Episode 1

"We're Nexus News, reporting from the outskirts of Anta! We've managed to track down and find a point overlooking the battle between the Chosen One Sebastian Warwick and the Dark Lord Noxian! From what we've gathered so far, the Chosen One's party have made their way towards the unstable magical rift that the Dark Lord seems to be trying to draw power from. Yes, that's what it seems like from here. It looks like pure white strands of magical flow and- WAIT! Over there! The team is making their push and is rushing Noxian's position. The team is scattering out and unleashing a full on assault upon Noxian's position! LOOK! YES! There! The Chosen One is charging through the chaos with the Sword of the Spirit Realm at the ready and towards the distracted and pinned down Dark Lord! The party is unleashing everything! Noxian is thrown off guard! He's turning around and-"

The screen flashes to a white picture. Static hisses out from the worn, cheap speakers inside the scratched plastic casing of the flat screen television, dramatically fading to silence. The dimming box shrinks away into a picture-in-picture graphic overlay, revealing the rest of the news set. A black horned man in a suit jacket and furry-eared woman with a neatly fitted blazer sitting behind desk return their attention ahead from offscreen.

The man on screen blinks his yellow on black eyes and calmly states. "That was the last transmission received from our on-site action news crew of the battle itself. Even two weeks after the confrontation, the aftermath of the battle has proven to be inconclusive. Know that our Nexus News investigative team is still diligently gathering accounts from eye witnesses. And, our technical experts have spent the last two weeks recovering footage from damaged Nexus News recording equipment. We will make sure that watchers of Nexus News will be the first to know when have more information."

Granting a professional nod towards her newscast partner, the woman gazes towards the audience, flicking her pointed, furry ears. "Thankfully, the magical rift was ultimately sealed with no further unusual activity being officially reported by Anta officials, PWZ Rangers, and GAA forces. No signs of the Dark Lord Noxian have been found after two weeks of searching the area, and his current whereabouts are unknown. Unfortunately, from eye witness accounts the only traces found of the Chosen One was the Legendary Sword of the Spirit Realm-"

The dingy and battered television screen blacks out, and a faint internal click sounds off, the unit powering down with only a red standby light remaining on. A brown haired, overweight man sits on the couch in t-shirt and boxers. He tosses the remote onto the makeshift two-by-four and milk crate table. Sinking into the old, ripped couch, he blows the white streak in his hair out of his eyes. A distant, disconnected stare forms on his light tan face, and a somber sigh slips out. His eyes sifts slowly through the heavy thoughts, and his shoulders slack under the mental fatigue. "Shit. Sebastian... I... I-I can't believe it."

Furrowing his brow, the man rests his head deeper into the tattered back cushion, gaze wandering the very water-stained ceiling. "I mean... You had your shit together. An awesome party. THE magical sword. The battle was going your way... You had Noxian's ass on the ropes after that attack."

Another voice ethereally echoes within the room. "I know, bro. I thought I had him, too. But... The bastard had that one nasty trick up his sleeve. I didn't even know he could pull that kind of attack off without any kind of build up."

The man holds his hands up in the air and puzzles out loud. "Well, what the fuck would have been THAT powerful to take you down-"

Pausing a moment in shock, he slowly pivots his head to the ghostly figure lounging on the other half of the couch. His blue eyes spring open, his pupils narrowing to mere pinpoints. A shriek of terror strikes an octave short of glass shattering. "AHHH!"

Backpedaling frantically up the back of the couch, the heavy set man launches himself into arc and flops a meter away upon the floor. He continues the panicked backslide on the carpet and plows through takeout boxes, dirty laundry, pirated video games, discount books, and empty cans of caffeinated and alcoholic beverages. "AHHH! AHHH! AH-"

From the couch, the ghostly figure rockets into the air with hands on his ears. His ethereal form zooms within mere centimeters of the panicked man's face. "BACH! SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Bach's mouth seals firmly, and he stares wide-eyed, pale in shock. The apparition removes his hands from ears with a relieved sigh. "GODS. I've forgotten how loud your shrieking is!"

A flash of recognition springs up Bach's face, and he concentrates upon the transparent form. "S-S-S-Sebastian?!"

Sebastian leans closer and stares at Bach, slightly curling the corner of his mouth. "Yes."

Bach blinks uneasily, horror bubbling upon his face. "Oh gods! Oh. Gods. You've come to haunt me! All those times I got revenge against you- You're going to make me pay now..."

Squirming further backwards, he gawks in horror at Sebastian, muttering. "What are you trying to get me back for?! The time I put that dye in the shower head before that date with the emin gymnast?! The liquid heat in your jock strap before your sword fighting final?! Using your phone to send that doctored photo of your-"

He blinks in confusion and narrows his a gaze at Sebastian incredulously. "Your two front teeth? I mean, that was a LONG time ago. And no one else knows that-"

Holding his hands out, Sebastian slowly waves them up and down, attempting to put Bach at ease. "NO. Calm down, bro. I'm not here to haunt you."

Keeping suspicion handy for Sebastian, Bach turns his head away slowly. "Okay."

Sebastian tugs at the corner of his mouth and averts his gaze momentarily. "Well... Not exactly."

Glancing around the dingy, cracked walls and roadside-found furniture of the living space, Bach slowly mouths out the words, discomfort gripping his tone. "Okay..."

Righting his ghostly form in front of Bach, Sebastian regains his footing, standing upright, and drifts down, contacting the floor. "So... Long story short, I may have died, but I'm not dead."

Bach squints apprehensively and furrows his brow with growing curiosity. "No shit, man."

Sebastian snaps an annoyed glare back down at Bach and curls his upper lip into a frustrated sneer. "Stop being a smart ass."

Getting back onto his feet, Bach walks over to the small kitchen island, lightly running his hand along the chipped edges of the hazy laminate top. He sits down on a rickety stool next to the aged stained island in the small combo kitchen/dining area, and uncertainly scrutinizes Sebastian. "Fine. Sorry. Just a, you know, lot to process at once. So, um..."

Drifting over near Bach, Sebastian crosses his arms and recites a summation. "The Sword was able to capture the magical energy around the area. We're guessing it captured my spirit, mind, body, or whatever in the moment Noxian blasted me. And, it stored me within. I'm still figuring out the details. It's all still a blur. The sword hasn't been very informative. Bad news. I'm bound to the sword."

Bach lifts an eyebrow and cocks his head intrigued. "Good news?"

The ethereal brother cracks a short grin towards Bach. "From what we have gotten the sword to tell us in the last two weeks, I can be brought back with a substantial amount of Elder energy infused into the sword."

Bach sits up straight for a moment, lost in thought. "Huh. Yeah. I see. With enough Elder energy... It'd power whatever it does to fix up or reform your body, then I guess attach your mind or consciousness to the body, if it needs to do so. Probably like one of the old school resurrection spells."

Opening his arms out, Sebastian nods with a proud smile and chuckles. "EXACTLY! It's good to know those years at High Alton University weren't wasted!"

Bach grimaces with a grumble and sighs in stale pain. "Dammit, man. Don't bring that up. I was doing just fine in school, and I know my shit. Just... Never cared for the whole... Risk your life everyday thing."

Brushing back the white streak in his translucent brown hair, Sebastian perks his brow with a sly smirk. "Well, that's why I'm here. I know you know all your stuff. And, YOU can help me out..."

He leans towards Bach. "Right?"

An awkward silence looms over the two and presses down around them, almost drowning out the faint sounds of the nearby leaky faucet. Sebastian hovers closer to his brother and focuses his attention upon him. Bach leans over to the fridge, intentionally avoiding eye contact. He opens the door and pulls out a glass bottle of cola. Using one of the drawer handles, he pops the cap off. A moment passes, and he meets his brother's gaze, sighing. "Ah, fuck it! I'll give it a try for you."

Sebastian's ethereal form momentarily brightens. "YES! I knew I could count on you, bro. You've never left me hanging before."

Bach sets up a swig from his drink and glances hesitantly at his brother, pondering out loud. "Okay. So... Where are we going to get this Elder power source? I mean, given how old that sword probably is, I doubt it even knows what to do with today's Prismatic energy. So, I guess, ancient ruins? Magical rifts in weird zones? Maybe, old magical focal points?"

He idly swirls his beverage in the clear container. "It's going to be HARD to hunt down and find one substantial enough. Shit. We might need to hit A LOT of them. Damn... We'll be looking for a while, since anything you can easily find has already probably been drained. Hope that sword is not picky and needs a specific source of Elder energy. Else, we might be in real trouble..."

Bach tips back the glass bottle and pours the soda back. Sebastian awkwardly shifts his gaze away from Bach and swiftly slips out. "Noxian's Heart."

Swallowing almost half the bottle of cola in one, painful gulp, Bach opens his eyes wide in horror. He struggles to contain the bubbling beverage, tears welling, and gasps for breath. "NOXIAN'S HEART?!"

Sebastian nods firmly. "YES. Despite how cryptic the sword can be, especially right now, it makes sense. Noxian is likely the biggest source of elder energy that we know of."

Clearing his throat, Bach shakes his head. "OKAY. Yes, I guess that's a logical conclusion."

Sebastian snaps his fingers to a point, right at Bach. "And YOU must be the one to plunge the sword through him."

Bach sputters and coughs, leaning away away from the ghostly finger. "ME?!"

Putting his hands up in the air off to his sides, Sebastian shrugs. "You're my twin."

The glass soda bottle clanks on the kitchen island, and Bach hastily wipes his mouth in confusion. "Fraternal twin! The sword knows that, right?! You did tell it that, RIGHT?!"

Sebastian scratches the back of his head and rolls translucent blue his eyes. "As long as we share enough chromosomes, it'll work. From what we could gather from the sword, that should allow you to activate it fully."

Bach places his hands on his temples and throws them forward. "DUDE! Noxian almost wiped you clean from existence! And you want ME to try that?!"

He leans in and glares at his brother. His brother meets the challenge. The two stare each other down. Tense seconds pass in silence. Sebastian speaks firmly with encouraging hints. "Listen, bro. We don't know where Noxian is, and his power is weak. The sword isn't even detecting him right now. It took a lot for him to try to do whatever to that magical rift. He won't be trying anything soon."

Focusing his gaze, he smiles, bold hope coloring his words. "From what we know of how Noxian operates, he is going to be recovering for some time after all this not going his way. Noxian is going to retreat and plot out a whole new plan before he tries another big stunt. Which will be plenty of time to get YOU into fighting shape again."

Bach crosses his arms, sighs, and drones in a lower tone. "You do realize, I was never really in a... Fighting shape."

Devious hints tinge Sebastian's grin, and he chuckles. "Well, I guess we ALL are going to have to work extra hard to get you there, whether you like it or not."

Bach's eyes spring all the way open. "We ALL?"

A door bell rings throughout the small, rough house, and the sound echoes faintly against the barren walls of scattered, plastered over nail holes and outlines of prior fixtures. Bach scans around for the source of the noise and furrows his brow bewildered. "I have a doorbell... That works?"

Sebastian's ethereal form unknowingly drifts into the kitchen island with a sly smirk. "Well, they're here. My party. More correctly, OUR party now."

Withering into nervous dread, Bach darts uneasy glances around. "A-All of them?! The Half-emin, Grath, Fvalian, and that Evuukian?"

With a playfully sinister ear to ear grin, Sebastian trains his full attention upon Bach. "Yes. All of them, ESPECIALLY the Evuukian, want me back among the physical living."

Bach stares at his brother, his head turns side to side, his eyes examining his brother from different angles. Sebastian backs away from the analysis. "What?"

The corner of Bach's mouth pulls into a smirk, and he lifts an eyebrow. "So... You and the Evuukian?"

Sebastian's ghostly form puffs his chest, and he confidently grins. "Yes."

Bach laughs and shakes his head. "Huh. I thought their whole cultural bias thing would never allow it?"

The flash of ego subsides, and Sebastian crosses his arms. "Well... Officially. It's a little... Complicated?"

Watching his brother ponder the concept, Sebastian nods his head towards the door. "Hey, could you answer the door? I physically can't. Don't want to keep them waiting and all."

Bach walks over to the door and pauses. He stares down at his overly casual attire and pats his faintly stained t-shirt and wrinkly boxers. Mustering a bit of courage, he carefully cracks the door open. "Oh hey... Uh. Everyone."

Sebastian phases through the wall next to door and waves to the team assembled. The half-emin, grath, fvalian, and that evuukian stand around chipped, cracked concrete steps leading up to the small house with weather stained siding and badly filled foundation cracks. Within the outskirts of the town, the long since paved street and gravel shoulders barely contain the overgrown lawn. Glancing over at the familiar nervous twitch upon Bach's face, Sebastian parts a comforting smile and motions between the team and Bach. "Let's get some introductions out of the way. Everyone, this is my brother Bach Warwick."

Directing his brother's attention, Sebastian points over at the half-emin woman. "That is Sotalia. She dishes out the fireballs."

With a glint in her golden eyes, Sotalia brushes her dark red, shoulder-length hair around swept-back, black horns and flashes a confident smirk towards Bach. "Well, among other things. Those happen to be one of the fun spells."

Bach nods with a hint of chuckle. "You're not wrong."

Sebastian slides his point over to tall, imposing figure of the grath woman. "That is Dretphi. Our front-line conflict resolution specialist."

Dretphi rolls her shoulders under her leather jacket, hints of muscular definition showing and platinum blonde braids settling. She grants Bach a stoic nod, her steely gray eyes assessing. "One way to explain."

Briefly making full eye contact with Dretphi, Bach blinks under the scrutiny and grants a reserved nod. Sebastian motions towards the short and lean fvalian woman. "Here is Cideeda. Our technical and security expert."

With pronounced canines, Cideeda grins sharply, perks her furry, pointed ears up, and combs her clawed fingers through her head of short black, brown, gray, orange, and white hair. She flicks her long, fluffy, lighter brown tail and waves at Bach. "Hey! Yeah, I also drive the humvee, since I keep it running."

Blinking at the realization, Bach swings his head over and spot the large, ancient military machine. "Wow. Nice."

Flicking her furry ear back from Bach, Cideeda smiles appreciatively. "Thanks."

Sebastian gazes lovingly at the evuukian woman and waves his towards her. "Last, but certainly not the least, is Aristespha. Medical mage and thoroughly versed in many subjects, like spirits."

Aristespha straightens her posture, tossing back her long silvery blue hair, and grants a respectful nod with slight bow. Resting her hand upon the sword in the scabbard at her side, she settles her violet gaze upon Bach and calmly states. "I am also presently the caretaker, again, for the Sword of the Spirit Realm, while your brother is unable to wield it."

Bach squints at the sword and studies it a moment. "Make sense. So, that's THE sword then."

Sebastian sighs with a mildly humored roll of his eyes. "That's it, bro. Where I reside. In some shape or form.

Summoning the few remaining shreds of confidence, Bach smiles and holds a finger up to the group. "Okay. Um. Yeah. Well... If you all can give me a few minutes, I'll get ready and come on out. I really wasn't expecting company... Or travel... Like, at all."

Bach nervously strains a grin into gritting teeth, closing the door. He expectantly stares at his brother phasing back into the room, and Sebastian bounces his eyes to either side. "What?"

Wandering his gaze around and searching for an answer, Bach flexes his hands and battles confusion. "What the fuck is the plan here?"

Sebastian crosses his arms and draws in an ethereal breath. "Well, the plan is to have you pack up, ride with us, and take you to place we just rented. Then, we focus on getting you ready and figuring where Noxian has gone and what's he up to."

Furrowing his incredulous brow, Bach squints in disbelief at Sebastian. "You just expect me to drop everything and just run off with you all?!"

Drifting his stare around the bachelor fodder covered floor, the water stained ceiling, the barren walls, barely functional furniture, and battered appliances, Sebastian levels an accusatory stare through Bach. "Bro. Do you really have anything going on here?

Lifting up a finger of protest, Bach opens his mouth and halts. He studies the reality around him, curling his retort back, and draws in a deep breath. With a long exhale, he pinches the bridge of his nose and grumbles to himself. Sebastian holds his hands and smiles reassuringly. "If you gotta settle stuff, we're not going that far away. Totally can make time to get stuff sorted. I'd just like to get you with the group and get things moving as soon as possible and all-"

Unleashing a long groan, Bach shakes his head and snorts. "Okay. Fine. Yeah. Sure. Just give me a few minutes to grab some stuff and all."

Sebastian's ethereal form lights up and smiles with delight. "Hell yeah, bro! We'll make this work and all! I promise."

The two brothers share a few seconds of quiet. Glancing at his brother, Bach motions his hands down himself and furrows an annoyed brow. "Hey. A little privacy, man? I gotta get dressed."

Sebastian rolls his eyes and waves his hand, drifting towards the front of the house. "Oh, right. Sorry, being on the adventuring road so much, you start to not worry about that."

Sebastian slips through the front wall of the house and meets with the rest of party members. Pausing for a moment, Bach thinks to himself. Apprehension simmers up Bach, tensing his back muscles, and he fights against an uncertain grimace. With worried glances around the room, he briefly stares towards the back of the house.

---

Outside the rundown house upon the entrenched weeds of the lawn, Dretphi retrieves a large map inside the ancient four-wheeled military vehicle from the far back bench, squeezing back out through a slid-up back passenger's seat. Her imposing, tall frame strolls around to the front of the machine and rolls out the chart upon the hood in one sweeping motion. Cideeda hops up from the driver's seat, climbs out the large, open roof hatch, and slides down the windshield. Stretching out her toned legs, she pins down opposing corners of the map with a heel each. She presses down the top edge against the wind with a hand and taps a claw tip down a spot on the map. Sotalia steps up in front of the grill, sweeping the hood of her cape back. Resting her hands on the sides of her waist, she picks at her belt of pouches with long black nails. Sighing, she levels her golden eyes at Cideeda. Leaning forward, she presses a point down upon another part of the map. "Girl... We talked about this. There's no reason for Noxian to go back there. I really doubt he's going anywhere he thinks we know about."

Cideeda's long, furry tail flicks out from behind her, orange highlights shining in the sun, and she taps her choice on the thick paper chart. "I know! But... You can't deny the possibility there might be some stuff left. Maybe notes..."

A glint lights up her emerald green eyes, and she grins toothily. "Or some clues to where he may have gone to now."

Sotalia straightens her back and stands a moment, pondering. She grimaces at the bright early morning sun beaming into her eyes. With a frustrated sneer, she loosens the cape on her shoulders. "Okay, what is with the weather around here?! It was near freezing last night at the hotel, NOW it feels like summer!"

Dretphi wipes beads of sweat off her tan forehead and works off her leather jacket. Walking over towards an open door, she leans inside the flat olive drab vehicle and tosses her jacket onto the back bench. "Not the worst change in weather experienced. Surprising still."

Nodding at Dretphi, Sotalia flutters her red shirt with a hand, fanning air through. "Gods, do you just have to keep two seasons of clothes out all the time around here?"

Cideeda rolls her eyes playfully, leans back on the windshield, and combs her clawed fingers through brown and orange patches on top of her head. "I agree with Dretphi. But, it's better than how cold it was up on the mountains getting here."

Furrowing her brow, Dretphi shifts her steely gray gaze over at Cideeda briefly and shakes her head dismissively. "Hills. Those were hills."

With a humored smirk, Cideeda snorts and settles her focus upon map. "Fine. It was still a ridge we went down."

Dretphi nods in humored agreement, stretching her muscular, faint gray striped arms. Sotalia places her hands down upon the front edge of the ancient military machine's hood, long worn insignias and identifications barely visible through many layers of faded paint. Leaning over the map, Sotalia scans over the original markings and newer additions. "So. Where do we need to check next."

Standing off to the side, Aristespha confidently rests an ivory hand upon a sheathed long sword at her side. Sebastian's ghostly form glides over to her side. Aristespha smiles gently at his approach. "So, did he agree to help us, Sebastian?"

Heroically grinning, Sebastian pridefully puffs his chest out. "Of course, my dear."

Aristespha releases a sigh of relief and rolls some tension out of her shoulders. Sebastian pauses in thought a moment and crosses his arms. "Well, he seemed willing enough, at least. Bach has always been a little hesitant, but he always was there back in school. Still..."

Twisting her foot inside her boot, discomfort flashes on Aristespha's face, and she twists a grimace. Glancing around, she finds nothing convenient around her. She lifts up her leather boot, keeping balance, and undoes a few buckles. Working her leg free of the knee high boot, she twists a frown on her ivory, blue and gray hinted face. "The finest artisans crafted these boots for my family. And, yet, they still somehow manage to find and capture every loose rock in the area."

She aggressively shakes her boot. A stray rock tumbles out, and Aristespha focuses an irritated glare at the offending pebble. Drawing a long calming breath, she balances on one foot and slides her leg back in. Taking a few moments to readjust her button down shirt and fitted heavyweight twill pants back into a neat presentation, she gazes at Sebastian with a roll of her violet eyes. Sebastian shrugs his shoulders. "Don't look at me."

Cideeda waves over towards Sebastian and Aristespha with a toothy grin. "Hey! Are you two going to join in on this argument? Or, do you want to be ALONE?"

Aristespha checks the sword and scabbard, assumes her distinguished posture, and gazes lovingly over at Sebastian. "Let us not keep them waiting."

Sebastian glides over and joins the gathering around the humvee hood and glances between the other team members. "So, any great insights to share?"

Guiding a stray dark red lock over a swept-back black horn, Sotalia sighs waves over a section of the map. "I say we check the ruins the bastard hasn't had a chance to go to. But..."

Cideeda raps her claw tips upon a few choice markings upon the large document. "Can't hurt to check where we know he's been. May have left something behind he didn't think he did."

Stepping into a spot between Sebastian and Sotalia, Aristespha squints at the map and darts her attention between icons and annotations. Sotalia shakes her head and huffs out her frustration. "We don't know how long we have before he starts trying to build up his strength again. We need to check anything that might be of interest to Noxian. He's got to be desperate to recharge himself."

Dretphi shakes her head, frowning, and grumbles. "Desperate. Maybe. There is thought behind his moves. Retreated back to familiar territory in this area. Never has acted rash."

Nodding in agreement, Sebastian floats closer to the front of the humvee and ponders out loud. "Yeah. He was spotted a lot in this region at a few of the ruins around here, before he went off to pursue that rift down in Anta. I bet he's falling back on some backup plan of his."

Aristespha rests her hands upon her hips and straightens her stance. "Given the amount of elder energy he expended to try to manipulate the rift and to escape from Anta, I highly doubt he has that much in reserve."

Wrestling an uncomfortable frown, she sighs and brushes stray locks of silvery blue hair off her very long, pointed ears. "Though, it would NOT be wise to assume does not maintain enough to be significant trouble."

Dretphi grumbles and shakes her head, rolling her toned shoulders. "Will avoid conflict. Be economical with power. Take it slower. Methodical. Stay quiet."

Tipping her head back, Sotalia groans loudly with a irritated wince. "Of fucking course. Slinking away back into the shadows."

Lifting an intrigued eyebrow, Dretphi circles a pointed finger over a number of markings on the map. "We start exploring sites near his prior sightings."

Sotalia blinks back to attention and tilts her head down towards the humvee hood. Sebastian strokes his ethereal chin with a growing nod. "Good of a starting point as any."

Perking up her furry ears, Cideeda widens an entrepreneurial grin. "AND, we could probably get paid to do some exploration and ruin checkup jobs while we are at it."

Aristespha smiles tightly, a tinge of economic concern in her tone. "That would certainly help serve our more immediate needs. I also believe those would be good starting jobs for your brother, Sebastian."

Sebastian gazes over towards Bach's house and furrows his brow. "Speaking of which..."

Cideeda glances around at the spaces around the house, following her furry, pointed ears. The rest of the party halts and curiously glances towards the aged and poorly maintained structure. Hovering over next to the dirty siding wall, Sebastian leans his upper ethereal form through the front wall. Seconds pass, and he pulls back, confusion spreading over his face. He goes all the way through into the house. Cideeda's furry ears flick around again, and she contorts the curiosity on her light brown face. "Huh. That sounds like the kick starter of a motorcycle."

"MOTHERFUCKER!!!"

The ethereal, booming, echoing eruption seizes the attention of the team. Sebastian launches out of the building, his ghostly figure billowing red ethereal flames. "THE BASTARD SQUEEZED HIS FAT ASS THROUGH THE BATHROOM WINDOW AND IS ESCAPING ON HIS BIKE! GET HIM!"

The muffled rumble of a motorcycle blasts out over the battered shingle roof of the house. Tires spin up, and dirty gravel peppers the back of the small house. Frantically throwing everything into the humvee, the group rushes and scrambles onboard. The military machine powerplant ramps up to full power. Cideeda floors the accelerator, and large tires spin towards the road behind the house. Sebastian stands on the roof, floating in sync with the humvee, and ahead glares ahead. He roars out at the man on the side-car motorcycle many meters down the back road. "WHERE ARE YOU GOING, BACH?!"

Bach glances behind him and spots the ethereal figure, flaming red with rage. He snaps his head forward, containing a reflexive scream of fright between clenched teeth, and opens up the motorcycle throttle.

---

The motorcycle speeds along the barely paved roads, engine exhaust blasting out near the limits of a muffler. Through the empty small town streets in the early morning, Bach darts through a vacant bank parking lot, echoes of combustion bouncing off the nearby building walls. He sharply turns down a side street around an advertising sign flashing the current date "Sunday March 2nd, 3017". Darting his gaze around in a panic, he spots a narrow alley. With a heavy lean, he power slides the motorcycle and lines up the approach, rubber screeching onto the rough pavement. Zipping between the trash filled passage, garbage cans within centimeters of the sidecar motorcycle, Bach briefly glances behind him.

The pursuing humvee passes the passage entrance, roars down the roadway, and turns down an intersecting route, rocky pavement flecks freeing themselves from forces of the huge tires. The powerplant of the military machine screams, and the huge olive drab vehicle accelerates. Down the long stretch of rural highway leading away from town, the humvee closes the divide between it and the sidecar motorcycle. Sebastian launches from the roof and flies towards Bach. Hovering himself in front of the motorcycle, he loosely anchors himself near the handlebars opposite of Bach. "HEY! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO HELP ME, BACH!"

Bach leans his head left and right around Sebastian's ghostly form, each time meeting the enraged, transparent face of his brother. "DAMMIT, SEBASTIAN! I'M TRYING TO FUCKING DRIVE HERE!"

Sebastian looms his face forward. "FUCK YOUR DRIVING! WHAT ABOUT HELPING ME?!"

Narrowing his blue eyes at his brother, Bach snarls his upper lip, a faint glows forming in his pupils. "Well! Maybe you should mention needing to destroy a world ending horror BEFORE asking your brother to help! Full disclosure, man!"

Sebastian shudders his head, wrestling a mix of contempt and frustration upon his translucent face. "The FUCK- FULL DISCLOSURE!? BRO! I NEED YOUR HELP! I'm offering you a chance to get into the life WE PROMISED OURSELVES! YOU'RE NOT DITCHING ME AGAIN! I'M NOT LETTING YOU CHICKEN SHIT OUT NOW!"

Bach nods his head and raises it, eyes pulsating bright blue. Sebastian blinks blankly. Cocking the back of his left hand away from the handlebar of the motorcycle, Bach stares at his brother, flows of prismatic energy coating his arm. "Full disclosure. This might sting."

A blur streaks across, and the back of Bach's hand pushes into Sebastian's shocked visage. A loud resonant clap trails the impact. Sebastian's ethereal, warping form tumbles loose from Bach's motorcycle and dismisses right back into the sword on Aristespha's lap. The other team members in the humvee glance over in absolute surprise. Streaming out from the sword, Sebastian frustrated visage reforms in the seat next to Aristespha. Sotalia spins around in her front passenger's seat towards Sebastian. "How the fuck did he do that?!"

Sebastian grumbles in a low tone. "I told you. My brother is full of surprises. He was ranked the same as ME in adventuring school."

Furrowing her brow, Sotalia glances ahead towards Bach and returns her suspicion back upon Sebastian. "Really?"

Aristespha levels an inquisitive stare upon Sebastian. Drawing herself forward from the back bench seat, Dretphi positions herself between Sebastian and Aristespha. "How do you want us to capture him?"

Sebastian sighs, irritation tainting his tone. "Alive."

Dretphi narrows her steely gray eyes and slowly shakes her head. She directs a stern, focused glare, an unamused frown forming. Sebastian groans and twists his mouth, averting his face away from Dretphi's piercing stare. "Yeah... I know... Just no real injuries, please! He's just running scared."

Darting his attention off to the side, distantly, he mumbles to himself. "Like last time..."

He snaps back to attention and addresses the team. "BUT, he's NOT going to make it easy."

Cideeda briefly pulls herself over the steering wheel and squints her emerald green eyes on the motorcycle. Holding her hand up to the open hatch, she directs a jet of air above onto her light brown face and sniffs. "It's a biodiesel engine. Sotalia, how far can your freeze spell reach, again?"

Perking her eyebrow, Sotalia glances over. "Pretty far if I narrow the ray down. But, it won't be as cold."

Cideeda points at the motorcycle ahead and grins toothily. "Think you can hit the thing at this range with a headwind?"

Nodding confidently, Sotalia smiles slyly, tossing her dark red hair. "Of course, girl."

Motioning her claw tipped finger, Cideeda directs Sotalia's attention towards a series of metal tubes on the engine. "Those are the fuel lines. Freeze them, and it should stall the engine out."

Sotalia rolls up the long sleeves of her red shirt. Standing up in her seat, she steadies herself within the open top hatch. She grasps the top of the windshield border and aims, her free arm extended ahead. She swiftly gestures with her hand and incants, symbols along her light tan and dark gray patterned arm glowing brighter and brighter. "Try to get me closer if you can!"

An eager grin parting, Cideeda floors the accelerator, a hum of electrical energy surging, and guides the humvee closer to the motorcycle. Bach snaps a worried glance back. Maintaining careful aim, Sotalia summons up the flows of prismatic energy spiraling down her arm into her hand. With a slight twist of fingers, she releases the power from a glowing orb in her palm. The humvee tire rolls over a large rock, and the suspension jumps up. The beam of energy lances out from Sotalia. The ray hits a much higher target and contacts the small of Bach's covered back and swiftly jumps up between his shoulders. Yelping in shock, Bach reflexively tenses up under the flash frosting and nearly clenches up the entire motorcycle seat. Tensing her confident smirk, Sotalia obscures the embarrassment on her face and quickly flows more energy for another attempt. "Stupid bump! I'll get it this time!"

Another hazy beam streaks out, faint trails of frost zipping away in the wind, and hits the tubing around the engine. A misting coating of ice coats over the metal. Recovering from the last surprise, Bach glances beneath himself, the motorcycle engine sputtering. He leans over and spots the ice on the fuel lines. "Shit..."

He snags up a backpack from sidecar and throws it over his shoulder. Keeping a grip on the handlebar, he steadies the failing machine. The engine completely gives out, and the motorcycle coasts down to a near stop. Bach springs into a full run towards the forest near the road. The humvee brakes to a hard stop, tires grinding into the shoulder gravel, and the back passenger's side door flies open. Dretphi launches herself and lands in a full sprint, bounding into the treeline. Between the trees, Bach rushes across the forest floor, nearly stumbling. Loud snaps and rustles erupt from behind him, and he twists his head back. Dretphi powers through the dense floor, gliding over the terrain without trouble, and swiftly covers the distance. Bach's eyes open wide with a slight blue glow, fright taking over. Dretphi closes right next to Bach and reaches out. With Dretphi's hand hovering over over him, Bach speeds forward out of her grasp, and Dretphi watches in astonishment. Bach's footsteps grow faster and each stride lengthens. With speed unfitting his physique, Bach leaves Dretphi behind to her disbelief. A crackly voice sounds off in Dretphi's radio's on-the-ear earpiece. "Dretphi? Have you caught him?"

Between heavy breaths, Dretphi responds. "No. He. Somehow. Outran. ME."

A very confused Cideeda continues on the radio. "What?! How?! Never mind. We found an access road. Are you still running west?"

Dretphi flicks her steely gray eyes up towards the sky through the freshly green canopy and notes the location of the sun. "Yes."

The radio crackles out with Cideeda's voice. "Okay. We found a clearing up ahead. Keep chasing him in that direction."

---

Dodging a series of low tree branches, Bach coughs and sputters, the forest around thinning. A wave of relief washes over him, and he squints ahead the upcoming brush leading to a clearing. Bach lands his first step outside the forest. From the tall grasses, Cideeda pops up and points a modified pump-action shotgun with an extra underside barrel at him. She pulls a trigger. A payload of netting and weights explodes outwards from the bottom barrel, a soft thump sounding out. Mid run, Bach's luminescent blue eyes track the expanding strands, and he unnaturally drops into a feet first slide onto the dirt. The net flies clear over. Cideeda adjusts her aim down and rests her finger onto another trigger. Bach raises his hands up instinctively intersecting the aim the barrel. With a precise squeeze, the shotgun propels another projectile from the top barrel. From the boom of gasses and wadding, electrical probes spring out the front of the finned round. The projectile bounces sharply off a materializing golden transparent disc. Cideeda immediately racks the shotgun and fires. The golden barrier deflects another stunning projectile. Bach regains his footing, surges a flow of prismatic power down his arm and flings the shield at Cideeda. The golden disc knocks the shotgun free of Cideeda's hand, and she reflexively winces. Recovering from the impact, Cideeda snatches the golden disc from the rebound off her weapon. "How the fuc-"

Bach sprints across the field, leaps over a brush bordered log, and lines up his approach to a gap between trees leading to another stretch of forest. Gritting his teeth, he swings his arms in pace and strains into a sprint towards the opening. From behind one of the trees bordering the gap, Aristespha confidently strides out and interdicts Bach's escape route. With a precise gesture and fast incantation, waves of translucent energy rush out in a cone from Aristespha. The shimmers of flow impact Bach and ripple through him. Bach staggers, each step more lethargic and exaggerated, and barely manages to stand. Aristespha carefully approaches, concentrating her intrigued gaze, and aims her steady hand at Bach. "Strange. Most creatures fall completely asleep with that much power behind the spell. There may be something to Sebastian's claims about you after all."

Something inside Bach stirs. He tips his head up against the effects of the spell and remains standing. Aristespha's curiosity backpedals into genuine caution. Bach flutters his eyes, and the starts of awareness return, the effect of the spell fading. Shock sparks on Aristespha's blue and gray hinted, ivory face, and she releases another wave of readied energy. The translucent power washing over, Bach slowly drops into an unconscious heap and flops out onto the grass, faintly snoring. Sebastian's ethereal form floats next to Aristespha, and she snaps her head at him with a harshening frown. "You did not mention how DIFFICULT he would be to capture. That was significant spell defense and resistance. Sebastian."

Sebastian drifts back, shrugging. "I said he's full of surprises, dear. But..."

He glances down at his slumbering brother. "I honestly didn't expect he'd be able to pull this much off."

Cideeda arrives holding the golden disc at her side and glances over at the sleeping Bach. "Wow! He sure put up a fight. I'll have to use specially made restraints on him."

She passes off the golden disc to Sotalia, stopping nearby from a jog. Sotalia examines the disc, confusion and intrigue building. Cideeda digs through her utility vest pockets and plucks out a collection of restraints. Securing Bach, she pats him down, turns out pockets, and searches his backpack. "Looks like he was planning to run pretty far. A bit of money, passport, and a- Fake ID?"

Pausing in thought a moment, her emerald green eyes widen with a glint of excitement, and she studies the passport closely. "Ooo! Is this passport real or fake?"

Sebastian hovers over and joins her in examining all the random items found. Sotalia pulls her attention away from investigating the golden disc and gazes between the assembled team. "Where did THIS come from? Did he have it with him?"

Cideeda halts mid-looting, furrows her brow in thought, and flicks her furry ears with a sway of her long, fluffy tail. "Um. No. It appeared when I tried shooting him with the stunner rounds. Pretty weird. Just popped into existence."

Glancing over at Cideeda intrigued, Sotalia narrows her stare suspiciously. "Have you found any magical items or artifacts on him?"

Surveying the collection upon the nearby grass, Cideeda shakes her head. "No. Nothing I think is magical."

Sotalia holds the golden, translucent disc in front of her and squints in mild disbelief. "So... You're saying he just conjured this?!"

Shrugging her shoulders, Cideeda tilts her head to the side. "I guess. I didn't see him do any kind of gestures or say any incantations."

She spreads her clawed fingers out with waves of the arms. "It just materialized."

Craning her head over towards Sebastian with a growing glare, Sotalia hoists up an unamused eyebrow. With a reflexive squirm, Sebastian turns towards the concentrated attention upon him and glides over to Sotalia. "Yes?"

Sotalia squints her golden eyes at Sebastian and takes a step forward, bringing her face closer to his. "You said he FAILED out of the mage program."

Sebastian's eyes dart around in confusion, an awkward grin trying to settle in. "Uh, yes. He did."

Holding up the golden disc in one hand, Sotalia points to it with the other. "THIS isn't the work of a failed mage!"

Sebastian uneasily shrugs, biting his lower lip, and tries averting his translucent face. "Well, what do you call not passing your fifth year finals?"

Sotalia's jaw drops, and she cringes, visibly processing this information. "Wait! Hold up! He made it through FIFTH YEAR?!"

Glancing around desperately, Sebastian stumbles for a better response. "Um... Uh... Yes?"

Sotalia grimaces sharply and shakes the disc, waving her hand to punctuate. "Fifth year is the last year for school work! The only reason for the sixth year is internship hours!"

Lifting his hands up in the air defensively, Sebastian struggles for a response. With huge breaths and shortening strides, Dretphi steps up, recovering from the long sprint. "Sebastian. There are things you have not told us. Need to inform us. SOON. Preferably."

Sotalia motions a thumb at Dretphi behind her, keeping her glare upon Sebastian. "Exactly! While your brother sleeps off the spell, we are going to have a nice long discussion."

Aristespha crosses her arms, straightens her indignant posture, and narrows a glower upon Sebastian. "ALL of us are going to have a nice long discussion."

Sebastian smiles nervously, pivoting between all the unhappy attention. He only finds difference with Cideeda. Pointing to an electronic device freshly fished from Bach's backpack, Cideeda smiles toothily. Sebastian blinks, puzzled. "What?"

With the most innocent batting of the eyes, Cideeda eagerly inquires. "Can I have this? These are really RARE. And, I have been looking for one FOREVER."

Sebastian grins halfheartedly and glances between everyone else. "Uh, sure. Go right ahead. Yeah, um..."

Cideeda giggles in sly contentment and continues her sorting through the backpack. Sebastian shrinks within the walls of his party closing in and points over to the humvee. "How about we get on the road, and then discuss this further?"

---

The mix of road noise and many voices fills the cab of the humvee, the conversation hitting Bach's ears. Sign of consciousness stir upon Bach's light tan face, and he assesses the surrounding situation with the slight motions. The bumps in the road shake him, and he barely squirms against the constraint of the ropes binding him. Hearing the voices of those he failed to escape, he resigns to the loss with a quiet sigh, relaxing his body. He slowly and stealthily opens an eye and surveys the immediate area, the middle aisle between everyone. Glancing up to the furthest back seat, he spots Dretphi laying out on the bench seat with a few pillows for comfort. In the driver's side center seat next to him, Aristespha holds onto the sword with its scabbard across her lap. Sebastian hovers roughly upon the opposing passenger's side seat. Focusing towards the front of the vehicle, Bach watches Cideeda in the driver's seat flipping through the holographic list of music on his Universal HoloPlayer Pro. Sotalia excitedly points out a selection in the list and prods the imagery, the device queuing up the song. "I can't believe he has a copy of this! These guys were totally my favorite band back in my gloom and doom phase."

With a sly smirk, Cideeda chirps back, her canines peeking out. "I told you this thing is amazing. And, it's got all the unofficial mods and unlocks."

Aristespha sighs and groans, reverting her attention back to Sebastian. "Back to the discussion at hand. So... Bach made it to the end of his fifth year and just... Dropped out?"

Sebastian nods with arms crossed, fighting a uneasy grimace. "YES. He didn't even take the final test. Just walked away from it all. For some reason that he wouldn't tell me."

Sotalia twists in her seat and faces behind her. "What? You don't just walk away from that after getting that high of marks. What happened before he left?"

Staring distantly towards the floor board in frowning thought, Sebastian sighs. "Well... Something happened on an assignment he went on with his instructor and a few other students. Things went REALLY bad. Bach was the only one to get out without any serious injuries."

Concern flashes up in Sotalia's light tan and dark gray edged face, and she focuses upon Sebastian. "What... Happened?"

Sebastian angles his head to the side and cringes to a pause, contorting his mouth. "They, well, ran into a... Nightmare Geist."

Silent looms in the vehicle. Only the sounds of the powerplant and road creep into the cab. The tension drives the swelling discomfort through everyone. Cideeda unconsciously sinks her claws tips into the steering wheel cover, and her stare ahead reaches into the distance. Bach winces, memories bubbling up. Sotalia breaks the dead air. "A Nightmare Geist?! They all lived?!"

Sebastian uneasily darts his gaze around and simply shrugs. "Yes. I know. I can't explain it myself. Though everyone except Bach needed to be hospitalized to recover."

Dretphi straightens her posture in the back seat and furrows her brow. "There are old legends my house told me. Whole towns destroyed by such creatures. Only viable option is to use magic to seal it. Secure the vessel far from anything we value. Hope nothing disturbs it."

Cideeda's happiness drains, a solemn wave overtakes her, and she goes quiet. Her breath occasionally shudders, something occupying attention not used for driving. Sotalia spots Cideeda's discomfort and gently holds her shoulder. Cideeda's breathing calms, and she pats a free hand on Sotalia's. Aristespha levels her intrigue upon Sebastian. "So. How did they exactly... Seal it?"

Sebastian pauses and blinks blankly. Fumbling through false starts, he responds, mixing confusion and uncertainty. "Sealed? Um. Yeah. It was destroyed- Maybe? No one was really sure. But there was no trace of it afterwards. Maybe it just left? I don't know..."

Bach closes his blue eyes and remains quiet, a frown hinting. Sotalia rubs the bridge of her nose in frustration and grumbles to herself. "They didn't say anything?! Did your own brother say anything? Gods, this is pretty damn significant here."

Sebastian rests his head on his hands and echoes an ethereal sigh. "NO. He's NEVER said anything about it. EVER. In fact, that's when he grew distant. He just stopped doing the whole school thing. Just abandoned the whole plan we had for adventuring together... "

He vents out a long ethereal sigh. "I TRIED to get him to tell me. But... I could tell something BAD happened, and he didn't want to talk about it. No matter what I did."

Dretphi resettles down into the back bench seat and moves some pillows around. "We may be able to help your brother."

Sebastian twists his visage and gazes over at Dretphi. "I hope so."

Dretphi stares out a side window and squints in thought. "No. We will. Before, he sounded incapable of fighting. Different now. He can fight. Just, not."

Fatigue washes over Bach again, and a spark of defiance contorts his face. With a long, silent draw of breath, he submits into a defeated sigh.

---

Bach wakes to firm tapping from a finger upon his forehead. His eyes greeting Dretphi's, she stares stoically at him from above, her platinum blonde, darker ended braids draping down. "Will you cooperate?"

Taking a long breath in, Bach frowns. "Yes. I really don't have it in me to run at the moment anyway."

Dretphi nods and carefully lifts Bach up to a seat upon the humvee cab aisle. She undoes the many restraints on Bach and pulls a release lever, guiding the nearby seat forward along a floor track. Grabbing hold of the seat back, Bach pulls himself up the rest of the way. Turning around to the open humvee side door, Bach slips behind the shifted seat out onto a gravel driveway. From a spot in front of the back bench seat, Dretphi follows right behind him and stands to her full imposing stature. Bach slowly spins around and surveys the area. A single, two lane road runs through the remote countryside. The gravel drive leads to a well-kept single level, low profile house with plain red brickwork along its long walls, embodying the ranch architectural styling. Bach traces the utility lines running into a conduit junction on the front of the house and glances behind him. "So, this place got cable TV?"

Cideeda leans hard upon the sidecar motorcycle and pushes it past Bach and Dretphi, straining her small frame. "Not yet! The installer is coming tomorrow. Sometime between eight in the morning and eight at night. At least they're honest about it around here."

Bach watches his motorcycle roll up into the garage and a very eager fvalian examine it. He glances up at Dretphi. She shrugs, slightly curling the corner of her mouth. "She has wanted one. Among other things. She refused to leave without it."

Bach puts his hands in his emptied pockets, pushing the inner cloth back in, and shrugs. "At least it's here. It'd be gone by nightfall if it was left in Tullachester."

Flicking a furry ear away back from Bach's voice, Cideeda lifts her brow and rolls her emerald green eyes. "That's what I said, too. Too nice to leave it out there of all places."

Bach plods over to the open side door, and Dretphi occasionally directs him via a firm, gentle nudge. Bach crosses the threshold and sweeps a curious stare over the house's modest wooden furnishings and plain decoration, the motif satisfying the basic modern needs in a neutral color scheme with bland art filling in expectations for such. The furniture and appliances strike a balance between long-stay hotel and quality house amenities. Afternoon light slips through the front windows and reflects upon the well-cared for hardwood floors. Bach walks into the big living/dining room and scans the vicinity. He spots Sotalia and Aristespha going over a document at the window bar in a partial wall dividing the dining area and a kitchen pantry space. Pointing to the couch in front of a big screen television, he awkwardly smiles. "Probably best I stay out of the way?"

Dretphi nods and motions a hand towards the television. "Yes. That would be best. Maybe you can find some channels, for now."

Plodding over to living section of the huge central space, Bach agrees, sits down on the couch, and reaches for the remote. He idly browses the television's settings and turns his ear towards the nearby conversation. Sotalia sits down on a stool and flips through a stack of paperwork. "Well, that's the checklist. So, everything looks in order. You want to drop this by the leasing office in town tomorrow?"

Aristespha nods, her violet eyes following the settling pages. "Yes. I do need to stop and talk to representatives of the local guild office for some work while we get our investigations and... Training started."

Bach narrows his eyes at the remark, watching the television search for over-the-air channels. Aristespha wrestles an uneasy grimace and draws in a deep breath. "Expenses are still ever present and all."

Sotalia drops the stack of papers on the bar counter and guides stray dark red locks over her black, swept-back horns. "Not a bad deal for a six month lease, girl. How did you manage this?"

Aristespha smirks and slides the document closer to herself. "Oh. My family's property agent recommended it and said it would be perfect for adventurers needing a base to operate from."

Cracking an amused smirk, Sotalia chuckles softly. "Ah, yes. A remote house far enough from civilization to not risk the property values and noise complaints from us."

Sebastian's ghostly form settles next to Bach on the couch. Bach darts his blue eyes over, confirming the presence, and groans. Sebastian turns to his brother and sighs. "Look, bro. I know we got off to a BAD start. But, this is important stuff."

Rolling his voice with a growl, Bach keeps his head forward at the blank display. "To YOU."

Sebastian throws his hands to his sides. "To everyone, asshole! Dark Lord Noxian is going to cause trouble again, and we've been THE group closest to stopping him."

Bach's lip curls, and he scoots over to one side of the couch opposite of Sebastian. "Man... Fuck. You. This is all about you, and I'm just being used as your fucking proxy. Like before..."

Placing the palm of his hand on his forehead, Sebastian grits his teeth with a long exhale. "BRO. This is THE chance to get you actually in the game! Like we talked about when we were in school... Like we promised each other..."

He shakes his head. "All the adventures I've been on, YOU should have been a part of them! You should have been there!"

Bach sighs, flipping through the channels. "Whatever. Kiss my ass, ghost of fucking failure."

Sebastian glares at Bach, drifting opposite to Bach on the couch. "Shit, look at you! All brave NOW that I'm intangible and can't kick your ass."

The two remain silent on the couch. Both stare angrily at the television screen. Minutes pass, and the brothers pay some attention to the programming on the TV. Cutting from a long chain of commercials, a voice over sounds out from the television with prominent evuukian actor and actress profiles blending into the show title graphic.

"Last time on Houses Divided, Lady Alorianna and Lord Sessorian confront their daughter's scandalous affair with her HUMAN friend from school-"

Snapping out of his stale ire, Sebastian cringes, grumbling. "Could you change it, bro? I can't. Gods, this crap is awful."

Bach flips the channel in search of a tolerable station and settles on the weather. "No kidding, man. Figures that would be the one of few the stations coming in clearly."

Silence falls over the two brothers, and minutes pass again. Bach drops his head and sighs. "Gods. Dammit. Listen. I want to help you. But... Holy. Shit. There's GOT to be a better route than going to Noxian to get you released."

Sebastian leans in and whispers to Bach. "That's what I thought, too. But, Aristespha was pretty adamant about Noxian. From what she's gathered from consulting the thing, the sword seems really tuned in on him as the best source for Elder energy."

Bach sinks into the couch cushions and lets his eyes search his mind. "Well, fair enough. That's a currently known source, especially given how fucking rare that stuff is. But..."

He rocks his head from side to side. "There's GOT to be other places. Elder energy is elder energy. Doesn't matter where it comes from. So, okay, listen. Noxian is basically a conduit Elder magical energy. Almost all magical energy sources today are really tame in comparison to that. It's all derived from Elder, and Elder used to be the only source for a very long time."

Sebastian scratches his chin and nods. "Yeah. So, there's got to be some old ruins that might still have some of that Elder energy."

Bach turns his upper body towards Sebastian and motions with his hands. "Exactly! Again, there probably isn't going to be enough in any one location. It is super hard to find."

He grits his teeth and huffs. "And Noxian is probably the one source with enough..."

Pointing his finger over to Sebastian, Bach smirks hopefully. "But... There might be enough residual traces collectively around the area to charge up the sword. So, we explore a bunch of ruins, find enough Elder energy, charge up the sword, get you back, and we both get back at Noxian."

Cracking a grin on his translucent face, Sebastian waves a finger at Bach. "I'm with you on this, bro. Either way, you STILL need to get yourself into fighting shape. Ruins can be really dangerous."

Bach settles back onto his half the couch and sighs. "FINE. Yeah. Sure. I'll try. I guess. But, let me try to find a better route to getting you back along the way."

Sebastian smirks and shifts back to his side of the couch. "Deal. Either way, it'll be good to get you into the action."

Rolling his eyes, Bach shrugs apprehensively. "Sure. I'm sure that'll be fun."

Thinking for a moment, Sebastian uneasily glances at Bach. "Hey, your house back in Tullachester... Um... Do we need to do anything to handle the rent, or...?"

Bach's blue eyes search his mind, and he sinks back into the couch cushions. "Not really. My lease was up this month, and I already sold most of my unimportant crap to make last month's rent. Also, I didn't expect my deposit back when I signed up for the place. About the only thing of great value I didn't cram into my backpack and the sidecar was the television."

He stares at the large, wide screen panel on the wall across from him and shrugs. "No great loss there. It was on its last legs anyway. Sometimes the colors inverted and language settings would change at random. Stopped sleeping on couch watching it after waking up to that and thinking I'd eaten something really bad."

Sebastian stares at the television. "Yeah. That place seemed like a real hole in the wall. Plus, you're a shitty housekeeper, bro."

Bach shakes head and squints at Sebastian. "Man. Fuck you. It's called depression, asshole."

Sebastian tilts his head to the side. "Fair enough. Honestly, I haven't been anywhere long enough lately to really LIVE in a place."

Bach gazes at the television. "So... How's the whole not-really-dead and ethereal thing been for you?"

Sebastian scratches the back of his head of coiffed brown hair. "You know... Not bad. Not good. It's been... Interesting. Yeah, interesting to say the least."

Both Bach and Sebastian settle in and watch television. Channels flip, the two idly catch up, and the other team members settle into the house.

---

The sun rises slowly in the early morning, dew glitters off the blades of grass, and life stirs in the forest nearby. In the middle of the large field behind the house, Sotalia paces around in yoga pants, a workout shirt, and a hoodie, lecturing Bach. "Okay. So, let's find out what YOU can DO."

She searches around the area and points to a spot. "Stand over here. I want you to cast the standard mage bolt you learned in first year."

Bach rises up groggily and yawns, wiping the sleep from his eyes. He shambles up to the spot Sotalia indicates and scratches his back. Crossing her arms, she levels a scrutinizing stare. Bach motions out into the vast area of the field in front of him. "So... Um... Any target you want me to-"

Sotalia dismissively waves into the general distance of the grassy open expanse and rolls her eyes. "Just cast it in the air. It should dissipate before it hits anything."

Bach sniffs through the morning haze and stretches his arms back out. "Okay. Sure. I think I remember those motions."

His hands gesture through the somatic sequence of the spell, exaggerating points and drifting lethargically on others. His verbal incantations jumble, and the magical phrases butt into each other sloppily, leaving near indecipherable distinctions between parts. Narrowing his faintly glowing blue eyes, a swell of magical flow materializes in his palm, forming a perfect glowing orb. From his hand, the bolt flies off into the distance and bursts upon a tree deep in the forest.

Sotalia glares with a fleeting facial twitch she vainly attempts to suppress. "That was THE sloppiest gesturing and the worst incantation pronunciation I've EVER heard. But, somehow-"

Taking a deep breath in, she places her hands together and releases her bubbling tension through a long sigh. "OKAY. Let's try something that is more sensitive to proper spellcraft. The Hover Disc spell."

Bach shrugs nonchalantly and goes through the motions. He pauses in the middle of gesturing to scratch, yawns at parts, and leaves the verbal components out of sync at the end. A large hover disc forms without any trouble next to him. Sotalia's glare intensifies into a glower. She pops individual knuckles of her black nailed fingers, each snap releasing a tiny amount of bubbling frustration. "Step. On. It."

Gazing down at the hovering disc, Bach places a foot on top. He presses his weight upon the disc, and it does not move. He lifts his other foot off the ground, and the disc maintains the low altitude. With Bach's gentle lean towards a direction, the disc glides slowly. Sotalia's anger seeps into the thoughts visible on her face, and her eyes meet Bach's. Summoning her breath to react, she squints at the faint blue glow in Bach's eyes. Her anger flashes over and settles to curiosity and wonder. "Wait... That would explain it... I'll be damned..."

Bach stops moving the disc around and apprehensively raises an eyebrow towards Sotalia. "Wait... I'll be damned... What?"

Sotalia opens up her large satchel and rummages inside of it, pulling out the same golden, transparent disc from yesterday's chase. Still formed and solid, it shows no signs of decay. An evil grin grows upon Sotalia, and her golden eyes glint with a newfound intrigue. Pulling off her hoodie, she begins stretching and humming a happy, ominous tune. Bach steps cautiously off the hovering disc. "Okay... Something happened. I'm not sure what. What's going on?"

Sotalia circles a finger towards Bach with a smile. "I know what you ARE."

Bach freezes, nervously glancing at Sotalia, and turns his head away slightly with uneasy smirk. "Uh, what am I?"

Sotalia arcs her back and pops a few joints. "A Direct Caster. You got all the way through the mage school with high marks. So, I bet they never tried looking for it."

Glancing around uneasily, Bach struggles for a reason for the situation. "Huh? Uh. I'm not following you all the way here."

With a spring in her step, Sotalia smiles and brushes her shoulder length hair out of her face. "You see, those motions and sounds YOU make, don't mean anything to you. You don't NEED them."

Sorting through her satchel, she furrows her brow and rests a hand on her hip. "You may have initially needed them, but after a point you just did them to pass the tests. They don't help you get into the whole spell casting mindset anymore. Your brain just does that on its own."

Glancing over at Bach, she grins devilishly and chuckles to herself. "I don't think you've ever quite realized it..."

She watches Bach's blinking confusion. "Until now."

Bach scans side to side in a vain attempt for some explanation. "Okay. Uh. Huh. This has just officially turned weird. Whoa-"

He rears his head back. "Uh, is that magical sparring gear you are putting on-"

Tightening the uneasy smile on his face, Bach blinks blankly. "Oh. Shit."

Holding his hands up to Sotalia, he tenses up and searches his surroundings. Sotalia smiles in delight and amusement, putting on gear. "You see, Bach. I've been teaching myself to direct cast, but I've never run into anyone that naturally fell into it. And, to find someone that got through school without anyone figuring it out... Even themselves..."

Bach furrows his brow and grimaces, his understanding faltering. "Alright, still confused at the change of attitude here."

With a mischievous, evil grin, Sotalia winks at Bach holding her hand up with a tiny ball of fire forming. "Here I thought I was going to have to play kindergarten teacher to some oddball mage school dropout. Instead, I've just gotten the sparring partner I've been wanting, to learn all I could WANT from."

Tipping her head back, she tosses her dark red hair. "Don't worry. If all goes well, you'll have my respect."

Bach's eyes widen, a calm facade shattering to anxious worry, and a blue glow sparks in his eyes. "OH, that does NOT fill me with good feelings. Um, I'm really, really rusty on the magic stuff. Let's take it nice, slow and easy. Uh, just some of the basics and-"

Popping a hopeful smile, he pleads. "Why don't we have a nice sit down class and talk about things?"

The small ball of fire fully forms in Sotalia's hand, illuminating her light tan face, the edge of the lighting playing upon the dark gray patches under her pointed ears. She lifts her brow and smiles boldly at Bach. "Bach. Class IS in session. Right now, your real training begins. Time for an evaluation."

---

Cideeda sits at the dining table with various mechanical and electronic bits and pieces strewn across the table top. Playing with a holographic menu, she flips through the contents of the holoplayer. Aristespha reads through old tomes and other scripture, scribing notes in a journal. The ethereal form of Sebastian hovers near her, examining the material. Sitting on the couch, Dretphi inspects armor and other equipment. The sliding glass back door of the living room opens. Sotalia struts in with an ear to ear grin, wiping sweat off her face with a towel around her neck. "That was NICE."

She continues around the dining table, straight into the kitchen. She opens the refrigerator and pulls out a sports drink. Sebastian eyes Sotalia and follows her prior path back. "Where's Bach at?"

Bach steps through and drags the sliding door shut. He brushes off the small singed sections of his shirt. He pulls the loose thread from the leg of his pants, turned uneven cut shorts. He flexes the toes in his wet sock and glances at the shoe on his other foot. Dretphi lifts her head up. Bach plods to the couch and drops onto it, opposite of Dretphi. With Cideeda, Aristespha, and Sebastian observing, Bach stares blankly ahead. In between chugs of the sports drink, Sotalia points to Bach with a confident pose. "You did REALLY good. I'm surprised at how quickly you put up your mage barrier. Just damn near reflexive even."

Pausing in thought a moment, she smirks eagerly. "After I catch a shower, we'll continue for the rest of the day. I want to see what else you can do."

Bach blinks, not moving his head. "You should treat yourself. Take a nice... LONG... Bath. Relax. Take the REST of the day off."

Sotalia lifts an eyebrow with a wry smile. "And you miss out on all this great training? I'd like to try some magic homing missiles out. Don't worry, they're just training versions. You should be able to dodge or block them."

She finishes the drink, tosses the bottle into the nearby garbage can, and walks out of the room down a hallway towards nearby the bathroom. Attention from the room briefly returns to Bach, and everyone else resumes their prior tasks. Bach stares forward still. "So... Dretphi? Does your training tomorrow include fire, ice, bolts of energy, manic gleeful laughter, and repressed emotions feeding some form of psychosis?"

Dretphi gradually rotates her head and cocks it to the side. "No. Training weapons. Padded armor. Simple exercise routines. Cardio."

Bach nods with a neutral expression. "That sounds nice."

Dretphi analyzes the state of Bach's attire. "You want a new shirt? I believe mine will fit you."

Curling a lip, Bach shakes his head nonchalantly. "Nah... Not right now. It'd only get destroyed. Thank you, though."

Nodding with a hint of concern, Dretphi slides over a bottle of water to Bach on the coffee table. Reaching out, Bach grabs hold of the bottle, removes the cap, and pours it into his mouth. Dretphi cracks a small smile out of the corner of her mouth. "Maybe after training tomorrow, we will get you battle-ready clothing."

Bach nods appreciatively and returns the smile. "Thank you. That would be nice."