The group tumbled out of the portal on the other end, stepping through into darkness. Having been the first ones through, the Lightning twins were there as Korban and Obsidian came barreling into them from behind, not being able to see them until the exact second they emerged, and then came Lighris and Rikyuu, effectively sandwiching the husky and dragoness between the two broad males and the armoured twins.

“Ow… Well, that trip sucked,” said Rikyuu as the portal closed behind them and the group untangled themselves from another, and he gave an apologetic look to Obsidian.

They took a moment to let their eyes adjust to the darkness - though they found that it was not actually dark. There were lights - torches, mounted on sconces - along the walls of a long, stone corridor. The torches were alit with pale fire that did not seem to have any visible fuel source to burn with, nor did it make any sort of sound that they could hear.

The walls, according to the twin’s scans, were carefully chiselled limestone, with mortar that should have long since decayed away yet the walls showed no visible signs of wear. There were statues as well, carefully spread out along the length of the hall; on one side, they saw the jackal-like form of Anubis - easily recognized as he had a striking resemblance to the being that had abducted Volcan. But across from him a more humanoid figure, with two sceptres crossed over his chest. He wore a towering crown that almost reached up to the ceiling and an ancient Egyptian-style robe that hung from the shoulders down to his ankles.

“Uh… Anybody know where we are?” Obsidian asked, looking up and down the hall warily.

“...Lake Nasser? South of Aswan…” The Red Lightning replied, “The signal is poor… we must be under the lake.”

“Lake Nasser? Aswan? Where are they?” Lighris asked, trying to recall his geography but unable to discern where they were by the names alone. “I don’t really know lakes…”

“We’re all the way out in Egypt, ya dunce.” Korban answered quickly, glancing at the statues as he spoke. “If I had to hazard a guess, this is some kinda temple to honour the Egyptian gods, or something similar at least.”

“We’re in Egypt?” Rikyuu echoed.

“You’re saying we just got sent to the other side of the world?” Obsidian added.

“Looks that way,” replied Lighris, looking up and down the corridor, before pointing. “And there’s the fucker that took my bro!” he pointed,

They saw the figure for only a second, but down the hall they saw someone walking around a distant corner, carrying a winged form under their arm. Korban growled and began stepping ahead of the group, hand already on his sword.

“Well? The fuck are we just standing around here for? Let’s get that son of a bitch,” he stated.

The six of them broke into a run; the Lightnings had to stay on foot as the confined space made it too risky for them to fly. Korban was the fastest sprinter, with Obsidian close behind. One after the other, the six of them rounded the corner, and saw the figure ahead, through a doorway.

They passed through the doorway, and entered a wide open chamber. Two more of the statues they had seen in the corridor before - this time even larger than the last, stood on either side of the long chamber, their heads turned as if staring down at those who entered. In the middle of the room, there sat a gold-plated platform, like an altar, where they saw Volcan had been placed, still paralyzed by whatever spell the strange being had used to immobilize him.

What stood out to them, however, was the floor. A strange collection of inscriptions and figures, arranged in a manner that seemed nonsensical to most of them, had been painted in the stone floor, and the moment Volcan was placed on the altar, the inscriptions began to glow brightly, illuminating the chamber with a pale light. Out of the six of them, only Korban had any idea what they were looking at, having seen similar circular patterns in Kieran’s spellbooks whenever he caught glimpses of the contents.

It was then the figure seemed to notice their intrusion, his eyes blazing like embers as he glared at them.

“You are not welcome here, mortals,” he snarled as he turned to face them, holding out his hands to his sides, with his palms becoming filled with greenish, glowing spheres of energy. “You should not have come.”

“We came here for my brother, and we’re not leaving without him!” Lighris declared, stepping forward as electricity coursed down his arms and gathered into his hands, crackling loudly.

Lighris cast a lightning bolt from his hands, filling the chamber with a blinding flash as the electricity arced toward the Anubian figure, with a bolt containing all the power he could channel into the single attack. But in the split second before Lighris cast the bolt, the Anubian raised his hands as if to catch it when it came and catch it he did; the electrical charge was stopped at his hands, and seemingly absorbed into the spheres he had conjured previously.

“Foolish boy,” came the nonchalant reply before the figure cast another beam of energy at Lighris - the same kind he’d struck Korban with before they had followed him. When it struck, the Lightning Phoenix became rigid and dropped to the ground with barely a sound from his beak as he fell.

“None of you can understand what you face,” the Anubian stated, “nor what you are trying to do.”

Obsidian took a step toward their attacker, her eyes focused on him. But she suddenly threw her hands over her head as white-hot pain seemed to explode inside her skull. She had attempted to telepathically attack the Anubian, but somehow, he’d turned her own attack back at her, and she fell screaming to her knees, clutching her head; Rikyuu was by her side instantly, calling her name, but she did not respond through the blinding pain.

The Lightnings stood on either side of the doorway, flanking their fallen friends, scanning the chamber for any opportunities before landing their gaze back on the Egyptian.

‘If we want to do something, we go at once; overwhelm him’ Korban saw a message on his terminal appear from Avory. He groaned in annoyance but understood what had to be done. As much as he hated Avory’s guts, he knew that they had to work together to at least distract their foe long enough to save Volcan.

Then at that moment, the two Lightnings blasted off along either wall around the chamber, while Korban drew his sword and slashed in front of him a few times, discharging frozen sword waves at the Anubian entity. The Anubian thrust his left hand in front of him, a dome of energy forming a shield to block the oncoming ice attacks, and then aimed the other at Red Lightning who was circling around, casting another beam of that energy beam he’d already laid Lighris out with at the metal-clad raven.

The Red Lightning blasted at sonic speed inside the temple, narrowly missing the energy beam behind him, as his blue counterpart swooped down to the altar to collect the downed phoenix. The Anubian, however, heard her flying closer and immediately rounded in her direction, and his eyes flashed again as he spoke something - not in English this time, but an incantation in an ancient dialect.

The moment the words left his mouth, Avelyn was struck by a gale-force wind, sending her hurtling off-course and crashing into the floor below, smashing a collection of effigies under her suit.

Avory took advantage of this distraction by changing course and diving in to save Volcan too. Korban strafed around the opposite side of the circle, firing ice shots from his pistols to keep the Anubian distracted while Avory made his move; scooping up Volcan from the center and bee-lining for the entrance they came from. But the moment Avory tried to leave the circle, he was stopped in his tracks by an unseen force, jolting him and nearly dropping Volcan when he was brought to a stop.

“That one is going nowhere,” the Anubian’s cold voice stated before Volcan was pulled from Avory’s hands and returned to the table. Then, with a wave of his hand, the Anubian sent the armoured avian hurtling toward Korban as he approached the circle, sending them both tumbling across the floor.

Rikyuu, having seen enough, finally jumped in, taking flight and making a wide berth around the Anubian and his circle. He carefully angled himself to put himself behind the Anubian, before he began to spin his body, wrapping himself in hard light to take on a shape like a drill and diving at the Anubian; the same attack he had used to breach the security doors at P.A.C.E’s fortress…

Yet as soon as he drew near, he was - as with Avory, stopped in his tracks, spinning and whirring but never making contact with the Anubian’s outstretched hand. The hard light encompassing Rikyuu turned to green, and then exploded, sending Rikyuu hurtling backward across the room to crash into the far wall.

But after that, the white glow emanating from the runes around the circle flickered, and began to dim. The Anubian looked left to right, studying the circles until his eyes fell upon a single spot along the edge… The stone had been gouged, cutting through the chalk and breaking the circle. His red eyes widened in alarm, and he turned to look at Volcan still on the table.

“NO!” he yelled, before - from the phoenix, a burst of invisible energy sent him skidding across the floor, destroying more of the spell circle as his feet dragged across the chalk.

Volcan screamed and tumbled off the table as he began to writhe in pain, dropping to the floor as his colours reverted to their natural red and gold. But he was not back to normal, for his eyes continued to shift between purple and blue. He grabbed his head, rising on his knees while the glow of the circle continued to flicker and pulse around him; whatever spell the Anubian had been casting, it was failing…

Volcan heaved, clutching his chest, eyes wide… and then there was blood. A spray of blood exploded out of his back, as a wound opened below his wings. The spray of blood came again, and this time it was Obsidian who screamed as a glob of Volcan’s blood erupted from his back. The phoenix collapsed, and the globule that had emerged from him hit the floor several meters away with a wet splat.

“What in the fuck…?!” Korban whispered sharply, watching the entire event unfold before him, unable to move under the armoured bird, also gawking, stunned and shocked. He’d never seen anything like this in his life…

 The globule that had exploded from Volcan was also not the colour of blood; it was like a gelatinous mass, jet black with veins of red stretching across it, pulsating like a beating heart for the first few seconds… Before it began to move. As the others came around and their eyes found the mass, it continued to shift and pulsate… And expand.

The mass was growing larger, before their very eyes, sprouting limbs, one after the other, each accompanied by another shower of blood, and the figure began to rise. It sprouted a head and stood upon two legs. Its limbs ended in bloodied hands, fingers stretching from the stumps they once were, as the thing continued to change, becoming something resembling humanoid.

The Anubian growled and raised his hands, conjuring two more beams of energy to cast at the figure, but with a flick of their arm, something appeared between them, and the Anubian… A golden, Ankh-tipped staff, materialized into being, and the beams of energy were pulled into the Ankh. The figure took hold of the staff and used it to help them stand fully upright; the others couldn’t see their face, as their eyes - if they had any, were solely fixed upon the Anubian.

The Anubian growled again, this time holding out his arm and summoning a sword into his grasp - an Egyptian Khopesh, bronze in colour, that materialized in a burst of flame. He ran at the figure, who thrust their staff at the ceiling, and suddenly the beams of energy previously cast by the Anubian erupted from the staff, demolishing the ceiling and sending rubble falling into the Anubian’s path; he tried to push through, disregarding the falling rubble, but he was nonetheless slowed by it, and the bloody, humanoid mass sprang toward the opening they had created, disappearing into the darkness above.

The Anubian jumped toward the open, clearly intent on pursuing, but the moment he cleared it, he was struck by the beams that had been previously captured by the figure’s staff; his own spell, and he fell back into the chamber, dropping his sword in the process. He began levitating just moments before reaching the floor, rubbing his chest where he had been struck as he placed his feet on the ground again.

“What the fuck is going on?!” Lighris demanded. “What was that thing; why’d it come out of-?!” he stopped, mid-word. He looked in the direction of his fallen brother, and called out his name as he ran to Volcan’s side, seeing the gaping wound that had opened on his back; he covered his mouth, looking like he wanted to retch at what he saw.

“Someone get over here and do something; I can see his fucking spine!” he shouted as the Blue Lightning flew over.

Avelyn raced over in seconds, shocked to see the extensive damage Volcan had suffered. The wound was terrible to behold, and she felt her stomach turning at the sight of it; all of the flesh had been ripped away, down to the bone, and he was bleeding profusely. But a quick scan and a hand on his back revealed what she hoped to find; against all odds, he was still breathing.

She quickly stepped out from her suit and deployed her med kit; it wasn't going to be enough, but it was what she had. She took no consideration in pulling off her red top, leaving her in only her bra, and using it as a large pressure bandage to soak up as much of the blood as possible and stem the flow. Using what little other resources she had on hand, she disinfected the huge gaping wound as best as she could.

“Lighris! Hold this against his back. I am going to try and apply some stitches to try and keep him closed…” She insisted, taking his brother out of a trance to take ahold of her top whilst she freed her hands up for the stitches.

But Obsidian, still holding her head, stepped in. “That wound is too big for stitches,” she put in. “Lighris, how do we-”

“Incompetent mortals!” the Anubian growled, interrupting Obsidian and earning surprised looks from everyone present. “Because of your interference, the chaos bringer lives again! Now he runs wild in the world once more!”

“Okay, okay, back the fuck up!!” Korban shouted, daring to approach the Anubian and pointing his sword at him. “Why don’t you start from the fucking beginning and explain to us what that fucking thing was that shot out of Flamie’s back in a bloody mess before I skewer you!”

The Anubian glared at him. “It was a demon, who first came to this world almost ten thousand years ago, summoned by an ancient culture - predating even Egypt. When it went out of control, they were forced to hide themselves, as that monster rampaged across the world, destroying everything it saw… Until all that was left was to kill itself.”

Even as he continued talking, Lighris and the girls continued tending to Volcan; the Anubian turned his gaze toward the hole in the ceiling, left by the creature that had escaped. “That staff confirms that what was in the phoenix was indeed the same entity; there can be no mistake. The destroyer lives again. It needed only a body strong enough to act as its host, and the phoenix was that body. My spell was meant to purge him - to ensure he could never live again… But I have failed.”

“That's putting it lightly!” Rikyuu dared to speak up to the god-like being. “That thing just exploded out of our friend like something out of a Ridley Scott movie, and… I don't know what I saw - did it just make a new body from his blood?!”

“That was something even I did not foresee,” the Anubian admitted. “When the spell failed, I had thought it would simply take control of the body of the phoenix again as it did before… But it did not.”

“He has a name!” Obsidian said crossly, rising from Volcan’s side to glare at the Anubian. “And you better have some way to help him! You did this to him; you owe him that much!”

“His name is irrelevant to me, and I am not a healer; I can do nothing for him, but collect his soul when he passes,” the Anubian stated, without a hint of emotion in his voice.

“Collect his soul?” Avory echoed, but he was speaking mostly to himself; he now began to suspect that their initial thought about this being was accurate. Was this, in fact, the Egyptian God of the Dead – were they actually looking at Anubis himself? Or some other entity who just happened to resemble him?

“Then you better find someone who can, you son of a bitch.” Korban growled, still pointing his weapon at the creature. “‘Cause if he dies here today, someone’s gotta pay for taking him from us, and it sure ain’t gonna be any of us.”

Once again, the Anubian looked at him; not a glare this time, but a more apathetic look, clearly not seeing Korban as a threat. “You overestimate yourself severely, boy,” he warned. “If you are so adamant then you must take him to one of his own kind. Only they can help him now.”

Lighris looked up at that. “One of his own? Another Fire Phoenix?”

“Yes,” the Anubian replied. Then, he turned and waved his hand, conjuring another of the swirling, green portals that they had originally followed him through. “Now it is time for all of you to leave. I will send you back to where you were; that is the only favour I shall grant you.”

The Red Lightning looked around the room for something they could use, when his eyes settle upon a massive stone tablet by the far wall. He raced over to it; inscribed in some ancient writings he didn’t recognize, but he didn’t care about it at that moment. He lifted it without a second thought, and carried it over to where Volcan lay. “Avelyn; hold the other end of this against Volcan’s back; we’ll need to roll him over on top of it to carry him out.”

“I can use telekinesis to lift him,” offered Obsidian.

“You think you can keep him still long enough for us to slide this under him?” Avelyn asked as she climbed back into her suit.

“Yes,” Obsidian replied. “Don’t let that tablet touch his back; we have no idea how long it’s been sitting in this gloomy place.”

“Do you know what that is, boy?” the Anubian asked incredulously, looking at Avory.

“No, and I don’t care,” Avory quickly replied, in a tone that suggested he was not willing to argue the point. “Unless you have something else, it is now a spinal board.”

Obsidian held up her hands, and very carefully wrapped Volcan in telekinetic energy. She made certain to avoid bending his spine as much as possible as she lifted him onto the tablet, keeping him face-down to avoid letting the thin layer of dust on the slab get into the wound. Then, she expanded her telekinetic hold to engulf the tablet, slowly lifting it until it was high enough to be handled by the Lightnings, showing visible strain on her face as she picked it up.

“We’ll take it from here” Avory insisted, taking the weight of the tablet from the back, and allowing Avelyn to take the front.

Obsidian nodded, stepping aside for them, and catching her breath as she watched them approach the portal. She then turned to look at the Anubian again, unable to keep the scowl off her face.

“Who are you?” she asked.

The Anubian’s answer came slowly. “My name is Izrail,” he replied. “But do not concern yourself with remembering it. You will not see me again.”

Rikyuu came over to Obsidian, putting his arm around her and coaxing her toward the portal, with Lighris and Korban bringing up the rear, both casting their own scowls back at the Anubian until they vanished through the portal…

The moment Avory and Avelyn stepped through the portal they were alerted to an intense heat all around them. When the glow of the portal left their sight, they realized that the woods they were standing in - the same place where Volcan had initially become possessed by the demon and it attacked them, had been set ablaze during the fight, and the fire had spread since their departure.

When the others came through, they too were immediately treated to a wave of heat, covering their faces with their arms as they looked at the flames around them.

“Well, crap! Is this what they mean by out of the frying pan and into the fire?” Rikyuu asked.

“Not the best time for jokes, Rik!” Obsidian scolded him. “We have to get out of here and call the fire department!”

“No, not yet!” Lighris protested. “We can use this!”

Korban glanced over at Lighris and narrowed his eyes, having a gut feeling about what he meant. “...Care to explain, Sparky?” He asked.

“Volcan said that he can use fire to restore his power and health…” Avory interjected, understanding Lighris’ meaning. “We can certainly use this… But how?”

“With help,” Lighris replied, before turning to face Rikyuu. “You copied my brother’s powers, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Rikyuu asked,

“You can manipulate flames the same way he can, and you’ll be immune to the flames too,” Lighris explained hastily. “Turn ‘em on or whatever it is you do and pull all the flames over to Volcan; cover him with them. He’ll do the rest.”

Rikyuu nodded, and at that called upon Volcan’s powers, his colours changing in the span of a second to match those of the phoenix - red with gold patterns. Lighris instructed the Lightnings to set down the slab carrying the phoenix, and for Obsidian to telekinetically move it deeper into the fire. They did as he instructed, and Rikyuu followed the floating slab until Obsidian set it down.

With that, Rikyuu held up his hands and mentally called out to the flames around him. They responded, seemingly bending toward him at his command. He looked around at them, confirming he had control before he began to command the flames to come to him; they did as they were commanded, gathering into a whirling sphere in front of his hands, leaving behind the trees they were consuming.

With that, Rikyuu knelt beside the prone phoenix and spread his arms out wide as he commanded the fire to stretch over Volcan like a blanket, and had to remain there by his side to keep the flames burning over his body. The effect was almost immediate, as the flames began to merge with the phoenix’s body, melding with his red feathers and making them glow with the heat of the flames.

“Whoa…” Obsidian breathed, taken aback by the sight. It was her first time seeing a phoenix’s ability to consume sources of their elements for sustenance or healing. Before their very eyes, the wound on Volcan’s back was shrinking and the bleeding stopped… But it did not close.

Before the wound could fully heal, the flames went out, and Volcan’s body remained prone and his feathers were darker than usual; they had regained their proper red colour, but not their brightness. “I don’t think it was enough,” said Rikyuu, frowning.

“It wasn’t,” replied Lighris. “But it’s bought us some time.”

“That jackal asshole mentioned that if we wanted to fully restore him, we had to take him to one of his own kind.” Korban remarked, looking squarely at Lighris. “You know someone that can save him, don’t you?”

“I do,” Lighris replied. “Our mother. She’s the only other Fire Phoenix in this area; we’ll take him to her.”

“Any idea where we can find her?” Korban continued to press.

“I know the way; first, let’s get him to my truck,” said Lighris. “I’ve got a blanket behind the seat we can lay him on if someone’s willing to ride in the box with him to keep him from sliding around.”

“I mean I would, but I don’t trust anyone else with my ride.” The husky remarked, giving stink eyes to the Lightnings in particular after he said that.

“I will,” Rikyuu offered. “We can’t leave Korban or Obsidian’s vehicles here anyway - too many questions if someone comes by.”

Lighris nodded. “Alright,” he said. “Let’s go.

~~~~~

The small convoy of vehicles travelled north away from Unity Falls for a while, before their route took them down a range road - a gravel road, leading to various back country properties such as farms or acreages. The property Lighris led them to was one of these acreages, driving down a long driveway, lined on either side with trees, until they came to a humble-looking little house at the other end of the driveway.

The property was well-kept, with freshly mowed grass and strategically placed solar lamps placed throughout the property that added to the overall beauty of the property. A single vehicle sat in the driveway, placed before the closed doors of the garage - an old SUV, dark green in colour, with four doors and a streamlined body.  The porch was illuminated by another solar light - an LED lamp fed by a collector mounted on the side of the house, attached by a single cable.

Lighris pulled up in front of the house and was followed closely by Korban and Obsidian in their respective vehicles. The Lightnings came down last, having followed the convoy from above; Rikyuu stayed where he was in the truck, keeping an eye on Volcan while Lighris ran up to the front door of the house.

“Mom!” he called, opening the front screen door and knocking on the wooden door behind it. “Mom, open up!”

Lighris continued knocking and calling out until a light came on inside the house. Soon, the door opened to reveal the occupant; an avian who was almost the image of Volcan in terms of colour, sharing the bright red and yellow highlights, and even having the same eye colour and skin colour around her hands and beak but offset by her overarching crown being two thin strands - like a pair of antennae, instead of the triangular, upward curving crest both her sons possessed. She was slightly taller than Lighris, though not as broad-shouldered or muscular as her sons. She was clad in a red and black plaid bathrobe, open-backed bathrobe to allow her wings to stretch out and looked like she had just woken.

“Lighris?” she asked. “What’re you doing here this time of night? What-?”

“It’s Volcan; he needs you,” Lighris interrupted her, gesturing back toward his truck where the others waited.

The female phoenix eyed the strangers gathered around his truck warily, her blue eyes studying each of them. “Son, what’s happening? Who are these people?”

“They’re friends,” Lighris replied. “Mom, I promise I’ll explain, but Volcan needs you right away.”

“Where is he?”

“In the back of my truck,” Lighris pointed as he answered, leading the female phoenix over to the vehicle, where Rikyuu still sat waiting. The blue dragon had returned to his original form, having exhausted himself sharing some energy with Volcan on the way, but he’d since reached the end of his reserves.

The female phoenix looked into the back of the truck, and Rikyuu pulled aside the blanket to uncover Volcan. Her eyes widened in alarm, letting out a shocked gasp. “By the ancestors… What happened to him?!”

“It’s a long story,” Rikyuu answered, holding out a hand to help the phoenix climb into the truck, where she knelt beside Volcan and laid her hands on his side.

The female’s hands glowed as she began to channel her own power into Volcan, sharing what she could with him. As she did, she studied the others gathered around them, looking at each individually, before speaking.

“I recognize some of you,” she said. “Volcan told me about you, when I last talked to him a while ago - something about dealing with a radical group. But what were your names again?” She then looked at the two Lightnings. “Except for you two; he said he promised never to reveal your real names, but he did describe you. Called you the ‘Lightning Twins’.”

“Affirmative” the red one replied plainly in a robotic voice.

“Name’s Korban.” The husky answered, tossing a small, casual salute her way. “Pleasure, miss.”

“Obsidian,” the purple dragoness introduced herself, “And that’s Rikyuu.”

“I wish we were meeting under better circumstances,” the blue dragon said with a sad smile.

“As do I… But it seems not,” said the phoenix. “My name is Degra. Now,” she looked at Lighris. “What happened to your brother?”

“Remember when Volcan and I told you about those radicals,” explained Lighris, “the ones who were capturing people like us? Well, one of their captives was carrying something really nasty…” he looked at Korban, “something we didn’t really understand the risk of…”

“Volcan was possessed,” Lighris went on. “A demon got into him from in P.A.C.E’s fortress, previously inhabiting a captive that killed themselves trying to get him, and then that demon flew into Volcan. Sat dormant in him ever since; he complained of a headache and later some sickness but none of us realized just what was happening until it was too late.”

“That demon put this wound on his back?” Degra asked.

“Yes and no,” replied Lighris. “I have no idea how it happened, but this… Thing, kidnapped him, took him off to Egypt and tried to destroy the demon - would’ve killed him too, so he told us. We tried to stop him, things went wrong and then that… Creature, ripped its way out of him, grew its own body and everything.”

“What took him?” Degra asked.

“He called himself ‘Izrail’,” Obsidian put in. “He looked a lot like the way the ancient Egyptians depicted Anubis, the God of the Dead.”

Degra hummed in thought at that, turning her attention back to Volcan. Lighris looked at her curiously. “Mom… Do you know who it was?” he asked.

“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “The resemblance to Anubis can’t be a coincidence, but it doesn’t matter…”

“What about Volcan; can you help him?” asked Rikyuu.

“The damage he suffered is… Extensive… There’s little I can do but stabilize him until we take him to someone even more powerful than I am,” she said, lifting her hands from Volcan. “We must take him to my uncle… Can any of you carry him? It should be safe to move him now; I’ve healed most of the damage around his spine.”

“Objective received,” the Red Lightning announced, walking forward to the two fire phoenixes, waiting at attention until the mother stood back.

“You don’t have to pretend to be a robot,” Degra stated, “I know someone is inside that armour. I just don’t know who - nor will I ask. Volcan trusts you… So will I.”

With that, she moved aside and hopped out of the truck, allowing Red Lightning to reach Volcan unobstructed.

“I do worry what he has told you,” the Red Lightning finally said, still using the voice synthesizer to mask his voice, climbing into the back of the pick-up, crouching low to pick up Volcan carefully, keeping him as still as possible.

“My son knows a thing or two about keeping secrets,” Degra replied. “Follow me.”

“Don’t we all…” Korban muttered under his breath as he fell into step with the others.

Degra led them around to the rear of her house, circling around the simple home before taking them through a gate to the rear yard. The backyard was ringed with gardens, sporting a variety of colourful flowers, shrubs and ferns, and a single large oak tree growing from the middle of the yard. Degra was leading them toward the tree… Or rather, something sitting below it.

Under the tree stood a hexagonal stone pedestal with a bowl on the top; by all appearances it seemed to be an ordinary bird bath, but at its center was something that did not belong. They could see from a distance that it was glowing with a pale green light; as they got closer, they could see the source of the light was a carved, oval stone sitting in the middle of the birdbath, and the glow was coming from the various runic symbols etched upon the stone surface.

Korban leaned forward to get a closer look at the supposed birdbath, unable to make heads or tails of the runes around it. Frowning, he turned back to glance at Degra with a confused expression.

“Sooo… What’s this supposed to be?” the husky asked.

“That is a runestone, with a transportation enchantment upon it,” she stated, “once activated, it will take us to its sister stone, at the home of my uncle, Boswell MacAingeal. He is the patron of our clan and the oldest Fire Phoenix alive today. If anyone can help Volcan, he can.”

She then turned to address the others. “But I must warn you all… He tends to be very opposed to any visitors who are from outside the clan; whatever you do, do not provoke him, and let me do the talking.”

“As long as he helps Volcan, that’s all we care about,” Obsidian stated without hesitation.

Degra nodded and turned to the runestone. “Get as close to me as possible. The spell will only respond to the correct words, but it is instantaneous; if you aren’t close enough, you will be left behind.”

As everyone stepped as close to her as they could - with a little extra input from her sending a couple to the other side of the birdbath, she reached her hands inside; there was no water in the basin - nothing to harm her. She placed her hands upon the stone, and spoke in a foreign dialect. “Othel muinntir o shean.”

Immediately, the six of them felt a wave of vertigo pass them. But the effect was thankfully brief. The blinding of their eyes, as it very suddenly turned from night to day, however, was not as quick to pass, for in a split second they had passed from the dead of night to the morning, seeing the sun high in the east, overlooking an estuary of silty water that reflected the light of the sun.

“What happened?” Rikyuu asked, rubbing his eyes. “Why’s the sun up all of a sudden? It was like midnight.”

“I think we just got moved to a… Different timezone,” Obsidian replied, shaking her head. “But… Where are we?”

“You’re in Sco’lan’, lass,” the Red Lightning responded, having dropped his voice synthesizer for his best impression of a Scottish accent. “Welcome to the United Kingdom,” Avory then confirmed, with a hint of pride in his voice.

“Wow. Zapped across the world twice in one night,” said Rikyuu, and then added in a jest. “I should be collecting Skystream Points for this.”

“Loch Linnhe. Near Portnacroish,” The Blue Lightning responded, still retaining her robotic voice.

“We’re here,” Degra said plainly. She was not looking in the direction of the sun but at the towering structure behind them.

They stood in a small gazebo-like structure – to create a shelter against rain if there had been any falling at the time. Before them stood a massive, stone castle, with walls so high the other had to tilt their heads back to see the top of the walls. The bricks were aged and weathered, many of which shad discoloured with time, with the exception of the windows - many of which appeared to have been recently replaced. The only entrance they could see to the castle was a lone door at the top of a set of stairs, facing the estuary.

Korban let out an impressed whistle as he looked on at the castle. “Damn, yer uncle lives in that old keep?” He asked, glancing at Degra. “Bet he’s sitting on a whole vault worth of riches if he can afford that.”

“I was not exaggerating when I said he was the oldest of our kind,” she reminded. “He has lived since this land was still known as Albion by the ancient Phoenicians. This castle was built when our clan first became known as the MacAingeal, named for his elder brother - my great, great, great, great grandfather, Aingeal.”

“Uh, what’s that?” Rikyuu asked, shading his eyes as he looked up the castle. “I think I just saw - ah! Incoming!”

Above, a winged form leapt out of the upper level of the castle, and dropped toward them. In seconds, a massive avianic form hit the ground feet-first, wings out mid-flap to slow his descent, before he stood tall again.

The avian was huge. He stood taller even than Volcan, sharing similar colours to Volcan and Degra, but with different patterns; his broad wings - so large that they could have blotted out the sun if it was at his back, were more yellow than red, with only the upper part of the limb sharing the same bright red colours as his kinfolk. He had the same sky-blue eyes, but in them was the wisdom of one who had lived far longer than they could imagine.

His body further conveyed this point, with a musculature comparable to a miner or a bodybuilder, and they could tell he was powerful; even standing near him they could feel sweltering heat radiating from his body. Some of the group had to back up a step as it was uncomfortable to stay close to him. At his side he carried a sword with a well-born handle, a pommel and crossguard of bronze, and a long double-edged blade that was not housed in a scabbard, suggesting he had brought it with intent to use it if it was necessary. The look on his face - a disapproving scowl, directed at the visitors standing behind Degra, seemed to further emphasize this.

“Um… I think I need a change of shorts,” Rikyuu muttered.

“No one mentioned he was fucking jacked!” Korban remarked in utter shock. “Dude looks like a brick shithouse on steroids!”

“You expected him to look like you, twinkie?” Lighris asked with a cheeky grin.

“No, I expected him to look like Flamie,” Korban shot back, then grinned just as cheekily back at Lighris. “But hey. At least I can see where he got the height genes from.”

LIghris lost his smile and his eyes narrowed, glaring at the husky but not saying anything.

The ancient phoenix took a moment to study each of them individually before his gaze settled on Degra. He finally spoke, in a heavy, highland-accented voice. “Niece,” he began, addressing the much smaller female. “Dae ye mynd telling me wha ye'v brought tae mah castle?”

“I will explain everything, Uncle Boswell,” she promised, “but we’re here for a serious matter. Please,” she stepped aside, and gestured for Red Lightning to come forward, carrying Volcan.

As the metal-clad raven approached, Boswell studied the younger phoenix he carried in his arms, and his mood shifted immediately; the scowl softened, and he regarded the young phoenix with concern. “Yer son?” he asked Degra, who nodded back, and he turned his attention back to Red Lightning. “Bring ‘em,” he said, beckoning for the group to follow him as he started walking toward the castle door.

Briefly, as he passed Korban, his eyes lingered on the husky, and the scowl returned. But he continued his trek toward the castle without another word, with Red Lightning following his wake and the others behind him, led by Degra. Boswell led them up the stairs to the door, pushing it open and holding it for Red Lightning to come inside, and directed him to a nearby bench.

“Set him doon thare,” he directed the armoured avian. “An' whit's wi' th' tin suit? Ye expecting a foight?” he added, glowering as Avory passed him.

“My prime directive is to protect others. This body assists me with that directive,” The Red Lightning replied, having adopted his synthetic voice once again, slowly lowering the injured bird down on the bench he was gestured to.

When Red Lightning stepped away, Boswell knelt beside Volcan and placed a large, calloused hand on his chest, leaning his sword against the column beside the bench as he did. The hand glowed, along with his eyes, and his gaze narrowed. “...Something vey evil haes touched yer son, niece,” he said, “Kin practically fel it oozing oot o' him… Whot ‘appened?”

“A demon took residence in his body, so I’m told,” Degra replied. “It tried to take possession of him… It ultimately failed, but he paid the price.”

“Aye,” Boswell agreed.

“Can you help him, uncle?” Lighris asked.

Boswell glanced over his shoulder at the lightning phoenix. “Ah. Ye'r Torden's laddie, right? Ye keek juist lik' him.”

“What’d he say?” Rikyuu asked, looking at Avelyn as he was unable to hear the meaning through Boswell’s thick accent.

“‘You’re Torden’s son, right? You look just like him’.” Avelyn translated plainly in her robotic voice.

“Yes. Torden was my dad,” Lighris confirmed. “Our dad,” he added, gesturing to Volcan. “Can you help him?”

“Aye, ah can,” Boswell replied, and spoke slower and clearer - likely to the benefit of the others so they could understand him more easily. “He ‘as nearly dead… But ye were wise to bring ‘em to me. Ah wull share mah power wi' him; he will recover.”

Obsidian placed both her hands on her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. “We made it in time,” she said, barely above a whisper.

Korban heaved a sigh he didn’t realize he was holding in, hunching forward a little and smirking in relief. “Whew… Bullet dodged,” he muttered.

“Uncle… Thank you so much,” said Degra, putting his hands together and beaming at the ancient phoenix. “I am sorry to come on such short notice, but you know I wouldn’t if it was not important.”

“Aye, ah do,” he agreed, nodding as he regarded Degra. “Ah cannae dae anythin' aboot that scar on ‘is back. Volcan wull carry that tae th' end o' his days, 'n' th' trauma o' th' experience wi' it. He kin nae be th' same efter this.”

“Now what’d he say?” Rikyuu asked.

This time, it was Lighris who translated for Rikyuu. “He said Volcan may not be the same after everything he’s been through,” the Lightning Phoenix stated, a sad note carried in his voice.

Rikyuu frowned, hanging his head. “Oh…”

“Now,” Boswell began, and rose from Volcan’s side before turning his eyes on Korban specifically. The glare had returned. “You.”

Korban’s ears perked up as he was addressed, arching his eyebrow as he looked back at Boswell. “What? What about me?” He asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “There something on my face?”

“Ye dinnae look lik' him, bit ah know th' stink o' that essence anywhere,” he said, taking slow steps toward the husky, picking up his sword again as he moved. “Ye'r Kleetra’s son, aren't ye?”

For a split second, Korban’s eyes widened before he quickly narrowed them, uncrossing his arms and frowning back at Boswell even as he got closer to him. “…Never heard of ‘em.” He said in a warning tone. “Am I supposed to give two shits as to who that is…?”

“Dinnae be playn dumb wi' me, lad,” Boswell growled. “Ye're carrying his sword; ah hae scars left by that blade whin he 'n' ah fought centuries ago, and I nevah ferget th' blade of a worthy foe. Thare kin be no mistake 'ere. Yer th’ damn brat o’ that demon.”

Suddenly, all eyes were turning to Korban, with a mixed collection of expressions directed at him - aside from the Lo’Raven twins, as he couldn’t see either of their faces behind their helmets. But Obsidian and Rikyuu’s expressions showed pure shock, staring at Korban as if he had grown a second head. From Degra, whom he had only just met, her gaze was suspicious, as if she was unable to decide yet what she thought of him.

From Lighris, though, nothing was hidden. The Lightning Phoenix was glaring at him, his fists tight at his sides, ready to fight if one started. Out of everyone present, Lighris seemed the only one as eager as Boswell to engage the husky…

“Korban?” Obsidian asked softly, willing at least to hear Korban’s side. “Is what he says… True?”

Korban said nothing at first, still glaring daggers back at Boswell for a solid minute before he let out a heavy sigh. “...You just had to open your crusty old beak, didn’t you old man…?” He growled, lowering his hand from his sword hilt and turning back to face the others, sucking in a deep breath before giving his answer.

“...Yea…” He said after much hesitation. “...He’s right. My old man was a Demon… More specifically, he was the Demon King of the underworld.”

“Demon King?” Rikyuu echoed. “So, you’re… What, some kind of royalty?”

“Ha! Royalty my ass.” Korban shot back instantly. “It sure as hell doesn’t feel like I am, given he was never around, nor did he bail me out when I was a kid during that one attack that took my mother,” he said spitefully, then gestured to his sword. “This is all he left me… A constant, painful reminder of that day.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group, as everyone began to chew on the new information. Obsidian and Rikyuu shared uncomfortable looks, neither one wanting to be the first to speak. Degra looked away, but Lighris did not, though his expression showed he was deep in thought, suddenly unsure of how to take the information he had just learned. As before, with the twins, he could not deduce anything, since he couldn’t see them; he suspected if they were talking, they would be doing so over a closed-circuit channel - he knew they had that, so only they could hear the other.

At that, Boswell raised the sword he carried. “Sae ye better be gey clear right noo, 'n' convince me it wasn't yer fault mah nephew's lying in mah hall, barely alive,” he said, his eyes glowing as he loomed before Korban.

Korban then twitched, lifting his gaze as his expression slowly turned from pained to pissed off in a matter of seconds. “...You think I had a hand in what happened to him?” he asked, slowly turning his head to look back at Boswell.

There was a change in his appearance, a minute one, but noticeable regardless. Korban’s eyes had started to turn deep crimson and his irises went from round to slitted as his temper started to grow. “You have a lot of fucking nerve, you son of a bitch! Read the fucking room! If I really were the guy responsible fer Flamie’s condition, would I have even dared to show up in the first place? Surrounded by his family and his pals no less? I was there trying to save his fucking ass from whatever demon was corrupting him, and you have the balls to accuse me otherwise?!” he demanded, once again reaching for his sword and grasping the hilt tightly.

“Ye ought to know tha’ demons are drawn to one another - to the strongest of their kind,” Boswell stated. “Ye carry Kleetra's blood; th' damn demon king his-self. Ye practically reek of ‘im. Whit proof hae we that this one didnae just come as a result o` yer lineage?”

Korban suddenly pulled his sword off of his back and slammed it hard into the ground next to him, the blade practically rattling as his paw shook with how tightly he was gripping it. “I’d be very careful what you say next… It might save your wings from getting clipped…” He threatened, his glare intensifying and his eyes starting to glow.

“Laddie, yer da coudnae kill me - ye think ye ‘ave any mair o' a chance than he did?” Boswell glared, his eyes glowing like stars - much the same way Volcan’s did, and the heat radiating from him intensified; the rest of the group felt like they were standing near a blazing furnace.

Rikyuu, Obsidian and Lighris were all left speechless. Degra looked ready to speak up, but someone else beat her to it, as one of the two armoured avians stepped forward, and put himself between Korban and Boswell. Immediately, the glow left Boswell’s eyes, and he looked at Red Lightning quizzically.

“Urr ye daft, getting in th' middle o' something lik' this?” he asked, questioning the metal-clad raven’s sanity.

“The fuck are you doing? Back off, Stark. I don’t need your help.” Korban growled, stunned but still bubbling with rage.

“I am sorry for taking so long. It took me a while to find the recordings, especially when the connection was so poor out here in the middle of nowhere,” The Red Lightning responded as he lifted his hand towards a wall and began projecting something on it.

The projection showed a recording of the CCTV from the base, starting with the group deciding to split up and open all of the prison cells, before swapping to a camera on another floor, where Volcan was opening each cell, before coming to the possessed P.A.C.E soldier’s cell where the view swapped to a camera inside the cell. They saw him pounce on Volcan, taking him over the railings and down to the lowest floor of the prison block where Volcan had landed on top of it, seemingly killing it. They then saw the group regather and Korban becoming agitated before calling for Volcan to burn the prisoner and leave nothing behind.

“Korban had nothing to do with Volcan’s possession; if anything, he tried to stop anyone from being possessed in the first place,” The Red Lightning declared.

Boswell watched the footage play, his eyes taking in every detail of what he saw in the video provided by Red Lightning. At that, Lighris came forward and added his piece. “I can confirm all of this,” he stated. “I was right there with Volcan when Korban told him to burn the body…” he then cast an apologetic look at Korban. “He did try to warn us… And I didn’t believe him.”

Slowly, Boswell lowered his sword and gave a huff. “Well... It seems mah accusations wur boundless,” he said, looking at Korban. “'Twas nae yer fault efter all. Ye have mah apologies, laddie.” He gave a nod of his head in emphasis and turned his sword point-down in a show of pacification, to show the truth of his words.

The husky seemed to calm down after hearing that, his eyes turning back to their usual blue-green colours and his pupils reverted to being rounded. Still, he held a sneer even as he put his sword on his back again. “I am a lotta things, old man… A scoundrel… A murderer… A mercenary. But never have I told a lie in my life,” he growled. “Don’t you ever compare me to any form of Demon Scum like that ever again…”

After a moment or two, as if gauging Korban’s words, Boswell gave another slow nod. Then, Obsidian came forward, clearing her throat to excuse herself before speaking. “So… Is it safe to move Volcan then; he’ll be okay?”

“Aye, he will,” Boswell confirmed, and spoke slowly once more to try to keep his words as clear as possible for all of them. “Ah’ve given him enough tae heal th' physical harm. But he’ll still ‘ave tae take some time tae recover. And,” he added pointedly, “be mindful o' whit ah said... He may not be as ye ‘member him efter an experience lik' this… Few who survive possession lik' he did ever come back at all.”

Another uncomfortable silence fell over the group as the weight of Boswell’s words settled. Korban eventually broke the silence by snapping his fingers to get everyone’s attention.

“No sense hanging around here then. We got what we came for… Let’s leave the old man to his own time,” he said, already turning his back on Boswell.

“Right,” said Degra, and bowed her head to Boswell again. “Thank you again, uncle, for saving my son.”

“Tak' care o' him, niece,” said Boswell, raising his head to address the group as a whole. “All o' ye. He's gon’ tae need ye.”

Obsidian looked at Red Lightning, but she didn’t need to say anything as the metal-clad raven was already making his way over to Volcan, scooping him up bridal style in his arms and turning around to face his audience. They fell into step with Degra as she led them outside, with Boswell bringing up the rear to see them out as they made their way back to the runestone that had brought them.

With a final goodbye to the ancient phoenix, Degra called upon the runestone’s power once more. They vanished from the grounds of Castle MacAIngeal, reappearing in Degra’s back yard once again, looking just as they had left it.

“Bring him inside, please,” Degra bade Red Lightning, heading to the back door. “We’ll put him in his old room. He can stay the night here.”

“Should we call Ordagova, and update him?” Lighris asked.

“He’s at the hospital right now, being treated,” Obsidian put in. “I’ll stop by there on my way home to fill him in on what’s happened.”

“Ordagova. That was Volcan’s… Boyfriend, yes?” Degra asked.

“Yes,” Obsidian replied.

“I’ll write down my phone number for him,” Degra offered, “If he wants to check up on Volcan I can talk to him. I think it’s about time I met him anyway,” she added with a smile.

Obsidian nodded. “I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” she said with a smile.

Degra opened the back door and held it open for Red Lightning as he carried Volcan into the house. “Left up ahead, and second door on the left. That’s his old room,” she instructed him.

Avory carried the large bird in to see a rather simple-looking room. There was a queen-sized bed with a red and black plaid duvet, with a single large, thick pillow at the head. At the foot of the bed sat a dresser, with a framed picture sitting facing the door. A look at the picture showcased what had to be a much younger, more innocent looking Volcan, holding a life-sized plushie of a green dinosaur he recognized…

Avory walked over to the bed and gently set Volcan down upon it, being careful not to let too much weight fall upon his wings all at once. The phoenix had been asleep ever since they had come from Boswell’s; his breathing was steady, as was his heart rate, and his body temperature had returned to normal. On a whim, Avory opened his armour and touched the phoenix with his bare hand, reflexively pulling back as he expected him to be hot to the touch. But he was not.

Physically, Volcan seemed to be back to normal – aside from the grotesque scar that had formed on his back… But the look on his face suggested that his dreams were troubled; his eyes were clenched, and he turned his head to the side, groaning in his sleep. Avory could see movement behind his eyes, consistent with REM sleep - he was dreaming, and they did not appear to be pleasant dreams…

The raven-hoopoe could only hope those nightmares would pass soon, placing his hand on Volcan’s shoulder and spoke softly, “Get well soon, buddy. I’m sure you’ve been through hell and back with all this… I don’t know if I would even be able to cope if that happened to me… But you’re stronger than me; you have to pull through.”

He patted his shoulder and tried to smile at the phoenix, “You will pull through. I know you well enough now to know you will. We’ll be waiting,” he said before turning around to climb back into his suit, letting it close around me and turning around to walk out, but not before reaching for a new sentinel device in his suit’s arsenal, and placing it in the ceiling of the bedroom so he could monitor his friend.

With that, he stepped out of the room and walked out into the living room to find Degra talking with Lighris, Obsidian and Rikyuu. The four of them were seated on two sofas in the living room, talking quietly; Lighris was sitting next to his mother, his arm around her in a comforting gesture as they talked about the night’s events. Blue Lightning was standing close by, evidently waiting for her brother.

When Avory stepped out into the living room, she turned to look his way. “Ready to go home?” she asked, the two once again speaking on their closed circuit.

“Almost… Where’s he gone?” Avory replied.

His answer came in the form of her head turning back towards the garden and deciding to follow it on his own. He saw Korban leaning against the outside wall of the house, arms crossed and glaring intently at the runestone, idly tapping a finger on his arm as he reflected on the encounter he had with Boswell. More than anything, he was pissed off at being outed the way he was. In his mind, the elder phoenix had no right to call out his most closely guarded secret like that, and it left him grinding his teeth the more he thought about it.

“It wasn’t right of him to do that,” Avory began, speaking without his synthesizer this time, letting Korban hear his real voice – although still through a speaker. “I can only imagine if my own secret identity was revealed in a way like that I would quite peeved. It should have always been your decision, and your decision alone when to reveal it. It was not right for him to put you on a spot like that - let alone to then threaten you for it.”

“Save your pity, Stark. I don’t need it.” Korban replied sharply, not even looking at him at first, but after a few moments of silence, he cast a sidelong glance at the armoured avian, his expression softening a little bit. “...That said… You intervening when ya did was… Good timing on yer part.”

“Almost too late. I had to rely on satellites to download that CCTV because the signal was so shit out there,” Avory replied. “Sure… You also wanted to off Volcan at first when you didn’t think there was any other way… I was beginning to think you were onto something, as I couldn’t think of anything else to do to help him.” A sigh came through the speaker of his armour; he sounded disappointed in himself…

“Then, Anubis showed up… But you didn’t give up hope,” he then paused, to reiterate, “What I’m trying to say is, you are really not a bad person, Korban. You may seem like you only care for yourself, but you do actually have other people’s interests at heart; you’re bad at showing it. But I respect you for it.”

Korban scoffed, but as he looked away a slight smirk could be seen at the corner of his mouth. “Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night,” he remarked, keeping the snark in his tone as he pushed off from the wall he was leaning on. He then turned to face him fully and stared right into his eyes – or at least where he knew his eyes were behind his helmet. “Ya know, there’s gonna be a time where yer not gonna have access to yer tech and yer fancy suit of armour… What’s yer game plan should that ever become a reality, eh?” he asked blatantly.

“The suit started as a means of disguise… I was able to handle myself,” Avory stated matter-of-factly, “Although, I will admit I’ve been slacking on practicing hand-to-hand combat; I definitely started to see that when Volcan – or whatever that thing possessing him was, and I were fighting. I think I need to ask Jack for more sessions. But at the moment I’m just focused on figuring everything out. This time last year I thought I had seen everything this world had to offer…”

He scoffed before continuing. “But then tonight, within the space of a couple of hours I’ve seen my friend possessed by a demon, almost murdered by an Egyptian god, and then to top it off, I met a phoenix who is older than the alphabet. I’ve got a lot to process, and not enough time to rest or practice,” he stated.

Korban gauged his answer silently, keeping his arms crossed and studying the armoured avian before he finally gave his response. “So, you realize that even with the suit, you’re not all that impressive,” he said in a brash tone. “Yeah. It’s more or less what I’ve been trying to say all this time. That suit of yours one day ain’t gonna be enough – like today, against that Jackal. Before you can enhance the suit though, ya gotta enhance the one wearing it.”

He then uncrossed his arms and took a step forward toward Avory. “You went outta yer way to defend me despite now knowing what I am. That means I owe you one, and I hate owing people. So… Let’s make a deal,” he said as he began to unclasp his wrist terminal from his forearm and held it out to Avory. “I’ll allow you to work on making improvements to my gizmo… In exchange, I’m gonna put you through hell and back so that when the time comes, you can actually survive an encounter with somethin’ much bigger than you are without the suit. The day will come, Stark; mark my words.”

Although Korban couldn’t see it behind the helmet; Avory blinked incredulously at the husky before responding, “So in return for saving your ass from an old krone, you get free tech support and get to kick my ass?”

“It’s a win-win if you think about it,” Korban answered with a cheeky smile. “I get what I want, and you get in some much-needed exercise and survival tips from someone who truly has seen it all.” His cheeky grin morphed into a devilish smile. “Don’t worry… I’ll start slow so that yer prissy little ass can keep up…”

Avory was still for a while, before he eventually reached out to take Korban’s wrist terminal, looking at it, and then back at him. “I’ll upgrade your device, and I’ll consider your offer of training. Come pick it up tomorrow afternoon – I’ll have it done by then,” Avory stated as he started to turn around to leave, but then realized something, turning back around to face the husky.

“Oh. One last thing… after analyzing what little physiology I had of you I had a feeling you had something demonic about you, once you suggested that what Volcan was showing was demonic possession... But my trust in you when I realized that never faltered. If anything, I'm happy to know someone with your knowledge and skillset is on our side."

Korban’s expression soured slightly after hearing that, but decided against speaking up about it. Instead he began to step toward the Red Lightning, stopping just as he was about to pass him and speaking directly to where his ear would be.

“This doesn’t make us friends, Stark,” he reminded Avory, still feeling some resentment against his upbringing. “...But this is a start… Albeit a small one,” he added before heavily banging his fist along the armoured avian’s side as he continued to walk past him, heading to the front of the house toward his motorcycle.

“Tomorrow afternoon!” The Red Lightning called back out once more as a reminder to Korban.

“I know, I know!” Korban shouted back. “You better be ready to taste dirt!” He countered, mounting his bike and starting it up. He then backed out of the driveway slowly before revving his engine again, steering his bike toward the road and loudly zooming away.

~~~~~

Near Port Said, overlooking the Suez Canal…

A freight ship passed slowly through the northern tip of the Suez Canal, making its first venture into the Mediterranean Sea before it returned to its previously scheduled course. The enormous ship was loaded to the limit with massive shipping containers, carrying goods from multiple countries.

All the while, the crew was oblivious to the arrival of a winged form, gliding down from the skies above toward the ship. The form made a wide berth and came in low – dangerously close to the surface of the sea as it approached the ship. Such an approach was deadly; one mistake would send the being plummeting into the waters, and the body it had taken – a copy of its previous host, would surely perish in seconds.

The figure kept flying, until eventually reaching the wall of multi-coloured containers on the bow of the ship. It slammed hard into one of the containers, grabbing hold of the top of the steel crate, and hanging on as it began to search for a way inside. The doors to open the container, however, were on the other side of the crate, which was blocked off by multitudes of other containers stacked around it, leaving him no way to reach it.

Climbing along the steel container, he worked his way over to the next. Then the next, and then the next; one after the other, checking every container he could reach… Until finally he found one. One the crates had been stacked with its doors facing outward, toward the open sea… That was the one he needed.

He grasped the padlock that secured the container doors. In seconds, the lock began to glow red hot, and with a sharp yank, he broke it in two, lifted the latch and pulled open the doors; the container was secured by double doors that swung open simultaneously, and the entity nearly lost their grip and fell, but with a few beats of their wings to lift them, they regained control and gripped the top of the door.

Slowly, the figure clambered around the door until they were able to climb into the shipping container. It was full, but not to the top, leaving a space for him to climb inside. He pulled the doors of the container closed as best as he could, leaving them open just enough to let in a small amount of light, to see what he had to work with inside the bin.

He began studying the carefully wrapped items on which he lay. The package under him was made in Taiwan; curious, he pierced the plastic with his talons, ripping it open and revealing the content. Clothes. He spent the next hour or so picking through the items, unable to find anything that fit him – let alone anything designed for an avian…

Opening another Taiwan package revealed better results; he found a pair of trousers that were the right size, and he managed to get them on. He then discarded the open packages, throwing them out of the open front of the shipping container as far as he could. Hopefully, by the time the ship passed, the items would long since sink and go unnoticed by the ship’s crew.

Now, with those crates gone, the entity had more room to move around and began raiding the other crates, looking for anything else he could use among the many items in the container. The container carried many of the items from its starting location in the ports of Taiwan; electronic devices, vehicle components, medical devices and equipment, computer hardware and more textiles and apparel. But it did not carry any food items; not even non-perishables…

The entity would have to find somewhere else to get food; maybe he could find some way to sneak into the ship’s galley and pilfer food from the pantry. But to his delight, he managed to uncover a shipping label, showing where this container – or at least this crate, was bound. It at least gave him an idea of where the ship would be landing next. These items at least, were bound for Italy.

“Perhaps from there, I may find another way west,” the entity said to themselves, speaking in a scratchy voice carrying some trace of its former host’s voice.

Pulling out more of the clothes – those that he had not cast away, he piled them on the floor to create a softer surface to sit on. With that, it lowered itself onto the pile, making itself comfortable, and waited.

When he sat down, he saw his hands and the start of his forearms. He noticed more feathers had sprouted along his arms. Feathers as black as ink, in a pattern that was familiar to him. He stretched out one of his wings and noticed likewise the same black feathers forming most of his wing, but there was more now. But there was a second growth of feathers in with his primaries, matching the patterns of his former host’s red and gold patterns.

In the case of the entity, though… They were black and purple – matching his eyes.

At that, he looked down at the beak that had grown from his face, and could not help noticing the pattern… Though the colours didn’t match, the features were unmistakable, but he still sought confirmation. He stood, and grabbed a computer monitor from among the parts in one of the crates he had raided; he had hoped to look at his reflection in the screen, but it was a flat screen and did not reveal his face…

He would have to wait, he decided, until he was able to infiltrate the ship to look for supplies…

Sure enough, the entity’s suspicions were confirmed. After sneaking into the inner workings of the ship, and making their way through the narrow corridors, they eventually found a window, in which they were able to see their reflection thanks to the darkness of night outside. He rested both hands on either side of the porthole, staring into the dark glass until he could make out the face he saw.

Staring back at him, reflected in the glass of the porthole, was the face of his former host… The face of Volcan MacAingeal.