Chapter 41

Hunter-Killers

Farmer's Market Square

Outskirts of Moon City

7:45 AM Local Time - The Next Day...

Mick pulled the Audi up into a parking space near the farmer's market with Uniko and Zarch in the car as well. Both Zarch and Uniko had noticed that the Villa's food stocks were starting to get a little low and had informed Egad of the situation. Mick overheard and offered to take Zarch and Uniko here to do some grocery shopping for the coven with his Audi, since he and Xen just finished some quick maintenance on the car beforehand with a checkup, along with an oil and filter change. Egad gave them the go ahead, along with giving the two chefs the liberty of food planning and making a list of all their needed items. After Uniko and Zarch made their lists, Egad sent them on their way. Uniko was a little concerned, since he and Zarch were only wearing their slave outfits, but both Egad and Mick reassured them they would not look suspicious or out of place. After all, since the whole planet was a very warm, tropical climate, just about everybody dressed in a similar fashion or wore breathable clothes.

After everyone got out of the car, Mick set the double-alarm as usual. Uniko and Zarch looked over the list they made on a tablet, then glanced at the market stalls that lined the square. There were many stalls, all with a unique selection of food and goods. No one even gave them any strange or suspicious looks, much to Uniko's relief. In fact, people occasionally gave both him and Zarch compliments on the outfits, as well as their fit bodies.

"This place should have just about everything you are looking for." Mick said. "Me and Xen shop here all the time, and we've seen just about every food here sold across the galaxy. Don't worry about payments ether. Every galactic currency and card is accepted as well."

"That should make things much simpler, since we are using a bank card for one of the coven's accounts." Zarch said as he, Mick, and Uniko grabbed hand-carry shopping baskets. They then walked through the market with Mick, going down the list to get everything they needed for their meal plans. Eventually, they had everything they needed.

"So, I was wondering... When are you guys going back to Vhaldaria?" Mick asked as they loaded the groceries into the car once they were finished. "It's not that I'm trying to shoo you guys off or anything. I'm just wondering when you do have to go, and when you will be back. To be honest, I have taken a likeing not just to Uncle, but to everyone in the coven I've met so far..."

Zarch paused before shutting the trunk. "To be honest, I'm not sure. Cailus still poses a legitimate threat, and Master Egad is still trying to work out the best way to make sure everyone is safe. Don't worry, Mick. I'm sure when we are ready, Master Egad will let you know. We're not just going to disappear one night without saying a word."

"Okay." Mick said. "...It's just that when you do go, I'm going to miss all of you. Xen even said so, too. I hope you guys come back on occasion for getaway trips."

"I'm sure we will." Uniko reassured. "Tarion III is a nice world. I can see why Master bought a residence here."

"Agreed." Zarch said after the car was loaded up. "Well, this should get us by for another couple of weeks. Let's head back."

"Gladly." Mick nodded. "But before we do, let's rehydrate." Mick got out a bag of three purple drinks in glass bottles that he had purchased while Uniko and Zarch were getting the groceries. "This is all-natural lemonade with blueberries. I figured you would like something to drink before we started the drive back."

Uniko and Zarch took their bottles. Sure enough, it was all-natural lemonade with blueberries.

"Thank you." Both said in unison, smiling. All of them opened the corks off the glass bottles and paused to take a quick drink to quench their thirst before getting in the car for the trip home.

"This is really good." Zarch said. "I must say, whoever made this certainly is talented, not to mention having great knowledge of the good places to acquire the fruits."

Uniko nodded, the group taking a few sips of their drinks.

That was when two hooded figures walked up to them. The hoods were made of breathable fabric, as well as their clothes that covered their frames. They stopped in front of Uniko and Zarch.

Uniko raised an eyebrow. "Is there something we can help you two with?"

One of the figures raised his head, revealing a familiar face to the unicorn! The gray and white fur, the black hair... It was Silva Dhaelos! But something was off. His eyes seemed unusually focused, as well as displaying a slight glow...

But nothing could prepare Uniko for what happened next: Silva grabbed Uniko by the throat, tightening his grip as he threw Uniko to the ground, getting on top of him as the unicorn dropped his drink!

"Why did you leave?!" Silva barked, the wolf's teeth bared with a scowl. "Do you have any idea what I have had to go through the past five years?!"

The other figure tried to tackle Zarch shortly after, but the demon wolf quickly sidestepped, and with a shove of his hand, threw the aggressor to the ground, knocking his hood off! Mick saw that it was an Exveemon, with the same glow in his eyes as Silva!

"Silva...!" Uniko gasped out as he choked, trying to pry the wolf's hands off his throat! He was clearly much stronger than he remembered! "Stop it...! What is wrong with you...?! What are you doing...?!"

Silva raised one hand into a balled fist. "Something I should have done long ago..."

Zarch then unexpectedly ran up behind Silva, bringing his bottle of lemonade down on Silva's head like a club! The glass shattered, covering both Uniko and Silva in the drink, as well as stunning the younger wolf, forcing him to let go! Zarch then shoved Silva away, sending him sliding through the dirt.

"Everybody in the car!" Mick barked, throwing his lemonade bottle at the Exveemon like a molotov, the glass shattering as it impacted his skull!

Everybody piled into the Audi quickly, Mick locking the doors, starting the engine and activating escape mode just as another car, a black Mercedes slid around in front of them, burning rubber on the pavement.

"Dammit!" Zarch shouted. "That was a waste of perfectly good lemonade!"

"Don't sweat it, I'll buy you another one later!" Mick said as he threw the Audi in gear and floored the pedal, doing a partial doughnut burnout as he got onto the highway!

The Mercedes quickly bolted after them, joined shortly by Silva and his friend, both riding on hopped-up dirt bikes! Mick quickly veered the Audi left and right to block the Mercedes from passing as the other car quickly caught up, the dirt bikes not far behind!

"Who the hell was that?!" Zarch barked, he and Uniko buckling in.

"...That was Silva, Galen's adopted brother." Uniko said. "I don't know how he got here, nor why he's suddenly went psychotic all of a sudden!"

"Psychotic?! That is an understatement, Uniko!" Mick shouted, looking in the mirror as both dirt bikes passed the speeding Audi with ease. "Galen's bro and his new friends are going border-line Rambo right now!"

The Mercedes then quickly bolted up beside the Audi, much to Mick's surprise! "Dammit, that G-Class sedan should only have a four-liter V-8 Engine with no forced induction! How the hell is it keeping pace with the Audi?! We're even in escape mode for crying out loud!"

Zarch took a quick glance at the drivers of the Mercedes, noticing that there were two passengers in the car with the driver! All were reptilian, and were armed with blaster pistols, but that wasn't what caught Zarch's eye. The dash had a screen sticking out of it like Mick's transporter computer!

"Mick! They have similar equipment to your car!" Zarch pointed out as the Mercedes tried to force them off the road multiple times. "They have a transporter computer!"

"Shit!" Mick exclaimed, going through the gears as the Audi gained more speed, going over 290 kph! "That means they probably modded the engine, too! I would not be surprised if it had turbos! That's the only way they could keep up since the Audi is twin-charged! It's bad enough I can't outrun the bikes due to simple physics, but a turbo G-Class sedan?! We are going to need help if we're going to get home in one piece, get Uncle on the phone now!"

# # # #

Egad's Villa

Same Time...

Egad walked into the living room from the kitchen with Amon, Jet, and Xen to join the rest of the coven. All of them were sipping on their selections of coffee or tea, waiting for Zarch, Uniko, and Mick to get back with the groceries so they could make breakfast.

"I hope they are doing alright." Symon said. "Not that I think they are actively seeking out trouble. I just have an odd gut feeling, that's all."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Symon." Xen reassured, all of them sitting down. "Mick knows a good deal of martial arts, as well as Zarch and Uniko. Plus, the Audi has like... 760 horsepower with its twin-charged W-12 engine... I just hope Mick remembered to pick up those Kitty-Nipper rice cakes I reminded him to get."

Jet looked at Xen with a raised eyebrow. "...Kitty-Nipper?"

Xen blushed as he explained. "They have the effect of... Catnip, only it's concentrated. It's intended for rather... Large and built felines, such as Galen, Zhal, and me."

Jet could not help but chuckle. "I gathered as much, but... Catnip? Really? I mean, wouldn't it just be easier to take a couple Cialis or Viagra pills?"

"Well, with all due respect Jet, those are manufactured and are made with artificial ingredients." Xen continued with a grin. "If I want to enhance my sex drive for me and Mick's sessions, I'd prefer it to be all natural-"

They were all interrupted by Egad's cell. Egad retrieved his smart phone from his pocket, looking at the number. It was from the car phone in Mick's Audi!

Egad answered the phone on speaker. "Is everything alright, Mick?"

"No, sir!" Mick shouted. "Everything is far from alright right now! We are being chased by a Mercedes G-Class sedan, and two thugs on hopped-up dirt bikes right now that I have no hope of outrunning, even with Escape mode! Worst of all, one of the thugs on the bikes is Silva, Galen's adopted brother! And right now, he's gone border-line Rambo!"

Xen and Galen bolted up off his seat on the couch. "What?! How can a G-Class sedan keep up with your Audi?!" Xen exclaimed. "Those only have 425 horsepower stock, and only come with a ten-speed transmission!"

"This G-Class is special, apparently!" Zarch said, adding in his two cents. "I looked out through the car window a few moments ago, and they have a transporter computer in their car! Mick even thinks they modified the engine with something called 'turbos' whatever that means!"

Xen's eyes went wide. He quickly grabbed his laptop from the kitchen, set it on the coffee table and switched it on! "Mick, I'm connecting the laptop to the data line in the car and am going to use the car's external sensors to see if I can figure out just who that G-Class sedan belongs to! I'll have the answer in a few seconds..."

After about five seconds, a picture of a husky appeared on the screen with a data file. "Oh, shit... Mick, that isn't just any modded G-Class! That car is Malcom's Mercedes! The one with the quad-turbo V-8 that he uses in his transporter jobs!"

"What?!" Mick exclaimed. "How can that be?! Malcom isn't even in the car! It's being driven by a bunch of reptilians!"

"Malcom must have been jumped." Egad said. "Mick, if you can, tell me what the colors of their scales and eyes are!"

After a quick pause, with the sounds of squealing rubber and revving engines, Mick answered. "The driver's scales are colored blue, the other two have red and green scales! All of their eyes are identical colors though; They all have red irises!"

Egad went pale. "That's the Claw Triad! They're a hit squad Cailus likes to hire on occasion!"

"Well, at least we know who's behind this, now!" Mick said.

"It still doesn't help matters; Mick has no chance of outrunning Malcom's car!" Xen exclaimed. "He modded that G-Class not only with the transporter computer, but he modded the engine and transmission as well! The V-8 is fitted with a liquid-nitrogen intercooled quad-turbo setup with an anti-lag misfire system that boosts the power to 880 horses! Not only that, but he also added in a quick-shift kit in the gearbox as well, meaning that the shift times for his car are literally cut in half, quickening its acceleration capabilities! No wonder he can match Mick's Audi! The only thing that's keeping the playing field from totally shifting is the Audi's four-wheel-drive system!"

"Then we have no choice." Egad said. "Symon, please tell me you, Jet, and Xen finished your work on Project: Raging Bull."

Jet nodded. "We finished installing the supercharger and twin-turbo system a few days ago, as well as overhauling the 14-speed transmission. We also just finished installing and programming the transporter computer yesterday and installing the switchable off-road mods. It just needs a test-drive with one of us so we can log some data."

"Well, then let's test it now!" Symon said, standing up. "Jet, get your laptop, gun, and the OBD Connector! As for me, I'm going to drive." Symon turned to Xen. "Winchester, do you mind if I borrow one of your automatic machine blaster pistols?"

Xen quickly materialized the weapon from his storage buffer in his backpack near the table. "Just hurry! From what I'm seeing on my screen, they are using Malcom's car to great effect!"

"You sure the Lamborghini will be able to match Malcom's car?" Zhal asked. "880 horses sounds like quite a lot..."

"It won't be a problem." Xen reassured. "With what we did to the Lambo's engine, we estimated it will have at the most, 975 horsepower. It may not sound like much more than Malcom's car, but with the 14-speed transmission, it will blow that G-Class out of the water."

"I'm going, too!" Galen said. "Master, I understand if you may protest, but please... I can't just sit this one out! It isn't just because of Uniko, either... My brother is involved as well!"

"But the Lambo is only a two-seater..." Symon said. "I don't see how we could bring you..."

"That won't be a problem." Bishop said, standing up. "I can take Galen on my Whiptail Motorcycle. I also have an extra helmet, if it helps."

"Don't go by yourselves! If anyone else knows how to ride a motorcycle, they should take my chopper and go, too!" Xen said.

Hatred stood up. "I practiced a bit on a Motorcycle VR sim. I can handle your bike no problem, Xen."

"And I'll be Hatred's backup." Gareth said, standing as well.

"Alright, then. Hurry and go!" Egad waved them on. Jet then grabbed his gun, laptop, and the OBD tool. Then he, Symon, Galen, Bishop, Hatred, and Gareth ran through the kitchen and into the garage. Egad turned back to his phone as he heard the garage door open, and engines start. "Help is on the way! Xen will transmit your position to the data feed in the Lamborghini, which is being driven by your father! The motorcycles we have will be with him as well, with Bishop, Galen, Hatred, and Gareth! Just try to hold them off until they get there!"

"Don't worry about that!" Mick shouted over the roaring engine of the Audi. "I'll do everything in my power and skill to make sure I am the faster driver!"

"Godspeed, Nephew..." Egad said.

# # # # #

Mick continued to do his best to outrun the Mercedes, while trying to get around the two dirt bikes! It was exceptionally difficult with their circumstances.

"How far out is backup, Xen?!" Mick exclaimed.

"They will be there in seven minutes at their current rate!" Xen replied. "I have your live location locked into the Diablo's transporter computer!"

"I just hope we can last seven more minutes!" Uniko shouted. "This can't get any worse..."

"It's just got worse!" Zarch shouted, pointing ahead of the Audi. In front of them, the two-lane road was blocked by two slow-moving semi-trucks!

"Oh,come on!" Mick yelled. "Hold on, guys! I need to pass these crates!"

"Pass?!" Zarch exclaimed. "How?!"

Mick then shifted the Audi into gear 12, its highest gear. He quickly closed the distance between the two tractor trailers, Silva and his buddy veering away. Mick then jerked the steering wheel back and forth roughly! The Audi swerved left and right so suddenly that it rose up onto two wheels on one side! Mick maneuvered the car between the tractor trailers, the side of the car in the air catching on one of the trailers as it rolled between the narrow space, overtaking, and passing the trucks.

"Crazy fox-fuck! What the hell are you doing?!" Silva yelled as he went around one side of the trailers, seeing what the Audi was doing from the gap underneath. The Audi shot out between both semi-trucks, Mick balancing the car with precision until it landed back on all four wheels.

The truck drivers panicked, surprised as the Audi's sudden appearance, and jammed on their brakes! Their trailers swerved out from behind them, effectively blocking the road as they jack-knifed, forcing the Mercedes to go off the road and then back on in order to stay in the chase! Regardless, this cost both Silva, his accomplice and the Mercedes valuable ground as the Audi took off down the road.

"Woah!" Jet exclaimed on the data feed. "I don't know what kind of maneuver you pulled, but it must have been epic from what we're seeing on the Diablo's screen! The Mercedes just lost a lot of ground! You are going to have to tell me what you did!"

"Honestly Jet, I'm not sure you want to know!" Zarch said, his adrenaline pumping.

"No shit!" Mick added. "Do you still have a lock on us?"

"Affirmative!" Symon answered. "Why?"

"Because I'm going to need to take a detour to buy us some time!" Mick said, seeing the G-Class's headlights in the rear view. "I'm going off-road!"

Mick then jerked the wheel, taking the Audi onto an off-road path, hoping this would buy them some time.

"What a day this is turning out to be..." Uniko said, keeping a look out for their pursuers. "Just for some food and a few cooking supplies for breakfast."

"No kidding!" Jet added in. "Just what did you guys do to piss them off?"

"I really can't figure that out right now, Jet! I'm a little preoccupied!" Mick sneered.

"Dude, chill! They're not appearing on your radar anymore!" Jet quipped. "Just what means preoccupied to you, anyway?"

Suddenly, the Mercedes darted behind the Audi from a converging dirt path! The passenger lizards rolled down the window, one wielding a blaster pistol, the other an assault blaster rifle in his hands, and fired on the Audi on full automatic!

"What means preoccupied?! THAT MEANS PREOCCUPIED!!" Mick yelled, stamping down on the accelerator. The lasers bounced off the Audi's body, seeing that it had been laser-proofed, but Mick wasn't worried so much about body damage! He was more concerned on what that rifle could do to the car's tires right now!

"Hold on, Son! We just found the dirt path you are on!" Symon reassured. "I've got the Diablo in off-road mode, we should only be a minute or two away!"

At that moment, the lizard in the front passenger seat switched to solid ordinance, firing bullets at the Audi's rear window! Despite the glass being shatterproof, some of the shots ended up eventually connecting, leaving several large, spider-webbed cracks in the glass!

"Oh, that's it! Nobody fucks with MY CAR!!" Mick pulled the Audi to the edge of the path and stomped down on the brake pedal! The sudden maneuver was unexpected by the drivers of the Mercedes! The gun-toting lizards didn't have enough time to duck back into the car, and their arms hit the Audi with loud cracks and snaps, both gunners losing their weapons in the process as they screamed in pain!

Mick then manually switched on the Audi's reinforcing ramming field, upshifting the car into second gear, and floored the accelerator in rage! The Audi's tires spun around, kicking up dirt as it shot forwards like a bullet, slamming into the back of the Mercedes several times, shoving the opposing car down the path as the Mercedes struggled to get traction on its rear wheels, seeing that it didn't have a four-wheel drive system!

The trees parted, revealing a cliff ahead! Mick rammed the Mercedes one more time before slamming on the brakes, sliding the Audi sideways and bringing it to a stop as the Mercedes jumped over the cliffside, the G-Class sedan going too fast to stop in time! The Audi stopped just short of the cliffside! Mick rolled the electric window down after a few seconds, seeing the Mercedes drop down the steep cliff into a ravine, the drop seeming like the depth of the grand canyon! A few seconds later, the Mercedes smashed into the bottom of the chasm with a loud crunch, rolling over a few times before the Hydrogen-2 fuel cell ruptured! The car then exploded in a fireball, sending smoke and flames up into the sky!

Mick took a few seconds to catch his breath, realizing just how close a call that was. He then put the Audi into gear and quickly pulled away from the cliffside and into a nearby field, but by then it was too late: Silva and his partner caught up on their dirt bikes, and surrounded the Audi. Silva stopped his bike in front, while the Exveemon blocked the rear, both of them holding handheld rail guns!

"Don't try it, you crazy fucker!" Silva snarled. "Me and Eli can light up your car and send it into just as big of a fireball! Step out of the car, NOW!"

Mick sighed, shaking his head. "Guys, you better get her in the next thirty seconds or we're dead..." Mick said as he shut off the Audi's engine. He, Uniko, and Zarch stepped out of the car, their hands raised.

They then heard the roar of the Lamborghini's engine, along with the snarls of Xen's chopper and Bishop's Harley! The Diablo then jumped out from the path in the trees, its new off-road mode engaged as it was led by the bikes! As they swerved up, Jet rolled down his window and opened fire with his blaster pistol on heavy stun, landing two shots on the Exveemon's upper back! He was thrown off his dirt bike, falling onto the ground!

Silva quickly revved up his bike, and took off in an attempt to escape, but he wasn't quick enough; Bishop pulled in front of Silva with Galen on the back of his Harley, and charged with a fisted arm extended! As they went by Silva, Bishop tried to punch him with a clothesline hit, forcing Silva to jump off his dirt bike, the wolf dropping the railgun! The bike, void of its rider, tumbled into the dirt, the engine dying shortly after.

Bishop slid the Harley to a stop, Galen jumping off and landing on the ground in a combat stance, ready to fight. Even though this was Silva, he still needed to defend Mick, as well as his coven brothers.

"Not surprised by your actions, Bishop!" Silva snarled, his teeth bared with hate. "Your betrayal of Cailus isn't that surprising to me. However, it pales in comparison to your treachery, brother!" Silva pointed a finger at Galen before readying himself in a combat stance, his fists bearing fingerless gloves fitted with studded electrified displacement knuckles. "I'm going to enjoy this fight..."

"Silva! Ohblon shakes, what is wrong with you?!" Galen snapped. "You and those thugs could have gotten Mick, Uniko, and Zarch killed back there!"

Silva just laughed like a madman. "Isn't that the whole point of cold-blooded retribution? The entire concept of sweet revenge in itself?"

Uniko walked up to Galen's side, readying himself for a fight as well. "Silva! Did you ever pay attention to what we taught you?! Revenge is never sweet! It only darkens your mind, your very soul! It is nothing but a poison, and what did we do to deserve this kind of wrath anyway?!"

Silva glared at Uniko, and jumped in the air with unnatural speed, charging towards Uniko at such a rapid pace, that he body slammed into the unicorn, sending him sliding across the ground on his back, his head hitting a tree!

Silva then turned to start fighting Galen, hitting the lion, zapping him with his displacer gloved hands, the wolf's strikes, and movements a blur! Galen was caught completely off-guard from this sudden rush of strikes, unable to react quick enough and block as Silva started to beat the snot out of him, the wolf screaming in rage. "You abandoned Mel'Andrea! You abandoned your teachings, your men, your family! You abandoned me, and for what?! To be someone's plaything?! To be some willing fuck toy?! You taught me never to shirk my duties, to stay true and dedicated!! But in the end, what did you do?! Huh?! What did you do?!! You're nothing but a fucking hypocrite!! I FUCKING HATE YOU!!!"

Silva then jumped in the air, hitting Galen in the side of the head with a powerful roundhouse kick! The lion was thrown onto the ground, sliding a few paces as the thin grass tore up, covering his body in dirt!

Silva then hit his knuckles together, walking forward with an aggressive growl as Galen watched. "I'll make you feel the pain you put me through..."

A blaster shot then rang out, the bolt striking the ground right in front of Silva! The wolf stopped, looking over to see Mick standing there with one of his dual-barrel pistols in hand with an enraged and dark evil eye.

"Kiddo, that's enough!" Mick shouted, materializing another weapon from his storage buffer in his coat: A gigantic buster sword, and not just any run-of-the-mill variety buster sword, either! Silva recognized it as a special design, seeing a similar one in Mel'Andrea! It was a Variable-Separating Buster Sword, a VSBS for short, with one handle on the hilt, and another handle forged into the blade itself! "I'm only going to say this once, so you better listen carefully you little shit! Either calm the fuck down and let us explain or stand down and walk away! I won't tell you twice, you goddamn brat! Consider yourself warned!"

Silva took a glance at the sword and laughed. "You really expect that you will be able to keep up with my speed while holding that ridiculous chunk of shrapnel?! As long as you are holding that over-sized paperweight in your hand, your sword swings will be just as slow as Galen's movements! I can dodge that giant cleaver with no issues!"

Mick's brows furrowed. He then grabbed his sword's second handle and pulled it apart with a click! The once, massive blade was now separated into two parts of different size, Mick holding the smaller, and narrower blade of the two forwards! Mick then, with a chastising smirk, put the larger blade on his back, the sword held there by some sort of magnet under his jacket!

"Well, what do you know?" Mick said in a mocking tone. "I wonder, now that my blade has suddenly gotten a lot lighter and more compact, meaning that my swings will now be a hell of a lot quicker... Will you still be able to dodge this, oh, what did you mean to call it? A Giant Cleaver, or a 'Giant-Cleaver'? Oh, never mind, I'll figure it out..."

Mick then rushed at Silva, his speed on par with the wolf's! Silva grabbed the blade with his gloved hand, only for Mick to shove his pistol into Silva's shoulder, pumping the trigger three times in rapid succession! Silva screamed, the shots leaving deep burns! Mick then kicked Silva in between the legs with a loud crunch! The wolf was left reeling in pain before Mick started his own beat down, pistol-whipping Silva in the face with his gun, and using the blunt end of his sword to hit Silva as well! Mick was not using the sword like a blade, but more like a club! Mick then ended it by knocking Silva over with his own roundhouse kick, leaving the wolf out cold on the ground!

Bishop brought his Harley up once Silva was knocked out. Silva lay on his back, completely out cold. Hatred and Gareth then pulled up to the Exveemon to make sure he was out for the count as well. When Gareth saw the Exveemon's face, he gasped and covered his mouth.

Hatred looked back to Gareth, seeing the BlackWarGreymon's eyes and face set in pure horror and disbelief. "Gareth, what's wrong?" Hatred asked, concerned.

Gareth slowly pulled his hand away from his mouth and pointed at the Exveemon, his hand shaking. "It can't be... Is that Eli?! ...How?" Gareth started sobbing softly. "How can he be here? ...He was shot... My dad, he... He shot him..."

Hatred quickly shut off Xen's chopper, then turned around and ensnared Gareth in a tight hug, realizing what was going on. Not only did Gareth recognize this individual, this "Eli," but he was also starting to go into shock just from the sight! Whatever happened between them for Gareth to have this sudden recall of Post-Traumatic Stress, Hatred didn't know. All he knew right now was that he needed to help Gareth keep it together.

Bishop, after watching Galen make sure Silva was secured with some handcuffs Symon brought along noticed Gareth's sudden shock as well. He parked his Harley-Davidson and quickly walked up. "Gareth, my love... What's going on? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something..." Bishop's voice rang with worry.

"I don't know, Bishop..." Gareth said with a soft sob, tears running from his eyes. "I don't know... I think I just did..."

Bishop looked down, seeing the fallen Exveemon and his eyes widened. Bishop instantly knew who it was from photographs Gareth had shown him shortly after they first met. "Gareth... Is that...? Is that Eli? Eli Frostworth?"

Gareth nodded. "It is... I don't know how it's possible, but it is... God, what did Cailus do? What did Cailus do...?" Gareth buried his face into Hatred's shoulder, crying softly. Bishop wrapped his arms around both him and Hatred, reinforcing Gareth with as much comfort as he could provide.

Symon, overhearing this, popped open the Lambo's front boot and got a med kit from the car he brought. He walked up to Eli with Jet at his side, and after cuffing him, ran a scanner over him. "...My god! Fucking bollocks, what is this?" Symon said, wide-eyed. "His cellular structure... The scanner reads some materials that show he was dead, but somehow... Somehow his entire mitochondrial and cardiovascular system has been reconstituted! Even his body tissues show signs of extreme regeneration! I don't know how this is possible, I can only make guesses... But somehow, Cailus has developed technology that has brought this fellow back from the dead! Holy bloody balls..."

Jet put a hand on Symon's shoulder. "This may seem very fascinating and impossibly incredible right now, Symon... But we will have to look into this more later. We need to get back to the villa, as we are still in danger, and we must take Eli and Silva with us. They may be the keys to figuring out more of this crazy mystery..."

Symon turned to face Jet, putting away the scanner. "Agreed. Do you think Mick is stable enough to drive back home without an incident?"

"Honestly, I don't think we have a choice at this point." Hatred said. "We better secure Eli and Silva in the Audi."

"Definitely." Bishop agreed. "I'll help strap them in..."