Ain't A Hero

Season 5

Bryan Schuder

Ain't A Hero: Season 5 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 5

Dedications

Timeline

Episode 53

Episode 54

Episode 55

Episode 56

Episode 57

Episode 58

Episode 59

Episode 60

Episode 61

Episode 62

Episode 63

Episode 64

Episode 65

Dedications

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

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

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

-53-

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aristespha progresses with her fabric. Flexing his hands, Bach summons up magical energies, manifesting examples for Cideeda. "Now, the thing to do is to will the magical energy to condense..."

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

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

Smiling, Aristespha slowly shakes her head. "Yes, it does. But... It does not feel right. I do not think it could handle any significant stress."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The host of the show regains control of the dialog with a forceful tone, quieting the old man. "THANK YOU... Mr. Spelh. I'm certain we'll hear more from you sooner than later."

Redirecting the camera's attention over to the other side, the host hems. "But, I'd like to give a chance for the members of two grath houses to talk and elaborate on their families."

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

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

Scratching his beard covered chin, Bach nods, narrowing his stare with his memory. "Yeah. I mean, the only time I've ever seen that guy is in the crappy, early morning time shows. You know, the three in morning variety. Didn't think he was important enough."

Smirking, Cideeda rolls her emerald eyes with a mocking tone. "Don't forget all his televised court appearances. He's important enough then."

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

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

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

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

Pausing, she reads a line carefully and laughs with a derisive color. "Oh... My mistake. His FOURTH marriage."

Sarcasm completely infiltrates her voice, and she tosses her fiery orange, wavy hair back. "WELL. I guess THAT must make him an expert, then. BUT, I would argue he really could have saved himself a lot of trouble with a traditional emin termed marriage contract."

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

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

Cideeda snorts into a chuckle and shakes her head of short multicolored hair. "I STILL remember his rants about fvalians. Calling us... What were the exact words? Oh..."

Her furry ears lay down and her long, fluffy tail wags in short swipes. "Hedonistic, feral beasts with the sexual habits of primitive animals."

Squinting her glance off to the side, she curls her upper lip and reveals a pronounced canine. "Always throwing out that beast term.

Sotalia twists her mouth and scrolls through the article on her aetherphone. "Did he say that after his first or second marriage?"

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

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

Tolerance visibly wearing thin, the show's host abruptly cuts off the old man. "WELL! Funny you should mention THAT. How about we ask one of the children?"

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

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

The host nods and inquires further. "What do your mothers and fathers do in your house?"

Pondering visibly with the question, Cettinnin cuts off Mr Spelh opening his mouth. "My birth mother works for a school. My birth father manages the local guild office. My house mother takes care of us when everyone is busy."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Aristespha narrows her glare at the television screen, snarls her upper lip, and grumbles out sarcasm drenched words. "Why, yes! Of course! It's SO obvious..."

She crosses her arms and levels an irritated stare at the screen. "If you absolutely adore family values that involve competitive backstabbing, favoritism, and power struggles... THEN, look no further!"

The show plays out its ending segment, and an information prompt pops up with the title of the next show.

"Scandal Watch 3017: Evuukian Political Meltdown!"

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

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

Aristespha sighs loudly with an apologetic tone. "Yes. You are correct, Sebastian. Let us put something else on. I can not weave flow when I am angry anyway."

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

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

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

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

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

----

Hiking forth through the dense trees, Daedrican's lightly armored boots sink into the forest floor. Two other Chrome Crusader troopers maintain formation out at his sides, and a coldly stoic Tassilda keeps her distance towards the back. Daedrican glances over his shoulder back at Tassilda with a pleasant tone. "Not much longer, my lady."

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

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

Pivoting to face Tassilda, a few meters behind him, he inquires politely. "If it's not too much trouble, we'll go towards the stream and check it for recent activity from anyone that might be hiding out around here."

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

The two lightly armored troopers nod in confirmation and walk away from Daedrican and Tassilda. Moments later, Daedrican glances over his shoulder and motions towards a direction down the game trail. "This way, my lady."

A brief wince sneaks out from Tassilda's rigid demeanor, and she follows behind Daedrican through the woods. Gazing through the bright sunlight slipping between the forest canopy, Daedrican muses in a pleasant tone back towards Tassilda. "I think it'll be a slow, uneventful day. There has not been any indication that our prior bandits had any stragglers that returned here."

A grimace twitches upon Tassilda's gray face, fading into the cold, neutral expression, and a colorless voice leaves Tassilda. "It seems."

Relaxing his armored shoulders, Daedrican tilts his helmeted head in thought. Along their hike, his attempts at small talk with Tassilda falter against her short, terminal responses. Many failed starts later, Daedrican sighs to silence and remains quiet. The minutes of looming silence breaks upon the soft babbling of water flowing down a small stream. Daedrican arrives at the narrow banks of the brook, and fits of splashing catch his attention. Gazing curiously down the stream at a large pooling of water, he watches the colorful plumage of a bird fluttering. The creature pauses, cocks its brightly feathered head to either side, and dives underneath the water quickly in a flurry of flapping.

Tassilda slowly approaches next Daedrican and traces the direction of his visor to the wider section of the stream. The chromatic parrot hops up onto the dry part of a rock, stands still for a moment, and releases a faint burst of magical flow. The short lived wave of force repels excess water off into a fine spray. Tassilda's light blue on black eyes lock onto the creature, and curiosity cracks through her cold exterior. The zone parrot blinks around at the silence of the area and chimes out a long series of complex notes. From initial chaos, it weaves sounds into an elegant stream of rhythmic song that fills the air of the nearby forest. A small smile graces Tassilda, and her full attention latches onto the music. Turning his head, Daedrican watches Tassilda's delight and slowly steps towards the bird.

He closes the distance, and Tassilda snaps her head over, flashing a mean glare at him. With gritting teeth, she halts a reflexive comment and maintains her ireful silence. Daedrican reaches into his belt pouch, searches around, and removes a snack bar. He opens the wrapper, and the crisp crackle of the packaging halts the bird's song. The zone parrot snaps an inquisitive stare at Daedrican, and its rainbow eyes spot the treat. Daedrican slows his approach to a halt. He gradually kneels down and holds the protein bar out. With an eager glint in its eye, the zone parrot hops off the rock and waddles at full speed along the bank. Reaching out with an open beak ahead, it hungrily closes in on the food. Daedrican slowly draws the snack bar back and carefully leads the bird up his arm. With secure footing and treat nearby, the zone parrot pulls off bits of the bar and casually enjoys the meal, perching shamelessly. It shows blissful indifference to anything else. Daedrican stands back up with the bird on his arm and walks back to Tassilda.

In absolute, speechless awe, Tassilda gawks in a mix of bewilderment and joy, the zone parrot arriving in front of her on Daedrican's arm. In the moments of sheer wonder, she notices Daedrican lifting her hand up to eye level with the bird. Daedrican puts the snack bar into her hand. Tassilda blinks in confusion, and Daedrican guides her other arm up to his with the bird. Finishing the current morsel in its grip, the zone parrot reacquires the food target. Stepping over onto Tassilda's gray skinned arm, it resumes the meal, reaching for bites of the protein bar in Tassilda's hand.

Smiling brightly, Tassilda watches the creature eat from her hand and wander along her arm. She manages to pet the bird's colorful feathers, and it weaves a few songs between breaking off new chunks of the protein bar, holding the bits in its claws. During the parrot's feast, contradictory emotions mix briefly upon Tassilda's face, and swirls of shame infiltrate her expression. Consuming half the bar, the zone parrot gazes up at Tassilda and chimes out a pleasant, happy series of tones. With a flicker of glow in its eyes, it unfurls its brightly hued wings. Tassilda holds her arm out, and the zone parrot flaps up into the air. It disappears into the dense forest, songs echoing and blending into the surrounding natural din. Slowly Tassilda allows her prior cold demeanor to resume. She stops and blinks blankly. Bites her lower lip, she gazes down at the ground, visibly fighting the torrents of thought in her head. Drawing in a long breath, she smiles with a genuine, gracious tone. "Thank you."

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

----

Outside the ranch style house in the side yard, Sebastian's ghostly form hovers next to Dretphi, eyeing Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sotalia. "Okay. So. Since it's been a while... I figured it would be a good time to do a refresher on close quarters moves and how to defend against them."

Turning his head up to the blue, cloud speckled sky above, he shrugs his shoulders with a nonchalant smirk. "And it's actually nice outside, and I figured it would be something different."

Sotalia places her hands on her hips, dons a sly grin, and glances over to Bach. Moments later, Bach meets Sotalia's gaze, puzzling at the attention, and returns his attention to Sebastian. Leading everyone's attention to Dretphi, Sebastian floats away and gives her the stage. "And since I can't exactly participate right now, due to my transparent state... I'll leave it up to Dretphi to run the lessons."

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

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

Settling into a faux aggressive posture, Bach stands at the ready. Dretphi motions to Bach, instructing. "Grab my arm."

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

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

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

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

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

Tilting her head to the side, Dretphi straightens her posture and studies Bach's confusion with a humored smirk. "It happens when you get thrown."

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

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

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

Pointing to a spot, Dretphi directs Bach to a place on the grass near the mat. Bach side steps over and waits. Swiftly closing the gap between her and Bach, Dretphi pauses mid motion, emphasizes her grapple, and hoists Bach free from the ground. In stunned silence, Bach remains instinctive pliable to Dretphi's will, moving his docile mass around with modest effort. Halting at the final step, she waits for everyone's attention and confirms their understanding, easily holding Bach up. With a solid but cushioned impact, Dretphi plops Bach down upon the mat. Bach's blue eyes dart around the area, and he glances over to Dretphi. "Huh. Hey. That wasn't too bad, actually."

He pats the thick pad beneath him. "Yeah, this mat really helps out. But, you really controlled it the whole way."

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

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

Grasping hold Dretphi's arm, Bach gets up with her assistance. "Yeah. Whew. I wouldn't mind one right now."

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

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

Sotalia's golden eyes spring wide open, and a nervous wave radiates down through her body. Tossing her fiery orange, wavy hair back over her shoulders, she analyzes Dretphi's imposing form. She fights an uneasy grit of her teeth and recovers to an awkward grin. "Well... Um... You need a break, too. Also, it might be more appropriate for me to..."

She glances over to Aristespha and immediately cringes at Aristespha's eager, violet stare. "Oh..."

Aristespha stretches her neck to either side, rolls her shoulders, and flexes the definition in body. Fighting to keep her confident exterior, she draws in a long breath and trails off. "Practice what you've shown us with someone of similar size..."

Subconscious trepidation blinks Sotalia's eyes for her, and she fumbles for a self counterpoint under Aristespha's sinister grin. "WELL. Understandably, it wouldn't be wise to put our medic into needless danger."

Resting her gaze down upon Cideeda, Sotalia musters up an emboldened smile. "I'm a bit taller and larger than you, Cideeda. But, do you think you could help me practice these moves? Please?"

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

A flash of evil sparks in Cideeda's emerald eyes, and she narrows her undivided attention upon Sotalia. "So, YES. I believe I can help you through ALL the moves."

----

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

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

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

She furrows her brow and huffs. "I even have the height advantage!"

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

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

Cideeda chuckles darkly and glances over to the rest of the team. "By the way, it's always good to have a few tricks to break someone's concentration."

Watching Sotalia squirm and laugh between irritated growls, Cideeda rolls her eyes and releases her clawed hold of Sotalia's midriff. "Okay."

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

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

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

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

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

Patting the top of Sotalia's head between her swept back, black horns, Cideeda grins toothily with a patronizing tone. "OH. Don't feel bad. You did just fine last time. And, you did really good, today!"

Annoyance swells on Sotalia's face, and she grumbles lowly. Cideeda snorts and leans to the side, meeting Sotalia's side glance. "To be fair, I had to TRY a few times. You need a lot more practice, but you are getting better."

Sotalia sighs irritably and mutters a few frustrated comments in a variety of languages, hints of sarcasm mingling into a mocking tone. Cideeda narrows a brief glare at Sotalia and lifts an amused eyebrow with a sly cadence. "Now, there's one last thing I want to show."

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

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

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

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

Chuckling, Cideeda releases her grip on Sotalia's hands and pats her shoulder. "Okay. I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist TEASING you."

Sotalia sweeps her arms back in front and underneath her. Cideeda leans back and gets her footing under her. "Just remember, your supposed advantages can just as easily weigh you down without the right skill behind them."

Glancing over her shoulder at Cideeda with a playful, Sotalia mischievous smirks and quips out a sentence in Fvalian. Cideeda perks her furry ears, lifts her eyebrow with an amused grin, and retorts in fvalian. Chuckling darkly, she reaches both hands of flexing fingers out towards Sotalia's arms. "OH! WAIT! We really SHOULD go over the basics of tying up captives!"

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

Flicking his translucent blue gaze over to the ranch style house, he cracks a humored smirk. "Our FAVORITE show is coming on soon."

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

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

Catching up to Bach and Cideeda, Sotalia curiously pries further. "Aww. So, no childhood self-defense class for fvalians that you got black belt in?"

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

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

Bach walks along without comment. Noticing casually inquisitive glances upon him, Bach shrugs his shoulders and grins awkwardly. "Uh. Yeah... All I ever was taught was to throw a spell and run as fast as I can."

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

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

----

A long, low, metallic creak groans out, and Nash rocks back in his rolling office chair. Sighing out his boredom, he levels his ambivalent stare at the computer monitors in front of him. A calm pattern of imagery plays out on the displays, and smooth scrolls of status messages rise up in output windows. Nash eyes the wall clock, watching the constant, slow tick of the second hand. He tilts his head back and breathes out. "Fffffuck..."

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

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

A chime rings out from the displays. Green statuses flip quickly to yellow, and lines of highlighted log data shine forth against the rest of the digital, streaming noise. Nash immediately tosses the paperwork back onto the pile and snaps his full attention to the new activity. Swiftly typing, he enters a series of commands into the system and adjusts the context of multiple onscreen windows to the new relevant data. Nash studies the information and cocks his head to the side, puzzling at the digital disturbance. Analyzing the changes, he leans closer to the emerging patterns with growing intrigue.

A jarring alarm echoes into the room and spots of yellow indicators immediately flip red. New windows appear, captured data streams forth onto monitors, and status icons transition in sequence from green to yellow to red. Nash's pale blue eyes grow wide, and he grins eagerly. "OH! Finally decided to check in, you SON OF A BITCH!"

An account information prompt appears and prominently shows the name "Isaac Kurt Huxley". Nash enters instruction after instruction into the system via his keyboard. Different system functions launch status windows, indicating their progress. Database activity monitors on the office wall switch to current queries. A feverish spree of command entry later, Nash hits the speakerphone mode button on his office phone and excitedly taps out a number. The phone rings a few times, and a voice sounds out. "Hello-"

Nash immediately responds over the greeting. "Guess who decided to log in on this fine, quiet Friday!?"

Background din from another room resonates through the speakerphone, and Harvos stumbles towards astonishment. "Wha- Good gods! Isaac Huxley?!"

Nodding, Nash grins with a snarl. "HELL YES, it is. I was wondering if that bastard was ever going to check in again, but here he is. Guess he had nothing else going on tonight!"

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

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

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

Exhaling his nerves over the line, Harvos calms down his tone. "Okay. Gods. I hope we get something useful. I just want this whole mess to be over with."

Bouncing his attention between different screens, Nash nods in agreement, grumbling. "Tell me about it. I'm getting REAL tired with learning about our predecessors dirty little secrets and having to be the fucking ones to deliver the bad news to the higher ups."

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

Pausing a moment, his curiosity slips into his tone. "What is Isaac doing right now, anyway?"

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

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

With a humored snort, Nash commands his computer and opens up a document. "Plenty. Isaac is mass downloading EVERYTHING from this guy. Let's take a look at... Uh... THIS one."

He grimaces, puzzling at the title, and scratches his head of long, graying hair. "Post Abstract Prism Elder Energy Acquisition and Applications? Okay..."

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

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

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

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

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

Laughing, Nash smugly smiles, squinting at the data streaming on screen. "Yes. It was LAST SEEN in engineering. Don't know if they've bothered checking to see if they could still see it where it was last seen."

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

Glancing over to a side monitor, he reads the information dumps in the chat windows. He shakes his head and directs his disappointed tone towards the speakerphone on his desk. "They traced him decently. But... Unfortunately... It seems like he was connecting via an aethernet tower along some highway in the middle of fucking nowhere. Roughly somewhere between GAA and Appaland territories."

He rolls his eyes and frowns. "So, not too helpful."

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

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

Harvos replies appreciatively over the speakerphone. "Thank you. Don't fret. We'll figure it out yet."

Pausing a moment, he inquires curiously. "Quick question, Nash."

Nash quirks his brow and eyes the desk phone. "Yes?"

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

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

Harvos grumbles in commiseration. "Yes... Very true. Please, let me know if you find any of the old ones in storage somewhere."

Nodding, Nash hovers his finger over the call end button on the desk phone. "Will do. Catch ya later."

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

-54-

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

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

With a sigh of pleasant agreement, Daedrican tilts his helmeted head down briefly. "As it was for me, too. I get the feeling that whatever bandits we didn't capture, we have mostly certainly scared off this road for quite a while. We have yet to even find any signs of them trying to set up another camp nearby."

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

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

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

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

Daedrican nods slightly in agreement and turns his head slowly in a final visual sweep of the camp, stepping away with a wave. "Indeed. I shouldn't keep you all on your off time. I wanted to say it has been a pleasure having your group along with us during this patrol. I hope these last few days end the patrol nicely. A good night to you all."

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

Resting his book down on his muscular chest, Trakenthin slowly turns his head and meets Deedri's gaze, nodding. "He was looking. Hid it well. Still was looking. Do you know what happened?"

Cocking her head to the side, Deedri's furry ears perk up contemplatively, and she shakes her head inconclusively. "No. She hasn't said anything to me..."

She furrows her brow and darts her auburn eyes with her thoughts. "Which is kind of weird, since she has been coming up with all kinds of reasons to talk about him."

Gritting her teeth briefly, she twists an uneasy grimace. "She's been acting odd, lately. I guess there's something on her mind."

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

He recites a single word of grath in his native dialect and searches his mind contemplatively. "It means... Thoughts which hinder progress of thoughts."

Blinking her auburn eyes, Deedri brushes back her multi-colored hair over her shoulders and idly picks at her claws, pondering out loud. "That... Actually describes it nicely. She's thinking about something, and she can't get past it for some reason."

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

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

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

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

Searching the more obscuring spots around the campsite's perimeter, Trakenthin spots empty patches of the forest and sates his paranoia. With a mildly frustrated grumble, he frowns at Deedri. "We are not in ideal... circumstances... to discuss those topics. Privacy is a luxury, currently."

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

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

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

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

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

Furrowing his brow, Trakenthin ponders quietly a moment, blinks blankly, and shakes his head. "No. Chad mentioned he did not know. Said the crew was going to choose?"

Deedri sneers her upper lip, droops her furry ears, and rolls her eyes with an irritated flick of her long, fluffy tail. "OH. GREAT. That fills me with confidence."

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

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

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

Smirking dryly, Trakenthin snorts. "No."

With an exhale of relief, Modoran relaxes and signals Deedri to proceed. "OH. Good. Thank you. I avoid those debates. So, what are these things you can't get answers for?"

Crossing her arms, Deedri rolls her shoulders and twists her mouth thoughtfully with a slightly squirm. "WELL. We've been trying to figure out what's happened between Tassilda and Daedrican."

She pauses a moment and sighs. "And... What's our next mission going to be?"

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

Bouncing his dark blue eye around the area, he lifts up an eyebrow at Deedri and Trakenthin. "Information gathering...?"

Deedri and Trakenthin exchange glances and focus fully upon Modoran, leaning slightly back from the sudden attention. With an awkward grimace, Modoran bites his lip and shrugs his shoulders, mumbling loudly. "So... Uh... What theories do you want to hear about, first?"

----

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

Aristespha walks up to Bach with the Sword of the Spirit realm in its scabbard. Placing the weapon in Bach's awaiting hands, she summons up a calm smile. "Originally, I would have said there is not too terribly much to the sword. As Sebastian found out along with the rest of us... It seems to have some... undocumented features."

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

With a long sigh, Aristespha grimaces dissatisfied and grumbles, resting her hands upon her hips. "Not as much as I would like. Good or bad, it seems this sword was unique. Even for magical swords of its time."

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

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

Aristespha lightly chuckles, steps forward, and places her finger firmly upon the top of Bach's forehand. She curls her finger around the obscured white streak contrasting his brown hair and guides it down into Bach's vision. Rolls her violet eyes with her amusement, she releases the lock and smirks dismissively. "Nope. Simple detection of Pre-Cataclysm genetic modifications."

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

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

Scratching the back of his head, he averts his eyes away in a fit of shame. "We really didn't dig too deep. Since we were busy chasing Noxian around, just didn't think to dedicate too much time to that."

He tugs at the corner of his mouth and sighs. "It was only AFTER Noxian blasted me, we really tried to figure things out. And, well..."

Aristespha frowns slightly, shifts her weight to the other foot, and groans out her frustration. "The sword has always been awkward and brief with its messages. When it..."

Pausing a moment, she glances to the top of her mind and rocks her side to side in deliberation. "Captured... Sebastian, it got even more brief."

She narrows a brief glare at the sword in Bach's hand. "And, significantly less helpful in some regards."

Bach examines the blade, squints against the sun glinting off a sharp edge, and puzzles at Sebastian. "Huh. I mean, maybe it's redirected its power to holding or supporting you?"

Sebastian nods slowly in agreement, furrowing his brow. "That's my best guess, too, bro. I think its elder energy detection range is a lot less than it was... Or, at least it's not as sensitive? Also, it seems to be trying to inform me of things by... feel?"

Meeting his brother's curious glance, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know. I'm still sorting through all of it myself, and it's REALLY ABSTRACT about it. But, the sword definitely keeps informing me about you."

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

Blinking in confusion, Sebastian shakes his head and laughs with ghostly reverb. "Oh! NO. Not at that, well exactly. When we got close to your house in Tullachester, it was pinging you as a new wielder. Hence, why we were a bit overzealous... Heh..."

Returning his attention to the partially unsheathed sword, Bach lifts an expectant eyebrow, warily studying the blade. "Okay. So. Supposedly because I've got this white streak in my hair, it'll just work for me?"

Aristespha nods slowly and smiles with a snort. "Well. Yes. I believe. The sword is often cryptic in how it explains itself."

She hoists up a mildly annoyed eyebrow at the sword, side eyeing Bach. "That MUST have been some style choice by the creator. But, given what Sebastian has felt and the obtuse explanation from the sword, we think that is probably the case."

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

Searching her mind briefly, she draws in a long breath and recites clinically. "Biological and genetic modifications post-Cataclysm were extremely rare as the resources and systems to manufacture new stocks ceased to either function or exist, in many cases. The mage royalty had the ruling power during that era, and extensively used it to acquire the remaining mods that were viable. They soon developed methods to augment their magic to detect these mods."

Blinking away from the explanation, Bach furrows his brow to an emerging realization and returns to the conversation with a smug grin towards Aristespha. "Wait. Hold up. So... What you are saying is... Sebastian and I are descendants of ancient royalty?"

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

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

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

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

Shrugging her shoulders with dramatic motions of her hands, she winks to the two uneasy brothers. "In conclusion... Either you are descendants of unknown, illegitimate royal bastards. OR, your family line just happens to have the same genetic modification present in it."

Staring wide-eyed, Bach and Sebastian remain in the awkward quiet. Exchanges of disappointed, uncertain glances later, the two arrive to some acceptance. Bach shrugs his shoulders with a weak smirk. "Hey, I'm perfectly cool with just somehow having that same mod."

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

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

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

Confirming with Sebastian, Bach bites his lower lip, rolls his shoulders against building tension, and concentrates. A faint trace of magical flow glides along the surface of Bach's arm and sinks into the handle of the sword. Moments later, Bach's face contorts uncomfortably, and his hand tenses up. The Sword of the Spirit Realm pulsates to a steady, faint blue glow. Sebastian's visage warps slightly, stabilizing quickly. Squirming in a wave of discomfort, Bach shakes off a shiver down his back. He grits his teeth briefly, grimacing. "Gods. That feels fucking WEIRD."

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

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

Seconds later, Sebastian softens his gaze and summons up an apologetic tone. "Sorry, dear. It's just nice to have someone confirm it. A little vindication, you know?"

A smile graces Aristespha, and she nods understandingly. "I know, Sebastian. I only find it strange that would be an aspect of its function."

Swinging his attention to Bach, Sebastian inquisitively gazes over. "So, how did it feel when it activated?"

Bach blinks in thought, idly flexes his arms with the sword, and furrows his brow, mulling it over. "Well... Huh. Like-I mean.. Like something reached into my arm and... grabbed hold of it?"

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

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

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

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

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

The ethereal glare of Sebastian zips up to Bach, and Sebastian burrows his stare through. "You throw this sword with me in it, and I'll make sure it returns the WORST WAY to you."

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

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

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

Awkwardly grinning, Sebastian shrugs his shoulders. "Uh. Long story. I'll tell you later."

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

With a happy smile, Aristespha meets Sebastian's attention and blushes slightly. She gazes at Bach with an instructive tone. "Back on topic. The sword ultimately, from research I have done and what has been witnessed, is an Elder energy sink. The primary function of it seems to be to absorb Elder energy and send it somewhere."

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

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

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

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

Crossing his arms, Sebastian groans with a slight reverb, rolling his translucent blue eyes dismissively. "It certainly showers its wisdom the same on the inside as it does on the outside."

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

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

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

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

Slumping his shoulders, Bach tugs at the corner of his mouth, mumbling disheartened. "Well, there goes THAT idea for now."

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

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

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

Bach nods thoughtfully, quietly contemplating. Examining the sword, he hoists the scabbard up in his other hand. With a smooth motion, he slides the sword securely back into the sheath and shudders, letting his hand release the handle. He eyes Sebastian with an awkward grimace. Sebastian shakes his head and grumbles. "I know, bro. It just feels weird no matter what you do."

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

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

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

----

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

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

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

The couple walks to Thomas, and Shadeesa giggles, smiling happily. "You're doing just fine."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shadeesa furrows her brow and stares with incredulous hints at Thomas. "OH? Why not? You cannot tell me you wouldn't want to raise your own swarm of dragons. I'd imagine there would be people fighting for one raised under your care."

Visibly struggling with the weight on his mind between flits of a frown, Thomas indulges in a long swig from his coffee cup. He grits his teeth momentarily with an indecisive sigh. "I just... Don't know. Nachta was UNIQUE, in just every aspect. If I'm going to have another dragon in my life, it'll have to be something SPECIAL..."

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

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

Shadeesa shakes her head and guides her stray locks of hair over her horns. Thomas smiles warmly and laughs, his blue eyes distantly watching fond memories. "Oh, Nachta had similar habits. Gods, I hope Lagi doesn't inherit her more infamous ones."

Lifting a curious brow, Shadeesa settles her inquiring gaze upon Thomas. "Like what? I'm actually genuinely curious for my own research."

Thomas glances over and snorts out with an ill-humored smirk. "Well... She was more... Um. Well, attuned?"

Searching his mind for a second, he nods slowly. "Yes. Attuned... to her biological functions."

He grits his teeth and hisses out a sigh. "ESPECIALLY, when ANGRY. Which she was OFTEN."

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

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

Pausing in thought a moment, Shadeesa furrows her brow, inquisitive hints bubbling into her gaze upon Thomas. "That actually reminds me. Any new information about Lagi's lineage?"

Kaleb lifts his eyebrow intrigued and glances over to the new topic. "YEAH. Did that one dragon fan club that Tellerran guy is part of have anything useful?"

Thomas scratches his chin contemplatively, and contorts his face in thought. "Well... Nothing too new. But, I was really surprised how thorough they were, and how much information they had on a number of dragons. They MUST have some inside sources, because I distinctly remember A LOT that information being restricted in some shape or form by most government organizations. Even working with the university and my history, I can't even touch that data now, even if I asked really nicely."

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

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

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

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

A sly smile graces his face, he chuckles smugly. "ALL the eggs Nachta's nest... That I wanted them to know about. Plus, not having a dragon for this long and working at the school, they probably think I've distanced myself from my past so much, that I'm not worth the effort."

Wrestling a frown, Shadeesa grumbles unamused. "I still find that clause of that treaty so ridiculous."

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

He pauses a moment and narrows a distant, internal stare. "Still kind of wonder which nation it would have been. Nachta and I melted down a lot of expensive military hardware."

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

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

----

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

The steam carries the odors of frying vegetables, cooking meat, and sweet treats, flooding the air in the kitchen. The scents wafts out and infiltrate the rest of the ranch style house. Bach plods casually through the archway leading to the hallway and gradually halts in the middle of the combined living room and dining area. He sniffs the air, guides his searching stare, following the hisses and pops. Stepping inquiringly towards the kitchen entry, he stops at the entrance point and admires the meal in progress, nods approvingly. "Wow. It smells amazing in here. And, it's looking really good."

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

Remaining clear of the main kitchen walkway, Bach watches Dretphi switch between tasks at different fashioned stations. In a lull of activity, he wanders in thought and directs an inquiry towards Dretphi. "Hey, um. Just thought about this. It always seems like you're the one cooking for the group. I mean, any particular reason why?"

Dretphi's steely gray eyes search the top of her mind. She ponders to herself a moment more and nonchalantly states. "I like cooking. I am proficient at preparing meals for groups. Why do you ask?"

Nodding with the answer, Bach approaches the subject carefully. "Oh, well, I just wondered if there was any special reason. It's obvious you seem to know what you are doing. Didn't know if there was any other history behind it."

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

Bach nods and leans against the entryway, puzzling out loud. "Your mother took the responsibility?"

Lifting the lid of the pot carefully, Dretphi releases a wave of steam up into the air, inspects the fluffy rice inside a holder, and tilts her head to the side. "Yes. Prefers to eat good food. Makes sure of THAT."

Replacing the lid, she rolls her shoulders into a stretch and sighs. "Many house duties she defers to my fathers. Brothers for some. Cooking has been hers since house formation."

Her stare into memory widens. "By her unchallenged claim to it. My fathers were astounded when she let me help in the kitchen. She takes pride in HER contribution. Her teaching me was significant."

Gradually acknowledging the weight in Dretphi's tone, Bach observes her efforts in preparing the meal. "Wow. Huh. Sounds like house duties are pretty serious business."

Dretphi twists the corner of her mouth and crosses her arms, grumbling. "Depends on the house. My mother is... VERY... exacting with her standards."

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

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

Glancing over with an uncertain grimace, Dretphi lifts a thoughtful eyebrow. "She said similar about sword fighting, grappling. I would consider her sentiments carefully."

Cideeda peeks quietly through the entryway into the kitchen next to Bach, surveying the feast in the making. Her emerald eyes lock onto the caramel topped brownies, and she unconsciously licks her lips. The growing toothy grin halts, and she spots the wax paper covering the dessert treats. Her furry ears drooping slightly, she furrows her brow and softly raps her clawtips upon the archway frame, contemplating. With a hint of resignation in her tone, she chimes out quizzically to Dretphi. "So, how much longer? Should I set the plates out?"

Dretphi stands back and analyzes the progress of each part of the meal, processing the internal calculus. "No longer than ten minutes. Set the table. Thank you."

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

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

Furrowing his gaze at the plate of brownies, Bach glances over to Dretphi, puzzling. "Well... I mean... She probably could have gotten one. Gods, I certainly didn't know she was there."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dretphi quickly nods in agreement, balancing out the contents between frying pans. "Good reasons."

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

She brushes past Bach through the gap between him and the entryway frame and lightly steps into the kitchen, maintaining a watch of the busy, distracted Dretphi. "So, how much longer? Cideeda almost has the table together..."

Approaching her target, she ponders out loud. "Oh, I could get the drinks going... and-"

The crisp crinkle of wax paper sharply contrasts the low, soft background din of the kitchen. Another fit of sheets crackling fills the air with the sounds of the clumsy struggle. Posture stiffening, Dretphi pivots in place and focuses a stoic glare down upon Sotalia. Bach follows the line of ire. Sotalia remains frozen, slowly turns her head and greets Dretphi's stare with innocent, pleading golden eyes. Attempting to nonchalantly release her grip on a caramel covered brownie, she awkwardly wipes the gooey topping upon a nearby wash rag and slinks closer towards Bach in the doorway. "So... Yeah... I'm going to get those drinks... Ready... Yes..."

Narrowing her hard stare, Dretphi crosses her strong arms, definition forming, and firmly nods towards the weak statement. Sotalia grins uneasily and maintains eye contact with Dretphi. Slipping behind Bach, she shifts him over slightly by his shoulders into the middle of the entry. Sotalia disappears, and Bach blinks blankly, shuddering. "Whoa. That's a death glare if I ever saw one."

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

----

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

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

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

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

Pausing in thought, Veevi dons an uncertain grimace and squints her pink pupil eyes. "So... THAT is the weird thing. Nothing. It was so... Weird."

She dismissively sighs, faintly frowning. "She's been riding my ass to teach me all the proper ways to do anything and everything, then complains about how I'm taking too long to do everything-"

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

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

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

Searching his mind, Chad frowns gradually and concern infiltrates his demeanor. "THAT is really not normal for her. Huh. I wonder what's happened."

He pauses in thought a moment and sighs. "Yeah... I probably should talk to her and see what's going on."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sliding out a bare arm from under the covers, she grips the bedroll blanket tightly and flaps up the sheets. Fully revealing her tan, brown-stripped, lean, and shapely form, she guides the covers back down over herself, winking with a sharp, eager grin. Chad blinks blankly, his mind recovering from the brief scenery. He smiles confidently and approaches.

Outside the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent, other tents around the campsite reflect the faint glow of the campfire. The sounds of the forest settle into the area. With lights inside darkening, other members of the group ready themselves for slumber. Soon, only the soft crackles of the low fire fill the quiet air. Over the many minutes, a long peace looms over the area. Interrupting the campsite ambience, the racket of carnal gymnastics from the Flames of the Phoenix branded tent pollute the soundscape. Faint grumbles of annoyance, frustration, and disgust punctuate the area, other members recognizing the familiar noise. Deedri's voice rises out from the background, directing a louder whisper. "Anyone else want cotton balls for their ears?"

-55-

Daedrican peers out from a row of underbrush, surveying the clearing near the wide roadway. Stepping forward, he cautiously scans over the immediate area and searches up towards the highway. "It does not seem like there has been any new activity here, my lady."

Tassilda rigidly moves into the thin grass underneath a large tree and stiffly scans the vicinity, putting blatant effort in avoiding eye contact with Daedrican. Granting a simple, quiet nod, she crosses her arms and straightens her posture. Daedrican gives a final slow sweep, turns back towards the treeline, and proceeds to push away brush in his path. "I must say, your magic is and was exceptionally impressive with those three bandits."

Chuckling lightheartedly, he motions Tassilda ahead, holding back a bundle of obstructive flora. "I still think that was one of the easiest captures of multiple bandits I've ever had. Admittedly, there have been a few easier single target captures. But... Your magical prowess still makes the top of my list, my lady."

A wandering cringe flowing over her face, Tassilda passes by Daedrican, continuing up a hill between the sparse trees. Daedrican follows and hikes up beside her. Pausing in thought for a moment, he turns his helmeted head towards her briefly, studies her a moment, and resumes facing forward. "It will be a light day on patrol. There are only a few other locations to inspect for new activity. Given what we've seen so far, I believe we will be confirming obvious conclusions."

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

Lifting his lightly armored arm towards a direction, he summons up a smile with a happy tone. "Since, it will take them some time to arrive at the meeting spot... I was curious if you want to take a long route and explore a nearby stream?"

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

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

Crossing her arms tightly, Tassilda tries to roll out the tension in her shoulders underneath her light draping top. Curling the corners of her mouth into a frown, her body language loosens and calms down. Her light blue on black eyes search within, darting through the thoughts in her mind. A pleasant smile starts to form, and the stress visibly wanes across her body. The transition halts. Her eyes lock onto something within. Her posture grows rigid. A cold exterior overtakes, and she swiftly reshapes her composure towards chilling. Narrowing her eyes at Daedrican with an icy stare, she radiates a superior aura. Daedrican tilts his head at the sudden shift. With a proper, deadpan tone, Tassilda drones. "No. I am NOT interested. We should go to the meeting point."

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

Daedrican pivots forward and faces another direction. Tassilda's firm, hard cadence weighs down and compresses the air surrounding them. "AND... I would prefer YOU stop calling me my lady..."

Pausing mid step, Daedrican nods slowly and apologetically extends his genuine concern. "My most sincere apologies. I only meant it as an honorific. If you find it disrespectful, I will immediately cease. Thank you for informing me of my error. I will try to avoid any future mistakes in that regard."

Walking orderly, he points out the direction ahead of him, and a quieter, meeker tone leaves him. "This way leads to the meeting point."

Tassilda observes Daedrican march away in front of her. Lagging behind, she purposefully maintains a distance from him. Beneath fluttering locks of raven black hair, a flit of smugness flashes upon her face, quickly fading into the cold, gray toned background. Following behind the junior paladin, she projects an air of superiority and proper stance. Daedrican glances back, and Tassilda flashes a mean glare in return. Her rigid expression presents an invulnerable, frozen, and defensive resolve. Her light blue on black eyes dart around in moments of uncertainty, telegraphing a will within torrents of doubt, confusion, and worry. Her pace occasionally slows, her thoughts trying to overtake her. Daedrican patiently waits quietly for her to close the distance and respectfully resumes his march .

----

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

The flow wanes, and she catches the ball in her hand, presenting it to Cideeda and Dretphi. "The foam is treated with an alchemical compound that is repelled by magic sources. So, when you flow your energy towards it..."

Waves of colorful flow wrap around Sotalia's forearm and swirl up from her palm beneath the foam ball. The lightweight sphere hops up and steadies itself above Sotalia's hand. Manipulating the rotation with slight flexes of her fingers, Sotalia grins eagerly. "It rides your energy up into the air."

Lifting a confident eyebrow, she twists her hand, the magic spiraling around, and spins the foam orb. Moments later, the flows of power wane, and the ball floats down back into Sotalia's palm. Blinking back to full awareness, Cideeda and Dretphi lower their gazes upon the similar foam balls in front of them and take them in hand. With Sotalia excitedly observing both, Cideeda and Dretphi attempt to will magic flow upon the toy spheres. Cideeda rolls her shoulders, deftly balances the ball in her open palm, and narrows her emerald green eyes upon the object. Grimacing with twitches of frustration upon her light brown face, her furry ears level off to the sides of her head, and she grits her sharp teeth. Seconds later, she grumbles out an irritated growl. "Come on..."

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

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

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

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

Mulling the idea over between flicks of her furry ears, Cideeda draws a deep breath in, relaxes arm upon the table, and closes her eyes, exhaling slowly. With everyone else watching, faint threads of green magical flow flicker into existence. The thin trails slowly glide over Cideeda's forearm and collect into a haze beneath the foam ball. More flow condenses in Cideeda's palm, and wisps swirl unevenly upwards around the sphere. The foam ball's balance drifts around aimlessly. A stronger pulse of flow bubbles up, and rolls the orb out of Cideeda's hand onto the tabletop. Cideeda's ears perk immediately, tracking the faint noise. She opens her emerald green eyes wide in surprise and smiles eagerly, swiftly snatching the ball into her clawed fingers. "WAIT! I didn't move it! Well... I did. BUT, not physically..."

With a wide-eyed stare, she grins toothily, her long fluffy wagging below her. "Oh... THAT'S. SO. COOL!"

Cideeda quickly resets for another attempt, Sotalia proudly amused. Dretphi aims her attention to the foam orb in her hand. She readies her arm, narrows her steely gray eyes upon the target, and concentrates with faint traces of a wince. Glancing over, Bach perks his brow and blinks his eyes to a glowing blue. He tilts his head and raises a pointing hand instructively. "Uh, you might want to ease it-"

Flows of red stream into Dretphi's palm and collect into a growing bubble under the foam ball. With a sudden surge of power, the swell bursts upwards. The orb jumps into the air, zips through Sebastian's ghostly form, and bounces off the ceiling. The ball drops back through Sebastian's ethereal visage. Shuddering visibly, Sebastian glances uncomfortably downwards at the group. "aAhungh... Gods. THAT never stops feeling weird."

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

Bach subdues a humored smirk and sighs understandingly. "It's fine. Really. I mean, given that flow sword you've been practicing with, you're just used to leading with A LOT more force."

Presenting a genuine smile with awkward tinges, he pinches his thumb and forefinger together. "Just start with the tiniest amount, and ramp it up from there."

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

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

Cideeda tilts an incredulous stare at Bach and lifts her eyebrow expectantly. Blinking, Bach struggles with the words and stumbles towards an explanation, falling short of coherence. Aristespha sighs in commiseration and nods with her own dissatisfaction, her long, pointed ears slightly drooping. "That is an unfortunately, very complicated topic. For what you are doing right now... The best explanation is that it is what you are willing the color to be."

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

Aristespha giggles with a roll of her eyes at herself. "Do not worry. Every mage does it. It is just part of the experience."

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

With a flexing of her long nailed fingers around the prismatic flows, she rolls her golden eye at herself, tossing back a lock of fiery orange, wavy hair. "DRAMATIC era."

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

Bach shrugs his shoulders and laughs. "Yeah... I mean, when you are flowing just general magical energy, it tends to react to light and emit light to your... expectations?"

He pauses a moment and ponders out loud. "I think that's the best way to put it? Well, at least, the best way I know since I never got around to taking those really high level theory courses."

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

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

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

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

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

Narrowing a contemplative stare at flows in her hand, Dretphi tilts her head. "Similar to mineral compositions affecting colors."

A spark of comprehension lights up Cideeda's eyes, and she grins eagerly. "SO, that's why those magical materials you all were working on were different colors..."

Wandering her gaze between the mages around, she perks up her furry ears. "Okay... So, depending on what energies and properties you are using, it changes how light is affected?"

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

Aristespha rolls her eyes in playful disgust and snorts mock derisively. "OH GODS... One of these days I will HAVE to take you all to see the History department's magic categorization chart collection at the Grand Library. ALL of our ancestors tried SO hard to fit everything into a color chart. The arguments they must have had."

Pondering a moment, Dretphi gazes at Bach curiously. "Can you make a red barrier?"

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

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

----

Within the large, wide campsite between rows of parked Chrome Crusader utility vehicles and cargo trucks, personnel flow through food lines and settle at tables underneath lighted tent canopies. At the largest, most prominent table in the center of the base, the heavily armored Senior Paladin Maxon laughs heartily out, grasping hold of a heavy duty cup on the table. "Now, THAT is another story for another time. And... Well..."

He eyes the Next Adventurers of Nexus recording crews slinking around the edges of the assembled mess hall. "One to tell when the cameras AREN'T on."

With a clipboard in hand, Samantha glances up from overseeing the organized chaos and smiles slyly towards the Senior Paladin. Chad dons his trademark white smile and nods in agreement. "I'll gladly take you up on that offer anytime. I am always wanting to hear more about my grandfather's exploits."

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

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

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

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

Veevi's pointy, upright ears perk, and she snaps her attention at Chad, smiling appreciatively. Leaning against his arm, she grins with a flutter of her pink pupil eyes in view of the cameras. "Well, I just saw that gun pointed at you and I had to do something."

Trakenthin twists his mouth in between bites of food and mutes a grumble, witnessing the attention-absorbing display from Veevi. Searching around the table of the higher ranking Chrome Crusader officers, Maxon squints at the number of empty seats. He glances over to Chad, puzzling. "Chad? Where is the rest of your group?"

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

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

Leaning herself out on the tabletop, Veevi turns towards and faces Maxon with a cute smile, fluttering her eyes. "Even me?"

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

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

A distant, loud wooden crash echoes into the area. Observant personnel, Maxon, Chad, and Trakenthin search around the mess camp. Veevi's fuzzy ears flick towards a spot in the past the treeline. Following the noise, her head turns and faces the source. Another distant chaotic, wooden cacophony bounces throughout the surrounding forest. Everyone, including the camera crew, seek the origin of the latest noises. From different, far away locations surrounding the campsite, multiple flares launch up and burst brightly against the night sky. Radios chime out, and alarms upon support vehicles blare out. Standing up quickly from the table, Maxon snaps his concern to a nearby officer. "Status?"

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

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

A nearby armored personnel carrier violently rocks to the side, teetering close to the very limits of its tipping point. Loud, angry crackling swears blare out from the other side of the vehicle and harsh metal slams against stone in slow, solid rhythm. Scrapes rattle through the structure of the carrier, swaying away from powerful forces. Heavy footsteps rumble out. Opposing giants struggle towards the front of the vehicle. Sparks erupting, a huge golem rams a heavily armored soldier through the narrow gap between the front and back ends of vehicles. The loud groans of straining hydraulics and stressing servos flood the air around the fight, the Chrome Crusader Heavy Squad captain grappling with the magical construct. Trakenthin's hazel eyes spring wide open, and he yells, baring teeth. "Captain!"

Trakenthin sweeps up his nearby helmet onto his head, snatches up his sword and shield into his hands, and charges forward. Narrowing his stern stare upon the golem, Maxon lunges forth into the fray, plowing through furniture effortlessly. Chad watches in momentary shock. Blinking back to awareness, jr secures his equipment nearby and rushes forth. Freezing up in near panic, Veevi stares in wide-eyed horror at the monstrosity muscling around the huge, heavy powered suited man. The camera crews frantically splinter up into teams, sharing anything roughly resembling cover, and train their recording equipment at the melee. In the scrambling moments, Veevi shudders back to the current situation, frantically pats around for her laser pistol, and quivers in place with a shaky grip upon the weapon.

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

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

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

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

Maxon and the captain release their grapples, leap up to their feet, and rush away. From safety the team of four watch a final blowout of magical energy, jets of flow billowing into fading clouds and arcs of power crackling to silence. A brief moment of silence looms over. Soon the noises of distant and nearby battles rise out of the background din. Maxon snaps his stern stare upon the captain. "Where the fuck did you find that thing?!"

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

Growling in frustration, Maxon nods and scans the surrounding area. "Okay. Summon your squad. And, get your patrol back to camp for defense."

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

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

Panting out his nerves, Chad slowly regains his composure and opens his eyes wide with the realization. "OH SHIT! We need to find Deedri, Modoran, and Tassilda!"

Trakenthin nods his concern and readies himself at Chad's side. Chad takes a deep breath, exhales out his nerves, and surveys surrounding forest at the perimeter of the camp. Spotting Veevi still shaking in place, he points to her with a commanding tone. "Veevi!"

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

Donning a brave, heroic gaze, Chad motions Veevi's attention to the camera crews. "Escort the camera crews to safety. They're setting up a defensive perimeter at the center of camp."

Blinking out of her stupor, Veevi shakily musters up her composure and nods at the task. She calls out for everyone and signals everyone to follow her. Chad glances over to Maxon. Smirking understandingly, Maxon nods and departs quickly. Chad points out a direction to Trakenthin and the two take off. Samantha watches Chad and Trakenthin run into the forest and glances at Gerald. "Okay! So we need to-"

Firmly gripping Samantha's arm, Gerald ushers her along with the rest of the crew toward the interior of the camp. "NOPE!"

----

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

Balancing her attention between the dark surroundings and the conversation, she cautiously steps over near a large tree, nervously watching the underbrush at the perimeter of the small clearing. "What?! I didn't hear that last part, the signal is breaking up..."

She narrows her stare and reflexively straightens her posture. "Golems?!"

Pausing a moment, she glances down at herself and sighs out her nerves. "No. I'm fine. I was on my way back from our camp to join you all for dinner. I went there after assisting the medics."

Her exterior grows stern, a serious demeanor overtaking her fair face. She glances around the area, instincts driving her paranoia, and pushes up against the tree. "Yes. I saw her there."

Darting her unease between darker parts of the forest perimeter, she exhales slowly. "I have not seen Modoran."

She tightens her grip upon the aetherphone against her ear. "I agree. I'll see if I find Tassilda along the way, and we'll meet up with you there."

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

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

Deedri grits her teeth and widens her eyes in terror. The faint light from the overhead night sky casts down upon an emerging, mechanically skeletal head. Jagged metal and rough stone cling to an ancient, damaged skull frame. The quadrupedal magical construct stomps through the thick underbrush without a single sign of hindrance, marching across the clearing. Watching in momentary terror, Deedri's mind traces out the meter tall, two meter long, sharp tooth and clawed golem. Her body tenses, and she realizes its trajectory passes next to her. Slipping behind the tree, she frantically scours the area around her and snaps her head upwards. Determination floods her face, and she sinks her clawed fingers deep into the bark of the tree. With quick and careful motions, she pulls herself swiftly and quietly up, claws from her toed boots boosting up. High above, she stares fearfully down around the trunk and witnesses the incomplete outer shell of the magical monstrosity shift with the locomotion of the exposed interior framework. Streams of magical flow pulse from within and animate the golem forward, closing in.

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

Through a gap in the canopy, she spots the fast motion of a tumbling object, arcing low over into the distant forest. The mass drops out of sight. Crashing noises, wooden snaps, and a solid thud upon the ground echoes out. The golem snaps its partially armored, metal animal skull, tracking the new sounds. Pulsing a brighter yellow glow in its eyes, the magical construct darts off in the direction of the noises and flattens the large bushes effortlessly, leaving the area. Deedri keeps her mouth firmly shut and remains absolutely motionless for tense, long, agonizing seconds.

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

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

Modoran checks over Deedri with concern, readying to assist. "Are you okay?"

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

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

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

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

A sly smile graces Modoran's dusky bluish gray face, and he nods with tinges of pride. "Yeah. Never underestimate a well thrown rock."

He peers uneasily around the tree and points out a direction to Deedri. "Speaking of which... I do not think these things are THAT intelligent. But, I think it WILL figure out it was rock soon enough. We need to move."

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

----

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

Tassilda halts her frustrated struggle. A shiver freezes her spine rigid. Her eyes widen at the growing, glowing reflections in the windows. Spinning around, she watches a massive, red-eyed form charge through the campfire, aiming long, sharp horns at her. With a rhythmic, thunderous cacophony of heavy feet upon ground, the red miasma billowing bull rockets towards Tassilda. Absolute shock and fright plain on her face, Tassilda claws along the side of the vehicle towards the back. The haphazardly assembled golem bull adjusts its trajectory. A loud crash upon a chorus of armored footsteps and servo assisted movement interrupts Tassilda's wide-eyed horror.

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

Blinking to awareness from her fright, Tassilda quickly nods and backs away from the stuck magical machination. "Y-Y-yes!"

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

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

Tassilda and Daedrican rush meters away from the black sports utility vehicle. A loud metal groan abruptly snaps and loud stone crackles out. Constantly shuddering in sync to the shocking stun baton, the golem tears the last magically imbued fibers free from the embedded horn, the loose threads dangling from its mechanical skull. It trains billowing red eyes upon Daedrican and Tassilda. It digs its feet into the ground and launches in a full speed charge. Bracing himself, Daedrican watches the golem's approach and calls out. "Keep behind me! Turn with me when I say so!"

Tassilda readies herself into position, quickly bouncing her attention between the charging construct and Daedrican's body language. The bull gets close. Daedrican's body tenses, and he yells out. "GO LEFT!"

Tassilda hops to the left. Daedrican side steps, pivots, and shield bashes the golem towards the right. The bull tumbles off course, sliding into a thick patch of brambles. Daedrican aims his heavy energy pistol, and bolts of blue-white plasma repetitiously erupt out. The projectiles slam and explode in powerful bursts of bright energy. The illumination reflects off the fresh cracks in Daedrican's transparent, polymer shield. His head glances down, noticing the damage, and he sighs. "Our options are running out. I may be able to shield you a few more times. But..."

Mustering up a brave smile, he glances over. "If there's anything your magical prowess can do for us... We need it NOW."

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

Daedrican glances back from watching the bull golem and cocks his helmeted head, puzzling. "Okay. How do we use them?"

Tassilda holds one vial forward towards Daedrican's pistol wielding hand. "Throw them hard enough to break upon that thing."

With a swift motion, Daedrican holsters his heavy energy pistol, grasps the small tube, and nods. "Understood-"

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

Tassilda leaps clear. Daedrican steps out of the way and grinds his shield against the assault, sending the golem off course. Pulling his arm back, he flings the vial with all his strength at the construct. The glass shatters upon the side of the magical machine. A wave of transparent energy pulses out, and the red flows of energy along the armored surface of the golem waver and dim. Daedrican quickdraws his pistol and fires three round bursts of plasma. The bolts drill into the dark plates and explode out energized clouds of superheated gas and fragments of ancient armor. A few projectiles slip into the beast, and sounds of malfunction and internal damage cascade out. Barely maintaining balance, the bull golem sloppily stumbles, pivoting the breached section away. Daedrican holsters his pistol swiftly and holds his open hand behind expectantly. "OH. THAT did NOT agree with it."

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

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

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

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

Nodding, Tassilda concentrates on a series of incantations and gestures. The grinds and groans of struggle surge louder from the magical construct. After the initial sequence, she bites her lower lip and sighs out her nerves. "I will charge it up as much as I can. I will NEED a clear shot."

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

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

Summoning all her courage, resolve, and will, she side steps out from behind Daedrican, hoists up the large orb of transparent, disruptive magical energy, and aims. With the golem ten meters out, she releases the sphere. It jets forth towards the construct. The golem angles it charge at Tassilda and subsequently crashes into the massive ball of energy. A wave of transparent energy bursts out, engulfing the golem. The red flows flicker, dim, and halt. The mass of ancient stone and metal coasts lifelessly forward from momentum alone.

A shrill, high pitched whine screams out from within. An explosion rips apart the back half of the construct. The fiery upper half zooms towards Tassilda. Stumbling from the spell, Tassilda barely manages to lift her arms. Swiftly planting his feet in the way, Daedrican raises his shield and sweeps his free arm behind, guiding Tassilda into his shadow. A wall of fiery debris violently crashes and splashes around, the destructive chorus of scraping metal, grinding stone, and shattering plastic engulfing the area.

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

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

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

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

Holding his tone, he watches tears well up in Tassilda's expectant eyes. "My lady."

Tassilda firmly closes her eyes, tears freeing themselves, and sobs, cradling Daedrican's head. Maintaining a calm smile, Daedrican concentrates on each labored breath. His helmet chimes out medical beacon and radio transponder alerts. An aetherphone chimes out, and Tassilda fumbles through her pants pocket and answers it in between surges of tears.

-56-

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

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

Lifting an inquisitive brow, he politely glances up from his car window. "If I might inquire?"

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

He bows forward towards Isaac's window, a bit of concern slipping out in his tone. "Though, I would highly recommend NOT stopping in these woods, until we've fully completed our investigation of the area. The quicker you can get to your destination the better."

Isaac's eyes widen in surprise, and he frowns slightly. "Oh my! Well, I do hope your group fared well against such an attack."

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

Pondering the new information in a moment of silence, Isaac focuses an inquisitive gaze upon the rear guard. "Good. Very good. That's excellent news to hear. I do hope everyone recovers fully as soon as possible. Admittedly, that must have been a quite significant threat to have done anything to your sizable, well-armed group."

Narrowing his stare, he glances out into the depths of the woods between the tight spacing of trees, telegraphing hints of paranoia. "Is there anything I should be on the lookout for?"

The man searches his mind for a moment and sighs with tinges of uncertainty. "I'm sorry. I am not authorized to release much information, sir. BUT, the attack involved magical beings. So, if you notice strange magical phenomena..."

Pausing a moment, he summons up an official, well-recited cadence. "First. Evacuate to safety, as quickly as possible. Then, please contact local authorities with as much detailed information as you can provide. Apart from that, I can't say much more, at the moment. Hopefully, an official release will be made public with more details soon enough."

Isaac nods in agreement, presenting an appreciative smile to the man. "Very interesting. If I am ever so unfortunate enough to see anything strange, I'll be certain to report it as soon as I get to safety. But, let us both hope fortune is on both our sides today."

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

Isaac nods, rolls up his window, and accelerates his sedan into the open lane. The vehicle rolls through the corridor on the highway at a modest, cautious speed. Taking moments away from the clear passage ahead, Isaac glances at the various Chrome Crusader vehicles around. His attention settles upon a black sports utility vehicle in the middle of a group of "Next Adventurers of Nexus" vans. Next to the black vehicle, a brown haired man in a "Flames of the Phoenix" breastplate stares in a mix of frustration and resignation at the massive hole in the rear bumper of the sports utility vehicle. Noticing the number of camera crews in the area, Isaac gently accelerates his sedan and moves through the rest of the route quickly, keeping his face angled away.

Near the exit point, he spots a large flatbed truck and strange debris upon it. Unconsciously slowing his car down, he watches another heavy utility truck's crane hoists up the mostly intact remains of golem over the flatbed. A few power armored Chrome Crusaders stand at the ready to assist, maintaining a protective perimeter. Isaac gawks in disbelief, recognition over taking him. His eyes search and wander between the familiar construct components. Situational awareness calls him back to present surroundings, and Isaac remembers to drive his sedan. Clearing the exit checkpoint, Isaac stares out his windshield distantly, eye searching his mind. A mix of thoughts telegraph their struggle upon his face. Minutes later, determination overtakes his face. Isaac reaches a hand out and rummages through his backpack. Balancing his attention between driving and searching, he finds a collection of maps, flops the mass of papers upon the passenger's seat, and focuses his gaze at the road ahead. Spotting a few road signs indicating an upcoming intersection, a frown grows upon his face. Along a clear straight section of road, he snaps his stare to the map and rests a finger upon the spot. Tapping upon a highlighted spot in the middle of a dense forest north of an access road, he scans the remote intersection signage and slows for a turn.

----

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

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

Painful confusion infiltrates her gray face fully, and she stares harshly into the light blue on black eyes of the other. Her lips twist into agonizing frowns. Her reluctance gives way to the reality, forcing her to acknowledge. With each passing minute, she tightens her grip upon the counter, grimacing, and painfully recognizes herself. A swell of shame washes up regrets to the front of her mind. Closing her eyes hard, she averts her stare away from the mirror, dropping her head down. She squeezes heavy drops of tears into the sink between a curtain of raven black hair. Despite her best efforts, the sounds of sobbing trickle faintly through the bathroom door out into the dark upstairs hallway.

----

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

From his rear passenger's side seat, Bach smirks and rolls his blue eyes amused. "I mean, we are going to the game shop after we get supplies. There is a very high chance we are going to get purposely distracted in there."

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

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

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

Wrestling down a frustrated tinge in her frown, she sighs. "Which can take a LONG while."

She glances over to Sotalia, smirking. "Also, I will be showing someone else the process."

Sotalia smiles proudly and pulls her handle, opening the front passenger side door. Glancing over to Cideeda mid exit, she directs a whisper. "Remember to get me ALL the latest issues of Tinkering Tina."

A toothy, mischievous grin widens on Cideeda, and she playfully winks back to Sotalia, hinting sarcasm. "Oh... But of course."

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

Cideeda presents an aura of innocence, waiting for Sotalia to leave the vehicle. Aristespha steps out of the humvee onto the sidewalk leading to the entrance, pats her side, and momentarily startled. Snapping a glance back into the cab of the vehicle, she calms down with her embarrassment, spotting the sword at Bach's side. Aristespha shakes her head at herself with a sigh. Bach nods reassuringly to Aristespha. "Don't worry, I got it for the moment."

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

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

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

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

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

Aristespha sighs, brushing stray locks of her silvery blue over her long, pointed ear. "Indeed. I really wish you could assist me. BUT, they have gotten ridiculously strict these days about who can handle what substances. It seems a few backwood alchemists have caused a lot of trouble with whatever questionable concoctions they keep making."

With a nonchalant wave of her hand, Sotalia smiles contentedly, laughing. "Oh, don't worry, girl. Anything with THAT much paperwork surrounding it..."

Resting a hand on her chest, she smirks contentedly. "I'm perfectly happy letting YOU handle. Gods know, you went to school to get THAT privilege."

Aristespha snorts sarcastically, rolling her violet eyes. "Yes... Quite THE privilege. Nothing like your license being on the line whenever you purchase certain compounds, and there is that surprise audit always lurking around the corner."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

She snaps briefly to another thought. "Is everyone okay?"

Blinking to attention, Deedri's mood lightens swiftly. She picks up her pace and steps closer with relief. "Yes. Everyone is, relatively, okay in my group. I'm here to check up on a few patients I assisted in stabilizing, before they were medevacked here."

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

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

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

With an understanding smirk, a chuckle escapes Deedri . "OH... You have PLENTY of time, then."

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

----

Sotalia steps into a small lounge area littered with chairs, tables, and vending machines. Surveying the vicinity. she locks her golden gaze upon the prominent, new, fancy coffee dispenser. Her attention immediately wanders across the gamut of colorful options, gradually scrolling across the large touch on the front. Sotalia stands in awe before the advanced coffee machine and studies the seemingly endless options with great interest, analysis paralysis reaching for her.

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

Stirring sluggishly from a stupor, Tassilda slowly inspects the floor before her and notices someone standing. She gradually lifts her head up and reveals her gray face to Sotalia. With a distant, disconnected stare, the overhead lighting showcases the regret and shame evident. Sotalia's gaze softens, stark familiarity surfacing old memories, and her empathy forces recognition. A surge of ire swells up within Tassilda, twisting her grimace. Trying to summon up spite, she falters, focusing upon Sotalia's golden eyes. With painful wince, Tassilda drops her head down and bows her distant stare towards her rippling reflection in the cold, black coffee.

Two remain in silence. Their reserved, awkward body language telegraphs the lack of any clue in addressing the situation. Uneasy seconds later, a slight frown curls the corner of Sotalia's mouth, and she sighs. "Started hating the person you see in the mirror?"

Tassilda's light blue on black eyes open wide in sheer surprise, and she cautiously lifts an inquisitive gaze to Sotalia, peeking through stray strands of raven black hair. Seconds of studying Sotalia's intent later, Tassilda bites her lower lip and nods with a hard close of her eyes. "Yes... I- I mean..."

She pulls back her hair over a swirling horn and unconsciously hooks it with a finger. "H-How do you know?"

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

Averting her uncertainty around the small lounge, Sotalia settles her focus back upon the awaiting Tassilda. "Okay... This might sound odd, but..."

She draws in a long breath. "Would you like to talk to someone who has been... Well... THERE, before?"

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

A frown softens her gaze, and she sighs. "I just remember always wanting someone to talk to each time."

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

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

----

Tassilda rests her back against the courtyard bench and tilts her head reflectively, her eyes searching through her a flurry of memories. "And... After that... Well, I have been mentally tracing it all back since Monday night and spent most of Tuesday in a haze."

She exhales and slightly shakes her head. "Without it becoming a LONG, SAD tale, I think it all grew from when my father didn't renew the marriage contract with my mother."

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

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

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

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

Lifting a puzzled eyebrow, Tassilda sips her warm, black coffee, blinking thoughtfully. "To her credit, she never said anything directly about my half-sister. Unfortunately, that didn't stop her from offhand comments in general."

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

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

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

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

Curling a quick smile, Tassilda nods. Rifling of emotions plays out on her gray face, and she stumbles around for an appropriate expression in vain. "It just feels so weird to... finally examine it all... And, realizing what's happened... Fully, I guess?"

She winces and furrows her brow. "I had been going along with it for so long, I guess I forgot to check to see where I was going?"

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

Turning her head, she meets the gaze of Tassilda and sighs. "It's a really strange place to be when you sit down and figure out why you are what you are..."

She struggles briefly with a swallow, sips some of her elaborate coffee, and frowns slightly. "So, you can stop being what you are."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Summoning up a weak smile, Sotalia glances over. "I'm okay with that."

Tassilda blinks a bit surprised and shifts her focus to her current thoughts. Sotalia smiles, lifts an eyebrow, and narrows a gaze at Tassilda. "You have to understand, my situation was different. I think you have a good chance to make amends with someone here..."

Focusing her stare upon Tassilda, she leans slightly close. "The one you came here for anyway."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A sly grin emerges on Sotalia's light tan, dark gray edged face, and she chuckles with an eager tint. "OF COURSE. I'm not against a little professional competition. I quite enjoyed our match up at the convention."

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

The two walk down a concrete path through the clinic architecture encircled courtyard. Approaching an entry door, Sotalia furrows her brow and inquires. "So, a bunch of small magical constructs attacked everyone?"

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

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

Blinking in surprise, Tassilda snaps her attention to Sotalia. "Really?!"

----

Aristespha blinks her violet eyes in utter astonishment and shakes her head slowly in disbelief. "Gods. That is unbelievable. I am ever so glad no one was killed in such an attack."

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

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

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

Deedri's auburn eyes open wide, and her furry ears flick up, glancing at Aristespha. "Wow... I actually... Oh."

Furrowing her fair brow, she straightens her posture and tenses. "I actually wouldn't be surprised if THIS was some kind of crude test run. Despite how badly put together they seemed, they were still very hard to fight. Incredibly dangerous."

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

Sudden worry widens Aristespha's eyes, and she hops up out of her seat, searching the area. "Tassilda is here?!"

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

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

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

With realization plain upon each other's faces, both stare down the hallway at the branch from the second left. They ready themselves to move out. Sotalia and Tassilda round the corner, casually conversing. Sotalia postures confidently, recounting a story, and Tassilda grins, delightfully amused. The two continue their exchange of tales and prideful boasts. Aristespha and Deedri gawk in complete bewilderment. Remaining wordlessly flabbergasted, both watch the peaceful interchange between Sotalia and Tassilda. Seconds later, Deedri shrugs her shoulders with clawed hands out to the sides. "Okay... I have no fucking clue how this has happened. No, really, I got NOTHING that could explain THIS."

Contorting her ivory face between variations of confusion, Aristespha settles upon a clueless stare. "Gods. I am glad I am not the only one. To be quite honest, I would have expected a LOT more blood."

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

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

----

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

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

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

Smiling Daedrican chuckles lightly and fights down a yawn. "Well... Just awake enough, really."

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

Cocking his head of long silver hair to the side, Daedrican's interest piques. "Certainly. Honestly, a visitor would be very welcomed right now."

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

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

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

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

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

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

She grits her teeth and grimaces against the self-reflective pain. "To say the least... I have a lot of personal issues to work out, in time. But..."

She swallows hard and summons up her courage. "I wanted to make sure that... Well... Um... Thank you for allowing me to accompany your team and assist you in your assignments."

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

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

Daedrican blinks, only partially hiding his pure astonishment. The stun wears off, and he slowly nods. "I greatly appreciate your words..."

Pausing a moment, he watches Tassilda. "... My lady."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Daedrican flicks his eyes over to the table and chuckles carefully. "Yes, they have, my lady. Thankfully, they found both relatively intact. Unfortunately, I think they had to pull one out of a tree. I haven't decided if they used channel locks or a pry bar to get it free. It surprisingly picked up quite a bit of velocity when it sheared from my helmet."

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

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

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

He perks an eyebrow. "You may not need to do much at all."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-57-

Bach alternates his gaze between Aristespha and Sotalia. A few sweeps later, he blinks his blue eyes with a grimace and shakes his head in disbelief, leaning his back against his chair. "Wow... Just... Wow..."

Aristespha nods thoughtfully, agreeing in a similar bewildered fashion, and sighs. She runs her hands through her long, silvery blue hair, tossing the locks over her shoulders. "From what Deedri described, these golems were NOT as well constructed as the one we fought. But..."

With a stiff frown, she draws in a long breath through her nose. "Fighting multiple constructs of that variety, at once> THAT is an absolutely frightening thought."

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

In the moment of quiet processing, Bach furrows his brow at the thought and glances over to Aristespha, twisting his mouth uncomfortably. "Well... If we haven't sent over anything official about that ancient golem factory to the authorities, now might be a good time."

With a few taps upon a tablet in front of her, Aristespha softly groans with an uneasy smirk and gazes down upon paragraphs of text on the screen. "That is exactly what I have been working on, today. I thought sending copies over to both Captain Hackle and Captain Hays would be good, too. Maybe bypass a few of the usual hurdles in these drawn out processes."

Bach and Sotalia nod with Aristespha's proposal. Grumbling out her irritation, Sotalia sneers her upper lip on her light tan face and narrows her golden eyes down at the table. "It's GOT to be that Terra Priest group around there. What the fuck are those nature nutjobs thinking?"

Cocking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side, she slides her narrowing stare between Bach and Aristespha. "And... How the hell did they even get them working? Don't you need some actual skill and knowledge to pull that off?!"

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

Dropping a hand down on the table, Sotalia drums her long, black nails upon the tabletop. "But... I thought they needed Faelatelia for their plans? Wasn't she some critical part?"

Aristespha shakes her head slowly and sighs, the situation visibly dawning upon her. "I believe they needed Faelatelia to bind spirits to the golems. But..."

She squints her violet eyes, examining her theory audibly. "It is very likely that Meredosia has enough working knowledge to get the constructs together from the parts. She did spend some significant time in that hidden factory. Not the ideal solution she probably wanted, but still viable enough as demonstrated."

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

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

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

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

Crossing her patterned arms, she flutters her eyes with grimace. "You don't attack the Chrome Crusaders and NOT expect a lot of powerful people to take notice."

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

Drawing a deep breath, Aristespha rubs her ivory, blue and gray hinted temples and frowns sharply. "Unfortunately, that is probably why the attack happened."

Bach and Sotalia shift their attention towards Aristespha. Moments of collecting her thoughts later, Aristespha contends with a saddened tone and wrestles her grimace. "Chelindia and the old members were very likely THE major regulating element in that organization. If they have left, you have a leader that no longer has someone to legitimately question her."

Rolling his eyes at the situation, Bach groans uneasily. "Ah. Shit. And, there's no longer enough people in that group to keep the rest from going too far off the deep end."

Sotalia cringes and tightens her crossed arms with an uncomfortable squirm. "OH. That's never a good recipe for anything. I know THAT from personal experience."

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

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

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

Lifting an eyebrow, Sotalia smirks and presses down a bit of embarrassment. "Well... As much as I wanted to be the superior queen bitch of the land and get back at her... It was..."

She swallows down a fit of guilt and sighs. "It... It hit close to home. I don't know. Didn't feel right to be an ass to her then."

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

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

Sotalia grins appreciatively at Bach. Seconds later, she blinks back to awareness and scans around the living area. "Well, are we going to do magic drills today or what?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

----

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

Bach glances through the open bedroom door into the room and watches Dretphi pore over the book. Scanning around the room, he settles his wandering gaze upon the significant stacks of reading material next to Dretphi on her bed. He squints at the collection of paperback books and notices various bookmarks in one stack and none in others, one stack of older volumes sliding slowly into a splay. Dretphi blinks her eyes wide and reflexively mutters loudly a few choice phrases of grath, swirling with incredulous and astonished sentiments. She puzzles out loud to herself in mumbles of grath and swiftly flips back through a number of pages, frustration searching for an explanation.

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

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

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

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

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

Furrowing an incredulous brow at the novel, she twists a faint grimace. "Process it later."

Lifting up an intrigued eyebrow, Bach focuses his gaze upon the book in question. Dretphi rests it on top of one of the stacks, and Bach inquires. "So... What's that particular one about?"

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

Blinking for a moment, Bach tilts his head to the side, crossing his arms, and puzzles at the statement. "Interesting..."

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

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach smiles awkwardly, stumbling about the point. "Oh, um, I'm trying to figure out the draw of such a book. I mean..."

He pauses a moment and carefully states. "I guess that sort of situation is a bit of a rarity in Grath society?"

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

Bach nods slowly, understanding developing, and leans against the door frame, stretching his back. "Yeah... I can imagine having to choose something on that scale of importance can be daunting. Especially if you have significant relationships with two houses."

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

She exhales long and wrestles a smirk. "Still a significant choice."

Pausing, she searches her mind with her steely gray eyes and carefully pieces together an explanation. "A house does not bind you exclusively to that house for personal relationships. Most have preference. Aligns that way over time. Not a requirement."

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

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

The walk down the wooden floors of the main hallway. Dretphi glances over to Bach, hunting for the right terms. "Most grath are not... Possessive? Encouraged to be mutual? Honest? Open? It is hard to translate to Americ. Does not have equivalent words."

Bach gradually nods, the concept solidifying more in his mind between shifts of his expression. With hints of understanding in tone, he furrows his brow. "Yeah. I think I get the idea. It seems to work really well for most of the grath I've run into. Though..."

He eyes Dretphi with a vague frown. "I've heard of a few bad stories."

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

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

Sliding open the glass back door for Dretphi, Bach shrugs nonchalantly and motions her through. "No, I get it. That sounds actually pretty typical. Honestly, a bit more than some families I've known do on any regular basis."

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

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

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

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

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

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

She grits her teeth briefly, tempering her past emotions with an aged acceptance. "I was upset. Sought out my mother. Found her in the living room. In my birth father's favorite chair. Wrapped up in a blanket. Reading a romance novel."

Twisting his mouth closer towards amusement, Bach raises a curious eyebrow, prying. "You mean the ones with the ridiculous covers?"

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

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

Shaking his head, Bach brushes his longer brown hair back, sweeping the white streak off to the side, and scratches his bearded chin speculatively. "You know, I can't help but to think there's some aspect of taboo with the differences of cultures going on that must be the big draw for those books."

Blinking blankly for a few moments, Dretphi quietly ponders the notion, crossing her arms, She sways her head in thought and mulls over out loud. "To a degree. We have never been interested in harem themed graphic novels. Possibly an exotic allure to the strict fashions of romantic relationships in the novels?"

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

Bach chuckles and shakes his head, walking up to the rest of the group with Dretphi.

----

Meredosia struts confidently across the shaded clearing in the middle of encircling, gigantic trees and ancient buildings. Beaming out a smug grin to the world, she leads an accompaniment of evuukians in rustic, naturalist uniform. The gathering follows along, and many demonstrate their excited praise of Meredosia. A number prompt for answers to many questions in evuukian. Most of the decorated members seem eager. A few show their concern upon their faces, vocal tones mirroring the sentiment.

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

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

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

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

Narrowing his stare towards Meredosia, he projects. "Who am I speaking to?"

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

A faint flash of red lightens Meredosia's crimson eyes. "ANSWER. ME. NOW!"

Lifting an annoyed eyebrow at Meredosia, Noxian grumbles under his breath and narrows a harsh, accusatory glare upon her. "Well, with THAT attitude... Allow me to cut straight to the point. I was eventually going to investigate this location in the future, but decided to make it quite a bit sooner. So, tell me..."

Noxian's tone darkens and lowers. "Do YOU have any involvement with the recent golem attacks upon the Chrome Crusaders?"

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

Sighing out his frustration, Noxian wags a finger at Meredosia and chides her with a scolding tone. "SO, I am to understand that a capable, young individual like you... Finds a source of ancient power. Educates herself on how to manipulate magical machinery. Learns how to use that power on magical machinery. And then..."

A spark of ire rises up in his voice. "Decides to build a number of golems for some inane attempt to demonstrate some supposed superiority over others to bolster a poorly formed ego?! While, mind you, harming those that are trying to better the world for everyone else!"

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

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

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

He straightens his posture, extends his arm out, and flexes the fingers upon his hand in a challenging gesture. "THEN... Let us see how right you are."

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

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

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

He stands up straight, glowers down at Meredosia, and tightens his grip on the amulet in his hand. A loud crackle echoes out into the room, and a torrent of white energy erupts out from his hand. The flows rush forth, quickly settling into Noxian and disappearing entirely. He slowly opens his hand, letting the crumbling remains of the amulet trickle down into a powdery coating upon the floor. He glances over his shoulder, holds a hand out towards the platform, and a pulse of energy streams through the swirling streams into Noxian. Mere seconds later, the flows fade away. The rostrum glows brightly for a moment. With a few flickers of power, it shatters into a pile of rune decorated rock. Meredosia gawks utterly horrified, unable to form words in her mouth. Turning his head back around, Noxian stares into Meredosia's shocked, dark crimson eyes, and leans in close. "I truly do not know who should ultimately wield this power..."

He pauses a moment and darkens his tone. "BUT, I am DAMN certain..."

Drilling his stare into Meredosia's eyes, he growls. "IT. IS. NOT... YOU."

He steps back and away from Meredosia. Walking over the incapacitated guards, he calmly strolls to the doors leading into the main, large hallway. He nears the double door archway, his form fading into transparency. Quickly disappearing from sight, he steps out into the hallway. Seconds later, the white energy dissipates in the room, and the immobilizing spells fade away into fading clouds of miasma. Meredosia stumbles upon the ground in sheer shock and stops herself short of face planting into the remains of her amulet. She stares down at the dusty fragments upon the floor, drops of water landing and wetting the mess. Lifting her head up slowly, she grits her teeth and forces seething breaths through. She squeezes tears down her reddening face, intense, furious rage boiling from within. She focuses upon the fractured central platform and manages to only breathe in an infuriated stupor.

----

Bright noon sunlight slips through the double doors leading to the third story wooden balcony. Gerald eases his back upon a stack of pillows on his bed and winces briefly, his weight settling upon the mattress. "Okay... Request from me. Oh, gods..."

Straining, he arches his back briefly and squirms in the wave of discomfort. "Can we avoid any more long hauls, through the woods, in the middle of nowhere for at least THIS season? Holy hell, my back is still not on speaking terms with me."

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

Howard's voice sounds out from the aetherphone upon a nearby desk, and an audible worried sigh resonates. "Yeah. I was not expecting ANYTHING like that. Especially on the very last night of the patrol. Seriously, I mean... A full out attack with multiple fucking golems?! And, just the idea of taking on the Chrome Crusaders of all people. Just..."

Pausing a moment, he releases a groan of pure disbelief. "Shit... That just blows my damned mind. You literally have guys in walking tank suits. Why the hell would you start something with them?"

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

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

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

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

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

Swirling the beer in the can in hand, he huffs. "I felt my actions were properly justified."

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

Samantha snorts petulantly and groans out in defeat, accepting her boss's words. "FINE... I just hate missing all those opportunities."

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

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

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

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

Blinking to attention, Samantha memory throws something to the front of her mind. "OH. Howie. The crew have voted, and pretty much all of us want to do the resort springs mission."

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

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

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

His laugh echoes from the other side of the connection. "Also, we've been needing to get the Flames of the Phoenix close to..."

He pauses and mumbles a moment. "Oh, how to put it..."

Chuckling briefly, he states proudly. "Recreational water of some kind. We got to keep the ratings up with some gratuitous fanservice."

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

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

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

Howard laughs, projecting a reassuring tone. "You'll be fine. If you don't get better in a few days, hit the clinic. My orders. Can't have one of my best camera guys down when the best shots are going to happen. And anyway, I want some tastefully done shots from you specifically. It's a lot more work to censor and creatively edit when the rookies try. Nothing can replace experience and tasteful framing."

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

He lowers his voice. "One thing I want to share with you two..."

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

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

----

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

Tassilda sighs with a warm smile and calm tone. "Oh. I know... It is a spur of the moment thing. I just... really wanted to call you and..."

Swallowing down a wave of guilt, she exhales shakily. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything... Uh..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fighting through a wince, Tassilda gasps for air through a sob and wipes her eyes, smearing tears across her gray face. "I called to apologize to you. For... Well... EVERYTHING."

Tessalla blinks in sheer bewilderment, focusing her confusion upon Tassilda. "I, uh... um..."

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

Her voice cracks. She closes her eyes hard and wetly sobs. Tessalla gawks in sheer astonishment. Forcing a breath into her lungs, Tassilda focuses upon her words. "I am so sorry. You NEVER deserved any of that terrible treatment. You deserve a proper big sister that I haven't been for quite some time. I just hope that..."

Wincing with a surge of pain, she sighs. "It's not too late to be one for you, eventually."

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

Tassilda breaks down in a mess of sobbing along with Tessalla. Surges of hidden emotions rise up and find their way out between each other. Both make eye contact through their phones in the lulls between outbursts. Minutes later, both slowly regain their composure and sigh out to some stability. Fluttering her light blue on black eyes, Tassilda sniffs her nose clear and awkwardly laughs. "Oh gods. I doubt that'll be the last of that. But, oh wow, I guess we both needed that."

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tessalla smiles brightly and energetically nods in understanding. "I know, I know. I've just always wanted you around, and I just hope you can stay."

Furrowing her brow, she leans close to the phone on her side of the call. "You just have to promise me ONE THING."

Tassilda cocks her head to the side and hoists up a curious eyebrow. "And, what would that be, dear sister?"

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

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

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

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

Tessalla recites a few phrases of a dialect of emin in agreement. Furrowing her brow, Tassilda twists her lips and gradually shakes her head. "We will need to work on your emin, too."

She cracks an encouraging smile. "That was very close, though."

The two share a giggling moment and calm silence. Tessalla tilts her head to the side and inquires, carefully. "Okay, um, not that I have a problem with everything that's happened tonight- It's been awesome so far. But..."

Narrowing her inquisitive stare, she wrestles a grimace. "I'm just really curious as to... what... prompted... all of this?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The view of Tessalla tumbles through her hands and around surroundings. With sounds of frantic handling, Tessalla fumbles her phone in shock. Muttering a few swears under her breath, Tessalla secures her aetherphone, the display centering on her face once again. "Okay. I'm laying on my bed, and I've got the phone against my pillow. SAY THAT AGAIN?!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Smiling warmly, Tassilda shakes her head with a foreboding sigh. "Oh. It's fine. I just really haven't gotten that far yet. And, I honestly don't know what to do about her. That is going to be a far bigger problem in the future."

She furrows her brow and wrestles a grimace. "BUT, well, I've got enough to concern myself with right now, at the moment."

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

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

She smiles warmly to Tessalla on the aetherphone screen. "One thing at time, one day at a time."

The sisters agree on the sentiment. Quickly, they move onto the subject of Daedrican and exchange knowledge in many sisterly topics as the minutes pass through the evening.

-58-

Dretphi lowers her head from gazing up at the white, fluffy clouds above in the blue sky, and smiles at Bach with a persuading hint in her voice. "I thought we could practice close quarters maneuvers. Weather is supposed to be bad Tuesday."

Shifting her platinum blonde braids, she shrugs her shoulders slightly. "Take advantage now. Practice magic flow when we do not want to be outside."

With blinks of thought, Bach glances around the immediate vicinity and scratches his head of longer, brown hair, guiding the lone white streak to a side. "Uh, yeah. Sure, I guess. The ground mat isn't out here."

He motions with a thumb towards the ranch style house. "Do you want me to go get it? I think I remember seeing it in your room against the wall."

Shaking her head, Dretphi kneels down, picks up a well padded practice shield, and stands up with both hands holding it, a grin growing on her tan face. "No grappling. Punches. Kicks. With this shield. We will take turns."

His stare widening, uncertainty leaks out, and Bach averts his eyes away, searching for a diversion in vain. Nervously chuckling, he struggles to present and maintain a nonchalant exterior. "Well... Uh... Maybe? I'm not that good at the whole close quarters thing... I'm sure you know..."

The smile on Dretphi's face wavers, and she gazes down towards the ground, lowering the shield down. "Yes. I know. We can start slow. Simple. Easy."

Bach notices the shift in Dretphi's body language and grimaces. "I guess. I, uh... I just don't think I'd be the best one for this stuff."

Smiling hopefully, Dretphi bites her lower lip with a shrug. "You are the best I have."

Bach cocks his head to the side and puzzles at her statement. Dretphi sighs, fights back embarrassment, and briefly twists her mouth. "We have similar weight. Height. Strength potential. Sebastian helped before."

Fighting against a frown, she exhales her disappointment. "He can not now. Cideeda tries. Too light. Aristespha helps. Have to be careful to not wear out our medic. Sotalia..."

Both Bach and Dretphi make eye contact, ponder similar thoughts, and roll their eyes. With an understanding groan, Bach nods and snorts. "Yeah... I can just imagine how that would get a bit old after a while."

Dretphi smirks and hides an impish flit of satisfaction. "When I tire of her... Hit the shield hard a few times. She stumbles. Wants to do other things."

Chuckling, Bach shakes his head with an understanding sigh. "Yeah... You do have a point. Well, I'll do what I can. But..."

He musters up a smirk. "Just don't expect that much."

A bright smile appears on Dretphi's face, and she lifts up the padded practice shield along with her spirits. "Thank you. I think I am the best to help you practice. You know how... resilient I am."

Standing in front of Bach, she holds the shield up at the ready, waiting expectantly. "Go first. Punch. Try it out. Take it slow. Work on form."

Bach glances over at the practice pad securely positioned by Dretphi, pausing in thought. He slowly changes his stance and readies himself. Carefully balling up his fists, Bach rolls his shoulders and breathes in preparation. Pulling back arm, he aims his posture and glances towards Dretphi for confirmation. Dretphi quickly releases one hand from the shield, demonstrates the proper form with her free arm, and motions towards Bach's deficiencies. Studying a moment, Bach adjusts his raised fist and waits for Dretphi to return her hand to the shield. He tenses his muscles, drives his punch forward, and lands in the ample padding of the practice pad. Dretphi barely rocks from the meek force. Pulling back his hand, Bach readies himself again and glances over again for confirmation. Dretphi lifts a curious brow and nods quickly. "Punch. Hard."

Bach narrows a stare at the middle of the practice shield, stretches his muscles, and flings another punch into the cushioned surface. He repeats the process many times and switches to his other hand. Dretphi studies each impact, watching the form of Bach's punches. A number of punches later, her stare towards Bach spawns hints of annoyance. She examines the motion of each attack. With another few impacts, she steps back, stands up straight, and focuses her scrutinizing gaze upon Bach. "You are NOT punching hard. Why?"

Gradually lowering his fist, Bach blinks blankly at the examination from Dretphi and fumbles for an answer. "Uh... Um... I... Well, I don't want to hurt you?"

Dretphi cracks a confident smirk, glances at the thick, ample cushioning of the practice shield, and places her hands on hips with subtle flexing of her muscular frame. "Appreciate the sentiment. I SHOULD be able to manage."

Studying Dretphi's imposing figure for seconds, Bach blinks back to awareness, sighs uneasily, and shrugs his shoulders. "Well... I'm just a bit hesitant to go full strength in attacking anyone really. Probably sounds really silly given our current line of work, but..."

A warm smile appears on Dretphi, and she relaxes her posture. Holding the practice shield low in front of her with both hands, she nods understanding and calmly explains. "It is not. Restraint is admirable. A good quality."

She steps forward, turns the shield around, and presents it to Bach. A eager grin sneaks out from the corner of her mouth, and she lifts her eyebrow, observing Bach. "You should not sacrifice potential from over restraint. This is practice. This shield will soften powerful impacts to a small force. Here."

Bach takes hold of the shield. Dretphi gestures with both arms and demonstrates. "Hold it like this. Brace one foot back. Stand firm. Not stiff. Flex with the force."

Nodding slowly, Bach grips hold of the practice pad by thick, well made straps, shifts his stance, and readies his upper body. Dretphi waits patiently. Bach presents the shield in front himself, cringing uneasily in anticipation. Quickly assuming a proper posture and maintaining her form, Dretphi targets the shield with her steely gray eyes, pulls back her tensed tan, faint gray striped arm, and launches a fast fist solidly into the cushioning of the practice shield. The force radiates through the outer fabric covering, and sends a shock wave of air rippling outwards from the center to outer vent holes. The whole shield pushes upon Bach and rocks him back smoothly. Following the force through, Bach bends back and returns forward with little effort. He blinks a few times in surprise, examines the padded shield closer, and smiles amazed. "Well shit... That wasn't that bad at all. Just a general push backward, but nothing sharp or hard."

Grinning eagerly, Dretphi excitedly pantomimes her fists at the ready. "Want to continue?"

With a snort, Bach shrugs his shoulders and holds the practice shield to Dretphi, planting his feet back in preparation. "Well, yeah, sure. Hell, if that's all I've got to worry about, I'll be just fine."

Dretphi unleashes series after flurries of punches into the cushioned pad, waiting for Bach to return to the ready with each volley. She motions for Bach to move the shield to another position, explains her intentions, and patiently waits, with a hint of an energetic squirm. Bach resets to a new direction and she performs a new series of physical attacks upon the practice pad. In between breaks, she showcases the maneuvers in careful and specific detail, and slows the process down to highlight motions to Bach. Minutes later, Dretphi wipes her forehead of sweat, rolls her muscular shoulders, and stands straight, holding her hand out. "Your turn. I will hold the shield."

The two switch jobs. Bach cautiously attempts a series of punches, each repetition growing more forceful. Dretphi smiles encouragingly and utilizes the lulls in Bach's flurries to point out areas of improvement. Rotating through a similar routine, Dretphi leads Bach through the set, changing the shield position for another type of attack. Bach keeps his pace with plenty of panting from the intensity of the work out. Minutes later, Bach flings forth a series of sloppy maneuvers under the influence of tired, heavy breathing. Dretphi steps back with a hand out. "Switch. That was good. This time, move the shield to a position away from the center. I will hit it. You choose a new spot when you feel like it. Repeat."

Nodding, Bach takes the practice shield from Dretphi. He draws in a few deep breaths, trying to stem his panting, and rolls his shoulders. "Okay. Sounds good. I'll see what I can do."

With excitement springing, Dretphi flexes her built form, assumes a readied posture, and waits. Bach grips the padded shield with both hands and keeps it in the center. Watching Dretphi's eager gaze upon the target, he quietly ponders a few moments, a smirk growing. He slides the practice shield in one direction and feels the impact. Quickly shifts back to the center, he chooses another spot and slides the shield over. Leading with a series of slow transitions, Bach speeds up the pace and varies where the next spot will be, breaking up patterns. Dretphi's attention latches upon the developing game between her and Bach, and she smiles happily, the challenge continuing.

From across the field behind the ranch style house, from the corner of the lot, a distant, still audible groan from Tassilda rises out of the natural background. "... Again... You must FIRST perform protective incantations BEFORE you do the other parts of the spell..."

Veevi's distinctively irritated whines peaks up into the airspace, very little traveling the distance remains coherent. Bach and Dretphi both pause and glance over in confusion. Listening a moment, both simultaneously roll their eyes. Bach shakes his head and smirks with a grumble. "Okay. A few more rounds, and let's go inside for a bit."

Nodding in agreement, Dretphi twists her mouth into a grimace, fighting tinges of frustration. "Yes. I like peace when I practice."

The two resuming, Bach shifts the practice shield to a new position, and Dretphi tags it with a swift jab. Tassilda's voice breaks out from the natural ambience into a shrill shout. "... What are- OH GODS! FIRE IT UP IN THE AIR! NOW!"

A small bolt zips up into the sky, past the corner of the backyard. Bach lifts the practice pad up in front of him. Dretphi pushes forth her fist towards her target. A sharp, jarring crack suddenly concusses out. Bach startles, reflexively tensing his upper body, and snaps his eyes towards the source behind him. Dretphi briefly snaps her attention to the origin of the sound. Returning his gaze forward, Bach catches a glimpse of Dretphi's fist approaching, the protective barrier lowered with his tensed arms. Dretphi flicks her gaze ahead and widens her steely gray eyes in fright. She loosens her tight fist, vainly wills her arm another direction, and curls her hand inwards, turning her body away. Against best efforts, momentum indiscriminately carries her forward. The back of her wrist plants solidly into Bach's upper cheek, dragging rigidly across his nose. A wet, muffled snap sounds out. Bach's head turns away from the impact, leading the rest of his body in a stumbling twirl. Dretphi lands on her side upon the ground. Reflexively, she puts her hands down and pushes herself, wincing sharply when her wrist bends. Back upon her feet, she rushes over to Bach. Still on his feet, Bach steadies himself in place between wobbles. Dretphi reaches out her hands to either side of his shoulders. "Are you okay?!"

He pivots slowly in place and faces Dretphi, his blue eyes watering and red streaming out of a sharply bent nose. Snorting out a crimson spray from his nostrils, he blinks through his hazy vision with a pained, unsure tone. "Uh... Maybe? OW..."

Paling in horror, Dretphi covers mouth in shock with her other hand and blurts direly apologetic phrases of Grath. She quickly places her free hand upon Bach's back and gently guides him inside the house.

----

Aristespha lifts an investigative eyebrow and narrows her glowing violet eyes towards Bach's warped nose. Her medically gloved hands carefully guides Bach's head around, both sitting in facing dining table chairs. A few more sways of Aristespha's head later, she trains her attention upon the crooked ridge of Bach's nose. Nodding with a neutral smirk, she hums thoughtfully and perks her ivory brow. "Certainly broken. But, it is nothing too serious. It seems to have fractured cleanly in a few locations."

Narrowing her medically analytical stare, she smiles reassuringly. "Nothing that can not be fixed quickly."

Cideeda passes another clean bundle of paper towels to Bach and plucks the red spotted mass of old sheets from him. Sotalia leans close and curiously stares at the swollen section of cheek and bent nose. Blinking in honest surprise, she glances over to Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. "Good gods, GIRL. What did he do to get THIS from you?"

Dretphi snaps an unamused glare right back at Sotalia and gently rubs her wrist, standing away from the gathering. "NOTHING! It was... An accident..."

Bach gradually nods, sniffs shallowly with a wince, and glances over to Sotalia. "Yeah. Some loud noise startled both of us at the worst time. I think it, um, came from the other team? At least the yelling from that direction sounded familiar."

Frowning, Dretphi watches Bach explain and rolls her shoulders uncomfortably, keeping her gaze low. "Yes. Tassilda. Veevi."

Cideeda twists her mouth in thought and rests her hands at her hips. Flicking her furry ears, she squints her emerald eyes through the glass of the back sliding door. "THAT explains where that noise I heard came from. Still don't know what it was."

Sotalia crosses her arms, rolls her golden eyes with a groan, and shakes her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "Gods. Probably yet another magical mishap from that annoying little shit not following instructions. Tassilda really needs to find a way to get out of teaching that pink bitch anything else."

She pauses a moment and sighs. "As nice as it would be for her to blow herself up..."

Swinging her gaze over the gathering, she groans. "She'd probably take all of us out doing so."

Sebastian hovers next to Bach and cranes his head over with a smirk. "Damn, bro. Looks like quite the hit you took. Should be able to get you fixed up."

His ethereal face winces. "But... GODS. THAT has to hurt."

Bach manages a smile through discomfort and breathes out a laugh. "Yeah. But... I was at least still standing afterwards. Even if I stumbled around a few times. To be fair though, Dretphi pulled it as much as she could at the last second. Probably would have knocked me out cold otherwise."

Dretphi's shoulders tense, and she bites her lower lip. Averting her gaze, she tries to hide the growing embarrassment and shame building upon her tan face, guilt obviously seeping out into her body language. Aristespha sighs, adjusts her chair opposite of Bach, and stares with a professional demeanor at him. "Okay. Since it is very recent and clean, I can perform a very powerful series of spells to realign it all back into place. Then, I will fuse the bones and bind the softer tissues enough that it will secure everything. After that, a few alchemical treatments to aid the natural healing process."

Bach nods in understanding, pads up a slow trickle of blood from under his nose, and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay. Yeah. That sounds pretty good."

Aristespha draws in a long breath and sighs, gritting her teeth. "Unfortunately, due to the nature of the spells involved and how much focus and care they require..."

She exhales into an uneasy grimace. "I can not afford any magical pain management during the process."

Bach's stare towards Aristespha slides quickly towards uneasiness, and he awkwardly smiles. "Well, uh, um... Any other options?"

With a calm, proper demeanor, Aristespha explains the situation. "I can not use anything alchemical before the procedure, as it could cause interference. I can give you some mild pain relievers, but those will provide very limited relief and take time for your body to process. Ideally, we need to do this as soon as possible. The longer we wait, the longer it will take to properly align and fuse tissues together, as I will have to counteract more of the body's natural reaction to this injury over time."

She presents a reassuring smile and patient, calm exterior. "There are other options, but they will take significantly more time and effort to perform over the course of two weeks or so. It is fully up to you on how I proceed."

Bach ponders quietly, his eyes searching his mind. Seconds of thought later, he sighs with a resigned grumble and rolls his blue eyes at himself. "Let's just get it done now. And QUICK. We all got bigger things to deal with."

Furrowing his brow, he smirks. "Shit, even I have better things to worry about."

Aristespha nods with a slight, confirming bow. "Understood."

Glancing over her shoulder, she signals Dretphi over. "Dretphi? Could you come over and hold the sides of Bach's head."

Dretphi blinks to attention, nods, and steps over behind Bach's chair. Aristespha gazes with her glowing violet eyes at Bach and precisely gestures out an incantation. Readying her hands near Bach, she draws in a long breath and calmly explains. "I will be as gentle as I can when moving bones in place. Stay as relaxed as possible. Stay as still as possible. You will have some help there."

She gazes up to Dretphi and motions to the sides of Bach's head. "Just keep his head from reflexively turning away. It sometimes happens even when people are trying their best."

Nodding slowly, Dretphi places both hands firmly, gently on either side of Bach's head. Her wrist bends, and she subdues a wince. Bach eyes over to the side, feeling the subtle quiver of Dretphi's hand. With hints of amusement, Aristespha smiles comfortingly and rests her gloved finger lightly upon Bach's nose. "Well. Here is the glamorous part of my job they do not tell anyone."

Each of her pinkie fingers slips into respective nostrils of Bach's nose, and flows of magical energy stream through her hands into a radiant coating upon the nasal structures. Staring at Bach, she signals with a nod. Bach closes his eyes tightly. Aristespha concentrates her full focus and prepares. Seconds of study later, her fingers move swiftly and precisely. A wet series of muffled crunches spike into the air. Sotalia quickly covers her pointed ears, shuddering in full body wince, and wretches briefly, stepping away. Cideeda's furry ears droop back, and she grits her sharp teeth, tensing her shoulders. Dretphi presents a stoic facade, barely hiding her discomfort, and gazes upon Bach concerned. Sebastian twists his mouth, uncomfortable familiarity washing over his ethereal visage. Bach staggers a gasp through his teeth. "G-g-gods... Fuck..."

Aristespha keeps her attention upon the task and pauses briefly, updating Bach. "The bones and cartilage are back in place. Now to secure them to each other."

She smiles encouragingly. "Hang in there, Bach. You are doing really well."

The energies surrounding and within Bach's nose flash up to a bright prismatic glow. Bach opens his blue eyes wide in shock and painfully grimaces. His fists clench, forearm muscles tense, and he gasps in a breath of air. With a cringe, Dretphi secures Bach head in place against instinctive, reflexive motions to turn. The minutes pass by slowly for Bach and the group. Magical flows fade out quickly, and Aristespha gingerly removes her hands from Bach with a relieved smile. "It is done."

Dretphi gently releases Bach from her hold. Swaying his head side to side in a momentary daze, Bach blinks back to clarity. Dretphi rests her hand upon Bach's shoulder, steadying him in the chair. Bach sniffs up a long draw of air through his nose and flutters his blue eyes. "Wow! Just... Wow... Oh, holy shit..."

With a weak smile, he glances at Aristespha briefly and laughs lightly. "So... Can I get something to help the natural healing process..."

Gasping in a bit of air, he grimaces into a wince. "And, my sanity?"

Aristespha grins in commiseration with a single nod, removes the thin, transparent medical gloves off her hands, and tosses them into a nearby trash can. "YES. Most certainly."

She glances over to Sotalia with a smile. "Could you get me a vial from the latest batch of analgesics we made?"

Sotalia confirms and departs quickly, occasionally shuddering and shaking it off mid stride. Bach pauses in a thought briefly and curiously glances up to Dretphi concerned. "Oh yeah... Um, how is your wrist? Now that I think about it... That's what actually hit me. Not your fist."

Dretphi's steely gray eyes widen, and she glances around in a thinly veiled facade of calm. "OH. It will be fine."

Bach hoists an unconvinced eyebrow up on his light tan face and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "How is it, currently?"

Embarrassment leaks out into Dretphi's uneasy smirk with hints of guilt, and she sighs uncomfortably. Cideeda pulls out a chair from the nearby dining table, slides it over next to Bach's, and motions Dretphi into it. Aristespha turns her chair to face the new seat. Sebastian smiles understandingly and shakes his head slowly. "It's okay. Bach is fine. You're next. Sit down, and let's get it taken care of."

Dretphi sides steps around, sitting down in the empty chair, and presents her aching wrist. Aristespha examines her injury. Dretphi turns her head towards Bach with a soft tone. "I am... VERY... sorry. I wanted the training to be fun. Not end like this."

She frowns and exhales sadly. "I will understand if you are hesitant to participate in the future."

Bach slowly angles his head and faces Dretphi. Shrugging his shoulders, he grins nonchalantly. "Ah. You don't have to worry. As if I'm letting something like this stop me, especially at THIS point. It's not like it's the first injury I've gotten by accident from friends or family."

A wave of relief washes over Dretphi, and she smiles warmly towards Bach. "Thank you."

With a twist in his smirk, Bach groans. "Also... It's not like I haven't been in your position before."

Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes and grumbles ethereally, crossing his arms. "No shit there, bro."

Narrowing his glance briefly at Sebastian, Bach grins mischievously towards Dretphi and points generally to his front teeth. "For example, the points on two of Sebastian's canines are... or were reforms."

Snapping his glare upon Bach, Sebastian's ethereal form tightens his arms, and he sneers. "WELL... MAYBE if SOMEONE had remembered to look for the pieces after he ACCIDENTALLY led me into that metal post... I wouldn't have had to sit in that dentist chair for HOURS as they formed new ones!"

Concentrating an accusatory glare at Sebastian, Bach mumbles loudly, flexing his wrist, and holds it with his other hand. "OH. Only fair after convincing me to jump THAT creek with my bike. Again, that cast up to my elbow was SO MUCH fun."

Sebastian's expression blanks, and his eyes search around the area, avoiding Bach's glare. "Uh... Well... In all fairness, bro, I kind of thought you'd make it."

Pausing in thought, he awkwardly smirks. "And, you did... But... I just didn't know that rock would catch your front wheel like that on the other side."

The brothers continue to dig up old sibling battle wounds. Aristespha rolls her glowing violet eyes and smirks towards Dretphi, inspecting her wrist further. Dretphi leans close to Aristespha and smiles, whispering. "Reminds me of my two brothers."

Quirking her brow, Aristespha responds in a similarly quiet manner, directing her quiet voice at Dretphi. "Including the accidents?"

With a slight grumble, Dretphi curls her upper lip slightly and nods slowly. "Unfortunately."

----

A bright orb of light hovers above Meredosia's palm, and she swings it slowly around. The light casts a few meters upon the floor of the massive, cavernous, and dark space. Walking carefully ahead, she shines the illumination upon large industrial machinery and golem parts at many stages of construction. Speckles reflect from surrounding stone, glints flicker from scattered metal, and light diffuses through embedded crystals in the area. Meredosia narrows her dark crimson eyes and peers out into the shadowy space at the perimeter of her light and snaps her stare down upon the floor. Kneeling down, she pulls her gray hair out of the way and over a long, pointed ear. She cocks her head in a mix of curiosity and worry, her ivory fingers tracing out unfamiliar, recent footprints in the dirt and dust on the ground. She lifts her head up, stares ahead determined, and stands up with a growing sneer.

Meredosia maintains a cautious pace, keeping her attention forward towards the tunnel archway past the small building within the gigantic, dark cave. Her gaze shifts briefly towards the wrecked interior of the structure and strewn debris sprawled out in front of its entryway. Squinting through the dim outer edge of her light, she speeds up her pace towards the huge tunnel archway. Stopping momentarily, she studies the disturbances in the dust upon the smooth stone floor. Her hard stare follows five distinct, recent trails upon older tracks matching the outlines of her boots. She closes her eyes, remaining silent. Only the faint sounds of air flowing contrast the eerie silence, her very long, pointed ears twitching. Her eyes open up with a dark crimson glow radiating out.

Each of Meredosia's steps propel her forward at an increasing pace down the tunnel leading to the barely ajar, massive double doors at the end. She grits her teeth and grimaces, concern, dread, and anger mixing upon her ivory face. Quickly slipping through the gap between the doors, she stands upon the dimly lit stone path surrounding a deep, dark pit. She snaps her head to either side and searches the immediate routes down the walkways, focusing her attention to the crystal embedded cave ceiling overhead. Puzzlement overwhelms her, and she mutters a series of confused Evuukian phrases, her expectations remaining unsatisfied. Blinking her glowing crimson eyes, she returns her gaze forward towards the platform. Her jaw drops open. Her eyes widen in absolute horror. She silently gawks blankly at the partially collapsed central platform. A few squeaks of disbelief escape her lungs, and she recognizes the few scattered and strewn parts of the dire wolf golem, draped precariously upon the ruined structure.

Stepping slowly and staggering, she yells out a single word in a dialect of evuukian, and the light orb in her palm dissipates in sudden puff of miasma. Her astonished gawk searches vainly between the devastated mechanical corpse of the dire wolf construct and the torched, tipped central platform. Her attempts at speaking start and stumble to abrupt halts, comprehension evading Meredosia entirely. Horror filling her face, she curls her fingers in her gray hair. Seconds later, her ivory face reddens deeply, and she throws out her arms down in a pained scream of rage. She gasps for air, panting unsteadily, and tenses her whole body. Enraged words shriek from her mouth, each new phrase leaving her with surging levels of spite and hate. She stomps down the walkway towards a twisted central access ramp, diverts from her course, and stops to scream out a single name. "NOXIAN!!!"

Meredosia's bright crimson gaze locks onto an old crate, and she sends a clenched fist into the ancient wood. Pulling out her hand, she kicks another box with all her might and sends dry rotted splinters into the air. Her fury wanes with each outburst, and she drops to her knees. Tears stream from Meredosia's eyes with each wet, angry sob and spatter upon the dusty, carved rock walkway. Doubling over at the mercy of her emotions, she slams her fists upon the hard path, punctuating each charged evuukian word leaving her lungs. Her vigor leaves, and she collapses fully onto the floor into a panting, shaky pile. Minutes pass, and her exhaustion leads her to silence in the massive crystal cave. Over time, her breathing returns to normal, and she gathers some semblance of composure. She gets her arms underneath her and gradually rights herself up into a seat upon the cold stone walkway. Meredosia releases a long sigh and stares distantly, her attention well within her own mind. Her blank gaze wanders aimlessly around her vicinity, and a gradual flow of air flutters a pile of debris nearby. Meredosia's long ears twitch, and she slowly pivots her stare upon a few recent, medical supply wrappers. Reaching out, she plucks the paper off the ground and puzzles over the writing. In a confused daze, she reads the ink stamped writing next to the printed text out loud. "... Sold at Amaranth Valley General Pharmacy..."

She tilts her head to the side and ponders the torn wrapper in her hands, idle silence returning to the crystal speckled cave. Narrowing her stare upon the printed font, her ivory fingers feel the torn paper wrapper. Her gaze drifts off into her mind, and the faint flow of air from the massive pit drifts around her, fluttering the stray strands of her long, gray hair around her very long, pointed ears. Shaking out of her stupor, she carefully sweeps up other bits of fresh trash and examines them closely. Sparks of determination filling her face, she carefully stows away the evidence into a pouch. Furrowing her brow, Meredosia manages to get footing beneath her and stands up, brushing off the dust and dirt from her nature themed outfit.

She draws in long deep breaths, wrestles the swirling emotions off her face, and surveys the massive crystal cavern. Tightening her fists, she summons up her resolve into a scowling sneer and hisses out through gritting teeth.

----

Veevi dons a determined grimace, hoists up her wooden practice sword with both hands, and side steps in a circle around Trakenthin. After a few meters, she stops, the wind blowing locks of her pink hair in her face. Keeping her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin and hands on the sword, she tosses her hair back, tenses her muscles, and grits her sharp teeth. A moment of silence falls upon the back lot of the two story house, with only the bored, annoyed sigh from Trakenthin contrasting the quiet. Veevi digs her feet into the grass, charges forth towards Trakenthin, and swings for an open spot upon the tall, large grath. Trakenthin watches halfheartedly, waiting for Veevi to get within a meter, and swiftly swings the mop handle. With a slight shift in his stance, Trakenthin parries Veevi's attack, redirects her momentum, and lightly presses the pole in the exact spot, throwing her off balance. Veevi yips in surprise, her shoulders tipping past her center of gravity, and flops awkwardly onto the ground. Her fuzzy ears flick around, and her short-haired tail wags with her agitation. Lifting up her head from ground, she draws back her hair from her face and spits out a few blades of grass.

Trakenthin glances down at the half-fvalian annoyed and maintains his stoic front. Veevi hops up to her feet, brushes off her tight fitting shirt and shorts, and readies her practice sword again. She ponders a few moments, changes up her pose, and switches up her grip upon the sword. Circling around the stationary grath a number of times, she sprints suddenly at Trakenthin. Her attack swings to another perceived opening. Trakenthin deftly handles the sloppy attempt upon him and guides Veevi back onto the ground with minimal effort with the mop handle. The cycle repeats, Veevi rotates through variations of attacks, approaches, and methods. Each meets a similar minimal effort counter from Trakenthin. Veevi flops on the ground and remains upon the grass, panting.

She grumbles to herself, lowering her fuzzy, pointed ears, and pulls up a handful of grass, frustration flaring up on her tan face. Working the grimace off, she narrows her eyes in thought, glances over to Trakenthin, and smirks slightly. Switching to a lighter expression, she sits herself up on the ground and catches her breath. Trakenthin quirks a curious brow with a hint of hope coloring his tone. "Finished?"

With a flutter of her eyes, Veevi presents a cute smile. "Oh. No. Just taking a break. Having to spar with such a big, tall, powerful warrior is a bit tiring."

Trakenthin twitches his upper lip and rolls his hazel eyes with a long, tired sigh. "Whenever you are ready."

Veevi smiles slyly, props herself up with her arms behind her, and arches her back in long, figure revealing stretch. She extends her legs out, gradually flexing her form, and works herself into a near side split upon the ground. Donning a seductive, sharp grin, she gazes towards Trakenthin. Her facade falters, and she notices Trakenthin's attention poring through paragraphs of text on his aetherphone. With a sneering frown, Veevi sits up, folds her legs, and crosses her arms, petulantly pouting. Her glare examines Trakenthin and settles upon the many faded spots and scars upon his dark bronze arms and legs. Veevi smiles sharply and lifts an intrigued dark pink eyebrow. "You seem like such an amazing fighter. You've certainly shown me your... impressive skill. But, I have to ask, where did you get all those scars?"

Hazel eyes springing wide open briefly, Trakenthin maintains a calm, stoic exterior. Veevi stares blatantly at Trakenthin, rests her head upon her hands, and grins with a seductive tone. "Hmm. I can barely imagine the amazing battles you must have been through."

Trakenthin's cheek twitches, and a frown lightly weighs down the corners of his mouth. With a soft, alluring tone, Veevi sways with her tail and bites her lip. "After all you've shown me, I find it amazing that ANYONE got even a chance to put a scratch on you."

Fighting a curl of his upper lip, Trakenthin lifts his gaze up from his phone and stares ahead with a distinctly unamused tint. "My scars came from no battles."

Veevi blinks surprised and presents an impressed smile. She slides gradually along the grass towards Trakenthin, keeping her gaze upon him. "WELL. That's interesting. Would you tell me how you got them? I'm sure each has a story...

Furrowing her brow, she wanders her stare. "I'm especially interested in the ones that..."

She sharpens a smirk. "I can't see right now."

A wave of discomfort washes over Trakenthin, cracking his stoic demeanor, and he stares distantly ahead. Moments into his mind, he shudders, shakes his head briefly, and plainly states. "No good stories. Came from training. Long time ago."

Cocking her head to the side, Veevi genuinely blinks surprised. She halts her stealthy approach towards Trakenthin, mustering up her seductive demeanor, and dons a sly grin. Reaching out, she moves her hand near Trakenthin's leg and hovers a finger over a faded scar on Trakenthin's thigh. "Wow. That had to be some serious... INTENSE... training. It certainly made you quite the tough, strong man."

Tension surges up in Trakenthin's shoulders, and he grimaces. Shaking his head with a cringe, he quickly regains awareness. His cold, irritated stare aims down at Veevi, and he snarls his upper lip. With loud snort, he raises the mop handle above Veevi and growls lowly. "DODGE."

Before touching Trakenthin, Veevi glances up bewildered. "Wha-"

Her pink pupils shrink, her eyes widen in terror, and she witnesses the tensing muscular arms of Trakenthin, mop handle at the ready. Reflexively cowering backwards onto the ground, she crosses her arms in front of her face, shielding herself. Watching her squirm awkwardly away, Trakenthin narrows his glare upon her and rolls his hazel eyes. He relaxes his arm, sighs out his anxiety, and regains his stoic facade. "Pay attention. Keep your weapon with you."

Veevi peeks out through uncrossing arms, nods her head, and turns, grabbing her practice sword. Facing away from Trakenthin, a satisfied, sinister smile creeps upon her lips. She quickly hops up on her feet and pivots towards Trakenthin with her sword ready and a confident grin upon her face.

----

On the floor in the middle of the garage, Aristespha and Bach sit cross legged upon folded towels. Sotalia touches up the complicated magical markings encircling Aristespha and Bach, draws a few paths near her with a fine tipped piece of chalk, and glances over, reading from an open tome. Sebastian hovers overhead, floats down, and lands next to Dretphi. Patiently waiting and observantly watching, Dretphi stands at the ready with the sword in its scabbard just outside the circle. Cideeda adjusts an electronic camera on a tripod a few meters away and leads a cable up to the holoplayer resting on a workbench near the corner of the garage. Bach surveys the activity around the room, slowly squirming in discomfort, and grumbles lightly. "I know a lot of this is precautionary and for information purposes..."

Wrestling a frown down, he softly huffs. "But, I really can't shake the feeling I'm some kind of dangerous science experiment about to go wrong."

Aristespha presents a comforting smile to Bach and nods calmly. "I know. You are not the only one. I think we have all seen those movies. Still, if you do not feel comfortable with doing this, we should be able to try it another time."

Shrugging her shoulders with her clawed hands upwards at her side, Cideeda smirks nonchalantly. "Yeah, it's not like we park anything big in this garage. We can keep the monitoring equipment set up for a while."

Sotalia glances up from the thick, large book, and smiles with a kind tone. "Don't worry. We'll work with whatever is comfortable for you."

Resuming her examination of the detailed information in the tome, she slowly turns to the page with great interest. Bach twists his mouth, deliberating, and shakes his head with a smile. "No, it's okay. I NEED to do this. Well, at least start figuring out what..."

He furrows his brow. "I can actually do..."

Sighing, he rocks his head gradually side to side in a stretch and straightens his posture. "With everything going on... The golem attack... Whatever crazy shit Meredosia is trying to do..."

He squints at a memory. "Finding all those Elder energy collection platforms, especially at that hidden factory. And, well, Noxian in general. I..."

Drawing in a long breath, he exhales with a faint slouch. "I really just need to stop putting off exploring this more."

Sebastian nods at Bach with a proud grin on his ethereal face and appreciative tone. "Hey, bro. We'll do what we can at whatever pace you choose. Don't think I don't understand the fact you're putting yourself at risk here."

Bach smiles, eases in a lungful of air, and vents out his nerves. "Thanks. Yeah... Okay... I guess I'll try to draw out a small orb of it. A very little one."

Aristespha nods, blinks her eyes to a glowing violet, and prepares herself. "That would be a good place to start. After I prepare a few protective measures and Sotalia charges the circle, you can begin."

She carefully recites a long chain of incantations, precisely gestures out a series of complicated motions with her hands, and concentrates upon Bach. Sotalia places her hands upon the intricate lines leading to the encircling runes around Bach and Aristespha. Magical flows swirl gently around her forearms and sink into the paths upon the concrete floor. A faint glow radiates throughout the protective circle, gradually pulsating idly. Bach glances around at all the activity and notices Cideeda pressing a record button and Dretphi gripping the sword tightly. He closes his eyes for a few seconds, and reopens them to a bright blue. Magical energy from all parts of his body flows out and condenses into complicated structures around his arms and upper body. Layers upon layers materialize from the magical miasma venting forth from Bach. Minutes later, Bach carefully pulls in a nervous, wary breath, and slowly exhales, mustering his focus. Lifting his hands close in front of him, he directs his full concentration towards a space between his palms. Remaining silent, everyone's attention settles upon the point. The growing tension causes minor shakes, twitches, and shudders across Bach's body. Gritting his teeth with a pained grimace, tiny pinpoints of white shine in the middle of Bach's brightly blue, illuminated eyes. The sword vibrates in Dretphi's secure grip, and Sebastian's ethereal form wavers and flickers.

"NEW FLOW DETECTED. FROM FAMILIAR SOURCE."

Hands trembling constantly, Bach's face wears a constant wince, and his breathing staggers. He brings his hands closer, struggles to will something out from within. Punishing moments later, faint threads of white drift out from Bach and travel within the encapsulating confines of the magical constructs around his arms. The flows dissipate into a mist near Bach's hands and condense gradually into a bright white point between his palms. Swirling miasma gathers slowly onto the tiny, hovering orb. With each minute, the ball of Elder energy solidifies larger from the cloud of magic vapor around it.

The threads of flow fade off completely. The final traces of energy haze collapses upon the brilliant white orb. Bach's tense muscles relax slightly, visible pain lessens from his form, and relief sounds out in each of his breaths. The dimmer blue glow in his eyes seals away the bright white. Bracing his arms upon his knees by his elbows, he shifts his hands underneath and cradles the tiny ball of Elder energy. Aristespha studies the orb in absolute, pure fascination. Sotalia gawks in utter, sheer awe. Cideeda stares in astonishment, occasionally switching her attention to the holoplayer's unsteady holographic display. Dretphi gazes upon Bach with concern, noticing a shift in his body language.

Aristespha blinks back to awareness, glances ahead to the exhaustion quickly overtaking Bach, and motions towards the sword. Dretphi promptly drops down next the containment circle and brings the sword close to the small white orb across the perimeter. Aristespha carefully steadies Bach by his shoulders and watches wisps of energy peel clear from the ball into the sword. Sebastian's visage warps, and he furrows his brow, searching his own sensations. The sword vacuums up the last of Elder energy in seconds. Inspecting the vicinity with her glowing violet eyes, Aristespha calls out. "All clear. The sword absorbed it all."

Bach's head sways back, and the rest of his upper body rocks with the motion. Sotalia and Dretphi move in, and each steady one of Bach's shoulders. Aristespha lifts her hand up and signals. Cideeda steps over swiftly with a medical kit at the ready. Consciousness surges up in Bach. He shudders back awake and balances himself. Rubbing his eyes to a pinch of the bridge of his nose, he winces briefly and removes his hand from a tender spot. Glancing around, he blinks off his daze and sighs in relief. "I'm okay. I think? Gods... It's so weird. The second I stop flowing..."

He shudders briefly and flutters his blue eyes. "It just hits FULL FORCE."

With Aristespha performing a routine inspection, Bach wanders his attention around the rest of the group and inquires. "Um... Have to ask. Uh, but, what did you all see and feel? Kind of curious, since I haven't had anyone else around in such a controlled environment."

Aristespha twists her mouth and sighs uncertainly, slowly shaking her head. "It is hard to describe. I will need some time to think through it all."

Sotalia gently rubs Bach's back and presents a comforting smile. "Well, it felt oddly similar... BUT, noticeably different from Noxian's use."

Bach nods in between deep, long breaths. Sebastian hovers close to Bach and deliberates. "Well, from what I've felt so far while in this sword, THAT was a very small amount that got sucked in."

Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda sighs with an unsatisfied smirk, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "Wish I had something to add. But, the readings were EVERYWHERE. Still, the video looks like it recorded something. We'll just see how good it was later."

Aristespha frowns and slowly shakes her head. "I apologize I cannot be any clearer at the moment. I just... can't... think of the right words, at the moment."

Bach snorts and chuckles weakly. "Ah, it's okay. I've been dealing with this for far longer, and I have less information to say about it."

Standing up from her seat on the garage floor, Aristespha nods in agreement, donning a hopeful tone. "It was just a first attempt. And, I, of all people, should know better than to expect all the answers from the first trial. When you want to try again, let us know. I think this process worked well."

Bach sighs out his relief and lifts himself up with help from Dretphi and Sotalia. "Yeah. Uh, thanks for the assistance, everyone. I'm up for another go..."

Pausing in thought, he wobbles between the support from Dretphi and Sotalia. "In the near future, probably."

Gently patting Bach's back, Dretphi surveys the team. "Dinner?"

The group agrees and departs through the door leading inside to the kitchen.

-59-

Slipping between the drawn curtains of the front windows, the warm glow of morning light radiates into the open joined living and dining room and softly spreads upon the worn wooden floors. With his sleek cybernetic hand, Thomas grasps his mug of black coffee and slowly enjoys a long sip, easing the morning stiffness out of his back with a gentle arc. Gazing down at the small dining table, Kaleb calmly grabs hold of his cup of equally dark brew and pours it back into his mouth. His confident smirk curls downwards into a straining grimace upon sun-tanned face, and his nonchalant facade cracks at the edges. Lifting an amused gray eyebrow, Thomas snorts with a humored chuckle. "Hey. You should really stop trying to force yourself to drink the coffee black, if you don't like it that way."

He casually browses through the assortment of collected sweetener packets and array of gathered creamer pods in the bowl on the center of the tabletop. "I mean... You have nice things to put in coffee here. I often just didn't when I was out."

Shadeesa brushes her dark green hair over one of her upward swept horns and narrows her green on black eyes at Kaleb. Sighing in resignation, she rolls her eyes towards Thomas with a dismissive shake of her head. "Gods. I keep telling him THAT. And, it's not like I don't put plenty in his travel pack."

Reaching out, she spins out a glass mason around and showcases the hand made label towards Thomas, tapping the loose metal lid with a long, black nail. "We even have a wonderful jar of honey we got from one of the farmers at the market. Absolutely amazing in just about everything."

Thomas's interest piques, and he curiously tilts his head to the side. "OH. I might try some, then. What type of honey is it?"

Gazing down into her mug of milky tan coffee, Shadeesa smiles and idly wraps her hands around the warm brew. "Protellow. Mostly. If I remember right, she mentioned keeping a field of protellows going in a field in the middle of a large area of forest her family owns. I think it was somewhere on the outskirts of Amaranth Valley?"

A chuckle escapes Thomas, and he slowly shakes his head, his blue eyes sifting through memories. "AH. Which usually means they found an established patch and decided to not throw their money away in trying to remove it. Good gods. All the ways my dad and I have tried to clear out stray protellow plants. Ridiculously stubborn and resilient things."

Grinning brightly, Kaleb laughs and bows his head briefly with a memory popping up to the front of mind. "Oh, YEAH! Hey. Have you ever told Shadeesa about that one time you and your dad tried to use dynamite on one?"

Thomas sighs out old embarrassment and grits his teeth, rolling his cybernetic shoulders. He glances over towards Shadeesa, lifting a curious eyebrow. "I don't actually know. Have I told you this story?"

Puzzling, he studies Shadeesa's flexing grip upon her cup of half-empty coffee. Watching the nervous tension in Shadeesa body language, Kaleb notices her distant downwards stare. He wraps his arm around her and gently rubs her shoulder with a calm, concerned tone. "Hey, you okay?"

Shadeesa blinks back to awareness, glances around with hints of embarrassment upon her light gray, white freckled face, and settles her loving gaze upon Kaleb. "OH. Yes. I'm just a little nervous about seeing a patient here today."

Thomas nods understandingly and smiles kindly with a reassuring tone. "You'll do fine. From what you've said, it just sounds like someone needs a professional to do a check up and provide a proper opinion. Both you can provide, and then some. You got this."

With a long sigh, Shadeesa gradually nods in agreement and twists her mouth, hints of dissatisfaction apparent. "I know. It's just... I really wanted to have all the right things in a nice, professional looking place before people brought their pets here. Going on house calls to farms is one thing..."

Wrestling a flit of unease, she groans, straightening her back against the chair. "But... Coming here..."

Kaleb turns his head of short, blonde hair towards Shadeesa and gives her a quick peck on her cheek. "All in a good time. You need to start somewhere. And, while it could be better. THIS isn't a bad start."

Shadeesa grumbles lightly and smiles with affection at Kaleb. "I know... I know..."

Taking a long gulp of his black coffee, Thomas shrugs his artificial shoulders and smirks humored. "I learned to ride pseudo-dragons in packed mud arenas. If your day doesn't involve getting repeatedly bucked off into a fresh pile, I think you're doing just fine."

A strong breeze blows through the back door screen and drives a draft of air through the living space to the cracked open front windows with a faint whistle. Watching the indoor potted plants sway gently with the wind, Kaleb angles his stare towards the horizon through both outside views, leaning slightly in his chair. He squints towards the dimmer light from the back door and darkening horizon. "Damn. Well, I see that storm they've been talking about is getting pretty close."

Thomas nods slowly and sighs with a trailing grumble, tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah... Been keeping an eye on that one. Gods. I just hope it doesn't cause too much chaos on the roadways. I really need to head back to High Alton, since Albert should be back in a few days."

Brushing stray strands of her dark green hair back, Shadeesa smiles happily at Thomas. "Well. It's been wonderful to have you here. Lagi will certainly miss having his grandfather around."

With a smirk, Kaleb laughs, nodding. "Yeah, really hate to see you go. BUT... I guess you need to get up there and get the place back together for Albert."

A humored snort later, Thomas rolls his blue eyes at himself and holds his hands out to the sides with a shrug of his cybernetic shoulders. "Well... Back together might be asking..."

He casually grits his teeth briefly and sighs. "A bit much. I'm just hoping for cleaning up enough before we start the next PROJECT."

Grinning slyly to the couple across the table, he slightly leans his muscular frame forward and winks with a chuckle. "BUT... If you two are still willing to host, I'm certain after we tear up half the house..."

He draws in a long breath. "We might NEED a break from the chaos. Just to remind ourselves what a nice home is supposed to look like."

With a bright smile, Shadeesa nods, relaxing her posture, and settles to a calmer grip on her coffee mug. "Oh, thank you. Whenever you and Albert want to visit, just let us know. You are always welcome here."

Kaleb thinks for a moment and turns to face Shadeesa. "I'm all for it. And, we could invite Bach, Sebastian, and everyone else down here for the day, too. Get everyone together again."

Craning his black and blue scaled, white plate armored head close to the back screen door, Lagi searches inside with his bright green eyes and spots the three at the table. With a purposeful pattern, he weaves together a series of whirs, clicks, purrs, and whines, pantomiming his front claws towards the other side of the house. Kaleb peeks out a large front window, watching an old pickup truck roll up the long, gravel driveway. "You are right, Lagi. Thank you."

Lagi nods in confirmation and disappears from view of the back door. Thomas perks his brow and curiously gazes between Kaleb and Shadeesa. "By the way, has Lagi been able to vocalize any words? I've been curious if he's picked up anything, since Nachta had a decent vocabulary... Well..."

Narrowing his gaze off to the side, he pauses a moment and lifts an eyebrow with a smirk. "When she felt like using it."

Kaleb thinks for a moment and nods slowly, twisting his mouth in contemplation. "He's getting a lot better with practice. But, he's still not comfortable with words still. We've been trying to push him to speaking, but we don't want to force him."

The truck gets closer to the house, and Kaleb squeezes Shadeesa gently with his arm wrapped around her, smiling lovingly. "Time to be professional."

Blinking to attention, Shadeesa swiftly pours her coffee down her mouth, swallows hard, and scoots her chair back. She stands up with the cautionary assistance of Kaleb, brushes her apron off, and adjusts her clothing as best as she can manage around her pregnant figure. "Gods. I'm glad these scrub pants have a forgiving elastic waistband."

She walks towards the side door of the house, picking up standard diagnostic equipment along the way, and adorns herself to professional veterinarian expectation. Kaleb and Thomas walk from the table, and Kaleb glances over to Thomas. "But, Lagi seems to understand Americ just fine, and he's actually been picking up a lot of Emin dialects from Shadeesa. He just prefers to respond in that dragon language you taught him when he was young."

Scratching his chin of stubble, Thomas ponders for a few seconds and ponders out loud. "Well, that does make sense. The language was designed to use easy sounds that most large dragons can, and it's based on a lot of sounds they've been known to make when communicating out in the wild."

He twists his mouth in contemplation and crosses his sleek cybernetic arms. "BUT, if you can... You should really get him speaking Americ regularly. His voice box should be capable enough with some practice."

Kaleb slowly nods in agreement and glances out a nearby window, humming in thought. "Yeah... Definitely on the agenda for him."

Sighing, Shadeesa rolls the tension out of her shoulders and glances behind her. "I've been thinking of a way to magically help Lagi vocalize words... But, it's still a theory. Still, he should start practicing more."

The darkening sky catches Kaleb's attention through a window, and he sneers his upper lip apprehensively. "MAN, that storm must be closing in QUICK. You want to get your bike covered up and under the carport?"

Squinting towards the horizon out the same window, Thomas grits his teeth with a tinge of concern and grimaces. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. It takes FOREVER for the seat to dry out when any water soaks into it."

He glances over to Kaleb and smirks. "Really makes for some awkward looks from people when you make a pit stop at a station."

Snorting, Kaleb furrows his brow and cocks his head at Thomas' imposing frame. "Has anyone ever said anything to YOU?"

Blinking in thought, Thomas slowly nods and twists his grimace. "Yeah... Little old ladies, mostly. Absolutely fearless, I swear."

Standing at the side door to the house, Shadeesa listens to truck doors opening and closing and draws a long, calming breath in. She opens the door in, gently swings out the storm door, and presents a welcoming smile to her clients and patient. "Hello. I'm Veterinarian Serania. I assume you are Mr. Frenzacia?"

The middle aged emin man nods his head and laughs. "I would hope so, else I've been paying some other guy's bills for way too long."

A bit of tension fades away from Shadeesa's posture, she turns her attention to the young teen-aged girl next to Mr. Frenzacia. Pausing a moment to decipher the girl's appearance, she presents a happy smile. "You must be Fawna."

Fawna's long, pointy ear tips behind her head sway in the gust of wind, and her very long, silvery, red tinted hair blows around. She contorts her face in frustration, attempting to toss her head around, and slings stray locks off her horns. She settles to gazing up through a few strands towards Shadeesa with one blue on white eye and one blue on black eye. "Um, yes. Sorry. Uh, the wind."

Mr. Frenzacia rolls his red on black eyes and swiftly assists guiding hair tinted similar as his own off of curled horns familiar to his. Briefly turning to let the wind blow her hair past her horns, Shadeesa sighs understandingly and slides her gaze down to the creature supported in both of Fawna's arms. "Oh, don't worry. We'll be inside soon enough. I just need to check a few things out here first with your whelp, Varan..."

Blinking surprised, she puzzles at the large whelp hanging calmly in Fawna's arms. The huge, pot bellied creature sits upright against Fawna's torso, lower feet upon on an arm, and upper clawed paws idly flexing gently on Fawna's other higher up arm. Varan aims his calm, attentive gaze up to Shadeesa, tilting his head to the side curiously. Seconds later, Varan glances his aqua eyes up to Fawna and softly chirps out a few purposeful tones. Fawna kisses the top of Varan's amber head and smiles warmly at him. "It's okay. She's going to see why you've grown so big and your wings haven't yet."

Varan blinks to a long, thoughtful pause, purrs out a confirmation, and studies Shadeesa with the same calm, attentive aqua eyes. Shadeesa's stare widens in a mix of fascination and bewilderment, and she tilts her head back in thought. Kaleb exits the side door and holds it open for Thomas. Kaleb and Thomas give a friendly wave to the father and daughter, granting Shadeesa distance to perform her work. They both approach the motorcycle off to the side of the carport. Near the bike, Kaleb glances over to the gathering and halts mid way through moving a nearby tarp. Fully noticing the huge whelp in the teenager's arms, he tilts his head side to side. He shakes off his surprise and chuckles with an awkward smile to Thomas. "WOW. That has to be the biggest whelp I've ever seen. Gods, I know a few breeds got BIG, but..."

Furrowing his sun-tanned brow, he narrows his stare, contending with a surge of familiarity on his face. "I mean... He looks just like how Lagi did... When he was really young..."

Thomas stops in place, hearing Kaleb's voice trail off. Glancing over, he watches faint recognition dawn upon Kaleb, pivots around, and gazes over at the whelp. Sensing the new attention from others, Varan cranes his head over and faces Thomas and watches him, glints of curiosity sparking in his eyes. Thomas cocks his head of short, silvery gray back, visually scrutinizing the creature. Varan blinks, tilts his head side to side, and thoughtfully pauses a moment. Focusing upon Thomas, he chirps out a purposeful series of tones and waits patiently, anticipating a response.

Thomas eyes widen in genuine surprise, nods with fascinated grin, and whispers to Kaleb. "THAT is NOT a whelp."

----

Narrowing her golden eyes, Sotalia stares out into the darkening gray horizon through the sliding glass door in the living room. Frustration growing, she taps her foot, swaying her hips with the unease, and crosses her arms. Sparse, occasional drops of rain splatter on the glass. An irritated groan slips out, and she retrieves her aetherphone out of her yoga pants pocket, flipping through the menus. "Gods, it's just getting worse out there by the minute."

Shrugging her shoulders under her plain shirt, she pivots around on the ball of foot and walks with a dissatisfied hum. "Oh well. I was hoping for even a small window to do some magic practice. But, I guess that's just not going to happen today."

Aristespha rolls her violet eyes, glancing away from the gathering at the dining table, and smirks amused at Sotalia. "You can still practice quite a variety of magic indoors."

Sotalia cracks a humored grin and lifts an amused brow. "Oh? Well..."

Flashing an impish smile, she softly giggles to herself. "Not the type I wanted to practice."

She pauses a moment and lifts an instigating eyebrow at Aristespha. "UNLESS, you think we can get away with throwing bolts and streams out the back window from inside this house?"

Shaking her head firmly, Aristespha groans her gaze away from Sotalia and back to the tablet on the table in front of her. "NO. I distinctly remember a SIGNIFICANT section of the lease paperwork from the landlord detailing extensive restrictions about magic use. To be frank and honest, we are already pushing it to the very limits of the wording."

She narrows a violet glare at Sotalia and vaguely snarls her upper lip. "If at all possible, I would very much like to recover some of our sizable security deposit in the future."

Leaning forward on the table, Dretphi studies the dark gray cast upon the outside world past the back glass door, frowning slightly. "It was predicted the storm would be bad tomorrow, Tuesday. It is Monday. This much is already here."

With emerald green eyes analyzing the frames of a radar animation, Cideeda slides a clawed finger on the screen and watches the historical progression of the storm on her aetherphone. "Yeah... This one could be really BAD. It looks like it brushed against the northern edge of the Perimeter Weird Zone and is cutting through one of the local weird zones, too."

Bach shifts his attention to Cideeda and lifts a vaguely worried brow. "Uh, have they said if it's going to go full maelstrom or anything? I mean, if it's passed over that much..."

Narrowing her gaze, Cideeda furrows her light brown brow and reads through the list of update reports, shaking her head. "Well... Nothing headed towards us, at least. There's sections they think are going to go that way, but those are headed above and below us."

Aristespha pauses in thought, taps out of a strategy game on her tablet, and opens up another application with a guild logo splash screen. "With that in mind... We all should keep an eye on the guild job postings for the next few days. There could be emergency response jobs we might be able to do."

Sebastian's ethereal form nods, and he floats nearby, peeking over Aristespha's shoulder. "Thanks for reminding me, dear. Yeah, if anyone spots anything of interest, let everyone know. If nothing else, there will probably be a bunch of small magical clean up jobs."

Blinking a moment, Bach cocks his head and glances over to Sebastian curiously. "Magical cleanup jobs? I mean, what are those exactly? Does the guild get that many requests?"

Sebastian shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly towards Bach. "Oh yeah, bro. If it's a bit too strange, scary, and weird for the local emergency response crews, they'll often drop jobs to the local guild office for groups to handle them instead. Can't really blame them. Since what they usually request the guild for is not what they're trained to handle."

Crossing his ghostly form's arms, he twists a contemplative grimace. "Most of the time... It's just some weird magical anomaly left over from a maelstrom that needs to be dispelled carefully."

He furrows his translucent brow and tugs at the corner of his mouth. "Sometimes though..."

Gritting his teeth, Sebastian uneasily twists his mouth, past experiences forming his transparent apprehension. "Sometimes... The maelstroms disturb old ruins. OR, drop something that REALLY should NOT be outside a weird zone."

Bach frowns briefly, shuddering away the wave of discomfort, and sighs hopefully. "Well, let's just hope for nice clean up jobs this week. I mean, I'm not against doing a little magical janitorial work."

With an intrigued lift of her eyebrow, Aristespha nods in agreement and smiles. "I am not either. As a team, we are actually very well suited to do such work. We have three mages of different specializations, and now we have a magically familiar technical expert and wilderness expert."

Curling an loving smirk on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face, she tosses back her silvery blue hair and gazes up at Sebastian. "AND, Sebastian, from everything we know, can safely approach anything too suspicious, first. Providing us a good deal of information before we have to risk ourselves."

A toothy grin graces Cideeda, and her furry ears perk up eagerly along with the wags of her long, fluffy tail. "We could EASILY take on a bunch of small jobs, optimize them geographically, and efficiently get decent payouts in a few days."

A smile grows on Dretphi, and her interest piques, processing the plan more in her mind between flicks of her steely gray eyes. "We will need to sort by difficulty. Easy work in the morning. One difficult job after lunch. Easy work in the evening."

Mulling over the suggestion with a lean against the back of her chair, Cideeda gradually nods in agreement. "Yeah. Definitely need to pace ourselves, and schedule possible flex time in case of unexpected problems. We could still get a lot done in even a day at that rate."

Aristespha tilts her head to the side, staring at a thought at the front of her mind, and chimes in. "Also, we need to plan for containment and transport to authorities if there turns out to be something that cannot easily be dispelled or is too dangerous to do so on site."

Following the proposal, Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sebastian exchange ideas and commentary about how to approach possible mission arrangements. Outside of the conversation, Sotalia blinks back to awareness from inside her head and springs up with an excited grin on her face. "Yes! That'll work just fine..."

Rushing off through the archway into the hallway, she points over towards everyone at the table with a happy smile. "Stay here. I've got something we can do for magical training today."

The conversation stalls to a halt at the dining table, and confusion appears on everyone's faces. A minute later, Sotalia arrives back from the hallway with a game box in her hands. A guilty grin graces her light tan face, and she shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored embarrassment. "I originally bought this at the game store for my nieces and nephews..."

Rolling her golden eyes at herself, she cocks her head of fiery orange, wavy hair. "BUT. I think we could TOTALLY test it out for them. You know. Just to make sure it works right."

She sits down in a chair at the dining table, slides open the box, and starts taking out long, rectangular wooden blocks. Everyone watches Sotalia stack up a tower out of the pieces, three per layer, alternating alignment with each subsequent layer. Tilting her head with recognition, Cideeda cracks a sly smirk. "OH! I remember THIS game."

With a confident, toothy grin, she eyes the surrounding team and flexes her hand of clawed fingers. "I have to warn all of you... I was always pretty good at it. Manual dexterity and all."

Sotalia flashes a devilish smile towards Cideeda and hoists an amused eyebrow at her. "Well, that MIGHT help you. But, THIS version is the magical variant. All the pieces have been treated to be magically reactive. You have to carefully flow your energy into the piece, and then remove it."

Resting her finger against a wooden block, she wills a fine flow, and the game piece glows a faint green. She lifts her hand up with the block sticking firmly to her finger tip. "There's a few different types of blocks. These stick to your finger and allow you to pull them away. There are others that move away from you, lightly cling to other blocks, and some that get really slick."

Fascination dawns upon Cideeda and Dretphi, and both attentively watch the demonstration by Sotalia. Bach chuckles to himself, confidence sneaking out from him. "Oh, man. THIS is going to be fun."

With an unamused frown, Sebastian side eyes Bach and smirks with a mocking evil tinge. "Oh, REALLY?"

Gazing over the rest of the group, he hems loudly. "By the way, my bro CHEATS in these games. Watch him, CAREFULLY."

Bach narrows a playfully insulted glare at Sebastian and raises his hands up, mockingly defensive. "Man. Fuck you. I never cheated. YOU were just really terrible at these games."

Aristespha fights to quell an ill-humored smile on her face and nods gradually to Bach. Glancing between Bach and Aristespha, Sebastian crosses his transparent arms and snorts ethereally. "OH... I don't know if I can do anything to those blocks, but I AM going to try for YOU TWO."

Sotalia finishes stacking up the last long, rectangular piece, and happily drops into an explanation. "Okay! I'll go first. Now, you can feel the blocks first without moving them too much. You must flow until the block glows before you try to move it."

Furrowing her brow, she wanders her gaze around at the team members at the table. "AND... Once you flow a block, you are committed to pulling that block."

Guiding stray hairs over her swept back black horns, she breathes out in preparation and flexes the tension out of her arms. She studies the wooden stack tower and reaches out carefully towards the small structure. "When you get a block free, try to stack it on top. If the tower falls because of you, you take a point and stack the tower for the next round. Lowest score wins after how many rounds we want to play."

With a slight, tense shake, her thick, black fingernail taps gently against a piece. A flow of magical energy sinks into the wooden block, and Sotalia grits her teeth in anticipation. The block glows green, and she releases a sigh of relief. She carefully pulls the piece free from the tower and gingerly places it up on top.

The turns rotate around the table between the team, and the tower climbs higher. Flowing energy challenges Cideeda, her steady dexterity and quick reflexes letting her handle trickier pieces. Dretphi's precise focus and strength restrain a glowing blue, slick piece long enough to balance on top. Aristespha's studious observations guide her, and she finds the most forgiving blocks. Sotalia's experience leads her through difficult spots, quite a bit of luck splitting the difference. With subtle manipulations of flow, Bach carefully maneuvers his pieces, adapting to the type of block with apt counters to effects. Sebastian provides encouragement for Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia, and switches over to playfully antagonistic interference for Aristespha and Bach.

The teetering tower sways more and more with each new wooden piece on top, and tension rises with the expectation for failure. Bach attempts to calm himself and exhales out his nerves. He lowers a new glowing blue block towards the top of the unsteady stack, the rest of the group watching. The piece taps the top of the tower, and Bach lets it go. In the moment, the block remains still, the blue illumination fading. The pillar sways slightly, the piece slides with the gradual tilt, and the balance shifts towards the outer edge. The top of the stack tips further, and the rest of the tower tumbles upon the tabletop, everyone cheering with the crash. Sotalia grins at Bach, giggling smugly. "WELL, you get the first point. Start stacking."

Glancing over to Sotalia, Bach cracks a mischievous smile. His eyes faintly glow blue, and he holds his hands out towards the pile of fallen blocks. Chuckles lightly, he focuses his attention at the table and smirks. "Sure..."

Flows of magical energy radiate out from Bach and coast upon the tabletop. Lifting up into the air without glowing, the horde of blocks rise and assemble into a new tower in front of the group. Sotalia squints suspiciously at Bach during the process and scrutinizes him carefully. Noticing the attention, Bach glances back, perking his eyebrow in confusion. "What?"

With blatant, dramatic contemplation, Sotalia hums in thought and leans over towards Sebastian. "Oh. You might be right..."

Narrowing a stoic stare upon Bach, Sebastian nods in agreement. "Yeah. He's just trying to throw us off the scent."

Bach rolls his blue eyes back to the task with an amused snort.

----

Sheets of rain splatter heavy upon the sliding glass door of the two story house. Water flows from the narrow brick patio into the growing pools in the low points of the back yard. Turning her head, Tassilda watches another wave splash upon the glass and blinks her light blue on black eyes in surprise, the crisp cascade sounding out. "Good gods. They were not wrong about this storm."

Deedri pauses from mixing reagents in a large pot near the kitchen sink, flicks her tufted ears, and listens to the outside din, nodding slowly. "Yeah. I thought it got dark yesterday, but..."

She carefully taps a claw tip upon her aetherphone's screen nearby on the counter and reads off the time. "It's already noon, and it's almost like night out there."

Slowly shaking her head of raven black hair, Tassilda turns her face towards the chime from her aetherphone on the dining table. She reads the new message, a warm smile growing on her gray face. Tapping a few options on the screen, she aims the phone at the dreary, chaotic scene on the other side of the sliding glass door, a strong gust flattening the grass and swaying the trees in the distance. With a quick tap and an indicator beep later, she rights the aetherphone back in her hands and swiftly types up a response. Deedri squints her auburn eyes over towards Tassilda and cranes her head around the kitchen cabinetry, peeking from the side of the room. Growing a sly grin, she directs a whisper towards Tassilda. "So... What's Daedrican saying?"

Briefly startled at the attention, a brief flush of color fills Tassilda's gray cheeks. A moment later, Tassilda collects herself, and a smile graces her face, whispering back to Deedri. Under the cover of the stormy din, the two converse. Through the connecting archway into the living room, Chad resettles himself on the couch and idly watches the television, surfing through a dull midday entertainment landscape. With a bored sigh, he checks his phone, staring at it longingly for new alerts, and rests it back down on the couch arm next to him. Modoran slouches deeper into the cushions and tilts his head back in resignation. Rolling his head side to side, he stretches out his neck and slowly lifts his stare back forward towards the latest programming on the screen. Breaking through a moment of confusion, recognition springs up on his dusky, bluish gray face and realizes the show that's playing. He grumbles heavy with apathy and tilts his head towards Chad. "Is there ANYTHING worth watching on? I am not usually picky, but this is a little sad."

Blinking to attention, Chad gazes blankly at the screen and shrugs his shoulders with a sigh. "Normally. Yes. But, it seems like every damn station we get right now is too busy covering the storm rather than running shows."

He reaches over to a side table next to the couch, plucks up the remote back up, and aims at the screen. "But... Let's see if they've finally gotten around to unfucking some of the other channels."

With a brief glance out the dark, water coated front windows, he taps on the buttons. "Damn. Storm must be disrupting some downlinks, or something. Half the channels have been acting up."

Veevi quickly descends down the stairs and sticks the landing into the living room with a bit of a dramatic flair and physique shaking spring. She fluffs back her long pink hair, wags her long, short-hair tail, and struts towards the couch. Hopping onto the middle seat between Chad and Modoran, she gradually leans upon Chad. With a smile, Chad puts his arm around Veevi, and she quickly snuggles up to him. Modoran glances over, rolls his dark blue eyes, and slides his attention ahead towards the television. A bright light flashes into the space through nearby windows. A low, booming rumble of thunder vibrates the structure of the house. The fur on Veevi's tail reflexively poofs out, and she squeezes her arms gently around Chad. Glancing at the half-fvalian, Chad cracks a humored smirk and comfortingly squeezes Veevi's shoulder. The tension in Veevi's body dissipates. She gazes ahead to the television and cocks her head to the side. "What ARE you guys watching?"

Chad's brown eyes blink to attention, focusing upon the screen, and he shrugs his shoulders. "Uh... Huh, I don't know. I was just flipping through channels to see if we could get anything worth watching. This is one of the channels that's still coming through."

Modoran sighs with hints of annoyance leaking out despite his best efforts in maintaining a nonchalant facade. "It's another one of those Evuukian dramas. They seem to be REALLY popular as of late..."

Sneering his upper lip, he grumbles to himself. "Have not the slightest clue as to why, though..."

Veevi smirks and muses out loud about the subject, her interest blatant with her tone. "Oh, you just don't get it! All the plots, schemes, manipulation, and political power plays... All, so wonderfully done. You just never know what's going to happen next! Just so satisfying to see a devious power move during all the struggles."

Modoran briefly narrows his dismissive stare at Veevi, studies her reaction, and rolls his eyes away with a snort. "Yeah... You say THAT. It's not that great when you are near and in the midst of it all, from my experience."

Pausing in thought a moment, Veevi glances over to Modoran with a genuinely curious tilt of her head and honestly inquires. "Really? Wait... Are you part of a house?"

Chad furrows his brow and slides a side eye towards Modoran, keeping his head pointed towards the television. Modoran springs his eyes wide in surprise, suppresses a tense surge of anxiety within his calm, nonchalant exterior, and plainly states. "OH. NO... I have just been close enough to all that insanity to know to stay away from it. It is really hard to avoid depending on where you live."

Settling back down, he calmly explains. "Anyway, it just boils down to a bunch of Evuukians with too much power and too little to do."

Narrowing a scrutinizing stare upon Modoran briefly, Veevi huffs and resumes watching the show. "Whatever. I still love these shows."

Trakenthin steps into the room from another entry hall on the side of the stairwell, carrying a large hamper of towels. Walking next to the couch in front of an armchair, he places the laundry tub on the floor. Modoran glances down at the container of towels next to him and perks a curious brow at Trakenthin. "That's... That's a lot of towels there."

With a twist in his mouth, Trakenthin sighs and slowly shakes his head. "Backlog of laundry. I decided to clean towels first. We may need them soon."

Nodding in agreement, Modoran glances at the evuukian drama on the television and faces Trakenthin with an amicable smile. "Well, I will help you fold them. Actually got pretty good at folding towels at one of my old jobs."

Trakenthin quirks his brow and smirks amused, gazing over at Modoran. "Can you fold animals?"

A sly grin parts Modoran's mouth, and he chuckles with a proud hint. "Of course. You had to know a few depending on what theme you were working with."

Brilliant light floods into the room from nearby windows, starkly contrasting the previous darkness. A powerful explosion of thunder rattles the window panes and rumbles the very structure of the house, vibrating shelving and items upon. From somewhere in the house, muffled, distant thunks echo into the space, and power completely cuts out in the two story house. In the darkness, startled gaps and confused mutters fill the acoustic void. Chad and Trakenthin quickly pull out their aetherphones and tap on the flashlight function. Deedri and Tassilda both swiftly gesture out simple incantations and present small light orbs in their palms. Sliding out of Veevi's grasp, Chad stands up from the couch and surveys the area. "Okay. Everyone. First thing. Is power out for the neighborhood? Or, is it just us?"

Tassilda walks over to the back sliding glass window and squints outside through the dark, water chaos with an uncertain twist to her frown. "Don't see lights from anyone across the way, but it's hard to see right now with all this rain and haze."

Stepping over to a window on the front face of the house, Trakenthin opens the blinds and scouts the view of the street and neighboring houses that are visible. "Neighbors have power. Street lights are still on."

Deedri leans out past the archway from the dining area and makes eye contact with Chad. "I heard something mechanical and solid switch off hard, somewhere in the house. Maybe a few at once?"

Chad nods appreciatively, breathes in, and projects a commanding color to his voice. "Well. Let's check out the circuit breakers..."

The group pauses, and all ponder a sudden, shared thought. Trakenthin tilts his head to the side, puzzling with a furrowed brow. "Where are the circuit breakers?"

Chad gazes over to Trakenthin, twists his mouth, and contemplatively hums. "Uh. Huh. I don't know. We've never needed to use them before, so no one has told us."

Sighing with a smirk, he shrugs his shoulders. "Well, I guess we need to find them. Okay. Trakenthin. You and I will check the front half of the house."

Directing his voice towards the dining area with Deedri and Tassilda, Chad instructs. "Deedri. Tassilda. If you two could check the back half of the house, that'd help. The breaker box should be on the first floor somewhere."

Modoran ponders out loud a moment. "Yeah. Probably near the laundry room. The main run from the power poles is on that side of the house, and the breaker box shouldn't be too far from there. Probably covered up by something knowing all the random furniture they have here."

Chad nods in agreement to Modoran and leads the way. The two teams of two head out, illuminating small sections of the house during their explorations. A minute later, Veevi searches around the darkened room and stares over at Modoran. "Aren't you going to go help them?"

Modoran nonchalantly shrugs and stretches. "No. They've got it. Four people is enough to hunt down a breaker box. If flipping the breakers doesn't fix it, I'll go outside to scout things out..."

The cacophony of water upon the side of the house rises up in a brief drowning drone, and Modoran wrestles down a grimace. "IF it comes to that. Hopefully NOT."

A smile slowly creeps out upon Veevi, and her body language loosens up. Slinking gradually along the couch closer to Modoran in the dark room, she seductively colors her tone. "You know... I've been really wanting to train more..."

Her smirk sharpens, and she flutters her eyes with a toss of her pink hair. "With YOU..."

Pausing a moment in the near complete darkness, she listens carefully and observes Modoran still seated at the end of the couch. She eases her hands closer and allows her fingers to lead the rest of her body along. "In other aspects of stealth. Especially certain night time activities..."

Within the obscuring shadow of the room and overwhelming din from the storm outside, her body lightly brushes Modoran's form on the other end of the couch. Her arm glides along the back of the couch, and lightly caresses the back of his neck. "Hidden from anyone else."

Flexing her figure, she licks her lips and rests her other hand upon Modoran's leg near the knee. With gentle brushing of her fingers, Veevi rubs sensually up the length. Grinning with accomplished, sinister satisfaction, Veevi slips her hand down between his legs. Perking her fuzzy ears, she turns her head to the side, leaning in for the kiss. From somewhere else in the house, Chad's muffled voice calls out. "...the hell... ...well, here they are... Found them!"

A moment later, the lights flick on brightly, and ambient sounds of power flood the house again. Veevi winces, her pink pupil eyes readjusting. She regains awareness of her surroundings and glances over, witnessing a mass of dissipating magical miasma venting off from a static visage of Modoran. Seconds later, Modoran's illusion vaporizes into transparency, leaving behind a collection of towels arranged in the rough approximation of his volume. Veevi leans away from the rough towel dummy occupying where Modoran was and releases her grip on towels comprising the crotch section. Searching the area completely bewildered, she blinks in a stupor of confusion. A surge of frustration and petulant anger ceases her puzzling, and she topples over the towel collection into a heap off the couch. Standing up, she shudders, the indignant irritation swelling within her, and struts away with frustrated twitches of her tail.

----

A flash of light bursts forth into the massive, dark cavern, spraying the shadowy structures in brief illumination. The rolling thunder rumbles through the partially opened, heavy exterior doors, echoing into the huge airspace. Meredosia stares out into the ongoing chaotic storm, pondering deeply and quietly. The wind sprays waves of water through the wide gap between doors onto the concrete floor surrounding the entryway, layering upon the growing shallow pool. The patter of raindrops reverberates upon all the hard surfaces throughout the massive space of golem parts, manufacturing machinery, and assembly equipment. Meredosia blinks back from her distant thoughts, searches around her modest campsite away from the entry, and scoots her salvaged metal chair over to another stack of aged paperwork. Sorting through the pile of old loose notes, she stops at one section and draws out a collection of sheets. With a long, sad sigh, she settles her dark crimson eyes upon the material and slowly reads the old, handwritten paragraphs. Under her breath, she mumbles to herself in evuukian with her study of the pages, occasionally squinting to carefully reexamine puzzling sections.

Realization sparks in her eyes, and an intrigued smirk appears on her ivory face. Quickly hunting around her immediate vicinity, she swiftly digs through nearby piles of books and grabs hold of one particular volume. Flopping the old tome on her lap, she flips through the pages and reads many samples of the content. A number of minutes later, a proud smile grows on her face, and she nods in agreement with her thoughts. Sliding the loose notes between the pages of the tome, she pulls out a worn notebook from her backpack and opens it to a bookmark. With graceful handwriting, she adds a new entry to the dense, comprehensive journal.

After a brilliant burst of light through the entryway, another concussive acoustic blast bounces around the huge cave. Startled briefly, Meredosia tenses her body overall, dropping back into the awareness of surroundings. Moments later, she finally relaxes with a long exhale and finishes the latest paragraph into her journal. She rests back in the chair, stretches her arms out, and gazes around her campsite at the small orbs hovering midair and radiating illuminating flames. With a content smile, she shifts her stare at the other piles of notes, books, and electronic media nearby, and resumes her research.

Minutes later, a massive gust funnels through the heavy, exterior doors, and disperses into the area. The breeze coasts into the cavern and rolls over the campsite, the flaming spheres flicking and waving. Meredosia slowly lifts her head from her studies, watching the orbs dim briefly and gradually return to normal. She grimaces with worry and concern swelling up and quietly stares out into the storm. A long sigh escapes her, and she gazes out distantly into the chaotic storm, uneasily biting her lower lip. Brushing back her gray hair over her very long, pointed ears, she returns her attention to her chore, focusing herself back on task. Occasionally, she glances out to the storm, her concern obvious on her face.

----

Fighting against the tremendous gusts of wind, two evuukian men in nature themed uniforms trudge through the harsh storm battering the dense forest. With each blast of wind, they brace themselves and maintain their footing upon a waterlogged, mucky trail. The nearby underbrush struggles against the weight of the downpour of rain and submits to the force of the powerful winds jetting through. Slipping in the slick mud, one of the men drops to a knee in the thick mud and spits out a series of angered curses in evuukian. He glances over to the other man, irritably pantomiming out a question incredulously. The other man shakes his head under his flapping poncho and throws his hands up dismissively with a commiserating reply. The muddied man growls and gets back up on his feet with the help of the other.

The two pause their travels and stand against the torrent, witnessing the fury of the storm around them. Tall, ancient trees flex and audibly creak and groan, stretching to their physical limits. The rustle of leaves blends into the back against an overwhelming chorus of wind driven rain. A bright eruption of distant light ignites the darkened sky briefly, and the illumination scatters down to the misty haze filling the thick forest below the canopy. The two evuukian men absorb the sheer chaos around them in pure awe, the cacophony of thunder pulses past them. With a massive burst of air high above, a loud snap explodes out. A tremendous, wooden crackle echoes harshly against the background drone, and a few meter long branch crashes down into a powerful, earth shaking impact. Both men tense up, grit their teeth reflexively, and freeze, motionless. Seconds later, both study the large, fallen limb, and exchange nervous glances. The muddied evuukian man shakes his head and spouts a single explicit phrase. The other nods in total agreement and yells out similar sentiments. Both turn around and quickly rush down another path, towards a distant clearing encircled by giant, ancient trees, barely visible through the haze of rain and mist.

Out into the forest, hidden in the underbrush, a few camouflaged military scouts wait motionlessly against the brutal weather and stealthily watch the two evuukian men depart. Rain rolls along their slick, form fitting polymer suits, beading off effortlessly. The exterior patterns of the suits gradually blend with the environment immediately around them and create an intricate mesh of outline obscuring patterns, weaving them into their surroundings. One operative at the lead finally tilts his visor-covered face and silently glances to both of his sides to the two members in the three person team. Synchronously, the squad precisely gestures out the same incantation. Slowly rising up, their forms fade into the ambient forest haze, and they carefully, methodically slink forward, closing in on the perimeter of the distant clearing.

Seconds later, a dozen lightly armored special ops soldiers in actively camouflaging, hooded cloaks settle into the overgrown underbrush. Readying their compact rifles, the squad observes the area, searching the horizon through advanced technology upon their helmets. A few slide down advanced visors with different optics, and thoroughly scan the vicinity. Minutes pass, and they remain silent and hidden in the churning chaos of the overwhelming storm. The commanding officer rises up from prone on the forest floor and kneels in the center of the team. Visually confirming with his subordinates, he gazes ahead and nods in confirmation. Resting his hand on the side of his helmet, he taps upon a control panel of a radio module and turns his head to stare behind his team.

In the hazy, stormy backdrop of the forest, faint disruptions in the mist swirl around a massive, tall, imposing volumes of empty space. Peaking out from the background din, heavy, muffled, slow, and repetitive noises vibrate out into the thick forest. Muted snaps from the water soaked ground struggle for definition against the noise of the constant, overwhelming drone of rainfall. A blinding eruption of light above ignites the dark sky above to a brief moment of full daylight. In the brightness, half a dozen four meter tall, angular outlines barely contrast against the mist and ambient haze. The massive, mechanical forms lumber closer with slow, methodical steps. Hints of their existence manifest with the warping, refracting view of the forest through them. Sheets of rain blast through the trees above and splash midair upon a huge, transparent volume. The droplets stream along the angular crevices, merge together in hard corners, and flow down upon translucent, mechanical feet sinking heavy indentations into the soaked forest floor.

The giant forms step cautiously and weave between large trees, showing no mercy to underbrush and debris beneath them. Arriving together many meters behind the dozen special operatives, and they wait motionless. The commanding officer at the center of the team studies the area ahead through his helmet mounted visor, remaining thoughtfully still. Quietly prompting his soldiers, he trains long stares in different directions and analyzes distant points of interest. Minutes of still existence pass on by.

With a simple nod, he raises his fist high. Meters behind, the nearly transparent mechanical forms stir. Pairs of weaponized mech arms visually flicker, rising into position, and aim their arsenals, fading transparent back into the background. Soldiers on the ground inspect their weaponry and ready their stances for action, awaiting further orders. Another arc of lightning streaks through the sky above, and brightly lights up the area. The brilliant, brief illumination, reveals hidden details upon the large, mechanical forms. The flat painted, composite shells of mechs reflect back the sudden, intense light, and upon each a symbol of mountains on a flag outline contrasts the dull, dark exterior shoulder sections. Under the flag logo, one word remains clear on all the fading forms.

"Appaland"

-60-

Aristespha narrows her gaze out into the large city park of rolling green lawns and collections of outdoor furniture and searches the immediate vicinity. Sidestepping the bright orange and white barricades, she closes her eyes momentarily and reopens them to a glowing violet. She stares out towards the gentle hills, meandering sidewalks, extensive, vacant playground, and shady gatherings of older trees. Furrowing her brow, she glances down to the aetherphone in her ivory hand. "We certainly do have our work cut out for us here."

Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia filter in through the gaps between bold warning signs and underneath a web of plastic strip barriers. Blinking his eyes to a bright blue illumination, Bach searches out into the distance and blinks in a surge of surprise. "Oh... Yeah... Huh... Man. Looks like this place caught a lot of the weird stuff from that one maelstrom cell."

Cideeda glances over to Aristespha and Bach briefly and focuses emerald green eyes towards the scenery, surveying a few strange phenomena. Sorting through sporadic glimmers of light in the shade, flits of motion in the brush, and faint noises contrasting the natural soundscape, she lifts an inquisitive eyebrow at the leafy debris gently hovering above the ground many meters away and nods in agreement. "THAT is an understatement. I'm going to need to do some scouting with a thermal camera and a radio sweep. Also..."

She reaches into a large pouch at her side, retrieves a big rusty nut with a small rag tied through it, and grins confidently, rolling the metal idly in her hand. "There's nothing like a standard physical check."

Deftly sliding her grip to the cloth tail, she casually twirls the weight and releases it into an arc towards the hovering leaves and sticks. In its natural descent, the nut sharply rises. For a few seconds, it coasts level above the debris. It sharply plummets hard upon the ground, pressing into the earth. The rest of the team approach cautiously, focusing fully upon the significant dent into the dirt. Flicking her furry ears back, Cideeda smirks, rests her hands upon her hips, and sways her stance with a wag of her long fluffy tail. "Not the worst I've seen... But, THAT got pulled down far quicker than normal gravity for sure."

Dretphi stares distantly out into the park, puzzling at the deviations from the normal in the scenery, and closes her eyes. Carefully angling her head around, she scans the soundscape and hums intrigued, reopening her steely gray eyes. "It is quiet. Wildlife have retreated. Not unexpected. Worrying still."

Sotalia crosses her arms, postures confidently, and grins with shrug. "Meh. I'm not feeling anything too terrible from here. Probably just a bunch of small annoying things we have to dispel."

The wind blows across the area, and waves of air roll over the grasses in the large park. A tree in the distance sways hard with the current. With a loud crack, a small branch tumbles out and lands upon a very dry spot in the middle of damp pavement. Within the air above the arid circle, the branch's leaves quickly dry out, and the bark cracks open. Seconds later, smoke wisps out from the wood, and the crispy leaves ignite to flame. Blinking at the burning branch, Sotalia contends with a mix of surprise and interest upon her light tan face and smiles eagerly, unfolding her arms. "WELL... Now, that's a neat one."

Glancing down at her aetherphone, Aristespha taps out a few lines of notes and returns her attention ahead, tossing back strand silvery blue locks over her shoulder. "Good. That is one the list under the high priority category."

She scrolls through the document on the screen and nods slowly to herself. "So far, it seems that whoever checked the area made excellent notes for the mission brief."

Bach watches the distant branch burn within the dry circle surrounded by damp concrete, wisps of steam hissing out from each ember escaping. Warily smirking towards the rest of the group, he fights a grimace and motions towards the anomaly. "Yeah... Let's see if we can dispel that one from a good distance."

With nod and a reassuring smile, Aristespha gazes over to Bach and sighs with an understanding tone. "Oh, most certainly. I will guide you through the standard processes for handling many known anomalies. But, I think you should be able to figure out means more suited to your abilities."

She retrieves a tablet from her small backpack, clicks it out of sleep, and places it into Bach's hands. "Most should be sufficiently disarmed by manipulation of flow dynamics. But, if not..."

Sotalia flashes a prideful grin towards Bach and Aristespha, interlocks her fingers, and stretches her arms out. "I'll provide the raw dispelling power."

Nodding slowly, Bach returns his stare out towards the abandoned park scenery. Strange sparks of light flicker out from different locations, high and low. Odd, unusual disruptions in the landscape sharply deviant from typical, natural expectations surrounding them. Warping of light fills a few zones above constantly waving blades of grass. The rag tied to the test weight lifts up, fluttering, and gradually rises up, towing the rest of the rusty hardware. Cideeda points a claw tip over to the phenomena, watching with pure fascination. "Huh. It reverses after some time."

Sebastian's ethereal form materializes in front of the group, checks around for anyone else, and relaxes to a nonchalant pose. "Good. No one else is around."

Addressing the team, he straightens his posture and furrows his brow in thought. "Okay... So, overall we'll do the usual scout, mark, and remove plan. Nothing on the mission description indicated anything out of the ordinary for this type of job. So, I believe standard operating procedure should do it?"

The group nods in a collective agreement. Stretching his ghostly visage, Sebastian grins and surveys the surrounding scenery. "Well, I think I'll best serve everyone by going around and making use of my intangible self. Get a good close look at any possibly dangerous anomalies."

Bach slowly shakes his head in astonishment, spotting more strange phenomena appearing in the previously serene park. "Gods. It always amazes me how these things can ride out storms and continue to function after landing."

Nodding in agreement, Aristespha stiffens a frown and sighs uncertainly. "I know. Quite a number of people at the Grand Library are still trying to figure out exactly what creates these anomalies."

She furrows her ivory brow with a faint twitch of her very long ears. "Most important, how some are so portable, too. So many theories..."

Widening her emerald green eyes with intrigue, Cideeda glances over up at Aristespha and curls the corner of her mouth, perking an eyebrow. "Any favorite theories? I always thought these things always seemed like seeds or spores to the bigger and weirder stuff in the big zones."

Furrowing her tan brow, Dretphi pauses in thought, ponders quietly, and shrugs her lightly armored shoulders. "Similar behavior. Do not grow into anything more outside the zone."

Aristespha rocks her head side to side with her thoughts. "That is true to a certain extent. There are theories that these anomalies are limited by their environment."

Combing her claw tips through her short mutli-colored hair, Cideeda flicks her furry ears with a twist of her mouth. "I guess. But you sometimes get those short-lived weird zones that spring up."

Holding up a gauntlet covered finger, Dretphi smirks with a theory. "Maybe in a high enough concentration they change the environment to suit another purpose? There are plants that do such."

Stepping forward into the conversation, Sotalia strokes her chin thoughtfully and sways her hips side to side in contemplation. "I don't know. Gods, most of the anomalies just seem really erratic and plain crazy. I seriously don't see how they'd help anyone or anything. Or do anything with a purpose."

She tosses her head of fiery orange, wavy hair and hoists up an eyebrow. "I've always just figured they're leftover zone garbage that got carried away."

Shrugging his shoulders, Bach sighs indecisively and furrows his brow. "Well, you got me. I mean, maybe they're scattered pieces to something bigger? Individually, they really don't make sense. But, maybe, if you got them together in the right way, it does something useful? I don't know. The stories I've always heard from weird zones never explain the reasons to why it all happens."

Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers, rocks her head side to side, and thinks for a moment. "Yeah. They're still cool stories. Oh well..."

Rolling her shoulders, she inspects her gear vest and checks over her outfit. "Let's start cleaning up. I'd really like to hit the Pancake Shed at a decent lunch time and get a punch on my new card."

Sebastian nods in agreement and hovers up slightly into the air. "Yeah. We got a busy morning with this and a few small jobs. After lunch, we got a tougher job to contend with."

Gazes over the team, he individually addresses them. "Okay... Summary of the plan. Dear. Give my bro a quick refresher, and keep us informed on what we are tackling. Bro. You should figure this out in no time, just do what you do where you can. Sotalia. Feel around the area, and let us know where things seem off. Cideeda. Run the scanning equipment around the area. And, help us out with your eyes, ears, and nose. Dretphi. Check the area and let us know if the natural is being unnatural."

Glancing over his shoulder, he motions out to the landscape behind him. "AND... I'll do the overall sweep for anything that immediately sticks out, and see how much I can scout out. Sound good?"

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia relay their agreement with the plan. Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up and drifts off into the park proper. Aristespha points out key information on the tablet in Bach's hand, Sotalia peering over shoulders curiously. Cideeda and Dretphi walk over to the humvee, past the safety barriers, and sort through equipment.

----

Tassilda's glowing light blue on black eyes focus upon the swirling streams of magical flow, wrapping around a warping, transparent mass. Deedri cautiously gestures out an incantation and gently wills out thread thin strands of magical energy along the existing flows. Tassilda nods calmly, rigidly to Deedri. The two synchronously gesture out another series of complicated incantations, both keeping in pace. From the translucent containment field forming around the transparent entity, magical miasma vents out slowly into the area, dissipating harmlessly out into the passing breeze. The warping mass shrinks swiftly. Soon collapsing onto the hot, dry dirt, it quickly fades from existence, the last wisps drifting with the wind. Lowering her arms, Tassilda blinks her eyes hard to normal and releases a long sigh of relief. "OH... Thank you so much for the assistance. I got the distinct impression that one could have been troubling without someone else helping."

Deedri perks up her tufted, furry ears and smiles contentedly. "Oh. It was not a problem. I definitely could feel it getting unstable towards the end, so it was a good call for the both of us to handle it."

Pausing a moment, she glances around the vicinity and cocks her head to the side curiously, furrowing her brow. "Not that I really want to tempt Fate..."

She bounces her auburn eye to the sides of her vision and suspiciously scans the area. "But... Where is Veevi? I thought she wandered off with you."

An evil smirk cracks out from the corner of Tassilda's mouth, and she flutters her eyes with an amused chuckle. "OH. Yes. I put to her work on a task befitting her abilities."

Narrowing an incredulous gaze at Tassilda, Deedri twists her fair toned face uncertainly. "Oh... Uh... What would THAT be? Given her..."

She averts her gaze and stiffens a derisive smirk. "Abilities?"

Tassilda tilts her head towards the shade of a distant tree and smiles impishly. "Oh. Trying to dispel those light anomalies over there."

Shifting her weight to one side, Deedri leans over and spots Veevi. Knelt down and holding her hands out in front of disembodied flickering lights, Veevi strains herself, forcing sputters of magic energy out. Deedri blinks a few times, eases closer to Tassilda, and whispers confused. "Uh. If I remember correctly, those require a significant amount of energy to dispel."

Grinning wide with satisfaction, Tassilda winks to Deedri and comments quietly. "I know. But... She doesn't."

Deedri bites her lower lip, trying in vain to hide her amusement, and rolls her eyes. "Well, I guess THAT is the best use of her time, for now."

Across from Deedri and Tassilda, Modoran approaches Chad and Trakenthin, whistling a tune, and stops next to them with a nonchalant bow. "Gentlemen. I have scouted around this place, and do not think there's anything else that looks out of the ordinary."

He points a thumb over his shoulder. "Past that last row of trees, it just goes into farm plots. And, I did not see anything."

Chad nods his head, scrolling through lines of text on his aetherphone, and studies a small list on the display. "That's good to hear. So it looks like nothing outside this reported area has anything to worry about."

He hums in thought for a few moments and glances up to Trakenthin, pointing over towards the forested section near Veevi. "Trakenthin, could you check in the woods over there? There's a mention of something weird going on in the forest near the flickering lights on the quest report."

Trakenthin nods stoically and pivots around to set off. Modoran lightly taps Trakenthin on shoulder and leans close, directing his voice upward. "Hey. Be careful in those woods. I think they have a bullymunk infestation around here. I kept to the treetops, but looking down, I saw a bunch of holes that looked like their burrows."

Cocking his head, TRakenthin furrows his dark bronze brow at Modoran curiously. "You have dealt with bullymunks?"

Modoran shrugs his shoulders and snorts with a nonchalant smirk. "Not personally. I just worked at a resort before where they were rampant. Softer soil and all."

Trakenthin thinks for a moment, nodding appreciatively, and pats Modoran back on his shoulder. "Thank you for the warning."

He walks slowly towards the trees near Veevi and sighs midway, hints of annoyance slipping out into his tone. Veevi huffs in frustration, rolls her shoulders, gritting her teeth, and throws her arms forward, grumbling to herself. Faint flows of magical energy swirl around her arms, condense in her hands, and pulse out towards a swarm of floating, flickering lights. Halting his travel into the woods, Trakenthin turns his gaze down towards Veevi and studies her inept attempts. The hovering orbs of light continue their erratic patterns in defiance against Veevi's weak emissions of magical energy. Trakenthin slowly shakes his head, turns his attention to the forest perimeter near Veevi, and steps forward. A tiring attempt later, Veevi plops down upon the grass and pants, propping herself up with her arms behind her. She regains awareness of her surroundings and notices Trakenthin nearby parting some underbrush. A sly smile graces Veevi, and she narrows her pink pupil eyes upon Trakenthin. "Hey, Trakenthin. What's a big, strong warrior doing over here?"

Trakenthin snarls his upper lip out of sight of Veevi and grumbles out. "Chad instructed me to investigate this area."

Blinking with interest, Veevi glances around and hops up to her feet with a smile, flexing her posture. "Oh! Can I join you?"

With a faint grimace leaking out upon his stoic expression, Trakenthin slowly shakes his head of short, styled dirty blonde hair and keeps his attention forward. "Not necessary."

Veevi frowns, lifts her nose at him, and crosses her arms petulantly. Completely ignoring the behavior, Trakenthin scans the forest ahead and slowly searches. He surveys the vicinity and spots a small hole in the dirt at the base of a tree leading down into a narrow tunnel. Sun shines down from above and highlights the rough meter perimeter cleared of debris surrounding the burrow entrance. Trakenthin studies the area carefully, recognition coloring his stoic exterior with growing caution. Stepping back away from the forest, he starts to walk off, following the forest edge. Veevi glares at Trakenthin and growls out indignantly. "Well?! I thought you were going to explore the forest there. What's wrong? Too scared?!"

With a long roll of his hazel eyes, Trakenthin sighs and slowly pivots around, facing Veevi. "NO."

Puffing up her chest, Veevi sneers with an indignant stare at Trakenthin and meanly quips. "OH. I guess none of that childhood training you got taught you how to brave the wilderness, then."

Narrowing his cold stare upon Veevi, Trakenthin draws in a long breath, twists his grimace with a brief curl in his upper lip, and grumbles. "No. I know how to travel through the forest."

A sinister smirk creeps out upon Veevi, and she straightens her posture defiantly, checking her sharp nails. "Whatever! Gods, here I was so hoping to see a brave, strong warrior in action. But..."

Dramatically rolling her eyes, she tosses her long pink hair over a shoulder and huffs. "I guess THAT'S just not going to happen. Oh well..."

Trakenthin aims an annoyed glare down upon Veevi and examines her silently. With a dismissive glower, Veevi meets Trakenthin's attention and crosses her brown striped tan arms expectantly. Trakenthin briefly clenches his fist, searching his mind. Cracking a slight smile, he tilts his head. He blatantly sighs, relaxes his posture, and slowly shakes his head. "I apologize. I sought an easy route for you. So you can join me."

Veevi blinks in surprise, concentrating her intrigue upon Trakenthin, and shifts into a seductive smile upon her tan face. "OH? Really? Well, I may have been a bit too quick to judge."

Trakenthin dons a calm gaze and gazes down at the coy posturing of Veevi. "I misjudged, too. You have shown you should take lead down this path."

A sly smirk parts Veevi's mouth, and she steps forth towards the underbrush near Trakenthin. Biting her lower lip, she studies Trakenthin up and down and peeks into the forest. "Doesn't look bad at all. This could be really fun..."

She sneaks a wink. "For the both of us."

Grabbing hold of the tall plants, Trakenthin parts a path through and motions with his free hand ahead. "You first. Consider it part of your training."

Veevi perks up her dark pink eyebrows at Trakenthin, struts seductively through the brush, and steps towards the cleared area near the base of a tree. Quietly waiting, Trakenthin watches Veevi travel past the perimeter into the debris free zone around the small hole at the base of the tree. Veevi pauses a moment, her fuzzy ears twitching towards a sound below her, and gazes down curiously. Moments later, a small brown and tan rodent with black and white stripes and a short tail waddles out of the small burrow. It quickly pans its head around side to side and swiftly snaps its stare up at the figure shading out the sun. Kneeling down slowly in front of the small creature with a smile, Veevi smiles at the critter with enthralled delight. "Hello. Aren't you the cutest little thing? Is this your home?"

Trakenthin's hazel eyes open wide with familiarity, and he quietly releases the parted underbrush. He slowly steps back from the forest edge and waits, barely containing a sly smirk. Tilting her head side to side, Veevi watches, amused by the small critter staring at her, and wags her short-haired tail excitedly. "I've never seen anything like you. Would you like something to eat?"

A high pitched growl bellows out, seizing the attention of Chad, Deedri, Modoran, Tassilda, and the nearby camera crews. An ear piercing shriek splits the air, and Veevi erupts out from the forest edge in wild eyed fright. She sprints off in an erratic panic, and the rodent pursues her relentlessly in a constant fit of furious, angry barks. Barely containing his ill-humored snorts, Trakenthin covers his face. Everyone else watching in pure bewilderment, the small creature chases the frantically flailing Veevi. Keeping pace with Veevi, the little creature occasionally hops and nips at Veevi's puffed out tail waving close. Chad blinks in absolute astonishment for a second, spitting and snorting into uncontrollable laughter immediately after. Tassilda covers her mouth in sheer shock and amusement. Deedri gawks briefly and turns her stunned gaze towards the comparatively calm Modoran. Shrugging his shoulders and maintaining his nonchalant demeanor, Modoran tugs at the corner of his mouth and grits his teeth briefly. "THAT is why you don't bother bullymunks."

Veevi musters her coordination and concentrates on running, putting distance between her and the angry bullymunk. Stepping closer, Modoran shakes his head and sighs towards Deedri and Tassilda. "They are REALLY. FUCKING. Territorial."

In a frantic flurry, Veevi leaps onto the trunk of a large tree, scratches her sharp nails on her hands onto the bark, and scrambles up awkwardly up into the branches. Smirking with a devilish satisfaction, Modoran calls out towards Veevi. "They easily climb trees, too!"

Veevi's horrified, shrill yell bounces around the area, guiding the camera crew recording equipment. "THEY WHAT?!"

The bullymunk sprints up the trunk of the tree without missing a single step.

----

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia walk down a long, winding gravel path through aisles of bamboo patches, rock encircled flower gardens, and arranged shrubbery. Pausing a moment at a bend in the walkway, Bach slowly scans the area, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "Huh... Man, I didn't expect all this to be here, especially given the really run down fencing and parking lot."

The wind tickles Cideeda's furry ears into a few flicks, and she gazes forward down the route ahead, furrowing her light brown brow. "Well, most of these shrine gardens are only funded from donations these days."

Tugging at the corner of her mouth, her furry ears droop slightly, and she sighs faintly. "So, sacrifices have to be made."

A gentle breeze passes through Dretphi's platinum blonde braids, and she smiles calmly, nodding. "Reminds me of the ancestor gardens from home. Peaceful. Perfect for reflection."

Sotalia kneels down to a small patch near the path and curiously cocks her head to the side, studying the prolific plants growing. "Gods... I should know what this plant is. It looks so familiar..."

Dretphi stands next to Sotalia, stares down at the distinctive leaves, and studies the flora's attributes. "Oh. A type of mint. What variety..."

She contends with a brief grimace. "That is difficult. Hard to narrow down without a full examination. The flowers have not bloomed."

From behind a row of neatly trimmed bushes, a young fvalian woman steps out on the path. She tosses down a handful of weeds and debris, wipes the sweat from her brow, and pants out her fatigue, brushing off her apron. Seconds in her own thoughts later, she turns her gaze towards the group and blinks in surprise, happily greeting the team. "Oh! Hello! Welcome to the Freesbo Shrine Garden. Um..."

Narrowing an examining gaze upon the team, she points to them and smiles hopefully. "Are you here for the guild job?"

Aristespha steps forward, bows slightly, and presents a professional tone. "Yes, we are. You must be?"

The fvalian woman's furry ears perk up through her long black, patterned hair, and a sense of relief washes over her. Removing a pair of gardening gloves from her claw tipped hands, she sighs with a slow wag of her short haired, tuft tipped tail. "Rekeeka Tarodeena. The current and..."

Pausing a moment, she shrugs with a spark of embarrassment. "Well... ONLY shrine maiden here."

An exchange of names and greetings between the team later, Rekeeka bows respectfully to the group and manages to maintain a cheerful tone despite concern visibly weighing upon her. "Oh, thank you so much for responding. I apologize for the job not paying that much despite the significant task. I'm actually a bit surprised anyone took the job so quickly when I posted early this morning."

Bach shrugs his shoulders and smirks nonchalantly. "Well, I mean, it wasn't too much out of the way from all the other jobs we had to do in the area. And, we had lunch at the Pancake Shed down the road."

Rekeeka's furry ears flick up, and she presents a toothy grin, her tail swaying. "Oh! Do you have any customer cards with you?"

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Cideeda opens a pocket on her vest. She sweeps up her past the opening and deftly flips up a fresh card with a single punch between two fingers. "I do. Why?"

A sly smile grows on Rekeeka, and she swiftly plucks out a pen from her shorts pocket, clicking it. "Well, I work there on the night shifts. So..."

Holding out her hand, she perks her tan brow. "While I can't offer that much monetary compensation for the job ahead, I can certainly comp a free punch."

Grinning toothily, Cideeda presents the Pancake Shed card over to Rekeeka and nods appreciatively. "No complaints here."

Rekeeka quickly presses a thumb claw through a punch spot on the card, initials next to the spot, and returns the card. Clicking the pen again, she stows in her pocket and motion down the path. "Good! I really shouldn't take too much of your time, since you probably have other jobs after this one. So, follow me, and I'll give you a little tour on the way."

The team follows Rekeeka down the winding path. Following along a few twists and turns, Rekeeka glances back over her shoulder with an explanatory tone. "This particular shrine garden is one of the oldest in the area. We... Well, I maintain close to twenty five different locations on the property, part time. And, while I'm still learning traditional magics..."

She flashes an entrepreneurial grin and playful wink. "I pride myself on providing both herbal and alchemical plant reagents... For a fair donation."

Waving her arm out, she points out a number of paths leading to different areas in the distance of the property. "We house a variety of worship sites to many gods, goddesses, spirits, and other entities today. But, historically, we used to only house shrines for-"

She recites out a complicated phrase in a fluently paced dialect of Fvalian, piquing Cideeda's interest. Sotalia nods understandingly, and the rest of the group remains in polite confusion between moments of recognition. Senses the loss of comprehension, Rekeeka giggles with a bit embarrassment and sighs apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry. The name doesn't have an easy translation to Americ. Um, it roughly means the religion of experience? There's a lot of context lost in that translation unfortunately."

Cideeda nods to Rekeeka, smiling happily, and gazes over to the rest of the team. "The simple version is you take all the forces you experience in life, give them easy names, and assign personifications that describe them. Then, by proxy, seek guidance from or to guide those very forces."

Perking up, Rekeeka grins appreciatively. "That's a wonderful explanation. I'll have to borrow that in the future. Anyway, you seem quite versed."

Shrugging her shoulders with a nonchalant smirk, Cideeda chuckles and rolls her emerald green eyes at herself. "Versed enough. I mostly tend to pay tribute to Fate and Karma."

She quirks her light brown brow, thought reminding her of something. Twisting her mouth, she sighs with a tinge of embarrassment. "Which reminds me, do you have shrines to those two? I've been meaning to give a proper thanks for recent things. And, well, just haven't found time or place to do so..."

Continuing to lead the team down the route, Rekeeka points down a neatly tiled stone path and chimes in. "Of course! They're down there in an alcove. After you're done with your job, I'll be happy to take you there. Honestly, after last night, I need to be thankful, too."

Bach glances down the route briefly, ponders a few seconds, and returns his attention ahead, puzzling. "Huh. That's actually a neat concept and practice, thinking about it. A bit different approach than Gnost's, but he's mostly about seeking knowledge. His book of fables that my mom would read to Sebastian and me were always really good."

Aristespha lifts her head up from studying her tablet and glances over to Bach. "I have read that book. One of the better religious texts out there for its age."

With a dropping twitch of her very long, pointed ears, she wrestles down a frown and groans. "SO MUCH better than any of the Evuukian Light Gods tomes I had to TOLERATE growing up."

Sotalia chuckles lightly, grins impishly towards Aristespha, and leans close. "Oh, but that group does have one hell of a party god."

Stifling an amused snort, Aristespha slowly shakes her head of silvery blue hair with a roll of her violet eyes. "Wherever red cups fall, honor him braced upon an altar of porcelain... GODS. And THAT is being KIND with the translation."

Snickering briefly, Sotalia sighs and smiles playfully, resting her hands upon her hips. "At least your gods occasionally loosen up. I could never get into any of the emin deities. They're all so self absorbed most of the time."

She pauses a moment and smirks guiltily. "BUT, I just CAN'T resist the holiday celebrations. Oh, especially throughout winter solstice."

Resting a hand on her chest, she sighs and grins slyly. "I may not know who to believe, but I'm not turning down an excuse to enjoy all those treats."

Dretphi nods with her thoughts and shrugs her shoulders with a bit of humored guilt. "They are good. My family has adopted fun traditions. We believe our ancestors grow bored of stale methods to honor them. Their spirits appreciate the variety."

Progressing down the path, the discussion continues between all. Minutes later, Rekeeka leads the party to an open field near the corner of the property, stopping when the path fades into the taller grasses. Her body tenses, and she slowly pivots to the group with a wary gaze. "This is THE SPOT. It's called Avis Mark. And well... It has always been considered a cursed spot. So, we try to discourage people from going near it."

She sighs, rolls some tension out of her shoulders, and grimaces. "It just seems to attract strange things from maelstroms, and usually of the dangerous variety."

Pointing out a clawed finger out into the tall grass clearing, she frowns uneasily and directs the team's attention towards a strange swirling of air stirring a large swath of grass blades. "Right there. I've never seen this kind of anomaly before."

She grits her teeth briefly and winces with concern. "Unfortunately, I believe it has trapped a small animal within it. It's really hard to make out, as it seems to warp light, too."

Aristespha blinks her eyes to a glowing violet and focuses fully upon the shimmering mass. Blue illumination growing, Bach squints and studies the visual fluctuations revealing a small opaque outline briefly. Cideeda pulls out a small camera, holds her aetherphone out, and taps through the menus. A thermal visualization of the constant vortex appears on the phone display. Cideeda alternates between examining the screen and watching the swirling air with her furry ears trained upon it. Dretphi carefully approaches the edge of the tall grass field and cautiously investigates the perimeter. Staring at the anomaly, Sotalia shudders briefly and twists her mouth, slightly gritting her teeth. "OKAY. That's definitely not a nice one. I'm starting to feel it now."

Rekeeka bows respectfully and steps out of the way with an appreciative smile. "Thank you so much for taking on this task. I'll excuse myself, for now. I don't want to accidentally get in the way. But, if you need anything, please let me know. I'll be at the temple area in the middle of the property."

With an acknowledgement from the team, she departs. A minute later, Sebastian's ghostly form manifests next to Aristespha, and he peeks over her shoulder at the tablet. "So, dear, what are we dealing with?"

Aristespha grumbles to herself, brushing back a lock of her silvery blue hair over a very long pointed ear, and sighs out her frustration. "It is one of a few things, Sebastian. None of them good."

Glancing over towards Bach, she inquires. "Do you see the flow radiating from the ground, too, Bach?"

Bach aims his stare down through the tall grasses at the base of the sluggish vortex, springs his eyes wide open, and gradually nods. "OH... YES... I think this is one of those anomalies with a source object."

Cideeda contorts her face, furrowing her brow, and cocks her head to the side. "I'm not getting anything too unusual on the thermal camera. It's definitely moving air around, but it's not heating or cooling it. But..."

Her furry ears flick and perk towards a point in the shimmering mass. "I hear some kind of small animal in there. Maybe squirrel or rat? I can't tell, the sound is all distorted."

Dretphi walks up to the group and shakes her head with a frown. "Nothing unusual in the surrounding area. It seems localized. I do not know any more."

Aristespha nods appreciatively to Dretphi, drags through paragraphs of text, and focuses her gaze upon a few lines. "Thank you, everyone. That actually significantly narrows it down. Sebastian?"

Sebastian turns his ethereal form towards Aristespha. "Yes, dear?"

Aristespha's violet eyes quickly read through the mass of information on the screen, and she points up to the top of the swirling air at flecks of debris drifting in the currents. "I will need you to go up there and keep an eye on this. This is a tricky one to disrupt and disarm, but it can be done."

Bach glances over quizzically. "So, uh, what's the process?"

Biting her lower lip, Aristespha sighs, collecting her thoughts. "Okay. This is called a Vacuum Snare. It uses sudden vacuum to draw anything within proximity into a folded space pocket in the middle."

Sotalia blinks in surprise, stares awkwardly at the anomaly, crossing her arms, and uneasily picks at one of her horns. "Good fucking gods... It's got a folded space pocket?"

Wrestling an uncomfortable frown, she ponders out loud. "That is NOT trivial magic there. I admit, it feels strange, like it was warping something... But... WOW..."

Aristespha nods in commiseration at Sotalia's observations, reading the literature. "Unlike the folded space frames, this is not properly stabilized. Back to the task, there are two key things. One, we must cut the current effect off from its source in the ground. Second, we must keep powering the effect from our own energy sources and gradually allow the effect to fade, unfolding the space."

Blinking and tilting her head up from the tablet to the team around her, she grimaces against a wave of unease. "Otherwise, the space unfolds IMMEDIATELY and releases a massive burst of all the air it has drawn inside it... Along with anything else."

Nervous tension looms weighs down around the team. Bach draws a long breath in and faintly hisses it out through gritting teeth. "So... Who's got what?"

Aristespha perks a directed eyebrow at Bach, twisting her mouth, and hands over the tablet. "You should be able to handle cutting and isolating the source. I believe you have a few tricks for remotely manipulating the flows and sealing up the source."

Nodding in agreement, Bach glances over the information on the tablet and smiles, thinking out loud. "Yeah. You're right. Probably could flow some cables, and then construct a barrier around it. Hold off the last part for when you all are ready."

A smirk graces Aristespha, and she gazes over to Sotalia with a composed posture. "And, with a little redirection from me, our raw power house will be able to easily keep the effect powered long enough to let it wind down gently."

Sotalia grins slyly with a confident pose and brushes her fiery orange, wavy hair back. "OH. WELL. Of course."

Sebastian smiles proudly, ponders in thought, and glances over to the transparent warping of spiraling air in the middle of the plot of land. "That sounds like a good plan, so far. I guess I'm keeping an eye on things from above the anomaly."

He motions towards Cideeda. "Cideeda, you keep an eye out for anything going strange on the ground level. If it starts to look weird or sound bad, let us know."

Cideeda nods in agreement, flexes her arms, and stretches out her back. "Yeah. Sounds good to me."

With an appreciative tone, Sebastian points to Dretphi casually with both hands. "And Dretphi, you are on overwatch. If it looks like things are going bad, be ready to pull us out of harm's way. With the amount of focus required, we all may not be that observant when needed."

Dretphi grants a simple, confirming nod. Sebastian gazes over the team and hovers upwards. "Okay. I'm getting into position."

Floating above the high top of the anomaly, he observes the tiny flecks of debris trapped in the flows of air. Aristespha quickly recites the details to Bach and Sotalia and points out positions for Cideeda and Dretphi. Minutes of reviewing the steps later, the team readies themselves. Bach kneels down, blinks his eyes a glowing blue, and guides elongating cables of magical energy through the grasses towards the base of the transparent vortex. Sotalia stretches her arms out, flexes her legs and hips, and poses her hands forward, at the ready. Cideeda maintains her attention split between the anomaly and the thermal display on her phone. Dretphi kneels down behind Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia, and inspects the path behind the group for a clear escape. Placing her tablet in her backpack, Aristespha expels her nerves in a long exhale and prepares herself. "Okay. Bach. Start isolating the source."

Bach nods, his eyes flashing a brighter blue, and pulses of magical flow radiate down the cables from his hands. Aristespha quickly gestures a series of incantations and projects out faint corridors of energy towards the bottom of the vortex. Cideeda's furry ears flick with the whistles of wind streaming out from the top of the anomaly, and flecks of debris fly through Sebastian's ethereal form. A surging gust of wind billows out from the bottom of the swirling mass and pushes down the surrounding grasses. Sunken into the ground, a crystal speckled rock flickers brightly, the vortex above swaying more erratically. A golden sphere of hexagonal pieces slowly builds up from the dirt and gradually conceals the stone orb. Flows of energy erupt out between the tightening gaps through the barrier field, and Bach directs his concerned tone to Aristespha. "Ready?! I'm about to cut it off!"

Nodding quickly, Aristespha pushes her arms outwards and directs a powerful flow of magical energy through the swirling, ethereal conduits. "Yes! Get ready, Sotalia!"

The golden geodesic dome completes around the crystal speckled rock against strong flow resistance. The vortex shimmers, and blasts of air erupt out into the area. Aristespha grimaces and grits her teeth. With the anomaly relentlessly drawing upon the flow conduits, she maintains the massive amount of energy through the magical pathways. Turning her palms upwards, she pivots carefully towards Sotalia and winces, a powerful gale blasting upon her. "NOW!"

Sotalia grabs hold of Aristespha's hands tightly and tenses herself, a wave of magical flow spiraling out from her body and concentrating into the energy conduits. The vortex shimmers opaque, spins quicker, and sways wildly. Sotalia grits her teeth, dons a determined stare, and growls out. "Holy shit! It's pulling some serious power."

Nodding, Aristespha turns her head, shielding herself away from the growing gale, and calls out. "Yes! Keep feeding smaller amounts over time."

Sebastian yells out from above and energetically points. "Watch out! It's really starting to swing wild."

Dretphi reaches out and taps on Bach's shoulder. Bach glances over and watches Dretphi signal him backwards. Nodding, he carefully moves back under Dretphi's guidance, gradually lengthening the cables in his hands. Aristespha and Sotalia lean sharply back from the wind bursting forth, and Dretphi and Cideeda brace the pair from behind. The air grows loud. The torrent blasts out and magical miasma vents out. With a final poof, the wind suddenly stills, and faint traces of the shimmering magical mass disappear. Aristespha breathes out a long sigh of relief. Sotalia releases her grip, steadying herself, and places her hands at her sides with a prideful, satisfied grin. Cideeda and Dretphi relax, and Bach rests prone on the ground. Searching the air above briefly, Sebastian squints down towards the ground and scans around in utter bewilderment. "What the- The hell was that?"

Aristespha combs her hair back out of her face and chuckles lightly. "Nicely done, everyone. Amazing. That had a LOT more air in it than I expected."

Sotalia lifts her eyebrow at Aristespha, crosses her arms, and smiles proudly. "Oh, yeah. Quite the challenge... But... Not too terrible."

Cideeda's furry ears twitch, and she searches around the tall grass. "What's that noise?"

Dretphi's steely gray eyes spring open wide, and she focuses upon the trail of shaking plant blades towards Bach. She reaches out to grasp Bach's shoulder. Bach lifts his head up from rest, pushes himself up, and glances ahead. "Hey, what's going-"

A small, furry creature leaps out from the grass and latches onto Bach's face. It scurries in a panic upon Bach's head, and he tilts backward. Flailing wildly, he shrieks out. "OH, GODS! AH! WHAT THE FUCK!?"

----

The team walks along the path through the shrine garden. Dretphi bites her lower lip in a mix of glee and embarrassment, reaching her hand out above Bach, and gently pets the flying squirrel securely nestled upon Bach's head of longer brown hair. The critter enjoys the affection, leaning into the attention. Seconds later, Dretphi slides her fingers underneath the creature and gradually applies a gentle upwards pull. The squirrel hunkers down and tightens its grip onto Bach's hair and scalp, stubbornly resisting. Grimacing, Bach grits his teeth briefly with wince. "Ow. Stop. Please. He's still not letting go."

Sotalia snorts and shakes her head, covering her mouth. Sighing with a warm smile, Dretphi pets the soft furry, loose coat of the flying squirrel and pats Bach on the shoulder. "Sorry. I believe it is a ruin squirrel. I have read about them. They do not have many predators. They are friendly. Not easily scared."

Furrowing her tan brow, she cocks her head. "Do not understand why he is attached to you."

Bach grumbles to himself and rolls his blue eyes, blatantly annoyed. Sotalia grins wide, reaches up, and gently strokes her long nails along the cheeks of the ruin squirrel. "OH, he's SO CUTE! We might have to keep him."

From the sword at Aristespha's side, a Sebastian toned snickers sounds out with a faint reverb. Bach glares downwards irritably and snarls his upper lip. "Are you- Are you laughing? Seriously..."

Sebastian's echoing tone sputters out a few laughs and settles down. "I'm sorry, bro. Just watching you stumble around screaming when it was crawling all over you was too much."

With a dry smirk, Bach glances over to Aristespha. "Hey, Aristespha, could I hold on to the sword for a bit?"

Aristespha lifts a suspicious eyebrow at Bach, meeting his gaze unamused. A devious grin cracks across Bach's face, and he darkly chuckles. "OH. Don't worry, I'll return it... Eventually. Just wanted to see how far I could pitch into that pond we passed on the way here."

With a sharp growl, Sebastian's voice emanates from the sword. "Don't. YOU. Fucking. DARE..."

A spark of sinister glee lights up Bach's eyes, and he curls the corners of his mouth. "Oh, I mean, I just wanted to see if I lost my touch with throwing swords around. "

Groaning annoyed, Aristespha gazes upwards and places a firm grip on the handle of the sword, her eyes glow faintly violet. "Sebastian. Stop provoking your brother and apologize."

Sebastian's tone quietens down, and he mumbles out. "Sorry..."

With a short sigh, Aristespha glances over to Bach with a firm, understanding stare. "I'll contact Captain Hays. I'm certain the Borderland Rangers will be able to help somehow. Just stay calm."

Reaching over Bach's head, she pets the affectionate ruin squirrel a few times with a guilty smirk. "And... Keep the little one content for now."

Bach slides his eyes up and wrestles an uneasy frown. "Feeling a little uncomfortable having a strange critter climbing around my head."

With a reassuring smile, Aristespha gently pats Bach's shoulder and calmly states. "It is okay. All my medical spells showed nothing harmful. While I am not a vet, he seems perfectly healthy."

Furrowing her brow, she smirks curiously. "My guess is that he finds some comfort atop your head. After what he probably experienced in the Vacuum Trap, I cannot exactly fault him for finding something."

Bach sighs and stares ahead unamused. "I guess. I mean, fair enough..."

Seconds later, he feels a familiar five claw points of slight pressure on his forearm and glances down to Cideeda. "Yes?"

Cideeda signals Bach down closer. Bach leans down close to Cideeda's eye level, puzzling, and cocks his head to the side, whispering. "What?"

With a toothy grin, Cideeda pops up on the balls of her feet, raises her hand to the top of Bach's head, and playfully pets the ruin squirrel, to its enjoyment. She fights a bit of guilt and shrugs her shoulders. She flutters her emerald green eyes with an awkward smile at Bach's narrowing stare. "Sorry. I didn't want to be left out. And... I couldn't reach that high."

----

Heccaeh carefully slips his clawed fingers underneath the sleeping ruin squirrel, gently lifts him up from Bach's head, and swiftly carries him off into an awaiting cage. His hands clear the enclosure, and Chana quickly closes the door shut. She locks it securely and covers the carrier with a dark blanket. Bach brushes his fingers through his long brown hair with a white patch and shakes off a few seed shells. "Oh man... Thank you! Every time we tried to get him off, the little guy would just claw onto my skin more."

Chuckling lightly, Heccaeh grins and flicks his furry ears. "Not a problem. I've had to do similar when Ralli and Orrento got too riled up. Those seeds are tasty... And nice, mild sedatives."

He pauses a moment in thought and gazes over to the covered cage, shaking his head. "That's still strange how he latched on to you. The only time I've ever seen them that stubborn is when they are in their nests."

Searching his mind, Bach stands up from his seat upon the ground and curiously inquires. "Really? Huh. So, where do they make their nests, usually?"

Heccaeh thinks a moment and plainly explains. "Well, they're ruin squirrels. They live around old ruins in the zones, hence the name. They like to be high up and glide from spot to spot. But..."

Furrowing his brow, he ponders out loud. "They REALLY like to make their nests in places where old magical power once was. Don't really understand it, myself. But, if there's an old magic circle, they nest all around it at the highest points around and often on it if they think they can get away with it."

Bach eyes briefly widen and dart around uneasily. He brushes himself off with an awkward hint in his tone. "Oh... Um... Huh... Interesting..."

Aristespha bows slightly and politely to Captain Hays. "Thank you so much for meeting us so quickly."

Captain Hays smiles with a chuckle and tips his wide brimmed hat respectfully with his cybernetic arm. "Ah. Not a problem at all. Actually, you saved us some time."

He motions over to the cage and small magical containment tank holding a golden barrier enclosed, crystal speckled stone. "Even if you turned that anomaly source to the guild, we would have had to pick it up from them anyway. This just saved us the trip."

Shaking his head, he sighs. "We've been running around a lot lately, so one less drive to make, helps us."

His smile fades to a grimace, and his tone shifts into a serious cadence. "Also... I've been meaning to relay some information to you all. It's a bit of a mix. So, I'll start with the good news."

He draws a long breath in. "Both Captain Hackle and I have been contacted by all those ex-Terra Priest folks. Some didn't have criminal records with anyone that mattered, so many are going back to regular lives. The rest have records with a few places, but Hackle and I are brokering some deals to get them to work it off... With appropriate service and trades of information."

Hearing the news, relief and satisfaction emerge on Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, and Sotalia. With a grim expression overtaking his face, Hays sighs sadly. "And... That information has gotten more valuable. Since it seems like that group is the only resource we have anymore."

A wave of concern and confusion washes over the team. Captain Hays grits his teeth, rests his hands at his sides, and slowly shakes head, tipping his head down. "Simply put. After that golem attack on the Chrome Crusaders, Appaland army sent a clean up team. I'm not sure if Captain Hackle can't say or doesn't exactly know... But..."

He eases out a long exhale. "If I know Appaland... It probably wasn't good."

An uneasy, dour mood looms above the gathering, hints of somber frowns slip out. Seconds later, Captain Hays draws in a long breath and presents a resolute smirk. "My apologies for being the bearer of bad news. But, don't let that discount the good you all did."

Nodding appreciatively, Bach glances around his mind for a moment. "Ah. It's okay. Just feels a little weird."

Similar sentiment appears on the rest of the team. Captain Hays smiles understandingly, adjusting his hat, and crosses his arms. "Yeah. It's a strange one."

Studying the dark blue night sky overtaking the reddish glow of dusk on the horizon, he furrows his brow and hums thoughtfully. "Well... It's about dinner time for my team. You all want to join us over at the local Pancake Shed? End the night on a nicer note?"

A toothy grin grows on Cideeda, and an eager spark lights her eyes, studying Aristespha, Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "No objections from me."

-61-

Upon the couch, Cideeda slowly drags a finger tip along her aetherphone, watching the text scroll on the display. Her furry ear flicks towards the television, and she rolls her head of short, multi-colored hair over towards the screen. She lazily reaches a hand out on the coffee table, grasps hold of the remote, and presses a claw tip upon a few of the rubber buttons. Satisfied with a different program on screen, she settles back into the couch, stretching her body out along the cushions, and wags her tail with a yawn. Her attention drifts back to her aetherphone, and she releases a long, relaxed sigh. "Well... I think all the easy jobs got snatched up yesterday. There's NOTHING I really want to do left on the lists."

Sunken in the couch chair, Aristespha pivots her gaze away from her tablet, glancing over to Cideeda. "Yes. It certainly seems to be the case. I even tried looking last night, and I am not seeing anything new today."

Adjusting the pillow under her head, Cideeda shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, smirking, and drapes a blanket over her from the back of the couch. "Yeah... Wouldn't have minded doing another day of small clean up jobs. But..."

She flicks up her clawtips upon her phone screen, frowning at the same stagnant list. "What remains is just too scattered to even bother with."

Grinning comfortably, she rests her phone down on her chest and turns her attention to the television. "And... Anyway... I'm already settled in for this marathon."

With a chuckle to herself, Aristespha smiles understandingly and rests her focus upon her tablet, studying the information prompts on the screen of her game. Sebastian's ethereal form reaches out a hand, and he points out an area of the game map. "I think you need to build fortifications here, dear."

Waving her ivory hand, Aristespha playfully shoos Sebastian off his perch near her shoulder. She twists her mouth with a hint of frustration and grumbles, narrowing her violet eyes upon the task. "I KNOW, Sebastian. But, not yet. I want to get the refinery going now."

Sebastian drifts back slightly, rolls his translucent blue eyes with a smirk, and mumbles. "The computer is going to start poking your defenses soon..."

Aristespha angles the tablet screen gradually away from Sebastian's prying eyes, and he floats above to get a new view. Aristespha's long pointy ear twitches at Sotalia's frustrated groans, and she glances over towards the dining table. Sotalia narrows her competitive, golden glare at Bach and points accusingly at the last block on the wooden tower. "Oh, come on! You KNOW that should have fallen off."

Grinning widely, Bach weaves his fingers together upon the table top and waits patiently, expectantly. "Maybe. But... It didn't. So..."

With a trace of superiority, he furrows his brow. "Now, it's your turn to pull."

Sotalia flexes her fingers and straightens her posture, focusing upon the smug smile of Bach. Curling an annoyed smirk, she sighs through her gritting teeth. "FINE. There's just no good choices, NOW."

Rolling his blue eyes off to the side, Bach slowly shakes his head and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, you probably shouldn't have been trying to stack it so badly to trip me up."

Staring seconds at Bach unamused, Sotalia groans in partial acceptance and gradually nods to a begrudging smile. "I know... I know... GODS... There's just nothing obviously good to work with."

A tinge of evil satisfaction creeps out upon Bach's light tan face, and he watches Sotalia's hand hover indecisively around the barely stable wooden block structure. Summoning a flow of magical energy to her finger, she presses a long nailed tip to a loose piece in the tower. The block flickers to a purple color, surprising Sotalia, and pushes away from her finger. The tower sways back and forth, Sotalia struggling to stabilize the purple glowing block. With a final tip too far, the structure's high center of gravity pulls it down, splashing out upon the tabletop. Sotalia crosses her arms upon the table, lowers her head down, and quietly curses to herself. Maintaining a muted grin, Bach watches Sotalia slowly scoop her arm out to gather all the pieces near her. Heavy, energetic footsteps sound out from the archway leading to the hallway, and Dretphi nearly hops out with a bright grin on her face and brushes a few stray braids off to her shoulders. "Have good news!"

Springing back to awareness, the other team members turn to Dretphi. Taking a few moments to temper her excitement, Dretphi collects her thoughts, focusing on her words. "My house traveled to investigate a school for my brother. Storm delayed original flight back a week."

Dretphi breathes out and averts her steely gray eyes with a humored smile, shrugging. "Mother... negotiated... with the travel company. They will arrive in an Amaranth Valley hotel tomorrow night. Free Saturday. Fly out Sunday."

A bit of anxiety slips out upon her tan face, and she gazes out to the group, fighting a bit of tension. "Would it be okay to invite them here Saturday? For the day?"

With a delighted smile, Sebastian nods quickly and motions his arms out. "Well, of course! I don't believe we have anything going on Saturday? Any objections?"

Aristespha shakes her head and pleasantly smiles at Dretphi. "None from me. I would be honored to meet your house."

Giving a thumbs to Dretphi, Cideeda grins toothily. "Fine with me. I mean, they're all the way out here. They may as well stop on by."

Sotalia smiles at Dretphi, chuckling to herself. "I've only seen pictures of them. So, it'll be interesting to see the family resemblance in person."

Bach nods to Dretphi, tilting his head curiously. "I mean, sounds good. By the way, where are they flying to Sunday?"

Dretphi gazes at Bach, thinking a moment, and plainly states. "Verdan. In Radotahin. My home town."

Blinking in thought for a few seconds, Bach gradually turns his head, processing the information. A moment later, he quirks his puzzled brow. "Oh. Okay. Where is that exactly?"

Dretphi glances around the large living and dining space, ponders briefly, and points westwards, adjusting her aim a few degrees to the north. "Approximately one thousand seven hundred kilometers that direction."

Bach's blue eyes widen, and he blinks astonished. "Wow."

Sebastian chuckles, flying across the room, and lands next to the dining table. "Yeah. That's a story right there."

Grumbling slightly, Dretphi sighs briefly and dons a happy smile on her face. "Another time. Now... I want to make a nice lunch to celebrate."

She quickly walks around the dining table into the kitchen area, opens the refrigerator door, and inspects the contents. Seconds later, she frowns and sighs with disappointment. "Missing certain ingredients..."

Stirring from her rest upon the couch, Cideeda squirms from comfort under her blanket. "I guess we could make a run to the store..."

Bach blinks back to awareness, glances over towards Cideeda, and gazes through the sliding glass window to the pleasant glow of the sunny, calm morning. Sliding back his chair from the dining table, he stands up and gazes around at the group. "You know. It's a nice day. I'll run out on my bike. The sidecar can hold the groceries easily."

Halting her rise from the comfortable spot on the couch, Cideeda slowly sinks herself back down into the cushion and grins approvingly. "Well, I'm not going to argue."

With an economical minded perk of her light brown brow, she smiles, her tail tip wagging from under the blanket. "Saves us the synth diesel, anyway."

Bach smirks to Sotalia, lifting a competitive eyebrow. "Rematch after I get back?"

Sotalia presents a scheming grin and interlocks her fingers together. "Of course. I'll stack it nicely for YOU."

Rolling his eyes in amusement, he walks around the table into the kitchen, retrieves his aetherphone, and stands next to Dretphi. "So, what do I need to get?"

Dretphi lists off a few items, waits for Bach to record them in his phone, and peeks over his shoulder to double-check. Bach reads off the list to Dretphi's approval and steps over towards the kitchen door leading to the garage. "Cool. I'll get the bike warmed up, throw my gear on, and I'll be off."

Dretphi smiles warmly at Bach, and the door closes. Sotalia eyes over towards Dretphi with an ill-humored smirk. Moments later, Dretphi rolls her shoulders uncomfortably and notices Sotalia's gaze, puzzling. "What?"

With a snort, Sotalia waves off the attention and rolls her golden eyes away from Dretphi's confusion. "Oh... Nothing."

----

Isaac flexes his grip upon the steering wheel of the sedan and glances over to a large sign. The sun warms the green plastic covered metal and glints faintly off the white, reflective lettering showing locations and distances. Brushing a few stray white hairs out of his face, Isaac narrows his gaze upon the single digit number next to Amaranth Valley at the top and wanders down the list, studying a few of the other locations. He stares out ahead at the highway and modest amount of traffic, humming to himself in thought. Flicking his gray eyes over, he checks over his supplies and sneers uncomfortably, realizing the abundance of open, empty containers to sealed, full ones. Returning his attention forward, his eyes drop down briefly, and he furrows his brow at the fuel gauge indicator creeping ever closer to empty. He grumbles to himself, mumbling uneasily. Staring off into the distance, he surveys the scattered stores filling the sides of the highway in the section ahead. He squinting towards a fuel station along the opposite side of the road and wanders his search down the highway. A sidecar motorcycle approaching down the other lane catches his attention. Issac's eyes open wide in sheer surprise. Recognition homes in on the familiar helmet, duster, and face of the rider, all zipping past the gas station. Visually following the motorcycle, Isaac watches the vehicle and rider turn into a grocery store parking down the road.

Isaac snaps his attention forward, maintaining control of the sedan against a surge of tension. His face plays out a mix of apprehension and intrigue, furrowing his brow with the flurry of thoughts. From the cracked window, the wind flutters the edges of pictures in his open backpack upon the passenger floorboard. Spotting the photographs, Isaac ponders a moment, determination swelling within. He cracks a smirk and tightens the grip on his steering wheel. Slowing down into the middle lane, he steers the vehicle around in a tight U-turn and powers the car down the road towards the grocery store. Hunting around the area, he spots a secluded section of alley road behind the gas station and turns into an entry. He checks the vicinity and locates an obscured section of access road. Parking the vehicle out of the way, he stares down the long stretch of connecting passageway, leading towards the large market parking lot. He slowly eases out a few calming breaths and vents out his nerves. Isaac searches his mind and blatantly contemplates his options upon his tan, faintly sunned face. Blinking through his thoughts, he straightens his posture and pulls up his blue scarf over his nose.

Noxian opens the door, steps out, and quietly pushes the door shut. He calmly, confidently walks towards the grocery store parking lot.

----

Bach exits the market section of the large grocery store hoisting up two stuffed paper bags by the handles. Dodging around traffic and other customers, he weaves through the chaos and arrives at his motorcycle parked between two large, tall vehicles. Glancing to either side of the spot, he furrows his brow at the encroachment beyond the painted lines and groans. "Really people?"

With a roll of his eyes, he shrugs off the annoyance and slips through the remaining space. Lowering each bag into the sidecar, he carefully arranges the contents and secures the cargo. He stands up, brushes off his duster, and fans out some heat. From behind, a familiar voice stuns Bach motionless. "It is a nice day for a ride, Mr. Warwick."

Bach's blue eyes open fully. His expression blanks. And, he stiffly stands up straight. Gradually pivots in place, he turns towards the source of the voice. Noxian smiles wide underneath his blue scarf, crosses his arms, and sheds a magical veil, now fully visible. "I apologize for interrupting your shopping, but I believe we need to have a little discussion."

Every muscle in Bach's body tenses, his eyes dart around the area frantically, and he remains still, flits of confusion and fear twisting his face. Focusing his gray gaze upon Bach, Noxian gently motions his hands for Bach to calm down. "Put yourself at ease, Bach. I certainly did NOT come here to a populated area to pick a fight with you."

The din of surrounding shoppers rises up from the background, waves of noisy people shifting around the pocket of space between the two large trucks. Bach cringes briefly, gritting his teeth, and grumbles uneasily. "OKAY... That's good to know. Wasn't really looking forward to a fight. Much less one here... Much less with you..."

With the outline of a grin visible under his blue scarf, Noxian nods and unfolds his arms, placing his hands upon his sides. "GOOD. I expected as such. Anyway..."

He furrows his brow and sighs. "I distinctly believe that fighting would not serve to benefit either of us."

Noxian chuckles slightly and tilts his head, intrigued. "While I have grown to be quite the expert in manipulation of elder energies... I certainly don't have access to the RAW POWER like..."

With Bach visibly perplexed at the attention, he narrows his stare through Bach. "YOU do."

Bach pales, abject horror overwhelming him, and trembling fits sneak around his body. "Uh... Um... W-what are you t-talking about? I don't have-"

Hoisting his eyebrow incredulously, Noxian rolls his gray eyes, loudly sighs with a shake of his head, and glares right at Bach. "OH. Let us NOT do this act. I KNOW you have tapped into SOMETHING. Proper evidence shows such even."

Softening his expression, Noxian gazes at Bach with genuine curiosity, his tone lightening to a polite cadence. "All that I ask is you to just tell me..."

He furrows his brow and focuses fully upon Bach. "HOW did you do IT?"

With his mind floundering for a response, Bach stares right at Noxian, completely uncertain. Noxian patiently waits, the sounds of grocery store customers filling the air around. Bravery swells up into Bach, and he narrows his glare. "Well... Huh. I mean, I'm not going to lie to you..."

He grits his teeth, sneers his upper lip, and defiantly states. "I. DON'T. KNOW."

Noxian scrutinizes Bach thoroughly, a flicker of white sparking in his eyes, and contorts his face. Bach sighs uneasily, and nerves shove out a further explanation. "It's the truth. I was in a bad situation. I panicked... Reached out? Well, ah, that's the best way I can explain it. And..."

Mustering up his resolve, he steels himself. "Something happened I did not expect, and it completely caught me off guard. After that, I don't know. So, even if I WANTED to help you, I honestly CAN'T."

Tense seconds pass. Noxian slowly nods, relaxing his gaze, and twists his mouth unsatisfied, shrugging his shoulders. "I see. That is very unfortunate. But, I cannot rightly fault you for not remembering specific information in a dire situation. Oh well. No easy answers today, I guess."

Donning an apologetic tone, he softens his gaze towards Bach and bows slightly. "Since we are here and conversing, I do think I need to make some amends for my past behavior towards you. Let me say, I am very sorry for how I acted before and my hostilities towards you."

He sighs and grimaces uncomfortably. "My ambitions got the better of me, at the time, and led me into actions I should not have even remotely considered."

Apprehension overtakes Bach, and he wrestles down a wave of bewilderment, glancing around. He collects himself and focuses back upon Noxian. "Um... I... Well... Appreciate your apology?"

Noxian smiles under his scarf, nods respectfully, and stands tall with a calm voice. "Good. And, as a gesture of goodwill, I want to offer you assistance with learning how to control your elder energy and train you how to use it more effectively."

Freezing solidly for seconds in outright terror, Bach forces a step back and lifts his hands up. "NO."

Carefully watching every motion of fear plain upon Bach, Noxian perks his brow intrigued and concern colors his voice. "Interesting. Why are you so hesitant?"

Anxiety spins lose into a wave of rage and radiates through the whole of Bach. Breathing shakily, he pushes another step back away from Noxian. "Whatever I have... I-it doesn't n-need your help. Not YOUR ways."

Noxian ponders a few moments, searching Bach's fearful demeanor, and sighs with genuine worry. "Please, calm down. This is not some kind of scheme. I honestly do want to help you. You shouldn't fear this power you have access to." Pausing in thought, he meets Bach's stare and calmly assures. "It's not some kind of evil thing. It is still dangerous and should be well respected, but there is nothing bad about it."

He slowly steps forward, maintaining his watch of Bach, and presents a cool, collected exterior. "To summarize a very long discussion quickly... You've been lied to. The whole Elder Energy and Dark Lords subject? It's a bunch of fear mongering crafted by ghosts of the past to keep people from exploring what they eventually should."

With a long pause, Noxian searches his mind, constructing the next parts of his explanation. "There may have been good reasons for what many wise mages did at the time, all so long ago. But, NOW? We NEED to MOVE ON. Those of us who can show the restraint and dedication..."

He narrows his stare at Bach. "Like YOU have... Need to not be afraid to utilize this power-"

A mental shock jolts Bach's body free. Bach winces briefly, and a pressure surge of panic launches out a defiant rant from deep within. "FUCK. THAT. Just FUCK that! GODS! You don't know what should and shouldn't be utilized. The only gods damned reason I'll explore any of this power is to figure out how to one day... CUT MYSELF OFF FROM IT! Because of this bullshit, I spent YEARS of my life as a washed out, useless, lame mage. A fucking disgrace! A worthless disappointment! And, the worst joke around! I'm NOT about to turn this miserable, shitty curse into anything more than a means to its own end! I want it long gone! And, I want to just cast spells like I used to be able to! Like EVERYONE else does!"

He jabs a pointed finger out towards Noxian. "FUCK. YOUR. INANE. BULLSHIT!"

Noxian rears his head back momentarily in absolute surprise and frowns, witnessing Bach's trembling stance and anxiety-stressed breathing. With a soothing, paternal cadence, Noxian meets Bach's eyes and sighs. "Bach. Listen. You have been given a unique opportunity for some reason. Yes, it was granted to you in a terribly awkward and obviously devastating manner. But..."

Drawing in a long breath, Noxian smiles hopefully under his scarf and encouragement colors his tone. "What you have... THIS is something I DID NOT think was even POSSIBLE in this day and age. You should take this chance and do great, wonderful things!"

Uncertainty powers Bach's defiance, and he dismissively rejects with a wave of his hand. "Nothing GOOD is going to come from using this energy. They put the Abstract Prism in place for a good gods damned reason. And, I'm not about to push my shitty luck and find out WHY in the worst fucking way possible."

A surge of irritation mixes with frustration upon Noxian's face, and he quickly closes the distance between him and Bach. He concentrates his narrowing glare through Bach and slowly, purposefully pronounces each word. "It CAN be for good. It COULD have done good..."

His attention shifts to a distant place in his mind, and he reflects upon old memories, Bach noticing the change. Seconds later, Noxian drills his stare right into Bach's soul. "AND. It HAS done good."

In utter confusion, Bach searches around in his mind between flicks of his eyes. Stepping back, Noxian draws in a long calming breath and sighs into a deeply appreciative cadence. "The Nightmare Geist in Hattan. Thousands of people spared from untold destruction... And one little girl that draws you as her hero of light against the darkness that almost took her."

Jarring memories rise up to the front of Bach's mind, and he abruptly yanks his attention to within. Noxian focuses upon Bach and directs his voice carefully. "Also... Care to explain to me how Cideeda is flowing magical energy now? Something I've never seen or heard of her being able to do... Until you joined the group?"

Bach sifts through another collection of thoughts and mumbles an argument to himself. "But, I, uh, um... That was an accident and... Gods, it could have seriously hurt her... It just shows that power should- I mean, shouldn't be used... Just sealed away..."

Training his full attention upon Bach, Noxian waits for the moment Bach meets his determined stare. "Bach. You should NOT be afraid of this power. Don't act like you haven't made willing, purposeful choices to use it. You could have easily not used it, stuck to those hollow principles, and tried to live with the results. But..."

Examining the turmoil slipping out through Bach, he reassures. "You made a choice. The RIGHT choice..."

He drills his stare into Bach and states clearly. "I'm certain Sotalia would say so."

An uncomfortable revelation washes over Bach, paralyzing him, and he wanders through his own head. Noxian observes the perplexed Bach patiently, stepping back. An awkward eerie silence looms between the two, pushing away the rest of the world. Tense seconds later, the quiet fades, and another wave of grocery store parking lot activity rises out of the background. Shaking his head of wispy, white hair, Noxian sighs and gazes at Bach with a hopeful tone. "I understand. You still need time to accept all this. I can see and feel that it's been a serious burden upon you. And truly, I wish I had known sooner. I could have... AND still will help you, if you want."

He straightens his posture and calmly states. "THAT is my standing offer to you. Keep it in mind."

Pondering a moment, Noxian crosses his arms and nods slightly. "And maybe, when you learn more, you'll hear me out about other things."

He searches around the area, the market getting busier, and smiles under his scarf. "But... For now, I do terribly need to take my leave. As much as you have errands to run, I do so, too. Elsewhere... Briefly..."

Pausing moment, he smirks. "Take care of yourself, Bach. I believe Fate will have us running into each other soon enough."

Noxian begins to fade into transparency and turns to walk away. Bach snaps back to awareness and stares out to the disappearing Noxian. "Isaac?"

Isaac freezes in shock, slowly turns around, and slips backs into visibility, gawking at Bach. Meeting Isaac's gray eyes, Bach plainly states to Isaac's confusion. "Your journal."

Distant memories flood into Isaac's consciousness, and he winces with past, still sharp, pain. Bach sighs earnestly and frowns slightly. "You have my most sincere condolences. I don't know what I would have done. Hopefully for the best, that place is no longer forgotten."

A long, somber silence hangs between the two. Seconds later, Isaac clears his throat and turns away to depart, fading into invisibility. He pauses momentarily short of disappearing and glances over his shoulder to Bach. "Thank you..."

Thinking for a moment, he sighs sadly. "Understand... There's a good reason for what I do. I think you'll understand, eventually."

Isaac's visage blends into the air, and his presence fades from sight. Bach remains upon his feet for another minute in a tense watch of the area. His vigor wanes, and he plops upon the seat of his motorcycle. Panting in shuddering breaths, he shakily retrieves his aetherphone from his pocket.

----

With his arms upon the dining tabletop, Bach props his head up, combing his fingers through his hair, and releases the swell of stress from within into a long sigh. Slowly shaking his head, he meekly relents in a wavering, uneasy tone. "Gods... Dammit... Oh, man... I should have followed after him, or SOMETHING... But... FUCK. I just wasn't thinking. I am so sorry."

Sebastian cranes his head down in front of Bach, awaits eye contact, and dons a comforting smile, hints of worry fading. "Hey. It's okay, bro. Really. There's NOTHING to apologize for. You did the SMART thing. No need to get into a showdown with Noxian, and in a crowded place."

He curls a humoring grin and motions towards his ghostly visage. "I'm certainly not going to criticize you for NOT going one on one with Noxian. We all know how THAT ended. I'm just glad you're here and safe."

Gently patting Bach on the back, Sotalia leans over and smiles calmly with a soothing tone. "There was no point in running off by yourself to chase after him."

She rolls her golden eyes at herself, smirking. "Gods, I mean, you only followed the same advice YOU gave ME."

A slight smile lifts up the frown upon Bach, and he glances over appreciatively to Sotalia. Cideeda raps her claw tipped fingers on the wooden tabletop and gazes over to Bach curiously, pondering out loud. "Did you catch how he was getting around?"

Bach lifts his head up, blinks in thought for a moment, and regretfully shakes his head. "No... I was too upset and out of it to check when I should have. But..."

Furrowing his brow, he wrestles around a grimace. "I don't think it was anything in the parking lot I was in. Before I came back here after calling, I mage sighted an odd trace of elder energy around the bushes at the edge of the lot. I followed a little of it, but it just led to an access road in an alley behind a few stores and fuel stations."

Cideeda's emerald green eyes dart around her thoughts, and she nods with a plotting grin, her furry ears perking up. "OH, I bet there HAS to be at least one camera along that route. If nothing else, there's probably one angled to catch anything at an exit or entry point."

Sebastian's ethereal form scratches his chin, and he hums with a ghostly reverb, piecing together a theory. "Yeah. Definitely. We have the rough time frame and know the general area. If we check footage from the point from the call, we can see if anything left soon afterwards. Because I doubt Noxian hung around. THEN, we can check to see if any of the same vehicles arrived beforehand."

Halting her pacing next to the sliding glass door, Aristespha furrows her ivory brow, fully focused upon the conversation with her aetherphone, and sighs. "No- No... I completely understand. But-"

She briefly winces and relaxes slightly. "Fine. Yes, please do not hesitate to call his number or the guild if you get any further information. Thank you."

Removing the phone from her long pointy ear, she sneers her upper lip and groans out in frustrated resignation. With a slow pivot, she steps towards the gathering around the dining table, dissatisfaction looming heavily over her. Pulling a chair out, she tries to gracefully slide in and finishes with a slump. "WELL, the local police force has been notified, now. I highly doubt they are going to do much of anything to actively stop Noxian."

Sebastian rolls his translucent blue eyes, grumbling, and summons up a hopeful smirk. "Yeah, dear. Well... Honestly, I can't fault them for not wanting to chase after a dark lord. But, maybe they might be able to get some camera data in the area from all the store owners."

With a reserved smile, Aristespha nods in agreement and gazes up towards Sebastian lovingly. "That is true, Sebastian. I was certainly hoping for a bit more cooperation than what I got."

Narrowing her wandering stare, she frowns vaguely. "And, I have NOT heard that much from Nash lately. So, I have not a clue as to what is exactly happening at the Grand Library."

She chuckles lightly to herself and shakes her head. "But, I have a good feeling after he listens to the voicemail I left him... He WILL be contacting me soon enough."

Sotalia stands up straight, resting her hands at her hips, and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair, gritting her teeth. "STILL... How the hell DID Noxian know about everything that went on in that golem factory?!"

Curling her upper lip into a mean scowl, she squints her anger off to the side. "GODS! The only thing that makes any sense is that he was actually THERE with us!"

She grumbles out a string of emin swears to herself, slowly shaking her head with aggravation plain on her light tan, gray edged face. Cideeda squirms in her seat uncomfortably, searching her own thoughts, and idly flexes her fingers. "He had to have been there for a while watching us to notice ME flowing magical energy."

Crossing his arms with an irritated frown, Sebastian groans out his frustration and rolls his eyes dismissively. "Yeah... THANKS A LOT for the non-assist, Noxian. Still..."

He lowers his head in thought. "That list of coordinates we've got..."

Furrowing his brow at the pieces of facts and evidence congregating in his mind, he cocks his head intrigued. "It's definitely THE LIST he's using. I can't think of any other reason he'd show up there. We only knew the exact coordinates from the list and confirmed it was something worth checking out after what Faelatelia told us."

Bach sighs, resting against the chair back, and closes his eyes with worn cadence. "Well, somehow that site we got the data from must be able, or have been able, to detect elder energy or some kind of signature of it. Man, wish we knew what all the other numbers meant."

Reopening his eyes, he slumps his shoulders and stares within his own head, puzzling at memory. "Something I did not think was even possible in this day and age... Elsewhere... Briefly... Gods dammit. I can't shake this feeling he's changing his focus to something else."

He furrows his brow and grimaces. "FUCK. I feel like I just let him know about something he shouldn't."

Aristespha smiles comfortingly and shakes her head slowly. "It is NOT your fault, Bach. Just because he knows something exists, does not mean he will be able to remotely replicate it."

A scheming smirk graces her, and she tilts her head to the side, a plotting smile emerging. "In fact... It may serve to our benefit if he is distracted. Isaac worked at the Grand Library, and if he has any of the bad habits that such entitles..."

Perking an eyebrow, she curls the corner of her mouth, hopefully. "He will probably be researching this new development. Which will take him off his previous path."

Cideeda's emerald green eyes widen, her furry ears perk up, and she grins toothily with a chuckle. "AND, while he's busy chasing something that might not turn up anything, we can go through the list and beat him to other sites."

Hope growing within, Bach nods in agreement. "Yeah. I mean, it really felt like he was changing his focus to something else. If only for a little while."

Sotalia crosses her arms, shifts her weight, and grins with a competitive spark. "Oh, it'd be NICE to get ahead of his plans for once."

Glancing down at Bach with a wry smirk, she lifts an examining eyebrow at him and leans closer with an amused tone. "So, how about that offer from Noxian to help you?"

Bach blinks back to full awareness, narrows a stare up at Sotalia, twisting his mouth in ill-humor. "Oh yeah. That sounded like a GREAT offer. I'm certain taking magic tips from a dark lord will REALLY help me out in the long run... And, TOTALLY, not set me up for an inevitable betrayal after he learns what he wants from me."

Sotalia snickers, rolling her golden eyes, and shakes her head. "Gods, I'm just kidding."

Pausing a moment, she wrestles with a grimace. "That was still REALLY STRANGE of him."

Bach nods, staring out across the table bewildered, and furrows his brow, reprocessing recent events. "I know. I mean, he seemed genuine when he offered. I just don't know..."

Dretphi walks in from the kitchen carrying a large tray full of different, delectable lunch items in each hand, lays out the huge platters of sandwiches and sides on the tabletop, and glances over the group. "Lunch is ready. Please enjoy."

Gazing at Bach with a warm smile, she asks hopefully. "Are you hungry now? I can set aside a share for later. Give your appetite time to recover."

Bach sniffs the air, surveys the variety of delicious food in front of him, and shakes his head. "No, I can certainly eat. My stomach acid has been working on me for the last hour, so this amazing food is perfect right now."

Dretphi nods appreciatively, waiting as the rest of the group sits down around the table, and slips into a chair to join in the feast.

----

Dretphi stands under the morning shade of a tree with her hands securely gripped around her flow blade. With slow, careful breaths, she concentrates her gaze at the large sword, affixing her full attention upon it. Moments later, flows of prismatic energy seep out from her arms, glide over her hands, and sink into the handle of the weapon. With his glowing blue eyes studying the magic at play, Bach keeps close by, hands firmly at his sides. "You're doing just fine. Keep it steady and gradually press the flow harder."

Gritting her teeth slightly, Dretphi closes her steely gray eyes, tossing her platinum blonde braids back, and flexes her tan, gray striped arms. The flows brighten around her arms. The energy channels within the blade, illuminating a radiant red. The color gradually climbs up from the hilt, creeping towards the tip. Visibly straining, Dretphi maintains her focus upon her strenuous task, twisting her grimace. Bach nods slowly, leaning his head closer for examination, and encourages Dretphi with a soft tone. "Okay. Keep it right THERE, for now. Just focus on how it feels rather than the amount of power you are forcing out. Find the paths of least resistance."

The red patterns fill up the surface of the sword, pulsating slightly with occasional flits of brightness. Subtle tremors from Dretphi's arms shake the flow blade, very noticeably at the sharp tip. Eagerness and excitement slips out onto Dretphi's tan face, and she fights against her sheer determination, the progression of red gracing the end point. Grinning, Bach calls out, signaling with a hand motion. "Now! Full power!"

An expectant smirk sneaks out from the corner of Dretphi's mouth. Tensing her body, a rush of flow swirls across Dretphi and plunges into the flow blade. Briefly bursting ethereal red fire, the sword ignites, and a solid glow of crimson lights up the long blade's edge. A brilliant grin explodes upon Dretphi, and she watches the magical aura of the blade, recognition and familiarity overwhelming her with awe. Seconds later, the energy drifts from the blade. The glow fades from the sword. Dretphi gently lowers the flow blade back down toward the ground, relaxing the muscles in her arms and body, and releases a long sigh of relief and accomplishment. "Thank... You..."

Standing nearby, Bach applauds and laughs. "You're welcome. Wow! Is THAT how you remember it looking like when your mother used it?"

Dretphi rests the blade down, propping it upon the nearby tree trunk, and vents air through her sweat-dampened T-shirt, smiling at Bach. "Similar. There are differences. Does not matter. This was ME. THAT is what matters."

Nodding in agreement, Bach blinks briefly, pulls his shorts up by the waistband, and tugs his shirt down to cover. "Definitely was you all the way powering it. So, did it feel a bit easier?"

Wiping sweat off her brow, Dretphi crosses her arms, sorting through the recent experience, and mulls the question over. "In ways. It felt easy to... Reach? Hard to... Fill?"

Furrowing his brow, Bach scratches his beard-covered chin and ponders out loud. "Yeah. That... That actually makes sense. You can guide the flow well enough to go through all those channels, now. Throughput is always rough, though. Especially with the worn out channels in that sword, but..."

He smirks with a shrug of his shoulders. "A little brute force can make it cooperate for a little while."

Averting her gaze away momentarily, Dretphi bites her lower lip and glances uncertainly at Bach. "Does this demonstrate enough mastery for you to teach me magical augmentation?"

Bach's eyes spring wide open briefly, and he grits his teeth into an uneasy grimace with an unsure groan. "Uhh... Well..."

A frown curls the corner of Dretphi's mouth, and her distant stare saddens swiftly, hints of self disappointment and defeat slipping out. Drawing in a long breath, Bach sighs and crosses his arms firmly. He aims a serious stare upon Dretphi and twists his frown, hesitation tensing his body. "Listen... Can you tell me WHY you want to learn THAT? You mentioned before that someone you know uses this type of magic. Who is it?"

Dretphi blinks to attention and awkwardly glances around a bit. Presenting a small smile to Bach, she relaxes her posture. "My mother. I have heard tales of her power in battle. The flow blade. Magical augmentation of her body. If the stories are true, my mother has defeated tanks."

Tilting his head to the side, Bach gazes at Dretphi in astonishment. "Uh. Tanks? The armored battle machine type of tank? Not the big metal container type of thing?"

Furrowing her tan brow, Dretphi brushes her platinum blonde braids back over her shoulders, rests her hands on her hips, and shifts her weight idly around. "Yes. The vehicle."

She lifts an eyebrow and twists her mouth in thought. "Probably containers, too. If she had to prove a point near one."

Bach scratches his head of brown hair, guiding his white streak out of the way of his face, and blinks in disbelief a few times, searching Dretphi's face for a further explanation. "Okay. So, how did she defeat a... Tank?"

Dretphi shrugs her shoulders plainly and states simply. "Close in. Cut the treads. Jam the turret. Slice the cannon barrel."

Bach's stare drifts off into the vicinity, his mind visualizing the scene. Seconds later, he lands his attention back upon Dretphi's flow blade propped upon the tree truck. He points at it and cocks his head. "THAT blade, has taken down... Tanks."

Glancing over, Dretphi meets Bach's gaze and nods nonchalantly. "Yes. I have heard the stories from my fathers. Soldiers who fought with her. Historical documentation. All recounts were similar."

She pauses a moment and sighs heavy with shame, lowering her head. "I have wanted to learn that ability from her."

Narrowing her steely gray eyes, she fights against a frown. "She refuses to teach me. I do not know why. That is why I want you to teach me. Basic proficiency should demonstrate that..."

Sniffing in a short breath, she swallows hard with a trailing tone. "I... Am worthy to learn from her..."

Bach stiffen his upper lip and turns his head away, contemplation furrowing his brow. He returns his gaze upon Dretphi with a reserved smile. "Okay... Wow... Alright."

Pulling in a long breath, he straightens his posture and sternly addresses. "I want you to understand that magical augmentation of your physical body can lead to disastrous things, if you are not careful or prepared. UNDERSTAND?"

Dretphi snaps to full attention and nods firmly. "YES."

With a growing grin, Bach chuckles and shrugs his shoulders. "Okay. I'll show you the very basics. It's going to take a LONG time to get going. And, you still need to keep practicing your ability to flow magical energy."

Glancing over Dretphi, Bach smiles reassuringly. "Thankfully, you certainly have the physique to handle some very simple stuff safely... I believe."

A delighted smile springs wide on Dretphi, and her excitement radiates out into her posture. Holding up his hands in a calming motion, Bach sighs with a smirk. "Just PROMISE ME you'll stick to just simple running and free movement for now. This isn't like the cartoons where you can charge up and start punching through walls."

Flexing his fingers, he eyes his knuckles and shakes off a memory. Dretphi nods happily, tempering her joy. "I know. Promise to use for regular movement... ONLY. THANK YOU."

Bach nods and drifts his attention towards a more immediate issue, pulling his shorts back up. Dretphi glances down, quirks her brow, and points curiously. "What is wrong?"

Fighting off embarrassment, Bach rolls his blue eyes at himself and grumbles. "I don't know. I, uh, think the waist must have stretched out in these or something in the last wash. I mean, I've had them for a while anyway, so it's not surprising they're falling apart. But... They've just not been fitting right lately."

Dretphi slowly shakes her head amused, giggling to herself, and cocks her head to the side. "You may need a belt. I could take in the waist, if you want."

Bach blinks in surprise, lifts his head up, and gazes at Dretphi, balancing confusion and disbelief . "Really?! You actually think I'm... Slimming down? I mean, I haven't lost that much weight and all..."

Continuing to study the looser fit of his clothes, he notices other details. Dretphi watches and hides a warm, humored smile with hand.

----

From a small opening in the underbrush, Meredosia stares out and slowly scans the huge clearing in front of her. Wind gently rustles the leaves of the giant trees encircling the vast area beneath the starry evening sky. Uneasy tension freezes Meredosia's body still, and her dark crimson eyes search the surrounding darkness carefully. Her ivory face alternates between unsettling recognition and unnerving discovery, scanning the scenery to the limits of her vision. At a distant part of the clearing, a number of uniformed military personnel stand guard outside a scorch mark spattered ancient structures. Other teams of troops methodically investigate both old and recently forged ruins. Surges of terrified bewilderment rise up in Meredosia, her horrified stare drifting between small blast craters, long ruts of laser burns, freshly baked deposits of black soot, bullet holes in and through structures, and dark red blood stains spattered throughout. She freezes her terror upon a faint humanoid outline intertwined into the chaotic destruction upon an ancient stone wall, recording the moments of an existence.

Blinking out of her stupor, Meredosia remembers to allow air into her lungs and shudders her head away from her view of the ancient clearing. She closes her eyes, carefully draws in silent breaths, and strokes her long gray hair, mustering back her composure. From within, determination swells out, and she levels her concentration upon the largest building in the huge field. Sliding out from her hiding spot in the underbrush, she slinks out low upon a nearby game trail, and swiftly sneaks along the path. Over the quiet minutes, she proceeds quickly from obscuring spots to concealing patches in the overgrowth. In the silence of a still moment, she rushes out from the perimeter of the clearing and arrives in a darkened alley along the side of the large main structure. She creeps up to the front corner, cautiously leans out, and surveys the immediate vicinity. A few lightly armored soldiers walk slowly in a long patrol up to the front entry and stop. Moments later, the conservations between the team and a number of other military guards crest over the soft nature background.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Meredosia backs away from the corner and mumbles under her breath a series of evuukian swears. She finds a secluded section of the architecture, draws back into safety, and sits down, softly venting out her unease. She brushes her ivory hands through her gray hair, grasps hold her very long, pointed ears, and closes her eyes, summoning a moment of calm against the anxiety tremors slipping out. Collecting herself, she shudders back to awareness and searches around. Investigating the structural features above, her crimson eyes lock onto an open window. She cocks her head to the side, memory driving her recognition. Quickly checking down either end of the passage and the thick underbrush wall behind, she quietly mutters out an incantation and expertly gestures out a spell. She positions herself below the high up, open window and presses her hand onto the ancient stone building. Streams of energy swirl down her arm to her hand, and Meredosia pulls herself up upon the wall. In a methodical, repetitious sequence, she places hand or foot up and flows energy, securing herself to the climbing face. She crawls higher up towards the awaiting window.

Arriving below the open window sill, she waits expectantly, her eyes closed and ears hunting. She opens her eyes, raises her gaze above the bottom of the window frame, and peers into the room. In the dark space, an eerie silence looms, pushing out the outside world. With a final pull, Meredosia hoists herself over the sill and slides herself through the opening onto a cold tile floor, next to a ceramic toilet. She quickly gestures out another incantation, and a small orb of light forms within the palm of her hand. Inspecting the dimly illuminated bathroom around her, she slowly stands up, visually traces the muddied footprints upon the floor, and feels the dried dirt leftover upon the sill. Trickles of hope manifest into a smile upon her face, and she stares out into the dark night forest scene outside.

Quietly, Meredosia slowly steps up to the closed bathroom door, noticing the dim illumination upon the destroyed jam. She presses her long, pointed ear against the wood and waits. Withdrawing, she gently pulls the door back. Her light casts out into the room, revealing a scene of sheer chaos and complete upheaval. Meredosia stares blankly out into the large bed room of dumped over bookshelves, hastily emptied drawers, upturned, broken furniture, ripped open cushions, pried apart chests, and shattered entry door fragments. Frozen in place with the shock, she crosses her arms tightly around herself and shrinks back a bit, her mind fumbling for an expression for her ivory face. Steeling herself, she steps forward through the room, stepping over debris, and pauses momentarily, spotting the dark stains of combat below the surface of destruction. Slowly, she navigates to a spot on the floor beside the upturned bed and kneels down. Feeling around the floor stonework, she guides her fingertips along the grooves and locates a slightly different section than the rest. She breathes out a soft incantation, working her fingers underneath. Lifting a section of floor, she uncovers a hidden compartment containing a modest backpack.

Meredosia stares silently at the backpack. Reaching out to the top, she curls a finger through a rope loop around a zipper pull and gradually unzips it. The flap drops away and reveals the contents. Meredosia pauses, studying the collection, and winces against the surge of the past. She rummage through and picks up a booklet, flipping it open. A sad sigh leaves her, her light orb illuminating a past picture of herself upon an evuukian identification document. Closing the paperwork, she tucks it securely back inside and zips the backpack back up. She lowers her head, nerves straining each of her breaths.

A sharp crack echoes distantly down the hallway leading to the bedroom entry. Meredosia's ears twitch, leading her head, and she gawks in wide eyed fright. A muffled conversation bounces dully down the hall, growing louder with each passing second. Meredosia takes hold of the backpack, slips it on, and deftly sprints to the bathroom, gesturing out an incantation. Maneuvering through the window, she leaps out of the building, glides gently onto the ground, and rushes off into the forest. Cautiously slinking between patches of underbrush, she proceeds further out and away.

The distance from the clearing grows. Her sprints between hiding spots lengthen. Caution gives way to speed. Far from the start of her escape, terror overwhelms her mind. Across the forest floor, she runs in full out panic. Fear blatant on her ivory face, Meredosia flees in blind terror. Ducking through passages, her lone, long gray hairs snag upon and snap away with branches and brambles. She pants harder with the growing distance. The thin sliver of moon barely adds to the dim starlight slipping in from the canopy above. Meredosia blindly scrambles through passages emerging from the inky darkness. Stealth crumbles with her fragmenting composure. Gasping for breath breath, she stumbles over a shrub. In the moment of pause, a spark of situational awareness graces her. From the ground, her dark crimson eyes refocus, recognizing the surrounding forest. Meredosia scrambles up, glancing around between pants. She snaps her stare towards a secluded patch of closely grown old trees. Darting into hiding, she collapses, out of breath, into a curled up ball, trembling and sobbing. She closes her eyes to world and withdraws into within, tears flowing and wincing with horror.

The hours pass. Her crying wanes. Her tears dry. She stills and remains quiet. Through the small opening of her hiding spot, she settles a distant stare out into the dark, shadow filled forest. In the idle moments between tensing anxiety, her mind wanders. Furrowing her brow, she narrows her glare out into the world. She searches her outfit's pockets. With a firm grip, she retrieves a medical supply wrapper and slips it out slowly. Studying the text stamped on, she focuses her dark crimson stare upon two words.

"Amaranth Valley"

-62-

In the front yard of the ranch style house, Dretphi paces near the steps leading up to the front door. She occasionally glances out towards the road and slides her expectant gaze along the routes down each direction. Staring out to the horizon, she searches the farthest point of her vision and waits. Moments later, she slowly walks around idly, investigating the opposite way. The wind picks up into a gentle breeze, blowing the grass, rustling the leaves, and swaying Dretphi's platinum blonde hair braids. The front door opens, and Sotalia leans her head out, peeking around the yard. Tracking Dretphi's repeating path in the walkway, she smirks with a reassuring sigh . "You know you can wait inside. It's not like there's that many other houses out here. I'm sure they'll find this place and knock on the door soon enough."

Dretphi perks up, pivoting in place, and smiles appreciatively with a tinge of embarrassment. "I know. Just can not wait. It has been... a while."

Sliding out from behind the door, Sotalia steps down the stairs and stands next to Dretphi, turning to face the breeze. "Oh, I totally understand. Back when I had a more permanent address, I'd always run around the place making sure everything was perfect for my little nieces and nephews when my sisters would visit."

She rolls her golden eyes at herself and grumbles playfully with a grin on her light tan, gray edged face. "NOW, there's more and they're older, too. So, it's harder to keep them all entertained anymore."

Dretphi nods in agreement and sighs with a twist at the corner of her mouth. "Similar to my brothers. Hard to keep their attention now."

Lifting an eyebrow, Sotalia glances over towards Dretphi with an inquisitive hint. "How old are they now?"

With a slight groan, Dretphi rolls her steely gray eyes and slowly shakes her head. "Twenty. Nineteen. STILL frustratingly immature."

Sotalia snorts in a chuckle and twists her mouth into a commiserating grimace. "Interesting. And, they're just NOW looking for schools to go to?"

Grumbling out her dissatisfaction, Dretphi crosses her faintly gray striped arms and tenses her shoulders against a wave of disapproval. "Decided to take... A BREAK... from schooling. Work part-time at menial jobs. Party the money away."

Cracking an evil grin, Sotalia puts her hands on her hips and laughs impishly. "AH. So, the fun times are over, because patience has run out?"

A satisfied smirk grows on Dretphi's tan face, and she straightens her posture. Chuckling to herself, she nods slowly. "YES. Tekennin is first. Arrenten is next."

She glances over to Sotalia, furrowing her brow. "Their options... Go to school funded... Work proper jobs to fund the house... Their choice."

Rolling her eyes with a sly smile, she curls her smirk sharper. "OH. I bet I know the answer to the question."

With a humored smile, Dretphi glances over and nods. "You do."

In the distance, a large passenger van drives down the two lane rural highway. Slowing down, it approaches the mailbox in front of the property and turns into the driveway. The vehicle rolls to a stop right behind the humvee, and the engine cuts off. Dretphi waves excitedly to the people inside the van. "That is the rental my mother negotiated."

Sotalia cocks her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side. "Damn."

Dretphi rushes over with a skip to her step, the van doors opening and sliding. Sotalia swiftly steps up the stairs, pushes the front door ajar, and calls out inside. "They're here!"

From the driver's seat doorway, a tall, fit grath man steps out of the van, brushes a leaf from a nearby tree off his graying, short brown hair and gazes towards Dretphi happily with steely gray eyes. Dretphi rushes over into his open, gray striped arms. Both hug, exchanging loving greetings in the same dialects of grath. From the sliding door, two other older grath men work their ways out, one similar height to Dretphi and heavier, and the other shorter and wiry. Following behind from the very back seats, two young grath men awkwardly crawl out, one wiry and the other larger. Both stand for a few moments, stretching out their tall frames, and mutter complaints to each other.

Dretphi hugs and greets the older men. Walking over with a hidden smirk, she approaches the two young men and concentrates a questioning gaze upon both. The heavier young grath notices the attention and pats the other young, thinner grath quickly, motioning towards Dretphi. Both swiftly straighten their postures and wait patiently. Silently, Dretphi adopts a stoic posture and stares at the two, visually scrutinizing them. The examination continues, and Dretphi's expression softens into a delighted smile. She pulls both of them close with smile. During the group embrace, Dretphi sneaks her hands to the top of their platinum blonde heads and musses up both their hair styles. The thinner man grumbles out annoyed, and he vainly tries to brush his hair back to his desires. The other young man laughs, mocking the vanity of the other, and a quips a joke in grath with Dretphi.

Walking calmly and confidently around the front of the van, an older grath woman with long braids of platinum fading to dirty blonde passes the older men, and stands behind Dretphi with a collected smile upon her tan face. "Dretphi."

Reflexively tensing a moment, Dretphi slowly pivots around and meets the woman's piercing blue eyes at the same level as her own steely gray eyes. She presents a stoic exterior against the strong presence in front of her. The two stare at each other. Seconds later, the older grath woman smiles warmly and embraces Dretphi. Holding each other tightly, both share a laugh. In a shared dialect of grath, the woman poses a question to Dretphi. With a roll of her steely gray eyes, Dretphi shrugs her shoulders and sighs out her response. Nodding in agreement, the older grath woman comments, sharing a similar sentiment.

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Sebastian, and Sotalia stand in a loose grouping near the steps leading to the front door and wait curiously around the tall, large congregation of grath. Dretphi's situational awareness returns, and she wrestles down a spark of embarrassment, leading the grath group over. "I am sorry. Got carried away. This is my house. House Veranattin."

Straightening up her posture, Dretphi smiles proudly and motions towards the older grath woman. "This is my birth mother. Meranni Karrenna Prakkenten Veranattin."

Meranni gazes over the team before her, stands with pride, and bows slightly. "Please. Call me Meranni."

With a happy tone, Dretphi stands next to the older graying grath man with excitement sneaking out. "My birth father. Commander Ralthetanen Heri Reti Veranattin."

Sighing with a smirk, Ralthetanen chuckles to himself and bows respectfully to the group with ease and calm. "Ralth is enough. My parents gifted me syllables. I will not burden you with them."

Dretphi stands between the two older grath men, nodding to the larger of the two. "My house father. Doctor Kettan Arrentit Crettaken Veranattin."

Kettan grins jovially and chuckles, putting his hands in his pants pockets with a hint of shyness. "Kettan, please. Gods. Have not felt this official for a while."

Dretphi turns to introduce the other older, shorter, wiry grath man. "My house father. Matakinen Prezzanit Arvenerrin Veranattin."

Matakinen smirks nonchalantly and raises a hand, waving to the group. "Just Mata."

Dretphi glances over to the two young grath men behind the front lineup, both whispering between each other. The thin one gestures towards the ground at stray gravel rocks, hides a thumb flicking motion from others, and asks the heavy young man a question, eyeing Sebastian's transparent form. The other young man pauses in thought, deliberates the idea in his head, and shrugs with a curious glance over to Sebastian. With a plotting grin, the thin young man begins to kneel down. Both young men freeze in place, Dretphi's hands firmly gripping their shoulders from behind. Directing the two up to the front with everyone else, Dretphi smirks smugly. "These are my brothers."

Narrowing a suspicious stare to the heavier young man, she recites with a stern tone. "Tekennin Prakkenten Crettaken Veranattin."

Tekennin stands up straight, bows properly, and innocently replies. "Hello. Nice to meet all of you."

Dretphi's attention slides over and concentrates upon the mildly defiant expression of the thin, young man, and she plainly speaks. "Arrenten Prakkenten Arvenerrin Veranattin."

Grumbling quietly to himself, the young man musters up the posturing and briefly complies with a bow. "Hey."

The team exchanges greetings with House Veranattin in full, and sparks of small talk lead into the starts of larger discussions. Minutes later, Sebastian glances above to the overhead sun and addresses the group. "Hey, everyone. While the heat doesn't bother me as much in this form, we do have air conditioning inside."

The collective pauses, briefly ponders under the near noon sun, and organizes their escape, filtering through the front door. Dretphi waits with her mother, both discussing a topic in grath with importance stressing their tones. Her mother informing, Dretphi squints towards the van and notices two large, full, canvas sacks in the back. Pointing to the bags, she motions to herself, asking a question, and signals towards the house. Meranni grins, patting her daughter's shoulder, and shakes her head confidently. Narrowing a stare right at Tekennin and Arrenten climbing up the steps, she recites their names in a motherly, commanding cadence. Both brothers halt, pivot towards their mother, and wait for further instructions. Meranni glances over to the van, instructs them with a snap of her fingers, and walks to the front door. With a hint of a sly smile, Dretphi follows behind her mother. Tekennin and Arrenten maintain their silent compliance. Meranni and Dretphi go inside. Out of earshot, the two siblings commiserate in mocking tones, gathering the plentiful cooking supplies from the vehicle.

----

Within the living space of the ranch style house, a large gathering converses around the dining table. Sitting on a mix of regular dining chairs and extra seating provisioned from other places, Dretphi's house members and the team converse in an array of changing individual exchanges. Between the main kitchen and pantry, Meranni and Dretphi dutifully rotate through a variety of tasks. Demonstrating experience-earned expertise, mother and daughter talk and comment in grath seamlessly between topics, carrying out their chores instinctively. Occasionally, in between flurries of activity, both pause for a quick break and coordinate the next steps, listening in on the current discussions going on in the living room. Arrenten and Tekennin competitively play a fighting game on the old gaming console attached to the television, playfully antagonistic bouts of banter rising up between the matches.

Ralthetanen chuckles lightly, glancing over Sebastian, and slowly shakes his head. "Quite the story. THAT must have been an adjustment to make with that form."

Shrugging his shoulders, Sebastian hovers nearby and sighs ethereally, twisting an awkward smirk. "Tell me about it. It still is an ongoing adjustment. I wouldn't say it's great, but..."

He furrows his translucent brow and rocks his head side to side in deliberation. "It could be worse. So far, being kind of intangible has been useful. Though... Still don't think it's worth it in the long run."

Nodding in agreement, Ralthetanen smiles calmly towards Sebastian with a compassionate tone. "Sentiment I can understand. Never let unique benefits sway your judgment over undesirable situations. It is why I resigned from my position in the Radotahin military."

Lifting a curious eyebrow, Sebastian smirks intrigued, respectfully prying for more information. "So... If it's okay to ask... What's the story behind all the drama around that?"

Cideeda narrows an inquisitive emerald gaze at Ralthetanen and crosses her arms. "Yeah... I'm curious about that, too. I've read so many different accounts and waded through SO many aethernet arguments. I wouldn't mind hearing it from the source for once."

Rolling his steely gray eyes at himself, Ralthetanen sighs, hints of embarrassment slipping out, and shrugs his shoulders. "Never understood the drama. Thought they wanted me gone before that point. Seems strange they had an issue with it publicly."

He chuckles lightly and furrows his brow incredulously. "Believe I granted them a generous favor. I left. They did not have to do anything. No bad press... I thought..."

Twisting her frown along with her internal deliberation, Aristespha tilts her head of silvery blue hair curiously. "Indeed. From what I have read, your company had the lowest attrition and never permanently lost any territory they were defending during the Red Gear Uprising. I believe that should be an admirable achievement."

A snort spurts out from Matakinen, shaking his wiry frame. Chuckling, he dons a sly grin and sarcastically dips his tone. "OH. He was admirable... NOT VICTORIOUS. Did not lead the troops to great GLORY."

Narrowing his green eyes, he slides his stare off to the side. "Whatever THAT may be."

Ralthetanen shakes his head and groans, tinges of past annoyance slipping out. "TRUE. I valued defense over offense. Trickery over... GLORIOUS battles. I believe it worked best overall."

Kettan laughs loudly and nudges Ralthetanen with his elbow, grinning out to the rest of the gathering around. "Never will forget high command's faces when we delivered the Red Gear general. ALIVE."

Donning a satisfied smirk, Ralthetanen shrugs his shoulders humbly and chuckles lightly, holding down a corner grin. "THAT was our redemption. High command could NOT ignore THAT. They kept our many, small accomplishments out of public view. Hard to hide an enemy general delivered during a conference."

He lifts up an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Think THAT is why command let us all leave without official protest."

Smiling smugly, Matakinen crosses his olive toned arms and sits up in his seat proudly, tossing back his longer auburn hair. "They did not want our influence to spread."

He pauses for a moment, relaxes back against his chair, and grimaces. "Requesting honorable discharges worked out for us. Red Gear leadership destroyed. No interest in chasing stragglers."

Slowly shaking his head, he sighs with hints of disappointment. "Those Red Gears crumbled quick. Would have died of boredom wandering the wastes."

Bach scratches his chin, glancing over to Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen, and ponders out loud. "Huh. Okay. So, you all served together. I'm kind of curious. I mean, what exact positions? And, how did that lead to what you do now?"

Ralthetanen nods thoughtfully and calmly comments. "Served as a Commander for the Radotahin Defense Force. Truth be told..."

He wrestles down an awkward grimace and briefly grits his teeth. "Promotions via attrition. Assumed command when circumstances demanded it."

Smiling happily, Kettan stretches his heavier frame in his chair and scratches the back of his head of shorter, wild dark gray hair. "Field medical mage. Worked up to field surgeon. Significant experience helped fast track me into medical doctor later."

Aristespha perks her brow in genuine interest, cocking her head to the side, and studies Kettan eagerly. "Really? That is fascinating. I have to ask, how was the transition from military to civilian medicine?"

Kettan ponders, searching his memories between flicks of his hazel eyes. Seconds later, Kettan draws in a deep breath, weighing out his judgment, and taps his finger tips together with a humored smirk on his light toned face. "Pleasant. Only got shot at once during my tenure as an emergency room doctor."

The team around the table pauses in surprise. Noticing the attention, Kettan snorts and grins amused. "His aim was awful. Coming down from an alchemical psychoactive. My punch hit the mark."

He smirks slyly and chuckles to himself. "Think he dodged the wrong me of three he saw."

Blinking her wide violet eyes a few times, Aristespha stares blankly in stunned admiration. Matakinen furrows his olive toned brow amused, resettling into his chair, and relaxes his posture with a swift brush of his longer auburn hair. "Scout. Infiltration specialist. Sabotaged equipment. Wandered in the woods. Explored mountain ranges. Captured enemies."

Cideeda's furry ear perks up, her tail wags with interest, and she toothily grins to Matakinen. "Did you blow up anything?"

Drawing out a wide sly smile, Matakinen nods slowly with a greatly humored, thoroughly satisfied cadence. "Gods... YES. COUNTLESS times."

Old memories of the past blatantly amuse Matakinen, and he nods in the moments of reminiscence. Gazing over to Meranni, Ralthetanen waits patiently until she pauses from preparing food and addresses her with a pleasant tone. "Meranni was known as the Crimson Sword Maiden. Terror of the Red Gears. The Bloody Nightmare."

Meranni glances over, lifts an intrigued eyebrow, and grins proudly, pride empowering her voice. "Was? I AM."

She gazes over to the distracted and busy Dretphi, smiling hopefully, and mouths a simple grath phrase to herself. Ralthetanen turns his attention back to the gathering at the dining table and resumes the topic at hand. "We left the military. We adventured for years. Settled. Formed a house."

Curling a humored smirk, he furrows his brow. "Now... I am a consultant for the Radotahin Defense Force. Baffles me. Significant pay. I cannot complain."

Sparks of excitement flash in Kettan's eyes, and he explains with expressive pantomimes. "Went to finish my residency. Spent time in the capital at a big research hospital. Great experience. DEMANDING. Still..."

He sighs and nods with his recount. "Quite fun overall. After I received my specialization in regenerative medicine, rejoined the house in Verdan. Found my niche with sports medicine. Always interesting... Very rewarding work."

The attention shifts, Matakinen pauses for a moment with the expectant gazes. Glancing around at the gathering, he sighs with a roll of his green eyes and grumbles. "Surveying. I wander around the mountains to settle arguments about who owns what. Map the area. Place markers. Report the results. They pay me. Repeat when they argue again."

He eyes over towards Arrenten and Tekennin, snorts with a shake of his head, and smirks to the gathering at the table. "Between assignments... I try to keep those two out of trouble. It has been difficult without Dretphi."

Taking a moment of rest from her culinary tasks, Dretphi stares at the dining table crowd and places her hands on her hips with a humored smile. "How much trouble could they have gotten in?"

Arrenten and Tekennin wander their attention away from the screen and begin to play the game sloppily, their focus drifting over to the conversation nearby. Matakinen leans his wiry frame back against his chair, eyes the thin Arrenten, and cracks an ill-humored smirk. "Arrenten. How is your back feeling today?"

Tekennin stifles his snorts and averts his light toned face away. Trying to maintain his composure, a red undertone fills Arrenten's dark tan face, and he struggles with the embarrassment. "F-fine. Feels normal."

Glancing over to Matakinen, Kettan elbows him lightly with a tight smile and leans close, whispering in grath. Matakinen shrugs his shoulders and slowly lets his chair's front legs lower back on the floor. Dretphi furrows her brow curiously at her mother. Meranni whispers a few sentences of grath in Dretphi's ear. Widening her eyes, Dretphi glances at her mother, stares at her brother, and returns to her mother.

Sensing the lull in conversation, Sotalia slinks away from the table and walks over near the bar area, examining the lineup of food near Dretphi and Meranni. "So... You two need any help back here?"

Meranni narrows a subtly defensive glare at Sotalia. Dretphi blinks back to awareness, studies Sotalia for a moment, and checks around the kitchen areas. "No. We are done with prep. Meat needs to marinade more."

She thinks moment and perks up with an idea. "Oh! You can get the grill ready. It is in the garage. I think you can light it the fastest."

A confident grin parts Sotalia's mouth, and she rests a hand on her hip and gestures a simple incantation into a small flit of fire with her other hand. "Well... Of course."

Sotalia walks through the kitchen, examining the prepared food hungrily, and opens the door leading to the garage, stepping out. Dretphi cleans her hands, lifts her apron off, and turns to her mother. Biting her lower lip, she draws in a long breath and carefully poses an inquiry to her mother, pointing to the back sliding glass door. Meranni removes her apron, furrows her brow briefly, and nods, puzzling. She walks past the dining table gathering, exits outside through the glass door, and turns to walk to the side of the house.

Quickly moving around the living room, Dretphi zips right through the hallway archway, her focus elsewhere. Conversations at the table slow, curiosity drifting between the open sliding glass door and the hallway archway. Mutters of intrigue bounce between the group. A minute later, Dretphi walks out with stoic determination upon her face and a firm grip upon her mother's flow blade. Matakinen, Kettan, and Ralthetanen immediately silence themselves, and watch Dretphi crossing across the front of the television. Arrenten and Tekennin halt playing the game and witness Dretphi exit out the back sliding glass window, both dumbstruck. The two brothers stand up partially and crane their heads around, angling for a better view of the outside through the glass door.

Ralthetanen slowly returns his gaze to the team of Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, and Sebastian. Scanning their expressions thoughtfully, he calmly inquires, fighting confusion. "I must ask. Has she been practicing with that blade?"

Bach glances around, scratching the back of his head, and nonchalantly explains. "Well... I mean, I've been helping her learn how to flow her magical energies better. She's been doing a lot of the practice exercises I've showed her."

Kettan and Matakinen turn their heads towards Bach, and Bach smiles happily. "And, yesterday, she got the sword charged up all the way. Still, it took a bit out of her, but she's figured out the basics and..."

Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen focus expectantly upon Bach. Arrenten and Tekennin both snap their heads around and face Bach in pure astonishment. Growing very nervous at the attention upon him, Bach shrinks a little in his chair and awkwardly smiles. Ralthetanen weaves his fingers together, presents a delighted smile, and nods slowly. "Interesting... VERY... Interesting."

Shaking his heavier frame, Kettan laughs loudly, nodding his head. "OH. She is NOT going to expect THAT."

Matakinen slides out from the table, rolls his shoulders in a few stretches, and slinks away towards the back door, beginning the gestures of a spell. "This I MUST see."

----

In the side yard next to the ranch style house, Dretphi stands, firmly gripping the old flow blade in her hands. Determination tenses her whole body, she affixes her full concentration upon the sword. Off to the side, Meranni watches nearby with a cool, stoic stare. Grimacing, Dretphi flexes her tan, faintly gray striped arms, muscular definition forming with the strain. Magical flows of energy radiate out from her, swirling down to her hands, and condense into the handle of the flow blade. A radiant red glow pulsates along the energy channels embossed into the metal of the sword. The crimson light slowly flows up, flooding the worn passages. Seconds later, the very tip of the weapon flickers with dull red, the edges sparking. Meranni's piercing blue eyes widen, and she observes the progress in stunned silence, waiting expectantly for her daughter's next move. Releasing a long exhale, Dretphi summons all her focus and grits her teeth, a faint gray illumination in her eyes. With a sudden surge of flow, the blade bursts out a plume of magical miasma and promptly ignites a brilliant crimson, ethereal flame around itself. Meranni gawks in sheer, absolute astonishment, covering her mouth with both hands. Blinking in silence, joyful tears well up in her eyes. From around the corner of the house's brickwork, a figure of warped light disappears around the corner, making an excited escape.

Maintains a resolute exterior, Dretphi exudes the stoic grath composure and swings the sword, demonstrating her handling mastery. With a long pause, she finishes, holding the blade out, and watches her mother approach. Burning a bright crimson, the flow blade challenges the natural light of the afternoon sun and casts a reddish hue upon the surrounding grass in the shade of a large tree. Meranni gazes on with pride swelling out upon her tan face and towards her daughter. Meeting Dretphi's stare, she nods approvingly. Seconds later, the flow blade edges flicker out, the glow retreats back to the handle, and the energies vent off into a passing breeze. Dretphi lowers the blade to the ground, steadying her brief loss of balance, and quickly reasserts her resolute stance. Biting her lip slightly, she lowers her head in slight disappointment and sighs. Meranni swiftly embraces her daughter in a strong, loving hug with a stream of excited, uplifting grath praises. Dretphi's stern exterior melts away into a joyful smile, and she wraps her arms around her mother tightly.

Pulling away slightly, Meranni gazes proudly into her daughter's steely gray eyes with a simple smile upon her tan face. Dretphi briefly shies away from the attention. A moment later, she returns a similar smile on her similar tan face. Quiet thoughts later, her mouth twists into a strained grimace. Drawing in a long breath, she lifts up the blade in both her hands and levels an inquisitive, pleading stare at her mother. With a gentle lead up, Dretphi cautiously asks a firm question to her mother in eloquent grath, nodding her head down at the flow blade. Meranni blinks thoughtfully a few times and sighs sadly, gazing down upon the old, familiar sword in her daughter's hands. Taking a hold of it, she steps off to the side. With a calm explanation, she works through a series of practice moves with the blade, grinning in bright remembrance. She masterfully performs maneuvers and points her free hand points at herself and towards her motions, gazing at her daughter confidently. A frown creeps upon her face and weighs upon her. Brushing back her long, platinum blonde braids, she lowers her head at the flow of red rising in the blades. She directs Dretphi's attention to the magical energies building up, taps the side of her head with her free hand, and grips her daughter's shoulder firmly. Slowly shaking her head, she exhales into a quiet moment of pondering. With a sad tone, absent of previous confidence, and apologizes regretfully to Dretphi, painfully piecing together her words.

In a mix of emotion, Dretphi contorts her face and furrows her brow, studying her mother's genuine expression. Calming to an understanding gaze, she inquires further, glancing at her mother's energy flowing into the blade, and witnesses Meranni's demeanor grow uncomfortable and vulnerable. Meranni sighs deeply and fails to start a sentence a number of times, slowly shaking her head. With a hard swallow, she grimaces uncomfortably at her lack of knowledge, staring distantly into an old divide. Mustering up a smile, Dretphi steps beside her mother and wraps her arm around her, leaning her head of platinum blonde against Meranni's similar longer ones. In the silent moment, Dretphi whispers comforting, beautiful grath in a forgiving cadence to her mother. Meranni closes her piercing blue eyes, shedding a few tears, and pats her daughter's face with her free hand.

Seconds later, Dretphi sniffs her nose clear, clears her throat, and exhales lightly. Nodding in thought, she inquires further with an expectant smirk, demonstrating her flexing her arm and flowing magical energy down. Meranni grits her teeth briefly, frowns pained, and shakes her head, calmly answering. Dretphi blinks dumbfounded and stares in sudden confusion. Moments later, her mood sharply drops and worry and doubt flood forth through her body. Averting her steely gray eyes away from her mother, fear and shame overwhelms her voice, and meekly questions herself out loud to her mother. Meranni's eyes spring wide open, and she snaps her shock upon her daughter. Planting the sword into the ground, she grips onto Dretphi by both forearms and stares directly into her eyes. Meranni smiles lovingly, proudly, and confidently at her daughter. Extolling every virtue of Dretphi with her motherly and assuring voice, she avidly dashes away the fears and doubts. With trickles of relief washing over, Dretphi puzzles and presses for more information. Meranni smirks knowingly and explains with a protective tone. A spark of defiance ignites a bit of rebellion within Dretphi, and she emphatically retorts with prying a question in an incredulous tone, motioning to her mother's impressive physique. Meranni grins in thorough amusement, reflecting upon herself, and rolls her eyes at herself, shaking her head free of the illusions of grandeur.

Releasing her daughter's arms, she points towards Dretphi's hand and to her shoulder. Dretphi awkwardly places her hand on her mother's shoulder with Meranni's guidance, her confusion blatant. Meranni moves her arm through a series of sword handling exercises, the maneuvers visibly smooth and expertly performed. At far extensions of her range of motion, Meranni subtly winces and grumbles with painful annoyance. Dretphi's eyes widen in shock, and she gawks in disbelief, blinking at her hand upon her mother's shoulder. Shaking her arm out, Meranni guides Dretphi's hand around her elbow joint and the tendons. She slowly flexes with faint tremors radiating through her limb. Dretphi pales, feeling the motions of her mother's arm. With a long, frustrated sigh, Meranni nonchalantly explains, pointing out a few other joints and places on her body to Dretphi. Laying out her weaknesses before her daughter, she musters a tough smile and chuckles softly. She regains her confidence into a grin, mentioning Kettan in her discussion, and gazes to her daughter with a hopeful smile, finishing the explanation.

Dretphi stares blankly at her mother. Revelation ushers forth a torrent of fear, sadness, and reflection in her. Thoughts never entertained prior rise up prominently in her mind, and she blinks against the welling dread. She reaches out, wraps her arms around her mother, and rests her head close to hers on her shoulder, hugging tightly. Meranni flutters her eyes in surprise. Hearing the sounds of soft sobbing from Dretphi, she smiles, embracing her daughter. Patting Dretphi's back, Meranni whispers softly, comfortingly to Dretphi with motherly assurances and quips of wisdom. In between gentle surges of emotion, Dretphi acknowledges her understanding. In the calming minutes later, Meranni grins with small jokes, prompting Dretphi's light chuckles. Dretphi releases her hold, stands back up straight, and recomposes herself apologetically. Her mother shakes her head and reassures against any guilt or shame. Placing her hand on her chest, Meranni recounts past feelings, nodding understandingly. Dretphi smiles appreciatively and rolls her eyes at herself with a comment.

Glancing over to the flow blade stuck in the ground, Meranni curiously furrows her brow at Dretphi and lifts up an eyebrow with a prying query. Dretphi starts into an explanation and smirks guiltily, mentioning Bach. Narrowing her examining stare, Meranni observes meticulously. Recounting the many and various magical flow exercises, Dretphi pantomimes holding a staff during one explanation and excitedly talks about the number of practice sessions. Meranni ponders quietly to herself, watching her daughter ramble on, and notices Dretphi's warming smile. Summoning a sly, evil grin, she giggles to herself, lifting a thoughtful eyebrow, and gazes at her daughter amused. She pats Dretphi on the shoulder with a quick comment to her ear and waits expectantly. Rambling a few moments more, Dretphi processes her mother's words, halting mid sentence. Her tan face blushes bright red, her steely gray eyes widen in surprise, and she stumbles upon the rest of her sentence. Dretphi covers her face with her hands and searches for her mother. Meranni walks off towards the corner of the ranch style house laughing, and Dretphi awkwardly tries to debate, unconvincingly.

----

The large congregation of the team and grath family converse outside around the plank wood picnic table, snacking on plates of food in the middle of the large tabletop. Dretphi arranges the serving line on a fold out table and readies the main course, shooing off those who wander too close with hungry gazes. Meranni surveys the progress of large cuts of meat on the grill, grinning with satisfaction at the progress. Stepping up, Sotalia watches the flares of sizzling fire rise up from the coals and smiles politely to Meranni. "Oh, that reminds me. Could I get my steak well done?"

Dretphi pauses briefly from her task, stifling a snort, and resumes her chore, biting her lower lip greatly humored. Meranni slowly lifts her head up, angles it down towards Sotalia, and concentrates an examining glare upon her. Silently staring through a puzzled, defiant Sotalia, she ponders briefly. She grabs hold of the tongs nearby, digs into the open bag of charcoal briquettes with the tool, and plucks out a single piece of black, dusty fuel. With a swift motion, Meranni plucks up a transparent green plate, drops the charcoal on top of it, and presents it to Sotalia with a stoic glare. "Here. Same taste. No meat wasted."

Sotalia lowers her stare at the solitary chunk of grill fodder upon the surface of the plate. Furrowing her brow, she contorts her cool composure and narrows her golden eyes at Meranni irritably. "Okay... Fine... Medium Well?"

Cracking an amicable smirk, Meranni nods slightly in agreement and waits. Moments of silence later, Sotalia walks away, body language spelling out the mild defeat. Meranni rolls her piercing blue eyes and directs a dismissive, annoyed quip back towards Dretphi. Halting in place, Sotalia snaps her head back and glares at Meranni, crossing her arms visibly perturbed. Dretphi sighs, rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. "Mother. She understands most grath dialects."

With a greatly amused grin towards Sotalia, Meranni chuckles. "Oh. There is hope for you."

Around the picnic table, conversations shift around the pockets of debate in the midst of the large gathering. Sebastian gazes curiously at Ralthetanen, Kettan, and Matakinen, puzzling. "I'm actually surprised you all are looking for a school all the way out here. Any particular reason why?"

With a calm smirk, Ralthetanen nods and glances around. "To get experience elsewhere. They have not lived outside their home town. Tekennin. Arrenten. Both need to see some other part of the world. See what it is like."

Chuckling in agreement, Kettan snorts with a smile and shrugs his broad shoulders. "I just want them to get an education. ANY education will do. Prefer it come from somewhere they are NOT familiar with. That way they can learn about life. Otherwise, they will just keep on relying on coming home when anything happens."

Matakinen grumbles with a roll of his green eyes and settles into a nonchalant grin. "Taste of the real world. I have done what I can to get them ready. Now... Time for THEM to see what Nexus has in store."

Narrowing his stare off to the side, he sighs. "Even it requires significant force."

Bach chuckles to himself with a humored grin and glances over to Sebastian. "I mean, we could always suggest they go to High Alton. It's a decent enough school for most things."

Snorting ethereally, Sebastian twists his mouth and narrows his eyes at Bach mockingly dismissive. "Come on, bro. They don't need to be digging the bottom of that barrel so soon. Let's be honest, man..."

He crosses his arms and sighs. "We only went there because it was local AND cheap."

With a tight smile, Bach draws a breath through his gritting teeth and nods in begrudging agreement. "Yeah... I- Yeah. High Alton University isn't terrible. But, I mean, it's not exactly setting any great standards in comparison to other places."

Pausing with a thought, he glances over to Aristespha. "Hey, what about the Grand Library?"

Aristespha blinks to attention, thinking a moment, and slowly rocks her head contemplatively with an awkward smile. "Um... Well, it IS a great organization IF you can get in. Unfortunately, they are very particular about who they take in, but they do make offers to those who distinguish themselves in other schools."

Wrestling an awkward smirk, she grits her teeth briefly. "It is still quite costly to attend without a scholarship. Thankfully, they do have programs that forgive loans if you work for the Grand Library for so many years."

Ralthetanen quietly ponders upon the suggestions and thoughtfully hums with an appreciative tone. "Both worth considering in the future. Our main goal is to get them out of the nest..."

Glancing over to the group, Meranni sighs out her frustration and slowly shakes her head, turning grilling meat over on the fire. "Love them both. Would like those rooms back."

Noticing something missing, Matakinen quickly searches the vicinity of the backyard around the picnic table, scouting out the further perimeter of the forest edge, and grumbles a phrase in grath. Dretphi directs her voice to Matakinen, motioning towards the ranch style house. "They went inside... To play the game."

With a long sigh, Matakinen turns around on the bench seat on one side of the table, stretches his back out, and shakes his head. "I should fetch them."

A grin creeps out on Dretphi's tan face, and she waves off Matakinen's progress. "No. I will send them here. I need to go inside."

Bowing his head appreciatively to Dretphi, Matakinen smiles with a thankful phrase of grath, and Dretphi quickly departs. Pivoting back to the group, Matakinen picks up his place in the discussion of schools. Dretphi crosses the stretch of lawn to the back patio and opens the sliding glass door, entering. Moments later, her stern and commanding tone leaks out the open doorway with a loud snap of the fingers. Arrenten and Tekennin stumble out on the back patio, glancing back at the sliding glass door shutting. Both grumbling, they plod slowly towards the picnic tables, complaining quietly to each other in grath. They watch the gathering ahead. Arrenten sneaks a point over to Bach and smirks slyly, asking Tekennin a question. Tekennin blinks in thought, distantly studies Bach and shrugs his shoulders. Arrenten pantomimes out a belly from his thin frame and snickers. Tekennin snorts, lifts his hand up, and holds it centimeters short of his height with a chuckle. Scratching his chin in thought, Arrenten mulls the discussion over. Tekennin elbows his brother with a revelatory grin. Getting his brother's attention, he mockingly gestures out fake spell motions and mumbles out gibberish words. Arrenten cackles briefly, nodding in total agreement. Along their trek across the lawn, the two brothers continue their commentary.

Arrenten and Tekennin fail to notice Dretphi right behind them. Blushing with hints of anger, Dretphi slowly speaks their names in a maternal, disciplinary tone. Arrenten and Tekennin stop in place and wait. Dretphi firmly grips a shoulder on each, draws in a long breath through her nose, and sighs out her annoyance. Regaining her stern, commanding composure, she squeezes her grasp upon each brother's shoulder. With a calm, foreboding voice, she articulates an explanation in firm grath. Releasing her grip, she lightly grasps an ear each with her fingers and recites a warning, very familiar to them. With a long sigh, she pats them gently on the back and firmly pushes them onward to the picnic table. The siblings rejoin the main group and prepare to enjoy the meal all together and join in the conversations, in time.

----

Late afternoon sun shines down upon the green sea of forest canopy. Shadows from the clouds above project large, fluffy sections of shade and drift slowly along the leaves. A fast moving, four-winged dragon outline zips along the treetops. Lagi flaps his back pair of blue and black scaled wings, deftly adjusting his large front wingspan, and maintains a level cruise in the skies above. Shifting his attention to Kaleb upon his back, he weaves together a series of chirps, clicks, growls, and hisses, and sighs loudly. Kaleb glances to the side of the holographic display in front of the saddle and nods his fully helmeted head slowly, patting Lagi on his back. "Yeah. I know. I know. Just one more location, and then you can fly as fast as you want home. Okay?"

Lagi's green eyes widen happily, his tail wags slightly against the wind current, and he releases an excited rolling chirp. Chuckling to himself, Kaleb focuses his gaze towards the back of Lagi's head and taps the side of his helmet. "Well, it looks like you can still hear me okay with the new radio. Is it still comfortable on you?"

Thinking momentarily, Lagi rolls his head side to side, feeling out the tiny device tucked away between white, bony armor plates. He clicks affirmatively and dedicates himself back to flying. Kaleb returns his attention to the holographic display, controlling the system through a series of handle mounted modules, and studies an interactive map. "Good. Now, hopefully, this will keep me from wrecking my voice trying to yell over the wind at you."

Kaleb manipulates the buttons and switches, and a high resolution photograph of a huge outer security doorway into a very old ruin appears. Nodding in his mind, he scrutinizes the image. Retrieving a camera with a large lens from a side bag, Kaleb readies the device and steadies himself upon the saddle. He points out a distant clearing, getting Lagi's attention. "Over there. To your left. That clearing. We should be able to get this one quick, and then we head home."

Lagi calls out eagerly, flaps his massive front wings, and pitches down into an approach vector. The dragon balances Kaleb upon his back, lines up his flight path, and holds it near perfectly stable. Hoisting the camera up, Kaleb takes aim, adjusting the zoom and focus. He presses down the shutter button. Holding down the trigger, the wind obscures the camera's mechanical noises, and Kaleb quickly handles it into different shots. The duo pass over the clearing with a large doorway into the hillside. Gradually gaining altitude, Lagi wags his tail in anticipation, glancing towards familiar heading with muscles tensing for a sharp turn. Kaleb laughs, holsters the camera into the saddle bag, and operates the holographic display's control system. "Hang in there, Lagi. I need to double-check to make sure I got good pictures and nothing has changed about that site. Don't need to make another trip out here."

Grumbling, Lagi waits and keeps eyeing a particular direction. Kaleb brings up the older file photo of the location and chooses a recent one to load from the camera. Carefully studying the images, he leans his head close to the bright ethereal projection and narrows his scrutinizing stare. Rocking his head to the side, he reaches back into the saddle bag for the camera and brings the back interface screen close to his visor, switching around to a preview of the same new picture. With an uncertain hum, he adjusts the zoom on both images up on the holographic display and analyzes one major difference about the opening. Gritting his teeth, Kaleb sighs, pats Lagi on the back, and signals back towards the site. "Damn. Something's not right. We gotta go back. Swing around low and wide, and bank me towards that opening. I need to get some better pictures of the entrance. Something's changed."

A frustrated whine bellows out from Lagi, and he adjusts his wings. In between the irritated hisses, clicks, and grumbles from Lagi, Kaleb nods understandingly, rubbing Lagi's back, and commiserates with him. "I know! Never fails that it ALWAYS is the last one of the day that has something off with it. Hopefully, it's just some strange magical interference messing with the camera's optics or its sensor."

Kaleb readies the camera in his arms, tweaking the complicated mechanisms of the lens, and fires off a few test shots, Lagi ferrying him closer to the target. The two close in on the site. Lagi air brakes down to a very slow speed, dives low just above the tree canopy, and banks hard in a wide semicircle along the side of the clearing opposing the ruined, man-made entrance. Balancing himself in sync with the centrifugal force, Kaleb steadies his camera above his shoulders and focuses the aim right at the metal security archway, far into the dark space beyond. Shutter clicks faintly echo into the area, and Lagi expertly navigates his run along the perimeter. With a smooth roll back to level, Lagi pitches upwards to a safer altitude and levels off. Kaleb swiftly operates the camera and holographic system and brings up imagery on the display. Shaking his head, Kaleb mumbles out his surprise, furrowing his brow. "Well, shit... It's showing up here the same as I saw it. Looks like whatever barrier, I guess, is long gone now. Must have gotten hit by something from one of those maelstroms."

Pausing to think a moment, Kaleb leans over to the side and glances towards Lagi's armored face. "Did you feel, smell, or see anything weird when we went by it?"

Lagi blinks, puzzling in his own mind for seconds, and grunts completely unsure. Sighing understandingly, Kaleb glances back at the clearing, growing smaller with the increasing distance. He returns his stare forward, smirks ambivalently, and places his camera securely in the saddle bag. Settling down low in the saddle, Kaleb tightens up his safety harness and firmly grips the handles. The hologram fades away, and Kaleb calls out to Lagi. "Ah, fuck it. It's getting dark. Let's go home! The GAA will get their pictures with my write ups. It's up to them to figure out how to handle that place."

A loud excited shriek bellows out in the vicinity, reverberating against the green sea of leaves below, and Lagi turns sharply to a familiar heading. His huge front wings power through the air, sweep back with the increasing velocity, and flicker with flows of magical energy. The waves of magical power synchronize into ripples of propulsion around the dragon, and Lagi tightens up his aerodynamic profile towards expediency and minimal drag. Both Kaleb and Lagi jet off towards the horizon, leaving a fading, faint trial of prismatic miasma adrift in the air behind.

From the silent clearing, obscuring overgrowth rustles against the breeze, and the wind sweeps layers of old dust from the concrete floor beyond the steel reinforced archway. Past the perimeter between daylight and dark shadow, a distant bright spark flits. A row of overhead, rotating red lights illuminate for a fraction of a second. They spin momentarily to a halt, quickly dimming back into the shadows. The dark corridor falls completely silent, blending back into the obscuring darkness, dusk sweeping over the area.

-63-

Intensely focused upon the television, Bach narrows his stare, contorting his face, and quickly presses buttons on the game console controller. He leans forward from his seat on the couch, fidgeting in response to the brutal battle playing out on the screen. With the digital characters on the television fighting it out, Cideeda presents a toothy smirk and unconsciously twitches her long, fluffy tail along with the fast clicking of her claws on her gamepad. Sotalia stands off to the side, swaying in place, her attention fully on the tense match of organized chaos upon the screen. Near the dining table, Aristespha sorts through a stack of paperwork and tablets. Occasionally, she pauses a moment and glances over at the ongoing duel between Bach and Cideeda, resuming filing through documents seconds later. Sebastian hovers next to Aristespha's seat at the table. Aristespha lifts up a partially filled-out form, and Sebastian checks over her shoulder. A bit of discussion later, Aristespha taps out an entry into a tablet, and Sebastian distracts himself with game battle, idly mimicking the button presses for certain character moves. Watching from the kitchen area, Dretphi studies the maneuvers and methods upon the screen, lifting an intrigued eyebrow at chains of combos.

The life bars dwindle down to the near ends at equal rates. The power meters fluctuate wildly. The opponents attack and defend in sync with each other. Only minute gaps of proficiency allow for any opportunity to gain ground. A smug smirk emerges upon Bach's light tan face, and he chuckles to himself darkly. Cideeda's furry ear perks over, and her stare tightens with anticipation. On the screen under the "Ionis" name label, the man clad in form fitting blue, electric armor slams his fist into the ground, sending a shockwave of electricity along the floor. Under the "Tataelee" side of the battle, the fvalian woman in a fanciful ninja attire leaps over the front of the arcing burst. Quickly tapping out a fast series of buttons, Bach grins eagerly. Ionis pounds his fist down again, and another flow of power coasts lightning fast across the wake of the previous wave. The second shockwave overtakes Tataelee and knocks her to the ground in a spark swarmed slump. Sebastian grins proudly and nods to his brother. Bach laughs with a confident air and commands Ionis on the screen. "Stunned and low on power... What can you do?"

Widening his stance, Ionis brings his hands close together and pulls back his arms. Ambient electricity from the area arcs out in chaotic flows, collecting towards him, and travels to a growing, bright blue white orb of power. Cideeda's emerald green eyes search the battlefield, pulling in all the information possible, and settle upon her character's gradually increasing power meter. Pondering briefly, she cracks a sly, hopeful smile and furrows her light brown brow. "I don't know... What can YOU do?"

Lifting a puzzled eyebrow, Bach laughs amused. "Oh... This."

Ionis flings his arms forward, hands open and wrists touching. A brilliant blue white beam streaks across towards Tataelee. In the splinters of time, the energy column blazing imminently upon Tataelee, she disappears in a puff of smoke, leaving behind a cheap dummy of herself. The decoy quickly disintegrates in an explosion of flame, and Bach's blue eyes widen in sharp, abject realization. In the narrow moment, his gaze shifts from the destroyed mock-up towards Tataelee's status bars. Spotting a freshly zeroed energy meter and an unchanged life gauge, Bach's stare tenses and revelation weighs heavy upon him. Cideeda presents a wide, toothy grin and feverishly taps out a series of clacking buttons on her game controller. Tataelee fades in from the shadows of the game background right behind Ionis, stuck performing his super move animation. Bach's jaw drops, and he gawks in astonishment, barely able to utter a word. "Oh."

Tataelee grapples Ionis from behind, shifts her weight around, and power kicks Ionis high up into the air, the background scrolling to keep up. She launches up, immediately passing above Ionis midair, and releases a mighty spinning kick down. She plants him into the dirt with a dramatic, colorful descent and ground cratering impact. The game animations slow down. The music changes to a matching victory tune. And, the announcer blares out. "K! O! Winner, Tataelee!"

Suppressing a near reflexive snort, Sebastian breaks out into half-hearted, commiserating laughter at Bach. "Holy shit! Aww, that's ROUGH, bro. But, I warned you she was pretty awesome with Tataelee."

Bach blinks blankly, the rest of his brain catching up with the sudden shift in situation. "Uh... Yeah. Damn. You got just enough for a decoy swap right then. Wow..."

Wagging her long, fluffy tail in contended victory, Cideeda smiles brightly with a bit of relief, the tension fading from the match. "YEP. I saw the rate it was increasing, and got ready to trigger it when I could. Preloaded it in the combo system and hit the last button before the move buffer timeout happened."

She reaches out her hand to Bach and waits. Nodding in agreement, Bach shakes with Cideeda and sighs in genuine astonishment. "Wow. Nice game."

Pausing in thought, he lifts a curious brow at Cideeda. "By the way, did you ever go to any competitions?"

Cideeda stretches her arms out, curling her back in a stretch, and shrugs her shoulders indifferently. "A few local ones. But... Nothing too serious. I mean, I probably had enough skill to MAYBE make it mid way through, but those pro players get a bit scary for me."

She grins toothily and chuckles to herself with a nonchalant sigh. "It didn't seem like a good return on my investment to go to THAT level."

With a greedy glint in her emerald eyes, Cideeda flexes her clawed fingers and rolls her shoulders, smiling at past satisfaction. "Anyway... I made PLENTY of easy money from stomping all the wannabe pro players in the neighborhood when they wandered in the comic book shop I worked at."

Gazing to Bach with a sly, devious smile, she giggles, working the controller through the game menus. "Always got a real kick out of the ones that looked like they wanted to cry afterwards. Never could get those to go double or nothing afterwards."

Dretphi smirks in amusement and slowly shakes her head. "My poor brothers. Did not anticipate you."

An evil grin slips out onto Cideeda's light brown face, and she rolls her emerald green eyes at herself. Flicking her furry ears against her head of short, multi-color hair, she calls over towards Dretphi in the kitchen area. "Hey. They challenged ME. I delivered. What can I say? They said they could play the game. So, I played it, too."

Nodding in complete agreement with a smug smile, Dretphi resumes cleaning up another section of countertop with a rag. "Nothing to say. We all saw the challenge. They received what they deserved. Thank you for educating them."

Cideeda smiles toothily and nods victorious. "Anytime."

Twisting his mouth in ill humor, Bach shakes his head with a roll of his blue eyes and scratches the back of his head of longer brown hair. "So... Wait... Your boss was okay with you running a betting operation out of his store?"

With a laugh, Cideeda snorts and nods with a grit of her teeth. "Oh. Yeah. It brought in customers. I wouldn't call it a betting operation... Officially, we billed them as free tournaments with prizes."

She slides a side eye over to Bach and smiles impishly. "BUT... We had a secret system in place for getting in on the real action happening."

She winks to Bach with a smirk. "And, my boss got a percentage of all action. So, he was PERFECTLY fine with it all. Always made sure he got his cut first."

Tapping Bach's shoulder, she holds her hand out and hems with an anticipating grin. "My turn?"

Bach passes the game controller over to Sotalia, slides over to the middle seat on the couch, and glances ahead at the television. Sotalia excitedly sits down, settles into the cushions, and mulls over the character selection screen. "So, Bach..."

Lifting an inquisitive eyebrow, she leans close to Bach, idly flicking the controller. "Who should I use against her?"

Twisting his face in thought, Bach indecisively ponders the options on the display and glances over to Sotalia with a shrug. "I don't know. Really. I thought Ionis would be a good one to keep Tataelee from working too many of her ninja arts. But..."

Cideeda arches her brow curiously and smugly at Sotalia. "Choose whoever you like... I'll beat them all the same."

Sotalia furrows her gaze briefly over to Cideeda, smirks, and playfully mutters a quick string of phrases in a dialect of fvalian. Cideeda's long, fluffy tail twitches, and she eyes Sotalia with a chuckle. Clicking a button on her controller, she replies in kind to Sotalia with a similar dialect of fvalian. Bach's blank stare bounces to either side, between Cideeda and Sotalia, and he sinks back into the couch cushions, positioning himself out of the line of fire.

Sebastian slowly shakes his head, glances over to the tabletop of tablets and paperwork, and notices an alert on notification on a screen. "Hey, dear, looks like you got a message or something."

Aristespha snaps out of her concentration daze, blinking around, and surveys the table, picking up the tablet in question. "Oh. Thank you, Sebastian."

She unlocks the tablet with a code, navigates through the user interface, and opens up the prompt into an aethermail application. Quickly reading the short message, she cocks her head curiously to the side and glances over to Sebastian. "Interesting... The guild sent us an alert about a job nearby."

Sebastian furrows his brow briefly, pondering quietly to himself for a moment, and cranes his head over for a glimpse of the screen. "Okay... It must be similar to stuff we've done lately if they are pinging us about it. Kind of strange. Not really used to them alerting us first."

Nodding in agreement, Aristespha tugs at the corner of her mouth and taps through interface screens to a guild app. "Yes. I have heard that the guild will try to alert certain groups in an area if they think they can get a particular job done better, upon request of the client. And... We have been in this area for some time now. And, we have done quite a few jobs successfully."

Pondering for a moment, Sebastian settles his suspicions between contemplative rocks of his head and analyzes the mission post on the tablet. "Yeah... That's true. We've never really been in one area that long in the past. And, we were kind of focused on one specific thing So... What do we have?"

Aristespha's violet eyes trace the words on the screen, and she visibly mulls over the potential assignment. "It seems like an initial exploration quest. A small, old ruin site with a single entry archway that has been sealed off with a barrier until recently. No other obvious signs of activity. Verified from aerial photography."

Aristespha props screen up for Sebastian to read. Leaning his transparent form close to the screen, Sebastian nods slowly, pondering out loud. "Yeah. Everything says it's just been left alone for at least a hundred years and left that way. I bet it was too well hidden. Yeah... By the time it was found the Doctrine of Dormancy was in full effect, so it's just been left there."

Aristespha slowly nods, scrolling up the guild brief on the tablet, and rocks her head side to side in deliberation. "Plausible. It is still quite strange that it just now opened up."

Shrugging his ethereal shoulders and holding his hands out to the sides, Sebastian nonchalantly smiles and laughs lightly. "Something that old? If anything, the power probably finally went out on it. I don't think field generators are that power efficient."

With a long sigh, Aristespha leans back into her seat at the dining table, stretches her neck out, and gazes lovingly at Sebastian. "So, Sebastian... Should we bid on it before everyone else does?"

Glancing over the area, Sebastian calls out to the rest of the team. "Any of you against doing a little ruin exploration tomorrow? We just got notification of a job to check out a site. Some old ruin had a barrier preventing entry, and it's gone now."

Dretphi walks over from the kitchen and studies the guild job post, Aristespha angling the tablet towards her. She twists her mouth and debates the points. "Nearby. Acceptable pay. No past reported problems. No other recent activity. Cursory inspection only."

Gradually mustering up a nod, she turns to Sebastian. "I have no problems with the task."

Bach gazes over from the couch, fighting a mix of past experiences upon his face, and sighs in acceptance. "Maybe? I mean... Just haven't had the best of luck at exploring ruins lately. But, you know..."

Tapping in a few quick combos onto the game controller, Cideeda watches Tataelee on screen piledriving Ionis into the dirt and glances away from the victory screen towards Sebastian. "Yeah. I kind of have to agree there."

With a sly smile, she gazes over to Bach . "BUT, if it's only an initial check of the area, we probably won't get that far in there before running into another sealed door. Then, we take pictures, confirm the state it's now in, and go home early with a full day's pay."

Sotalia grumbles out of her frustration at the game, rolls her shoulders out, and turns her head towards the discussion. "So... No signs of anyone trying to crack it open?"

Sebastian glances back to the tablet and shakes his head. "Nothing on the report."

Rocking her head of fiery orange, wavy hair, Sotalia hums, deliberating. "Strange. It could be the barrier probably just ran out of power."

Sebastian nods towards Sotalia. "Yeah. That's what I was thinking."

Bach's attention turns inwards, and he searches his mind for a few seconds. Gradually nodding, he voices his opinion. "You know, I bet it's probably something to do with the maelstroms that were in the area. BUT, it might be good to check it out. Given a certain someone's habit of stirring up old ruins in the area..."

Blinking in sudden thought, Aristespha twists in her chair and stares at Bach, mulling over the idea. "Previously undisturbed ruin of no known importance being opened up randomly... THAT, indeed, does sound awfully familiar."

Everyone exchanges dutiful glances, leading to a group acceptance. Sebastian musters up a proud smile to the team. "Well, if there's no major objections, we'll put the bid in and spend the afternoon getting ready."

----

Samantha slowly paces across the floor in the small bedroom towards the windowed doors. Pausing at the doorway leading to the balcony, she crosses her arms and grumbles to herself, a bit of frustration mixing with petulant hints. "Damn it. We need something else to carry us to the next big job. But... There's NO small jobs right now."

From his chair at the desk, Gerald glances over his shoulder and switches out data cartridges in a camera, twisting his mouth in thought. "Yeah. I know. That storm with all the maelstrom cells really helped us out get some good material for the episode."

Rolling his dark brown eyes, he wrestles down a smirk. "But... I don't think a clip episode will keep the ratings going. Those run out of steam quick."

Groaning out the welling annoyance within, Samantha pivots, tossing back her brown hair, and sighs with a grit of her teeth. "We need some kind of DRAMA... Some kind of upset..."

She tightens her fingers in fists and huffs. "Gods dammit, Veevi! You need to get your manipulative bitch ass self into high gear."

Rolling his eyes and shaking his head, Gerald snorts and settles his attention back upon the equipment on his desk, frowning. "Well, it's NOT from her lack of trying. That's for certain. I thought Trakenthin was going to cane her for a second there. And, Modoran keeps on giving her the slip..."

He curls a humored smirk. "Which makes for GREAT comedy clips."

Samantha sneers her upper lip briefly, searching her mind, and shrugs her shoulders in a modest acceptance. "Yeah, that clip of her grabbing the crotch of the towel dummy has made its way around the fan forums pretty quickly. Lucky that living room camera caught it even in the dark."

Gerald grins proudly and chuckles to himself. "Howard might hate the budget costs, but battery backup and night vision features pay for themselves in moments like THAT."

Pulling out her aetherphone, Samantha slowly slides through her contact list on the screen and glances over to Gerald. "Speaking of Howie... I think we need to contact him and see what he thinks."

Gerald rocks his head side to side indecisively, eyes over to Samantha, and sighs in a mutual agreement. "Yeah... We need to figure out a plan now, so the crews can be ready and where they need to be."

Samantha taps an entry in her contact list, and the phone flips between prompts as it dials out. Seconds later, the call connects, and Samantha rests the phone on the desk. From the aetherphone, Howard's plotting voice sounds out into the room. "Hello?"

With a happy chime in her voice, Samantha perks up towards the device. "Hi, Howie! I hope we didn't wake you up. I know Sunday is your recovery day and all."

A humored chuckles echoes out from the other side of the conversation, and Howard dons an amused tone. "Actually, you didn't. I actually woke up at a decent hour. Even had breakfast at the proper time."

With a sly smile, Samantha furrows a playfully astonished brow and giggles. "Good gods... What was the occasion?"

A long sigh sounds out from the speakerphone, and Howard mumbles out with a bit of embarrassment. "It's mother's birthday, and I took her out to her favorite breakfast place. After I get a few things taken care of, I'll be taking her and the family out to dinner tonight."

Gerald glances over to the phone and tilts his head curiously. "Oh. Where to? Somewhere fancy?"

Remaining silent for a moment, Howard laughs loudly. "No. Not really. As per her request... And maintaining family tradition, we will be dining at the illustrious... Draco-Burger."

Samantha blinks blankly in shock, slowly aims her bewildered stare upon her aetherphone, taking a few steps closer with an incredulous retort. "Really, Howie? Draco-Burger?"

With a mildly annoyed tone, Howard's voice addresses the issue firmly. "YES. It's a long running family tradition for big birthdays. This particular Draco-Burger will actually reserve a huge section for the entire family. Her, my grandmother, and my relatives love the casual gathering..."

He squelches a reflexive snort. "It also distracts all the kids for long enough... And, it's the cheapest I'll be able to feed them all for."

Clearing his throat, he draws a long breath in and seizes control of the conversation. "Anyway... I'm glad you called me, because there is something I need to discuss with you two."

Samantha lifts an intrigued brow and shifts her weight onto another foot. "Would it happen to be about something to do before the next job?"

A dark chuckle sounds out from the phone into the room, and Howard's tone brightens. "Yes! I see you two saw the same issue I saw, too. And, I've got a solution!"

Gerald glances up to Samantha's curious face and stares apprehensive at the aetherphone on the desk. "And... THAT would be?"

Howard's satisfaction resonates out from the speakerphone, his plotting cadence hinting at potential. "Trakenthin's surprise will be arriving in town... Tomorrow."

Samantha's eyes open wide in surprise, and she leans over closer to the phone. "Really?! You think it'll give us what we need for the next episode?"

Howard's sly amusement seeps out into the room with Samantha and Gerald. "OH. Yes. I plan on making it the main focus."

Twisting his mouth, Gerald crosses his arms and flicks a dubious gaze between the aetherphone and Samantha. "So... When the hell are you going to reveal this surprise? I mean, I'm going to need to know at least the WHEN, much less the WHAT."

With a calculated tone, Howard simply replies. "He will be arriving at their doorstep, Tuesday."

----

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia push through overgrowth along an old, barely visible path between old trees. The trail empties out into a small area in front of a large stone and steel meshed archway, opposite of the team. Gazing up from her tablet, Aristespha flicks her violet eyes down at the image on the screen and compares it to the huge entrance across the clearing. "It looks very much like the pictures."

Sebastian's ethereal form drifts back onto the ground, and he slowly pivots, scanning over the area. "Okay. Here's the plan. They've only asked for an initial inspection of the place. So, we don't need to check in depth for anything."

Glancing over his shoulder, he addresses the team. "SO... Go in as far as we can without breaking into any sealed off area and take a bunch of pictures."

He pans his examining stare across the perimeter of the forest surrounding the grassy area and twists his mouth apprehensively. "And... Before we barge on in there, let's check the outside for signs of anything going in or out, first."

The group fans out into the clearing, carefully progressing in methodical searches of the area. Dretphi steps out a few meters, narrows her gaze around the vicinity, and aims her attention downwards. She taps her heavy boots onto the flat dirt, judging what she feels, and kneels down. Her gauntlet covered hands dig into the loose, rocky soil, and she sifts through the material in her hands. Underneath the grassy top covering, a mixture of dirt, gravel, and asphalt leftover rains down from Dretphi's fingers back onto the ground near the fresh, shallow hole. Drifting down from above, Sebastian lands next to Dretphi. "Find something?"

Dretphi brushes her hands upon the soft under armor between the hard plates, flicking off some grit from the faded bluish fabric plate covers. Standing back up, she nods in thought. "Yes. Curious why there was a clearing here. Asphalt underneath the dirt kept trees from taking deep root."

Sebastian ponders the information and glances over to Dretphi curiously. "Okay. Any idea how long this thing has been sitting here?"

With a slight frown, Dretphi lifts up the full visor on her helmet, crosses her arms, and sighs uncertainly. "At least as long as the report says. Would not be surprised if older. This build up took time."

Floating back up in the air, Sebastian nods appreciatively and glances over towards Cideeda walking the perimeter. "Okay. I'm going to check to see if Cideeda's found anything on that side."

Dretphi points over to the side opposite of Cideeda, waiting for Sebastian's attention. "I will inspect that side."

Sebastian gives a quick thumbs up to Dretphi and floats slowly over in the direction of Cideeda, surveying the area from above. Aristespha, Bach, and Sotalia stand in the middle of the clearing and stare at the archway. Aristespha blinks her glowing violet eyes, cocks her head to the side, and glances down at her tablet. "This is quite an interesting design. I have seen similar... though. I think this would date it at least right after the Second Period? Maybe at the very end?"

Sotalia squints her dimly lit, golden eyes for a second and closes them hard. The illumination fades, and she focuses upon the rusted out and weather-worn sign on a bent up post. Quirking her eyebrow, she rests her hands on her hips and snorts in mild frustration. "Yeah. The few remaining letters on that sign would put it roughly in that time period. But..."

Furrowing her brow, she tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair and frowns slightly. "It's really strange to see that language HERE."

Bach narrows his gaze upon the sign and eyes over to Sotalia, inquiring. "So, what does it say, exactly?"

Crossing her arms, Sotalia sighs with a twist to her mouth and slowly shakes her head. "All that I can make out is Storage Bunker. There was probably more on the missing parts of the sign."

With a gradual nod, Bach grumbles, gritting his teeth briefly. "Yeah... Anyway, um, what's so strange about that language being here?"

Aristespha shifts her focus upon the sign, narrows a growing glare, and growls to herself. "It's an earlier variant of the language the Dark Evuukians adopted as their own."

Bach and Sotalia aim their inquisitive gazes at Aristespha and wait. A long irritated sigh later, Aristespha rolls the anxiety out of her shoulders and presents an unamused smirk towards Bach and Sotalia. "Officially, they never left that doomed city of theirs. But... It seems before their whole cursed society imploded, they had plans to expand."

Lifting an apprehensive brow, Sotalia leans her stance back in surprise and motions towards the archway. "You don't think there's anything left over from THEM in there?"

Aristespha rolls her violet eyes and shakes her head with a long exhale. "OH. Gods no. In all likelihood, they built the structure, and it was left abandoned long enough for someone else to use it instead."

Staring off into the deep dark past the archway, Bach glances over uncomfortably at Aristespha with an awkward smile fighting for space on his face. "Yeah. Huh. I mean... That doesn't really make me feel that much better about it."

Aristespha presents a confident smile and points up to the mix of stone, modern materials, and magical markings on the entrance way. "The Dark Evuukians stuck to strict magical mechanisms. So, I believe someone added this modern solution after they were long gone."

Sotalia shrugs her shoulders and contorts her light tan face in thought, tilting her head to the side. "And, who would do THAT and why would they not get rid of the sign?"

Scratching the back of his head of longer brown hair, Bach aims his gaze at very prominent landmarks in the area and points out a few notable features. "Well... If you were looking at this from a distance, you would think it was just some abandoned hole in the side of a hill. Maybe some old survival bunker? I mean, unless you were really bored or knew this place was here, you weren't going to just stumble upon it. So, why do anything to make it stick out more?"

The trio of mages stand for a minute and slowly inspect the archway from a distance. Bach sneers his upper lip uneasily and sighs. "Yeah... Thinking about it... THAT doesn't make me feel any better about this place. Now there's intent behind it all."

Drifting down, Sebastian lands behind the mages, walks around to Aristespha's side, and eyes the darkness beyond the gateway. "So? Any more info about what we're dealing with, dear?"

Aristespha smiles at Sebastian and indecisively mulls the situation over, tapping through a few menus on her tablet. "Not particularly, Sebastian. Apart from the fact the archway seems relatively undisturbed, with the known exception being that scorching on the top, it matches the recent pictures."

Sebastian peeks over Aristespha's shoulder, and Cideeda and Dretphi rejoin the group. Adjusting her tactical vest, Cideeda stretches out her arms out over her head and flicks her furry ears. "No signs of anything moving in or out from my side."

Dretphi nods in agreement and motions towards one side of the clearing's perimeter. "Nothing on my side. No disturbances in the underbrush. No oddly broken branches. No fresh paths through the overgrowth."

Sebastian hums ethereally to himself, staring ahead towards the entrance, and floats a few meters closer to the archway, in front of the group. He stops, pivots around, and shrugs his shoulders with his hands out to his sides. "Well, I guess there's only one way to find out. Let's head inside. I'll scout ahead. Cideeda and Dretphi will be on point. Aristespha and Sotalia will maintain the middle. And, Bach, keep an eye behind us."

With shared unease and foreboding, the team assembles into their marching order, turn on their lights, and slowly cross the threshold into the dark hallway leading deeper inside.

----

Down a long, dim corridor, open sliding doors line the old, worn walls. With the team searching around, flashlights shine out along the hallway, magical glows illuminate the immediate area, and small orbs of light drift off towards distant surfaces. Aristespha peers around a metal door frame and stares into a dark room. Casting the light from her magical orb inside, she slowly inspects the scattered contents from the threshold into the space. "This one seems like an office of some kind. In relatively good condition given how long it has likely been sitting."

She holds up her tablet in front of her, aiming the back camera inside, and taps the screen. A brief flash floods the room with light, fading immediately. Guiding her flashlight's spot along the corridor, Dretphi twists her mouth into a puzzling grimace. "Simple design for this place. One main corridor."

Narrowing her stare, she darts her steely gray eyes around the stone and metal infrastructure. "Have yet to run into another large branch. Just opened doors to rooms."

Cideeda sniffs the air, swaying her head in the stale air currents. Tracking a smell, she halts the hunt and frowns slightly. "There's that smell, again. Gods. I can't quite pick it out of the mix here. It just seems to be... Everywhere."

Bach glances up and points up to a charred spot upon support structures underneath cabling above in the ceiling, furrowing his brow curiously. "Hey, um, you think it might be the leftover funk from these spots?"

Aiming her bright flashlight up, Cideeda maneuvers the light spot around, following along a few paths, and indecisively rocks her head side to side. "Oh, there's definitely a smell from those. But, THIS..."

She wrestles down an uncomfortable curl at the corner of her mouth and droops her furry ears slightly. "This smell feels... Familiar."

Bach's eyes illuminate blue, and he narrows his stare at the thick conduits running through the support framework above. "Huh. There's still some residual magical energy on these lines. I guess whatever happened was pretty recent."

Outside another room, Sotalia adjusts the aim of her aetherphone's camera and taps the on screen button. The flash reflects off of various research implements, and the light glints off of several magical apparatuses. Sotalia rests her hands on her hips, twists her mouth in thought, and tosses her head of fiery orange, wavy hair to the side. "Well, this room had to have been a magical research lab. It has all the usual tools. Surprising how they haven't changed that much over the years."

Sebastian drifts down the dark hallway, pauses, and peeks into another opposing pair of open sliding doors, thoughtfully scratching his chin. "Okay... What's everyone's guess as to what this place actually was? I'm leaning towards a survival bunker of some kind. One of those that has everything to rebuild society. Those always seemed popular with any elitist group."

Slowing to a stop, Aristespha pivots in place and ponders out loud. "Well. This might be my personal bias, but I think it was a research facility, Sebastian. You have a mix of administrative offices and support services, along with labs."

Sotalia lifts a brow inquisitively towards Aristespha and smirks slightly. "Magical research lab, maybe?"

Inspecting the frame of one of the sliding doors, Dretphi carefully analyzes the support wall and hums in contemplation. "Military depot. The doors for the storage rooms are reinforced. We have found guard posts. Empty armories. Barracks."

Slowly nodding agreement, Bach furrows his brow at the conjecture and crosses his arms with an uneasy, awkward smile. "Military... SOMETHING. I mean, it's like they only had one kind of door for everything in this place, and it was heavy and armored. Even the janitor's closet had a door that looked like it could take a direct hit from a rocket launcher."

Cideeda points a claw tip up towards the many cameras and other monitoring devices, sitting dark and inactive. "Well, they were doing something worth the security coverage. They didn't hold back on that."

Stepping by another open door, she halts immediately and sniffs the air carefully. She wafts over the stale air from the door and smells it cautiously, pondering the aroma. Her emerald green eyes widen in recognition, and she slowly pivots around, facing the rest of the team with a very uncertain stare. "Okay... I KNOW I've smelled THIS before. It's faint, but..."

She frowns vaguely and sighs. "This odor reminds me of the ruin with the cybernetic zombies."

The rest of the group exchange uneasy glances, cautiously search the immediate vicinity, and share a very similar sentiment. Minutes of apprehension later, they group back up and venture further down the dark corridor, deeper into the facility.

Minutes of following the huge overhead bundle of conduits within the heavy ceiling supports later, the team reaches a T-intersection and the main junction point of the thick power lines. Reaching the center point, the group shifts their attention down one path. At the end of the hallway, the faint glow of an emergency light escapes through an open heavy, sliding door. Surveying the open doorway briefly, the team slides their focus over down the other passage. Searching stares turn towards the curious, apprehensive, and cautious, seeing the massive, heavily reinforced, and securely sealed double doors. Dretphi cocks her head back warily, spotting the unique traits of the huge entry, and glances over the rest of the team. "THAT is strange. This is the only closed door. Every other door has been opened."

Cideeda flicks her furry ears around, twisting her grimace apprehensively, and narrows a stare at the huge double security doors. "Yeah. THAT is really strange. Especially given that these doors are of a completely different design from everything else here. The style is even different. I don't think these were original construction."

Hovering out in front of the group, Sebastian contorts his face uncertainly and sighs ethereally, peeking over his shoulder towards the team. "Well, as much as I don't want to get too close to something like that. We need to at least check to make sure the doors are securely locked..."

He tightens his tense smile. "And there's no immediate threat to us or anyone else in the area."

Understanding, reserved expressions emerge upon the team, and they ready themselves for the approach. Slowly and methodically, the group closes in on the tall, massive double doors and carefully fan out, inspecting the gateway in their own ways. Aristespha and Bach both illuminate their eyes in magical radiance and study the doorway. Aristespha tilts her head to the side curiously, lifting an inquisitive eyebrow. "I am not seeing anything blatant, but there seems to be significant, old traces of some variety of enchantment on the join between the two doors."

Gritting his teeth, Bach contorts an uneasy frown. "Yeah. I mean, I'm seeing that, too. I'd put my money that it was some kind of sealing or locking enchantment. Which..."

He swallows hard and slides a side eye towards the team. "Doesn't really make this whole situation feel any better..."

Stepping forward upon the concrete and metal floor, Cideeda kneels down in front of a large vented panel and shines her flashlight through the grates. "So, what do we have going on here-"

She blinks in surprise, her furry ears perking up against her headgear. "Oh..."

Through the vent gaps, Cideeda cranes her head around for the best viewing angle into the cavity beyond and narrows her emerald green eyes. "That's really strange... Okay... OH, now THAT is really strange."

The team congregates closer around Cideeda, searching glimpses of her discoveries. Noticing the team looming nearby, Cideeda motions towards key points of interest, explaining with a puzzled tone. "So... The hydraulics for this big thing are on THIS side of the wall. Even the control lines. Which isn't something you do if you want to keep from going IN."

Sebastian blinks to attention, stares at the huge metal double doors, and carefully drifts closer. Glancing at the group, he puts forth a brave smile. "Well... Let's see if I can get a peek at what's on the other side?"

The team agrees, and Sebastian phases through one door, disappearing inside. A minute later, he slowly emerges from the doorway, paler than his typical ethereal self. Gathering his thoughts with the prompting stares from the group, he releases a nervous, ghostly exhale, and points a thumb over his shoulder at the gateway. "OKAY... It was really dark in there... BUT..."

Pausing a moment, he grits his teeth. "I did make out a HUGE fluid-filled tank that could fit our humvee in it... And, SOMETHING floating in there."

He releases another long ethereal breath, visibly mulling over his feelings about the situation, and gazes over the group. "I couldn't make out exactly what it was... And... I REALLY didn't want to get close to it... Just in case."

Silence looms over the team. Seconds later, an unspoken agreement occurs, and they collectively, slowly move far away from the heavy, reinforced doors. Past the intersection point of the T-junction, Aristespha lifts her tablet up and takes a picture without a flash. The team reorientates itself in the opposite direction and travels down the hallway to the open room with dim emergency light. Peering inside through the doorway, the team gazes upon all the partially working control consoles and barely functional generators. A few beeps and chimes sound out, and the group spots a bank of operational computer equipment giving constant updates, warnings, and alerts. Cideeda aims her voice towards Sebastian, inquiring in an affirmative tone. "I think it would be best if we investigated this room a bit more?"

Crossing her arms, Sotalia nods in complete agreement and eyes Sebastian. "Yeah. It'd be really nice to at least see what was going on here and maybe figure out what else we need to be on the lookout for."

With a smirk, Sebastian slowly nods and hovers into the control room. "After what I saw, I can't argue with that sentiment. We should probably figure out if we need to call in the army or something... Or if everything is going to stay roughly this way."

The team files in, fans out, and starts searching the room for more clues.

----

Hovering in the middle of the dark hallway down from the intersection, Sebastian stares out at the opposing corridor, sneering uncomfortably at the darkness leading towards the heavy, suspicious double doors. He crosses his arms and watches the spotlight from Dretphi's submachine gun accessory methodically travel from one edge of the thick, reinforced frame to another. Squinting her steely gray eyes behind her full visor, Dretphi twists a faint grimace, hints of anxiety leaking through her stoic facade. Sebastian's ethereal form rolls his shoulders against nervous energy, and he releases a long sigh, glancing over to Dretphi. "You doing okay? Need to rotate out for a bit?"

Dretphi blinks back to attention, making eye contact with Sebastian, and shows an appreciative smile. "I am okay. I can continue to stand watch. Just wish we could get the information we need SOON."

Nodding, Sebastian returns his stare down the shadow blackened hallway, grumbling. "Yup. I'm with you on that one. I know we're probably going well beyond what we need to do. But, I think we need to give the guild the info they need to send the right forces out to deal with this potential mess."

Dretphi draws in a deep breath and sighs out the tension. "Indeed..."

Sebastian briefly grits his teeth, crossing his arms, and glances over to Dretphi with a sarcastic tone. "You know... Let them know how many tanks they need to bring to take out whatever that thing is."

Searching the top of her mind for a second, Dretphi shifts her weight to the other foot, mulling a thought out loud. "Tanks would work. My house father would recommend detonating explosives to collapse the entire front of the entry corridor. No need for an encounter."

Sebastian thinks to himself for a moment, slowly agrees, and resumes his watch of the dark corridor across the intersection. "Yeah... Honestly, at this point, I would do the same, and just have our report say we found it that way."

Twisting her mouth in deliberation, Dretphi settles to a slow nod. "Simple solution. Pity we do not have enough explosives."

A dry smirk appears on Sebastian's face, and he chuckles lightly. "Don't let Cideeda hear THAT. She'll think of it as a challenge to what she can do."

Pivoting partially, Dretphi gazes into the nearby room at the end of the dimly lit hallway and smiles, checking on the activity in the emergency light illuminated area. "A challenge I wish we could attempt."

Inside the control room, Cideeda checks on her shotgun propped up against the computer console bank and returns her focus to the constantly scrolling alerts and messages on a screen. Biting her lower lip, she tries to decipher the stream of information. Bach sits in a chair next to Cideeda and stares at an informational graphic of the power system with flashing sections and prompts. Scratching his bearded chin, he hums in thought and side eyes over to Cideeda. "I don't know exactly... But, man... It seems to be prioritizing power to something at the expense of everything else in this place."

Cideeda grits her teeth, taps her finger tips together on both hands, and grimaces, lowering her furry ears. "It's GOT to be that damned area beyond those ridiculous double doors. From what I can figure out, SO FAR, this system is redirecting power from EVERYTHING else to keep that area SATURATED in power."

Pointing a claw tip at a long log list on the screen, she taps through the entries, shaking her head. "It looks like this thing was frantically trying to balance power around to all these other systems, and then... Just gave up, and stuck to just this one."

An uneasy cringe washes over her, and Cideeda leads Bach's attention over to another screen showing a slowly descending graph line against a constant line of another color. "THIS... This worries me. If what we've translated is correct, then this line is the power output from some generator. At this rate of decline, we've got maybe a day before it drops below the demand."

Bach winces, shuddering briefly, and glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia. "Yeah... That's not a good margin to work with. Any more luck with those manuals and documents?"

Carefully flipping through another set of pages in an old, dusty binder, Aristespha slowly shakes her head of long, silvery blue hair with a frown. "Unfortunately, nothing that would seem useful for the power system. Still finding daily memos and written orders."

Sotalia stacks up another old book upon a pile nearby. She brushes her hands off on her cloak, cleans off the cobweb on her horn, and sighs with a shift of her stance. Retrieving her aetherphone, she navigates through a few menus and sorts through a series of photos taken of the facility. With an uneasy frown, her golden eyes recognize elements in the pictures in a new light, and she tenses her shoulders. "I get the distinct feeling we were ALL correct, in some way. This place seems like some kind of strange cybernetic, biological, and magical research base for military applications."

Glancing over at the pile of paperwork and books nearby, she hoists up an unamused eyebrow. "At least... That's what half these documents keep hinting at."

With a long uncomfortable sigh, Aristespha nods in agreement, puts another binder in her backpack, and closes it up. "Yes. I have to agree. And, given recent events, I am NOT too terribly keen on sticking around here for much longer."

Standing up from her chair, Cideeda brushes off the dust from the backside of her tight bodysuit and back of her tactical vest. She throws the carrying strap of her shotgun over her shoulder and straightens her posture. "YEAH. I think we have all the information we need. Let's get the hell out of here, and call someone with some serious firepower to handle whatever might be here."

Sotalia releases a sigh of relief, stuffs a few choice books into large pockets inside her cloak, and walks towards the door of the room. "OH, girl, don't have to tell me twice."

Bach and Aristespha head out the exit with Cideeda and Sotalia. The four meet up quickly with Dretphi and Sebastian. Studying their expressions, Sebastian quirks his curious brow at the group. "So... What's the consensus?"

Grinning awkwardly, Bach shrugs his shoulders with a facetious tone. "Well... This place is creepy as fuck, and we want to go home now."

Sebastian snorts and nods quickly. "Sounds good to me, bro. I think we've done all we can..."

Flicking his stare around the dark passage, he wrestles down a frown. "And, all we probably should."

The team starts to face towards the center of the intersection-

A sharp, mechanical thunk resonates from some place beyond the power control room nearby. The emergency lights flicker. From the dark corridor and behind the secure double doors, faint arcing and sparking vibrates through the structure of the building. The corridors ignite in full emergency lighting, and klaxons blare out. Frantically surveying their immediate situation, the team searches for answers. Cideeda leans over and catches a glimpse inside the control room, watching the screens chaotically spew forth new alerts. An electronic voice sounds out over the intercom system, echoing out through the facility. Listening carefully, Sotalia gazes at Aristespha and translates, growing more worried with each word. "Lockdown failure?... Lab... stasis field... generators... Malfunction?! OH. GODS... Am I understanding THAT correctly?"

Aristespha's light ivory complexion pales further, her understanding coinciding with Sotalia. "Y-Yes. Unfortunately, so."

Gazing over the team wide-eyed, Sebastian slings his point down the hallway and yells out in a surge of determination. "Form up, and let's GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

A powerful, thunderous slam rattles the structure of the complex. From overhead, dust breaks free, and old rust flakes off support structures. Bach reflexively spouts out in fright. "THE FUCK WAS THAT?!"

Another earth shaking thud shakes the area from something large impacting a solid surface, the resonate groans of metal straining within. Sebastian gives the signal and flies out, leading the team towards the intersection. A massive object rams into a structural piece of the bunker, and the overhead lights flicker. At the intersection, Dretphi's steely gray eyes widen in utter shock, and she points out down to massive, double doors. "THEY MOVED!"

Hydraulic strain gives way, and a cacophony of loud spraying fills the air, thick fluid gushing out from the vented access panel. The heavy doors crack open... From behind in the dark space, something moves around in front of a backdrop of chaotic light.

IT peers out.

-64-

Within their aged glass enclosures, alarm lights spin, and red casts flood into the main intersection of the facility. Klaxons blare a jarring drone, sharply echoing against the long concrete lined halls. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia gawk in sheer, utter horror, and SOMETHING watches on from behind the heavy, double security doors. Peering out the small gap between the failing doors, a chaotic display backlights the amorphous silhouette. Crimson cybernetic eyes upon magically inscribed platforms glide across the featureless surface of its huge, undulating form. With mechanical precision contrasting its warping mass, the creature's glares affix onto the team and study them within the brief lull of the surrounding chaos. Shifting closer to the gap, it pauses at the opening and waits. Slim, black appendages slick out, slipping through the divide, and lap the exterior face of the reinforced doors, flattening securely onto the metallic surface. Tentacles writhe in between the door gap, unnaturally coil up with purpose to bridge the divide, and brace against the edges. Slowly, the flexible limbs pulsate thicker with each second and press against the weakening door, overwhelming with sheer mass. With each surge of growth, hydraulic fluid blasts out in a torrent, flooding into a reflective pool on the floor, and the gap between the doors widens.

Pure fear suppresses Sotalia's urge to wretch. Aristespha's intellectual calm falls to pieces, gawking in frightful terror. Cideeda grits in teeth, drops her furry ears, and reflexively leans back, instinctually disturbed. Blinking in blank horror, Bach's jaw hangs open. Sebastian remains frozen in stunned fear. Dretphi's stoic exterior gives away to utter fright, gripping tight hold of her submachine gun. Snapping out of his stupor, Sebastian glances over to the group and shouts. "RUN FOR IT!"

Situational awareness slams the team back into the immediate, terrible reality. The group sprints off down the long main hallway. The sprays of hydraulic oil mixes with the din of alarms, and grinding shrieks of strained steel resonate loudly through the structure. The team flees down the lengthy corridor deep in the structure and frantically scramble around debris and other obstacles. A frightening, strange chorus of beast and machine roars out from the main intersection behind them, vibrating the light junk lying around. Powerful thuds shake the facility, rattling dust and rust off overhead supports.

The electronic announcement system crackles out a new series of phrases, barely cresting over the ambient noise. Sotalia briefly closes her golden eyes, sorting through the words in her mind between winces, and glances over to Aristespha, puzzling out loud. "Something about emergency containment measures? Being armed?!"

Nodding quickly, Aristespha navigates through a narrow passage between old storage containers, searching around fruitlessly for some kind of surrounding hint in the structure. "Yes? That's what it sounded like to me. I don't know what it could mean!"

Cideeda grits her teeth, keeping up pace with the group, and grimaces with worry. "I hope it doesn't mean that force field at the entry. Because that might not work anymore!"

Staring down the long corridor to the distant daylight, she yells out. "OR, it can! And we're on the wrong side of it!"

Fighting off the growing panic in his tone, Sebastian maintains a hover above the team, keeping an overwatch behind them. "OKAY! Once we're out of here, we head straight to the humvee AND run for it! I have no fucking clue what that thing is. AND, I don't want to find out right now. Especially not in this gods damned tunnel!"

The loud crashes against the overall structure halt and fade into the background of the klaxon drone. Paranoia driving him, Sebastian focuses his stare upon the distant intersection. squinting through the turbulent sea of red lights. From the far off side corridor, thick, black tentacles slap and stick upon the floors, walls, and ceiling. A huge bulbous, spherical mass slides out into the middle of the junction. Gliding upon its dark exterior skin, platforms of cybernetic eyes glare down the long main corridor, watching the team running further away. With pulses of brightness, red dots shine, and the mass undulates its warping form forward. From the featureless surface, slick tubes emerge, stretch forth, and thicken, reaching out into new tentacles. The contorting limbs spring out, splat upon the floors, deform upon the walls, and coil around the ceiling supports. Pulsating with frightening strength, the creature pulls its dark, fluctuating mass forward and quickly coasts towards the team. Tentacles from behind release their strangely dry, powerful adhesion, shrink to thin tendrils, and merge back into the shapeless, amorphous whole. New limbs grow out and continue the beast's smooth locomotion. The platforms of red, cybernetic eyes steadily concentrate their full focus upon the team, isolating themselves from all other motion.

Sebastian's ethereal form pales, abject horror overwhelming, and his fear sparks new motivation within him. "KEEP THE PACE UP EVERYONE! MOVE AS FAST YOU CAN!"

Glancing over his shoulder, Bach catches a glimpse of the fast moving entity and snaps his head forward. Blue eyes wide, he stares ahead with survival driven determination plainly visible. Drawing out his plasma pistol from the holster, he turns it on, and a high pitched, charging whine peaks over the alarm din echoing the hallway. Cideeda's furry ears flicks back and guide her quick gaze over at Bach, peeking behind her. Her emerald eyes snap ahead, and she deftly moves her hands to her sides, activating both her laser pistols without breaking stride.

The synthetic voice blares out over the announcement system again, and Sotalia darts her golden eyes around, searching for some point nearby and ahead. "Containment locks... Engaging?!"

Cideeda's furry ears flick forward, and she cringes with a muffled explosion ahead and the dull rush of water sounds out. On both sides of the hallway, two side panels fall open into a dwindling flow of orange brown, stagnant water, and the edges of a pair of rust coated, sliding doors grind out of their resting place. The massive, water soaked steel plates creep slowly together under a whining mechanical strain, flakes of rust and sparks springing out from the friction. Cideeda cringes and covers her nose, coughing. "Fucking great! The containment doors are junk!"

Glancing back, Sebastian spots the incoming beast and motions the team's attention ahead. "Doesn't matter! Maybe they'll slow that fucking thing down! Focus on getting through the gap before it closes!"

He gazes ahead, judges the speed of the closure, and commands out to the team. "Single file, everyone! Sprint through!"

The team lines up into one column, aligning to the closing gap between the massive, rusted doors, and rush on through, clearing the divide. Seconds later, the edges of the rusty steel doors meet solidly. Within the surrounding archway, mechanisms strain to come to life. Interlock systems resonate metallic groans, and a muffled snap abruptly halts them into silence. The team slows their pace briefly, attempting to catch their breaths, and stare behind, hopeful, wary. With a rattling crash, a powerful mass impacts the doors. Large sheets of rust pop off the surface of the heavy metal and shatter upon the hard ground. The team slows to a brisk walk, watching expectantly. Another series of massive slams pound unrelentingly upon the doors, punctuating the shrill unnatural roar of the... Thing... on the other side. Each crash flakes off rust and frees corroded metal on the team's side of the barrier. A slight warping of the steel grows into a visible bulge. The assault stops. No noise emerges from the other side. A brief spark of hope ignites in the eyes of the group, vanishing quickly when thin oily tendrils seep through the irregular, rust chiseled gaps between doors. They pulsate into larger tentacles and begin prying the containment shutters slowly open. Dretphi leads the team's curses of frustration with a grath phrase, and the group launches into another sprint down the long corridor.

Hurrying through the concrete tunnel, Sebastian, Aristespha, Sotalia, Cideeda, Bach, and Dretphi keep up the strenuous pace, heading towards the distant daylight at the end of the long corridor. Each occasionally glances back, checking behind them, mechanical strain erupting out over the constant drone of klaxons and alarm chimes. The automated base announcement system blurts out a partially garbled, barely comprehensible phrase, leaving Sotalia perplexed. Aristespha searches her mind, pieces the parts together between flicks of her violet eyes, and widens her gaze forward. "Layer two containment engaging?! Another set of containment doors!?"

Loud explosions boom out from the section of hallway ahead. Covering their ears and shielding themselves from bright flashes of light, the team staggers and slows their process forward. A pair of armored side panels from the walls violently crash clear of closing tracked doors and land meters away from the team, leaving deep gouges in the reinforced floor. Wincing through the sudden confusion, Sotalia shakes her mind out of the stunned haze and refocuses ahead. From the newly opened compartments, two massive, steel doors launch out, quickly sliding towards the middle of the corridor. Sotalia grits her teeth, tears off in a sprint, gesturing out an incantation, and shouts out. "NOT FUCKING TODAY!"

A surge of magical flow erupts from her body and swirls into an energetic spiral towards her hands. Throwing her arms forward, she unleashes a blast towards the closing gap between the door. A translucent, billowing mass of magical energy expands out onto the edges of the heavy steel and stiffly envelops them. Mechanical strain groans out from either side of the hallway, and the massive, reinforced doors slow down to crawl. The magical energies blockading the containment barrier fluctuates. Staggering to slow plod, Sotalia summons another surge of energy and deadlocks the doors, seizing a narrow gap between the imposing steel edges. Bach and Dretphi support Sotalia at her sides and escort her towards the gateway divide. Stopping at the doors, Sebastian hovers above and stares down the red alarm strobe illuminated hallway, fright hunting through the shadows swirling between the rotating lights. Aristespha slips through the space between the doors. Turning around, Aristespha swiftly gestures out a similar incantation to Sotalia's and flings out a similar wave of energy upon the powerful doors. "I can stabilize it for a while..."

She gasps in a breath and strains. "But... HURRY! Please!"

Summoning her strength, Sotalia maintains her contribution to the prying effort and speeds up to a fast walk towards the gap between shuddering containment doors. Cideeda deftly maneuvers to the other side and frantically searches the compartments near the door housings. Digging her claws into the gaps of a vented panel, she yanks it open with a few full body pulls. "Gods dammit! Where the hell are the controls for these things?! There's GOT to be an override, or SOMETHING!"

Her emerald green eyes scour the mess of ancient wiring and maze of piping, and she growls out. "Who the fuck designed this GARBAGE?!"

Bach and Dretphi remain at Sotalia's sides, and she moves towards the opening. Bach stares watchfully down the red and dark swirling corridor with plasma pistol, and Dretphi glares through the reflections on her full face visor with sub machine gun drawn. A chorus of destructive noises burst out from deeper within the compound. A rolling series of forceful, heavy splats peak over the background drone of alarms, increasing in ferocity and volume with each passing second. From the fluctuating crimson illuminated hallway, a black spherical mass appears distantly into view from around the corridor's gentle curve. It flies down the tunnel upon a chaotic swarm of adhesive tentacles. Multiple red, pinpoint cybernetic eyes lock onto the team, coasting independently of all other movement. Overhead support beams break loose under the short, thick coils torquing them free. Wall coverings flex against the hard pulls of thin appendages. And, chunks of old floor loosen under the twisting, undulating tentacles. Bach and Dretphi exchange glances, nod in silent agreement, and pivot in step. Slipping an arm underneath Sotalia's shoulders, they hoist her up and jog her over to the narrowing doorway, surprising her. The trio reach the closing gap. Bach and Dretphi usher the tiring Sotalia through and turn around, aiming their weapons at the approaching beast. Cideeda reaches through the divide and helps guide Sotalia along.

The entity arrives meters away from Bach and Dretphi, multiple eyes affixing upon them. Bach and Dretphi simultaneously flip the safeties off. Supporting itself in the middle of the air, front protrusions emerge from the featureless, slick skin of the creature and lash out towards their targets. Bach and Dretphi open fire. A rapid volley of plasma bolts pelt the black mass, impacts rippling out across the oily surface of the monster. Dretphi unleashes burst after burst submachine gun fire, sending rounds into the bulbous body of the amorphous entity. Upon the support of its tentacles attached high and low, the monster swings its form around and warps its shape, avoiding many of the attacks. A few plasma bolts and submachine rounds bounce off briefly opaque energy fields protecting its many shifting eyes. Emitting an omnipresent, unnatural roar into the area, the monstrosity flings out its tentacles in wide swipes towards Bach and Dretphi. Dretphi maneuvers her tall, imposing self around, expertly avoiding strike after strike. Bach frantically avoids each attack, moving unusually fast and wildly shifting his balance into dodge rolls upon the floor. Getting Sotalia to the other side of the narrow door gap, Cideeda spins around, drawing her laser pistols, and reaches through the divide. Two beams of bright blue light up against swirling red ambient casts and drag across the slick surface of the monstrous thing ineffectively. A beam crosses a red cybernetic eye, and the red pinpoint blinks out, the eye platform sparking violently. The eye jets frantically away from the beam along the exterior of the beast.

A pained bellow rattles the vicinity, and the creature momentarily loses its focus. Snapping back to their senses, Bach and Dretphi quickly retreat towards the gap between shaking containment doors. Sebastian zips out in a chaotic flight path around and in front of the monster. Many eyes track Sebastian. One red eye creeps out from hiding behind the massive, dark orb, spots Dretphi lining up her approach through the narrow gap. Three thin, quick tentacles eject out from the black, undulating mass. One wraps around Dretphi's helmet, one slaps firmly attached upon her chest plate, and another splats upon a shin guard. Each sticks firmly upon glinting golden surfaces millimeters away from the armor plating.

Terror overwhelming, Bach spots the limb around Dretphi's helm pulsating thick, the coil tightening with each moment. Surrounding Dretphi's helmet, a golden barrier pulses into visibility and buffers the crushing forces upon it. Bach notices the familiar golden barrier, shakes out of the stupor with determined grit of his teeth, and pivots towards the monster. Putting his hands together, Bach surges a flow of energy, manifesting an orb forms between. Layers upon layers of chaotically spinning rings build up in mere fractions of second to a ten centimeter ball of disintegrating power. Charging forth, Bach thrusts his hand containing the destructive ball right into the pulsating tentacle gripping Dretphi. Orb impacting, a fine black mist erupts, and the slick surface disrupts into a thick spray of ichor. The spherical blob vibrates out in some kind of pain response and shudders, frantically reeling back from the attack. In the flurry of survival instinct, Dretphi frees her head from her helmet. The tentacle yanks back and drags the helm off. Balancing herself against the pull of the adhered tendrils, Dretphi deftly slides her hands underneath her chest plate and tears through the hook and loop fasteners in a loud fabric release. With a final lift of her leg, she rips off the fastening straps holding the shin guard and kicks it away with the tentacle.

Grabbing hold of Dretphi's shoulder, Bach shoves her through the gradually narrowing door gap, firing his plasma pistol wildly towards the monster. Cideeda snags hold of Dretphi's arm and yanks her through with all her might. Dretphi clears through the space and reflexively grips onto Bach's arm, bracing herself upon the other side of the door. Tensing her imposing form, she pulls Bach through with her raw strength, dragging Bach through the snug gap. Bach, Cideeda, and Dretphi clear away from the opening, and a flurry of tentacles whip out through the gap, lashing out wildly. Witnessing the horror reaching from the other side, Sotalia immediately releases her spell.

The containment door slams shut hard upon the writhing mass. The flailing appendages quickly slack, hanging limply from the join between the doors. Unnatural moans of pain and misery reverberate through the thick containment door. The team swiftly distances themselves from the doorway, warily watching, expectant. Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi and Sotalia muster their strength and catch their breaths in the lull of activity, the constant drone of klaxons still filling the air. Sebastian quickly phases through the door and lands next to the team. "IS EVERYONE OKAY?!"

Dretphi combs her gauntlet-covered hand through her platinum blonde braids, slows her panting to calmer, longer breaths, and nods to Sebastian. "Yes. Missing plating. Fine otherwise."

Bracing himself up with his hands on his knees, Bach glances up briefly and makes eye contact with his brother, giving a shaky thumbs up. "OH... Yeah... Whew... Wow... That mini D-ball took a little out of me... But I should be fine in a minute or two. Still can move. So, we're good."

Aristespha wipes a bit of sweat off her brow, supporting Sotalia up, and sighs. "I am... Fine, Sebastian. A bit taxing, but I should be fine."

Sotalia pops open a pouch on her belt, pulls out a large vial, and quaffs the potion down in one swift motion. Exhales a mix of relief and exhaustion, she blinks her golden, graying sclera eyes and tosses back her fiery orange, wavy hair. "I'll be fine. This potion should kick in soon and keep me moving."

Shaking her head, Cideeda drags her clawed fingers through her short multicolored hair and calms her breathing for speech. "Oh gods... THAT was too fucking close. I'm okay..."

Sotalia passes Aristespha and Bach similar potions from her belt of pouches. Sebastian smiles his relief and gazes in a mix of paranoia and unease towards the closed containment barrier. "Good. VERY good. Okay..."

He swallows hard and draws in a long ethereal breath. "NOW... The next question is... Will THAT hold... IT... Back?"

The team's attention settles upon the limp tentacles hanging out from between the doors. A minute passes. They watch. Faint pulses of life pump into the slack limbs, and thin tendrils ooze out through the joint between the pair of steel barriers. Dread looms over the group, visible anger and fear erupting. Bach winces away and groans out. "FUCK."

Baring her teeth, Cideeda growls, walking away. "OH! To hell with this... THING!"

Sotalia clenches her fists, shakes her head, and turns away, stomping her boots. "GODS FUCKING DAMMIT! Who the fuck thought THIS was a good thing to make?! Well..."

She narrows her golden and gray glare towards the daylight end of the passage. "Let's not hang out here any longer."

With a contemptuous sneer of her upper lip, Dretphi grimaces and glares. Her ire boils up to her tan face, and she scowls, concentrating her anger upon the limbs of the entity. With a swift breath in, she spits on the ground in front of the doors, checks her submachine gun, and joins Sotalia in the march towards the exit. Aristespha gathers her composure, checks her equipment, and catches up to the group. Sebastian and Bach follow along behind the recovering team. Both glance back at the growing black, slick vines gradually prying the doors apart. Moments of inner thoughts later, Bach gazes over at Sebastian. "Damn. Man... That door isn't going to hold it for long. It's making a lot of progress on getting it open."

Drifting alongside, Sebastian slowly nods in agreement and peers distantly into his mind, seeking some solution. "I know, bro. But... I don't know what the hell we are supposed to do against something like... THAT."

Glancing ahead at the portal of daylight at the end of tunnel, he shakes his head uncertainly. "I mean... Once we catch our breaths... The only thing I can think of to do is to head to the humvee, get as far away from this place as possible, and send an alert to the guild to send a military emergency containment force."

Bach picks up the pace with the team, regaining their strength. Moments later, a terrifying thought crosses Bach's mind, and he stares at his brother. "Brother... It'll probably get out before they can do anything about it."

Sebastian turns to face Bach, blinking. Visibly processing the situation, he releases a long, ethereal sigh of dread. "Ah... Shit... I know..."

He glances ahead towards Cideeda and calls out to her. "Cideeda? Do you see anything ahead that looks like another set of containment doors?"

Checking over her shoulder briefly, Cideeda thinks a moment and squints her emerald green eyes down the corridor leading outside. Seconds later, her eyes widen in surprise, and she directs her concerned tone back over her shoulder. "Actually... No. I don't see another set of those panels anywhere..."

Dretphi's awareness returns to her surroundings. Bouncing her steely gray eyes around the structures ahead, the anger fades from Dretphi's face, worry replacing it. "Those doors may be the last means to seal it."

Grumbling, Sotalia rolls the frustration out of her shoulders and grits her teeth. "A lot of good those gods damned things did! It's going to use the same fucking trick to get through those, soon enough."

Horror washes over Aristespha, and she stares ahead into the daylight, her ivory face paling slightly. "And... It will escape... Outside."

The group shares a pseudo moment of silence within the drone of alarms long filtered out unconsciously. They quietly deliberate their options, traveling closer to the exit. Hovering along with everyone else, Sebastian speaks up. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Cideeda's furry ears perk up, and she musters up a reserved grin. "We could try to collapse the entrance. It might not be enough to stop it from digging itself out... BUT, I bet it'd slow it down a lot. I've got a powerful concussive round for my shotgun that might rattle enough of these old supports to drop them down."

Aristespha, Dretphi, Sebastian and Sotalia judge Cideeda's option between themselves. Furrowing his brow, Bach gazes to the team determined. "A barrier."

The rest of the group shift their attention upon Bach and await an explanation. Bach draws in a long breath and ponders out loud. "Okay... Listen, I can craft a barrier to try to seal the damned thing in. I mean, so far, the only way it has been getting through is if it can pry open the doors and force them apart. Maybe..."

Wrestling an uncertain frown, he grimaces. "Just maybe... If I make a really slick matrix and seal off the gaps, it won't be able to use that trick, and it'll be trapped behind it."

He pauses, gauging reactions, and pleads in a worried tone. "It's risky... But... I mean..."

Staring back towards the dark corridor behind them, he stiffens his upper lip and straightens his posture. "Something NEEDS to be done. It's going to crack those doors open soon enough. As much as I would like to run to the humvee and get away, it'll get loose and probably go on a killing spree. OR WORSE, disappear into the woods and terrorize the whole area for who knows how long?!"

Aristespha, Bach, Cideeda, Dretphi, Sebastian, and Sotalia jog closer to the archway exit, and the team individually ponder quietly. Seconds later, Sotalia nods in agreement and glances over to Bach with an encouraging grin. "I'm willing to give it a shot, if you are."

Firmly gripping Bach's shoulder, Dretphi smiles warmly with determination in her voice. "IT can NOT leave here."

Giving a clawed thumbs up, Cideeda winks back to Bach with a toothy grin. "Sounds good to me. And, it might work to our advantage! If you can get it sealed away, that'll give me plenty of time to set up some real explosives, and we'll see if we can collapse this whole entrance."

Aristespha nods to Bach simply with an appreciative tone. "I think we all will sleep far better if it never leaves here. And..."

Narrowing her violet gaze, she frowns slightly. "This place is too close to a town to just leave it alone."

Sebastian grins proudly toward his brother and nods. "Okay. So, where do you want to set this thing up, bro?"

Blinking slightly surprised, Bach motions roughly ahead. "Um, maybe ten or fifteen meters away from the mouth of the entrance? Far away from those doors, but down from the entrance enough to have a good section of tunnel to collapse?"

With a single nod, Sebastian smirks in agreement and points out a spot ahead. "Let's do it there, then."

Gathering his determination, Bach glances briefly over to Sebastian and studies the floor section before them. "Okay. I'll try to put up the best damn barrier I can, then..."

He blows out a tense exhale and rolls out his shoulders. "I just hope this is the better option..."

Laughing against a surge of nervous energy, Sebastian slowly shakes his head, flying next to Bach, and grits his teeth. "Don't worry about that, bro. I think we'd all rather risk containing it, than risk have to face that fucking thing out in the open woods while we rush back to our ride. And, then, hope it doesn't chase us down while we're trying to drive away."

He gazes into his brother's blue eyes resolutely. "Do what you can, and we'll do the same. This is the best plan we've got at the moment. Thanks for giving it to us."

Drawing a slow breath in, Bach cracks a hopeful smile and nods. With Sebastian hovering nearby, Bach positions himself in the middle of the long corridor, fifteen meters short of the exit archway, and raises his hands up in front of him. "Okay... Looks like this spot will work. Seems structural, and there's no obvious panels."

Rolling his shoulders, he flexes his fingers. "Gods... Here we go."

Closing his eyes slowly, Bach exhales long, relaxing his upper body briefly. His eyes reopen to a bright glowing blue. Fine streams of magical flow swirl around his body, condensing into a billowing haze in front of his hands. Thin wisps of energy travel rigidly along straight paths to the floor, walls, and ceiling of the hallway, collecting upon growing magical structures. Seconds later, a translucent golden lattice of large hexagons form and solidify with the constant output of magic. The stabilized energy support beams layer out in growing diameters, anchor points root deep into the very structure of the facility, and smaller hexagon lattice work emerges within the larger cells. The demanding process continues. Sebastian maintains a careful watch down the tunnel into the red, cyclically illuminated void and catches glimpses of the emergency lighting glinting off the distant, gradually opening containment doors.

Cideeda perks her furry ears and trains her emerald eyes upon the architecture of the facility's entrance. Pointing to various locations near structural intersections and support girders, she mentally calculates, narrowing a destructive glare upon the targets. Dretphi walks over near Bach, stretching her body out, and readies her sub machine gun. Raising the barrel, she tosses her platinum blonde braided hair back and levels her aim down the corridor. Sotalia stands near the other side of Bach, rolling the tension out of her shoulders into a casting stance, and stares fiercely down the chaotically lit tunnel. Standing at the mouth of the entrance, Aristespha holds her aetherphone out and slowly moves it around, searching for a signal.

With each surge of magical flow radiating across, the golden barrier shimmers brighter. Hexagonal patterns within hexagonal patterns shrink the largest openings gradually. Bach fully focuses upon the sealing structure in front of him, fighting off the emerging traces of fatigue. Sotalia studies the wall of golden energy in front of her, grinning eagerly. "There's NO WAY it'll get through this!"

Bach smiles briefly and breathes carefully, continuing the intense work. "Yeah... I hope so... But... These gaps are taking FOREVER to close up properly..."

A loud metallic pop echoes out from the distant containment door. Cideeda's furry ears flick over, and her eyes widen in fear. "Something blew loose in the door's hydraulics! I hear fluid spraying!"

Glancing into the facility tunnel, she yells out. "Nothing is stopping it now!"

Squinting down the fluctuating crimson lighted hallway, Sebastian watches the huge, reinforced containment doors open faster, a misty spray of hydraulic oil obscuring the view. He shouts down below to Bach, Dretphi, and Sotalia. "Bach, keep doing what you can! But, EVERYONE! Get ready to RUN FOR IT!"

Bach grits his teeth angrily, determination surging up within him. "FffffUCK! NO-No-No... You ARE NOT GETTING THROUGH! NOT... TODAY!"

A wave of prismatic energy pulses out from the surface of Bach's body, gravitating towards his hands, and weaves into the flows merging with the golden hexagonal barrier. Core structural components ignite into a bright glow and radiate out towards the rest of the magical mesh work. Wincing his eyes closed, Bach strains further, power rushing into the sealing structure, and mutters. "Come on... close the gaps... close the gaps..."

A structure shaking snap reverberates through the facility. A loud, bright explosion of fire erupts, the hydraulic fluid igniting into a plume of flame. The distant containment doors slam wide open, crashing into their frames, and a black orb mass launches out the gate in a shadowy blur through the roaring inferno. A chaotic cacophony of tentacles smashing onto floor plates, ripping off wall panels, and yanking apart ceiling supports bursts forth. With unnatural speed, the spherical black, amorphous form ripples through the corridor, keeping all of its brilliantly bright, red eyes focused on the group. Sebastian pales in wide eyed terror and shouts. "INCOMING! RUN!"

Bach remains upon his task, his awareness lost within his work. Readying herself, Sotalia glances expectantly over to Bach. Dretphi sharply and firmly grasps hold of Bach's shoulder and shakes him back to the immediate. Blinking out of his haze, Bach snaps his gaze over. With a commanding tone, Dretphi speaks firmly . "WE GO NOW."

With Bach regaining his awareness of the present, Sotalia snatches hold of his arm and rushes off towards the entrance. Dretphi pushes Bach forward along. They all escape towards the outside beyond the archway. Senses returning, Bach soon drives the pace forward with a rush of fright. The creature jets down the hallway and slams its full weight into the golden barrier. Its form deforms upon the barrier from the thunderous impact, and the shock ripples across its featureless, black exterior, eye platforms drifting aimlessly in the confusion. The golden structure glints with strain, gradually flexing with the crash force, and quickly settles back to unmoved stability. Glancing back, Bach watches the monstrosity frantically feeling around the partially constructed barrier and grins triumphantly with a fitting hand gesture. "HA HA! Try that out you wretched shit! Have fun in there FOREVER!"

A synthetic voice blares out a message over the facility's speaker system. Sotalia searches her mind, puzzling in the moment, and yells out. "The hell is it saying now?!"

Passing the threshold of the entrance to the outside air with a sigh of relief, she slows her sprint down. Bach follows shortly behind, exhaustion creeping into his gait. Dretphi maintains her rear guard over Bach, checking on him. Second later, she pants out, relaxing her body, and slowly shakes her head. The late afternoon sun casts a calming light upon the moment of peace near the entrance.

Three thin, long black tendrils shatter the tranquility and swiftly wrap around Dretphi's waist and legs. The dark flexing limbs yank her to the ground and pull her across the entryway threshold. Hearing Dretphi fall onto the ground, Bach watches her slide inside and reflexively dives after her outstretched arm. Both secure a grip onto each other's forearms, and Bach tugs back against the thinly stretched tentacles. Sliding along the dirt, Bach manages to wrap his free arm around the archway structure, maintaining his hold. Dretphi tightens her grip and grimaces under the strain, the competing forces lifting her off the ground.

Starting deep within the facility, a cascade of electrical junctions loudly switch on, and a loud hum resonates nearby. Cideeda quickly grabs hold of Dretphi's free hand, digging her claws into the ground, and pulls with all her small frame can manage. Sotalia rushes over, immediately takes aim, and unleashes a power bolt of energy towards the tentacles. The bolt solidly impacts and sends ripples along the limb's slim form, shaking it violently. Dretphi's plated boot loosens itself free. The tentacle snaps harshly back along with the armor, slicking back through a small gap in the golden magical barrier. Aristespha quickly gestures out an incantation, pointing towards the remaining two tentacles, and unleashes a bright beam. The ray drags across the general path of the slick, black lines searing the beast's limbs. The stretched appendages thrash about against Dretphi, tearing a thigh plate free. The limb snaps back, and one tentacle remains around Dretphi. It pulsates thicker, tightening its grasp around her waist.

Sparks of life flicker within the archway. The ambient hum grows louder, and an energy haze begins to fill the plane encapsulated by the ancient force field generator. Gritting her teeth, Cideeda struggles with her grip on Dretphi's arm and winces. The energies building within the space of the archway electrocute Cideeda away in a powerful arcing burst. Bach maintains his grip, the field thickening against his arm. Sparks crackle against his burning duster, wisps of smoke spurting out. The dark beast pulls upon Dretphi, and she tenses her body, buffering the tension growing. Feeling the strain, Bach grits his teeth with determination and focuses his glowing blue eyes. Flows of magical energy glide along his body, seeping into arms and back. With a powerful draw of breath, new levels of muscle definition emerge in Bach's arms, and he pulls hard, pulling Dretphi closer to the developing force field and further away from the monster.

Aristespha and Sotalia hurry over, quickly casting spells, and work together, repulsing the field energy away from Bach. The two gradually widen a hole in the archway barrier around his arm. The monster roars out in an unnatural, shrill scream, contorting its form. The pull of the tentacle around Dretphi surges. The force travels through her and yanks Bach's helmet first into the translucent force field. In a spray of sparks and arcs, Bach holds his grip against the repeated impacts upon the crackling field, the golden barriers on his helm fracturing. Getting back on to her feet, Cideeda frantically searches the archway, her eyes darting between modules and nodes in vain. Sebastian darts off towards the monster, desperately trying to distract it. Many of the abomination's cybernetic, red eyes watch Sebastian. One maintains watch upon Dretphi.

Staring, Dretphi watches as Aristespha and Sotalia focus their energies and keep the force field from collapsing upon Bach's arm, smoke fuming off his burnt duster. She glances into Sotalia's gold on black eyes and the struggle apparent on her face. Her steely gray eyes follow Cideeda in a panic, trying to find something she can override on the archway. She listens to Sebastian spewing forth taunts and insults behind her, attempting to distract the beast. Her gaze settles upon Bach's flickering blue eyes behind his visor. Through a shattered golden barrier, she watches the steel of Bach's helmet heat up against the constant contact with the force field wall. Trembles sneak into Bach's grip. His muscles tense into strange definition and spasm from the unnatural magical augmentation. Smiling warmly to Bach, Dretphi grips hold her submachine gun with her free hand and closes her steely gray eyes sadly.

A chorus of mental terror blasts forth throughout Bach's mind. With blood chilling horror, he watches the scene about to play out. Gritting teeth, he unleashes a torrent of emotion from within and mutters loudly. "Gods. Damn. You. Isaac."

Opening her eyes towards the black mass monstrosity, Dretphi aims her submachine gun, dons a grimly stoic stare, and lets go of Bach's arm.

She doesn't move.

Stunned bewilderment snaps her glance back towards the outside world.

"FAMILIAR FLOW DETECTED."

Noticing the renewed, powerful grip upon her gauntlet covered arm, Dretphi gazes into the brilliantly glowing white eyes of Bach. She immediately snatches her grasp firmly back upon Bach's forearm. Flows white energy protectively coat around Bach and wisps sink into his body. Struggling with each word, Bach glances over to Aristespha and Sotalia and commands. "Save your strength... Will need... Your help to open the field for Dretphi... Wait for it..."

From Bach's powerfully clamped hand, threads of elder energy weave down Dretphi's arm, spreading out across her shoulders, and travel between her and the tightly wrapped, pulsating tentacle, enveloping her legs. Seconds later, Dretphi blinks in surprise, the tension upon her body fading, and eases out a relieved breath. A white matrix of energy flickers across her under armor suit and absorbs the pulling and crushing forces from the tentacle. Mustering a smirk, Bach slides his hand from the outer edge of the archway and presses his elder energy coated forearm against the barrier. Pushing against the arcing and crackling energy field with his elbow, he releases the straps of helmet, tears it off, and flings it clear. The helm rolls along the dirt, wisps of smoke trailing behind from a faintly orange-red glowing spot and flaking shards of golden magical energy. Supported sideways by the constant pull of the monster's tentacle, Bach slips up each of his elder energy coated knees up onto the powerful field, sparks and arcs erupting out with the sustained forceful contact.

Gazing at Dretphi, Bach braces himself against the force field, pulls his free arm back, and concentrates a surge of white energy in his hand. In a fountain of sparks, flames, and plasma, he drills his arm through the barrier. Opening his hand, Bach reaches for Dretphi's other arm, and Dretphi immediately grabs hold tight. Against the tugs and yanks of the enraged beast, Bach and Dretphi coordinate their grips, readying themselves. Sliding his knees up relatively underneath him, Bach positions his feet between him and the archway energy barrier. A massive surge of energy erupts throughout Bach's body, and he calls out. "OPEN IT NOW!"

Aristespha and Sotalia simultaneously cast their spell into the barrier, piercing a widening hole between Bach's arms. With muscle definition highlighted by magical energy flow, Bach dead lifts himself towards a standing position. Crackles of energy spew forth from the pressing contact between his boots and the fully powered energy barrier. Splatters of magically infused plasma rain upon the ground, sizzling upon the dirt and burning the grass. Bach stands up straighter, and Dretphi emerges from the widening hole. Putting forth all her strength, she climbs up Bach, both coordinating and changing grips help hoist her clear. Clearing the barrier, Dretphi curls her legs away, and Aristespha and Sotalia immediately release their spell.

The opening slams shut on the stretched, black tentacle. Still holding onto Dretphi, the thicken tendril powerfully wrenches against Bach and Dretphi and harshly yanks the two back towards the field. Bach grits teeth in a pained wince and stabilizes his foothold against the barrier upon flows of elder energy. Watching Bach struggling and Dretphi trying her best to get free, Cideeda bares her sharp canines and marches towards the force field. She pulls her shotgun into her hands, reaches into a large pocket on her vest, and retrieves a long metal shell with a sharp, pointy tip. Deftly loading it into the under-barrel of her shotgun, she calls out to Aristespha and Sotalia, motioning to a section of force field. "GIVE ME AN OPENING!"

Aristespha and Sotalia quickly exchange glances, summon their magical energies, and pry open a portal in the archway barrier. Cideeda quickly thrusts her shotgun through, leveling her aim towards the beast, and searches for the opportunity. In the fractions of a second, Cideeda studies the monster, the surroundings, and the small gaps in Bach's golden magical barrier. Many eyes pay attention to the distracting antics of Sebastian. Cideeda notices one lone cybernetic eye fully focused on Bach and Dretphi. Snarling her upper lip, she narrows her emerald eyed glare and shouts to Sebastian. "SEBASTIAN! Go for the eye at the bottom!"

Sebastian halts a moment, glances down to the solitary eye, and zips right in front of it. Summoning his fury, he unleashes a fiery radiance around his ethereal form. All of the beast's eyes pay attention to him. Cideeda pulls the trigger. The projectile launches forth from the under-barrel and rockets through the hallway. Slipping through a gap in the golden barrier, the heavy round flies straight underneath the center mass of the monster. It sticks perfectly into a floor tile. Cideeda yanks Aristespha and Sotalia down to the ground with her, yelling. "GET DOWN!"

A concussive wave of flame bursts out. The shockwave concentrates beneath the amorphous blob, launches its warping form up into the air, and slams the twisting mass in a thunderous splat against the ceiling plating. Cybernetic eye platforms scramble in chaotic orbits around the body, crashing into each other, and drift aimlessly across the featureless, dark surface. Tentacles reflexively deflate and retreat to the stunned center blob. The wave of concussive force vents through the many small gaps in the golden magical barrier, and the outer archway force field bulges slightly."

Bounced away, Dretphi and Bach free fall down to the ground.

An eerie silence floods the clearing. Second later, the sounds of nature return with the faint, muffled background din of a large mass quickly retreating, fading away. Dretphi stirs, blinking back to conscious thought. From her prone perspective, her steely gray eyes search the area in a confused daze. Lifting her head up slightly, she brushes her platinum blonde braids clear of her tan face and notices the strange, awkward gawks from Sebastian, Aristespha, Cideeda, and Sotalia. In her mental haze, she searches around for a missing team member. A strange sensation distracts her. Feeling a warm, moist flow of air alternating with a cooler draw of air upon the middle of her chest, he tilts her head downwards. She recognizes the familiar brown, white streaked hair on top of Bach's head, her under armored suited figure smothering his face entirely.

Blushing brightly, Dretphi swiftly pushes herself up off of Bach and immediately swings over to the side, granting him some room to breathe. With Aristespha rushing over, Dretphi quickly checks on him and awkwardly states fact. "He is... Breathing."

Aristespha maintains a professional demeanor and evaluates Bach's vitals. "Yes. I do believe he passed out from the strain and halting the flow of energy suddenly. He should wake up soon."

Minutes of investigations later, Bach stirs back to consciousness and groggily opens his eyes. Gazing out to the gathered team, he lifts his head up slowly, catches a glimpse of the archway, and immediately backpedals along the ground away from the entrance in a fearful reflex. The team shifts with him and settles back down, resting a bit. Flopping out upon the ground, Cideeda stares up at the clouds overhead and vents out all her stress into a wavering laugh. "Oh gods... I think that explosive round sent it... packing."

With hints of hope, Sebastian nervously chuckles. "Yeah. I think it did. The damned thing took off in the other direction after that hit. Hope it STAYS deep in that damned hole."

Propping himself up, Bach sniffs sharply through his nose and rubs the bridge out to the tip. Aristespha perks her brow curiously, inquiring. "Is there something wrong with your nose?"

Bach contorts his face, working out the perplexing discomfort, and ponders out loud. "I, uh... Not really? I mean, it's not broken or anything. Just feels a bit off... or something."

Glancing around to the rest of the team, he pulls on his nose. "Like it got pushed to the side... By something... Soft? I don't know how to describe it. But, I think I'll be fine."

He gazes over to Dretphi and smiles apologetically. "I guess I must have bumped into you, Dretphi, when we fell down? You okay?"

Dretphi blinks briefly, presents a tight smile, averting her gaze, and nods quickly. "Oh. Uh. Yes."

Aristespha maintains her professional exterior, eyeing Sebastian into silence. Sotalia pivots away covering her mouth, suppresses the chuckling snort fighting to escape, and narrows her humored gold on black eyes at Dretphi. Concentrating a stoic glare firmly upon Sotalia, Dretphi fails to hide the embarrassment slipping through into her slightly red cheeks.

-65-

From the long set sun, a gentle cast of purple radiates into the living room of the ranch style house. The soft ambient drone of domestic convenience looms in the air. The refrigerator's compressor kicks on. The rush of wind filters through the vents of the wall mounted air conditioner just above the couch. And, the vertical blinds hanging in front of the sliding glass door wave gently. Behind the kitchen door, light, muffled rumbles of machinery rattle, the sectioned metal panels of the garage door opening. With a swift turn of the knob, the door swings quickly open, gusting away a few specs of dirt under a nearby cabinet. Stepping in, Sotalia tilts her head back in a dramatic wave of relief and spreads her arms out. "Oh gods... So good to be back here..."

She moves through the kitchen area, slides out a dining room chair, and plops down. Blinking her gold on black eyes, she rolls her neck in a stretch, slacking her shoulders, and relaxes upon the seat. "Dessert may have been a bit too much..."

Cracking a sly smirk from the corner of her mouth, she glances off to the side. "BUT... I think I earned THAT much."

Cideeda walks across the kitchen floor, faints clicks from her claws upon the tilework tapping out. Sighing out her relief, she loosens her body suit and quickly rounds the table into the hallway. "I'm calling first shower! Need to wash the funk of this mission off of me."

With a few sniffs, she scrunches up her nose and grimaces. "Gods. Surprised no one said anything at the Pancake Shed."

Sotalia rolls her eyes playfully and smiles dismissively. "Oh, you were FINE. I think Rekeeka and the rest of the staff could tell we had a rough enough day."

Nodding, Aristespha climbs the steps from the garage, turns around inside the kitchen, and smiles encouragingly to Bach. "Your muscles are going to be VERY sore. While I detected no significant damage, thankfully, you still have put your body through tremendous strain. It will need to heal through its own processes."

Bach winces in a mix of sharp pain and frustration, bracing himself against the door frame. Gritting his teeth with each foot step, he manages to travel up the short stairs into the kitchen, Dretphi behind at the ready. He stands idly, the soreness radiating throughout his body, and settles a worn gaze at Aristespha. "Yeah... It's REALLY starting to feel like I did a week of workouts in one day. Ow..."

Sniffing up a short, pained breath, he eases out a slowly exhale. "Gods. Man, I didn't realize I had muscles in so many places... And how badly they could all ache."

Aristespha smirks sympathetically, nodding understandingly, and swiftly moves towards the hallway. "Give me a moment. I have a potion that will help soothe your muscles and should boost your natural healing."

Plodding ahead through the kitchen gradually, Bach vainly tries to work out the aches in his body, grimacing during the process. "At this point... Ow... I mean, I'll try anything. Because, I think it's going to feel a whole lot worse before it gets better."

Dretphi brushes off her under armor suit and glances at the remaining armor plates stacked on the garage floor. She keeps close to Bach, slowly walking. "Do you need help?"

With hints of embarrassment, Bach smiles appreciatively and braces himself upon one of the dining chairs. "Uh... I mean... I think I should be good. But, I wouldn't mind someone keeping me from falling flat on my face. Legs are getting real sore and stiff. Thought I was doing okay when we were eating, but..."

Fluttering his eyes, he shakes his head slowly. "It's all hitting me now."

Aristespha arrives from the hallway, presents a vial to Bach, and meets his eyes. "This is a particularly potent potion, and it WILL cause drowsiness. So, I would not take it until you are ready to go to bed for the night."

Grasping the glass container from Aristespha, Bach observes the colorful, shifting mix inside, curiously tilting it around. "Oh. Okay."

Sebastian's ethereal form materializes next to Aristespha, and he studies the vial in Bach's hand. His translucent blue eyes widen briefly, and he chuckles with an amused smirk. "Oh, THAT stuff. Yeah, that stuff is pretty powerful. Drowsiness is an understatement, bro. It hits me pretty hard."

Bach squints at the concoction, blinking the fatigue out of his blue eyes, and barely shrugs his shoulders. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind going to bed early. Yeah... It's been quite the day, and my fun bucket is really fucking full right now."

Managing a hearty chuckle, he winces, his arm covering his side. "Ow... Yeah, I'm going to bed. That sounds really good."

Bach stiffly steps ahead. Aristespha catches Dretphi's attention and nods to her. "I will have a similar potion for you in a few minutes."

Dretphi nods thankfully, staying behind Bach with her hands ready to catch him. Grimacing with each step down the hallway's hardwood floors, Bach plays off the aches, lightly laughing. "Hey. I know how I'm feeling. But, how are you holding up?"

Deliberating her response, Dretphi smirks slightly and perks an amused brow. "Stretched thin."

Bach reflexively snorts in a laugh, holds his stomach, and shakes his head slowly. "Ow. Nicely put."

Opening the door, he plods slowly into the room. He sheds off his scorched duster onto the floor, stands next to his bed, and plops himself down upon the mattress. A long sigh of relief escapes him, and he closes his eyes briefly. "Gods... What a day..."

Dretphi slowly nods agreement, crossing her arms, and quietly thinks to herself in the quiet moment. Bach blinks his eyes open, carefully sits himself up, and gazes over to Dretphi, hints of concern in his voice. "Hey... You doing okay?"

Snapping back to attention, Dretphi glances over with a warm smile and uncertainly rocks her head of platinum blonde braids side to side. "I will need to... process... today."

Bach sighs and musters up an awkward grin back. "Yeah. Definitely going to need to think through all this. Soon... Not before getting some sleep, though."

He lifts the potion from Aristespha up in front of him, unscrews the cap, and sniffs the vial. "Let's see how hard this stuff really hits."

Tilting the small bottle back, he quaffs down the liquid, grimacing briefly at the taste. He screws the lid back on and sets it down upon the nightstand. "Well... That was... NOT tasty..."

With a light chuckle, Dretphi smiles warmly. Catching a stray thought in her mind, she inquires. "I have a question."

Bach settles back down upon the bed, slowly stretching out upon the top, and rests his head on the pillow, gazing over to Dretphi. "Okay. What's the question?"

Pondering out her query cautiously, Dretphi watches Bach, hunting for a reaction. "Why did you not blast the beast with energy? Would it not have been simpler?"

Blinking in surprise, Bach sheepishly grins. "Well... Yeah... But..."

He averts his eyes briefly. "I didn't want to... Let you go."

Sighing deeply, he lays out his thoughts, fighting off a yawn. "To be honest... I barely had anything under control. If I was going to do anything with what I had, I wanted to make sure you were safe. It may have not been the optimal solution... But, it's the one I know I could live with."

Dretphi blinks in genuine surprise, bows her head down, and speaks warmly. "Thank you. Bach."

Bach briefly opens his eyes against the drowsiness, yawns, and smiles. "You're welcome. You're worth it. Just forgive me if I'm... Not eager to run laps anytime... Soon..."

A faint blush of pink fills Dretphi's cheeks. Mulling over a thought quietly, she lifts her head up, starting to open her mouth. A snore halts her. In a moment of confusion, she studies the sleeping Bach. Seconds later, she smirks and giggles quietly to herself. Stepping over to the end of the bed, she grabs hold of Bach's boot and gently tugs upon it. Bach stirs briefly in slumber, muttering incoherently. Dretphi pulls and shakes a bit harder. Bach's fatigue secures his slumber, and he only squirms a bit in defiance. Furrowing her intrigued, tan brow, Dretphi gazes over Bach and sighs with a kind smile. She curiously eyes Bach, unstraps his boots loose, and pulls the footwear off. With Bach sleeping, Dretphi contemplates the bed covers underneath the sleeping man, narrowing her steely gray eyes. She carefully rolls Bach onto his side, tucks the sheets under, and guides him back over. With a swift sweep, she drapes the covers over Bach and tucks him in.

Gazing at the slumbering Bach, Dretphi gently brushes his longer brown hair out of his face, holds her hand upon his beard-covered cheek, and watches him gently snore. She softly pats his face, smiles warmly, and steps quietly on her under armor covered feet out of the room. With a flick of the light switch, she pulls the door closed and walks down the wood floor hallway. Sebastian's ethereal form drifts down the passage, and he smirks humored. "Let me guess, it hit him hard, too?"

Dretphi nods simply, smirking. "Yes. In minutes."

Grinning with the knowledge, Sebastian laughs softly. "Knew it."

His gaze grows more serious, and he meets Dretphi's eyes. "Hey. Just wanted to ask how you are feeling. It was quite the day for all of us. Especially you."

Frowning momentarily, Dretphi sighs and musters up a partial smile. "I will need to process it all."

Sebastian nods understandingly, placing his hands on his sides. "Yeah... I know how THAT goes. Just remember, we're all here for you. And, you shouldn't think twice about asking any of us for help. We'll do what we can."

An appreciative full smile emerges upon Dretphi, and she acknowledges thankfully. "I know. Thank you."

A sly grin creeps out from the corner of Sebastian's mouth, and he points his thumb over his shoulder towards the archway into the living area. "Now... The other reason I'm here is that Sotalia is mixing up some drinks and wanted to know if you wanted to partake."

Dretphi's steely gray eyes light up, and she nods eagerly. Sebastian leads the way, Dretphi following.

----

Slipping through the windows, faint traces of very early morning glow barely contrast against the cold, looming darkness of the bedroom. The outline of an armor stand with an incomplete suit of plating momentarily emerges from the uncomfortable, silent shadows. Dretphi's steely gray eyes stare widely out into the void around, and she struggles to calm her breathing down. Tossing and turning on her bed, she settles herself into a workable enough position and concentrates on relaxing her tensed body. She mutters comforting logic to herself in grath. She slowly allows her fatigue to guide her into slumber. She drifts off. Her mind kicks her body abruptly awake. Eyes wide in sudden panic, she pants, resting a hand on her pounding heart. Frustration and fear surge up into a teary mess upon her tan, tired face. Sniffing, she rolls over to her side, tightly clenches the sheets, and trembles, her eyes darting between the chaos in her head. She struggles for any kind of calm moment, the night surrounding isolating her further into her own frantic, desperate state.

A light flicks on out in the hallway and beams into the room from underneath the bedroom door. Bach's muffled, grumbling voice complains. "...fucking... bright bathroom light..."

The glow dims, and another door closes to the hallway. Wrapped in the sheets, Dretphi sits up on bed and stares longingly at the illumination pushing away the surrounding darkness.

Bach opens the bathroom door, steps out into the hallway, and turns around stiffly, fumbling for the light switch. Mid rotation, he notices Dretphi peeking out from behind her door and pauses. Blinking to some awareness, he sighs and apologetically waves. "Hey. Sorry if I woke you there."

Dretphi shakes her head and smiles. "No. It is okay. I was... awake. Why are you up?"

With a slow, careful shrug of the shoulders, Bach awkwardly grins. "Well... Going to bed early threw off my sleep schedule a bit. And..."

Rolling his blue eyes, he smirks with a faint snort. "Well, I just can't convince myself to go back to sleep. Aching muscles and all..."

He gazes at Dretphi curiously, cocking his head curiously. "What are you doing awake at this hour?"

Dretphi briefly grits her teeth, glances away hesitantly, and fights an avoidant urge. Pausing in thought, she gazes at Bach, opening her bedroom door more. "Yesterday will not leave my mind."

Bach frowns slightly, pondering a moment, and nods with a similar sentiment. "Yeah... Me too. Honestly. Thoughts are really what's keeping me awake right now."

The two share a silent minute. Bach thinks to himself. Dretphi wanders off into her head, idly fidgeting with her pajama shirt and shorts. Cracking a smirk, Bach glances over to Dretphi and motions towards the living area archway. "Hey, um... You want to join me and watch some terrible early morning TV? I figured something mindless to watch would be nice, right now. And, I might be more comfortable in the couch chair."

A smile grows on Dretphi's tired face, and she nods thankfully. "Yes."

Bach maneuvers rigidly towards the living room with Dretphi following along behind. The two plod over in front of the television. Snagging the remote off the coffee table, Bach wanders towards the recliner. Dretphi settles along the length of the couch, resting her head on the side next to the recliner. She adjusts a couch pillow underneath her head, sinking into the cushions. Bach eases himself into the chair and glances over to Dretphi curiously. "By the way, did you take my boots off and tuck me in?"

Dretphi blinks in surprise and awkwardly twists her mouth. "Yes. You fell asleep. Could not wake you easily. Did what I could."

Nodding, Bach reclines back and points the remote towards the screen. "Oh, okay. Thank you. Was trying to figure THAT out. Man... That stuff knocked me right out."

With the press of a button on the remote, the television flips on. Lowering the volume, Bach flips through the many channels of early morning broadcasts. One show contrasts the rest of the entertainment wasteland.

"Next up on Relic Roadshow, famous and infamous episodes marathon..."

Glancing over to Dretphi, Bach lifts a curious eyebrow. "You okay with Relic Roadshow?"

Dretphi tilts her head up, directing her voice softly. "Yes."

The two settle their attention towards the screen, watching items of strange antiquity get evaluated to unexpected prices. Arrogance earns the reward of embarrassingly low values, and humble people realize their unexpected treasures. A sleep deprived, humored Dretphi blurts out softly. "Cannot be worth... much..."

Blinking slowly and fighting off a yawn, Bach smirks, furrowing his brow. "I don't know. I mean... we've seen some real garbage get a decent price."

Dretphi hums in modest agreement, letting her eyes close, and settles into the couch more. Bach stifles a snort and quips at the appraised value appearing on the screen. "Really? Huh."

Groggily opening her eyes, Dretphi glances to the screen, noting the final price. She drifts her gaze over to Bach in the recliner, smiles tired, warmly, and eases her head back on the pillow. "Surprising..."

Closing her eyes fully, she allows herself to relax. Minutes later, the end credits for the episode scroll on the television. In the intermission, Bach turns his gaze over to Dretphi and watches her lay quietly. He slowly folds up the recliner, lifts himself up, and stiffly walks as silently as possible through the archway into the hallway. Dretphi cracks an eye open and listens to Bach's mumbling. Bach searches through a linen closet in the hallway, squinting in the low light. Seconds later, he returns with two blankets in hand. He tosses one over to the recliner and opens up the other. Slowly and cautiously, Bach maneuvers around the coffee table, flaps the blanket open, and glides the cover over Dretphi. He pulls the corners around for maximum coverage. Shuffling around the coffee table, he eases back over to the recliner. He grabs the blanket, settles back into the chair, and covers himself. Squirming into the cushioned recliner, he resumes watching Relic Roadshow.

Dretphi stirs slightly. Her hand grips hold of the cover, and she snuggles up in the blanket, soon drifting off into slumber with a content smile.

----

The tall, thin Captain Hackle walks thoughtfully, his arms behind his back, and studies the archway barrier sealing off the large entrance at the perimeter of the circular clearing. Pausing a moment, he notices the morning sun and glances over to Sergeant Violet with a calm smirk, lifting an intrigued eyebrow. "So, what is the situation at the present?"

Sergeant Violet flips through a clipboard of paperwork and narrows her dark blue eyes at a few key entries in a collection of notes. "The facility containment force field is still active, after reactivation. Current readings indicate that it seems to be maintaining strength at the moment. But, minor fluctuations have been detected. The adventuring team's report detailed the state of the facility..."

Furrowing her brow, she flicks a brief glance ahead through the archway, into the darkness beyond. "And the hostile creature within."

Captain Hackle nods, pondering further with each step towards the gathering of Greater Azure Alliance specialists a distance from the shielded facility entrance. Sergeant Violet follows dutifully alongside Hackle, spots a familiar lanky, half-emin man, and calls out to him. "SPECIALIST THAYAL! Status report!"

Nearly twisting himself back around, Specialist Thayal pivots abruptly and salutes Sergeant Violet. "Gods fu- Yes! Sergeant! Barrier is still stable. We have done initial scouting of the area and have not found any other entrances given current knowledge of the structure. A team has been dispatched to use ground penetrating radar and survey magics to properly map out the extent of the structure. We are maintaining a safe distance for now."

Captain Hackle glances over to Sergeant Violet with a humored smirk and settles his inquiring gaze upon Specialist Thayal. "Good to hear. Any sightings of the creature?"

Specialist Thayal contorts his tan and gray face and uncertainly grimaces, eyeing over towards the facility's archway barrier. "Nothing confirmed. A few of us believe we saw movement beyond that second golden magical barrier, but... It's been hard to get a good visual going through the force field and that magic barrier."

Pausing in thought, he narrows a curious glance at Captain Hackle and inquires. "Captain, is this the same adventuring group from that one cybernetic research base a few months ago?"

With a smile, Captain Hackle nods calmly and chuckles, stepping purposefully closer towards the archway barrier. "Yes, it is. And, I see they've left another quite impressive feat of their handiwork behind."

Disappointment washes over Specialist Thayal, and mild annoyance appears. "Yeah... THAT is going to take some doing to remove, Captain. It looks way more involved than that last barrier we pulled off."

Flipping through a few pages of notes, Sergeant Violet quickly skims over a section of a report and directs her voice towards Captain Hackle. "Captain. It says here they constructed the barrier as a means of sealing off the creature long enough to explore other more permanent options. They did not know at the time that the facility's systems were going to try to reactivate the archway force field, or even if that was a possibility. They had to evacuate quickly, but felt they needed to make efforts for containment due to the dangerous nature of the creature."

Captain Hackle's brown eyes narrow upon a warping mass in the darkness, and he sneers his upper lip, curling his graying mustache. Focusing through the outer energy field, he aims his gaze through an opening in the golden magical barrier. His posture stiffens to a rigid, straight and readied stance. With a cool and stern tone to both Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal, he frowns sharply. "I think we would be wise to leave that barrier in place for now..."

Sergeant Violet and Specialist Thayal visibly notice the dramatic shift in the Captain's tone. Both quickly snap their attention towards the strange, distant movement in the unnatural darkness past the golden barrier. Around the furthest gentle bend, a black mass briefly contrasts against the cyclic red glow of emergency lights. An array of pinpoint crimson eyes peer out, down the long corridor, gliding along the featureless body of the beast. Behind Captain Hackle, Sergeant Violet, and Specialist Thayal, a number of other military personnel spot the creature. Tension floods through the area. Mages ready themselves and soldiers draw their weapons. Two heavily armored, three meter tall mechs stomp into place, access panels closing up and armor surrounding each pilot in protective layering. Both of the robotic suits raise their arm mounted weaponry, awaiting further orders.

The creature's form warps and undulates vaguely. Its eyes retreat from view along with its black spherical mass. A minute later, Captain relaxes his posture and exhales a long sigh of relief, slowly shaking his head. Pivoting around, he clears his throat and calls out. "Stand down! It's not looking for a fight, right now. Let us hope it keeps it that way."

He gazes over to Sergeant Violet and instructs with a calm demeanor. "Please coordinate a rotating watch. Until we have the facility externally mapped, I want to make sure there's a mage, technician, and someone in a mech ready to act..."

Sneering his upper lip, he narrows a cold stare into the corridor beyond the barriers. "In case it decides it wants that fight."

Sergeant Violet nods quickly, salutes Captain Hackle, and dashes off to the other troops. "Yes, Captain!"

Captain Hackle ponders a moment and calls out to Sergeant Violet. "And, tell the drivers to get the trucks with mounted guns up here. Even if it means clearing out a path through the woods. We may need such for larger equipment anyway."

Sergeant Violet swiftly acknowledges the orders. Turning to Specialist Thayal, Captain Hackle inquires with a determined tone. "Thayal. We did restock the explosive rounds for the auto cannons on the mechs, correct?"

With a confident smirk, Specialist Thayal nods quickly. "Oh. YES, Captain."

Captain Hackle stands up straight, a grin creeping out of the corner of his mouth, and narrows his glare towards the darkness deeper within the facility. "GOOD. Tell the crews to load up both mechs with those rounds. And, if you run into the explosives crew before I do, send them my way. I need to have a selective conversation with them."

Frowning slightly, he twists his graying mustache to either side of his face. "As much as the higher ups would like access to what is in there... I'd much prefer to keep what terrors sealed in there permanently."

----

In the dining area of the two-story house, both Deedri and Tassilda sort through magical reagents and other supplies upon the table. Inventorying items, Deedri's furry ear perks over towards the sound of another message chime from Tassilda's aetherphone. At the earliest convenience, Tassilda pauses from her task and grabs hold of her aetherphone off the tabletop. Flips through a few menus, she begins to tap out a response in a messenger application. A smile appears on her gray face, rereading the paragraph and double-checking her own reply. Deedri sets aside her work for the moment, gazes over to Tassilda with a sly smile, and inquires. "So... How's Daedrican doing?"

Blinking in surprise, Tassilda glances up from her phone to Deedri, biting her lower lip with hints of embarrassment. "Oh... Um... He's set to be released. He'll be back with the Chrome Crusaders on light duty for a while, until he fully recovers. It sounds like a bunch of paperwork filing and doing inventory."

Deedri smiles happily, wagging her long, fluffy tail. "That's great news! I'm sure he'll be happy to get back to work. Did he mention when the group will be heading out?"

A tinge of sadness darkens Tassilda's mood, and she sighs with a slight slump of her shoulders. "This coming Saturday. He says they've got another patrol run to do along the side routes leading towards Hattan. They're finishing up repairs on equipment right now, and he's the last one they are waiting on to be released."

Noticing Tassilda's shift in demeanor, Deedri leans over with a scheming grin, whispering close. "You know... I could stand to stock up on some more supplies from the clinic. Would you like to join me next time I go?"

Tassilda's face lights up with an appreciative smile, and she flutters her light blue on black eyes with an eager nod. "Why, of course! How could I turn down such an offer?"

Settling back in her seat with a grin, Deedri returns to sorting through medical supplies, clawtips flicking through packets. "Good. I'll make a list and convince Chad to drive us out tomorrow then. You can assist me with properly transporting supplies..."

Rolling her auburn eyes playfully, she smirks. "After an hour or two of deliberating what to specifically get."

Over in the living room through the archway, Chad sits on the couch and studies a number of documents out on the coffee table. Slowly shaking his head, he visibly processes the flurry of information from schedules, itineraries, and other lists of lodging. "For a resort retreat... This is.... RIDICULOUSLY complicated... And demanding."

Veevi stretches out on the couch next to Chad, groaning dismissively, and lounges playfully. "Tell me about it! Are we ever going to get a chance to actually enjoy the resort?! GODS! It just seems like we're running around from one appearance to another with no break in between. Then, we have to patrol around..."

Rolling her pink pupil eyes back, she grunts in disgust. "Ungh..."

Modoran scans over the paperwork, nodding, and ponders out loud. "This is just the resort trying to minimize problems. I get the feeling they have hosted THIS ordeal a few times. They know who exactly they are dealing with."

Furrowing his brow, Chad glances up to Modoran, puzzling over the comment. "So... Uh... What makes you say that?"

Sitting down on the floor across from Chad at the coffee table, Modoran points out a few evuukian names and room assignments, tapping out on matching floor maps. "They are TRYING to keep all the main houses separated into all the different sections. But..."

He points over to another resort layout, circling a large section. "They have also placed them in areas where they should have large enough spas and hot spring pools nearby. That way they won't be inclined to split up and wander off in smaller groups."

Placing a dusky, bluish gray hand down, he rotates the map, comparing it to another list of evuukian names, and gradually nods. "Oh, yeah... They know who they are dealing with. They have put the infamous drinkers close to small side lounges with bars, so they don't have far to stumble to get back to their rooms. They are also setting up extra staff to be at the ready to escort people back to their rooms."

Arranging papers for his point of view, he studies more of the room assignments, humming to himself, and mutters out a few names, contemplating. "They have done a good enough job. BUT... I can see there are going to be a few problem areas we may need to keep watch over."

Chad blinks in surprise at Modoran, leans over, and inspects the documents under Modoran's scrutiny. "Really? Why?"

Modoran sighs, gritting his teeth, and rolls his dark blue eyes, grumbling out his frustrations. "Well... These two smaller houses just had a big trade deal go really sour between them. So, neither side is exactly in the forgiving mood. I don't think they would fight over it, in the open at least. BUT... I doubt it would take much if they had a few drinks in them, and found a spot where they knew no one was looking."

Narrowing his gaze upon Modoran from his seat in a couch chair, Trakenthin studies the information upon the table top. "Our schedules are not forgiving. We could patrol that spot. There would still be large time gaps."

Modoran scratches his chin thoughtfully, deliberating the situation quietly in the moment, and taps out a spot on the room assignments. "THIS might be a solution. Let's see if the resort can switch these rooms around. I know THIS guy. Both those small houses have been wanting to get on his good side for YEARS."

Glancing around between Trakenthin and Chad, Modoran smirks slyly. "SO... I really doubt they would want to cause too much trouble near his room and look like complete dumbasses in front of him. Also, he might like being further away from the rest of his house at the moment."

Slowly shaking his head, Chad stares at the mass of information before him on the coffee table and directs his curious tone towards Modoran. "I'll see if they can manage that. So, I mean... How do you know about all this?"

Modoran shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, analyzing the schedules and squinting with new mental notes. "Well, I worked in the service industry for a long time to make ends meet. When you get big conventions or meet ups like this, you have to factor in EVERYTHING to keep it as peaceful as possible. Otherwise, you are just setting yourself up for total fucking disaster. Not something you want to be known for if you are expecting to get repeat customers."

Chad nods gradually, furrowing his brow impressed, and cocks his head to the side, lifting an eyebrow. "I see. But, how do you know about all the Evuukian politics going on right now? I didn't think you were that close to any of those houses."

Modoran's dark blue eyes spring wide open momentarily out of sight of everyone else, and he hides a reflexive grit of the teeth. Presenting his usual casual demeanor, he plays off the question. "Oh, that? It is kind of hard to NOT hear about all that stuff. There are scandals after scandals that hit the evuukian news networks, ALL the time. You can't browse big news aethersites without seeing some article talking about the latest incident between houses."

Veevi's fuzzy ears perk up, and she reaches out for the nearby remote. "Oh! That reminds me. That new evuukian drama is coming on."

Pondering Modoran's answer, Chad nods in agreement, studying the paperwork further. "Yeah... I can see that. If they're making shows about it, then it must be pretty commonplace."

Modoran awkwardly smiles, briefly nods, and points out another possible issue on the room assignment map. Trakenthin examines the general layout of the resort, mulling over some areas. A knock sounds out from the front door behind him. Pausing a moment, Trakenthin sits up and glances over to the door. He meets the puzzled gazes of everyone else, stands up, and walks towards the door. Veevi twists her mouth and tosses her pink hair back. "Did someone order anything?

Chad shakes his head, watching the front door. "No. I don't think so. But, that reminds me, we do need to think about what to do for dinner."

Stepping up to the door, Trakenthin places his hand on the door knob and freezes for a moment. He shakes off an odd sensation, turns the handle, and pulls open the door inwards. Standing just outside the door, an older grath man stands waiting outside. Similar in height to Trakenthin, the grath man turns slowly around and smirks proudly. Trakenthin's hazel eyes open wide, and he recognizes the graying variant of his dirty blonde hair on the man. Staring at the similar dark bronze skin face of the older grath, he remains speechless for moments. The older man greets Trakenthin with a friendly grath greeting. Shock and sheer confusion hide behind Trakenthin's stoic facade, and he notices the teams of camera crews lining up recording equipment for the perfect shot of the developing scene. A few moments later, Trakenthin forces an uncomfortable smirk upon his face and returns the greeting awkwardly. The grath man chuckles slightly, shrugs his shoulders, and gazes right at Trakenthin. "It has been a long time."

Trakenthin slowly, stiffly nods, and meekly replies. "Yes. It has."

The grath man glances around, peers inside, and presents a stoic lift of the chin. "May I come in?"

Pausing in thought and tightly clenching the door knob out of sight, Trakenthin draws in a long breath of air and simply states. "Yes..."

He steps back and aside, allowing the grath man to come in. The man surveys the room, and Trakenthin closes the door shut, releasing a quiet, nervous sigh. The rest of the team's attention snaps over to the new person in the house, and they gaze curiously, expectantly at the grath man. Standing up from the couch, Chad walks towards Trakenthin and the man, puzzling the situation. "Well, we weren't expecting company. Um, Trakenthin, who is this?"

Trakenthin stands next to the man, glances over briefly, and settles his gaze out into the room, with a calming breath. "This is my... Birth father..."

The rest of the group's interest piques with the new arrival, and they get up to greet Trakenthin's father. Trakenthin stands by, quietly, a nervous tremor sneaking into his hand, and he remains stoic and amicable.

----

Relaxing in a recliner, the elderly, well-dressed Dr. Dawkins stares distantly out onto the evening skyline and eases out a long sigh. His green eyes wander around the room of artifacts, awards, and photographs upon the walls and shelves. Idly tapping his fingers on a half-full glass of brown liquor, he slowly frowns, wandering into his own thoughts. Minutes passing by, his expression saddens further with the conclusion of each chain of thought. A knock soft echoes out from his front door, and he cocks his head slightly. Briefly he focuses his stare towards the sound, quickly searching his mind, and squints at an empty Tuesday spot on a wall calendar. Another series of polite knocks tap out upon the front door.

Dr. Dawkins tugs the corner of mouth, perks up his brow, and eases himself up. Walking initially stiff into the nicely decorated dining room, he steps into a cozy entry room with a fireplace, and stands at the front door. He closes one eye and peers through the peephole, seeking who is on the other side. Pausing in surprise, he pulls his aged face away from the peephole, blinking dumbfounded. He flips a nearby light switch, and focuses through the lens to the other side of the door again. His jaw drops agape. Standing up straight, he stares blankly. "My gods..."

With a series of well rehearsed motions, he undoes the small security chain, unlocks the deadbolt, and opens the door. Isaac greets Dr. Dawkins with a pleasant smile and bows slightly, adjusting his blue scarf against the wind. "Sorry to drop by so unexpectedly, but I didn't have time to send a proper advance notice."

Dr. Dawkins stares at Isaac for a few moments, dons a short grin, and chuckles to himself. "My gods... Isaac. What an unexpected, though welcomed surprise! Please come in, my friend."

With a little reservation, Isaac smirks, glances around, and steps inside. "Thank you."

Dr. Dawkins directs Isaac inside with a delighted smile and pats him on the shoulder. "I told you that you may darken my doorstep any time. You will always be a friend to me and welcome in my home."

Isaac steps in, a slight frown appearing on his face, and gazes over to Dr. Dawkins. "I really do appreciate the sentiment. I just didn't know if... The invitation was still valid after all these years. And, after all that I've done during them."

With a firm squeeze on Isaac's shoulder, Dr. Dawkins stares right into Isaac's gray eyes and narrows his gaze briefly. "I've come to be more aware of your activities as of late... As have some others. Admittedly, I've had my suspicions for quite some time. But... Right now..."

He smirks reassuringly. "All I see is Isaac Huxley, my old friend. And, someone I wouldn't mind sharing an evening drink with."

A bright, gracious smile appears on Isaac's face, and he nods thankfully towards his friend. "Thank you, again, Dr. Dawkins."

A similar grin appears on Dr. Dawkins, and he steps more energetically, leading Isaac through the house towards the living room. "Gods almighty, there is so much catching up we have to do. You ARE going to stay awhile are you?"

Blinking to attention, Isaac quirks an eyebrow towards Dr. Dawkins. "You certain about that? I mean, if you know exactly what I've done over the years... I wouldn't want to impose upon you..."

Dr. Dawkins slowly shakes his head and scoffs with a curl of his upper lip. "Bah. Impose all you want. No one bothers me out here. I've got a spare bedroom with a wonderful view of the backyard, a fine desk, and a recently purchased bed."

With a snort, Isaac chuckles and shakes his head. "So, you finally got rid of those antiquities?"

Nodding his head, he laughs and grins with a sarcastic edge, directing Isaac to another recliner in the room. "Yes, I finally realized there are some museum pieces not worth curating."

He settles down into his recliner, glances over to Isaac, and rolls his eyes at himself. "Truth be told, I was sitting around one day pondering about random things, and damned if it didn't dawn on me to do the math. Once I figured out how many years I had those things, I just couldn't really bring myself to lay on them anymore."

Setting up another glass next to Isaac on the small table between the recliners, he laughs and shakes his head with a bit of embarrassment. "Gods, I really should have done it years ago. Those new beds are so much nicer on my aging back."

Isaac supports his glass, and Dr. Dawkins pours a healthy portion of brown liquor in. Topping his glass up, Dr. Dawkins rests the bottle down and picks the drink up. Isaac lifts his glass up. The two clink glasses together and share long sips of the alcohol. They quietly stare out at the evening light through the windows, sharing a few minutes of silence. With a sly grin, Dr. Dawkins glances over and hoists up an intrigued eyebrow. "So... The fateful question... What ever brings you back to these parts?"

Postponing his response with a long swig of liquor, Isaac deliberates the query upon his face and hums in thought. "Well, to be perfectly honest, I recently encountered a strange, unexpected turn of events... That left me reconsidering how I was approaching things. And, I felt I needed to consult someone I felt was wiser than me."

Dr. Dawkins snorts out his amusement, furrowing his quizzical stare at Isaac, and frowns slightly, gazing back out into the evening skyline. "You are more than welcome to what wisdom I may still have, but it is quite ever full of doubt these days."

Isaac narrows his concerned gaze at Dr. Dawkins and settles his white haired head against the back of the recliner. "You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. I have said it before, and I will say it again. Orth Ridge was NOT your fault."

A regretful wince creases Dr. Dawkins' face, the glints of tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "I truly do appreciate the sentiment, especially coming from you. But, gods, I have not been able to find it in me to bring forgiveness to myself. Haven't been as sure of myself since, either."

A sad expression washes over Isaac, and he pours a long swing of alcohol down his throat. Dr. Dawkins hems and dons a mild, hopeful smile to Isaac. "But, it has humbled me greatly and tempered my opinions. I've certainly learned to be whole lot less judgmental of anyone's methods. Just do not feel like I am really of any authority to question them."

Isaac cracks a smirk, slightly shrugs his shoulders, and nods understandingly. "Well... The truly tragic are the ones who gain no wisdom from their adversities."

The two men peacefully sip on their liquor in silence for a few minutes and idly think quietly. Isaac breaks the quiet with the main topic. "So, I've come here for your help on a few matters."

Dr. Dawkins steadies his drink, perking up a white eyebrow, and smirks intrigued. "I figured as much. And with most matters, I will be happy to assist. But, I am not the big mover and shaker I used to be with the Grand Library. Still..."

He curls a faint smirk from the corner of his mouth. "I do have a few favors I need to cash in before they go too stale. So... You may as well benefit from them."

Isaac smiles appreciatively and nods with a lift of his glass. "You are ever so kind. Unfortunately, there might be one thing that could prove a bit too difficult for even the both of us."

An inquisitive grin warms on Dr. Dawkins, and he narrows an intrigued gaze towards Isaac. "OH. Really? Now whatever would that happen to be?"

Twisting his mouth, Isaac calmly replies with a bit of reservation in his tone, gauging Dr. Dawkins' reaction. "WHERE Dr. Malkav is?"

Dr. Dawkins' green eyes spring wide open, and he cocks his head back, staring curiously at Isaac. "Good gods... NOW, you have my intrigue. Why ever do you want to find that crazy old bastard for?"

A sly grin appears on Isaac, and he chuckles out his amusement. "What if I told you, that crazy old bastard... Was RIGHT."

Slowly sitting upright in his recliner, Dr. Dawkins rests his drink down on the table between and focuses an intense gaze upon Isaac. "NOW... You have my full attention. I do hope you are not playing some elaborate joke at my expense."

Isaac meets Dr. Dawkins' attention with an excited smile and his face lights up. "What if I told you I have PROOF that there IS a way..."

An examining stare analyzes Isaac's face, and Dr. Dawkins cocks his head to the side in genuine wonder and academic excitement. "Well... I certainly would hope you wouldn't keep me waiting, and present such evidence before me."

Resting his drink on the table, Isaac leans himself off the recliner and stands up from it. He smiles eagerly and nods. "Of course not. I have that particular evidence in my car. It might take some time to fully explain the significance, but it's a fascinating process I learned from a very bright future prospect for the Grand Library."

Dr. Dawkins quickly rises up from his chair, steadies himself, and follows Isaac, the two heading towards the front door. "I am a retired man. I have got a frustrating surplus of idle time I would love to find a good use for."

A new excited energy sparking youthful life in Isaac's eyes, he opens the front door. "Well, then you might be quite interested in a few of my other notes and unpublished discoveries."

Waving a finger at Isaac, Dr. Dawkins grins slyly at him, the two approaching his car. "Gods almighty, I am so glad you finally came here. I do hope you are planning to stay for at least a week or more."

He points over towards one of the doors in a large garage and motions Isaac to it. "Let me get the garage door open, so you can hide your car in there. That way we can take our time tonight and however long we need."

Furrowing his brow, Isaac stands next to his sedan and laughs, scratching his head of white and gray hair. "Well, I didn't mean to completely upset your schedule."

With a dry grin, Dr. Dawkins shakes his head and scoffs. "Bah, to hell with my schedule. I will just tell everyone I have got a terrible case of something in graphic detail, and you won't believe how happy they will be that I stayed home."

Isaac blinks in utter surprise and cocks his head to the side. Dr. Dawkins smirks and rolls his eyes at the notion. "You will NOT believe what you can get away with when people think you are a senile, old, washed up retiree."

Stifling his laughter, Isaac nods in agreement, pondering a moment. "I have to ask, is that old Pancake Shed on highway two thirty one still around?"

Dr. Dawkins grins with a chuckle, pausing in thought. "Oh, yes. Despite what's changed over the decade, that's still a fixture. I can't fathom how the damned thing stays in business being on that ancient route."

Donning a bold smile, Isaac opens his car door. "I think it's people like us later tonight. If you don't mind sneaking out and keeping a low profile."

Pausing in thought for a moment, Dr. Dawkins wags finger at Isaac and nods. "They do have good late night coffee."

Timeline

March 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

2

3

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8

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

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Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

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Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

23

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Episode 17

Episode 18

Episode 19

Episode 20

30

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Episode 21

Episode 22

April 3017

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Monday

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Friday

Saturday

1

2

3

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5

Episode 23

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Episode 26

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Episode 26

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Episode 32

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27

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Episode 36

Episode 37

Episode 38

May 3017

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

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2

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Episode 39

Episode 40

4

5

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10

Episode 40

Episode 41

Episode 42

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Episode 43

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Episode 49

Episode 50

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Episode 53

June 3017

Sunday

Monday

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Episode 54

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Episode 54

Episode 55

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Episode 58

Episode 59

Episode 60

Episode 61

Episode 62

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Episode 63

Episode 64

Episode 65