“…The essence of the Chaotic One has awakened…"

The voice echoed across the darkness in the Citadel's deepest chamber, in the center of which sat a pedestal with a shallow bowl, filled with a liquid bearing a silvery sheen, like quicksilver. But it shone with dim light, illuminating the abdomen of the figure who stood over it, and reflecting the red glow of his eyes as he stared into the pool.

To an onlooker – if any had been in the room, the pool would show nothing. But to the eyes of the being staring into it, it showed him everything. This time, it showed him empty halls, of a stronghold hidden in the mountains of a land far to the northwest, on the other side of the globe. It showed him the open prison cell, where once the essence he sought had slept. It showed him where that essence now slept… And the unfortunate soul who now carried it within him.

The boy could have no way of knowing just what he carried… He did not even seem to know that the demon's corrupted soul now resided within him. His tolerance to the darkness was remarkable – even for one of his kind; his spirit was resisting the corrupting presence, slowing its progress in tainting him. But even the fiery spirit of a phoenix would not hold it back indefinitely… No living soul could resist its corruption.

“After five thousand years… It has returned," the entity staring into the pool stated, “and the balance of the two worlds is threatened again. This cannot be allowed." He stared intently into the pool, and at the red-feathered avian it showed him. “Likely this one's soul will be extinguished in the cleansing. But it must be done… Before the awakening is complete."

He waved his hand over to the pool, and the image vanished as the figure turned his back on the pedestal, with the only light in the room now the dim, crimson glow of his eyes…

“The Incarnation of Chaos… Must not live again," he said as he ventured into the next room, where sat an altar. Here, the entity would make his preparations.

~~~~~

Korban and Kieran's latest contract had taken them to a walled estate a few kilometres outside of Helena, across the US border in the state of Montana. Their target, the estate's owner, reportedly a human trafficker who had picked the wrong crime lord's daughter to abduct – that crime lord being their client. He had contacted the hunters shortly after his daughter's abduction, his men having already confirmed that this man was the one responsible.

But their primary objective was not a rescue mission; it was a 'dead or alive' bounty; the client was offering them a hefty sum for the death of the trafficker, as revenge for the abduction of his daughter. A fee which he would double if Korban and Kieran could bring him in alive, 'so that he could teach him a lesson first', so he said.

As for the crime lord's daughter, he had greased the palms of one of the estate's on-site staff to find out if she was there. This staff, one of the cooks in the kitchen, confirmed that he had been taking meals to one of the unused rooms in the house, for 'a guest who liked their privacy', so he had been told. He hadn't been allowed to see this guest, having to leave the meals with one of the guards outside.

The presence of the guards alone was enough to confirm that the crime lord's daughter was there. He promised the two a substantial bonus if they could bring her back as well. But his primary focus was the trafficker; dead or alive. After making their plan, they set out for the trafficker's property…

Parking their vehicles well and away from the estate, the two had to make their approach on foot to stay unnoticed in the cover of night. It took them much longer to reach the property, even when they decided to travel light to save time. But that was only the first of their obstacles ahead…

The two eventually reached the complex and shimmied their way along the wall to a side entrance so as not to get caught too soon. They eventually found a slightly open window, and Korban took that as his means to enter. Before entering though, he quickly pulled Kieran aside and went over the plan with him once more.

“A'ight, from what our client noted to us, the hostage is most likely holed up somewhere in a vault so that she has zero chances of getting out," Korban said as he tapped into his wrist terminal and pulled up a digital blueprint of the mansion, with a portion of the schematic lighting up to emphasize his point. “Guns and other munitions won't work on this thing, buuuuut it is locked electronically, which means it can be hacked."

“So, the plan is you're going to sneak in and unlock the vault with your techno doohickey. Then what?" Kieran asked.

“I'm going to move her to a place with a skylight, and you're gonna warp her up next to you with your magic and get her back to base. While yer off doing that, I'm gonna bag the bounty," Korban explained.

“Of course. I'm stuck on rescue duty while you get to have all the fun." Kieran remarked, rolling his eyes irritably. “Just remember that we're getting paid more if we bring him in alive, so try not to go crazy on him, okay?"

“Can't make a promise I know I can't keep," Korban answered, winking back at Kieran while he slipped through the window, making Kieran groan in annoyance before he began searching for a way up onto the roof.

With that, Korban approached the closest door to the main house that he could find. It had an electronic lock - with the words “Tenno Electronic Security System' painted in bold white letters at the top; no problem, he thought. He hooked his wrist terminal up to the lock, and began inputting an override command. The override program worked, slowly attempting to pick the lock, and then…

“ACCESS DENIED" appeared in bright red letters on the panel.

“...Ehwha?" Korban muttered out loud, looking between the large 'access denied' and the door itself. He tried again and got the same result, making him frown heavily at that. “Okay, not cool. Why isn't this working?" He growled as he tried a third time and yielded the same result. “Fucking-!" He almost screamed out loud, refraining from slamming his paw against the door in frustration.

“God damn it…" he muttered, giving his terminal a few hits with his other paw. “Must be a glitch in the system… No biggie," he added before he held his palm over the panel and began to freeze it with his ice powers, causing it to short out. “Change of plans. We're going in hot," he said to Kieran through his communication earpiece..

“Wait wha-?" Was all Kieran had the chance to say before Korban kicked the door in, sending it flying off of its hinges and into the hallway.

Immediately, a burglar alarm installed near the door began blaring, announcing the intrusion for all within the house. Korban strode by without a care. He stormed inside with his guns drawn at his sides, turning a corner and immediately opening fire on a group of guards before they even had a chance to draw their weapons.

“Get your ass in here if you want in on all the fun. Door's wide open," Korban remarked to his comm before killing the feed, walking quickly through the complex without a care in the world.

Around the corner, another guard appeared, carrying a handgun; he fired twice before hastily retreating around the corner again. Korban grunted as the bullets hit their mark and stopped him in his tracks, but the husky only grinned as he felt his body pushing the bullets out of his body as his wounds mended themselves. With that, he continued forward, unhindered

When he neared the corner, the same guard came out and attempted to shoot him again, but Korban was faster and shot the guard once in the stomach, making him fall onto his back and grip his stomach in agony.

“Nice try," He remarked before he shot the guard in the head. “But I'm just built differently than you." He concluded before trotting through the base, looking for the vault that held his client's daughter.

Down the next hallway, Korban heard the cocking of an assault rifle, and no sooner did he hear it that another guard jumped out and opened fire. This one was not carrying a handgun; they had an assault rifle. Korban grunted as he felt a few bullets find their mark, and instinctively took cover by kicking over a table and crouching behind it. Several times, bullets punched through the surface of the table, getting closer to where he was; Korban occasionally popped up to fire back, but a shot hit his arm and forced him back behind cover, hissing in annoyance as his wound started to heal.

When the guard stopped to reload, Korban popped up to return fire, but paused when he saw his partner next to the guard and pulling the hammer back on his revolver. The guard froze when he heard the cocking of the hammer and could only manage to glance at Kieran before he pulled the trigger, shooting him point blank in the head and killing him instantly.

“...I coulda handled it," Korban remarked as he stood up and brushed down his arm where he was shot.

“You're welcome," Kieran returned non chalant, spinning his revolver a few times before slipping it back into its holster on his hip. “How close are we to the vault?"

Korban pulled up the digital blueprint from his wrist computer and browsed through it. “Looks like it's in the room next door," he answered, looking at his wrist terminal again. “Fourth time's the charm, I guess."

“Yea, about that. What the hell happened? I thought we were going in silent," Kieran asked as they moved into the next room.

“Eh. Think my hacking tool is on the fritz. Every time I tried hacking in, it kept denying me access," Korban explained, walking up to the vault. “Hopefully it's just a glitch and will fix itself."

Once more, Korban connected his terminal to the vault keypad and began running the hacking program, punching in a few keys and watching the screen attentively to see if he was actually doing it right the whole time. Sure enough, he had proceeded exactly as he was supposed to, and yet again, he still got a red 'Access Denied' popping out of his screen.

“...What the fuck??" He exclaimed angrily.

“Still think it's a glitch?" Kieran asked, making Korban glare at him angrily before he gave his wrist terminal a slap out of frustration.

“I put in the exact commands and everything! Why isn't this working anymore??" He demanded as he powered down his wrist computer, kicking the wall next to him with a frustrated growl. He then took a moment to take a deep breath and calm himself down, tapping his head as he tried to come up with a new plan.

“Okay, well… my tech's out of the question right now, so we're going to have to try this the old-fashioned way." He said before he turned to Kieran. “You got anything that can bust down this vault door?"

“I mean, I can use a corrosion spell to melt my way through, but that'll take time considering how thick this door is," Kieran answered as he tapped his knuckle against the vault door.

“How much time do ya need?"

“I dunno… Five, ten minutes maybe?" Kieran answered with a shrug.

“Damnit all…" Korban growled. “...Okay, it'll have to do. Get started on gaining access to the vault with your magic. I'm gonna go bag our quarry."

“Just remember that we get paid more if we bring him in alive, so try not to go too crazy on his ass, okay?" Kieran chided as he pulled out one of his tomes from his coat.

“Hey, can't make promises I can't keep." Korban retorted as he drew his pistols again, checking each magazine before pulling the slides back by catching them on each other, chambering a round each before he went off to find their target. Kieran rolled his eyes and turned to the door behind him, opening the tome and casting a spell of corrosion on the vault door, a constant barrage of acidic ooze shooting out of the tome and splashing on the vault door, slowly eating away at it.

With Kieran left to deal with the hostage, Korban made his way through the manor, encountering multiple guards attempting to intercept him. A few managed to land shots on him - a few even had more assault rifles, but none of them could put him down for good. 'They don't call me the 'Immortal' bounty hunter for nothing,' he thought, smug.

He reached the last floor of the house, checking every room for more guards. No others jumped out at him until he came to another room where the instant he opened the door, several bullets stuck just above his head. Instinctively, he ducked back, out of the shooter's range to assess the situation. From the brief glimpse he'd had into the room, he found a home office of some kind, but he hadn't seen the shooter inside the room.

It seemed likely that this latest shooter was their target, making his stand since all of his security had failed. Korban chuckled slightly as he came to that conclusion, daring to peek around the corner into the room.

“Ain't nowhere to run pal!" he called into the room. “Just make it easy on yerself, put down the gun and walk out quietly. Trust me, it'll work out for both of us this way."

“Like hell, pal! Do you have any idea who you're screwing with here?!" the mobster shouted, “Even if you get out of this house alive, there's going to be an army of men like me after you forever! You and your kitty friend downstairs are fucked - you hear me?!"

Another gunshot followed the man's bold claim. Despite his apparent effort to act tough, his bravado didn't fool Korban's ears; many of his words were shaky, and his shots were random, not precise… He was panicked.

“Yer just wasting yer ammo, buddy!" Korban remarked, then stepped around the corner and aimed both of his guns ahead of him. “And you could send a whole army after me, it wouldn't make any difference. I literally can't die!" Korban added, grinning smugly.

“Ha! Can't die? Well, that's too bad for you, because if that's true that means there'll be no end to the pain!"

“Pain's an old friend, buddy," Korban answered. “Now, come on out of yer little hidie hole, drop yer gun, and I won't shoot ya."

The man scoffed. “How stupid do you think I am? You plan to take me to the same mook whose daughter I snatched. That was an accident; my boys didn't know who she was," he stayed silent for a few seconds before he continued. “How about a deal? I give you the code to unlock the vault where she is. You take her back to her daddy; we can forget about this whole mess."

Korban clicked his tongue and hissed a little. “Tempting offer, not gonna lie," Korban admitted before shaking his head. “But ya see, ya fucked up by even kidnapping someone in the first place. That, and yer worth a lotta money dead, a lot more alive, and far be it from me to pass up that opportunity." He explained. “Last chance, pal. Come quietly or you'll be pushing up daisies with a bullet in your skull."

Korban heard a growl, and the mobster shouted. “Oh fuck this!"

Immediately, more bullets struck the wall beside Korban; the shooter had apparently deduced where he was and was taking blind shots. On the second shot, Korban felt pain lancing up his leg, knowing the second shot had managed to find its mark. He grunted and buckled from the shot, moving a few more inches away from the door and counting out the shots in his head…

Then, all of a sudden, the shots stopped; Korban heard the telling sound of a gun that had just run out of ammunition coming from inside the room. Korban didn't waste a second, running around the corner and into the room, where he leapt onto the desk and pointed both guns at the trafficker hiding behind it, the man dropping his gun instinctively when the husky appeared before him so suddenly.

“And now you're outta ammo," he said with a grin. “Any last words?"

The thug in question was a canid half-breed, bearing the qualities of at least two different species of canid; he had the fur patterns of a Shepherd, but his ears suggested Labradorian parentage. He put up his hands, looking briefly at his gun on the floor; the slide was locked back and exposed an empty chamber, confirming that the gun was empty and had no simply jammed.

“H-How did you know I was out?"

“Because I know my guns, and I know yer using a Beretta 9mm semi-auto," Korban explained. “Mags usually come in fifteen-round variants. All I had to do was keep count," the husky said before he leaned forward and placed the muzzle of his left gun against the mobster's forehead. “Tick tock, bud. Gimme a reason not to put one between yer eyes."

The canid frowned, and he let out a groan. “Well, this fucking sucks," he said, glib.

With the code to the vault, Kieran was able to let the client's daughter out of her cell. Like their client, she was an avian - a Swallow of some variant, they guessed but didn't really know. With the job accomplished, Korban contacted their client to let him know the mission was done, and he set a meeting place where he would retrieve both the target and his daughter.

The client arrived right on time, and his bodyguard handed a briefcase full of money to Korban while the daughter and target were spirited away into a limo. Korban accepted the case and flipped it open, making sure the right amount was in there before nodding and closing the case up again.

“Pleasure doin' business, pal," he said as the daughter and bodyguard entered the limousine. They watched the limo drive off until it was out of sight, then the two began their trek back to the RV that they parked not far from their meeting place.

“So, what now?" Kieran asked. “We got our pay. I assume the usual split? Fifty-fifty?"

“Not yet," Korban remarked, glancing down at his wrist terminal. “I need to get in touch with my guy in the chair. Something's going on with my terminal and only he can fix it."

“He's probably asleep right now, you know. It is kinda late," Kieran stated, pointing up at the night sky. “If yer thinkin' of calling him, better do it after he's done with his classes."

“Who said anything about callin' him?" Korban asked as they entered their RV.

Kieran's ears perked up at that, then he started shaking his head frantically. “Oooohh no. No no no!" he said quickly. “Dude, the deal was that we take care of everything over the phone or email. No in-person contact with him."

“Fuck that deal. My tech's out of whack, and he needs to be reminded of what happens when my gear isn't in working order, especially when he agreed willingly to help us," Korban answered.

“A deal that you pretty much blackmailed him into agreeing to," Kieran scolded.

“Hey, he needed the money and I was willin' to part with it to help the kid with his studies," Korban retorted. “This discussion's over, Kitty. We're going to meet him after he's done with his school, and he's gonna fix my shit whether he wants to or not, so it's back across the border we go."

It was a long drive from the Canadian/U.S border, especially with the usual nonsense of having to pass through the border gate and flash their – forged, paperwork, to be allowed through. The Customs officers did their usual inspections; if they had found the weapons Korban and Kieran had they would have most certainly turned them away – or, more likely outright arrested them.

But the two were always prepared for that possibility and had created a secret compartment in the RV under one of the seats at the kitchen table, which could only be opened by pressing a very specific place with exact pressure.

As the University of Alberta was in Edmonton, the two chose to park in the county of Unity Falls. Kieran insisted he didn't need to be any closer to make a portal to Edmonton, and the drive to the provincial capital from the US border would take far too long. He made sure to put the other end out of public sight so that no one would see the pair coming out of a portal, but close enough to the University that they didn't have to walk too far.

Once they were on the University grounds, they waited until classes were due to end before they made their way to the dormitories, dressed in casual attire so as not to attract any unwanted attention. They looked the part of other students attending the university. They made their way to the Henday Hall dormitories, where they hoped to find Korban's 'guy in the chair'.

Classes had just ended for the day, and students were returning to their dorms. The halls smelled of coffee and takeout dinners that many students had picked up on their way back from school as they made their way to the floor they wanted. They waited until the halls had mostly emptied before making their way to the dorm room they were looking for. There, Korban knocked.

The door opened in seconds, and a male hyena answered. He was fresh out of the shower; his scalp hair and fur were still wet, and he had not yet put on a shirt, leaving him clad only in sweatpants. The moment he saw the two though, his brown eyes went wide with alarm as they settled on Korban, recognizing the husky, and he hastily backed away from the door.

“Shit, man! What're you doing here?" he said in a harsh whisper.

“Simple," Korban said as he practically pushed his way into the room, with Kieran following behind and shutting the door behind them. Korban then tossed his wrist terminal to the young hyena and gestured to it with his paw. “Was on a job last night and my tech couldn't even break through a simple door code. Last I checked, it was your job to make sure my gear is up to snuff, so get to it. Fix it," he stated.

“Technically we never made any signed agreement-" At Korban's sharp look, Brent stopped talking. “Okay, okay I'll… I'll check it," he said nervously, picking up the wrist terminal like he feared it was going to bite him, and carried it over to his desk.

Brent quickly got to work, hooking the terminal up to his laptop computer, and running a diagnostic on the software. “You said it wasn't able to break the encryption on a… Electronic door lock?" he asked for clarification.

“Yea. That's right. Followed every step correctly and it just kept giving me an 'access denied' screen," Korban answered.

Brent watched the diagnostic, and when it finished, he shook his head. “The device is running properly," he said, “No signs of wear or software malfunctions, or foreign programs that could be affecting it. Let me run some tests."

He unhooked the wrist terminal from his laptop and pulled open his drawer to reveal a collection of cellular phones. He reached for one of them, hesitated, and then picked up the phone. He plugged it into the terminal, and the screen on the phone lit up. At the touch of a button, the terminal began to run a decryption algorithm on the cell phone. When the device easily bypassed the phone's cyber security, Brent unhooked it and set it back in the drawer before he picked another phone and repeated the process.

“I… Hope those are burner phones that yer using," Kieran remarked. “If there's something foreign on Korb's device, I wouldn't want it screwing with yer stuff."

“He ain't stupid, kitty. Besides, we know it ain't a malware problem. That baby's got the best anti-malware defense on the planet." Korban shot back.

“Just saying," Kieran said with a shrug.

But then, on the fifth attempt, Brent had selected a Feather Phone; not quite new, but a model from a few generations back, still receiving feature updates to its operating system. It was here that when Brent attempted to run the decryption, the 'Access Denied' sign came to the phone's screen. At that, Brent swallowed, and his voice was shaking as he spoke.

“It… Seems that… The device itself is still working… But it looks like a software update was released that enhances the security definitions of… Feather Technologies and Tenno Electronics," explained Brent. “Previously, the override algorithm was using a bypass code I found specific to those two, meant to circumvent the security definitions and grant administrative access."

“That code has now been changed," he went on when Korban didn't reply. “The algorithm recognizes the security definitions of Feather Tech and tries to use the same bypass but thanks to the update, the systems know to no longer accept the previous bypass… In theory, you could still bypass them manually, but that would be a lot more difficult."

'Stark…' Korban thought, bitterly. Aside from Brent, only he had known about the vulnerability the hyena had found in the otherwise state-of-the-art coding of the two companies.

He nodded to the device at Brent's side. “I don't have the luxury or the patience to learn hacking the hard way. Can't you override the update to make my shit work against it or find the new bypass code?" he asked impatiently.

At that, Brent's expression soured, and he seemed reluctant to speak any further. But, as he unhooked the terminal from the phone and set it on his bed where Korban could reach it, he seemed to find his courage to speak again though he wasn't looking at Korban as he did.

“Even if I were to try, finding the new bypass could take me days, if not weeks, and I…" He shook his head. “I… I can't."

Korban's ears twitched as he heard Brent's response, causing him to lean closer and turn away so his ear was closest to Brent. “I'm sorry, what?" He asked. “Care to repeat yerself there, pal? I think I coulda sworn and said that you can't upgrade my tech."

Brent shuddered visibly. “I-I don't know how he found out," he began to explain himself. “But Avogadro Lo'Raven himself came here, threatening legal action against me if I didn't sign an NDA. If I fix up your wrist terminal for you, or find the new bypass and install it, I'll be facing criminal charges and going to jail!"

He began wringing his hands fearfully as he continued. “Besides, he… He also offered me a job; an internship when I graduate. All my student loans, covered… It was a sweet deal! Even without the job offer, I had to sign the NDA; you gotta believe me!"

Korban's gaze visibly intensified after hearing that, and without thinking he reached behind him and pulled one of his handguns from their holsters, flicking the safety off. “You mean to tell me that yer just gonna shit on our deal all because Stark decided to fuck with my business?" he demanded angrily, levelling his pistol at Brent.

“No, wait, don't!" Brent cried, throwing his arms over his head in a futile attempt to protect himself.

“Whoa, boss!! CHILL!" Kieran shouted as he grabbed Korban's arm and pulled it aside, pointing the gun away from Brent and looking at Korban incredulously “What the fuck, man?!"

“Let go of me, Kitty. This kid needs to get what he deserves," Korban growled back angrily.

“You're really going to shoot a kid for doing what he thought was best for his future?" Kieran demanded, and his words made Korban hesitate, which he took as his chance to continue. “You heard what he said - the Lo'Raven kid offered him a way better chance than he was ever going to get helping us!" Kieran berated him, still gripping Korban's arm tightly. “What would you have done if you were in his shoes?"

Korban opened his mouth to retort, but the words died in his mouth the second he tried to speak. He yanked his arm free from Kieran's grasp but didn't raise it to aim at Brent again, instead only looking down at the floor and growling as he processed the situation.

Finally, he holstered his gun and turned on his heel. “Fuck this. We're leaving." He growled, practically yanking the door open and stepping out of Brent's dorm.

“For fuck's sake…" Kieran rolled his eyes, then turned and scratched the back of his head as he regarded Brent. “I uh… Sorry about that man," he said meekly, “For what it's worth, I hope you achieve whatever career goal yer setting out for."

“Th-Thanks?" Brent shakily asked, his arms still crossed over his bare chest, having not yet let down his guard.

With that, Kieran left the dorm and shut the door gently behind him, and then set off to chase down his boss. The two crossed the campus, never saying a word to each other as they made their way back to where they had originally arrived. There, Kieran conjured a new portal to take them back to where they had parked their RV, reappearing beside the unmoving vehicle in a flash.

Climbing into the vehicle, Kieran made sure no one was nearby before he shut the door. Once they were alone inside the vehicle, he rounded on his boss, his green eyes staring daggers at Korban, the vertical slits of his pupils narrowing in anger as he growled at the husky.

“Dude! What the hell, man?" the cat demanded as Korban tossed his wrist terminal on a workbench. “It's one thing to be pissed off at Brent, but to hold him at gunpoint like that?! The dude didn't even do anything wrong, yet you were ready to kill him!"

“He signed a deal with Stark; no doubt his way to try and fuck around with my business out of spite," Korban shot back as he pulled out a beer from a mini fridge and tore off the lid to drink it.

“Were you listening to anything the kid said?! The software update was put in place to further protect anything Feather Tech-related from cyber-attacks, which that Avory kid created in the first place!" He then added pointedly, “If he really had it out for you, don't you think he woulda went after you directly? It's not like he can't find you!"

“Maybe you weren't listening. The kid told us that Stark approached him after he found out the kid was working for us and went ahead to coerce him into no longer making tech for us. Seems like a pretty direct attack if you ask me," Korban fired back. “Stark crossed a line with me, and now I'm gonna bite back right where it hurts."

“By putting a bullet in his head?" Kieran asked before rolling his eyes and throwing out his arms, exasperated. “That's always your answer to every problem, and I'm getting tired of this shit!" he said before he turned and headed for the door.

“Hey, where are you going?"

“Away from you!" Kieran shouted back at Korban. “You wanna go and get your revenge, that's on you. I'm not sticking around and letting you drag me along to fix your problems!"

With that, the spellsword bounty hunter slammed the RV door shut, then stormed away far enough so that he could cast another spell unnoticed, teleporting elsewhere. He didn't care where he went, he just needed to get away from Korban's toxicity.

The husky scoffed at Kieran's departure, downing the rest of his beer before hurling it into a nearby bin and slipping his wrist terminal along his left arm. With that, he stepped out of the RV, and walked to the back to take his motorcycle off the mounting bracket. He had to unlock two chains and a mag-lock before he could take it off, nearly having it fall on him is his haste.

“So, Stark wants to play rough, huh?" He asked out loud as he turned the key on the ignition and revved the engine a few times. “Alright then, smart guy… Let's play rough."

He pulled a lever that opened the back door of the RV, and Korban sped out of the larger vehicle, drift-turning once he was on the pavement before zooming down the road at high speeds.

            ~~~~~

Vinge adjusted the pack hanging between his wings as he fell into a glide, drifting slowly through the sky while keeping Highway 97 in his sight below and noting the familiar, crystalline waters of Watson Lake passing on his right. Seeing the familiar landmark and checking a compass clenched in his hand he adjusted his course west.

The cool winds rushed across his white feathers, matting them against his body as the chill wind coursed around him, flowing over and under his wings, and his tail feathers shifted side to side to help steer his course. He decided that it was time to land for a rest as soon as he reached Junction 37, where Highway 97 below met the Dease Lake Highway, which headed south into British Columbia, crossing hundreds of kilometers of the Canadian wilderness.

'Maybe once I land at Junction 37, I can catch a ride west,' he thought, hopefully. 'It has been such a long journey… I am tired. But I want to get to Whitehorse as soon as possible.'

After another hour of flying, it became apparent to Vinge that he wasn't going to make it to Junction 37 as he hoped. Even with the winds rejuvenating him, he was tiring himself faster than the cool air could sustain him. Eventually, he gave in to his fatigue, and began to descend, heading toward a grassy summit rising alongside the highway where he could rest.

As the ground came up to meet him, Vinge reared back and opened his wings to slow his descent, letting his feet touch down first. He landed harder than he intended - further evidence of his fatigue, he chided himself; he'd made this journey one time before, and it had been difficult even then - he should have known better than to push his limits too far…

Taking his sword and scabbard off his belt, he sat on the cold rock, and took a moment to catch his breath before setting his pack on the ground between his legs. He fished through the pockets until he took out a road map, unfolding it and taking a moment to study it. He picked up his compass again, making sure the arrow aligned to the north – straight ahead of him, and turned his attention westward, down the hill over a line of trees to the waters of a river.

“That must be the Liard River," he said, speaking to himself before lifting his head to peer across it, his pupils contracting as he peered at the collection of buildings he could see. “And so that must be the Liard Golf & Country Club," he added with a nod.

He studied the land before him for another moment, looking over the Club to more buildings he could see. 'There are cabins over there,' he said, 'The Club is open for the season, so I doubt any of the cabins are vacant… But maybe I could find somewhere to sleep here.'

Briefly, he wondered if anyone might consider putting him up for the night… But he quickly pushed that idea from his mind; out here, so far from civilization, he couldn't imagine people being likely to trust a stranger - especially one in dirty, ragged clothes even lacking a shirt. Still, he found he wanted at least to have a chance to talk to someone again…

He smiled despite himself, realizing that he was actually feeling lonely. 'And here I used to think I was anti-social,' he thought, bemused, his thoughts drifting to a certain Fire Phoenix who had taught him more than just letting go of his spite… 'I wonder what they are all doing right now?'

Right as he finished thinking that a flash of light appeared next to him, followed by a large arcane symbol that was burned into the ground. When that flash ended, there stood a familiar, tall, Gray-furred feline, disorientated and shaking his head to recollect himself before he turned and saw Vinge next to him.

“...Huh. Well, that worked," the cat said flatly.

“Kieran?" Vinge asked, puzzled as he rose to his feet. “How… What are you doing all the way out here?"

“Well, I was trying to scry for your location, but… turns out it's much easier to do when the target's stationary," Kieran answered jokingly. “As to why, well... You were the only friendly face I could think of."

Vinge tilted his head slightly, arching a brow at the cat's words. “You came all the way out here, to the middle of the Yukon Territories - days from civilization, just to see a friendly face?" he studied Kieran's face carefully, and then his eyes narrowed. “...What happened?"

He'd already picked up on it; something on Kieran's expression had told the perceptive Ice Phoenix that he was distraught. “Heh… You really are a real-life version of Batman. Nothing gets past you," he answered before moving closer. “Mind if we sit down? It's kind of a long story…"

Vinge considered his request for a moment before shrugging. “I… Can't offer you anything to eat or drink," he said as he sat down. “Unfortunately, my rations are low, and I still have a long journey ahead of me yet."

“All good. I ate before I got here," Kieran said as he sat next to Vinge and let out a long sigh. “Well… I guess I should start by saying that I think Korban's starting to go off the deep end, and it's becoming toxic as hell working with him."

Vinge watched attentively, actively listening to Kieran's plight, and remaining silent as he waited for him to continue. Kieran started going into detail about their last job together, and how Korban started having malfunctions with his wrist terminal during their job, limiting his ability to hack. He then explained their trip to visit their guy in the chair, and finding out that he wasn't going to help them with his tech any longer.

“The kid accepted an NDA and a full scholarship from Avory in exchange for him no longer working on Korban's tech, and… It got so bad that Korb even pulled a gun on the kid, thinking it was a personal attack from Avory. I had to pull his arm away and try to reason with him before he could ice the kid - no pun intended- and that was about when I finally hit my breaking point and told him to fuck off and to stop dragging me through the mud…"

Vinge let out a long hum in his throat as he considered everything Kieran had told him. “We do know that Korban has difficulty trusting others," he said, “but this is more nuanced than that. Avory had every right to address a software concern for the sake of his clientele, once he became aware of it. It is his obligation to ensure his clients can feel safe using his company's technology."

He lifted his gaze to settle on Kieran again. “It sounds to me like Korban is letting his animosity toward Avory cloud his judgement," he said. “We have seen for ourselves that the two of them don't get along very well. Korban resents Avory's circumstances of birth, and maybe also envies him in some ways. Plus they are both interested in the same girl which does not help matters."

“I think it runs deeper than that," Kieran responded, rubbing the back of his neck. “I remember one time asking Korb why he hates Avory so much, thinking at the time it was because he got his ass kicked the first time he met him, and all he said was, and I quote, 'because he doesn't have what it takes to survive.' …Whatever that means." Kieran added.

“That goes back to what I said, actually," Vinge clarified, “that Korban envies Avory's more fortunate birth compared to his own. Avory was born into a wealthy life; he chose to step out of that life of his own volition, but Korban doesn't see it that way. The hard life, though, Korban was born into; he has fought from the very beginning. Because he doesn't see that in Avory, that may be why he doesn't respect him, but he does respect Volcan or myself because we too come from that life."

“That… makes sense, I guess," Kieran admitted. “Either way, it still doesn't give him the excuse to lash out and be toxic to everyone else. After that last stunt he pulled with our former guy in the chair, I'm considering flying solo… At least for now."

He then turned to Vinge. “...Give it to me straight. If you were in my position, what would you do about it?"

Vinge shut his eyes as he considered the question, trying to find the right words to offer Kieran. But after a while, his expression reflected his defeat. “I may not be the right person to ask that question," he began, “Long before I met the others - before I met Volcan, Tsumé, Ordagova or the twins, I was always on my own in my quest to hunt down the P.A.C.E Directive.  Chasing every lead, no matter how unlikely it seemed, never to be satisfied until I found them. It was a lonely existence, all in all."

He lifted his gaze and opened his eyes again as he continued, meeting Kieran's gaze. “Over that time… I grew accustomed to being alone, but I also became disconnected. I struck down people whose association with P.A.C.E was circumstantial at best - a burden I will have to carry to the end of my days… A killer, through and through; a blade that was without purpose… No more than an unfeeling weapon."

He leaned his head back to peer at the sky as he continued. “But one man brought me back from that when Volcan stopped me from killing those P.A.C.E enforcers. I know now that striking them down while they were helpless would've been nothing more than a fleeting, cathartic moment and ultimately futile in attaining the justice I sought; I could kill as many of them as I wanted… But until Jacob Rex was defeated, there would always be more…"

Vinge lowered his gaze to meet Kieran's again. “Korban is on a path much like my own… Without a voice of reason to keep steering him on the right path, he may very well succumb to the same vengeful wrath that nearly consumed me. I cannot tell you what to do, Kieran… I can only see what may come if you aren't there with him. Only you can decide though if you want to be the one who carries that responsibility for your partner."

Kieran lowered his gaze to the ground and sighed heavily, leaning back on his hands as he processed Vinge's words, his tail flicking behind him idly. “Thing is… I've been trying to help him. I've been trying to get him to trust me more, but he's so dead set in his ways that it's almost like I'm talking to a brick wall sometimes," he said.

Kieran placed his face in his hands, and then slid them around to rub his temple in irritation. “I want him to see people in a better light, but he's so hung up about his past and all the betrayals he's dealt with that he refuses to see people beyond potential targets for bounties. Call me crazy but… I get the feeling he doesn't want to change… and if he doesn't want to change, then I don't think anyone can help him, let alone me."

Vinge grimaced at that. “I cannot tell you how to do that… I had to be shown the way myself," he said. “The decision must be yours alone…"

Again Kieran sighed, running his hand through his hair as he struggled to come to a decision. “I think… I just need some space from him for now, at least for a couple of days before I decide if I wanna go back or not."

Vinge blinked a few times before he spoke again. “Do you wish to come with me?" he offered. “Out here in the Yukon, it's a good place to find your thoughts."

Kieran's ears perked up a little as he turned to look at Vinge, stunned at first at his offer, but then he started to smile and eventually nodded. “Why the hell not?" He asked. “Besides… I could stand to learn a few more things from you in the…" He concluded his statement by waving his arms as if he were swinging a blade and making swishing noises as he did.

At that, Vinge flashed a light-hearted smile. “If nothing else, it'll be a good way to pass the time. We still have a long journey ahead of us yet."

“Hey, I'm game whenever you are," Kieran asked as he got back up to his feet again. “I gotta ask though… think you can handle spells as well as a sword?" He added with a cheeky grin.

“Only if you can handle my ice powers," Vinge countered, “especially here when the winds blow cold and add to my power."

“Won't get better if I don't challenge myself," Kieran retorted, grinning wide.

“Very well then," said Vinge. “First, we need to find somewhere to stay. I've been travelling a long way and need rest."

“Fair enough -wait… How long have you been travelling so far?" Kieran asked. “Have you stopped even once to rest?"

“A few times," he replied. “But I have been travelling for days now, usually sleeping in abandoned cars or camping in the woods."

“Oh man, you need to get yourself some proper accommodations, pronto," Kieran remarked. “Next town we find, I'm getting you a room at a motel or something. Anything better than an old car or a log."

Vinge shrugged. “That may take a while," he said. “There are not many towns up here, my friend. That golf and country club down there," he pointed down the hill, “Is the only civilization we will see for some time as we continue going west."

“Hey, better than nothing. We can start there at least," Kieran said with a smirk. “Maybe we can find somewhere down there to be put up for the night. C'mon, won't know till we try."

~~~~~

Back in Unity Falls…

Avory had watched the whole confrontation with Brent live; finger hovering over the tazer button on his console whilst logged into the sentinel device he had placed secretly in Brent's room. He had all of Korban's readings in front of him and would know the precise moment the husky's trigger finger would tighten. Fortunately, it never happened, and Avory never had to taze the room to protect Brent. He did not like how close of a call this was, but he still believed it necessary.

He then watched as the tracker on the bounty hunter's device made it's way the shortest route to Climber's Lake. To his home. He expected this, and was ready.

“A.V.I." he began as he spoke to his personal assistant, “Korban is going to come through the building. I want all of your excess resources spent on analyzing his movement, M.A.N.A. and all other possible readings at your disposal. Do not display it to me or report on it until I request it."

“Acknowledge," the robotic voice confirmed.

“I will try and provide you with a physical sample…" the male raven-hoopoe stated as he reached for a small translucent ring and placed it on his middle finger, inspecting the small prick protruding from it, before getting off his chair and turning to enter the Red Lightning suit…

Korban pulled up to the front yard of the home of the Lo'Raven twins, his tires screeching as he came to an abrupt stop. Placing the kickstand for his bike to hold it upright, he hopped off of his bike and began storming up toward the front door, cracking his knuckles and rolling his head along his shoulders as if he were getting ready to throw down, knocking heavily on the front door once he was at the doorstep.

There was a long pause before he was about to knock again, but then heard the lock turning and the door opening. Within, the twin sister of Avory was revealed – though Korban almost thought it was Avory at first. Avelyn was an identical twin to her brother, standing out from him only with her blue highlights opposed to Avory's red.

“Good evening, Korban. Is something wrong?" she asked, clearly concerned at the heavy-handedness of the husky. Behind her, standing off to the side, Korban noticed the African American human, Kyle, watching him warily.

Korban ignored Kyle and focused on Avelyn. “Where's yer pissant of a brother?" he asked aggressively. “I got some words fer that spoiled son of a bitch…"

“He's in the workshop…" Avelyn answered, keeping a soft tone. “But whatever it is, please calm down before you come in," she requested, scowling a little at the husky's language as she held the door open for him.

“I am in no fucking mood to be calm about anything, princess," Korban growled as he stormed past Avelyn and entered the house. “Where's the workshop?"

“Second door on the left as you enter the living room," Avelyn answered, unamused by their visitor, closing the door behind him, giving Kyle a glance of disdain. A look shared by the human, though his deep brown eyes remained fixed on the husky.

Korban followed those directions without so much as an expression of gratitude, storming through the living room and down the hall until he found the second door on his left. He didn't even knock this time, instead opting to shoulder the door open with brute force as hard as he could.

Avory, clad in the Red Lightning armour, was facing the workshop's terminal when he heard the door being opened forcefully. He turned to face Korban, and while his face wasn't visible behind his helmet, Korban could hear the surprise carried in his voice. “Korban? What's wrong? You almost took the door off its hinges."

“You!" Korban growled angrily as approached him. “You have a lotta balls doing what you did, Stark!"

“Errr… What did I do?" Avory asked.

“You fucked with my business, that's what!" Korban shouted at Avory. “What, was I that much of a threat to you that you had to pay off my guy in the chair? You didn't have the balls to take the issue to me directly?"

“Pay off yo-" Avory paused, “What are you talking about?" he asked, confused, “Korban. Tell me straight what's happened; I don't know what on Earth you mean."

Korban's anger visibly intensified at Avory's apparent confusion, his eye twitching and his left ear flicking a few times before he continued. “Don't you act fucking stupid! You made my guy in the chair agree to an NDA, so that he'd stop upgrading my tech," he gestured to his wrist terminal before continuing, “as a means to get back at me for piggybacking off your network! I almost failed a fucking contract the other night because of you!!"

“Wait wait wait…" Avory put up his hands in front of him, “That Brent kid… Was your guy in the chair?" Avory exclaimed in surprise, turning to look at the wrist terminal. “You've got to be kidding! There's no way he was selling stuff to you, surely?" the Red Lightning asked, looking back up at the husky and pausing, seeing the look on his face, “...You are being serious, aren't you?"

“Would I be here if I wasn't?" Korban demanded. “We had a deal, him and I. He agreed to build my tech and keep it maintained and up to date, and in return, I funded his way through college with a portion of my earnings. Now you come along and fuck around with my business, when I had done nothing to damage either you or your precious wealth and ego!"

He had his right-hand hovering over the holster of his right pistol as he went on his rant. “Give me a reason, Stark! Give me a really good fucking reason why I shouldn't waste my precious ammunition on a smarmy, rich fuck like you, because you crossed a fucking line with me, shit for brains!"

“Look, Korban," Avory began, holding his hands in front of himself, “I seriously didn't know Brent worked for you. I just went to him last week because I found out he was pirating my technology. I had no idea you were a customer of his. Besides, why don't you come to me instead? Whatever that kid did for you I would be able to do it so much quicker and better than he can."

“I don't want your fucking charity, Stark…" Korban growled, his anger finally reaching his boiling point as he immediately drew his gun and flicked the safety off, aiming it right at the raven's head – encased in a helmet though it was. “I chose that kid because I like to back the underdog, as it were. The kid needed help. You clearly don't. I'd rather risk it on someone who has as much to lose as I do rather than some spoiled rich shit-stain who doesn't have what it takes to survive in the real world!!"

From behind Korban, the sound of another gun's safety being shut off was heard. “Drop your gun, now," the commanding voice of Kyle stated.

Korban flinched slightly as he heard Kyle's voice, staying still but keeping his weapon pointed at Avory. “You know I'll just jump back up after you pull that trigger, Sarge, so how about you save yourself the trouble and back the fuck off," he growled back at him.

“Both of you, lower your weapons!" Avory shouted, waving his hands, “No one is going to resolve anything when the other is dead!"

Kyle looked past Korban at Avory. After a moment, he turned up his pistol and flicked the safety back on. “Old habits, sir," he said as he holstered his pistol again, but kept his eyes on Korban regardless.

With that, Avory turned his attention back to Korban, though the husky had not lowered his gun. “I'm sorry to break it to you, Korban. But your underdog got caught; good thing it was by me and not one of your enemies who would have put a bullet in him. Think about it; if that had been the case then where would he be?"

“You clearly don't like me, but I know you've got a heart in you to know you wouldn't want that kid to come to harm," Avory reminded, lowering one of his arms, holding the other one out still, turning it to an outstretched palm.

Korban still kept his gun trained on Avory, not deterred by the fact he had his armour on. “Don't act like you know me, Stark," he said, spitefully. “You've never gone a day in your life wondering if it's going to be your last. I've had to survive since I was a kid, and learned real quick that life comes with risks. Not that you'd know anything about that, hidin' in that tin can suit of yours."

Avory looked down briefly at his outstretched hand, and then back to Korban again. “When someone comes in threatening you, don't you think the last thing you would think of doing is taking off your protection if you've already got it on?" Avory asked as he then stood ramrod straight.  

The front of the suit parted, revealing the young male raven within its confines and allowing him to step out – ignoring the look of protest from Kyle, who had not moved from his place behind Korban, nor had the husky lowered his pistol even when Avory stepped out of his armour, watching him with an unreadable expression. However, the scowl had not left his features.

“There… happy? Here I am, facing you man-to-man," Avory stated. “Look… I didn't mean to tread on your toes; I did not know he was working for you specifically. I was just taking care of my business; my actual company's business. If you want me to do your tech for you then I can; it's the least I can do for you for helping me and the others take down P.A.C.E." he stretched out his hand again to the husky that still pointed a gun at him, “We were a team, Korban; and a bloody good one."

Korban scoffed in response, but eventually he lowered his gun and flicked the safety back on before holstering it again. “Like I told you… I don't want your fucking charity, Stark." Korban sneered at Avory. “You fuck with my business again, I'll have a bullet with your fucking name on it, you understand me?"

At that moment, a shadow filled the doorway. All eyes turned to the door, and the three saw Tsumé peering into the room, looking between the three of them. She could feel the tension in the air between them and noticed Korban's hand still lingering near his weapon.

“...Do I even want to know what's going on in here?" she asked, sternly.

“I was just apologizing to Korban and offering to make it up to him for accidentally interfering in one his contacts earlier this week," Avory replied, still holding out his hand to shake Korban's if he would accept it. “I did not know he was linked to you. So, I didn't know he was 'your business'. But I will stay out of it where I can if I know it's 'your business'."

Avory never lowered his hand; if anything, he elevated it more, as a show he was willing to let bygones be bygones. “Just please, the only thing I ask is, don't go recruiting kids… If I was able to find him meddling with my tech; just imagine what your enemies would do if they found him to get to you."

But Korban wasn't hearing it. “The only reason you found him was because it was your network, you fuckwit!!" Korban snapped back, slapping Avory's open palm away. “Of course you'd find him easily! Not everyone is as tech-savvy as you are - and no, that wasn't a fucking compliment! If you had just minded your own fucking business, then we wouldn't be in this situation now, would we?!"

He turned his back on the raven then as he continued. “Keep your charity. I want nothing to do with you. And for the fucking record, I only joined up with you because I had a score to settle. We are not a team; we shared a common enemy at the time. That's it!" He added as he began to storm away.

But just as he reached the door, Tsumé intercepted him, glaring harshly at him. “Hold it right there," she stated in a firm tone of voice. “Did our struggles just days ago mean nothing to you? Hell, you and Avory killed that monstrosity that put a fucking hole in my leg, together. What the fuck is even your problem with him - he's done nothing to warrant all this disdain from you!"

“Like I told him several times already. He's a spoiled, rich fuckwitt who doesn't have what it takes to survive in the real world. All he does is hide behind his money and his fancy armour." Korban spat back, still stubbornly holding onto his ideology. “What happened back then was a case of 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' and that's being generous at best."

Tsumé's hands rested on her hips. “So just because he was born wealthy, that means he's not worth anything but spite?" she asked. “Well, nice to know what you think of people like that, even when we're trying to get out of that life, or at least do something else with it besides sit on their wealth. Or were you only overlooking that for me because I'm a nice piece of ass?" she challenged, glaring at him.

“You are different from him." Korban shot back without hesitation, ignoring Tsumé's glare. “Yeah, you were born into wealth and riches, but you wanted out of that life. You wanted to make your life your own, not to be dictated by wealth or entitlement." Korban went on. “You didn't want to just live… you wanted to survive. That's why I have a shit lotta more respect for you than I do for him."

“Don't act like you know me or what my motivations were," she countered. “Yeah, I wanted out of that life, but not because I didn't like being rich. Because I was sick of my overbearing parents. Because I hated having other people deciding my life for me, never having the chance to build something myself - make something of myself, as something other than just a pretty thing my father could show off to his business partners. That's the life I ran from."

She then pointed at Avory. “But Avory decided to do something with his life, by using his wealth for the benefit of others. That's the difference between him and; I ran away, he didn't, and I think that's what you really can't stand about him. You project the stereotypical rich kid persona on him because you don't want to see him for who he really is."

“What, a 'genius billionaire playboy philanthropist?'" Korban mockingly asked, crossing his arms. “All that talk about you wanting to get away from your life only further proves my point. You wanted to survive and make your life your own, just as I said. Ya hated living under the controlling shadow of your folks, so you got out. Helluva lot more gutsy than I can say about Iron britches over there."

Tsumé threw up her hands and screeched at the ceiling. “Comment diable quelqu'un peut-il être aussi stupide?!" she spouted in French before glaring at him again. “You are so short-sighted you may as well have astigmatism!"

“I live in the here and the now. It's how I've stayed alive since I was a literal toddler," Korban replied.

Tsumé threw up her hands again, but this time reined in her anger before she could fly into another tangent. “This is a waste of time," she growled and stepped aside. “Go, then. Storm off to your little box and sulk or whatever."

“Don't mind if I do…" Korban retorted, then turned his gaze back at Avory, making a 'got my eyes on you' gesture with his hand before sliding past Tsumé and out into the hallway.

When Korban was out of earshot, Kyle turned to look at Avory. “You want me to make sure he leaves?" he asked, speaking in a low voice.

Avory shook his head, “Don't worry, he's going," he assured the ex-soldier, having no desire to risk escalating the situation any further.

Tsumé stared after Korban until he slammed the door behind him, then turned to Avory. “Someone want to explain to me what that was about," she asked, “or should I just guess?"

Kyle remained silent, understanding that it was not his place to explain it - if Avory wanted to offer one at all.

“It turns out that that kid I told you about the other day, who was meddling with my tech and selling it, was selling it to Korban," Avory revealed to Tsumé plainly.

“The college kid, right?" Tsumé asked, “Didn't you offer him a job, too?"

“Essentially; so now Korban's pissed because Brent can't work for him anymore." Avory signed rolling his eyes before muttering, “Small world…"

Tsumé let out an unhappy sigh. “Well, at least it didn't escalate any further," she said, glancing briefly at Kyle, and at the pistol holstered at his belt, before looking at Avory again. “What happens now?"

“I offered to update his tech with the new decryption, but he doesn't want it from me," Avory remarked, “I really don't understand him. But regardless… I should probably keep an eye on him. I've had someone I thought was an ally shoot at me in this very house not even a year ago now; I won't have that happen again."

Tsumé flinched upon hearing that, remembering who Avory was referring to and feeling a pang of sympathy for the raven. “Let's hope it never comes to that," she said under her breath.

“For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing," stated Kyle. “That boy was going to have a target on his back if he kept making technology for Korban; sooner or later, someone would find out and go after him. What you offered him is a safe, prosperous future."

“Yeah…" the raven-hoopoe replied, unhappily, “I should perhaps give him a call… make sure he's ok. I suspect Korban gave him a fright."

Tsumé nodded. “Probably a good idea," she agreed.

Avory nodded, pulling out his phone as he made his way over to the chair at his computer terminal. “I'll go do that now… I'll let you know how he is after," he said, bidding good night to the two as he selected Brent's number from his contacts.

Avory closed the door once Tsumé and Kyle departed, settling back into his workstation. He leaned back in his chair and put his talons up on the desk as the phone dialled. He pulled off the ring from his finger and put the needle end into a port on his computer to log the sample, before bringing up a feed of Brent's dorm. It was late at night, and Brent appeared to be getting ready for bed, but he was still awake.

Avory saw the Hyena scurrying to find his ringing phone, and during that he shrank the window of the live feed, occupying half the screen in front of him. Avory brought up the recording of Brent's confrontation with the two bounty hunters too, occupying the other half of his screen and watching it back as the mammal eventually picked up.

“H-Hello?" the caller nervously answered.

“Hi there; it's Avory," he began. “Firstly, I want to know if you're ok. I heard that Korban paid you a visit."

“Mr. Lo'Raven? Oh, phew…" the hyena replied, sounding relieved. But then, clearing his throat, he looked at the phone, and then peered nervously around his room as he replied. “U-uh, K-Korban? Who's that?"

“Oh? You've gone and signed an NDA with him now too if you suddenly don't know?" Avory asked, watching Brent fidget nervously on the secret live feed, “Surprised you can manage that, considering you told him I visited you the other day."

“Oh…" Brent muttered, realizing that Avory was seeing right through his deception. The raven watched him lift a hand to rub the back of his head, head turning left to right as if searching for something to help him. “I-I'm sorry… Yeah, he showed up at my dorm room complaining that the thing I built for him wasn't working anymore… I told him I couldn't do anything with it, and he… He pulled a gun on me. I think if his partner hadn't stopped him, he would have killed me..."

“Bloody hell! He pulled a gun on you!?" Avory exclaimed, feigning shock, watching the replay back of Brent's encounter with the duo, up to when Korban drew his sidearm and Kieran forced the gun back down again; he had the volume turned off on the recording, but he knew from having watched it early that Kieran was berating Korban for his actions.

“But I suppose I'm not surprised," said Avory. “He's not what you would call 'a nice person'. It was for the best that you stopped working for him before you ended up getting too deep and one of his enemies came after you… Or himself."

The two remained on the call for a little while longer, discussing the ordeal. Avory offered Brent reassuring words, pacifying the fearful hyena before they said their goodbyes and the raven-hoopoe got back to business. He meshed his fingers and watched the screens in front of him as he called out to his artificial intelligence.

“A.V.I. are you getting any data from that sample?" he asked.

“Affirmative. The readings are quite unusual, but share similar characteristics with the phoenixes," the robotic voice answered.

“Bring them up for me, I would like to have a look…" he replied as the data populated the many screens on his terminal, scrolling slowly down the various monitors for him.

Avory's amber eyes darted to and fro, reading the data as it was presented to him and humming in thought. “He does appear to have traces of Galrum and Aqurum, like Vinge and Pavan, which is to be expected considering his cyromancy," said Avory – mostly to himself, analyzing the data as his amber eyes shifted from one display to the next. But then, his eyes settled on one entry in particular. “But what's all this? He appears to just be completely flat around the other points of M.A.N.A?"

“Correct. Korban's readings do not return a net result," A.V.I. replied.

“What do you mean by a 'net result'?" Avory asked his AI. “Are you suggesting there is something there that's getting cancelled out like with the inverted Spherum P.A.C.E created?"

“Correct," A.V.I replied, and the monitor display changed, showing negative values of the various M.A.N.A counts, as opposed to the charts of positive readings he had been viewing previously. “The magnitude of the other M.A.N.A. nodes return results equal to double the average of regular life forms in negative values, as opposed to the positive levels exhibited by other life forms – including those of the phoenixes."

“Why did you not tell me this first?" Avory asked, annoyed.

“I presented the information in the same format as your other research results, as per your request. I did not believe this information was of any interest to you," the A.I replied simply.

Avory huffed, now annoyed with himself, wishing he had programmed A.V.I to have more initiative. “Going forward, please include both sets of these results," Avory instructed. “Do we know what caused the cancellation of the other elements and why they are showing as negative now?"

“I do not. More information is required to show a correlation in the results," his computer insisted as Avory's turned his head away to consider what he had learned until A.V.I spoke again. “But based on your recent request, I believe there is some information that might be of interest to you."

Avory turned his attention back to the monitors, leaning in to listen to what his AI had unknowingly been withholding from him, “Go on…"

“As part of your sentinel protocol, I have been monitoring the M.A.N.A. levels and have noticed that Korban is not the only individual exhibiting a magnitude of Negative M.A.N.A. greater than their net result. Volcan has too exhibited this alongside his regular levels of Pyrrum in Ordagova's residence, and the magnitude is increasing exponentially."

“Is this what's causing his illness? When did this start happening?"

“His responsiveness suggests a correlation but no firm evidence. Because of the proximity of the sentinel device, I cannot get accurate readings so do not know the initial start of this occurrence, but because of the exponential nature, this could have started at any point but was too small to be detected. The only accurate reading that you provided to me on Volcan's last visit here."

“What is the percentage of this magnitude of Negative Pyrrum compared to his normal readings?" Avory asked with great concern in his voice.

“195%"

Concern turned to alarm, Avory's feathers standing on end as he looked up in alarm at the monitor. “When will he reach two hundred?" Avory asked.

Almost as if on cue, an alarm began blaring, and a new window of data filled the monitor in front of him. “Now," A.V.I. responded. “WARNING: Fire at the Temple of Tikal. Volcan has set fire to the residence of Ordagova Nevarol. WARNING."

As A.V.I repeated the warning, Avory – hardly believing what he was seeing and hearing, leapt out his office chair and ran to his Red Lightning suit, quickly climbing inside as the workshop door opened. Avelyn came running into the workshop, making a beeline for her Blue Lightning suit, while an alarmed Tsumé and Kyle followed her in.

“What's happening?" Kyle demanded.

Avory did not take the time to answer him, knowing every second counted. “Stop him! Taze him, A.V.I.!" Avory squawked as the suit closed around him and the garage door opened for him to run out and blast into the air as fast as possible…