and presses the strain away from her violet eyes. "Yes. I know of a few disciplines that often use such materials for magical focuses."

Contorting his face with simmering aggravation, Bach draws in a long breath. He eases out the frustration through a calming exhale and rolls his shoulders to the ready. Open his brightly glowing blue eyes, he narrows his full attention upon the suspect tree and rocks his head up and down. With slow, meticulous steps, he circles around the wide trunk and scans the shaggy bark encased circumference. Fighting back watering eyes, he halts abruptly and snaps his focus to a point close to the base of the tree. Pointing to the suspicious section, Bach cringes into a closed eye grimace. "Okay- Ow... I think I saw something there. Maybe? I don't know. It could have been the strain getting to me."

Aristespha steps up next to Bach, following the direction indicated, and kneels down at the base of the tree. "What did you see?"

Blinking each eye individually, Bach works on clearing his watery vision. "It's like when you showed me differences in body tissues. Like... When you have a previous injury, there's differences in texture? Or, it could have been me seeing things. Ow..."

Bach tenses briefly at a pat on his shoulder, and Sotalia stands next to Bach with a comforting smile. She opens up a pouch on her belt, deftly flips out a small squeeze bottle, and unscrews the cap. With a quick point upwards, she shows the label on the container to Bach. "Look up for me."

She steadies Bach's head with a hand under his chin, squeezes a few drops of solution into each of his eyes, and wipes the excess from his cheeks with a thumb. A few slow blinks later, Bach smiles gratefully at Sotalia. "Thanks. This dry fall air has been rough lately."

Sotalia nods with an understanding smile. "I know. I always pack some of this during this time of the year."

Searching around the roots of the tree, Aristespha's illuminated vision meticulously pores over the layers of bark. She halts. She leans to one side and leans to the other. Swaying her gaze, her fingers feel around the trunk. "There is definitely something here. It is so slight... That it would be easy to dismiss normally, if you are not at the right angle. There would be no reason to even search for it."

With an incantation under her breath, she gestures out a spell and summons up magical flow to her finger tip. Pressing into the bark of the tree, a pulse of energy radiates out and warps around the trunk. Aristespha's eyes widen in surprise, and she cocks her head, intrigue pulling her studious stare closer. "I think there has been a large chunk of this tree cut. Possibly removed and replaced."

She traces fingers around a large section of the tree trunk near the base and traces out the total size of the piece. "Then... It seems someone used very precise magics to reattach it at nearly a cellular level. This is... VERY advanced magic."

The team surrounds behind Aristespha and waits expectantly. Tense silence looms and presses out the ambient crackle of autumn leaves and the drone of wind weaving through grass. Sebastian draws in a long ethereal breath and addresses the group. "So... I think we need to open it. Any objections?"

With no sign of contest from the gathered, Bach shrugs with a goofy grin. "It's kind of what we're here for."

Sotalia crosses her arms and lifts an eager brow. "Better us than anyone else at this point."

With a nod from Dretphi and thumbs up from Cideeda, Sebastian drifts down, kneeling next to Aristespha. "Dear? Can you get it open safely?"

Aristespha stares at the task in front of her and nods with some reservation. "I should. I can see where the original cuts were made, behind layers of new growth over the years. Give me a little time."

Stretching out her back, she relaxes her shoulders, flexes her arms, and exhales. Collecting herself, she deftly gestures out a complicated incantation and guides flows of energy to her hands. She concentrates the magic towards a precise point and directs a fine beam through bark into the trunk of the tree. Following a path within, she carves fine, shallow incisions into a square route. Minutes pass. The cuts reach deeper into the layers of wood. The team waits anxiously and gradually readies themselves, the final pass reaching an end. Aristespha rests her hands upon the surface of the trunk chunk, sinks flows of energy into the surface, and pulls back. With a little extra effort, she frees the heavy cover, parting it away from the rest of the tree.

Sotalia shivers, unease constricting her body. Sebastian's ethereal visage wavers slightly. Cideeda and Dretphi squirm uncomfortably. Aristespha and Bach gawk in shock. From behind the wooden barrier, the late morning light glints off the pristine, ancient control panel embedded into the core of the tree. Faint shimmers reflect off the complicated flow channels layers laminated deep into the surface. The team gazes upon the arrays of buttons and rows of switches. Attention splits between the dormant display screen, the locked down lever, and the lifeless elder energy cell.

Akalab leans over, peering at the devices within, and gazes upon the team expectantly. Breaking the choking silence, Sebastian hems for everyone's attention and pieces together a few words. "I... have... no idea... on how to proceed. Any thoughts?"

Stepping back slowly, Bach crosses his arms defensively and shakes his head defiantly. "I'm not fucking touching it. That's for sure."

Narrowing her emerald green eyes, Cideeda flicks her furry ears back and fights a snarl pushing the grimace on her light brown face. "That just looks gods damned dangerous. I don't know why. But, I just FEEL it."

She bites the end of a claw tip and cringes faintly. "And that's even before you think about everything else we've dealt with like this."

Sebastian glances over the remaining opposition and nods in absolute agreement. "Yeah. We are going to need to do some serious research on this one. So..."

Furrowing his brow, he wrestles with an uneasy grimace. "Let's take a bunch of high resolution pictures. Capture every little detail you can."

He gazes over his shoulder at his brother. "Bro, no offense, you might want to keep your distance from this one. Just to make sure it doesn't activate for whatever weird reason."

Bach chuckles nervously and walks away from the team. "MAN, no offense, at all. REALLY. I'm going to wait in the humvee just to be safe. THIS is all too ominous for me right now."

Shaking his head, he steps down the slight hill, mumbling to himself. "...like hell I'm going to accidentally start another cataclysm. Three is enough for this fuckin' world."

Cideeda and Sotalia capture numerous pictures, and Aristespha studies the edges of the thick wooden cover. Dretphi scans the vicinity and turns towards Sebastian. "We should not linger. THIS does not need attention from others. Come back tomorrow night."

Sebastian sighs into an uneasy frown and follows his paranoia's desires, staring out at the surrounding forests. "Yeah. Thankfully, it's pretty remote out here. So, I don't think anyone lives out here. And, this is FAR from a major road. So... Once we seal this back up, we should have a little time to figure this out. I don't think anyone is going to just stumble upon it."

His ethereal form kneels down next to Aristespha. "Can you get that cover back on, dear?"

Aristespha gazes up over her shoulder and smiles reassuringly. "I should be able to, Sebastian. I may not be able to get it to the level of perfection it was previously. But, I should be able to get it very close."

She grins confidently and rolls her violet eyes with a light giggle. "And honestly, who is going to know to come out here, to this one specific tree, and remove this specific cover with magic?"

Moments later, her assurance wanes into an uncomfortable smile, and she sighs. "Though, I do not think it would be wise to test that theory. We should really get back. I will contact Nash and Dr. Malkav. I do hope they can help us discreetly. This needs to stay quiet for now."

Sebastian stiffens his upper lip and gazes out nervously across the vast, open plain. "Yeah... I'm really not feeling good about this. This is just weird overall."

The sun rises towards noon, and the team finishes up investigations. Aristespha seals up the tree, and Akalab bows respectfully, fading into the aether. The group regather in the humvee and depart down the rough access road.

A glint of metal shines out from deep within the forest. Casually seated upon his motorcycle, Isaac draws a satisfied grin across face, and his gray eyes glimmer eagerly upon the new target of his desire.

----

The gray sedan speeds on down the main road, and Verkari squints down an alleyway. She grits her teeth and growls out her frustration. "Damn it all. Where are they? The traffic cameras did not catch them going to the next set. They had to have taken a turn down one of these roads."

Tik eases the brake down, the red lights flipping from yellow at the intersection ahead, and sinks back into the driver's seat. "What's the ETA on the drone scouts flying over?"

Wrestling down her irritation, Verkari grumbles into a strained grimace. "Another fifteen minutes... If we are lucky. Someone thought they spotted someone that looked like The Dark Lord Noxian and pulled away a few packs of the drones for that search. They are about to give up on that hunt soon."

Shaking his head of reddish hair, Tik gazes up at the stale red traffic lamp above, the wait dragging down his frown. "At least we tracked them down to this section. That's not a terrible scope to work within. It'll take awhile, but we can get help checking down these roads."

He dons a reassuring smile towards Verkari. "I'm sure we'll be able to figure out where they went. It has to be something big for them to have left this early, geared up."

Tipping back into her seat, Verkari sighs with a long roll of her purple eyes. "I guess..."

She pieces together her thoughts out loud. "We can look over the maps and prioritize locations that might be of interest and send off teams to those. Then, we can use scout drones for the rest. That will cover enough territory fast enough. I just hope they are still where they went off to."

The traffic light flips to green in front of the gray sedan and the flow of vehicles resumes down the highway. Verkari gazes down another side road and narrows an agitated glare at a distant, suspicious hedge at the start of a long curve. Moments of projecting her ire at the inanimate plant later, she closes her eyes with a sigh and rests her face in her propped palm. "I cannot believe they just had to leave, right when we were in the middle of something. DAMN IT. A few more minutes we would have been ready."

Shrugging his shoulders, Tik grins awkwardly and chuckles. "Well, they haven't gone home yet. So, like you said, they could be out at the location and the drones will be able to spot them."

Another intersection appears around a long bend, and the gray sedan slows into the gathering mass of traffic forming in front of another long red light. Verkari shakes her head and pulls out her hair tie. She combs back her long black hair and tightly binds it behind her home. "You are right. They will be out wherever, and the drones will be able to ping them without them knowing it. Probably for the best-"

A familiar humvee rolls into view from a side road and speeds through the intersection into a left turn. Both Tik and Verkari watch their target navigate into the opposing lanes beside them and continue the journey back towards town. Verkari blinks bewildered and shudders back to awareness. She frantically points at the humvee speeding away and directs Tik with a series of motions. "There they are!"

Tik nods and guides Verkari's eagerness towards the street sign. "I see them! Write down that street, and I'll find somewhere to turn around in."

Verkari scrambles for a pen and scratches down the name on a fast food napkin. "Got it! Just do a U-turn here!"

Glancing over incredulously, Tik blinks and shakes his head. "Are you kidding? What's more obvious that someone pulling a U-turn at an intersection and speeding after you? They're one of the few cars going that way. I think they'll figure out something is up."

Tensing her grimace, Verkari pushes out a stubborn sigh and nods in reluctant agreement. "You are right..."

She slides her attention over to the side street and lifts an intrigued brow. She stares at the promising path drifting off into the woods, squinting into the distance. "This is more important. This... This will narrow down our search."

----

The few traces of clouds drift swiftly below the starry night sky. The waning moon highlights the outlines of the long hazes streaking across with the autumn wind. Peering up from under the layers of bare branches, Isaac humors his paranoia and stares distantly upwards. The tinges of worry subside, and his gaze softens at the night scene. He pulls in a careful breath against the cold and shivers, the chill sinking deeper. He wraps his blue scarf another lap around his neck and pauses in thought, feeling the barely frayed tail between his fingers. Pushing out the rising sadness, Isaac sighs long and struggles with a frown.

Shaking his head of wispy white hair, he stretches his back briefly and steps between the trees towards the edge of the woods. He glances around the darkness, blinking his eyes to a faint illumination, and slowly drifts his gaze around. A few passes later, he walks over the patches of gravel still existing within the disused access road and turns his head towards the slight rise before the vast, grassy plain. Reaching the crest, he pauses a moment and gazes out upon the peaceful sea. The wavering moonlight follows the wind driven tides upon the grass tops. Only the faintest shifts against the flow occur, the wildlife submerged under the surface moving.

A calm washes over Isaac, and a faint smile curls at the corner of his mouth. Quiet moments pass under his longing stare. Blinking back to awareness, he glances around and spots a particular tree in the ancient, rare row. Kneeling down next to the base, the glow brightens in his eyes, and he studies the trunk carefully. Feeling out a roughly rectangular path upon the surface of the shaggy bark, he nods with honest admiration surfacing. "Fascinating hiding place they choose... So long ago..."

Furrowing his brow, Isaac glances off to the side, recent memory bubbling back up to the front of his mind. "... how did you all even find this..."

Twisting his mouth, he settles his attention upon the task at hand and summons up flows of magical energy into his hands. With a precise projection of power, Isaac guides a fine beam meticulously along a hidden path beneath the surface. Finishing the full trace, he presses his hands upon the surface of the natural panel and flows of energy grip upon it. He pulls back slowly and frees the wood cover. Springing his eyes widen open, his stare snaps ahead, and he cautiously slides the panel off to the side, tension constricting his breath.

Gazing upon the ancient, pristine control panel, Isaac blinks in awe. He gawks at the precise construction, layers of complex flow channels, the blend of magic and technology components, and the ancient texts neatly arranged. Pure curiously pulls his hands close, and his fingers barely grace the keys. Isaac darts his eyes between the immaculate buttons, switches, and display. He tilts his head back suspiciously at the secured elder energy cell and the arcane machinery seemingly fused around it. Seconds later, he settles a long stare upon the locked down, red handled lever.

Leaning away from the imposing specimen of engineering, his attention falls inwards. He breathes slowly with long pauses, allowing thoughts to build between. Sitting down upon the ground, he slides off his backpack and rummages within. In the minutes, Isaac assembles an impromptu workspace and pores over notes under magical light. Bouncing his attention between papers, notebooks, and pictures, he compares his information against the ancient, embedded machinery in front of him. Double-checking the linguistic symbols around a button, his finger wanders close to a button with an expectant wince forming on his tan face.

A click sounds out. A yellow light blinks. A series of other indicators pulse red. Moments later, they flicker to amber. Seconds pass, and they glow green. Faint traces of activity radiate through the layers of flow channels. The display flips through a variety of test patterns of color, text, and random pixels. The startup chaos settles into a stream of text output in synchronicity to indicator switches between status color codes. Isaac focuses upon the text flowing up the display and mumbles to himself. He furrows his brow, a battle between sheer confusion and surges of understanding playing out on his face. The minutes of furious output halts. The screen clears. A simple diagram with instructions glows upon the display.

Isaac leans close and reads the ancient fonts to himself under his breath. Constantly referring to his nearby notes, he mumbles. "Cell... empty... Charge cell?"

Eyeing the secured energy vessel, he hovers a finger over a large button. With the press, contacts retract, locking mechanisms disengage, and the caddie tips the elder energy cell out. Isaac cautiously grips the container and slides it out, studying the device. Moments of contemplation later, he shrugs his shoulders, braces himself, and grips the power cell tightly. Wisps of white energy flow swirl around his body and sink into the elder energy vessel. Mustering up his full focus, Isaac directs the surging torrents of elder power into the container cell. The currents of flows sweep up drifting clouds of magical miasma venting from himself. With each passing second, a faint glow pulses brighter inside the elder battery. The light from the cell shines out and pushes back the night meters away. The elder flows from himself fading, Isaac gasps for relief and struggles to catch his breath, leaning forward upon the device. Shaking his head back to some semblance of awareness, he gazes at the brilliantly lit elder energy cell and sighs with a hopeful gaze upon the control panel.

Hoisting the cell back into place, Isaac shoves the caddie, struggling a little against the lingering exhaustion. The locking mechanism secures the cell and contacts press in. The diagram updates, and new text flashes upon the display. Reading the new instructions, Isaac slowly presses down a line of buttons. With the last push, the red handled lever unlocks. Wrestling with an uncertain frown, Isaac tightly grips the inviting red handle. He pauses in thought, internal deliberations spilling visibly out upon his face.

A memory sparks to the front of his mind. Old terror surges new winces of pain. Determination seals the decision. Isaac slams the lever down against each mechanical click to a resounding thump.

Silence floods the area. Isaac darts his worried glances around. In the quiet, anticipation tumbles towards anxiety, and each new moment drags down a sharpening frown on Isaac's face. He pauses his search of the horizon. In the distance, wooden snaps echo across the vast plain. A thin pole crests over the tops of the trees. Another rises up further over. New towers emerge from deep within the earth. Snaps of thin roots crackle out, and an ancient pole bursts forth from its hidden grave near the access road. Isaac stands up and gawks in awe at the activity all around him.

The circle of points kilometers from the center of the plains emit pulsing yellow light and warning alarms. The elder energy cell flashes brightly, and the controls panel floods with new flow. A burst of power surges out of sight. Isaac stands at the ready, glancing expectantly around the area.

The remaining specs of freed gravel rattle upon the packed dirt of the access road. Isaac stiffens his posture. From the distant center of the plains, a low rumble vibrates out. Massive chunks of earth rise up, reaching for stories high up. Magitech platforms lift above the depths below the grass sea and unceremoniously dump the meters of packed soil off to the side. From an opening kilometer wide pit, the top point of a rising structure crests over the tops of the tall grasses.

Isaac blinks in awe. A reinvigorated, wild grin beams brilliantly upon him. Closing his gray eyes, he basks in the refreshing wave of purpose. Donning an eager smile, he swells with determination. "Finally..."

-127-

Sebastian's visage hovers near the dining table, gazing over the piles of research material. "Okay... So... We've determined that whatever this control panel is... It's pretty unique."

Aristespha swirls the dregs of her coffee in her mug and nods slowly. Sebastian drifts his stare over the layered and spread out materials and sighs. "Which makes it likely that it's what we are looking for."

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Aristespha winces and wrestles an uneasy frown on her ivory face. "The trouble is how do we even approach this? It would be absolutely insane to try to use the panel when we are not remotely even sure what that would do. That would be outlandishly irresponsible and dangerous."

Glancing over from the kitchen, Bach snorts and shakes his head. "Yeah. If it requires Elder energy, it's obviously going to do something serious. We've yet to find something that requires that kind of power, and it not have the potential to ruin part of the world."

Cideeda's voice bounces out from the doorway leading into the garage. "Haven't heard of any elder energy toasters yet."

Blinking in thought, Bach pulls his gaze away from the comment and furrows his brow. "I mean... Yeah. Don't think any of those exist... Did they exist?"

He curiously eyes Aristespha, seeking an answer. Moments of searching her own mind, Aristespha shrugs back at Bach. "Possibly? There have been sillier things that used Elder energy before the Abstract Prism."

Shaking her head, she focuses back upon the notes before her. "We have to approach this carefully. I do not have a slightest clue what it could-"

Her aetherphone vibrates upon the dining table, and she cocks a surprised stare at it. Picking the device up, she navigates the menus, and her violet eyes scan over the text of a new message. From the archway leading into the hallway, Sotalia steps out with towel wrap over her wet hair and darts her golden eyes between everyone. "Hey, has anyone checked the news? I just got a message from Tassilda."

Aristespha slides her chair back and stands up with her phone in hand. "No... Deedri just sent something to me."

Leaning out from the doorway to the garage, Dretphi holds up her aetherphone. "Trakenthin contacted me."

The team exchange uneasy and tense glances. They all gather around the couch. Aristespha sweeps up the remote from the coffee table and turns on the television. Watching Aristespha flip through channels, Cideeda motion towards the screen. "Try two zero."

After pressing the buttons, the monitor flips to a newscast where a nicely dressed man addresses the audience.

"Early this morning, the GAA responded to a disturbance in the southern regions outside of Amaranth Valley, within the Eagle Rock province. GAA authorities have set up blockades and are restricting the airspace. Our dedicated helicopter team was able to record this video before being escorted out of range."

A video feed appears. The view settles upon a familiar plain surrounded by forest. Zooming in, a massive tower in the middle of the vast field commands attention. Shimmering with magic flow, streaks of energy glitter down numerous channels embedded into ancient stonework. Surrounding the central building, a scattered mess of small structures form an encircling campus, creating a buffer space before huge pillars outlining an imposing wall. Just outside the wall, scattered obelisks pepper the region of overturned dirt mounds and ancient risen platforms.

The shot sways over to a flurry of activity. Groups of lumbering golems stagger towards a GAA defensive line near a recognizable row of rare trees. A single access road guides military vehicles into the fray. Flashes of auto-cannon fire streak across and spray down a golem into a hazy cloud of sparks. Another heavy mech stomps up with blue glows from mounted weaponry lighting up. Balls of plasma burst forth and splash upon the magic etched hull of a golem wandering too close.

The shot shakes about and zooms out completely to a GAA scout helicopter flying up close. The military pilot hand signals, and the feed stops.

"We will keep on bringing you up to date news on this emerging situation."

The team gawks silently. Only occasional blinks interrupt the still stares, motionless towards the television. A hard twitch pulls up Sotalia's upper lip into a pained grimace, and she gasps. "WHAT. THE. FUCK?!"

Curling her clawed fingers towards her palms, Cideeda grits her teeth and bares her pronounced canines, her fluffed out tail wagging erratically. "How the- When did- What could have- This makes no sense!"

Aristespha's violet eyes dart through the racing thoughts in her mind and mouths out phrases that never receive audible words. Dretphi crosses her arms and furrows her brow, fighting off twinges of rage with surges of concentration. Bach plops down upon the couch and sinks back upon the seat. Sebastian drifts down upon the seat next to Bach and gazes blankly ahead.

A spark of fury ignites Sotalia, and she jabs a finger at the screen, her whole body tensing. "NOXIAN! That's the ONLY explanation! Somehow that bastard got there after us! That thing needed elder energy, and he's the only one that would have done THAT!"

Cideeda glances up at Sotalia with her emerald green eyes and combs her hands through her short, multi-colored hair. "But HOW!? How? How did he know about the location... How did he know about the control panel-"

Furrowing her brow incredulously, she sputters out. "How did the GAA get there so quickly?! It's in the middle of fucking nowhere!"

Sotalia seethes, and Cideeda toe claws dig into the floor. Bach glances over towards Sebastian. Moments later, Sebastian meets Bach's gaze. Bach sighs in disbelief, searching his mind. "I think we're beyond asking the what, when, and whys."

Slowly arriving at a nod, Sebastian frowns and narrows his stare. "Yeah, bro. We only got two options right now. We sit back... Or..."

Bach cracks a faint smile. "We do something about it."

Gazing at his brother, a proud grin appears at the corner of Sebastian's mouth. "Yeah. I AGREE."

Staring between the furiously debating Cideeda and Sotalia and the frantically analyzing Aristespha and Dretphi, Bach and Sebastian watch the news broadcast quietly. Bach startles and retrieves his aetherphone from his pants pocket. The notification prompt on screen shows a new message from Chad Bosch. Sebastian draws in a shaky ethereal breath. "Bro, this is huge. We're definitely going to be in over our heads on this one. But... We got to do something."

A thought slamming to the front of his mind, Bach perks up his brow. He turns his head towards Sebastian and grins. "Let's call in some help then."

Bach turns his phone screen towards Sebastian, and the brothers exchange glances. Sebastian searches his mind and grins eagerly. "Yeah. We can't fuck around on his one. Our chances are going to be better with their support."

Pulling in a long breath through his nose, Bach frowns. "I don't want to put them in danger. But... I think Isaac already did that... To everyone."

Sebastian hovers up from his place on the couch and nods at Bach. "Then, let's do this."

He floats up and addresses the team. "Everyone!"

In the lull from the interruption, Sebastian smiles at the group. "To say the least, we're going out there and figuring out how to stop whatever is going on. We don't know what we're facing or what to fully expect. This is BIG."

He motions towards Bach with phone in hand and grins. "I think we need to call in some help on this one, as suggested by my bro. And, we have a group right next door that's capable. Any objections?"

Seconds of quiet later, the team realizes the suggestion. Sotalia cracks a smirk and chuckles. "I'm not going to turn down help in taking down Noxian."

Dretphi nods sternly and straightens her posture. "We should warn them. Will take the assistance."

With no further objections, Sebastian crosses his arms. "Alright. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. Message their team to get ready. Cideeda and Dretphi. We're going to need a point to meet up at that's near the site."

He grits his teeth briefly and cringes with a roll of his translucent blue eyes. "We need to keep away from the GAA. That'd be a mess to sort out... And, we don't have the time for that. I think they're doing a good job keeping everything distracted, so we actually have an element of surprise right now."

Glancing over towards Cideeda and Dretphi, he ponders out loud. "So... Something that's opposite to them and a good launch point. We'll meet up and figure out a plan."

Checking over the gathering, he presents a proud smile. "Anything else?"

With no contest and eager grins around, Sebastian nods. "Okay. This is big. Get everything ready. EVERYTHING."

----

Sneaking up the stairwell, Chad glances back down and anxiously listens. Muffled exchanges between Samantha's voice and someone else sound up, and he steps quickly over to the awaiting team in the hallway. "Well... I tried to convince her to let us go get breakfast first but she's not budging. She wants to get all this filming done today all at once."

Tassilda rests her hands on her hips and sways, a souring sneer twisting her grimace. "Of course, she would. I guess she finally conned enough of the crew to work with her and can't waste it."

Rolling his dark blue eyes, Modoran grits his teeth and wrestles frustration on his dusky bluish gray face. "We are going to have to sneak out."

Deedri gazes up at Modoran, furrowing her brow, and flicks her furry ears with her thoughts. "How many people can you use your invisibility spell on?"

Blinking with a tilt of his head of grayish white hair, Modoran visibly ponders the figures and frowns over the results. "I can manage one other person at a time and it still not be easy to detect. Any more than that, and I can't keep focus enough for the illusion to be useful."

He crosses his arms, shaking his head. "It would take too long to ferry everyone, and it is really tiring."

Trakenthin brushes his hand through his short, dirty blonde hair and twists a grimace from the corner of his mouth. "Need to leave quickly together. Simple plan. Fast results. Get away before they have a chance to follow."

He glances over the team and rolls his hazel eyes. "They are liabilities... Can not risk them tailing us into danger."

Chad draws in a slow breath and slacks his shoulders with grumble. "Yeah, you're right. As much as I think we could outrun them, we can't risk even one stumbling upon the meeting point."

A door nearby quietly cracks open, and a fuzzy ear twitches out. Strands of long pink hair slip out through the widening divide, and Veevi's pink pupils peer out at the debating team. Her ears flick with the bits of drifting information, she searches between her anxiety and tenses briefly. She opens the door, cautiously approaches, and hems. Summoning up her courage, she waits patiently for the group to settle their attention upon her. Meeting their expectant stares, Veevi sighs out her tension and addresses the team. "If you want, I think I can help."

Darting glances bounce between the team. Twinges of hesitation solidify into reservation, and attention shifts over upon Chad. Perking his eyebrow curiously, Chad dons a comforting smile. "Okay. Hey, we appreciate the offer. But, I'm not about to let you join us on this mission, it is too danger-"

Veevi's eyes widen in surprise, and she quickly waves off the notion with an awkward chuckle. "Oh! No! I'm not... An adventurer. You all have that handled without me causing problems. Um..."

A bubbling of confidence pulls her grin, and she poses with a mischievous sparkle in her eye. "I overheard you talking, and you need a distraction, right?"

Watching the interest form from the team, Chad nods intrigued. "Yes. That would help."

An eager lip curl unveils a sharp canine, and Veevi tosses her hair back. She straightens her posture with a sinister smile upon her tan face. Checking her sharp nails, she gazes at the team and quirks her brow. "I was thinking. It has been peaceful and quiet lately. The crews and Samantha aren't expecting anything from me. They've written me off at this point."

She narrows her stare towards the stairwell and cracks an evil grin. "They'd be caught totally off guard if I just happened to have a fully unhinged melt down right now."

Resting her hands on her hips, she shifts her weight and swings her tail with the motion. Slowly returning her gaze to the team, she smiles with a giggle. "I'll direct all my rage at Samantha. Blame her for some random failing in my contract. Maybe force an impromptu renegotiation right there in front of everyone..."

With Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and Trakenthin pondering the offer, Chad blinks in surprise and cocks his head uncertainly. "I mean... Yeah. That definitely could work. I, uh, don't want to demand anything you aren't comfortable with and-"

Veevi smiles kindly at Chad and laughs reassuringly. "It's fine. Really. I'm trying to do better. But, it doesn't mean I'm going to forget who I was. Think of it as using those powers for good now."

Tassilda smirks and rolls her light blue on black eyes. "By the gods, I almost would want to see you unload on Samantha."

With a wag of her tail, Deedri cracks an evil grin and perks her furry ears. "Oh, you won't miss it. You'll be able to watch it later, because the crews are going to record every moment. I'm sure of that."

Modoran nods in agreement and glances down the hallway towards Chad's bedroom door. "If we prep our supplies in your room, Chad, we can go out the front windows. I got a spell or two to help us out."

Firming up his stance, Trakenthin narrows his determination. "Lower equipment. Drop down. Rush to the vehicle."

Chad surveys the acceptance from the team and smiles appreciatively at Veevi. "I think that's the best plan we're going to get any time soon. Thanks for doing this, Veevi."

A faint flush fills Veevi's cheeks, and she averts her eyes briefly. "Not a problem. This sounds... And FEELS really important. So..."

She politely motions the group away. "I guess you all need to get ready. Just let me know when to go."

With a scheming wink, Veevi grins slyly. "I'd wait for Samantha and I to start screaming at each other before you do anything. Just to make sure everyone is paying attention to us."

With a signal from Chad, the team rushes to their rooms. They swiftly don their gear and snatch up equipment. Veevi closes her eyes and performs calming breathing exercises. The team migrates over into Chad's bedroom. Tassilda and Modoran gestures out spells. Deedri scouts out open windows, surveying the front lawn. Trakenthin arranges equipment containers and plots out the process. Chad whispers down the hall and waves to Veevi. "We're ready. Are you ready?"

Veevi slowly opens her eyes and smiles at Chad. "Yes."

Chad nods and motions towards the stairs. "You're up."

Veevi turns towards the steps, and Chad directs his voice down the hallway. "Thank you, again, Veevi."

Out of view from Chad, an encouraging smile cracks out from the corner of Veevi's mouth, and a surge of eagerness skips her down the steps.

Chad closes the door and signals the team. Soon, muffled voices resonate from the floor below. Vaguely familiar tones raise each other around a growing argument. Veevi goes all in with a loud indignant scream, and Samantha calls her with an enraged yell. A vicious squabble reverberates from below and permeates up the stairwell.

Spell energy rushes down towards an anchor point in the front yard. Equipment slips down the curtains of flow and lands safely upon the leaf thick lawn. Chad and Trakenthin slip out the windows and slide down the cushioning magical energy, coasting to landfall. Deedri, Tassilda, and Modoran follow after, and the spells dissipate into miasma carried off by the wind.

The team sweeps up containers and rush over to the black sport utility vehicle. Keeping a low profile, they pass the front windows leading into the living room chaos. Veevi's gaze briefly diverts and spots the team making their escape. Summoning up her ire, she releases a frenzied barrage of spite upon Samantha and seizes the full attention of the camera crew.

Chad starts up the SUV and glances over the group. "Everyone buckled up and ready?"

Confirmations later, he snaps his attention ahead. "Okay, last chance to object before we-"

Gerald stares at the team in the black vehicle. Seconds pass in the awkward deadlock between the Flames of the Phoenix and Gerald. Uneasy glances between the team bounce around. Gerald surveys the situation from his vantage point near the side corner of the two story house. A slow grin grows across his face and shrugs his shoulders with a chuckle. With a hoist of his freshly opened beer can, he salutes the team, pours back the brew, and gives them a thumbs up. Chad bows his head respectfully, puts the SUV into reverse, and backs out onto the road.

The team speeds off out of sight, and Gerald enjoys his beer. He pauses a moment, listening to the furious fight trickling out into the airspace, and walks away toward quieter pastures.

----

In the middle of dense tree cover, two teams stand near the hood of the humvee. Sebastian hovers over and motions over a sketched out map. "Everything is pointing to a rush towards the center."

Chad nods, his brown eyes darting between the rough drafts, and frowns slightly. "Yeah. A slow and methodical approach will put us in more danger."

Peering through the tree line, he stares out towards the upturned mounds, rough passages, and raised platforms in the vast plains down the ridge. "It looks like we have plenty of room to maneuver with our vehicles. And... It looks clear enough."

Sebastian gazes over at a lineup observing the distant activity in the open region. "Any updates?"

Gradually adjusting her binoculars with a claw tip on the knob, Cideeda flicks her furry ears and grimaces her light brown face. "Nothing new. The GAA are keeping these security golems, I guess, busy. They are really sluggish."

Next to Cideeda, Trakenthin pivots the aim of his binoculars over and tilts his head down. "Still powerful when they do attack. Long recharges."

Studying the brief exchanges of GAA and golems on the opposite side of the plains, both Sotalia and Tassilda peer through optic spells with quiet, deliberative frowns. Tilting her head of raven black hair to the side, Tassilda perks up her eyebrow. "They do go down, but we certainly can't hold back."

Sotalia twists an annoyed grimace on her light tan face and shakes her head. "I know. I haven't seen any sign of a weakness. They're walking tanks."

Waving off the spell between her hands, she cracks a confident grin towards Tassilda and chuckles eagerly. "I guess we'll just have to hit them with our most powerful spells."

A competitive spark lights up Tassilda's light blue on black gaze, and she smirks slyly. "Oh no. Whatever shall we do?"

The two turn around and focus back onto the gathering near the humvee. Sotalia adjusts her cloak and shrugs her shoulders. "We need to hit them hard and fast. No weaknesses. But, thankfully, nothing that special from them."

Walking away from the line up watching the vast, disjointed plain, Bach scratches the back of his head and stops next to the humvee. "I get the feeling they're not fully powered up."

Dretphi glances over at Bach from charting out the map further and cocks her head curiously. "Any tactics demonstrated?"

Bach blinks in thought. "Not really. Other than lumber towards something in the area and shoot it?"

He shifts his gaze over towards Cideeda and Trakenthin. "You all see them use any kind of tactics?"

Trakenthin shakes his head of dirty blonde hair and curls an unamused frown. "No. Simple reactions."

Lowering her binoculars down, Cideeda furrows her brow and darts her emerald green gaze at Bach. "Those cyber-zombies from a few months ago had more going on than these things. And, they seem to be set against the GAA forces, right now."

Meeting Bach's returning gaze, Sebastian's ethereal visage grimaces and crosses his arms. "That'll give us the best opportunity we're going to get."

He lands on the ground next to Chad and lifts his brow. "So, ride as fast as possible, minimum engagement, and just try to get through one of those wall archways?"

Chad crosses his arms, straightening his posture, and studies the map. He glances through the thin canopy of bare branches at the towering structure rising out of the center of the vast field. Returning his attention back towards the meeting, he sighs with a reserved smile. "Yeah. That's all I got. It's only a few kilometers, but it's going to be a wild ride."

Modoran steps over nonchalantly and observes distant flickers of suppressive fire from the GAA. He twists his mouth and nervously chuckles. "They got armor over there. What do we have?"

Team members exchange glances, seeking an answer. Aristespha tosses back her silvery blue hair and tips her head up. "I have protective barrier spells I can layer upon our vehicle, and Bach is backup."

Deedri perks up her furry ears and grins confidently. "I can do similar spells. I wouldn't recommend going head first into anything, but it'll soften a direct hit."

Her furry ears droop, and she struggles keeping a bold smile, her auburn eyes averting awkwardly. "And that's one direct hit. If I get some time to flow more energy, I can be ready for another attack."

Blinking her violet eyes, Aristespha twists an uneasy smirk and sighs, her confidence waning. "The same for me. It's incredibly taxing."

Chad and Sebastian exchange glances. Both signal everyone close. With a few hand motions between each other, Sebastian urges Chad to speak first. Drawing in a long breath, Chad addresses the congregation. "Okay. With everything we know, the fast approach along a route with the least golems around is the best plan we have. Avoid attacking unless necessary and focus on getting to the center."

Confirming the pause from Chad, Sebastian picks up the conversation. "We know there's security golems lumbering around. There may be other things. Hopefully, if we keep our presence less hostile than the GAA, there's a chance we might seem like the lesser targets and use that to our advantage."

He frowns firmly. "We probably got one shot at this. So... Don't. Hold. Back. Once we get through the walls, we're entering unknown territory. The goal is to ride for as long as possible and find Noxian. After that..."

Shrugging his shoulders, he dons a hopeful grin. "Well... We'll improvise."

A heavy silence weighs down and cements the severity. Chad presents a reassuring smile and stands tall. "Together we can make this happen. We just have to be careful and smart about it."

He taps upon the map on the hood of the humvee and directs attention upon their marked position. "We ride out together and keep close. That way we can help shield and cover each other."

Sebastian nods in agreement and gauges the crowd. "Any objections? Speak now."

With a quiet agreement from the assembly, he smiles proudly and waves over to the map. "Good. Let's figure out a few routes and backups."

----

Late morning sun beams down upon the tall grasses swaying the breeze. Faint gunfire echoes in the distance. An engine roars out from the forest along with a powerful turbine whine filling in the gaps. A chorus of wooden snaps and harsh rustles flood the air. A black sports utility vehicle and an ancient humvee plow through thick shrubs and send brush toppling off to the side. The two machines bound off the slight bumps and launch down the long incline. With a final leap, both vehicles steer towards their goal. Carving wild paths through the tall grasses, the humvee lines up on the right side of the SUV and pushes through the waves of the paling green sea. Both Cideeda and Chad grip steering wheels, keeping on track with each hidden dip and bump beneath the flow of overgrowth. Flickers of magic ripple from the fronts and sides of the machines, an unending torrent of yellowing grass tops smacking into metal.

Jetting above the two groups, Sebastian zips high above and surveys the paths between huge mounds of upended earth, obelisks, and ancient platforms. His visage darts back down through the humvee, and he calls out inside the cab. "The first part of the run is clear, but in a few hundred meters there's a golem off to the side."

Chad's voice crackles out from an aetherphone speakerphone in the cab. "Keep to the other side and see if it leaves us alone?"

Sebastian nods towards the emerald green eyes reflected in the rear view mirror. "Yes. But, get ready. If it pays us any attention, take it down."

Glancing over from the black SUV, Chad grants a nod towards Sebastian and his voice sounds out in the humvee's cab. "Affirmative."

The humvee's top hatch slides open, and Sotalia rises up through the portal. She stabilizes herself with her hands upon the roof, and Dretphi firmly holding her waist. Glancing over, Sotalia watches Tassilda pop out through the open sunroof. During a hard bump Tassilda tenses and grips onto the supporting arms of Trakenthin and Modoran. Windows roll down, and Bach and Trakenthin prime their pistols.

Sebastian darts out ahead of the pair of vehicles, coasting high above the passage through the obstacles, and searches the area. He spots the standing golem down the way. The teams divert away from the ancient machination. Sebastian narrows his glare down at the golem and keeps ahead of the vehicles. The humanoid golem shudders and sways its weight down upon a rocky boot. Its rigid upper torso shakily rotates, and flutters of magical energy radiate into a rune etched barrel at the end of one arm. Sebastian flares up his ghostly form and shouts out with a point. "OPEN FIRE!"

Both Sotalia and Tassilda deftly gesture through incantations, and flows of magic spiral into forming energy between their hands. With quick glances, both countdown. The golem raises its arm towards the humvee. Two beams of prismatic energy slam into the magical mech. Burrowing into the layers of armor, the melting forces sink into the stone behemoth. The golem tips back, and a volley of plasma bolts push it past its center of gravity. The SUV's and humvee's wheels bounce when the humanoid mass splashes into the flowing tall grass.

Both vehicles turn down a passage, drifting with the momentum, and another golem stomps out from the cover of a distant obelisk. Sebastian calls it out, and both rides veer from a collision course. The magical monster sluggishly swings its charging weapon towards the teams. Streaks appear in the air, and loud cracks echo out. The golem shakes with each electromagnetic round impact and spews forth magical sparks. Two balls of energy cut through the dissipating vapor trails and slam into the rocky giant. Powerful bursts erupt into concussive waves, rippling out upon the grass tops. Another heavy slam rattles the land.

Steering around mounds of debris, the SUV and humvee settle back on course and turn down a corridor between risen platforms. The grass fades into patches near scattered piles of dirt, and the sun glints off of smooth stonework under the tires. The stillness and peace of the passage infuses fresh new paranoia in the teams.

Panels from the raised magitech platforms spring open. Groups of hovering magic tech drones spew forth. The tailed, ovoid machines zip menacingly, leading with bulky arms of destructive utility tools. Cideeda narrows her emerald green eyes briefly and springs them wide open in surprise. "What the hell are those- They have saws and drills?!"

From an aetherphone in the cab, Chad's voice crackles out. "Why would the defense system send maintenance drones after us?! The fuck?!"

Bach darts through the rush of thoughts in his mind and grits his teeth. "Shit! It might not be fully automated. Someone must have activated them!"

Both blinking in surprise, Sotalia and Tassilda exchange stares, motion out spell gestures to each other, and agree. Swiftly going through a series of incantations, both summon up surges of magical flows into their hands and aim their power above. Volleys of bolts zip chaotically towards the swarm and crash into a few. Streaks of prismatic energy coils through the air, sharply turn, and burrow through targets. Vapor trails crack into existence behind gauss rounds along with plasma pellets scattering into the mess. Drones tumble out of the mass and crash into fiery piles upon the passage floor. Both Tassilda and Sotalia continue feverish sprays of spells into the approaching swarm. In their furies, they thin the horde to a few stranglers. Summoning up their energies, Sotalia and Tassilda coordinate fire upon the last batch. Bolts and streaks tear the drones into flaming metal carcasses, trailing smoke behind. In the moment of victory, mental math from all calculates the trajectory of the falling machines. Sebastian shouts out. "TAKE COVER!"

Dretphi catches Sotalia, dropping down from the humvee hatch, and Modoran swiftly pulls Tassilda clear from the SUV's sunroof. A maintenance drone splatters upon the hood of the SUV. Another crashes upon the roof of the humvee and tumbles into pieces off the back. Shimmers of magical flow radiate out upon the surfaces of the vehicles, and Aristespha and Deedri feel the strain. A hail of machine pieces rain down along, and explosions from dead drones pepper shards out through the area. Cideeda brakes hard, swings the steering wheel to the right, and forces the humvee around a cluster of smoldering machinery. Chad darts the SUV around one pile and slips around another fiery mass.

The teams form back up, turning sharply back towards the central tower. Sebastian materializes back into the cab of the humvee and glances around at the team. "Is everyone okay?"

Sotalia crawls back into her front seat panting. "I am... I just need a minute. That was a lot at once."

Sebastian nods and calls out towards the aetherphone mounted on the front dash. "Chad? Everything good?"

Chad's voice crackles out. "We're good here, too. That was WILD."

Relaxing his shoulders, Sebastian shakes his head. "Yeah. We're getting pretty close. There's probably a few other surprises-"

He catches the glint of something from the shadowy alleys between the surrounding raised platforms. "WATCH OUT!"

A fiery mass of blue-white splashes over the front of the humvee. The magical field warps away from the metal, and Aristespha winces in the sudden strain. Sucking in a tense breath, her violet eyes flash brighter, and the protective barrier latches back. "Gods! What was that?!"

Dretphi snatches up her rifle, drops her visor, and stands up through the hatch, chambering a round. Quickly spotting her target, she braces herself and pulls the trigger. A bright eruption of sparks blows out near a corner, the loud report echoing off all the hard stone surfaces around. A smaller bipedal golem flops onto the ground. Readying for the next shot, Dretphi grimaces with rage trickling into her voice. "More golems. Small ones."

Another humanoid machine peeks around another corner ahead. Dretphi swings her rifle around, and a streak of magic darts across, railing into the smaller golem. Dretphi glances over and spots Modoran in the SUV sunroof nearby. Modoran grants a quick nod and nocks another arrow. Between rifle reports and silent streaks, a few ambushing golems manage lining up their attacks. Balls of blue-white energy vent out magical barrels. Defensive driving leads the parties into safer positions. Chance guides a number of attacks close. The fiery chaos coats the vehicles, straining the barriers. Projectiles from other defensive golems spark along the sides of the humvee and SUV.

Dretphi ejects a magazine and grabs the next from down in the cab. A small squad of leaner golems appear at the ready. A hail of projectiles ripple upon the defensive barrier. Dretphi manages a reload in time, ducking down. "Incoming!"

A volley of energy orbs erupt and burn off the magical barrier. Aristespha flops back into her seat in a daze. Sebastian worriedly glances over to her. "Dear! You okay?"

Aristespha shudders, holding the temples of her head. "Yes. I just- I- I could not hold it."

Returning her full attention towards the passage ahead, Cideeda tenses, her emerald eyes springing wide open, and her claws dig into the wheel. "They're running towards us!"

Bach holsters his pistol and slaps his hands down upon the floorboard of the cab. With a brilliant flash of bright blue from his eyes, a surge of flow rushes into the humvee. A golden hexagonal barrier materializes from the front bumper and spreads out, forming a protective plow. Cideeda desperately aims for a clear path and braces herself. "HOLD ON!"

A human sized golem lunges out at the humvee. It crashes upon the golden barrier and bounces over the vehicle. Another bipedal machine dives low. The humvee pitches up violently and slams harshly down. A sparking spray of stone segments tumble out behind. Chad glances over from the SUV, and his voice crackles out. "You guys okay?!"

Sebastian checks over the team picking themselves up and settling back in their seats. "Looks like it. But, we're not in the best shape at the moment."

Chad nods and calls out over the radio. "We'll take lead. Give you all a chance to recover."

Granting a quick nod, Sebastian smiles appreciatively. "Thanks."

The SUV takes the lead down the chaotic passage. Modoran sinks arrows into targets, and Dretphi sends anti-material rounds down range through enemies. Trakenthin covers with volleys from his Gauss pistol. Smaller security golem attacks slip through and pelt the SUV with impunity, magical projectiles pinging off barriers. Sebastian zips ahead and spots a final wave near the end of the segment. With Sebastian pointing out the attackers, they blind spray around the corners. The rounds spark off the wavering magic barrier. Modoran looses an arrow, spots incoming energy balls, and reflexively drops down, yelling out. "GET DOWN!"

Dretphi follows through, and the volley burns over the SUV, melting off the protective field along with most of the paint. Chad squints through a blackened windshield, wipers streaking sections clear. Another blind fire barrage bounces around the passageway. A cacophony of loud metal thunks, pings, and clanks resound from the front of the SUV. Lights flood the dash in a rainbow of warnings, and new erratic noises challenge the harmony of the engine. Chad glances around and calls out. "Everyone okay?"

Trakenthin and Tassilda inspect themselves and each other. Modoran pats himself and quickly checks on a dazed Deedri. "I'm okay. Deedri?"

Deedri winces back to awareness. "I'm fine. Just... Gods, I lost the spell... I'm sorry."

Modoran reassures Deedri with a side hug, nodding his head to hers. Sebastian's ethereal tone sounds out from Chad's aetherphone. "Chad! Is everyone okay?"

Chad fights against a frown. "Yes. But, our ride took a hit or a few. I don't think she's going to make it."

Cideeda's voice crackles in. "You don't have long. I smell every bad thing possible coming from it."

Sebastian's ghostly visage phases into the cab of the SUV, and he glances over the dash light spectrum flickering chaotically. "SHIT. Chad, do you need to ride with us?"

Chad grits his teeth, shaking his head, and sighs in defeat. "No. We can't slow you down. We need to get as far as this thing will take us back and get clear this shit show."

He grins at Sebastian and nods respectfully. "We've done all we can."

Sebastian bows back and smiles proudly. "We got this. Thanks for the help. Now, get the fuck outta here and get to safety."

Sebastian's form dissipates. The SUV steers away from the humvee and turns around, skidding with the momentum. Sebastian reappears in the humvee. "They're heading out. Just hope they can get to the treeline."

Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia watch the black vehicle race back through the cleared route, a faint trail smoke forming behind. Turning their attention ahead, the sun shines upon the tall walls around the campus surrounding the massive tower. Cideeda points out towards the massive archway ahead. "We're almost there. We just got to keep-"

Arcs of energy ignite the top of the walls. Pulses of magical flow fire up stout flow channels in the huge support pillars. A slow wave of translucent energy waterfalls down the towering wall face. Bach squints briefly. "That doesn't look good. That looks like a barrier coming down!"

A massive figure steps into view from a side passage, Sotalia mutters out. "Oh. That's big."

The huge humanoid golem stomps out, pivots in place, and stands imposingly. Cideeda eases up the accelerator and darts her emerald green eyes around. "Shit, I don't see another route around."

Dretphi grins menacingly at the target. She rushes to the back of the humvee and grabs hold of something heavy. From the hatch of the humvee, Dretphi hoists up the minigun and yells out. "Keep it steady!"

She primes, arms, and readies. The huge golem adjusts its aim.

A barrage of mass chisels off chunks of finely engraved stone. Dretphi's whole body tenses against the rippling shocks coursing through her armored form. She muscles the constant line of rounds and paints exploratory bullets across the stonework beast. A stream of projectiles punch through weak spots and spill forth into tender internals. The final bullet leaves the barrel, and the last belt link falls. The huge golem stands still in front of a distant backdrop of the descending barrier. An erratic flicker pulses across the golem's form. The rigid stance wavers into an unsteady sway. The massive magical machine tips to the side. An explosive boom launches forth a wave of debris.

Cheers sound out from inside the cab, and Dretphi grins triumphantly. The humvee speeds around the downed golem and powers towards the final straightway to the archway. With the team collecting themselves, a panel opens up in another large stonework platform and another swarm of maintenance drones erupt forward. Sebastian spots the approaching mass. "OH SHIT. REALLY?!"

A deep, loud shriek reverberates in the skies above. Sebastian and Bach search instinctively overhead. Fast, booming pulses resonate. Streaks of prismatic energy hail down. The barrage of beams home in and spear drones into molten craters. A draconic shadow casts down upon the humvee, coast swiftly over. Bach's aetherphone rings, and he quickly turns on the speakerphone. Kaleb's voice calls out from the other side of the call. "So, what do you guys need from us?"

Bach grins excitedly and stares ahead at the descending curtain of energy approaching the archway. "If you can somehow disrupt that barrier coming down, that'd be great!"

Kaleb calls out through the speakerphone. "Well, I'll try shooting it. That's all I got."

Flying close towards the walls, Lagi levels off and steadies his speed. Kaleb observes the falling magical veil and grimaces uncertainly with his particle power blaster in hand. "Any suggestion where?"

Bach's voice crackles over Kaleb's helmet intercom. "Try above the archway and work upwards."

Kaleb nods understandingly and pats Lagi's shoulder. "You heard the man. Line up for a pass for that archway they're driving towards."

Lagi clicks to confirm and navigates into an approach. Kaleb readies his blaster, takes aim, and pulls the trigger. A few shots sink into the descending waterfall and ripple out disruptively. Kaleb ponders a moment and studies this weapon. Bach's voice sounds out. "That seemed to work a little. Can you do anything more powerful? We're still too far and tapped out."

Kaleb pauses in thought and catches Lagi glancing back at him. He grits his teeth briefly, hissing in a long breath, and nods resolutely. Checking his seating on the saddle, he cranks up the power dial on the particle blaster to full. "Lagi... Let's go for another slow pass. It's going to get rough."

Lagi blinks his bright green eyes and cocks his head, a high-pitched hum from the blaster catching his attention. Flapping his wings, Lagi darts around and sets up the approach. Kaleb secures an arm in safety straps, braces his other tensed arm against his side, and tightens his grip on the blaster. They close in on the target archway, and he laughs eagerly. "Don't tell Shadeesa I did this!"

A constant pulsing stream of charged blasts rip through the air. The explosive bolts of energy splash into the lowering veil. The field bubbles with each strike and blows out sections into plumes of miasma. The curtain divides at the impacts and staggers with the bombardment. The humvee closes the distance. Kaleb winces in agony, the punishing recoil railing his elbow into ribs. His muscles struggle to steady the blaster and keep him in the saddle.

The team speeds closer to the archway. Kaleb strains against the blaster, keeping it firing on target. With an accidental shift in the saddle, his elbow slips off his ribs and behind his back. A muffled pop follows a blast. The weapon ceases and dangles from a safety line. Kaleb lays forward and gasps in shock, his arm flopping limply upon Lagi's blue black scaled side. Pulling away from the target, Lagi worriedly chitters and chirps. Kaleb collects himself between gulps of air and pained snorts and grins against the agony. "Light it up, Lagi! Make grandpa proud!"

In the cab of the humvee, Cideeda guns the humvee down a clear straight away. "SHIT! I don't know if we'll make it through."

Bach calls out into his aetherphone. "Kaleb?! What happened?! Are you two okay?"

Kaleb cackles confidently. "LOOK OUT!"

A large dark shadow briefly shades the vehicle. The team gawks ahead. Torrents of magical flow pulse across Lagi's wings and body and swirl to a central point in his gaping maw. A radiant orb of blue-white energy swells. Flapping his two pairs of wings, Lagi hovers in place in front of the archway and aims his mouth ahead. A column of plasma erupts forth, splashing upon the ancient wall above the archway. Swinging his head up, Lagi drags the molten beam higher and slices through the descending magical curtain. The flood of plasma parts the veil, and the plumes of heat billow it off the surface of the wall. Lagi swings the spray side to side, ripping up and tearing off layers of the barrier waterfall, flinging shredded magic energies off molten stonework.

The humvee speeds through the archway, and the last blue white flames fade from Lagi's maw. In a rush of power, the barrier anchors into the ground and seals the entry.

----

Speeding through the debris of the recent fighting, Chad swerves around a flaming drone pile up. The failure lights on the dash frantically blink, and a chorus of alarms ring off. Glancing down at the garbled errors on console display, Chad summons up a brave smile against his clenched jaw. He stares ahead at the darkening smoke swirling with the white steam venting from under the hood, and cringes at a new metallic clang joining the chaotic symphony. He pulls in a hissing breath and mumbles. "Just a little farther-"

A bang shakes the vehicle, and the engine sputters dead. Tassilda blinks in shock. "Oh gods, what was that?!"

Chad muscles the steering wheel, the SUV coasting along. "Piston, rod, valve... Just anything, at this point."

The vehicle slows to stop upon the stonework floor between upturned earth and raised ancient platforms, in the middle of smoldering combat debris. Chad glances over his shoulder. "We're going to have to go on foot. The tall grass isn't that far away. Once we get there, we should be hidden enough to rush to the treeline."

The team scrambles for their belongings and gets ready to disembark. Modoran checks out the back window. His dark blue eyes spring open in fright. "We have a PROBLEM."

The team follows Modoran's point down the corridor. Golems of all sizes step out from side routes, pivot, and march towards the SUV. Trakenthin darts his hazel eyes between the approaching enemies. "We are the only target nearby."

Pulling out his laser pistol, Chad unbuckles his seat belt and motions to the open sunroof. "I'll distract them. They're probably after the SUV, since it's a big target. I'll keep firing to keep their attention-"

Tassilda rolls her light blue on black eyes and grips Chad's shoulder tightly. "NONE of THAT. We can figure a way out of this together."

Narrowing a determined stare at Chad, Deedri frowns sharply with a scolding hint in her tone. "Don't you split from us and try to do that heroic sacrifice shit. There's a way... We got illusion spells we can use to hide long enough to get clear and-"

The cab darkens. A rush of air gusts into the space, and the bewildered team searches around. A powerful, loud shriek echoes just overhead. Chad gazes up through the sunroof in utter disbelief. "You've got to be kidding-"

Lagi drops down and lands on the black sports utility vehicle. Scrambling for grip under the flexing metal, he scratches around the quarter panels. His claws curl around and into the wheels. Kaleb leans over from his saddle and calls down through the sunroof. "HEY! My friends told me you all might need some help out of here. Hang on a moment. Lagi's got this."

A pulse of green lights up Lagi's eyes and flow radiates out through his body. Surges of energy burst forward along his four wings and rush down his legs and arms. The blue black scaled dragon roars out, prismatic waves rushing out of him. His wings pitch up and slam down. Torrents of wind launch heavy debris meters away. Powerful flaps press shock waves of flow swirling into downward gusts of air. The Lagi rises into the air and hoists up the battered and beaten SUV. Flapping furiously, he gains forward momentum and climbs up into the skies. The eager dragon shrieks out in triumph. Chad and Tassilda grip the dash wide eyed. Trakenthin maintains a stoic stare ahead despite the crushing grip on the overhead cab handles. Deedri and Modoran hold onto each other, with Modoran catching the excited grin winning out over the fright on Deedri's fair face.

----

Behind a defensive perimeter, GAA forces rush forth, preparing for the next assault. Specialist Thayal calls out, snapping the aim of his binoculars towards a distant target. "Captain! Sergeant! We've got incoming!"

Sergeant Violet firmly addresses Thayal, fighting her confusion. "What? Where? The golems fell back a while ago."

Energetically pointing to the sky, Thayal rushes towards the access road and yells out. "Dragon with a vehicle! He's on approach towards the road! CLEAR THE RUNWAY!"

Sergeant Violet gawks, and Lagi coasts down with the SUV beneath him. Captain Hackle perks his eyebrow in honest surprise and cracks an amused smile. "WELL."

Slowing down to a low altitude, GAA crews running clear, Lagi releases the SUV upon the road and glides down to a soft landing upon a grassy spot. Moments of uncomfortable silence later, The Flames of the Phoenix depart their vehicle. Chad steadies himself back on his two feet, recovering his senses. Pivoting around, he surveys the wrecked machine. He stares at the fatal damage upon the SUV and snorts. "Well... They finally did it. They killed my fucking car."

Trakenthin walks up and pats Chad on the shoulder with a commiserating grimace. Nearby, Kaleb manages to release himself from his safety harness with his working arm and slides off onto the grass. He pokes Lagi and grins through his pain. "You okay?"

Lagi clicks and chirps between pants and snorts. Kaleb nods and sits back down, cradling his arm. "Good... Good. Now, if I can just figure out how to explain my dislocated shoulder-"

An aetherphone chime rings out. Kaleb pats around his pockets with a distant stare. Lagi glances over, blinking, and grumbles out. "Uh. Oh."

Kaleb holds the device out and dons his most innocent smile, the video call connecting. "We're okay."

Shadeesa's green on black eyes stare out from the screen through Kaleb's very being. The heavy silence crushes down any hope for words. The moments pass. A long exhale later, Shadeesa softens her gaze and smiles warmly. "I love you."

Kaleb grins. "I love you, too."

He awkwardly averts his eyes and nervously chuckles. "How did you know that I-"

Shadeesa narrows her eyes and tilts her head of dark green hair with a smirk on her light gray face. "News helicopter caught you diving in from above."

She perks her eyebrow at a detail through the call. "Did you do something to your arm?"

Briefly averting his gaze, Kaleb swallows his pride and tips his head down with his embarrassment. "I dislocated it while... Running the blaster at full power."

Narrowing her glare, Shadeesa contains her aggravation. "Do I need to take you to a clinic?"

Searching around at the Flame of the Phoenix and the gathering GAA forces, he chuckles between pained winces. "How about I ask around, first? I'm sure they got medical mages around here."

Shadeesa frowns with a hint of humor. "GOOD. Need you in good enough shape to handle Cassidy tomorrow."

Off to the side, Captain Hackle steps between all the chaotic activity. His attention wanders through the flurry and spots Chad standing near the wrecked SUV. Walking up, he stands up straight and stares over at Chad. "Could I have a moment of your time? I'd like to ask some questions..."

Chad stiffens his posture and blinks wide-eyed, slowly pivoting around. "Uh... Yes, sir..."

-128-

The idle whine of the humvee's powerplant echoes back in a faint chorus from rune etched stonework in the massive courtyard within the campus. The vehicle rolls down narrow passages between low walls dividing sections of old architecture risen out of the earth. Shadows shrink under the near noon sun behind tall pillars that blend magic and technology into strange machinations. Easing down on the accelerator, Cideeda maneuvers the weathered military machine down a long straight away leading towards the imposing central tower. "Well... This is about the best route I can see at the moment. Unless anyone has seen any other ways?"

Sebastian's ghostly visage peeks out the top hatch of the humvee and scans at the ruins ahead. "Yeah. Your guess is as good as mine. We're stuck figuring this out on our own now."

Frustration drives harder taps upon a phone screen. With simmering aggravation, Aristespha squirms in her seat and watches each failed call attempt prompt appear. "Gods damn it. This must be interference from the barrier."

She glances over to her side towards Bach. "Is any radio signal getting through?"

Bach pushes up a grimace and uncomfortably chuckles, revealing the output from a radio app on his aetherphone. "Yeah... No. Either dead air or overpowering noise. I've done everything Cideeda said to try, too."

He glances up towards the driver's seat and scratches the back of his neck. "Anything else I should try?"

Darting her emerald green eyes briefly over to the rear view mirror, Cideeda fights a frown and sighs, steering around a fallen retainer wall. "If you're not even finding a weak signal, I don't think anything is going to get through right now."

Staring up through the windshield with hands upon the dash, Sotalia's golden eyes search above and glint against the faintly tinted light. "That field has stretched from the walls up to the tower. Gods. That's a lot of power to do that."

She turns her attention over her shoulder and perks a seeking brow between Aristespha and Bach. "I don't think I'm the only one feeling the amount of magic in the area has gone up."

Leaning forward from her back seat, Dretphi tilts her head and frowns. "I FEEL it. It is unsettling."

Sebastian floats down upon the aisle and shudders his ghostly form. "This place is definitely powering up. I'm surprised the sword hasn't started screaming yet. But, from what I can perceive, the ambient levels are rising."

Twisting the nose on her light brown face, Cideeda sniffs and rubs the back of her hand underneath her nostrils. "This place smells strange. Just the weirdest mix of scents."

Cocking his head to the side, Sebastian lifts an intrigued brow. "From anywhere in particular?"

Cideeda shakes her head and tenses her arms, navigating the humvee through a narrowing passage between two fallen runs of stone perimeter walls. "No. It just seems to be in the air overall. Just everywhere. Ancient dust, upturned earth, hot iron, moist copper... Bits of stagnant water..."

She cracks her door window, sniffs in the air a few times, and seals the opening back up. "Salty mist... And... Faint ozone in the background."

Shuddering back at attention, she glances at the rear view mirror and sighs, settling back into her seat. "There's just a lot going on in this place."

Rolling her emerald eyes, she cracks a wry smirk with a frustrated snort. "Makes sense, I guess, with everything else that's happening around here."

Narrowing her golden eyes, Sotalia points a black nail ahead and cocks her head. "That looks like some kind of... Parking lot ahead?"

Noticing the attention, she turns her head back towards the confused team and combs back a few stray locks of fiery orange, wavy hair over a swept back black horn. "Well, I mean, see for yourself. It's a big open space connected to the roadway we're on."

Bach stares out the side through his door window and nods slowly, spotting urban order contrasting the ages of erosion upon the surrounding ruins. "This is looking a lot like a city block... Almost. There's signs that there were sidewalks and other stuff around."

Scanning her violet eyes out her side of the humvee, Aristespha's ivory face twitches during moments of recognition. Her memories twist a grimace out from the gray and blue hints on her cheeks. "The layout and architecture... There is a lot of similarity between this and the structure that we went to in the PWZ. If it was any other situation, this would actually be fascinating to go through with someone like Dr. Malkav."

The humvee coasts closer to the entrance of the ancient brickwork parking lot. Dretphi gazes out upon the old abandoned structures spread out nearby. She shifts her attention between faded flow channel etched displays, intricate outlines of walking paths, and remnants of park furniture. "This was a peaceful place in the past."

Moments of thought later, her steely gray eyes widen briefly. A surge of suspicion grips her, and she steadies herself within the aisle. Carefully maneuvering between the Aristespha's and Bach's seats, Sebastian drifting partially into the front console, Dretphi cautiously peeks out the hatch. She whispers down at Cideeda. "Stop here."

The humvee eases to a complete stop at a four way intersection, perpendicular to a curving access road and across from the parking area ahead. Dretphi searches the skies above and hunts along the horizon. A minute of paranoia driven watch later, she eases out a reserved breath, furrowing her brow. "We have not been attacked since we crossed the barrier threshold."

The concept filters to the rest of the team, and curiosity leads new interest in their surroundings. Sebastian phases through the roof of the humvee and coasts high up. Floating in the quiet ambiance, he stares below at the dense urban sprawl ahead encircling the central tower. Coasting back down next to the awaiting team in the humvee, he furrows his brow and crosses his arms. "Yeah... I don't think we're going to get any closer towards the tower in the humvee."

The driver's side window rolls down, and Cideeda droops her furry ears. Wrestling with a frown, she snarls upper lip. "I know... I don't see any more passages ahead we can fit through. If nothing else, we'll at least be less noticeable on foot at this point anyway."

She flexes her claw tips into the steering wheel and huffs out her disappointment. "Park up ahead?"

Sebastian nods and glances down both ways of the remnants of a roadway. "About as good as any place around here."

Zipping ahead of the humvee, he scouts around the piles of rubble at the edges of the area and the scattered dusty debris shedding layers of caked on age with the faint breezes circulating through. The powerplant spins down, the vehicle doors open, and the team disembarks. Gathering their equipment, everyone inspects themselves, preparing. Holding off closing the back passenger's door, Dretphi gazes upon the minigun upon the back seat and sighs with a reluctant frown. Bach leans over, peeking inside, and slides his attention over to Dretphi. "I think it did its job perfectly today."

Dretphi blinks back to attention and curls a warm smile with a nod. "It did."

A grin cracks at the corner of her mouth, and she perks her brow at Bach. "Wish I had more ammunition."

Standing up straight, she secures her hold on two different shoulder straps, sun glinting off the handle of the flow blade on her back. "Not forgetting anything, this time."

Both share an understanding nod. The team assembles near the mouth of a wide walkway between a corridor of densely packed ancient buildings. Stepping ahead of the team, Aristespha gawks at the disused structures and peeks through an intact, dirt caked window. "It is... Amazing... These buildings are in outstanding condition."

Sotalia walks up next to Aristespha, resting her hands on her hips, and studies the vicinity. "This feels like a city center of sorts-"

Her golden eyes snap towards flickers of magical illumination seeping out from a filth coated board between two posts. Cautiously stepping closer to it, she points it out to the rest of the team. Observing both Aristespha and Bach scanning it over with glowing stares, Sotalia gestures through a quick incantation. With a slow wave of her arm out, flows of magical energy drift out upon the air and wash over the mounted surface. The layers of packed dirt flakes off into a long pile upon the ground, and the cleansing spell reveals a display flickering out distorted diagrams. The gathering focuses upon the split seconds of information fluttering out from blackness.

An intuitive spark lights up Cideeda's eyes, and she reaches out an inquisitive finger tip towards the display. Numerous searching taps upon the outer edges later, she finds a spot and goads the magitech machine momentarily to stability. Gauging the silent consensus from the assembly, she pulls her hand back. One firm palm strike smacks the display. A burst of light floods the screen and settles to a stable image of a simple area map. Warbling audio emanates from the device in a pleasant, chipper tour guide cadence. Bach and Sebastian exchange confused glances at the language resonating out. Cideeda and Dretphi catch bits of understanding, and Aristespha struggles piecing together a full comprehension. "This sounds like a very old derivative of Emin?"

Recognition sparks delighted surprise out of Sotalia, and she smiles with the flutter of her golden eyes, straightening her posture. "No. It's a parent to modern Emin dialects that is still spoken in small pockets of Uropa. Strange that this thing is speaking it."

Aristespha tilts her head of long, silvery blue hair and lifts an intrigued brow. "Not entirely. If this place was involved in the construction of the Abstract Prism, then it had to support the top mages from around the world. So, it would stand to reason they had multilingual options for that time period."

Sebastian cocks his head and shrugs, hovering in place. "So, any information in there on the best route to get to the central tower?"

Carefully tapping the ancient device, Sotalia pans the visual map around under the direction of Dretphi over her shoulder. A minute of exploration later, Dretphi furrows her brow and motions down the stonework path between buildings. "This leads to a main route towards it."

Without further objection, the team reassembles and travels down the passage. The group navigates the disused pedestrian paths between old urban magical architecture. Near noon sun glints off the clean lines of shaped, smooth rock, and traces of fine flow channels embedded into the supporting pillars reflect briefly. Branches off the main path lead towards small courtyards within evenly divided rows of housing. Echoes of footsteps bounce off the faded, colorful displays curling down wandering strips of abandoned districts. Hints of long forgotten commerce and industry peek through the debris under collapsed structures. Nearly pristine avenues showcase the seamless transitions between smooth, matte, and rough finishes fitting the ancient design aesthetics.

Dretphi stops briefly and squints through the layers of age packed dirt upon a huge front window. She scans the interior and blinks with each spark of familiarity. Seconds later, he spots a huge smooth stone grill in the center of the abandoned restaurant. Pulling herself away from admiring, she quickly steps up back to the group. The team continues onto the main passage and gaze up at the imposing central tower. Wandering his gaze around, Bach slows his pace. Cideeda stops next to him and perks an eyebrow. "Find something?"

The rest of the group halts curiously. Bach wrestles a grimace and narrows his stare, bouncing between different points around the pedestrian mall. "I don't know. I'm feeling something around here. But... I don't think it's anything... Bad. I mean, it's definitely elder energy of some kind."

Cideeda sniffs the air and furrows her brow. Flicking her furry ears around, she focuses upon a circular metal framed hatch in the middle of the street. Pointing it out, she glances with an amused hoist of her eyebrow between Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia. "Could one of you magically inclined check that out to make sure it isn't going to blow up?"

Both Aristespha and Bach blink their eyes to illumination and carefully approach the cover. Sotalia follows closely behind, stands concentrating, and consults the other two. "It feels like some kind of elder energy."

Bach nods along with Aristespha and frowns uncertainly. "Yeah... But, it's different somehow."

Aristespha checks the sword at her side and taps the handle of the blade incredulously. "I am just baffled that this sword has not gone off on something yet."

Coasting over to the gathering, Sebastian shrugs his ethereal visage and sighs dismissively. "There's probably just so much in the background, I think it doesn't detect it as a surge in comparison."

Cideeda steps close to the hatch, kneels down, and cocks her head of short, multi-colored hair. Combing a few stray locks back under her light helmet, she inspects the hatch, feeling for a latch. "Definitely some kind of utility hatch. I think I can open it like-"

She pulls the release and guides the door up. Staring down, her emerald green eyes widen, and she blinks in disbelief. "You all might want to see this."

The team congregates around and gawks at faintly glowing translucent conduits, coated in magical etchings. Aristespha slowly shakes her head. "Gods. There must be networks of these conduits underneath this whole place."

Bach grits his teeth and strains out an uncomfortable sigh. "I swear it feels like it's getting stronger by the minute."

Sebastian nods in agreement and motions the team towards the central tower. "More the reason for us to get to the tower. Let's keep heading that way."

With the group agreement, Cideeda seals the hatch back down. The team follows their path and merges into a main trunk. Closing in on the tower, Dretphi glances around at the buildings along the main strip. A freshly cleared section of window seizes her attention. With a quick snap of a point, her stare scans the vicinity. "Someone was here recently."

Sotalia's golden eyes light up, a determined scowl emerging on her light tan face. "HE went this way."

Checking the area ahead, Cideeda points out recent footprints in the disturbed dirt. Sebastian glances between the team and grants a quiet nod. Staring into the distance at the huge base of the tower, he motions the group forward and zips out ahead. With Sebastian scouting, the team swiftly travels the distance and reaches the precipice of the tower base.

Hiding around the side of a utility building, the team waits, Sebastian hovering out in the open. Checking the vicinity, Sebastian darts his eyes between heavy slabs of solid stone laid, the supporting pillars wrapped in coils of elder conduits, and the heavy, reinforced archways supporting massive doors. In the quiet court, only the whistle of wind rushing around the abandoned urban buildings fills the air with sound. Sebastian pauses a moment. Furrowing his brow, his stare lands upon a huge door leading into the central tower that's just barely parted.

With a point and a silent signal, he darts ahead, and the team swiftly follows up.

----

Wispy white hairs drift within the current of elder power spiraling up, and Noxian's gray eyed stare focuses upon the control console embedded into a lone, dark red obelisk. Surrounding the central dark pillar, splinters of light dart through layers upon layers of flow channels within the translucent floor. Elder glows radiate through angular pathways, spread through smooth passages, and propagate down sharply arranged ducts. The currents shift in and out of shrinking branches and thick trunk lines lead to and from the central reflective obelisk and the outer perimeter of magitech machinery thirty meters away. Flickers of activity pulse through the neatly assembled collections of crystalline modules, glyph woven cabling, and immaculately manufactured circuitry within the confines of carefully constructed enclosures. Jolts of elder power bounce between sub systems equally distributed around the core and rush to the next destination in the continuous chain.

Straightening his thin form, Noxian feels the worn tail of his blue scarf and gazes upwards. Noon sun bounces in through the open roof nearly two hundred meters above. Glancing around at the pulses of flow rocketing up massive channels upon the narrowing vertical interior corridor leading to the top of the building, Noxian refocuses his eyes. Squinting against the sunlight glowing brightly, he raises his hand, shielding his view from the glare. A faint curl of a smile appears, and his curiosity gazes upon the trace shimmers of red above. Pushing against the very fluid of space, tiny pockets of ethereal crimson stubbornly appear into drifting bubbles. Moments later, the shape wavers into a dissipating mass, and the escaping miasma soaks through the veil of reality back to its origin. A slow nod guides Noxian's head back towards facing the display upon the embedded console. Pressing buttons upon a control panel, he switches between different streams of information cascading up the screen. Searching through the text, he grimaces at the figures and sighs hopefully. "Soon... Still need to charge up the-"

He stiffens his posture and blinks blankly. A rush of white flow washes up his body. Brushing off his worn jacket, he collects himself and cracks a sly grin. Enveloped in energy, he pivots slowly, cocking his head to the side, and chuckles thoroughly amused. "I wondered when you all would finally show up."

Halted mid steps through the open archway upon the wall of the cavernous chamber, fifty meters from the center of room, Cideeda, Dretphi, Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia stare in surprise at Noxian. Sebastian fights off an irritated grimace and floats down from his vantage point high above. He lands just above the smooth, faintly glowing floor, and levels a stern stare at Noxian. An humored smile parts Noxian's mouth, and he shakes his head at Sebastian. "You'll have to excuse me if I wasn't going to allow you to try to pull another surprise attack on me."

Sebastian's visage crosses his arms, and he releases an ethereal sigh. "Understandable. By the way, you wouldn't mind telling us how you found this place? I'd be lying to say I wasn't curious."

Drawing in a long breath, Noxian glances around Sebastian and narrows a suspicious glare upon the rest of the team, filtering cautiously into the room. Seconds of tension later, the Cideeda slips into cover opposite of Dretphi behind some heavy support columns rising into the sharp pitch of the ceiling. Aristespha and Sotalia stand in the readied casting stances. Bach stares at Noxian from across the distance, summoning up his determination into a stoic frown.

Granting Sebastian a nod, Noxian laughs lightly and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, it was far more serendipitous than I'd like to admit. After wandering around the northwestern region a bit and finding nothing, I was honestly curious to see if you all had made any discoveries. I figured that you all had at least gotten some information from Dr. Malkav, and you hadn't gone chasing after me. So... I decided to check in on your progress."

With a smirk, he perks his brow. "After finding out where you lived, I decided to chance placing a tracking beacon on your ride."

Aggravation twitches out upon Sotalia's light tan face, and Cideeda's furry ears flick back, a low growl grumbling up her throat. Focusing stale concern upon Sebastian, a frown overtakes Noxian front. "Unfortunately, I wasn't the first to get that idea. It seems the GAA had their sights on you. I tried to sabotage their efforts, but..."

He dismissively rolls his eyes. "Only delayed them, really."

Sebastian blinks in surprise, and the rest of the team share similar sentiments. With a dull wince, Aristespha grits her teeth and mumbles to herself. Noxian cracks a proud grin and gazes over the group. "Regardless, I'm honestly impressed by how you found this place. You will have to tell me how you managed to have a spirit deliver you to the exact spot..."

His gaze hardens into a dark glare. "After I'm DONE."

With a flush of elder energy around him, he dismissively motions the team away. "Again, I only hold the greatest respect for all of you. I don't want to cause harm, especially not to those that seek to prevent such so dutifully as all of you have demonstrated. So, take my offer to stay out of my way."

Sebastian lifts an eyebrow and curls an unamused smile. "Do you really expect us to take THAT offer?"

A genuine chuckle slips out from Noxian, and he shakes his head of wispy, flowing white hair. "No. Of course not. I'd honestly be very disappointed."

Straightening up his posture, Sebastian stares through Noxian and sighs. "Don't suppose you'd consider just walking away from all this?"

Noxian tilts his head and aims an incredulous gaze at Sebastian. A moment later, Sebastian nods in quiet acceptance. Aristespha takes a few steps closer near a rack of equipment on the outer ring and calls out. "Isaac! Could you explain to me one thing? One fellow academic of the Grand Library to another?"

Blinking to attention, Noxian sidesteps and stares at Aristespha with refreshed intrigue. "I most certainly will try to entertain such a request... As a professional courtesy, of course. Now, whatever is it that you want me to explain?"

Focusing a cold, calculating stare from her violet eyes, Aristespha tenses her body, tilting her head up, and sharpens a stern frown. "How is what you are doing right now, conceptually any different from what was attempted at Orth Ridge?"

Silence drops down from the sun lit rooftop, crashes down upon the area, and flushes the thoughts out of Isaac's mind. A reflexive retort fumbles out of Isaac's mouth and leaves only quiet contemplation. Between blank blinks, he vainly attempts to summon up words in his mouth, faltering into uncomfortable introspection. Sebastian furrows his brow, watching Isaac, and glances over his shoulder at Aristespha expectantly. Drawing in a long breath, Aristespha cautiously takes a few steps closer with the rest of the team filling up near her. "This place... Despite all the potential you obviously see that it has, there are still unknown dangers. We both have studied enough of history to know how common this rhyme is."

She motions her hands out to the surrounding, empowered architecture, and calms her pleading cadence. "The sheer amount of thought and care that has gone into this place... It would take the entirety of the Grand Library a lifetime to begin to comprehend the intricacies of this. Much less what it possibly connects to."

Gawking up at the specks of red mists swelling into existence and fading away in the vast space above the central point of the chamber, she shakes her head of long silvery blue hair. "We are at the precipice of something that affects all of us, safely tucked away from our interference. The Architects of the Abstract Prism had their reasons. They were not perfect in the slightest. But... It was thought out, and they considered all they could."

She stares at Isaac and meets his pondering gaze across the distance. Isaac fights against a sad frown and unconsciously feels the tail of the blue scarf around his neck. His face settles into an uncomfortable grimace, and he nods respectfully towards Aristespha. "I know what you are trying to get at. I've had all those same thoughts before. Many times when you all were pursuing me before our showdown in Anta..."

He furrows aged and worn brow and sighs deeply. "I pondered if what I was trying to accomplish was the best thing to do, much less possible enough. And, I'll admit, walking away from it all made sense a few times..."

Pulling a confident smile across his face, Isaac shifts his gaze away from Aristespha and stares right at Bach. "BUT... I certainly can't walk away now. No... Not after the Abstract Prism itself saw fit to perform the very thing I sought to achieve!"

Attention drifts upon Bach with the guiding motion of Noxian's hand. Grinning proudly, Noxian nods at Bach. "The proof of what is possible stands right here before-"

Bach's blue eyes widen with a flood spite surging up from within. He contorts an enraged frown into a harsh glower and jabs a point back at Noxian. "NO! Don't you fucking DARE use ME to justify your INSANE plan!"

Tensing his whole body, Bach's steps sound out in the lull from the echoes of his booming voice. "Proof of what is possible?! Are you shitting me?! You don't have a clue what this has been for me! You got to choose to soak up a bit of elder energy here and there. Have you wondered how it would be to have a connection thrust upon you?"

Gritting his teeth, he puffs up chest in a gasp and growls out in fury. "This power is nothing short of ABSOLUTELY TERRIFYING! I barely have any control of this energy. Every time I try to put it to use, it feels like I'm taking not just my own life into my hands but anyone around me! You act like it's some kind of gift from the gods, but it's been nothing more than a curse to me."

He pants heavily, tremors of rage shaking his balling fists, and snaps his full attention upon Isaac. "Your whole idea is to grant people access to power that has unchecked potential to do horrific things. I've run into others who have had only access to a small amount of Elder energy..."

Pausing in thought a moment, he wanders his stare around his mind. "And, they were capable of so much..."

He winces sharply and shouts. "BUT, they chose destructive and selfish things!"

With a hard swallow, he wrestles down his emotions to a stiff frown and vents out the stress shaking within through a wavering sigh. He meets Isaac's concerned stare and slacks his shoulders. "It is so easy to lose yourself with this type of power. You get caught up in the moment, and you have access to this force. Isaac! I've almost kil-"

Bach's sentence cuts short, horrifying memory choking out his voice. In the strangled silence, Isaac's stare winces sympathetically, a familiar pain twisting upon Bach's face. Collecting himself for a moment, Bach gasps down a breath and forces out a shuddering tone. "I- I have... killed someone... with this power. The same way... you tried to kill my brother..."

Leveling a pleading stare through Isaac, he closes his eyes hard and squeezes out a few tears. A sad, fatherly frown overtakes Isaac, his posture easing. He searches inside his own mind, remains silent, and gazes over towards Sebastian, receiving a confirming nod. Drawing in a deep breath, he sighs solemnly and dons a comforting tone across the distance. "Bach... Don't lose sight of the good you've done. I've seen what you can do-"

Bach holds up his hand and narrows his blue eyes towards Isaac. "I know what I've done. And, yes, I've been able to do incredible things to save people. Having access to this power has allowed me to change what would have certainly been terrible outcomes."

Twisting a grimace, he hisses in a breath and shakes his head. "But, what good I've done shouldn't be justification for... THIS! I barely know what the fuck I'm doing."

Averting his stare around the room, he pats his hand on his chest and blinks despondently. "I'm a mistake! This feels like an accident in the grand scheme of things. I'm probably a glitch. An outlier!"

He faces Isaac, frowning. "If anything, I'm proof that you should just STOP."

In the quiet moments, Isaac darts his gray eyes through his own mind and sorts through the surge of thoughts. Bach slumps his shoulders and shakes his head. Meeting the reassuring gazes from the rest of the team, he musters up a weak smile. Sebastian returns his attention towards Isaac and cranes his head gauging the sentiment. "So..."

Isaac stands up straight within the radiant white flow of energy around him. He nods towards Bach and sighs thoughtfully. "Bach... You are not wrong. And, I'm sorry for putting any kind of pressure on you."

He slides his gaze upon Aristespha. "Aristespha, your points are well noted and are not wrong either. I'm not that unaware."

Determination slowly infiltrates his face, his fingers brushing back the tail of the blue scarf over a shoulder, and Isaac gazes over the team. "Know that I do all this for my own reasons in the end. And... I believe that ultimately the good that will come from my efforts will far outweigh what problems that may come..."

A surge of white glows out of Noxian's eyes, and he resolutely frowns, the power billowing out from his body. "Because... We will finally have all the tools we were denied to properly fix and address what may come."

Sebastian's visage drifts away from Noxian, and the team readies themselves into defensive positions. Noxian straightens his posture, tilting his head up, and glares over the team. He calmly motions towards the archway leading outside the chamber. "Again... You can walk away. I offer that option. Take it, leave, and any bad blood between us will end. Then, I'll finish up what I need to do."

Seconds crawl between the confrontation, the faint ambient murmurs of radiating power reverberating within the massive space. Noxian nods with a half smile and watches Sebastian hover back in front of the team. The console in the central obelisk flickers to new life, the countless flow channels in the floor pulsing.

"SURGE OF FLOW DETECTED-"

Aristespha tightly grips the sword with a frustrated sneer. Sebastian hovers back up into the air at the ready. From Noxian, a burst of energy erupts into a forceful wave. Layers of ancient dust billow up in a dissipating wall, and the concussive force breaks over the outer perimeter of magitech systems. The team scatters quickly into cover, Sebastian keeping a watchful glare upon Noxian.

Summoning up a flaming brilliance, Sebastian's visage launches out towards Noxian. "Why do you have to make this hard?!"

A chorus of magical power building bounces around the cavernous chamber from different sources. A volley of energy beams arc up from behind cover, angle through the air, and pelt down into the barrier around Noxian. A heavy prismatic bolt rockets high into the space above, turns sharply, and speeds down. Within meters of Noxian, it splits into a wild swarm of smaller orbs that chaotically track into the protective field. Sotalia leans out from cover, swings an arm out, and releases a fiery stream across the distance, burrowing into the outer layers of the magical bubble engulfing Noxian. Calmly directing reinforcing flows with his hands, Noxian searches the outer perimeter of chamber equipment and narrows an expectant stare. Twin blue laser beams strike from a position far from the rest of the team. With an amused grin, Noxian snaps gray eyes over at Cideeda dropping back down into cover. "I was curious what part of my back side you'd try to shoot, Cideeda!"

Sebastian darts back in front of Noxian, just outside his protective barrier, with a smug smirk. "Kind of hard to watch all the angles isn't it? Wouldn't it be easier if you didn't put up such a fight and just surrendered? We're already in here, and the GAA is just outside. It's only a matter of time."

Another volley of magical artillery rains down upon Noxian and pounds ripples across the protective field. Twin blue laser beams repeatedly test untouched sections of the barrier and dig towards Noxian, dissipating. Between each attempt, Cideeda deftly slinks under the cover of the assaulting chaos towards a new hidden angle of attack. Through the omnipresent noise and cacophony of magic energies sizzling into spews of sparks and plumes of miasma, Noxian blinks in a sudden shock of awareness and mumbles. "...where is Dret-"

A flash out light erupts near the central console, and a thunderous boom overwhelms the air within the chamber. A rifle round spins suspended within a thick elder field a meter from the dark obelisk under the reddening vapors above and quickly slows, the energies constricting around it. Slowly shaking his head, Noxian grins and chuckles mocking. "You really think I forgot THAT plan?"

Sebastian grants a quick hand signal and darts back. The rest of the team sinks back into cover, and Noxian sighs dismissively. "I would hope you'd give me a little more credit by now. But, I understand. You're testing how much power I really have at the moment. Let me assure you..."

He bows his head down and growls darkly. "I am tied into significant reserves that are growing with each second. So... Take your time. Soon, your efforts won't matter."

Sebastian disappears from view above, and his visage re-materializes next to Aristespha behind the heavy chassis of a magitech machine. "So... Ideas?"

Cideeda's hushed tone crackles softly over Aristespha's radio. "Not really. His barrier is as tough as usual. And, it didn't seem like it was weakening."

Wrestling a frown on her ivory face, Aristespha shakes her head. "He is definitely receiving power from that device in the middle of the room."

Sotalia squirms her back against a low stonework wall, next to a desk, and groans out her aggravation. "Gods, it does FEEL like something is charging up. I don't think the bastard is bluffing. Fuck."

Inspecting her rifle, Dretphi turns her helmeted head over towards the team. "He is protecting the obelisk. It is important."

Peeking around a large magitech machine, Bach blinks his glowing blue eyes and studies Noxian patiently pacing near the embedded console at the center of the room. "Yeah... It's not as tightly layered as his personal barrier, but it's still pretty thick."

Sebastian blinks and scours through a surge of ideas in his head. Moments later, he cocks his head and glances around at the nearby team. "Does that mean he's having a hard time forming that barrier?"

Furrowing her brow, Aristespha gazes her violet eyes at Sebastian. "The device itself could be interfering with his efforts to protect it, since he is drawing from it."

Meeting his brother's inquisitive glance, Bach cracks a bold grin and lifts a daring eyebrow. "One way to find out."

Sotalia flexes her fingers, smiling slyly, Dretphi checks over her rifle, and a faint chuckle from Cideeda crackles from the radio.

Stepping idly around the central obelisk, Noxian casually observes the stream of text data rolling up the console display. He pauses his pace, gazes up at the thickening blobs of translucent red swelling into reality and shrinking away from the world. Watching the imagery reflecting in the obsidian surface of the obelisk, he nods to himself. He pivots in place and stares out over the outer perimeter of equipment. Shaking his head in disappointment, he vaguely twists a grimace on his tan face and sighs loudly. "It won't be long. I'll have the power and the access I need. Your efforts will be moot. Again, you may leave peacefully."

Zipping out from cover into the air, Sebastian smugly crosses his arms. "Sorry, Noxian. We kind of need you to NOT fuck the fabric of our reality. It's historically never gone that well for... Anyone, really."

With Sebastian drifting down closer, Noxian brushes off his jacket, adjusts his blue scarf carefully, and frowns. "And what exactly are you all going to do about it?"

The sound of a rifle cocking reverberates in the chamber. Two voices quickly recite incantations. Two high pitched whines bounce around the huge space. And, the faintest rise of a white noise mixes with the chorus. Noxian furrows his brow and groans unamused. "Humoring yourselves with another assault on me?"

Aristespha and Sotalia pop up from behind different pieces of machinery and level their aim towards Noxian. Surges of flow condense around their hands into their spells, and they snap their aim to the side. A spark of shock ignites Noxian's stare, his mind visibly screaming out the new target. A concentrated cutting ray streaks out from Aristespha and slices into the field around the console. Sotalia swings out a spiraling torrent of prismatic energy, and the stream burrows into the wavering barrier. A surge of elder energy floods out from Noxian, swarms down into a jet of power, and sinks into the shielding around the device at the center of the room.

Streaks of vapor crack into existence behind small electromagnetic bolts splashing to the protective field around the central obelisk. Cideeda adjusts for the recoil from her gauss pistols and strafes around, metal puncturing into the outer layers of the field. A rifle round plows deep in the barrier, and a thunderous boom rattles ancient dust from the furthest reaches of the angled ceiling. Another swell of elder energy radiates out from Noxian and merges with the protective bubble around the console. Noxian grits his teeth and struggles with quelling the ire hissing out. "WELL! Not an unexpected tactic. But, I can certainly compensate for it, as you can see! Easily maintainable-"

Bach rises into view, containing a swirling orb of layered white noise between his hands. With a mighty pitch, he flings the D-ball free from his palm. The sphere of annihilation jets across the open space and homes in on the central console. It presses into the outer layers of the elder barrier and grinds out the energies. The orb shreds off solidified magic into jelly spews splatting upon the smooth floor. Stiffening his upper lip against the twitches of strain cascading across his face, Noxian grits his teeth and summons up another rush of power from within, guiding it into the shield around the central system. Bach narrows his brilliantly glowing blue gaze and tenses his whole body. Fiery torrents of prismatic power rush down multiple flow threads leading to the D-ball. The diminishing orb stabilizes and coats itself in new layers of annihilating power. The disintegration ball drills further and plumes of congealed elder and prismatic miasma burst forth behind it. Fear widens Noxian's white glowing eyes, and the overwhelming strain manifests into body twisting tension.

Sebastian spots the change and yells out. "SWITCH!"

Aristespha and Sotalia hold their spells briefly, pivot, and release their power upon Noxian. Cideeda pops out from a new hiding spot, levels her gauss pistols, and unleashes bursts of tiny electromagnetic bolts into the thinning barrier around Noxian. The rounds sink dangerously close to Noxian. Dretphi lines up her rifle's scope, holding her breath, and squeezes the trigger. A large round punctures past layers of protection and slows to a spinning halt centimeters away from Noxian's chest. Panic overtakes the elder empowered mage. Noxian roars out, his eyes flashing pure white, and a wave of phosphorescent energy explodes out. Beams and streams reflect erratically off. Electromagnetic bolts spray out and ricochet around Cideeda diving for cover. Dretphi shields herself, and a returned round embeds itself into the receiver of her rifle. The wave dissipates short of the prismatic conduits leading to the D-ball.

Noxian stumbles upon his feet, coughing violently. Mustering up the strength to stay upright, he struggles collecting himself and screams out. "THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?! WHY THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE TO GET IN MY WAY! I'M TRYING TO FIX THINGS!"

Watching the blatant fatigue in each of his steps, Sebastian commands. "TAKE HIM DOWN!"

Slamming both her wrists together, Sotalia unleashes a radiant beam and shoves Noxian's protective barrier against him. Cideeda holsters her gauss pistols, draws her laser pistols, and drags searing blue points over Noxian's shielding. The forces press Noxian away from the central pillar. Dretphi charges out, sprinting towards her target. Aristespha summons the flows for a spell and concentrates a cutting ray into the closing void left by the dissipating D-ball.

Dretphi closes in on Noxian and grips the flow blade on her back, concentrating on her mark. With flickers of glow from her eyes, she draws down the radiant crimson edged sword, and another pulse flowing down her armored arms ignites the weapon in red ethereal flames. Snapping back to awareness, Noxian guides a swell of elder flow and braces against the incoming blade. Dretphi swipes into the protective field, slamming a downwards, crushing blow. She presses the glowing red edge into the energy field, arcs of prismatic and elder sparks spraying out.

Noxian summons up more strength and gathers enough, the power deadlocking against the constant onslaught. Seething in rage, he glares out at his attackers and roars out. "STOP! NOW! Or... I will be forced too-"

Glancing past his assailants, Noxian spots the absence of a sword in the sheath at Aristespha's side. Running out from cover, Bach rushes towards Noxian opposite of Dretphi. Focusing his resolute, illuminated blue stare upon Noxian, he grips the glowing Sword of the Spirit Realm tightly and charges down a clear attack vector across the open floor. His footsteps punch through the noise and into Noxian's ears. Diverting his focus, Noxian watches Bach and the sword close in. He flings out his arm. Elder power rushes out and floods out underneath the magical bubble. Swells of energy boil out from the surface of the barrier and launch forth. The fast moving orbs swarm towards Bach. Sebastian spots the attack and calls out. "Incoming Bach!"

Bach spots the bulbous bolts speeding towards him. For a moment, he slows his progress, tenses defensively, and grimaces. From the back of his mind, a rush of confidence thrusts him forward. With an aggressive pace, Bach readies the sword and visually tracks the incoming magic orbs. He side steps the lead bolt. Pops the next with a thrust, sword vacuuming the elder power in. Left and right swings slice the next few into puffs of fading miasma. Another assertive blade first charge runs another bolt through. An upwards slash cleaves one in half, and a final swing back smacks the lead one sneaking up into oblivion.

Noxian cringes under the strain and pants in daze. He snaps back to awareness, witnessing Bach ram the sword through his barrier. The protective field warps and ripples violently. Arcs of energy crackle upon the blade. Against an all consuming vacuum, layers of elder energy stretch to the breaking point and twist into the surging glow of the sword. Noxian gawks in sheer horror, the tip of the weapon wandering closer and closer to his body.

A blinding flash floods the area, a wave of elder power erupting from Noxian. The force lifts Dretphi up into the air, and she rolls backward mid flight. Bach coasts meters back over the smooth open floor and crashes into a fast, bouncing tumble. The Sword of the Spirit realm clatters away, skidding on the smooth floor. Landing flat upon the hard ground, Dretphi's armor scrapes upon the translucent floor to a rough stop. From above, her flow blade spins downwards from the highest part of the chamber with unstable energies arc over, sparks and smoke streaming behind it. The weapon spears into the translucent floor and fractures into a burst of pieces.

Cideeda pops quickly out of cover, glances around, and lines up shots at Noxian. The blue beams pulse out and impact a thin barrier. Noxian stares coldly at Cideeda and shakes his head. A flash of power surges up the focused light into the muzzles of the weapons. Cideeda's furry ears flick towards the sudden high pitched whines, and she reflexively releases her grips of the pistols. They clear her hands, and both shatter in concussive bursts, knocking Cideeda to the ground. Noxian swings his chilling glare towards a dazed Aristespha fighting to maintain her focus on a spell and the cutting ray digging too close to the console. He tries to raise his hand up towards Aristespha, and a jet of fire flashes, engulfing the area around him. Aristespha releases her spell and stumbles down into cover. Sotalia stands tall, sneering her upper lip at Noxian, and readies another spell.

In the moment, Sotalia and Noxian exchange abject glares of hatred. Sotalia summons up the energies for another attack. Noxian snaps his hand and white lance streaks out. A bright flash bursts out from Sotalia's midsection, and she falls back on the ground. Sebastian's visage shudders erratically, and he wanders aimlessly back towards the ground. Moments later, his ghostly form dissipates and reappears near the sword. He drifts around, gripping the sides of his head, and his form warps, wavering. Crawling behind the cover, Aristespha gathers her senses, searches around, and spots Sotalia laying on the ground. She reaches her and whispers. "Are you okay?"

Sotalia turns her head slightly towards Aristespha, pulls her hand from the center of her curled up form, and gazes upon the red coating her light tan and dark gray hand. "Not... really..."

Aristespha musters up her resolve against terror and goes through her medical supplies nearby, the violet light in her eyes waning. "Hold on..."

Drawing a long breath, Noxian exhales slowly and shakes his head coldly. He surveys the aftermath and frowns somberly. Stepping closer to the central dark obelisk, he stops and rotates his gaze towards the open floor. Slipping a foot underneath himself, Bach forces himself up from the ground. He winces with each motion, managing to get his other boot flat on the ground. Sucking up the wind in his lungs, he lifts up and wobbles upon his feet. Seconds later, he keeps himself standing and straightens his posture. Prying his blue eyes open, he stares towards the central point.

Pity seeps through the cold exterior, and Isaac sighs remorsefully. "Bach. Just. Stop. All this fighting is pointless."

Painfully stretching himself to stand straight, Bach aims his gaze upon Isaac. A quiet moment later, Isaac shakes his head and explains. "Before you do anything else, the two of us fighting is pointless. I have far more control over my power and I'm gaining more by the moment. You'll just risk overexerting yourself, and to what end?"

Bach's stare focuses inwards. His blue eyes sort through untold thoughts, and he grimaces uncomfortably with twinges of panic slipping out. The seconds pass. Something from the back of his mind seizes his attention. Waves of fear subside. Twitches of worry calm down. Cool resolve flows out from within. Bach flutters his eyes back to the now and lifts a stare up at Isaac.

Motioning around the room to the downed team members, Isaac sighs pleadingly. "Your friends need you right now. Take care of them, and get them to safety. You've done your due diligence. No one will fault you for escaping-"

Isaac cocks his head uncertainly and narrows a curious stare. Uneasily searching the room, Isaac tenses his body and focuses upon Bach.

Sparks of power flicker out from Bach's brilliant white eyes, veins of flow spreading out into his resolute face.

-129-

Flexing his fingers into tight balling fists, Bach straightens his posture and rigidly pivots around, facing Isaac. Settling his cool, glowing white stare upon Isaac, he wrestles a grimace down and sighs solemnly. Faint disruptions in the flow within embedded floor channels radiate out, and unseen currents sweep up nearby dust into the air. Narrowing his collected glare upon Isaac, Bach pulls in a slow focused breath and twists the corner of his mouth. "You know... You're right."

Rolling his stiff shoulders, he tenses his body and braces his stance out wider. "It really is pointless for me to fight you. You're certainly better at shaping this power..."

Concentrating his resolute stare at Isaac, Bach closes his eyes slowly. "But... You're right... I do need to help my friends."

A wave of cool acceptance washes over him. Relaxing his body, Bach breathes out slowly, waiting quietly. Between twinges of tension in his body, waves of dimming flow ripple out through the channeling within the translucent floor. Meters away the Sword of Spirit Realm rattles in place upon the floor. Crackles of energy course through the length of the blade and arc out erratically, singing the smooth surface of the ground. With sprays of sparks bouncing out across the floor from it, the sword flashes to a bright glow.

"M-M-MASSIVE S-s-s-S-SURGE DET-T-TEC-"

The loud garbled voice scrambles into unintelligible distortion and cuts out completely. Sebastian's visage stabilizes, and he glances around bewildered. Searching around quickly, he darts his attention around the room and snaps his full focus upon Bach.

A towering maelstrom of elder energy geysers up into the chamber. Rushing around the crimson space swelling into existence, the plume spreads forth, clouding out the noon sun high above. The torrent of flow rushes out, waves of pure power flooding out from Bach. The tides roll over the translucent chamber floor and brighten the flow passages underneath into a brilliant sheen. Energy seeps into every crevice and spills forth, filling the space surrounding. From the hazy, obscuring cloud, a pair of pure white eyes coldly stare out and through Isaac's very being.

Isaac pales, and his body instinctively stiffens against the translucent currents of power spreading around him. Dormant magitech flutters to life, and ancient systems start back up. The spreading volume of energy thickens overhead and plumes further out in the massive chamber. Stirring back from unconsciousness, Dretphi blinks her steely gray eyes behind her full face visor and stiffly searches around. Glancing around near her, Cideeda shudders back fully awake and wipes some soot off her light brown face.

Squeezing his fists against the crippling fear, Isaac shakes his head back to awareness. His glowing white eyes search around the area, and he throws his hands out. Spiraling conduits of flow form and pump power from the obelisk into Isaac. Maintaining a calm stare upon Isaac, Bach stands still in place within the constant vortex of power fluttering his duster and gradually lifting his helmet clear of his head. Bracing against a new threat, Noxian builds up his protective barriers and readies flows of energies into his hands. Both Noxian and Bach hold their positions on opposing sides of the chamber's middle arena with the obelisk dividing them.

Behind the cover of ancient magitech equipment, Aristespha pants with flickering violet eyes, directing wavering flows of energies to Sotalia's red stained midsection. Traces of panic slip into her voice, and she musters up the best calming tone possible. "Just take it easy. I am... A little worn at the moment. So, it is taking a little longer than it should... I am... Sorry..."

Sotalia manages a weak nod, laying on her side upon the ground. "It's okay, girl... I'm still here..."

Her golden pupils contrast against the darkening sclera of her eyes, and she summons up enough consciousness, glancing around in confusion. "What is going on? There's a lot of power nearby..."

Aristespha uneasily grimaces, quickly darting her violet eyes around, and gazes through stray strands of her silvery blue hair. "I... I do not know."

From the roaring pyre of elder energy coating Bach, streams of magical flow launch out and scramble through the air above. Noxian readies himself and braced, studying the energies expectantly. The threads of power weave into tight conduits, and they travel through the chamber space above, drawing in the nearby elder miasma. Short of crossing the threshold towards Noxian, the streams divert sharply and spread out. They search for their targets, and strange magical machinery materializes within the confines of the tightening conduits. In brilliant flashes, prismatic threads explode out past the machinations and reform into coiling strands.

The first prismatic stream drops down and lands upon Aristespha's back. Gasping in surprise, Aristespha's body briefly stiffens, and she shudders reflexively. Collecting herself, she blinks her eyes into a bright violet glow, the prismatic power coating her fully. Waning flows of magic flush with new vigor. Another prismatic stream sinks down and links onto Sotalia. She startles briefly and blinks her gold on black eyes. "What the fuck?"

Aristespha refocuses her efforts and concentrates upon the open wound in Sotalia's midsection. She directs her healing magics upon the torn and burned tissues, and medical materials manifest near her efforts. Briefly studying the awaiting magic fabrics, she smiles thankfully and guides the forming supplies, quickly mending and reversing the injuries. The unseen assistant diligently speeds up the complex tasks at hand. Sotalia perks up more with each passing moment and blinks hard into greater awareness of her surroundings. Patting around, she finds her belt of pouches and flicks open a few flaps. She rummages through the pockets and pulls out a few vials. Narrowing her faintly glowing golden gaze, her eyebrow perks up with recognition. She moves the potions into Aristespha's line of sight. "Are these okay to take right now?"

Aristespha flicks her gaze over, thinking a moment, and nods. "Go ahead. I have actually made amazing progress. Just keep still for a little while longer."

Pulling the vials close, Sotalia blinks at the bulge of prismatic flow upon her wrist. She squints at the energies, and a warm smile grows. With her other free hand, she scoops up some of the flows coating over her and guides them into the vials of colorful solutions. They start to glow, and she pops the corks, drinking each one after another.

Picking herself up slowly, Dretphi carefully inspects herself. She checks the cracking of the enchantment barrier upon a few armor plates, she pulls her submachine gun close. Examining the weapon, and a faint curl of satisfaction appears at the corner of her mouth. Panning her stare out, she notices the scattered fragments of her flow blade upon the translucent chamber floor. She leans out carefully, grips hold of the handle of the shattered sword, and lifts it up. Gazing upon the jagged, broken edge after the hilt, she frowns sadly and winces into a pained sigh. She blinks back to awareness and worriedly scans the vicinity. Glancing up at the colorful sunlight refracting through the white clouds filling the chamber above, she narrows her stare into the elder energy pyre and the figure within the constant torrent. From above, a prismatic stream drops down and connects onto her back. She stiffens in surprise briefly, the rush of power spreading over her. She watches the energy coat over her armor and stares at the cracks within enchantment barriers disappearing. The flow reaches her hand, and the power sinks into the handle of her broken blade.

Fine jets of energy spread out from her, swiftly snaking across the floor. They drive towards metal fragments and latch on. The pieces drift up into the air and coast back towards the sword end. The shards of metal hover close, and the pieces fit back into place, the joints shimmering brightly with a fading molten glow. Gripping the hilt tightly, Dretphi supports the weapon reassembling before her shocked stare. Each chunk settles into place. The edges glow brightly, and the pieces fuse onto the growing whole. The last part finds its home. Through the energy coat on Dretphi's body, threads of elder power drift down the prismatic connection and sink in the blade. A slow pulse of phosphorescent energy crackles down the weapon. Layers of age spark off, clogs in the channels pop free, and large gouges smooth down to near perfection. Moments later, Dretphi stares at the reforged flow blade and admires the new glints of sheen. Prismatic power reaches out for her submachine gun, hexagonal barriers reinforce her armor, and she secures her sword. Standing up, she hoists up her blade and concentrates her will. A surge of prismatic power from within rushes into the handle. A plume of red ethereal fire erupts, revealing a shining crimson blade. Dretphi grins eagerly and sweeps up her submachine floating up to meet her with free hand.

Cideeda coughs loudly and spits a bit of dark soot upon the translucent floor. Snorting out some congestion, she finds her blown out laser pistols. She sniffs the air and scrunches her nose against the smoldering, acrid wisps from fried power cells nearby. Cautiously patting the laser pistols, she picks them up and inspects the blackened bottoms of the grips. She grits her sharp teeth and grumbles, picking at the char within the power cell receivers. Blinking her emerald green eyes, she tenses her body, her situational awareness returning suddenly. She gawks at the elder cloud flooding the chamber above, and a prismatic stream drops down. Muttering fvalian swears, she spots the incoming conduit. It splashes upon her upper back, and she shudders wide eyed. Gasping, she arches her back and shivers, her furry ears twitching in surprise. The initial wave coats over her, and she blinks out of her sheer shock and watches the power flowing over her. She notices the prismatic energy drift over towards her damaged pistols, and dons an eager, toothy grin. Narrowing her full focus, her emerald green eyes flutter into a growing glow. Her pistols drift up from her hands and swiftly disassemble under her guidance. Floating in the air, she motions with her claw tipped fingers and concentrates upon the damaged pieces. With a few quick repairs, the weaponry starts to reassemble. She frowns over towards the burned out power cells, hexagonal barriers reinforcing her armor plates. "Damn it... I might have cells with a little left-"

Her emerald eyes dart over and spot magic flow condensing into a facsimile of a power cell. She smiles slyly and perks her eyebrow, wrapping her clawed fingers around the magical part. "Oh, why settle for regular cells?"

With help from Aristespha, Sotalia rights herself and kneels near the cover of some magitech machinery on the outer perimeter of the middle arena. Aristespha whispers, inspecting Sotalia. "Take it easy. Please. I do not think you can handle another hit like that."

Sotalia nods thankfully and smiles kindly at Aristespha. "I know. I can still cast from cover. I'll be careful, I promise-"

She glances down, prismatic threads forming and weaving into layers of protective fabric upon her. The dense mesh materializes upon her neck all the way down to her knees. Thin layers of laminate golden plates form a protective barrier around her torso. Patting down the new flexible armor, she sighs with an amused smile. "Well... Thank you. I'll try not to need it."

Shifting his stare between Aristespha, Sotalia, Dretphi, and Cideeda, Isaac awkwardly chuckles and motions out towards the streams of prismatic energy constantly flowing through the air above. "THIS... THIS is absolutely amazing! Just look at what you are capable of doing! There's not a reason for us to fight-"

From within the elder haze surrounding, Bach shouts out defiantly and levels a pair of bright white eyes at Isaac. "AGAIN... I'm not going to fight you. I NEVER wanted to fight you..."

He sighs deeply, white miasma venting out with his breath. "I just wanted to help my brother... That's all..."

Flexing his shaking hand, he holds his arm out towards the sword nearby. Clattering up the smooth floors of the chamber, the blade hops up into the air. It rights itself, flies over, and Bach grips the handle mid air. He inspects the weapon and watches the drifts of smokey energy swirl down into the blade. Studying it, he narrows a brilliant stare upon the sword, and it idly vacuums in miasma. Sebastian's visage manifests next to Bach, and he gazes upon his brother with tinges of worry slipping out. "Hey. Bro. How are you... Well... Doing?"

Bach stiffly straightens his posture, turning his head over towards Sebastian, and cracks a wry grin. "I'm going to be honest... I can barely move, and it's literally taking everything I got to keep all this up."

Concern colors Sebastian's frown, and he leans close with a soft tone. "Bro... You don't need to tear yourself doing all this... You can ease it back and-"

With a strained chuckle, Bach smiles boldly. "I think we're beyond that point. Reasonable ideas got left behind a while ago."

Furrowing his brow, Bach wrestles with a frown. "Plus... I get the real feeling that Isaac has powered up a lot by now."

Sebastian squints through the swirling haze and sighs with a nod. "Yeah. The sword felt him draw in a lot of power. He's definitely not backing down at this point."

Bach grits his teeth briefly and tightens his grip upon the sword in his hand. "It's going to take everything we got now to stop him..."

Pulling a bold grin on his tan face, Bach gazes at his brother and laughs softly. "Hey... Man... You up for a crazy idea?"

Sebastian blinks a moment, cocking his head to the side, and smiles eagerly. "Well, I think we're beyond reasonable ideas at this point..."

A few seconds of thought later, he nods at Bach and reflects his brother's grin back. "Yeah... Crazy is all we got left."

Placing his free hand upon the hilt of the blade, Bach draws in a long breath and exhales slowly, a cloud of magic vapor leaving. Bursts of elder energy leap off his body and sink into the sword. Nearby drifts of miasma swirl around in the growing draw from the blade. The vacuum strengthens, and the torrent churns faster and faster into an elder cyclone. The vortex sinks clouds high above in the chamber, and the masses spiral down into the weapon. Splashes of excess power spray out from the blade, float nearby, and fall back into the currents toward the sword. Nearby flow channels and connected equipment flicker. The prismatic streams waver briefly, and Bach drops down to a knee. Planting the tip of the Sword of the Spirit Realm down, Bach braces himself up and maintains his focus, bursts of elder flow blasting out from his body into the blade. The overhead momentum of the energies drives down the bulk to the cloud, and the giant plume slams into a tightening ball around Bach. Watching Bach strain against the forces surrounding, Sebastian's ghostly form yells over the roaring torrents of power. "Bach! You don't have to do-"

Sebastian's visage fades into the swirls entering the sword. The blade stops absorbing power. Surges of elder energy reflect violently back, and a massive cloud explodes out. Within the haze, crackles of power sound out. Arcs shoot along the length of the sword and blindingly flash. The streams of prismatic flow brighten back up, and the magitech machinery steadies. Isaac gawks in utter astonishment, the rest of the team peering through the cloudy haze.

A loud pop of air and heavy thud echoes out into the cavernous chamber. The surrounding mists wane, and the elder plumes drift up with the rising currents from Bach. Panting heavily, Bach shakes his head out of a stupor into awareness and glances around. A moment later, he settles his gaze upon Sebastian, laying out physically on the ground. Free of ghostly transparency, Sebastian feels the hard surface of the floor and blinks in complete utter bewilderment. Patting his body, he feels his chest plate, face, and the hole in his under armor. Finding his healed tan flesh within remnants of the last bullshit attack, a wave of relief stuns him. Reflexes kicking back in, Sebastian gasps loudly for breath, the sound crisply echoes around the chamber. Aristespha's very long, pointed ears twitch, and her violet eyes widen.

A smile spreads wide on Bach's face, and he chuckles in a daze. "Holy shit... It actually worked..."

He furrows his brow and levels an irritated stare upon the sword. "This fucking sword is a LAIR. There's no way in hell that Isaac had that amount of power within him."

Sebastian sits up, inspects himself again, and glances over at Bach. "BRO. This is absolutely fucking INSANE!"

He grips Bach's shoulder and pauses. Feeling the duster upon his brother, Sebastian grins, faint tears welling in his eyes. "But... Just as crazy as everything you've ever done."

Bach chuckles softly and shudders back some consciousness to the front of his mind. "Yeah... Yeah... Hey, uh, you think you are able to stand up?"

Sebastian checks his limbs and gets his boots underneath him. "Think so. I'm actually feeling pretty good right now."

Nodding in relief, Bach pants out his fatigue. "Good... Might need some help getting back up myself."

The white haze rises back up, and the elder fog thins away. Cideeda's furry ears flick around at the sound of Sebastian's voice. Standing side by side, Bach and Sebastian wave towards the rest of the team. Aristespha reflexively leans out in astonishment, Sotalia keeping her from reflexively rushing off. "SEBASTIAN!"

Covering her mouth in shock, tears fall from Aristespha's violet eyes and run down her ivory, blue and gray hinted cheeks. Sotalia blinks her gold on black eyes in amazement, and Dretphi and Cideeda gawk in shocked delight. Isaac flutters his eyes and stares blankly.

Sebastian straightens his posture and steadies Bach. "So... What's it going to take to shut Isaac down?"

Bach stiffly shrugs and coughs out a laugh. "I don't know. He's drawn in a lot of power, and the place seems to be powering up from some other source. He got a better handle on using this power, too."

Wrestling a frown, Sebastian combs back his brown coiffed hair and parts his white streak off to the side. "So, no battles of attrition."

Shaking his head, Bach sighs with a hint of annoyance. "Nope. And, it looks like the obelisk is getting close to firing up fully."

The brothers take a moment and stare at the crimson space coalescing together into the massive aether portal. Sebastian fights off a grimace and whispers to his brother. "Yeah. That doesn't look promising. So, focus on shutting that obelisk down?"

With a nod, Bach glances over at the central structure beneath the void into the red reality. "Yep. If I can get to it, I'll figure something out. Cut the power, rip it out..."

Furrowing his elder energized brow, he stiffly shrugs his shoulders. "I don't quite know yet."

Sebastian pats Bach's back gently and chuckles. "You'll figure something out. But, I think Isaac will take offense to you getting near it. You got anything that'll help keep him at bay?"

Bach shakes his head and blinks his brightly glowing white eyes, the flow veining out upon his face. "Not really... I'm just able to maintain this power output and keep the connections going. Brute force elder energy from me isn't going to get through to Isaac... And, you all are going to need all the magical assistance you can get now."

A new stream splits out from the growing elder fire coating Bach, filters out into prismatic energy, and latches onto Sebastian. The surge of coats over, and Sebastian nods understandingly to Back and sighs with hints of regret. "Yeah. Hate to put this on you, bro. But..."

He grins boldly at Bach and grips his brother's shoulder tightly. "We'll see about keeping his attention on us."

Bach smiles sly and perks his eyebrow. "Exactly. There's two things he's worried about. Me..."

He hoists the Sword of the Spirit Realm up. "And THE SWORD."

Sebastian holds his hand out, and Bach places the blade's handle into his brother's grip. Snorting out a augh, Bach rolls his white eyes. "You're the better swordsman anyway."

Gazing upon Bach, Sebastian smiles proudly. "Don't shortchange yourself. You did pretty awesome. He panicked when you came at him."

He glances over the surrounding vicinity and whispers towards Bach. "We need to coordinate with the team, but I don't think any of my electronic stuff is working."

Bach nods, straightening his posture, and holds up finger. "One moment. I think I can manage something between everyone, since we're all connected now."

With Bach concentrating, Sebastian focuses upon the blade. Hexagonal flows solidify upon him, enchanting his armor, and other manifestations of power patch up the hole. Sebastian narrows his stare upon the sword and shakes his head. "So weird to be holding this thing again... It's actually pretty quiet. Maybe you broke that part when-"

"MULTIPLE FAMILIAR FLOWS DETECTED."

Sebastian rolls his blue eyes and groans out hints of disgust. "I guess we're not THAT lucky."

The faint voices of Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia softly echo near Bach and Sebastian's ears. Sebastian hems and speaks softly. "Hey, can you all hear me?"

With a brief lull in the confusion, Aristespha's voice rises out of the surprise from everyone else. "Yes! I mean. Yes. I hear you... Sebastian. I love you."

A loving smile appears on Sebastian's face. "Love you, too, dear."

He covers up his mouth and narrows a wary stare at Isaac on the other side of the inner circle. "Okay. Everyone... We need to keep Isaac busy and give Bach an opening. What ideas do we got?"

Isaac watches uneasily from under the layers of elder energy bubbles and idly squeezes flows of power between his hands. Drifting his attention away from Bach and Sebastian, he draws in a long breath and calls out. "This would be an excellent time for you all to leave!"

Darting his eyes around, he narrows his stare through the wisps of white hair swirling around in the air current. "You've accomplished all you really want. Everyone is back from the brink. Sebastian has returned from the sword. Why would you want to risk anything more? Walk away, and it'll be a good day for all of us."

Stepping around in orbit of the obelisk, Sebastian grins brightly and laughs loudly. Rolling his shoulders, he nonchalantly walks with a focused glare at Isaac and curls the corner of his mouth boldly. "OH! You didn't think we'd just leave? Let's see, last I checked... I've certainly got an old score to settle with you."

Twisting a grimace on his face, he tightens his grip on the glowing sword and dusts off his newly enchanted armor. "I distinctly remember a very cheap shot that ended our last match. I think I deserve another chance to best you."

Sebastian continues a slow casual plod, and Isaac bounces his attention between the sword in Sebastian's hands and Bach standing within the radiant flows of elder energy. Gritting his teeth tightly, he hisses his breaths and tenses his whole body. Elder energies seep into his protective barriers, and he narrows a glare between Bach and Sebastian.

From a vantage point out of Isaac's line of sight, a pair of faintly glowing emerald green eyes lines up shots with a pair of magically enhanced laser pistols. A toothy grin curls, and clawed fingers carefully squeeze triggers. Twin violet beams drill into the elder bubble around Isaac and drag across the rippling surface. Pivoting around with power sparking in his hands, Isaac holds up a hand. A plume of thick magical miasma bursts out from the winding prismatic stream distant and low from Cideeda, and she drops into hiding within the obscuring cloud. Aristespha appears out from behind cover and concentrates powerful cutting beams from her hands into the barrier around Isaac. With Isaac compensating, Dretphi braces her submachine gun upon the top of some heavy magitech machinery and unleashes a volley of empowered rounds into layers of the warping field. Steadying himself against the potent barrages, a noise rising from the background grabs hold of Isaac's attention. "...that sounds familiar..."

Sotalia tenses her arms around a swelling orb of visual white noise and stands up slowly. She strains against the chaotic energies, and strands of flow reach out from her arms, helping to stabilize the growing D-ball. She cracks a humored smirk. Spotting Noxian, she narrows an ireful glare upon him, lines up the orb, and sends it forth with a propelling burst. The ball zips across the distance, steers in the air, and flies down an open attack vector. The D-ball burrows into the barrier around Noxian, and Noxian draws up a surge of power from the obelisk, bolstering his defensive field. Stumbling back from the forces along one side of his shield, Noxian mutters out bewildered. "Gods damn it! When did YOU learn that accursed spell?!"

Backing away from the destructive energies, he wills the flow in his surrounding field and flings the orb off towards a distant chamber wall. He snaps his attention back towards Bach and eyes him. Bach remains in the same spot. Between laser blasts, submachine gun rounds, cutting beams, and destructive orbs, Sebastian steps closer towards Noxian and lines up his approach. Quickening his pace, he searches for an opening. Noxian plants his feet and braces himself against attacks driving him further away from the obelisk. Sebastian cracks a sly grin and whispers. "Dretphi... Back me up here..."

He charges forth at an angle directly behind Noxian. Drawing in close, he yells out. "Behind you!"

In the momentary lull projectiles slamming into his barrier, Noxian blinks blankly, glances over his shoulder, and watches the sword approach dangerously. He springs back away from Sebastian. Landing his leap, he notices a reddish cast of light behind him and spins his expectant stare around. Dretphi swings her flaming ethereal red sword at Noxian, presses the brilliant crimson into layers of the protective bubble, and shoves her full weight into the impact. The flow blade pushes the barrier close to Noxian's body, and he reflexively jumps back with the force towards safety.

Between sneak laser attacks from Cideeda, precision strikes from Aristespha, powerful bombs from Sotalia, and Sebastian and Dretphi coordinating melee attacks, the team grants Noxian no moment to relax. With the constant harassment, Noxian summons up surges of power and releases bolts through his field. An elder beam streaks out for Cideeda and bounces off a barrier flashing into existence. A bolt flies towards Aristespha, and a wave of power gently slides her clear. Streaks of elder energy jet out towards Sotalia, and an elder beam from a stream above counters the blast. Noxian releases a wave of force outwards at Dretphi and Sebastian, and protective bubbles engulf them, buffering the forces. With each feverish exchange, the team drives Noxian away from the center of the chamber.

Across the massive space, Bach stares distantly and pants with the strain. Elder hazes slips out with each breath, and he tenses his body, struggling to keep upright. Yanking his focus away briefly, his glowing white eyes blink. He squints across the room. Carefully sidestepping, he strafes and aligns himself into position with the obelisk between him and Noxian, obscuring line of sight. A thunderous exchange later, Bach briefly spots Noxian stumble near the magitech equipment perimeter. Summoning up a surge of strength, he listens to the conversations faintly in his ears and nods to himself. He musters up his coordination and calls out. "I'm... Going for it. Just keep him... Pinned down for a little bit. I won't be able to concentrate as much to defend you all."

Sebastian's voice drifts in from the magical connection. "Alright! We'll cover you, bro. Everyone! Lay down all the fire you got!"

A tremendous volley of laser blasts, energy beams, submachine reports, and white noise orbs merge into the chaotic chorus of combat. In the echoing cacophony, Bach steps forth and quickly walks towards the obelisk, each motion of his body stiff. Despite the rigidity and shaky balance, he picks up the pace and closes in on the target.

Bracing against the onslaught, Noxian stabilizes the protective barrier and searches through the chaos. He squints through the rippling field and hunts around. Seconds later, his glowing white eyes widen, and he mutters. "...the hell is he..."

Breathing fast, Bach forces each effort forward and maintains a distant stare ahead. With the elder fire billowing from him, a dissipating trail of mist lingers behind. Closing on the obelisk, Bach staggers, quickly catching himself. Drawing deep breaths, he steadies himself and narrows his brilliant white stare upon the obelisk in front of him. His attention drifts towards the console display, and he reaches a hand out. The elder flows around his arm wash upon a protective field surrounding the structure. With determination filling his face, Bach pushes his hands into the barrier, the elder flames burning through the field.

A shot of terror spikes through Noxian. His full attention snaps towards the obelisk, and his eyes focus upon the glimpse of Bach at the system. His rage drives out a scream. "NO!"

An explosion of power launches out from Noxian. Beams, blasts, and bolts relentlessly surge forth from him. Attacks zip dangerously close to the team. With each aggressive volley, countering measures fall back into pure defense and push the group towards safety. Willing himself against the surrounding chaos, Bach presses through the field and grips hold of the obelisk. He stares at the streams of data from the console, narrowing his confusion upon it, and grimaces in frustration. Glancing around at the device, a cringe of hopelessness slips out upon his face. Breathing heavily, Bach winces with a gulp and shakes his head. "How do I-"

Pausing a moment, a confident grin curls on his face. He grips hold of the sides of the obelisk and concentrates. The torrent of flow pouring out splashes into the obelisk. The elder flames radiating from him rush across and sink into the strange seams of the obsidian monolith. The crimson space materializes into an aether portal, and Noxian charges forth, pressing the team back. Sebastian shouts out. "He's coming your way!"

Sprinting with long strides in a swell of elder energy, Noxian closes the divide between him and Bach. Stray bolts and beams of magical energy graze off the quickly diminishing protective barrier around Noxian, and he reaches out a hand out. A surge of power pulses down his arm. Pushing through the wavering field around the obelisk, Noxian's hand plunges into the ethereal white pyre enveloping Bach. Arcs stream between them, the gap closing. Noxian clamps his grip upon Bach's shoulder.

Elder flames surge up Isaac's arm. The torrent of power explodes over his body and spreads in a plume of phosphorescent fire. Within a mere moment, Isaac's confidence burns away, and horror pales his ashen face. A gasp struggles to sink into Isaac's tensely arched body, and he remains stiffly vibrating, conducting the raw energy through his very being. Fighting against his trembling body, Bach slowly pivots his head over his shoulder and stares through Isaac with brilliant white eyes, stray, washed out brown hairs drift with the flows. A shuddering breath slips in, and he releases a shaky sigh with a plume of white miasma. "Understand... Now?"

Forcing emotion upon his face against the overwhelming forces rippling through his body, Isaac blinks in utter astonishment. "T-t-this is- Gods! OH. I-I-I- You've been- This is why... T-t-this is w-w-why you've avoided-d-d using it- Oh GODS..."

Bach nods calmly, watching the freshly minted mutual understanding within Isaac. "Yeah... Different than what you've been... Collecting, I guess?"

Isaac's pulsating white eyes struggle for focus, and he coughs out through tension. "YES. I'm... I'm..."

A sympathetic frown curls upon Bach's elder energy coated face, and he sighs. "Scared?"

Blinking his eyes hard to force them closed, Isaac gulps. "Terrified... Actually."

A low rumble resonates through the entirety of the chamber. Translucent red mist gently spreads out from the massive void into a hazy crimson space. Through the opening, an elder sheen radiates down a twisting bundle of thousands of ethereal cables of immeasurable length, through swirling clouds of sparkling aether. Parting the refracting waves of an infinite crimson sea and warping space around streaks of chaotic power, an endless structure engulfs the entirety of vision through the growing aether rift. Against the translucent red, an astronomical mass of unfathomable geometry hovers through dimensions beyond viewing. Constant chaotic shifts of uncountable machinations upon the incalculable surface form oceans of order between unknown realities.

Pulses of prismatic flows warp a kaleidoscope of rainbows fluctuating into spectrums unobservable. The ambient mists within the crimson space thin. Swaying with the currents of the void beyond, billions of threads pulse, shimmer, and glow with the changing dimensional machinery. The mass weaves in and out. New lines flash into existence. Old ones dim and disperse into the currents of the strange reality. Elder glows beam out from between towering prismatic spires. In the still seconds, a new spire design manifests into reality and untold fibers weave into prismatic threads stretching out to destinations far beyond.

Aristespha, Sotalia, Sebastian, Cideeda, and Dretphi gawk in awe from their defensive positions. Isaac and Bach stare up into the crimson void. Contrasting the misty swirls of the strange space, six purely prismatic threads pulsate power towards locations near. In stark difference, another prismatic line strains in the weave against a brilliant white flow. The torrent of elder power bursts forth and sinks into the obelisk. Blinking back to some awareness, Bach gazes in wonder at the immeasurable entity adrift in the aether sea. "The Prism... So much bigger... Than I imagined..."

Isaac eyes widen and gawks up the trans-dimensional manifestation radiating with elder and prismatic powers. He glances between the shifts, rotations, reorganizations, redistributions, and rearrangements of untold constructs. He stares at the seamless transitions of fibers weaving into the fabric of prismatic threads. He spots the pulses of power launching out into new connections. He witnesses the emanations of elder energy reshaping entire sections out the chaotic dance upon the endless surface and merging them beyond into a new unfathomable order.

The long stare into the void leaves Isaac breathless. Familiarity grips him, and the brief astonishment drains into sheer bewilderment. Sparks of recognition drive him down into confusion. Furrowing his brow, Isaac blinks, completely lost. He searches the abstract prism. He watches the foundational constructs. His jaw slacks in disbelief, and he swallows hard against the constant energies conducting through him. Frightful clarity strangles him, and he forces out a genuine question to himself. "What... What am I doing?"

Wincing against the torturous power flowing, he levels a lost stare upon Bach. "T-This power... is what you've been... contending with?"

Shifting his stare away from the void, Bach nods simply. "Yes. You want to subject others to THIS?"

Doubts flood through Isaac, a chill shivering against the seizing power conducting through him. "I- I- I... N-n-no... Nothing like t-t-his..."

The bubbling vestiges of confidence fizzle with the crackles of elder flow, and Isaac stares distantly into his mind. "Everything I've done was for... But... Not this. I wanted to help and uplift people... THIS... This isn't the way. This is too much- Too dangerous..."

Bach briefly eyes the prism drifting in the sparking, rippling translucent sea, and glares through Isaac's very existence. "What were you even planning on doing when you got access to this?"

Isaac blinks blankly, the frigid reality freezing over his ambitions. He glances back up at the ethereal dance between order and chaos upon the crimson stage above him through the aether rift. "It seemed straight forward. Their designs and manuals showed a way. It made so much sense then... But... But... This... This is all different. I... I..."

Tears roll down Isaac's face. The weight of countless damning reflections stab into his being. Choking on each word, he gazes into Bach's eyes and releases the last of his hopes. "It was madness. I... I can see that now. Madness."

Shuddering out another breath, Isaac glances around the chamber. "Oh gods... What have I done... I'm so sorry..."

He watches the worn tails of the blue scarf around his neck fluttering in the flow. "Sylvia. Cynthia... Forgive me."

Summoning up his strength against the crippling strain, Isaac rips his hand free from Bach's shoulder and stumbles back. He staggers away from Bach and obelisk and calls out pleadingly. "Bach! I'm so sorry! Please... Do what you must. Before it can harm anyone! I... can't..."

Isaac walks away towards the outer perimeter of machinery crestfallen. Bach concentrates fully upon the obelisk. A brilliant flash of elder power bursts down the thread in the crimson void. A surge of energy rushes forth from Bach and sinks into the seams of the obsidian machine. Outer panels upon the central column loosen and drift into a free float away. The device starts to part at the seams. Major components disconnect from the whole and tumble weightlessly into the chamber. Sub assemblies scatter into their basic pieces. Threads of elder energy link the growing cloud surrounding the obelisk framework. The console breaks away from its mounts and disassembles to smaller components. A maelstrom of magitech orbits the disintegrating obelisk. The final interior shields peel away, and a shining orb hovers within a weave of ethereal fibers clouded by an otherworldly red haze.

Reaching through the orbits of parts, Bach grips onto the translucent sphere through the crimson mist swelling out. A steady stream of elder energy floods the orb. Bach closes his eyes. Carefully, he pulls the sphere away, the elder weaves slipping off. The connections to the obelisk pieces disappear, and magitech pieces rain down upon the translucent chamber floor. The ethereal fibers slip into the crimson mists. Through the aether rift, the immeasurable bond leading to the abstract prism drifts off into the dimensional sea, the weave of the massive cables decaying into the current.

The astronomical entity of organized chaos drifts back into the sparkling, swirling clouds of the ethereal beyond, and the aether rift shrinks. The translucent crimson sinks away, returning to its dimensional origin. The breach between realities seals in the silent seconds, the elder flows in the chamber fading. The final traces of red aether disperse with the dissipating orb in Bach's hand.

The chamber darkens. The last pulses of elder flow cease. Only the overhead sun lights the cavernous space.

Sebastian rushes over across the distance with the rest of the team. Assessing the situation, he spots Isaac and charges forth with the sword pointed forward. Isaac watches the blade approach. He drops down to his knees, tilts his head back, and closes his eyes. He expectantly waits. Seconds pass. Opening his gray eyes, he glances around at Sebastian, Dretphi, Sotalia, Aristespha, and Cideeda surrounding him from defensible positions. Cautiously approaching, Sebastian keeps the glowing Sword of the Spirit Realm ahead and at the ready. Stopping a meter short of Isaac, Sebastian carefully pokes the blade tip lightly into Isaac's jacket covered chest. "So..."

Isaac gazes up expectantly with a saddened grimace. Sebastian sighs sternly and frowns down at the man on his knees. "If you want to live, you need to drain every last spec of elder energy into this damned sword. Understand?"

Gripping onto the blade with both hands, Isaac bows his head forward and relents, devoid of resistance, pride, or drive. "Gladly... Take all this away... Please..."

A burst of elder flow erupts from Isaac and swiftly sinks into the blade. The energies light up the area. The overhead prismatic conduits waver. The sword vacuums up the last traces of power from Isaac. The conduits connecting the team break apart into clouds of fading miasma. The elder flames wane around Bach, and the torrents of flow weaken. The last flickers of energy disappear, the brilliant glow in Bach's eyes dims to a faint blue, and he shakily balances himself.

Sebastian eyes the blade in his hand and perks his brow. "So?"

"N-N-NO ELDER F-F-FLOWS DETECTED."

Tipping his head back, Sebastian chuckles in relief. "Oh thank the fucking gods."

He glances over towards Bach and watches his brother struggle to stay standing. Passing the sword to Aristespha and glancing over the rest of the team, he walks towards Bach. "Dear, put this away, please. Cideeda, secure HIM up. Dretphi, help Cideeda if HE gives her any grief. Sotalia... You have my permission to blast HIM if he tries ANYTHING."

Drawing a malevolent sneer on her light tan and dark gray face, Sotalia focuses her gold on black eyes upon Isaac and summons up energies into her hand. "OH. UNDERSTOOD."

Jogging over next to Bach, Sebastian grins proudly and chuckles. "Holy shit, bro! You did it! Um..."

He glances over at the remnants of a framework in the middle of a pile of magitech parts. "What did you do, exactly?"

Bach sways unsteadily and strains with each breath. "I... I just disconnected it. The anchor..."

with an exhausted smile, he gazes upon Sebastian and coughs a laugh out, his posture slacking. "Pull the release pin? I don't know... How to describe exactly. I'm not completely... Sure myself."

Slipping an arm underneath Bach's shoulder, Sebastian supports his brother and glances around the scattered obelisk scrap upon the chamber floor. "Damn... You really didn't leave much of that anchor thing. Probably for the best, I guess."

Leaning upon Sebastian, Bach smirks and weakly rolls his dimming blue eyes. "Yeah... No one should... Fuck with this shit... Just leave it to do its thing. Whatever that is..."

He pauses in thought and frowns sadly, his face paling. Mustering up his physical strength, he stands up enough and wraps his arms around his brother, hugging him tightly. "I love you, man."

Sebastian blinks in surprise. Hugging Bach back, he smiles, forming tears, and sniffs with a chuckle. "Love you, too, bro."

With his head on Sebastian's shoulder, Bach gazes wearily at Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. Struggling to keep a smile on his face, he closes his plain blue eyes and squeezes his brother tight. "I'm sorry..."

Furrowing his brow with a bit of confusion, Sebastian pats Bach on the back and reassures him. "It's okay, bro. We'll tell anyone that the obelisk blew up on its own."

The last curl of a smirk slacks away from Bach's mouth. A breath leaves in a single laugh. Bach loses the battle to keep his eyes open. Sebastian dips briefly, the full weight of Bach pulling upon him. Securing his hold of his brother, he supports him fully and smiles. "Well... Yeah, I guess you'd be tired after all that. Not going to fault you there-"

Foreboding terror springs up Sebastian's spine. He freezes in place and waits. Bubbling horror trickles out upon his face, and he focuses fully upon Bach. "Bach? Bach? BACH? BACH!!"

Pivoting in place clutching Bach tightly, Sebastian powers a frightened scream across the chamber that ricochets off the walls. "ARISTESPHA!"

The sword clatters upon the ground with the scabbard. Aristespha pushes through the sudden shock and spins around, searching for Sebastian with fully open violet eyes. Meeting Aristespha's stare, Sebastian trembles in horror and yells. "HE'S NOT BREATHING!"

Aristespha springs forth, dashing across towards the center of the chamber. Pushing through the panic, Cideeda's emerald green eyes dart around and spot Aristespha's medical bag. Vaulting over a piece of dark magitech machinery, she swipes her hand low, latches her claw tips into the fabric, and snatches up the supply pack. With Cideeda sprinting after Aristespha, Dretphi gazes over with overwhelming worry. With her free hand, Sotalia undoes her belt of pouches and holds it towards Dretphi. "Here!"

Dretphi glances at the belt and Sotalia. "Need to keep-"

Sotalia stares softly at Dretphi and motions towards those tending Bach. "Something might be useful in here, and they might need you to help. I've got Noxian covered."

Without another word, Dretphi plucks the belt of pouches out of Sotalia's hand and launches over towards the center of the room. Sotalia snaps her gold on black eyes upon Isaac, sharpens her hateful sneer, and summons up more power into her hand. "Try ANYTHING... And I'll feed what's left of you to some whelps."

Isaac glances up briefly at Sotalia with the faintest annoyance and returns his attention towards the gathering around Bach.

Aristespha scans over Bach upon the floor with her glowing violet eyes and checks his vitals, loudly muttering bewildered. "What is happening?! T-This does NOT make sense."

With trembling hands, Sebastian darts his terrified gaze at the laid out Bach. "I know! He looked tired, but that's to be expected! I mean... He was okay one moment. Then, he just stopped breathing and got cold the next."

His blue eyes spring open. "He said... I'm sorry..."

The color drains from his face. "Oh gods..."

Sebastian struggles against the surge of tearful emotions, and Dretphi gently slides him away. Aristespha wills up a tremendous amount of flow and presses it into Bach, gritting her teeth. "I am going to get basic life support going. Cideeda!"

Cideeda stiffens in place, her furry ears perking upright. "Yes?!"

Aristespha solemnly glances at Cideeda and grimaces grimly. "See if you can call the GAA or anyone that can fly a medical evac here."

With Cideeda deftly working on her aetherphone, Aristespha summons up her resolve with a tremor in her tone. "We need to get him to proper facilities. I can only do so much here..."

The faintest breaths slip through Bach's mouth under the magical assistance, and Cideeda hurriedly scans the frequencies. Isaac leans side to side, squinting through the brief gaps between the team around Bach. Sotalia hems coldly and adjusts her aim. Searching his own mind, Isaac catches a glimpse and a surge of recognition startles him. Frantically glancing around, Isaac stirs and curses to himself. Sotalia aims a glower down and flexes her empowered fingers slightly. "SIT. STILL."

Glaring upwards at Sotalia, Isaac grimaces through his irritation and fear. "I need to get over there!"

Sotalia scowls and puffs up her chest with the growing energies in her hand brightening. "And do what? Aristespha is doing what she can."

Stopping himself from rolling his eyes, Isaac takes a deep breath and calmly explains. "Yes, but this is something no medical professional has encountered for over two hundred years! This is a condition caused by elder energy... It can only be remedied by such! Take me and the sword over to him-"

Sotalia grits her teeth, narrowing her condemning glare, and growls out. "And give you a chance to escape with some crazy plan of yours? FUCK YOU! There's no way I'll-"

Isaac stares right into Sotalia's gold on black eyes. "Put your gods damned hatred for me aside! If you won't let me help, then just fire your spell already!"

Wincing with the memories of old, still sharp trauma, he genuinely pleads and bows his head. "I couldn't help my wife and daughter..."

He stares up at Sotalia, tears streaming down his face. "BUT, don't force me to watch Bach DIE when we just might have the means to save him."

Clarity tips Sotalia back. In the seconds of quiet between her and Isaac, she watches Aristespha struggle with containing the fear slipping out onto her calm, ivory face. Cideeda frantically calls out on the radio. Sebastian stares hopeless. Dretphi stoically tips the tears inside her helmet visor out of view. The magical energies fade from Sotalia's hand, and she grabs Isaac's shoulder. Leaning close, she growls sternly. "GET. UP."

Stopping to pick up the sword, Isaac and Sotalia rush over to the team. Sotalia interrupts any objections. "He said he can help!"

Isaac quickly follows up, kneeling down next to Bach. "The sword might be able to save Bach. It's got elder energy. Bach needs it. PLEASE. Let me try."

Meeting Isaac's genuinely worried gaze, Sebastian glances up at Sotalia. "Sotalia. Give him the sword. Please. I know it's-"

Without a word, Sotalia nods, twisting a pained grimace, and places the sword into Isaac's awaiting hands. Isaac begins his work, and Aristespha continues providing basic life support through her spells. Cideeda speaks over the static to someone else on the radio. Sotalia begins mixing up the potions with a reluctance at the forming dangerous concoction. Dretphi steadies Bach limp body and physically assists Aristespha's treatment. Sebastian awaits Isaac's next instruction.

Bach's form remains lifeless upon the cold floor. The post noon sun drifts beyond the roof opening. The chamber darkens.

...

..

.

-130-

"I... I do not know what to say. It would be great if you come back to us. Sebastian... He needs his brother. We all need you."

----

"Please. Wake up. Let me know... You are here... ... Do not go."

----

"If you can hear me, um... I, uh, hope you wake up soon. You still need to teach me more about magic. You can show me how to make those plates. Then, we can pawn them off on some con grifter, again... Yeah..."

----

"Gods... Don't lay there forever. ... Just so you know... You're still my... Hero."

----

"Come on, bro. Just wake up, please. Man... Don't bring me back and leave... We just got this all figured out... I love you."

----

In a dim hospital room, surrounding screens of vitals monitoring equipment trace out repetitious patterns of life. Hints of late morning light beam through the closed blinds and slowly drift down Sotalia's body. Unconsciously propping her head upon her palm, a faint snore rumbles up above the quiet medical facility drone. In her seat next to the hospital bed, she slumbers, and her fingers rest upon Bach's still hand. On the opposite side of the bed, Cideeda's emerald green eyes sort through different articles on her aetherphone. Pausing a moment from her browsing, a furry ear flicks over towards Bach. His chest gradually rises under the tucked medical bed linens, and Bach slowly exhales. The curls of a frown weigh the corners of Cideeda's mouth, and she quietly sighs, her attention settling back upon another news blurb. Her long fluffy tail coils up around her legs, and she draws them closer with a squirm, fitting herself upon the large chair. Standing at the end of the medical bed, Dretphi taps the channel button on the mounted television. Sighing somberly, she cycles through the different programs available, a vast sea of entertainment noise. Failing to find a distraction, she glances over her shoulder and sadly frowns at the unresponsive, unconscious Bach. She pulls her pained stare away and resumes her hunt for entertainment in the random channels available.

In the dull room, a faint twitch squeezes Bach's cheek. A few moments later, a longer breath slips into his lungs. The readings on the different medical equipment screens slowly shift into more active patterns. From cracked open eyelids, the various light sources within the dim room glints off of blue pupils. In the idle moments, twitches of life arise from Bach's still form. Consciousness fights to reach the surface, and purpose drives the sluggish gaze of blue eyes. Bach's stare wanders around the space in confusion, awareness gradually returning. He spots Dretphi near the foot of his bed, Sotalia snoozing in a chair at one side, and Cideeda idly sitting in another chair on the other side. Slowly turning his hand, he feels Sotalia's fingers rest within his palm. Pulling in a deep breath, he spots Cideeda's furry ears flick over. Cracking a weak smile, he meets Dretphi

’

s curious glance. Focusing upon his exhale, a single word forms, his hand tightening. "...hey..."

Sotalia startles awake with a flutter of her golden eyes. Dretphi's steely gray eyes widen in surprise. And, Cideeda snaps her emerald gaze over. Noticing the tightening grasp around her fingers, Sotalia blinks in astonishment and cranes her head over, confirming her hopes. Swiftly stepping to the side and moving in close, Dretphi presents a warm smile, holding back tears. Cideeda softly wraps her hand around Bach's forearm. Bach filters through the expectant attention and flutters his blue eyes open. "Am I... awake?"

Restraining herself, Sotalia squeezes Bach's hand gently and smiles brightly, holding back her tears. "Yes. Yes, you are."

Bach sorts through the haze of his mind. Cideeda rubs his arm, and her emerald eyes briefly meet Bach's blue. "Yeah... Hey. Um, welcome back."

Dretphi leans over from Cideeda's side of the bed and brushes a stray lock of white hair off to the side of Bach's face. "Happy to see you."

Quiet seconds later, Bach winces briefly and pulls in another long breath into his lungs. Blinking a few times, he searches around the room and ponders out loud, weakly furrowing his brow. "Okay... Um... Sorry... I'm really confused right now."

Sotalia smiles kindly against the surges of emotion and rests a hand upon Bach's shoulder. "Take your time. Really... We're just happy... you're awake."

With a hard swallow, Bach grimaces and exhales with an uncomfortable frown. "Could I... Get some water?"

Dretphi nods quickly, pivots swiftly, and rushes over towards the small bathroom connected to the hospital room. The faint background noise of water rushing out from a faucet sounds out, and she promptly returns with a paper cup in hand. Reflexively trying to lift his hand, Bach struggles reaching out and receiving the container with a shaky arm. Cideeda gently supports his arm, and Bach lowers it back down. He sighs in a mix of disappointment and mumbles. "Sorry... Just still feel really tired..."

With a warm smile, Dretphi carefully supports the back of Bach's head and readies the paper cup for him to drink. Pouring the container back, Bach sips the water and swallows all of it. A long sigh of relief escapes, and Dretphi rests Bach's head of longer brown hair back. Bach flutters his eyes into a new level of consciousness and wanders his focus between Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia with greater clarity in his voice. "Thank you."

Sotalia gently strokes his hand and smiles relieved. "So, um, how are you feeling?"

Bach furrows his brow in thought and squints momentarily. "Really tired. But... Good? All things considered. In one piece, so I got that going for me."

Biting her lower lip, Sotalia awkwardly chuckles into a sigh. "Please forgive us, but these are questions the staff told us to ask you when you woke up. What's your name?"

Lifting his brow barely, Bach curls a bit of amusement at the corner of his mouth. "Bach Nikola Warwick."

Nodding, Sotalia focuses her golden eyes upon Bach. "What year is it?"

Bach searches through his mind briefly and darts a hopeful gaze between everyone. "Thirty seventeen. At least, I hope so. Gods... How long have I been out?"

Dretphi meets Bach's confused glances and smiles reassuringly with a gentle pat on his shoulder. "Five days. Not long. Still the same year."

Sotalia breathes out her relief and cracks a sly grin. "Who's in charge of the GAA senate?"

Narrowing his annoyed, distant glare, Bach groans with a snort. "A bunch of self-important assholes."

Cideeda cracks a toothy grin and rolls her emerald green eyes playfully. "That's about the best answer you could have given."

Dretphi nods in agreement with a hint of a smirk. "Sarcasm. Good sign."

Glancing around the hospital room with a rising degree of awareness, Bach gazes between Sotalia, Dretphi, and Cideeda. "Where's my brother and Aristespha? I do remember, I got him back... I think..."

With a soft smile, Cideeda perks up, wagging the tip of her fluffy tail happily, and softly presses her claw tips upon Bach's forearm. "They left to take care of shipping the sword back to the Grand Library."

Bach nods slowly and cracks a smirk. "Make sense. So... Uh... What happened after I, uh... Yeah..."

Sorting through her thoughts, Sotalia straightens her posture in her chair. Moments later, she presents a strained smile towards Bach and uncomfortably sighs. "When you were in trouble. Nox- Well... Isaac, I guess technically, helped you. He brought you back and got you stable. After that, we managed to get hold of the GAA forces. They were able to get through after the barriers fell. You got rushed with Aristespha to here. And, we got an escort back to town."

Sifting through his head, Bach winces briefly and cautiously asks. "And... What happened to Isaac?"

Pulling another chair from nearby over, Dretphi sits down and meets Bach's curious gaze. "He is under GAA custody. VERY... Heavy guard. Have not heard further. Do not know what will happen to him. No longer a threat. Cooperative. Remorseful. Different now."

Cideeda perks up her furry ears and lifts an intrigued eyebrow. "Yeah, whatever happened between you and him shook him to his core. It's like he just... Gave up. Seems really strange after all he's done."

Processing the viewpoints, Bach blinks in surprise and glances between the three. "Wow... Wait... Five days? What day is it again?"

Dretphi cocks her head of platinum blond braids. "Saturday."

Bach blinks hard and squirms gradually upon the bed. "Oh, wow. Yeah. Five days. That'd make sense. I, uh..."

He shudders his head and flutters his blue eyes. "Damn. This all feels so weird. Sorry. Yeah... My brain feels like it's just catching up to everything."

With a calming smile, Sotalia leans close and rubs Bach's shoulder with a gentle voice. "Hey. It's okay. We're just really happy you're awake. Take your time. There's no rush. Really."

Bach draws in a few deep contemplative breaths and gazes appreciatively between the group. He flutters his blue eyes open wider and notices the hospital garments on him. "Where is my phone? I probably should really call Sebastian. Just let him know I'm okay and..."

Gritting her sharp teeth, Cideeda chuckles awkwardly with a roll of her emerald green eyes. "Well... We're going to need to get you a new phone. The amount of that power going through you fried your phone completely. I haven't been able to get it working at all."

She furrows her brow. "I tried EVERYTHING."

Reaching into her yoga pants pockets, Sotalia retrieves her phone and eyes Bach with a stern gaze. "You should call Sebastian and a few other people. But..."

She lifts an eyebrow and instructs calmly. "You really should call your parents first."

The notion stuns Bach. A nearby vital monitor records a brief fluctuation with a momentary alert chime. Shuddering back to awareness, Bach gasps and sinks into the pillows behind him further. "Oh gods. Mom. Dad. They've got to be so worried."

Dretphi nods her head and frowns with concern. "THAT was a HARD conversation for Sebastian. He had to talk them down from getting on the first flight down here from High Alton."

Cideeda agrees with a glance, and Bach gazes over at Sotalia and summons up the strength in his arms, moving around. "Yeah. Yeah... Call parents first. Then... I guess call Aristespha? Sebastian's electronics weren't working... That's what I remember."

Sotalia readies her phone, Bach recites a number from memory, Cideeda adjusts the pillows behind Bach, and Dretphi helps him sit up further.

----

Stepping out upon the wide city sidewalk, Sebastian walks out from the shipping company front door. With a cold wind blowing down the busy street, he slips his hands into the pockets of a jacket and shrugs up his shoulders against the late autumn chill. Hanging his head of coiffed brown hair, he stares at the pavement and his boots. Silent moments later, he grinds the toe of his shoes against the gritty surface of the sidewalk and shifts his weight between his feet. His distant stare drifts upwards towards the gray sky above, and he gradually releases a long sad sigh. He fights against a frown, maintaining a neutral expression, and relaxes his shoulders, the passing wind dying back down.

The glass front door to the shipping company opens, and Aristespha steps out. Fluffing up her fuzzy jacket, she steps up next to Sebastian and gazes over. "It is done."

Sebastian blinks back to awareness and cracks a relieved smirk, straightening his posture. "Good. One less thing to worry about now."

Aristespha searches Sebastian's face and spots the somber hints with her violet eyes. She reigns in some stray silvery blue hairs over her very long pointed ears and puts a warm smile on her ivory face. "Yes. It will be off towards the Grand Library by the afternoon on their first truck."

Curling a faint sneer of his upper lip, Sebastian grumbles to himself and shakes his head disdainfully. "Kind of wish you could pay extra for them to mishandle it on purpose. Maybe even have it, accidentally, lost in some warehouse for years."

A sinister, sly grin grows from the corner of Aristespha's mouth, and she leans close against Sebastian, whispering up into his ear "Oh. You can do that. That is why I demanded they needed to put Fragile stickers on all sides of the box. And, I explicitly stated, in the most indignant tone I could muster, that it be declared as a Magical Artifact on the manifest for customs."

Blinking his blue eyes in surprise, Sebastian turns his head towards Aristespha and settles a scrutinizing gaze upon her. Moments later, a loving smile appears on his face and leans in, giving her a peck on the cheek. "I love you, dear."

Aristespha perks up with a flush of color in her face and hooks her arm around his. "I love you, too, Sebastian."

The two glance down the sidewalk towards a parking lot and start walking down that direction. The two share the relative peace of the stroll side by side, and idly watch other people go on about their days. Traveling along, Aristespha watches sadness slip into and out of Sebastian. She maintains a small smile, wrestling against a frown attempting to appear. The two swiftly cross the city street intersection and walk towards the humvee parked tightly between the lines... And two other large vehicles. Aristespha and Sebastian stop behind the old military vehicle and bounce their perplexed glances between the two huge trucks on either side. Sebastian rolls his blue eyes and groans out loud, annoyed. "Well. That fucking figures. Park in the clearest spot away from everyone else. Of course, two people sandwich us in."

Aristespha furrows her brow and peeks around the sides, studying the very narrow passages between the vehicles. "How were they even able to exit their own trucks-"

She halts her thought process, and a phone chime rings out. She retrieves her aetherphone from her pants pocket. Checking the caller identification, she notices Sotalia's name and glances over at Sebastian. "It is Sotalia. They are probably figuring out what to do for lunch."

Sebastian nods and steps around the back of the humvee, inspecting the troubling automotive geometry. "Yeah... Um, I'm not all that hungry. So... Well, just order me another of what you're going to get."

Aristespha puts the phone against her ear and pivots around. "Hello?"

Her violet eyes spring wide open, a familiar voice sounding out, and she muffles a gasp of shock. Gazing at Sebastian too focused upon the parking puzzle, she whispers softly with an elated smile. "How are you feeling?"

She nods, traces of Bach's voice rising up from the background noise. "Good. That is an excellent sign. It is just good to hear your voice. Oh! Give me one moment, I am going to put you on speakerphone."

Swiftly stepping right next to Sebastian, Aristespha hooks an arm, pulling him close, and taps an on screen button on the aetherphone between them. "You are on."

Sebastian blinks blankly and glances confused at the phone. Bach's voice sounds out from the speakerphone. "Hey..."

A rush of joy fills Sebastian's face, and he excitedly speaks at the device. "Bro? BRO! You're awake? I mean, yeah, it sounds like it, right?"

A weak chuckle filters in from the other side of the call, and Bach dons a playfully sarcastic tone. "No, I'm getting really good at sleep talking. No, man. I'm awake. Just waiting for everything to catch up. It's been really weird, but I'm feeling a lot better. A little tired still, but I haven't actually eaten anything yet..."

With a thoughtful pause, he chuckles softly. "Or, for like... A few days? Wow."

A bright smile on his tan face, Sebastian supports Aristespha's hand under the aetherphone and leans close. "It's just awesome you're up. Mom and Dad are going to be so relieved-"

Bach interrupts with an awkward laugh. "They are. I just got off the phone with them. That was an... Interesting conversation. That everyone got to hear."

Sotalia's voice chimes in from the background on the other side of the call. "We learned new things about you two!"

A wince of embarrassment briefly silences Sebastian, and he sighs with an uneasy chuckle. "Uh, yeah. Good. Great. Well, thanks for calling them first."

Bach sighs over the speakerphone. "Yeah. It was Sotalia's idea. Figured it was the least I could do."

Sebastian perks up and grins eagerly, eyes down the city street. "Hey, bro. We just got done shipping the sword back to the Grand Library. Once we figure out how to get out of the parking lot, we'll be right over. Okay?"

Pausing a moment, Bach dons a curious, slightly confused tone. "Um... What do you mean figure out how to get out of the parking lot?"

Cideeda's voice chimes in from the other side of the call. "Yeah, what happened?"

Aristespha grumbles with a trailing groan and rolls her violet eyes in disgust. "We have been penned in by two large trucks on either side. I MIGHT be able to slide in, but I do not know how I am going to possibly get the door open."

Dretphi sounds out from the speakerphone. "Back hatch."

Sebastian blinks at the suggestion, glances at the rear end of the humvee, and cracks a smirk. "That's probably our best bet there. We'll figure it out and be over soon."

Bach chuckles lightly. "Good luck. Love ya, man."

Sebastian smiles softly. "Love you, too, bro."

The call ends. Aristespha puts away her aetherphone and pauses, her very long ear twitching at sniffing noises next to her. She turns her head and watches the first tears leave Sebastian's blue eyes. Meeting her gaze, Sebastian sheepishly starts to mouth out an apology. Aristespha swiftly embraces him and hugs him tightly. Guiding his head down onto her shoulder, she strokes the back of his head and whispers softly. "It is okay..."

Holding her tight, Sebastian sobs quietly and pulls in a few gasps of air. He gradually composes himself and softly whispers. "Sorry... It's just... Finally... Gods. It's done. Just done. Everything is right..."

With a sniff, he smirks. "Well, I mean, right enough."

Aristespha holds the sides of Sebastian's face and smiles lovingly at him with a faint glint of water in her eyes. "Yes. It is so nice. I... I am just happy."

She gently tilts Sebastian's head down and kisses him. Both staring into each other's eyes in the quiet moment, Aristespha wipes the tears off of Sebastian's face. She cracks an eager grin and chuckles. "Well... Now, let us figure out how to get out from between these damned trucks and get over there."

Both stare over at the humvee. Aristespha unlocks the back hatch with the key, and Sebastian hoists it open. Sebastian studies the approach, stepping up. "This shouldn't be too much of a squeeze."

Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and climbs up on the bumper towards the far back seat. "So says the man that keeps running into walls and doors."

Sebastian narrows an amused gaze at Aristespha pulling herself over the back seat. "You try being immaterial for a few months. This whole being solid thing takes a little getting used to again."

The two crawl over the far back seat and awkwardly tumble into the aisle. A moment of laughing themselves later, they help each other to the front of the humvee.

----

In the living room of the two story house, Chad, Trakenthin, Tassilda, Modoran, and Deedri lounge upon the sectional sofa and watch a game show on the television. Chad glances over at Trakenthin and narrows his brown eyes at him. "Seriously? That's what that word means?"

Trakenthin perks his eyebrow and nods slowly, shrugging slightly. "Yes. Feeling of the inevitable end that prompts joy in contrast to sadness."

Tilting his head away in disbelief, Chad starts to open his mouth, and the host announces the answer.

"The correct choice was, A. A feeling of the inevitable end that prompts joy in contrast to sadness."

Chad blinks blankly and tips back into his seat in surprise. "Damn. Grath really has words for EVERYTHING."

A proud smirk sneaks out the corner of Trakenthin's dark bronze face, and he chuckles softly, satisfied. A chime rings out from Tassilda's aetherphone, and she swiftly picks it up from the cushion next to her. Her light blue on black eyes quickly scan over the message, and she eagerly taps out a response with a warm smile. Modoran cracks a humored grin and lifts up his eyebrow. "So, how's Daedrican doing?"

Pausing mid typing, Tassilda wrestles down a twinge of embarrassment, smirking. "He's doing fine. The Chrome Crusaders are currently assisting the GAA in doing some hazard containment in the area around that perimeter wall. They ran into a few isolated pockets of those drones that still had enough power to operate."

Modoran works a cringe off his dusky bluish gray face and settles back into the couch with a nonchalant smile. "Well. I am glad they are taking care of them. I think we had more than enough of our fill of those things."

Squeezing her arms tighter around Modoran, Deedri snuggles up closer and flicks her furry, tufted ears. "I still don't understand why they had chainsaws and buzz saws."

Furrowing her fair brow, her auburn eyes search through the front of her mind, and she frowns in stale disgust. "Who thought that was a good idea? Let's give these flying magical bots almost-weapons and hope no one ever reprograms them to go after people. Ungh... Gods..."

Modoran smiles with his dark blue eye gaze upon Deedri, and Deedri flicks up her fluffy tail, rolling her auburn eyes. "Oh, well. I'm glad we took a bunch of those things out."

Tassilda twists her mouth and groans in understanding, pulling her raven black hair over her swirling horns. "That is exactly the same sentiments that Daedrican and his team had. He sent me pictures they took while checking out the route we traveled."

Straightening her posture pridefully, she dons a proud grin on her gray, patterned face, and giggles to herself. "He asked if it was some of my work."

Chad slumps his shoulders and sighs. "After all the paperwork we had to fill out for the GAA, we should take some credit for it."

Furrowing his brow, Trakenthin focuses a scrutinizing stare at Chad. "Generous for them to enroll us as contractors... Post engagement."

Slowly shifting his brown eyes, Chad combs his hand through his short brown hair and uneasily chuckles with a stiff grin. "I think the word you are looking for is... Merciful. Gods... That conversation with Captain Hackle was one I hope to never have with another government official again."

Sniffing in a strained breath, he exhales with a shake of his head. "I've never been explained in such exacting detail how badly we were legally fucked, by such a calm, calculated man."

Modoran blinks his dark blue eyes a moment and settles a humored grin towards Chad. "Speaking of fucked, have you told your dad about the SUV yet?"

Slowly opening his brown eyes wider, Chad swallows hard and breaths out a trailing groan. "Yeah... I really need to do that. At some point... Probably tonight. I just really wanted a few days of..."

He draws in a long breath through his nose and sighs out. "Not being in some kind of trouble."

A wave of shared commiseration washes over the team and different variations of uneasy expressions appear. Tassilda hoists up an annoyed eyebrow. "I am not going to lie. As convenient as delivery has been, I wish we were able to get some groceries without it costing so much extra for the taxi service."

Deedri snorts and quells a rising growl in her tone. "You'd think they could let us borrow one of those crew vans. They're just sitting around next door anyway."

Chad rolls his eyes and shrugs his shoulders. "Yeah... But, Samantha was FURIOUS about us escaping. I haven't even been able to convince any of the crew to even run to the store for us. So, I think being able to stay here until the end of the month is about all we're going to get from the show."

In the lull of conversation, attention returns to the game show on the television. Minutes later, a phone alert sounds out, and Deedri startles out of her embrace of Modoran. Fishing the device out of her pants pocket, she taps through the menus and opens up the latest message. Her auburn eyes read the message. A surge of excitement fluffs out her tail, and she eagerly springs up in her seat, surprising Modoran. "He's awake!"

Attention from the room snaps over to her, and Deedri shows the display of her phone with pictures of Bach at the hospital with different team members surrounding. "Bach is awake!"

Chad and Trakenthin get up from their seats and lean in for a better view of the phone images. Tassilda and Modoran crane their heads over and peek. The group shares their excitement and relief. From upstairs, Veevi quietly steps down and curiously peeks around at the uproar. Chad spots Veevi out of the corner of his eye, glances over his shoulder, and smiles at Veevi. "Hey. Sorry for being so loud."

Veevi tenses briefly and averts her pink pupil eyes around. "Oh, um... No problem at all. I just heard all the loud noise and wondered what was going on."

Turning the screen back to her view, Deedri happily paraphrases the message. "Bach woke up this morning. He is aware, talking, and eating. So, really good signs for being unconscious for almost a week."

A genuine smile appears on Veevi's tan face and her pink furred tail wags. "That's great!"

Narrowing her uneasy gaze off to the side, she grimaces with hints of disgust. "I hope they got him something good to eat. The clinic food... Um... Yeah."

Following her curiosity, Deedri squints at her phone screen and wrestles a faint frown. "Oh... That's definitely the standard nutrient shake. I can tell by the look on his face. But, he should be on regular food soon."

The rest of the team peeks at the different pictures. Chad steps back and pulls out his aetherphone. Opening up the camera app, he lines up a shot of the group and snaps a few pictures. He pauses, feeling a soft tap on his shoulder. Glancing over, he meets Veevi's smile. "Yes?"

Veevi points him over towards the rest of the group and holds out her hand. "Go over with them. I'll take a few pictures for you."

Chad nods thankfully and hands over his phone. Sneaking a few pictures of the team gathering around, Veevi gets their attention for some more purposeful shots.

----

Late morning light slips through the blinds and drifts slowly across the bed sheets. Sebastian flutters his blue eyes open, wincing against the brightening room, and fights a losing battle against a yawn. Slipping his hands out from under the sheets, he wipes the remaining sleep from his eyes and glances around the room. He groggily pulls himself up from the pillow and props himself upon his elbows. Consciousness dwelling within him again, he notices the disturbed covers and the empty spot next to him on the bed. He ponders a moment and angles his head, hearing faint noises bouncing down the hallway through the cracked open bedroom door. Nodding to himself, he draws in a long, slow, deep breath. Filling his chest full, he holds in the air and slowly releases it back out. Simple satisfaction radiates through Sebastian, and a relieved smile grows on his face. Sitting up all the way, he stretches out his bare arms and twists his upper body towards the furthest ranges of motion. A few strained grunts later, he relaxes and idly watches the warm sunlight slip into the space. He distracts himself, flexing his limbs with a renewed appreciation for the physical.

Soft footsteps on wooden floors echo faintly down the hall. Aristespha peeks into the room from the doorway and smiles lovingly at Sebastian. "Good. You are finally awake."

Sebastian rubs the back of his head and chuckles sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry, dear. I'm used to you waking me up from the sword and all. I really need to get a new phone, so I set an alarm once again."

With a gentle giggle, Aristespha rolls her violet eyes. "There is nothing to worry about, Sebastian. We do not have anywhere to be right now."

Idly rubbing his legs through the covers, Sebastian quirks his brow and listens intently. "Is it really quiet to you? It may have been the sword's strange senses or something, but it's usually a little noisier when everyone is up."

Aristespha slowly pushes the door behind her closed and smiles warmly on her ivory face. "Oh. Yes. Everyone else headed out to get some errands done. They are also going to take Bach some real food, since he has been cleared to enjoy such. Also, they are bringing a change of his clothes, so he has something other than the patient gown to come home in tomorrow."

A faint frown curls at the corner of Sebastian's mouth, and he crosses his arms across his light tan, defined chest. "Oh. Yeah. That makes sense. It's gotten really cold lately. Wouldn't want my bro to quite literally freeze his ass off..."

Deftly pulling the knot in the drawstring of her pajama bottoms loose, Aristespha perks her brow and directs a curious tone towards Sebastian. "Anything wrong?"

Sebastian rolls his blue eyes halfheartedly to the side and dismisses the notion with a shrug. "I'm just surprised they didn't wait and ask me if I wanted to come along. That's all."

Slipping off her pajama bottoms, Aristespha steps closer to the bed with a sly smirk and soothing tone. "That would be my fault. They did ask me, and I told them you would be busy today."

Furrowing his brow, Sebastian's blue eyes stare inwards. He sorts through a rush of thoughts and cocks his head. "Busy today? Wait, what's going on today-"

He squints at recent memories and cocks his head to the side, holding up a finger. "Shit. Did I forget something? Damn it, don't tell me, I should know it then... There's been a lot to keep track of..."

Letting her sleeping top drape down past her pale ivory hips, Aristespha shakes out her silvery blue hair and smiles lovingly at Sebastian. "It is nothing planned, so to speak. I just wanted to take advantage of an opportunity to... Take care of SOMETHING... We have NOT done in a LONG TIME."

Frantically searching his mind, Sebastian blinks between each confused twinge and spark of bewilderment. He mutters to himself quietly. "...we haven't done in a long time? ...what... ...shit... ...um..."

Grasping the bottom of her top, Aristespha gracefully pulls it over her head and off. She stands with a sultry gaze focused upon Sebastian and poses her athletic, gray and blue hinted figure suggestively next to the foot of the bed. Lifting her brow briefly in disbelief, she watches Sebastian ponder obliviously in an endless loop of fruitless memory searches. Resting her hands on her bare hips, she rolls her violet eyes with a humored smirk. A moment later, she settles her loving gaze upon Sebastian and smiles happily. Glancing over at her pajama top still in her grip, she starts to spin the garment up to speed and lines up a shot.

Sebastian's train of thought screeches to a halt, the night shirt engulfing his face. In the moment, he startles and blindly darts his fabric covered glances around, mumbling. "What the-?"

He pulls the shirt off and glances down, spotting a pair of familiar thighs on the bed with a knee on each side of his legs. Sebastian's blue eyes trace up the familiar figure, and Aristespha's hands grip his shoulders. She pushes him onto his back. The obvious conclusion arrives in Sebastian's mind, and he cracks a sly smile. "Oh. Yeah."

Aristespha snorts out a quick laugh and shakes her head of long, silvery blue hair, draping down to the sides of Sebastian's face. "Gods. I am so glad we managed to get you out of that sword. I would be afraid of what else you might start forgetting."

Twisting a bit of embarrassment on his face, Sebastian chuckles. "Yeah. You know, I just need a good refresher course... Or two..."

He lifts up a guilty eyebrow. "Three?

Leaning her face close, Aristespha giggles and whispers. "Well. Do you want your refresher course before or after breakfast?"

Sebastian dons a smug smile and rests his hands on Aristespha thighs with a confident tone. "Yes."

A seductive grin graces Aristespha's lips, and she kisses Sebastian. "Good answer."

----

A faint drone sounds out from the split unit air conditioner mounted on the wall in the living area. The warm air currents drift through the space and gently sway the corners of paperwork laying upon the sunlit coffee table. A tablet upon the dining table chimes with another notification, and a slowly blinking light signals out to the surrounding world. From behind the kitchen door to the garage, a muffled, mechanical rumble sounds out. Peaking briefly over the din, a whine of vehicle powerplant spins down into the background noise.

A minute of relative quiet later, a dull thud sounds out from the door with a mumbling curse. Laughs and snickers accompany the rattling of the door knob. Stepping through into the kitchen, Sebastian rubs his forehead and groans at himself. "I'm STILL getting used to having to open these things! I have to admit not having to worry about doors was actually a useful perk of being some kind of projection ghost thing or whatever."

Climbing up the few stairs to the doorway, Bach walks out into the kitchen and glances over towards his brother with an amused grin. "So, how many walls have you run right into?"

Narrowing a brief playful glare at Bach, Sebastian rolls his blue eyes dismissively and sighs. "Way more than I want to admit. Seriously, bro, it's been a weird experience having to worry about physical barriers again."

Bach grants an understanding nod at Sebastian and idly wanders out next to the dining table, gazing around the space. Aristespha steps past Bach and flops a binder of paperwork onto the sprawling pile on the tabletop. "It never ceases to amaze me how much release paperwork they can materialize from seemingly nowhere."

Gripping the back of a dining chair, Bach surveys the chaotic mess upon the table and furrows his brow, curiosity leading his investigative gaze. "Well, I mean... I was there for a week, under circumstances I'm sure the GAA didn't fully reveal. They probably really didn't want me to leave so soon."

Aristespha smiles reassuringly and pats Bach gently on the back. "It was just for observation at this point. Which I can handle, and let you sleep in a proper bed and eat good food."

She stacks up paperwork and organizes it off the tabletop, smirking slyly. "Unless, you absolutely want to enjoy any more of the fine cuisine they had on their menu."

Quelling a cringe down into an uncomfortable grimace, Bach laughs uneasily and shudders with his memory. "Yeah... I'll pass."

Stepping right next to Bach with a gentle lean, Cideeda places two large paper bags with the Fval Spice logo upon the table and glances up at Bach. "I think your favorite is at the top of one of these."

Bach smiles appreciatively and peeks into the sacks. Sorting through the contents, he places out the different packages of warm food upon the tabletop and creates some order with the abundance of dishes. "Damn. Did we leave them anything to serve their other customers?"

Dretphi steps up close to the table and lays out large entree pans upon the surface with Aristespha scooping up another bundle of documents into a growing mass. With a warm smile, Dretphi gazes at Bach. "We got large servings. You seemed hungry yesterday."

With a chuckle, Bach shrugs his shoulders, scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair. "Yeah... Those protein shakes, or whatever, they had for me... It didn't really do much to fill me up."

Sotalia struts through the door with a cardboard beverage holder in each hand and places them on the counter near the bar. "Okay! Get your drink orders here."

She picks up her colorful drink with an elaborate order ticket still hanging on and stares over the small banquet forming on the dining table. Sipping the first tastes of her beverage, she blinks her golden eyes and perks up. "Oh. We are going to need some plates to handle this. Let me get them out."

The prep work activity peaking, Bach steps clear and wanders over towards his brother standing with the television remote in hand. "What are you doing?"

Sebastian glances over and slides his attention back over towards the programming on the television. "Just seeing what's there to watch."

He leans close to Bach and whispers with a smile. "It's also kind of nice to be able to choose what I want to watch rather than hope someone else is watching something I want to."

Bach nods with smirk. "Yeah. I bet that had to be rough."

Sebastian shakes his head and snorts out a laugh. "Not as bad as not having a phone that I could use by myself. To be fair, Aristespha has been awesome letting me use hers to talk to mom and dad. But..."

He draws in a long breath through his nose and sighs slowly. "Bro, the amount of embarrassing details mom has revealed about our family... OH... GODS..."

Directing a loving smile towards Aristespha, Sebastian chuckles to himself. "Well, if THAT hasn't scared off Aristespha, nothing will."

A moment later, Bach perks his brow and nudges Sebastian back in the shoulder. "So, what kind of phone are you going to get? I mean, we're both in the market for them now."

Pausing in thought, Sebastian awkwardly twists his mouth indecisively. "Ah, shit. I don't know, bro. I think I'll just go with whatever Cideeda suggests. I've been out of the loop on all that since it was pointless for me to worry about it. She actually keeps up with all that."

Nodding in agreement, Bach briefly grits his teeth. "Yeah, me too. Sad part is that I just was figuring out that last one. I was customizing my background and color scheme, finally."

Rolling his blue eyes, Sebastian snorts and whispers at Bach. "That's Murphy for you. Figure something out, you end up having to get a new one."

He pauses his channel surfing on the local news and focuses his concern upon Bach. "Hey... I know this might be too soon to ask given everything. But... How's things going magically with you? I know a lot of crazy stuff happened and..."

Bach blinks at the question for a moment and swiftly realizes the aim of inquiry. "Oh! Yeah. Um. I think it's good? When I got a few moments free from the doctors, I tried a few small things."

With a bit of hope, Sebastian awaits expectantly. "And?"

Smiling confidently, Bach rests a hand on Sebastian's shoulder and nods. "Seems to all work. Felt about the same as it was before. So, I don't think there's been any great change in the normal magic department. So, that's good? I have to experiment and practice, but so far... It feels just normal as before."

Furrowing his brow, Sebastian glances around briefly and bows his head slightly. "What about the elder magic department?"

Squinting his stare internally, Bach's blue eyes search around himself, and he sighs uncertainly. "It's... There. I don't... I don't know how to describe the feeling. It feels... A little more distant? Well, maybe not crowding me as much? Less intense? I don't know. It just doesn't feel as stifling. Like I'm able to breathe easier."

He turns his head, gazes into Sebastian's eyes, and grins happily. "And gods... I am SO okay with that."

Sebastian smiles, a wave of relief washing over him, and laughs. "I bet. Holy shit. You really NEVER need to do anything like what happened again. Please."

Shaking his head, Bach groans out a mix of disgust and stale frustration. "Yeah. Some other group can take on the next Dark Lord. We've fulfilled our gods damned quota in the save the world department, as far as I'm concerned. I ain't planning on being in that situation ever again."

He halts, a thought jumping to the front of his mind, and narrows a wary stare at Sebastian. "So... What's the situation between all of us and the GAA military? I've been meaning to ask that, but kinda didn't want to bring up with everything else happening. I mean, are we good with them? Or...?"

Slowly nodding, Sebastian hisses in a long breath through gritting teeth and pivots towards Aristespha. He motions towards a tall stack of paper packets and calls out. "Oh, dear? Which one of those releases is Bach's?"

Aristespha follows the attention from Bach and Sebastian, sifts the small mountain of paperwork, and plucks out stapled mass. She dangles it and grins with a sarcastic tone. "You get one, too, Bach! This one right here. It needs ALL your signatures."

In a chorus of commiserating snickers and chuckles, Bach frowns in defeat and sighs. "Well. Fuck."

Sebastian pats Bach on his back and shrugs his shoulders. "It's not that bad. Basically, don't talk or write about what you saw or did there until such a time it is officially declassified and you have been officially informed so."

Bach rolls his blue eyes and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I wasn't going to do THAt, anyway. I guess that works out, since I don't think anyone would quite believe it. Just really didn't need some government paperwork to keep me honest about it. So much for staying off any lists."

Near the small impromptu buffet, Dretphi motions Bach towards the plates and smiles warmly. "Bach. You are first. Eat."

With a guiding push from Sebastian, Bach steps up to his spot in the line. He scans over the selection and fills a plate with a bountiful collection of food. The team filters around the table, sampling the different Fval Spice dishes and eagerly loading up. The group finds spots around the area to settle their plates and cups upon. Bach wanders over to the couch and slips in behind the coffee table, clearing a spot out. He sits down and leans back into the cushions. Sebastian drops down next to him and jokingly shoulder shoves him.

The television screen flashes to a local news intro sequence and imagery of a familiar tower, walls, and surrounding ancient platforms. Bach quirks his brow, cocking his head to the side. "Huh, looks like they're going to do some kind of segment about that tower and all."

Interest in the programming piques and quickly draws everyone else in. Dretphi sits next to Bach on the couch, Cideeda hops up on a couch arm, Aristespha leans against the other arm near Sebastian, and Sotalia lounges out on the golden stabilized magical chair nearby. Sebastian turns up the volume of the program. Rolling her golden eyes, Sotalia points a fork with a hanging noodle towards the screen and crosses her legs, settling into her seat further. "How much do you want to bet they downplay our involvement?"

Lowering her furry ears, Cideeda nods with a grumble and balances herself on the arm of the couch. "OH, they WILL. After what we had to sign, you bet they're going to put themselves first and take most of the credit. It's not like we're going to be able to say anything about it to the contrary."

Dretphi shrugs and dons an indifferent stoic smirk. "It is fine. Would not want to have to deal with the attention. Obscurity is not bad."

Shaking his head, Sebastian chuckles and glances down for the next morsel on his plate. "Yeah. It's not like we're ever going to be hard pressed to get work after all this. We're going to have our choice of some exclusive guild postings for quite some time now."

Aristespha smiles lovingly at Sebastian and swirls her drink. "Of course, we will worry about that AFTER we have a nice long vacation. I have already been researching some lovely resorts. I have actually gotten a few recommendations from Deedri."

On the display, the news anchor recounts the minor events leading up to the main segment. Bach wanders his gaze around the room. Aristespha, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sotalia, and Sebastian comment to each other about random bits, the stories playing out, in between bites of food. In the middle of the gathering, Bach sits. A genuine, content smile grows upon his light tan face, and he gazes upon all the friends around with new, fresh satisfaction. In a lull of the surrounding conversations, he takes the opportunity and joins in on the commentary.

A colorful transition segment on screen plays out, and the anchor on the television clears his throat.

"Today, the GAA has released an official statement about the events that occurred in the Eagle Rock province. Following extensive GAA military investigations and the efforts of multiple contractors, the Dark Lord Noxian was located. While his actions activated previously unknown ancient ruins, his efforts were ultimately thwarted. The GAA lead a containment operation, with the assistance of the adventuring parties The Flames of the Phoenix and, the previous Chosen One of The Sword of the Spirit Realm, Sebastian Warwick's team, and managed to subdue any immediate dangers. The area will remain under GAA jurisdiction until a time that it has been deemed safe, where it will be returned to local authorities to police and maintain. The Dark Lord Noxian was captured and presently remains in GAA custody."

"We at Nexus News would like to thank the GAA military and all supporting groups for their bravery in finally apprehending the Dark Lord and protecting all from dangers unknown. It certainly must have been a long, involved journey. We wish them luck in their future adventures."

Warm overhead sun coats the tall waving grasses flowing across the field. With a gentle wind coasting over the tops of the thin stalks, a section bends down out of sight in front of a growing trail. Faintly peaking over the ambient drone of air sifting through the new green leaves in the trees, friction of movement and soft clatters of polymer sound out at the front of the freshly sunken path. Another swath of grass falls down close to the base of a tall hill. A pair of dark brown eyes peek just above the dense green blades and search through the thin stalks above. Checking around the vicinity, Gerald adjusts his camouflaged hat and searches his jacket pocket. He pulls out his aetherphone, taps through the security, and squints at a digital map.

Tucking back stray dark blonde hairs under his cap, his eyes sift through the topological data, and he twists his mouth in contemplation. Glancing towards distant hills, mountains, and other surrounding landmarks, he nods confidently to himself and puts the aetherphone away. He crawls slowly up the slope of the hill and gently elbows the full pack into the center of his back. Nearing the crest, he stops and blinks in surprise. He angles his ear towards the top of the ridge, and his eyes dart around his mind, hearing the soft noises. Gripping the ground in front of him, he slides himself up cautiously and raises his head for a clear view.

The breeze rushes up the other side of the incline, swaying patches of colorful flowers, and blows around Gerald's face. Drifting through the air, happy chirps, playful growls, and excited squeaks float up from the gently sloped field. Gerald's dark brown eyes widen, and he eases off his pack to the side. Maintaining a careful watch down the hill, he silently unzips his backpack and reflexively pulls out a camera. Switching the device on, he aims the lens towards activity and peers through the viewfinder. Near the bottom of the hill in a field bordered by a forest, five young dragons play in the clearing.

The light from the clear sky reflects off different coats of blue scales and warm the small, emerging bony plates on their bodies. One small dragon lazily sprawls out upon a bed of flowers, stretching his large pair of wings on back with his smaller pair lower down. It opens his small maw into a long yawn, bites off a large flower, and chews. Two young dragons square up, flutter their wings, and kick up clods of dirt. Managing only squeaky roars, the pair butt their heads against armor plating and get into a pushing match. Another young dragon charges in bounding leaps, strains with flapping its wings, and barely musters a momentary coast, flopping into the tall grasses. The final draconic pup sits calmly and wanders its attention around the field, spotting flits of activity from butterflies and other insects.

An excited grin grows wide on Gerald's face. He deftly dials in the zoom and focus on the attached lens and triggers the camera repeatedly. His aim shifts between the napping dragon, the pair play fighting, and the one struggling to fly. Finishing the first round of pictures, Gerald's hand snakes into his backpack and feels around for the familiar, gripping hold of a larger lens. With deft motions, he carefully swaps out the attachments and resumes hunting for the right shot. Shifting his attention between the different young blue scaled dragons, he adjusts settings and captures picture after picture.

Gerald captures another set of images from the previous group and levels his aim at the dragon idly watching over the field. A few photos later, he waits patiently. The young dragon turns its head and gazes over another section of the field, Gerald taking a stream of photos. The dragon blinks its yellow eyes and continues to turn its head around, lazily glancing behind. An eager smile brightly shines on Gerald's face, and he captures another chain of pictures, the creature gazing up the hill. Excitement overtakes Gerald and drives his tweaks to the aim, zoom, and focus. The young dragon narrows a curious stare directly at the glint of the lens.

A loud series of frustrated chirps rumble into irritated growls. Gerald swings his camera and focuses upon the playfully fighting duo of dragons. They wrestle around into tumbles and feline raking kicks. The two break away into pacing around each other and snorting. Gerald snaps his aim back to the watchful dragon.

He finds an empty spot.

Searching around where he last saw the critter, Gerald scans between the lazy one, the sparring duo, and the one bounding around. Panning his aim just above the tall grasses, he hunts around for the fifth one. He furrows his brow with the emerging concern on his face and grimaces briefly. "...where are you..."

A blurry object appears in the optical viewfinder, and Gerald startles back to awareness. He tilts his head away from behind the camera and gazes ahead. The watchful dragon lifts his head up to a meter off ground and narrows a curious stare upon Gerald. Two maintain a long stretch of still eye contact. The young dragon cocks its head, perking his brow, and chirps. Gerald blinks blankly and glances around awkwardly.

The dragon's attention shifts to the lens hood. Leaning his head down slowly with an opening maw, it moves its mouth closer to the polymer shroud. Gerald angles the device away from the curious, sharp teeth with an awkward smile. The young dragon follows the end of the lens with an open maw. Gerald tries to lead the camera assembly away from the determined mouth of sharp teeth. A faint breeze blows up the hill behind Gerald. The young dragon halts the chase and sniffs the air. Its yellow eyes follow its nose and settle upon the backpack. Gerald glances at the pair of hungry eyes, his backpack next to him, and back at the intrigued creature.

Watching the initial light rakes of claw tips over his pack, Gerald winces and eases out a defeated sigh. He carefully reaches out his hand under the observant stare of the young dragon, grips a zipper for a bulging pouch, and pulls it open. A cascade of colorfully wrapped trail bars spill out. The watchful dragon's eyes widen, and it drops his head, sniffing deeply the treasures. It lifts its head up, glances around, and stares briefly at its siblings down the other side of the hill. A moment of eye contact with Gerald later, it snatches up a wrapped granola bar into its maw and chews into the treat. Faint purrs of delight rumble out, the young dragon savoring each moment. With a swallow, it studies the flavor themes on the wrappers and wanders its nose between the bountiful selection.

Gerald ponders a moment at the situation. With a sneaky smirk, he cautiously drags his backpack away from the young dragon enjoying the treats. Catching a glimpse of the yellow eyes locking an avaricious glare upon him, he tosses the remaining trail bars out of the pouch into the pile in front of the dragon. With a satisfied snort from the draconic child, Gerald sorts through his gear and retrieves a different lens. A quick equipment swap later, Gerald slides a little down the hill, aims his camera, and starts taking picture after picture of the young dragon deliberating on which treat to enjoy next. The small dragon drags a cutting claw tip over the crinkly wrapper and uses its dexterous paws to pull out the granola bar from the cover. Emerging satisfaction lights up the draconic face, and a greedy grin grows wide.

Four other pairs of dragon eyes pop up over the crest of the hill. Angry barks sharply lead into a sibling squabbling. The watchful dragon plops down upon its horde, wrapping wings and tail around it. The others spit out irritated whines, chirps, and snorts between each other. The heated conversations spike louder and louder, until the watchful one roars out. Its yellow eyes bounce between the awaiting glares of its brethren. Ducking its head down, it rummages around. With an indignant toss, a granola packet flops between the gathered four blue scaled, bony plated siblings. One cocks its head and curiously chitters back. The watchful one snorts back defiantly.

Another explosion of squabbling resonates out into the area. Backing into a strategic retreat, Gerald snaps a few more photos, sliding his backpack away from the fighting draconic children, and backs a meter away himself. A few more meters further away, Gerald settles back down and braces his camera. He triggers shot after shot of the heated conversations between the draconic children. With patience wearing thin, the previously sparing duo pair up to try to roll over the watchful dragon to its screaming protest. Caught up the moment, Gerald snaps another series of pictures, a shade sliding over him.

The cooling darkness pulls Gerald's attention away from the camera. He squints at the clear, cloudless horizon in the distance. Furrowing his confused brow, he studies at the oddly shaped shade around him. Tilting his head up, he finds a large pair of bright green eyes staring right through him. Color leaves Gerald's face, and he remains motionless. A powerful gust rushes around him from the nostrils of the huge armor plated head of a massive blue scaled, bony plated, four winged dragon. Faint trembles rattle the end of Gerald's camera, the monstrous being studying him. Spotting the camera in Gerald's hand, the huge dragon pauses in thought and lifts an eyebrow with an intrigued, slow laugh.

Another loud bout of draconic squabbling screeches out from the children. The old dragon rumbles out a series of growls and snorts, and the young ones freeze in place. Carefully stepping around Gerald, the massive beast calmly walks up to the young dragons along the crest of the hill. With a fatherly stare upon them all, the children wisely back away from the fought over pile of granola and shredded wrappers. Narrowing his bright green eyes upon Gerald, the huge dragon sighs. "My apologies. They are young and too curious. You may have your food back."

Gerald blinks blankly and manages a nod. "Oh, uh... They were no problem. No harm."

He glances over at the ripped open bars with a coating of dirt and grass stuck upon them. "I got more. They can have them... If it's okay with you... Um..."

The huge dragon grants an appreciative nod and cracks a faint smile. "Thank you. A rare treat for them."

He narrows a disciplining stare over the five children. "If they behave..."

The five draconic kids shrink slightly and awkwardly glance around. Shaking his massive head, the elder dragon sighs with a roll of his bright green eyes. "Much to learn."

Thinking quietly a moment, he perks his brow and steps towards the top of the hill. He opens up his two pairs of wings, stretches them out to the full fifteen meter width, and stares curiously at Gerald. Straightening up his posture, the large dragon poses with a growing prideful smile. "What are you waiting for?"

Gerald blinks bewildered, furrowing his brow. "Uh, waiting for what?"

Grinning brightly with the sun glinting off the blue scales, the large dragon chuckles. "Take your pictures."

----

An alarm chimes rings out from a worn and battered aetherphone on the counter top. An ivory skinned hand taps hard a few times against the hesitant screen. A few attempts later, the device goes quiet. Mera side steps away from the front of the stove and faces a bamboo rice steamer on top of a metal pot. Turning down the hot plate underneath, her crimson eyes stare uneasily down at the faint jets of steam slipping out through the aged wood. Drawing in a hopeful breath, she lifts the lid carefully and waits for the rush of steam to vent away. Within the steamer, fading wisps of haze rise from a bounty of fluffy white rice. Tipping her head of a long, braided grayish hair back, Mera mutters a thankful evuukian prayer and stares relieved at the faint cracks in the cheaply textured ceiling above. She closes the lid on the bamboo basket, cuts the hotplate off, and removes the pot from the heat.

Her long nipped tip ear twitches, and she snaps her attentive gaze upon the sizzling of cooking oil in a deep round-bottomed pan occupying most of the surface of her small stove top. With a swift shift over, Mera studies the cramped collection of ingredients on the other countertop next to the stove. Glancing between the boiling oil and the selection of vegetables and meats, she draws in a long breath, exhales into a calm state, and narrows her determination. Following a process trained in her mind, she plucks up ingredients, tosses them into the pan, and keeps the cookware moving. Her crimson eyes watch the subtle changes. The greens of vegetables darken. Some morsels of meat brown, others paling. The tubers soften. And, chopped roots and bulbs sizzle towards a caramel coating.

Sniffing the air, a hint of confidence slips out onto Mera's face. In the flurry of activity, a small dish of mixed seasoning loses balance on the edge of the crowd counter top. A crimson flash lights up Mera's eyes, and her hand snaps a point towards the container. A translucent field engulfs the area below and floods up from the floor. Individual specks within the cloud of spices slow to a halt mid air. With one hand keeping contents within the round bottom pan moving, Mera gestures deftly. The mass of seasonings collect back into the small floating glass bowl. The container levitates back up into flow radiating out from Mera's hand, and she grasps the bottom securely. Easing out the pent up tension with a sigh, she places the small bowl in the middle of the counter top, pinches out a measure of spices, and sprinkles them into the pan.

A few more tosses of the pan later, Mera turns off the stove burner and slides the cookware bottom to a cooler spot on the stove top. Searching anxiously, she pulls a large wooden spoon from a mason jar next to the stove. Scooping up a sample, she lifts it closer to her face for inspection. She sniffs the fresh steaming aroma, and her eyes study the culinary creation, cooling it off with gentle blows. Briefly gritting her teeth, she sighs reluctantly and tastes the results. Easing away from a fearful wince, she searches her mind, sorting through the flavors. Her crimson eyes open wide in delight, and her shoulders relax. She spouts out a victorious evuukian phrase and grins triumphantly.

Rushing over to the small round table in the dining area nearby, Mera scoops out equal servings of the stir fry onto two plates. She returns the deep pan back to the stove top and picks up the top basket of the bamboo steamer. Placing the bounty of fluffy rice on a large plate in the middle, she checks over the arrangement of two rough table settings and tidies up the plain tablecloth. She steps away from the setup. She takes in a deep breath, exhales, and gazes over the area. Turning her attention on the opposing counter next to the scratched and dented fridge, she eyes two mugs with tea bags and a cheap electric kettle at the ready.

Mera nods to herself. She straightens up her posture and smiles with a confident surge. Inspecting her plain shirt and shorts, she twists her mouth unhappily and grumbles to herself, finding specs of fresh cooking stains. Picking up her aetherphone, she mumbles herself and reads the time.

Her lungs yank a surprised gasp. She rushes through the central living space, loosening her messy clothes. Sliding into a small bedroom, she quickly searches through drawers and piles for clothing, stripping off her old. She snags a few articles of nicer casual attire. A door bell rings. Squelching a reflexive evuukian curse, she sweeps up a decent shirt, skips awkwardly into some socks, and secures her long gray hair back neatly. She calls out towards the entry door to the apartment. "I will be right there!"

Mera stumbles into a steady gait up to the door. Grasping the knob, she refocuses herself and opens the door.

Chelindia turns her attention ahead, and her turquoise eyes meet Mera's crimson. With a pleasant smile, she bows her head of dark green braided hair. "Good. I found the right apartment. It was not easy. A few doors do not have any clear numbers on them."

Mera gazes at Chelindia's dark tan face. A moment later, she flutters her eyes back from a daze and smirks with a sigh. "Yes. I think they had some numbers before, but some children thought it was funny to steal them. No one has figured out where they all went."

Turquoise and crimson eyes meet again. The two glance around awkwardly for a moment. Mera snaps back to attention and steps back into the small apartment. "Come in."

She smirks with hints of embarrassment slipping out. "It is not much, but I can afford it. I even have enough left over after everything to buy A nice thing."

Chelindia surveys the central living space, the few, simple furnishings, and other rooms connected. She gazes at Mera with a warming smile. "It is nice and yours. Traveling with the rangers, I am camping out most of the time. We sometimes stay at a hotel or motel, but that is between long runs."

She sighs with a slight slump of her shoulders. "You have to travel very light, which really does not allow you to have much else other than the necessities."

Eyeing her modest long-sleeve top, knee length shorts, and canvas top shoes, Chelindia glances around uneasily. "This is most of the normal clothing I have right now."

Mera perks up and smiles at Chelindia. "It all looks nice. I have been trying to get a better selection, too."

Twisting her mouth, she rolls her crimson eyes. "Though, I really do not know what is in style right now. I am trying to catch up, still."

Chelindia walks out into the living space and gazes over at the mismatched blanket covered couch, scratched up coffee table, and old television. She smirks at Mera and shakes her head at herself. "Do not feel bad. I still am trying to, too."

Mera closes the front door, steps up next to Chelindia, and chuckles. "Yeah. I am just glad that Mokka and the girls at Fval Spice have been helping me. And, they have been explaining a few words of Americ I never heard of before, and a few I have forgotten."

Tilting her head to the side, Chelindia exhales slowly with traces of defeat. "Oh. Good. There are a few I will have to ask you about. So many new things since we left."

She blinks, noticing the concern from Mera, and presents a reassuring smile. "But, I am okay with it. A lot has proven quite wonderful..."

Sniffing the air, Chelindia's nose guides her curiosity, and she gazes quizzically at Mera. "Did you bring home some Fval Spice for us to eat?"

An eager smile graces Mera's ivory face, and she nearly skips over towards the prepared table in the dining area. With a dramatic wave of the arms, Mera presents the freshly made meal for two with a proud grin. "No. I cooked some for us."

Chelindia approaches the table with genuine surprise and astonishment. With Chelindia gazing over the setup, Mera pulls out a chair for her. "I thought it would be nice to just have a home cooked meal, instead of going out. Just sit down, relax, and... Talk."

She steps over to the counter, plugs in the electric kettle, and motions towards the mugs. "I was even able to find good tea. Not quite what we made in the forest. But, once I save up, I think I can get the right herbs from a local reagent shop. Should be easier than wandering the local forest for them-"

Pivoting around, she startles briefly at Chelindia standing close. The two gaze into each other's eyes. Chelindia gently holds Mera's hands, smiles full of color, and warmly whispers an endearing phrase of evuukian. Traces of tears well at the corner of Mera's eyes, and she lightly squeezes Chelindia's hands. Sighing, she briefly averts her gaze sadly and states a few remorseful evuukian sentences. Chelindia continues to smile proudly at Mera and nods understandingly. "I think the phrase is... One day at a time."

Mera nods and chuckles. "Yeah. When I was thinking about everything lately... I just... I missed... THIS... With YOU, Chel."

Meeting Mera's eyes, Chel gazes in delight. "I missed this, too. And... You, Mera."

Holding each other's hands, the two exist quietly within the moment. Seconds later, a whistle of steam from the kettle bounces around the small apartment. Chel blinks back to the attention and giggles. "We should eat. I would not want this wonderful meal to get cold."

Mera shudders back to awareness and nods. "Oh, right, yes. I will get the tea."

----

Bright sun radiates down upon the green spaces between old brick architecture of the area. College students meander down the paved walkways linking the campus, and groups congregate between the buildings. A gentle breeze rustles the leaves upon rows of well-kept trees along the paths and scattered through the courtyards. Slowing her steps to an uncertain standstill, Veevi wanders her lost gaze around. She narrows her pink pupil eyes towards a distant landmark, glances down at her aetherphone, and drags around the digital map. She inspects a nearby structure, stares along the walkway under her, and cocks her head at the phone display. Twisting a frustrated grimace on her face, she sighs into a mumble. "...where is it..."

Lowering hand with the aetherphone to her side, she combs her plain brown, tied back hair with her sharp nails. She furrows similarly colored eyebrows and pivots in place with anxious wags her short-hair, dark brown tail. Gritting her teeth briefly, she wrestles with a nervous grimace on her tan face and frowns. She pauses a moment and collects herself. Her fuzzy ears perk up at the activity in the plaza in front of a large building. Thinking a moment, she nods to herself and walks down the paved passage under the arching canopy of double tree rows.

Wandering her attention between the nearby gathering of students, faculty rushing back to offices, and administrative staff rushing to their cars, Veevi slows and admires the old architecture of the college blending with the newer developments. She holds up her aetherphone, taps through the menus, and stares at the digital map. The position icon jitters around the display, and Veevi twists an irritated frown on her mouth. "Gods, what's wrong with you?"

Veevi walks down the long winding path into a plaza, her attention remaining fixed on the erratic locator on the map. She rolls her pink pupil eyes, groans out her frustration, and slowly shakes her head. Holding her phone up and out, she wanders her aim in a vain hunt for signal, the indicators jumping erratically between levels. A few fix failures later, Veevi brings the device close and squints at the display. Tapping around the screen, she studies the digital layout and glances towards the sidewalks, plaza decorations, and large library.

A voice calls out. "Hey!"

Veevi's fuzzy ears flick towards the source, and her focus remains on the aetherphone. Another person directs their voice. "Hey, you with the brown hair and tail!"

Blinking blankly to attention, Veevi glances around and spots a group of students watching her. A flush of embarrassment fills her tan face, and she furrows her brow awkwardly. "I'm sorry. Are you talking to me?"

An emin man with spiraling horns nods. "Yeah. Are you trying to use your phone to find something?"

Veevi tilts her head in surprise and smiles. "Oh. Yes! Uh, I guess it's a little obvious. Is there any reason why the positioning system wouldn't be working?"

A fvalian woman rolls her red eyes and laughs out loud. "Ha! The engineering department blew out a transformer. Two of the geopositioning towers on campus are down."

A blue haired evuukian man shakes his head and shrugs at Veevi. "Yeah. Everyone's been wandering around wondering what's wrong with their phone. What are you trying to find?"

Putting away her aetherphone into her pants pocket, Veevi motions her hand around the area and sighs. "Oh, yes... I'm supposed to meet my advisor to find out about all I need to do to sign up for classes this summer. But, gods, I can't figure out where the Advisement Center is."

The emin man furrows his brow and glances between the others. "Damn... They moved that recently. Where the hell did they end up putting that?"

Shrugging his shoulders, the evuukian man crosses his arms. "I don't know. I haven't talked to my advisor since I started taking my upper division courses."

Pondering a moment, the fvalian woman nudges the shoulder of a young man with ear cupping headphones, rocking his head side to side. "Hey, Jhai. Jhai... JHAI!"

Snapping into a rigid, surprised posture, Jhai slowly pivots on his seat upon the decorative brick and slides down his headphones. "Uh, yes?"

The fvalian woman motions towards Veevi and cocks her head. "You know where the Advisement Center is now?"

Jhai darts his hazel eyes around his mind briefly and nods. "Uh, yeah, actually. I just talked to my advisor yesterday. They moved it into the new student union building on the other side of campus."

Perking up with a delighted smile, Veevi retrieves her aetherphone and taps up the digital map on the screen. "That's great. Could you show me where it is on this map?"

Plucking up his phone tethered to his headphones, Jhai blinks at the time displayed and stands up. "Um, I can actually walk you there... Uh, if you want?"

Veevi glances around and tilts her head curiously. "I won't say no, but I don't want to interrupt anything."

Jhai scratches the back of his head and chuckles. "Oh, no. I've got to head towards a history class, and I walk past the place on the way there."

An appreciative smile grows on Veevi's face, and she nods graciously. "Oh, thank you. I'd do it myself, but this whole positioning system thing is really messing everything up."

Sweeping up his backpack, Jhai waves to the trio lounging in the shade of the plaza and walks next to Veevi. "Don't worry about it."

Jhai steps ahead, and Veevi nods thankfully to the others. "Thanks for the help, again."

The trio wave goodbye to Veevi and Jhai. The two walk out the plaza down a main walkway. The emin man glances between the evuukian and fvalian. "I thought his history class wasn't for another hour?"

The fvalian woman rolls her red eyes and snorts. "It is."

Laying back down the short grasses beneath a shade tree, the evuukian man laughs. "Oh, that fucking figures. Can't blame him for trying."

Veevi and Jhai walk down the wide main passage through campus. Passing by older and taller trees, Jhai points towards the larger, older buildings. "That's where the computer science department is, and it's also the oldest building on campus."

Furrowing her brow incredulously, Veevi glances over at Jhai. "They put the computer science department in the oldest building on campus?"

Jhai shrugs his shoulders with an awkward grin. "Yeah... I mean, they're not happy about it either. My friend says they've been trying to get another department to trade with them. No takers."

He snaps his attention over towards the large glass window front of a huge cafe. "Oh! That's the campus cafe. It's open really late at night. It's got really good coffee."

Veevi nods, combing back a few stray plain brown hairs over her fuzzy ears. "Okay. I'll probably be going there a bunch."

Sorting through a few thoughts, Jhai summons up a barely nonchalant smile over his self-perpetuating awkwardness. "Yeah. I mean, especially depending on what you are studying for. So... Um... What are you going to major in?"

Biting her lower lip, Veevi draws in a slow breath and chuckles lightly. "Well, if all goes well... I'm going to try to get into the pre-med program."

She glances away and sighs. "But... That's if I can get the right grades in all the per-requisite courses. There's a few of them, and they're really strict about what you need to be accepted into the program."

Jhai nods with a goofy grin. "Wow. That's pretty cool. I mean, you got to be pretty smart to even try to get into that program. I mean, I'm pretty dumb, so I could never pull that off. But, um, you can probably do it."

Perking an eyebrow at Jhai, Veevi curls an amused smirk out of the corner of her mouth and watches the man fumble for his next words. "Well, thank you. So, what are you majoring in?"

Springing to the subject, Jhai scratches the back of his head. "Oh, music production. I figured it's the one thing I'm pretty good at. I just started out in the program. And I finally am getting into the studio to record stuff."

Veevi furrows her brow curiously and smiles at Jhai. "Oh. What kind of music are you into?"

Jhai shrugs his shoulders and chuckles with a grin. "I'm in a synth metal band. We do all kinds of weird shit. I mainly play the piano and sing. Oh! And, our current album is a rock opera about that old Zone Runners game-"

He halts mid thought, noticing the attention from Veevi, and awkwardly averts his gaze. "But, yeah, I mean, um... I listen to all kinds of music, too. I try to keep up with all the latest trends and such. You just never know what will get popular."

Veevi nods in agreement and flicks her fuzzy ears. "Yeah. Tell me about it. But, it goes away just as fast."

Jhai snorts and shakes his head. "Yeah, I mean there was all that drama about Veevi Valiant a few months ago. Then, nothing. So weird..."

The fur on Veevi's tail puffs out, her posture stiffens, and her face blanks into a stare ahead. Jhai glances over at Veevi and thinks a moment, opening his eyes wide. Veevi fights to maintain a calm facade, and her fingers flex tightly. Swallowing down a wave of embarrassment, Jhai glances around and awkwardly chuckles. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry. I, uh, totally didn't get your name. If you don't mind me asking?"

Furrowing her brow, Veevi searches her mind frantically. She presents a smile at Jhai and nods to him. "You can call me Viv."

Jhai smirks and rocks his head side to side. "Viv. That's a cool name. Is it short for anything?"

Veevi rolls her pink pupil eyes and sighs. "Yeah. You could say that."

Jhai smiles, readjusting the backpack on his shoulder. "Totally understand. I went by my middle name in high school. Decided to use my first name when I started going here. Go for a fresh start, you know?"

Nodding with a humored smirk, Veevi draws in a calming breath and chuckles. "Yeah. I know the feeling, too."

----

A chime above the door rings out over the chorus of scattered conversations. Throughout the sandwich shop, different pockets of customers discuss and debate between enjoying their meals. A variety of employees rush around the different stations behind the long, decorated wooden counter. Lifting her head up from checking the time on her aetherphone, a young woman spots a middle-aged woman with long, blonde hair, and perks up to attention. "Oh! Hello, Lydia."

Lydia holds the metal framed glass door open and smiles towards the staff. "Sorry about the wait, Jessie."

She smirks with a roll of her brown eyes, shaking her head playfully. "Someone just wouldn't leave school until she handed out ALL her birthday party invites."

Stepping through the doorway, a little girl with a similar shade of blonde hair gazes up with a frown. "But Mommy, I didn't want to miss anyone!"

Easing the door closed behind the little one, Lydia sighs with a smile and pats her child on her wild blonde head. "Mommy understands, Leigh."

Leigh skips happily down to a section of stools lined up against the far end of the long bar counter, and Lydia walks up to Jessie, whispering. "Her birthday is two weeks away, I think we have enough time."

Jessie shrugs her shoulders with a smile. "Well, it's a big thing at her age. You only turn six once."

Granting an understanding nod, Lydia lifts up a hinged section of countertop and greets the rest of the staff, inspecting the food prep stations. Reaching the far end of the bar, she watches Leigh climb up upon a floor anchored stool with extra foot rails. "You need help?"

Leigh strains on the last pull and manages to get herself on top of the seat. "I got it!"

With a loving smile, Lydia shakes her head and gazes upon her daughter. "There's just been no stopping you. So, what are you hungry for today, my little adventurer?"

Reaching out over the counter top for a pack of crayons hidden behind a specials display, Leigh excitedly chimes. "Peanut butter and jelly!"

With a chuckle to herself, Lydia ties back her hair and rolls her eyes. "At least some things don't change."

Lydia washes her hands at a sink, and Jessie steps nearby, pointing to the front register. "I got everything taken care of at the register. Should be ready for you, unless you need me to stay a little while longer."

Lydia glances around the lobby at the thinning customers and empty line and tilts her head towards the back. "I should be good. Get out of here. You have a good rest of the day."

With a happy nod, Jessie quickly steps to the back, loosening the work apron around her waist. Lydia deftly opens a small cabinet and retrieves a tub of peanut butter. From a nearby fridge, she swiftly slips a hand in and produces a glass jar of jelly. Sliding loose sheets of paper from a pack off to the side, Leigh hungrily watches her mother prepare the sandwich. "Use the good bread, mommy."

Glancing over her shoulder, Lydia narrows an incredulous stare at the child. "It's all good bread, Leigh."

Mustering her best scrutinizing glare, Leigh frowns. "You know what I mean. Don't use that yucky bread."

Lydia sighs and nods to her child's joy. "I won't."

Turning her attention towards the sandwich in the making, she mumbles to herself. "...try to use whole wheat once..."

The chime above the front door echoes out. A man with white, wispy hair steps through. He surveys the sandwich shop lobby with his gray eyes and leads his gaze towards the front counter. Upon spotting the woman and girl with blonde hair, a delighted smile grows on his sun touched, tan face. Stepping his thin frame over, he sits down on a stool and adjusts the blue scarf loosely wrapped around his neck. Lydia turns around with a plate of food. She meets the man's gaze and blinks in surprise. "Oh my gods... Isaac?"

With a faint tinge of embarrassment, Isaac chuckles lightly and nods with a smile. "That I am, Lydia."

Setting the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and apple slices in front of Leigh, Lydia keeps her attention on Isaac, plucking a small cup from a stack. "It's certainly been a while. Almost a year, I think."

Briefly averting his gaze, Isaac sighs regretfully. "Almost. I'm surprised you remember me after all this time."

Filling up the plastic cup with fruit juice from a dispenser, Lydia smiles with a giggle. "As if I could forget someone like you. All your exciting stories and talk about your work. I'm just happy to see you again."

She slides the drink into the reaching hands of Leigh and lifts her eyebrow towards Isaac. "So, I have to ask... What happened to you?"

A faint trace of tension stiffens up Isaac's posture, and he chuckles with a shake of his head. "My previous work, unexpectedly, needed me to go to other places on a very tight schedule. It was quite a chaotic time, to be frank. Admittedly, it was quite the blur of activity."

Lydia focuses a curious gaze at Isaac and smirks. "I see. I was wondering what happened to you. Hated to lose a loyal customer. So..."

She narrows her stare upon Isaac. "What brings you back to Hattan?"

Isaac furrows his brow in thought, twisting his mouth, and searches his mind for a moment. Relaxing his shoulders, he smiles with a sigh. "Well, my previous research fell through after running into a number of setbacks... And, a very significant dead end. Unfortunately, I only realized that my efforts weren't going to produce any fruit a little too late."

With a smirk out of the corner of his mouth, he chuckles lightly and rolls his gray eyes. "Thankfully, a few dedicated associates were able to show me that I needed to reconsider what I should pursue."

Lydia tilts her head to the side and quirks her brow. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that. That's got to be frustrating to put all the time and effort into some big project like that, then have it not turn out."

Isaac rocks his head side to side. "A little, admittedly. But, in all honesty, I've actually found it... Quite relieving."

Glancing over at the crayon drawing her daughter sketches on between eating some of her sandwich, Lydia smiles with a trace of surprise. "I guess I could see that. Finally free to do other things and all. So, again, what brings you here, today?"

Pausing briefly in thought, Isaac smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Well... After my previous research fell through, I was let go from the Grand Library. But... It was a more mutual departure."

He works through the twinges of awkward embarrassment on his face. "And in a strange twist of fate, I stumbled into a new job. I think the best way to explain it is that I'm a government contractor now."

Lydia cocks her head, narrowing an examining stare upon Isaac. "Oh. Government contractor?"

Isaac wrestles a grimace on his face. "Technically, there's a few organizations involved and legal literature is fairly dense with the contracts between them all. But, my prior research got the attention of the GAA, and they made me an offer I couldn't reasonably refuse."

Leaning forward slightly, he directs a humored whisper towards Lydia. "And between you and me, it was a very generous offer. So, of course, I took it."

Lydia smirks amused and points out the leftover crusts of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich to Leigh. The child tries to muster a refusal, and Lydia concentrates a firm, maternal glare. Leigh huffs once, eyes the bread edges, and frowns, picking up the pieces. Isaac chuckles to himself and glances at Lydia. "Yeah. That's always a battle."

Rolling her brown eyes, Lydia shakes her head. "Yes. Yes, it is."

Leigh finishes the last bit of crust from her sandwich and returns to drawing on paper with crayons. Lowering her voice towards Isaac, Lydia whispers. "Honestly, I just got tired of eating all the leftover crusts."

Issac snorts and nods his head understandingly. Furrowing her brow, Lydia inquires with newfound interest. "So, what does the GAA have you doing right now?"

Blinking back to attention, Isaac collects his thoughts and smiles proudly. "Putting my experience to good use. I'm following up on a lot of archaeological investigations out in locations that are out of the ordinary or need special skills to safely handle."

A spark of interest glints in Lydia's eyes, and she grins intrigued. "Really? That actually sounds exciting... And, a little dangerous?"

Isaac shakes his head with a dismissive laugh. "Oh. It's mostly cleanup and cataloging strange sites after they get discovered. All the excitement will have already happened by the time I arrive."

Shrugging her shoulders, Lydia sighs with a smile. "Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Hattan has been nice and quiet, and I'm certainly not complaining... Especially after certain incidents."

Her eyes spring open, and she leans closer, whispering to Isaac. "Did you hear what happened south of Amaranth Valley?"

Issac blinks blankly and grants a solid nod. "Yes. I have. Quite the event. I was... In the neighborhood."

Holding up a finger towards Isaac, Lydia glances out the window front and spots a crowd of people wandering closer to the front door. She eyes Isaac with a sly grin. "Okay, before we talk any further, you want your usual order? I think I remember most of it..."

She smirks slyly with a chuckle. "Especially the EXTRA OLIVES."

Averting his gaze away briefly, Isaac snorts at his own expense. "Yes. I do apologize if I was too insistent on that."

Waving off the concern, Lydia smiles amused. "Not the worst request I've had. Do you want it to go..."

Lifting a curious eyebrow, she smirks. "Or... Are you going to eat here?"

Glancing around the space and meeting Lydia's gaze, Isaac resettles himself upon the stool and rests his arms fully upon the counter. "I think I'll have it here."

Lydia nods with a smile and steps over to the register. Leigh glances up at Isaac from her drawing of adventurers around a monster. "You have any more stories? With heroes and stuff?"

Darting his eyes around his memories, Isaac grins happily and nods to Leigh. "I think I do. I have a few. They're about someone who thought he could never be a hero. But... Despite thinking that and running from adventure, it turns out he was the best hero when he was needed the most."