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Chapter 6: Unreachable Flame

"Ambition is a funny thing. One could say that Konseral reached too far and got burned. Perhaps Char became too greedy with his plans and that was what led to his discovery. Maybe Sylana hoped for too much as she struggled to find a cause. There's a downside to telling someone that they can achieve anything. Propping someone up on a pedestal as high as possible can only mean that they'll have farther to fall."

Silver Sniper (Alex)

To Incendius

The HHD Foreboding Sunlight had arrived at Altima Meadows seemingly out of coincidence. The huge, bulky, squat ship was of Incendian design and Alex had purposefully chosen it as the rescue ship for the very reason that it's bright, red, blazing emblem would be a comfort to the Incendians that made up the majority of the Reaching Flame and indeed the citizenry of Altima Meadows.

It was a small comfort, however. Inquisitors were storming down in their lumbering grey power armour and began their clean-up operation. The sight of the Custodia Puria struck both fear and awe in the minds of everyone, even the experienced General. He could only imagine what the poor victims of Char's manipulations were thinking.

For the moment, his mind rested with his son who lay quietly in a bed, mechanical arms scanning him with an electrical buzz and emitting soft, green lights where they healed injuries at a microscopic level. JD had to be sedated - on Alex's insistence - for the simple reason that anything less and his son would likely have gone marching off trying to look for Char or going on another godforsaken, self-imposed mission.

That's JD, for you. Always looking for the next target. Can never sit still for too long.

Perched on a chair beside his son's bed, Alex let out a soft sigh and rested a paw on the railings of the plain, metallic, hovering bed. The private ward was predictably spartan in nature. White, metal walls with no decorations whatsoever. A single vid screen played what the media was spinning as rescue operation on Altima Meadows. Thanks to all the preparation they had made beforehand, the Generals were able to direct the flow of information out from the site very carefully.

"You did good, son," he mumbled softly. "It's time to rest."

A knock came to the door and he groaned loudly. Even without looking at who it was, he knew that some Generals had come to meet him. Melchior he didn't mind but it was Zachariah and Elisha that he was not too pleased to entertain.

"There's no smoking in here, Melchior," he grunted softly. Hank just shrugged unapologetically and continued to puff that ever present cigar of his.

"You dragged my son into this, Solomon. You'll let me have this." Melchior switched the cigar from one side of his squat muzzle to the other. "How's JD doing?"

"Stable," he answered.

Elisha padded over, his heavy power armour moving quietly despite just how bulky it's enormous frame was. The hulking knight may have been human but with his armour, he was as tall and as broad as Melchior. Alex understood that Inquisitors needed to seem imposing to the general public and to their enemies, but he couldn't figure out why Elisha had chosen to add the large flaring wing shaped pauldrons to his armour as well. All that bulky metal and the billowing grey cape that fluttered behind him just made it seem like he was a child placed into a massive battle mech. That, or he was compensating for something...

The Grey King picked up the crystal pad that had JD's charts and statistics.

"Looks like he's suffered extensive physical damage," commented the grey-clad General. "I am constantly in awe at his determination."

"His will is what makes him exceptional," agreed the Sunburst Knight. "I've seen men crumble against such injuries. Your son is truly a marvel. I don't see why -"

Alex had anticipated this conversation because it had happened so many times before. "We are not going to discuss this again, Zachariah," he snapped. "JD is not_going to join the Inquisition. Yes, the power armour would protect him without hindering his abilities. Yes, his skill would be a great asset to the anti-magic Inquisition but he explicitly said he will _not join the Puria and that's final."

It was a logical step in his advancement. JD already had a personalised technique to disable use of magic and there were concerns from military leadership that if he didn't hone it, he could cause immense damage to someone that would be tantamount to a war crime. The Inquisition was the authority in anti-magic technology but JD had flat out refused to join them when Alex had broached the subject at the end of the war. He never knew why though he suspected it was out of a desire to live a 'normal' life. Though he did question whether fighting assassins and uncovering conspiracies really constituted as 'normal'.

"We're not here to argue that again, Zachariah," Elisha said, setting down the crystal pad. The Grey King offered the Horizon Lord a gentle smile. "Your son will be fine, Alex."

"I know that already," he answered, brushing aside the empty platitudes. "What do you two want?"

No illusion was required to keep their conversations silent. Elisha's power armour permanently exuded an aura that ensures that anything said past ten feet from him would immediately be converted to silence. All forms of observation magic were also silenced. The Grey King was both paranoid and prudent at the same time.

"We read your report," Elisha answered. "From what we gather, the Goetia are more inclined to create an army this time around instead of manipulating people to be their army for them."

"They're preparing for war," growled Zachariah. "From what little investigation we've done so far within the Reaching Flame, there are reports of people spontaneously being 'assigned' to go on a missionary tour on Incendius. This has only started about a year ago and we've got Konseral's logs to indicate who and how many have been sent. We're trying to track them now."

"How many?" Alex rumbled.

"Thousands."

He shuddered at the thought. Thousands of people could've been converted into Animorti for Char's personal army. Surely there were some that were sent to the Station of the Sun as genuine missionaries but that would only be a fraction of how many had fallen victim to the Confessor.

"Any proof that Konseral was actually involved?" he asked.

"We're analysing his brain and tracing his Spirit as we speak," Elisha provided. "So far, he seems to at least be vaguely aware that there was something 'off' about Char but was far too concerned about his charity's wellbeing. He trusted Char implicitly."

I wonder how Wood will feel about that...

"The Bladebreaker boy won't be charged with murder," Zachariah continued. "His assault upon Darmin was unwarranted and Konseral had surrendered but we can spin it in a way that it was 'the will of the Goddess' thus the blinding light." The Sunburst Knight frowned. "Speaking of which..."

Alex sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "I know... I know. He Fell." Leaning back in his chair, Alex pondered the implications of having a Fallen amongst them and being so close to his son. "On the one paw, I'm glad that Wood knows the truth about the Church now but on the other, I'm wary that he's now a rogue agent. He'll be very powerful. His limits have been removed. I'm honestly not sure why he didn't change more physically."

Elisha folded his arms, metal scraping against metal. "I'd say a shift from digitigrade to plantigrade feet would be a welcome compared to the other Fallen. Still, I would prefer to have him psychologically assessed and examined before we admit him back into normal society."

Alex's eyes snapped open and he sprang to his feet. "Damnit, Elisha! He's a living being, a_kid_! Not some oddity that you need to quarantine and keep under a microscope! Leave him alone."

The Grey King was unperturbed by his outburst. "He is also a Fallen and one that has access to countless weapons manufactured under his mother's name. If he were truly to turn against us, then he would have access to all the resources he'd need to make a considerable dent in our defences whilst leaving us open to attack from other flanks."

The leader of the Inquisition was understandably sceptical and suspicious of everyone. It was his job to inquire, after all. That attitude grew somewhat grating since he always required some form of evidence to back up any claim. Trust and gut feelings were rarely enough to steer the Grey King from his determined path. It was admirable on some levels but on others, Alex knew that somethings were just ineffable.

Thankfully, Hank had Alex's back. "I vote we see what the young Fallen will do before we judge him," grunted the gigantic Ursus. "We've had many Fallen come to our aid and even pledge allegiance to the Generals. One of the Dead Tails was even a Fallen. Can you truly claim to be fair if you would treat those that have gone before with civility and then judge Bladebreaker so hastily?"

Face still as unreadable as always, Elisha said, "True but those Fallen had have years of service to the Church. Bladebreaker barely had any exposure to the values of being a member of the theocracy and, at most, paid lip service during mass. Many of the other Fallen have undergone full Paladin training as well. Bladebreaker _just_received his Valour and not a day later, Fell. That speaks a lot about his character, don't you think?"

He's got me there. How can we trust the kid if he's so willing to switch allegiances?

"Teenagers are temperamental creatures," Hank rumbled. "You can't expect military-level loyalty from them." Before Elisha could counter, the Ashen King held up a finger. "And if you dare bring up the Red Lightning, need I remind you about the Black Cannon?" That silenced the leader of the Inquisition. "Bladebreaker was not bound by a contract or even an obligation to follow our lead. He is Fallen now and just like every other Fallen we have dealt with, he is a wildcard. We should count our blessings that he is throwing his lot with us for now and prepare for the possibility that he may turn against us."

Zachariah gave the Ashen King a disproving look. "That does not fill me with comfort especially since he will be going to _my_Station in a week or so."

"Wood is a decent kid," Alex said. "Becoming a Fallen doesn't change that. If you need further assurances that he's not going to go around killing 'your people' on 'your Station' despite the fact we aren't meant to show favouritism, know that I'll be accompanying him to Incendius."

It left a dry, ashen taste in his mouth to defend the emerald-scaled Draconis but despite his reservations, what he said was true. Wood really was a good kid. Perhaps a little easy to sway but that was because he was confused. No doubt the revelations brought on by the Demon King would only exacerbate the problem.

He'll need someone to guide him... I guess a father-figure in the absence of his real dad.

Huh... if he and JD did do it, it'd be like my two sons doing it.

Alex mentally pictured the big dragon bent over, tail raised and tongue rolling as his son ploughed the beast.

Hawt.

Elisha cocked an eyebrow. "You are?"

Alex was brought back to the realms of reality and, without skipping a beat, said, "The Goetia are back. They're employing Confessors and you all know that I'm the best weapon against Confessors. Char was involved with the _Reaching Flame_so that would mean he's tied with Incendius."

"Makes sense," the Grey King rumbled. "If you need an Inquisition escort..."

The armour-clad head Inquisitor's attempts to influence JD were very transparent. "We're going there as concerned parents and chaperones of students going there as part of their curriculum. Having a constant escort from the Custodia Puria would only draw more attention to us." He shook his head firmly at the Grey King. "Thank you but no thank you. Now if that will be all, I'd like some privacy with my son."

Zachariah nodded towards Elisha, clearly the orchestrator of this impromptu meeting. "We'll send our agents to see what we can dig up of the _Goetia_and their works on Incendius. I request that you keep us all up to date on your activities."

"I'm going to need the Godslayer."

Both Generals froze while Hank smirked to himself.

"I've already got the cruiser ready," replied the General Melchior. "She'll be waiting in orbit. I think this also resolves the question of where your kids are going to stay during their stint on Incendius, isn't it?"

Alex could only smile at his long-time friend. "I guess so."

Elisha was rigid but it was clear he could do little against the request. The Godslayer did belong to Alex, after all. The Grey King had it detained since the end of the war on the premise of purging it from demonic taint given its origins. Alex had never pressed the issue as he had hoped never to use the Godslayer again but given current circumstances, there was a need for the cruiser.

"Very well," mumbled the Grey King. "We shall take our leave."

Hank remained as the other two armoured Generals made their way out. The smoking Ursus padded over to JD and gently pressed a paw against the young wolf's forehead.

"He's a really strong kid," rumbled Hank.

"Not really," sighed Alex. "He just doesn't care about his own limits. He should've just stayed down after his fight with Char. But he's just so damn reckless and driven by his promises that he won't just sit still while everyone else is fighting for him."

"Complete polar opposite of you, huh?" chuckled the big, smoking bear.

Where Alex would prefer to stay in the distance, snipe his enemies or confuse them with illusions to kill themselves, JD - despite his vulnerability to magic and lack of physical defences - would still jump into the thick of things and fight.

"One thing we share in common is just how much we care about those we love." Alex gently brushed aside a lock of brown hair from his son's face. "Thanks for letting Kane come along. I don't think we would've made it without him."

Hank let out a loud, choking noise that was his version of a laugh. "You know I can't 'let' that boy do anything. He just does whatever he wants. It's what got him kicked out of the military."

After JD had been discharged for Kane's drunken antics, the bear had raged and ranted at his superiors - including his own father - to get JD reinstated. When it became evident that either JD be discharged for Kane's lack of discipline or for lying to a court martial and taking the blame for Kane's mistakes and Kane also getting kicked out for the original crime, the bear decided to take matters into his own paws: by trashing the military base. He was dishonourably discharged but the military still endured his presence due to his former rank.

"You knew it was going to come to this," Alex said. "We take the Godslayer, Kane will come with us and you'll have some peace of mind knowing where Kane is instead of worrying every day and night if he's dead in a ditch somewhere."

Hank smiled at him. "Thank you, by the way." The burly bear reached into the pocket of his casual jeans and handed Alex small, bluish-green cube.

"You're welcome. And what's this?"

"Some other 'things' I've noticed about Incendius," Hank responded grimly. "While you're there, you might want to look into it. We both know how Chronos works. If he's really behind this, there's _many_angles he could be attacking from."

Alex snorted softly and opened the cube, unfolding each of the faces until it was just like a crystal table. "Huh... Who's this guy?" he asked, showing Hank the image of a pure-white Wulfun with green eyes and brown hair.

"Harm Chronos," said his friend with a cocky smirk. "Or rather, a Wulfun engineer named 'Harm Chronos' that's on his way to Incendius for some leave. His father legally named him that. It passed screening for the Redaction Spell because as far as we know, this kid isn't important."

Alex regarded the fully-grown, bright-eyed Wulfun complete with brimming muscles, strong, square jaw and masculine physique. "But when it comes to the plans of the Destroyer of Time, any detail no matter how small is important."

Calibe Grade (Wood)

Spreading Wings

"Let me through!" Wood growled. He yanked his arm away from the burly Otterian soldier barring his path onto the starship that JD had been evacuated to. It was a destroyer-class starship, Incendian build from what he could tell, but it was decked with Havenese soldiers and equipment. The men guarding the ramp leading into it were clearly shielded and armoured with Havenese technology.

"Hey!" Kane snapped, storming up to the two men. "You know who I am?"

The Otterian scowled at him. "I don't care if you're the next fucking Propheticus Primoris. You're not getting on this ship!"

Kane cracked his knuckled ominously. Being a whole foot and hundred pounds bigger than the Otterian, the poor guard gulped loudly. With Buster hovering beside him, the one man was suddenly being intimidated by three huge, burly men.

"Let them in, soldier," boomed a deep, rumble from beyond the soldier. Wood stared at the even bigger Ursus that came padding down the ramp with a perpetual cloud of cigar smoke hovering above his head.

"Sir, yes sir!" snapped the soldier.

Kane smiled at the bear. "Thanks, pops!"

"Just don't wake him up," rumbled the big bear. "JD needs to rest."

Wood stared after the bear as he left and disappeared into the crowd of military personnel seeing to the clean-up of Altima Meadows. From what little he heard from the soldiers, there were 'cells' of Flame-_fanatics who openly opposed the military forces and used what weapons they could scavenge to resist the armed soldiers trying to rescue them. Inquisition forces had dropped in as well in their huge, teardrop-shaped pods to lend assistance. Little wonder given there was a possibility of demonic corruption from Char's influence. Roran, Rayne and Kira had gone to help with the recovery efforts. That left himself, Kane, Buster and Skye trying to fight their way onto the _Foreboding Sunlight to see JD.

"That was your dad?" he asked Kane.

"Yep," huffed Kane gruffly. "Military man through and through. Come on, let's go see JD before some other grunt decides to stop us."

Strange that Kane speaks so ill about the military despite being part of it.

The thought was quickly dismissed as he hurried into the hovering destroyer-class starship. Ever since he was separated from JD, he felt a strange tugging in his heart and soul like the Wulfun was calling to him. It may have been the magical bonds that Haamiah had placed on them or just his genuine concern for his friend but Wood couldn't stand to be away from the wolf he had sworn to follow. Even without knowing the layout of the ship, he took the lead and headed all the way to the rear of the ship into the infirmary.

In a private ward, he practically tore the automatic sliding door off its hinges and charged inside. There was JD, resting on his back in a cushiony seat with mechanical arms darting all over his body trying to repair his damaged form. He looked so peaceful but also so vulnerable. One step into the ward and Wood immediately froze at the withering gaze of Alexander Clarke. While not as intense or petrifying as JD's own stare, Alex's humiliating display the night of Wood's 'apology' still burned brightly in the young dragon's mind.

"I don't think you should be in here," Alex warned.

"With all due respect, sir," began Buster. "I'm JD's boyfriend, Skye is awesome at magic and Kane is his cousin... sort of. I'm not sure about Wood."

The blistering aside was well deserved and Wood knew that there would have to be some bridges he'd have to repair with his friend. However, he needed to be by JD's side and there was no beating around the bush.

"I Fell," he said immediately. The shock in the room was palpable. Alex's eyes were wide and everyone around Wood immediately took a horrified step back. "I killed Konseral in blind rage. I committed the gravest sin of all and that corrupted my Valour. I Fell, turned into a huge, true dragon and would've killed everyone around me if Haamiah the God of Time hadn't intervened."

The story quickly tumbled out of his muzzle before he could stop it. "Haamiah was going to erase me from all time. Not just my present or future, everything. He was going to rewrite all of Time and history so that I wasn't in it. Then JD somehow made is way to us and made a deal with Haamiah. He and I would fight. Either I killed him and he wouldn't have to endure the pain of watching me die from Haamiah's actions or, if he won, I would swear to forever follow JD, to the ends of the earth. And that's exactly what happened."

He was breathing heavily, every breath a plea for Alex to believe him. "JD saved me, sir. He saved me from myself and gave me a reason to keep on living. He showed me that it isn't so bad if you follow someone once in a while so long as you make that decision for yourself." He pounded his chest with a firm fist. "And I chose to follow him."

"You... gave up?" Buster asked, awed.

"Yeah..." He lowered his gaze, smiling down at the slumbering Wulfun in front of him. "I did."

Alex was silent for a very long while. The older Wulfun didn't do anything except for clutch his son's paw tighter. Wood felt himself shrinking with every passing second.

"Let me tell you a story," Alex said suddenly. "It's about a Phoenix. His name was Hal-Seth. Lived countless eons ago. During the time of the Goddess and the Apostles. Hal-Seth was a Champion of the Apostle of Fire, Adramalech."

There's that word again... Champion. I wonder what it really means to be a Champion of the Gods.

"Hal-Seth was imbued with incredible power as the chosen of his God on our world," Alex continued. "According to recorded texts and historical scrying, he was incapable of dying. Apart from the fact that Phoenixes has the odd ability to reincarnate themselves when they die, Hal-Seth was basically immortal. Granted an unsurpassed control over fire, he was the living embodiment of Adramalech on our world. But he was still mortal and vulnerable to mortal vices. He didn't need to die to be incapable of representing his god, after all."

Alex leaned back into his chair. "To this end, Hal-Seth had some trusted friends that watched his back. Sentinels they were called. Other Champions followed his example as well and assigned their own guardians. Sometimes as few as one and other times, entire armies. The purpose of these Sentinels were to ensure that they protected their Champion from dangers that even their Champion may not see. It may not be an outward threat but perhaps a threat from within. They can even protect the Champion from themselves."

It was odd that Alex knew about Champion when such avatars of the gods were not so widely known. He had been surprised when JD had announced himself as a Champion of Haamiah of all deities. Then again, there was a possibility that Alex knew of his son's allegiance to the patron god of the Chronomancers. With Kane, Buster and Skye around, however, he didn't want to spill any unnecessary beans.

"There was one particular Sentinel of Hal-Seth," Alex continued with a faint smile. "Her name was Aschaexia. Like Hal-Seth, she was a Phoenix. Unlike the rest of them, she was deemed barren, fully incapable of having children. Thus she devoted her entire life to her God and Hal-Seth to compensate." Alex's eyes turned to JD sorrowfully. "Some say that Aschaexia and Hal-Seth were lovers. Others plutonic friends. Others still, bitter rivals who were forced into working together through sheer circumstance." Then those blue eyes switched back to meet Wood's. "I bet you're wondering where I'm going with there, aren't you?"

"I have a few guesses," Wood murmured. "But please, tell me."

The big, red Wulfun rose from his seat. "About five hundred years ago, a group of Incendian scientists discovered the tomb of Aschaexia. Hoping that it would lead to further understand of how Phoenixes managed to reincarnate and perhaps the key to immortality, they unearthed the tomb. Imagine their surprise when they found both Aschaexia and Hal-Seth enshrined within the tomb like two monarchs with an unhatched Phoenix egg between them."

Wood gagged at the though. Phoenixes were extinct. Had been so before the Church was established. There was apparently a brutal war between the Phoenixes and the Avios with the Avios somehow winning. He glanced over to Skye who was wide-eyed at these revelations as well.

"Unwilling to fully awaken what they feared would be very powerful, very vengeful Phoenixes, the scientists extracted them from their tombs, put them into stasis and continued to study them," Alex continued. "They also kept the Phoenix egg, stating that it was fully capable of hatching should the right conditions be met. Then things went sour."

"What happened?" Buster asked, clearly invested in the tale.

"Greed," grunted Kane. "Ambitious assholes thinking they could one-up one another. Paranoia. Murder too."

Wood frowned and inclined his head slightly. "The scientists turned on one another?"

Alex nodded grimly. "Exactly. Some scientists sought to fully resurrect the Phoenixes through cloning. A second faction wanted to integrate the Phoenix reincarnation system into their own, promoting the Avios race to a new state of prosperity. The last wanted to awaken the two Phoenixes and considered them holy as they were scions of Adramalech. This led to a lot of infighting and the instillation went dark. The Church sent a small incursion team to figure out what happened. As it turns out, Aschaexia was awoken by the Adramalech-loyalists. She even fought alongside the race that had once sought to drive her kind to extinction just to get to her Champion."

The powerfully built, crimson-furred Wulfun padded over to Wood until they were nearly nose to nose. "If you intend to stick around," he growled, "you will only do so by showing that kind of devotion to my son. If you don't, I swear I'll cast an illusion upon you that will trap you in endless false waking."

Wood's leaf-shaped ears swivelled back. "What's an endless false waking?"

A dark, sadistic grin crossed the Wulfun's muzzle which put to shame JD's own perfectly innocent yet seemingly insane smile. "Ever woken up in the morning, felt like you were going about your morning routine only to wake up a few moments later for real?"

"I get those a lot," Skye admitted with a shrug. "Sometimes I get it multiple times in a row. Feels like you're reliving the same few moments over and over again like you're stuck in a time loop."

"Exactly that," Alex growled dangerously. "Trapped forever in an endless loop, reliving the same day in your mind for all eternity. Maybe I'll make it one hell of a day so that no matter what you do, you will never escape it."

"You can't do that," challenged Wood with a shaken but still cocky grin. "You've have to spend all your time maintaining the illusion. It'd be impossible. You'd eventually run out of juice."

All Alex did was glance at Kane with a knowing smirk.

The big bear groaned softly. "Uncle Lex is a really_good illusionist. One of the best. He can make 'self-sustaining, intelligent illusions that will constantly change and drain _you of strength to maintain itself. I've seen him inflict that on people and they died smiling, withering away into dust as the magic consumed them."

"And there's more that I can do if I decided you were worth the effort," Alex added. He bumped his shoulder against Wood as he stormed out of the ward. "So don't make me regret giving you this chance."

Wood swallowed hard. After having his world turned upside down with Haamiah and the Demon King, he knew there was so much more of the world that he didn't know about. Alex had yet to show his full abilities to anyone. As an illusionist, that was likely his greatest asset; the mystery.

"Wait," Skye said suddenly. "What happened with Aschaexia and Hal-Seth?"

Alex paused at the door just before it would slide open. He took one more step forward and the doors slid open. Only then did Wood realise that there was no noise at all coming from outside this private ward. The hallways beyond were also suspiciously empty.

Holy shit! Does he have an illusion around us right now!? Is he even here!?

The burly Wulfun turned his intense, blue eyes towards Skye, the edges around them softening slightly. "The team sent to quell the issues at the research facility had to free Hal-Seth as part of a deal with Aschaexia. I'm not too clear about the details but Hal-Seth had to be disposed of due to his obsession with repopulating the Phoenix race with the lone Phoenix egg as his 'mate'. Aschaexia was allowed to leave and the _Church_lost track of her. For all we know, she's still out there."

With those words, the overprotective father turned and left. Once the door shut behind him, sound returned. The noise of the machinery whirring, footsteps padding by and military personnel marching about brought a great wave of relief to Wood.

That relief was short-lived. A pair of eyes burned deep into his flanks and when he turned, he found Buster glaring at him clearly with something to say. When their gazes met, the Bovios spoke.

"So how much of that was true, Wood?" Buster demanded.

Steeling himself, Wood said, "Every word of it. I really Fell. I heard the voice of the Demon Lord As -"

Kane suddenly lurched forward and seized his muzzle, holding it shut. Skye was just a step behind. A confused look was shared by both Buster and Wood and they shared surprised glances.

"Do not utter that bastard's name," snarled the titanic bear, his muscles bunching with the effort to keep Wood's muzzle shut. His huge paws were crushing the dragon's fangs together. "Azzy is all about names. It was he that created the Illuminus Weizar and bound everything to a single language. If you even mention his name, even in passing, it'll call him to you. Could even possess you."

"You know about him?" Skye asked. "I only learned from Yvanir and he's a Great Spirit. How did you know?"

Kane slowly released Wood's muzzle. "From JD. During the Fall of Haven, he and I fought side by side as part of the Dead Tails but also as surrogate brothers. He told me about his position as the Champion of Haamiah and how the Goetia all worship the Demon King."

A big meaty hand was raised in the air. "Can someone fill in the one guy that's clearly in the dark here?" Buster asked.

Kane gave him a gentle smile and explained that the Demon King was once the God of Magic. A malicious deity, the Goetia intended to bring him back to _Tower Thirteen_after he was imprisoned by the Mother Goddess and others.

"From what Yvanir tells me, the Demon King is actually behind the Church," Skye added. "The Church of the Tower was built around the concept of making everyone subservient to a single race and making everyone dependent on the use of the Illuminus Weizar while perverting the good name of the Mother Goddess. The Goetia_originally existed to be the perpetual enemy of the _Church so that 'demon cultists' would always be in the shadows and drive people to the Church's grasp. Apparently, there were even some high-ranking Church members who were secretly members of the Goetia."

"Let's not forget about the biggest fucking lie of them all," Wood growled. "The Mother Goddess is dead."

Buster's eyes went wide in shock while both Kane and Skye lowered theirs.

"What?" demanded the Bovios. "I'm not really that religious but still, Wood. Bullshit!"

"It's true," grumbled the dragon, arms folded so that Buster knew he was very serious. "Athena is dead. From what I got from the Demon King, she sacrificed herself to 'unjustly' imprison him. _Chrysalis Core_is actually the King's prison. _Valours_don't come from Athena because we somehow reached out to her. They come from As -" He caught himself from uttering the forbidden name. "From Azzy. He makes them in his prison and sends them out to idiots like me who think being righteous and virtuous should be the path forward."

He grabbed Vulcan which rested by his hip. It's surface now had a strange, fleshy façade like thousands of tiny faces had been pressed up against the black metal trying to escape. A sinister air hung from it and its edges looked more like claws than carefully crafted weaponry.

"Valours," he spat in disgust. "The Church makes us afraid of Falling so Paladins end up supressing their more basic instincts, forcing themselves to be little angels while their _Valours_suck up and contain all their negative thoughts. Then, when they break, all that negativity comes pouring out, corrupting them and opens a bridge to the Demon King. It basically stores all dark Spirit energy and then unleashes it so that it can open a window to Azzy so he can corrupt you."

"Wait a second," countered Buster. "What about Templars? Not _every_Paladin falls, you know. Some actually get so good at being pure, that they become Templars."

"And how does that usually end for them?" he answered bitterly. "Templars reach new heights of power, yeah, but it drains their lifeforce in the process. Azzy doesn't want righteous, pious idiots like that in his arm. The Valour will kill them eventually."

The expression Buster wore was so very familiar to how Wood felt when all this information came flooding into his mind from the great God of Magic. He guessed that Asmodeus didn't have much time to corrupt him as he hadn't possessed Vulcan for very long. There was surely more information that he hadn't retained. The only things he really got was that the Church had betrayed him, Athena was dead and Valours were a lie. Had there been more for _Vulcan_to hold, he probably would've been twisted to Asmodeus' whim.

"Fuck..." Buster breathed. "What've I just walked into..."

Skye gave him an apologetic smile and gently patted his forearm. "You walked into a world-wide crisis in the company of a guy who can host the fragments of the Gods..." He pointed at himself. "A living embodiment of the antithesis to the dominating religion of our world..." That he gestured to Wood. "A..." He trailed off as he turned to Kane.

"War criminal," provided the Ursus. "Let's just leave it at that."

"Right. And of course the Champion of the God of Time." Skye gave him a lopsided grin. "Honestly, I'm glad you're here because you're the only 'normal' one out of the rest of us! You're here to keep us grounded!"

The brawny bull that had rapidly lost weight over the past few hours laughed nervously. His gentle eyes turned towards JD. A myriad of emotions flashed behind those brown orbs. The distinct possibility of leaving them to their own devices tantalised him especially when he briefly glanced at the door.

I wouldn't blame him if he left, Wood thought sorrowfully. He really doesn't have any business here.

"Can't really say I understand a lot of the shit going on," Buster sighed at length. "But I'd be a shitty friend if I just left you and JD to deal with this mess." He winked slyly at Skye. "Besides, the way I see it, your group needs a healer."

It didn't mass Wood's attention that Buster hadn't mentioned him at all.

"I can heal!" Skye protested.

With a bright smile, he clapped Skye's shoulder enthusiastically. "Nah. You're the dedicated magical damage dealer. You know, figure out their elemental weaknesses, hit them here it hurts. Maybe debuff them a little. JD is our rogue and assassin. Squishy but lots of critical hits." He looked to Kane with a grin. "I'm guessing you'll be our team tank."

The Ursus grinned brightly, shutting his eyes in that cutesy fashion that seemed so contradictory to his heavily muscled physique. "I like the sound of that! Given that I'm the 'Black Cannon', it's fitting."

"That leaves me to be the healer!" Buster concluded with a bright flourish of his wrist, a little effeminate but that was his style. "I'll have to brush up on my healing spells, though."

Kane's smile faded and he locked gazes with Wood. This was not the best time to raise any conflicts so he quickly shook his head so that the bear wouldn't raise the very obvious fact that Buster had excluded him from the group assignments. Kane, however, was not going to play that game and turned back to Buster.

"What about Wood?"

Why Kane? Just why?

Buster's cheeriness faded like two anchors had been attached to the sides of his lips. The smile turned immediately into a glower. Those gentle eyes turned hard as steel. It was a stare that Wood had never seen on the normally cordial and thick-skinned Bovios.

"What about him?" came the scathing remark.

Okay. Obviously I can't just go on being ignored. Better just address this now before it gets worse.

Raising a hand in surrender, he said, "Look Buster, what I did was bad -"

"It wasn't just bad, Wood," scowled the bull. "It was fucking shitty. If you were to whip out your dick and teabag your daddy's corpse, it would still win a fucking golden award statue compared to what you did."

"I know. I know. I was just -"

Buster charged forward, horns lowered slightly like he was ready to charge. Both Kane and Skye had to restrain him. "No you don't. You don't know. You turned your back on your friends just because you thought yourself chosen by a Goddess who -" Buster caught himself when Skye game him a light nudge to the ribs. They were no longer under Alex's illusion so their words could be easily overheard. "You thought yourself better than us. I thought you were this down-to-earth guy who, despite being brought up in a household with multiple goddamn mansions and servants, you were at least trying to understand how the other 99% felt."

Straightening, Buster said, "But it turns out you were just faking it all along. Wouldn't surprise me if your attempt to 'be like the rest of us' was just so you'd be more popular."

"That's not it -" Wood began.

"And you know what makes it worse?" ranted the bull. "JD was fucking bleeding and unconscious!" He threw a hand towards the unconscious Red Lightning. "You saw_him. He could've _died. But you still sided with Konseral just because you were given some magical axe from a goddamn dead -" Again, he had to stop himself. It looked like he was trying to keep himself from erupting into a rage. "Even when a friend of yours was hurting, you still chose your 'higher calling' instead of him. Shows just how much you value us. If I didn't know better, you're just using us as stepping stones to fame and fortune. It gets lonely at the top so you need a posse to keep you company for as long as they'll comply with you."

Wood lowered his gaze. Every word was filled with so much venom that he could feel his cells dying with each syllable. "Buster... There's no excuse for what I did. I was stupid."

"You were so stupid you might as well have been braindead!" roared the bull. He snarled, more at himself than at Wood and gripped the side of his head like he was trying to keep all that anger from giving himself an aneurism. With a slightly lowered voice, he continued. "I honestly thought there was something different about you, Wood. Something that'd separate you from the other goldbloods that populated Strato-Haven. But you're just as opportunistic, greedy and underhanded as the rest of them. Whatever happened to you back there is more than you deserve. If JD hadn't been so selfless, then you should've been erased because I honestly would've preferred never have to met you than for you to get the chance to redeem yourself."

That hurt more than any physical blow ever could have and Wood ducked his head.

I deserve this. After everything I've done, I deserve it.

"But I can't do much about what's already happened," Buster rumbled, his voice returning to a fierce growl instead of a thundering roar. "JD saved you from yourself and whatever deal you made is with him. I'll deal with it out of respect for him."

Wood lifted his gaze in surprise. "Wait... you forgive me?"

Buster's eyes were still ice cold even though his voice was calmer. "No. I don't think I'll ever forgive you for what you've done nor will I forget. I don't think we can ever be friends again. I don't think we_ever_ were friends in the first place." The bull turned towards JD, his back to Wood. "But we're in this together. No matter what comes, I'm going to work with you to make sure we all survive whatever comes our way even if that means I have to rip your brain out and stick my dick in it so that it's _literally_as fucked up in the head as you already are."

He couldn't explain it but those words, while harsh, filled Wood with joy. He couldn't expect forgiveness but he would rather have Buster as a wary associate than a hateful enemy. No words could explain what he felt so instead, he charged at Buster and wrapped his arms around the bull in a mirror of the big bovine's trademark hugs.

"Thank you," he whispered softly.

Buster was hard as rock for a moment. Then that rock softened and Wood was relieved that his friend didn't strike him. Releasing the bull, Wood turned to Kane and Skye, both of whom looked on with approving smiles.

"I guess we're all a team now, eh?" Kane exclaimed brightly, striding over and placing a paw on Buster and Wood's shoulders. He pulled one paw off Buster's shoulder and held it out in front of him, palm down. "One team?"

Wood happily placed his hand over the big, furry paw which was a good foundation for the crew they were forming. "One team."

"All of us," agreed Skye, setting his own paw over Wood's. Then they all looked expectantly to Buster.

The black-furred bull couldn't keep the smile off his muzzle and rested his hand on top of Skye's. "I'm sure JD would say something about this being corny as hell but fuck it." He grinned brightly, providing Wood a thumbs up. "One team."

Then, a white and red-furred paw rested on top of Buster's.

"Question," JD said, "are we going to stick with the traditional RPG element where only three members of the party are active at any one time? And if so, how are the other party members going to get experience points?"

Wood's heart stopped. Perhaps it was fitting that they had all piled their hands on top of one another because in the moment of shock that JD was once again conscious, they all pulled away in surprise and a cry of shock.

"You're awake!" he shouted in joy, being the first to lunge past the others and hold JD in his arms.

"Of course I'm awake," growled the gravelly-voiced wolf. "I was asleep. Not unconscious. People have been coming into this ward and yelling at one another since the doctors left! You're all very noisy."

Wilde Streak (Buster)

Mushroom Soup

Wood held the surprisingly healthy-looking JD out at arm's length, a look of relief on his features and even the glisten on tears in his cornflower blue eyes. "So you've been pretending to be asleep this entire time?"

"I wasn't pretending to be asleep," answered the Wulfun. "I was trying to go to sleep but you and others kept yelling in my ear. I mean, come on. I was asleep not in a coma."

Buster watched the two with a smile, relieved that JD was up and cracking jokes. Though he still watched Wood guardedly, he trusted his 'friend' enough to turned towards the machinery surrounding the Wulfun and quickly checking on his injuries.

"Don't hold him too tightly, Wood," he warned. "He's still got several broken ribs and some deep gashes. The machines injected him with nanobots to help repair them but the ETA to completion is still about an hour from now."

Wood gingerly released JD and took a step back. "Right. Sorry."

"I'm fine," dismissed the wolf. "Stop fussing over me. What's happened since I fell unconscious?"

A retelling of the military's arrival and the work being done to clean up Altima Meadows followed. Many of the Reaching Flame_were understandably hateful of Wood after he had killed Konseral who had been on the cusp of convincing them that he was innocent of all charges. Those loyal to the _Flame outside of complex were doubly dubious considering how they had not seen firsthand Char's re-emergence and manipulations. They were putting up the most resistance. While those at the complex could not deny Char's manipulations, Konseral was quickly becoming a martyr to them.

"Yvanir tells me that Konseral wasn't innocent," Skye explained. "He wasn't so deep that he knew about the Goetia or Char's activities but at the very least he was purposefully steering the Flame to a more militaristic organization like a private army and ignoring the fact that people were going missing. He created the perpetuated the story that those 'missing people' were being sent on missionary excursions to the outer reaches of Haven."

"Probably getting paranoid over the loss of his members back on Incendius," added Kane. "Can't really say I blame the guy. When your position is threatened, you shore up your defences."

JD lay back in his bed. "If the Inquisition is so inclined, they're resurrect him and get the answers they need. Some might even petition for his resurrection if they are so inclined." He shrugged absently and crossed his paws behind his head, using the interlocked fingers like a pillow. "But they'd likely come to blows over those who would rather not know the truth and hide that under the pretence that they wouldn't want to besmirch his good name further."

The mood quickly became dark. Buster could sense Skye and Wood both pondering what will happen to Altima Meadows. Even he began to question whether or not this was really a 'victory' or the start of some scandal that would divide all of Haven. Kane was also very quiet and he seemed the prime person to start lifting the mood again.

So, as always, Buster decided to take it upon himself to start cheering up everyone.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Let's not focus on the shitty things that've happened. Let's focus on the awesome stuff that's happened!"

"Like what, exactly?" JD sighed miserably. "We now know that a demon cult is running around and can actively possess people while manipulating them. Controversy could just have started because of Konseral's death potentially sparking a war between Incendius and Haven. And because my dad and his guests also believed in the trope that because I'm on a hospital bed, I won't hear what they're saying, I'm pretty_sure my dad is going to be sent off to chase the _Goetia."

Fair point but...

"What about the fact that Skye just got a kickass smoke spirit allied with him?" Buster prompted. At the mention of the fact that Yvanir had indeed formed a pact with the shaman, Skye went rigid and blinked a few times in surprise. "If that's not a major level-up, I'm not sure what is."

The Tigris blushed and offered a sheepish grin. "Yvanir's power is on an entirely different level and it works _way_differently from what I'm used to. It'll be a challenge but I'm honestly excited."

"Exactly!" Buster glanced towards Kane with a grin. "And now we don't just have two of the original Dead Tails with us but three with you, Mr Black Cannon. Unless you're planning on bailing on us."

Kane's gloomy features broke out into a grin. He immediately moved towards Buster and gave him a light slap to his belly. "Fuck that!" Then he lifted an eyebrow at Buster's stomach going so far as to actually reach out and grope some of the flesh there. "Bro, did you lose weight in... like the past few hours?"

"Part of being a Physiomancer," Buster responded, swatting away the invasive paw. "I put on all this bulk so I can use it for fuel later."

"Shit. I'd love to see you ripped."

"I bet you would," Buster answered coyly. "If you've got a pair of poser trunks, we can do a pose-off."

His mood clearly might brighter, Kane bent forward and flexed his vascular arm at Buster. "What real man doesn't?"

Laughing softly, he begrudgingly looked towards Wood. "And the asshole here got a major power-up too even though it's probably down the path of evil."

Wood only replied with a wry smile.

Then, looking towards JD he said, "And let's not forget you not only brokered a deal with the_Fuocotan_ to leave us alone, no one was really hurt in the battle because of what you did and you convinced a good number of people about Char's manipulations. You can't tell me that was all for nothing."

JD gave him a begrudging smirk. "Nice try but I take the good with the bad and the fact that we'll likely be dragged into a crazy war means this is only the beginning."

"Cuz, if this was the end, I'd call it a pretty terrible story," Kane said. "Oh! Let's get a picture to commemorate this thing!" The big, burly bear pulled out a small, metal slab that looked absolutely miniscule against his enormous paw. He tossed it lightly into the air where it automatically began to hover, facing a camera towards them. Kane then draped one muscular arm around JD's shoulders, pressing his cheeks right up next to the wolf's and grinning cheerily.

"This thing?" mumbled the Red Lightning sardonically

Skye took up position right next to Kane. Another, large, furry, black arm seized Skye's shoulders and pulled him right next to the Ursus' corded neck. "The end of a chapter," choked Skye. "But the start of a story."

Buster placed himself on JD's other flank, leaning right down and while not as close as Kane, still there with a sense of familiarity and friendship. Wood was just a step away, a respectable distance.

"Say 'Dead Tails'!" Kane exclaimed.

"Dead Tails!" they all cried in unison, feigning a smile and the floating device took their picture.

"Now a silly one!" came the bear's demand.

Skye looked a little confused by the notion until Kane held up two fingers and stuck out his tongue. The Tigris shrugged pulled up his shirt, showing off his abdominals which caused the bear's eyes to boggle. Kane went momentarily cross-eyed, peering at his own tongue before inspiration struck. Using both his powerful arms, he seized Skye, lifted him up into the air and posed like he was going to lick the Tigris' abs. Skye did his best to hold a pose like he was showing off but he was having trouble keeping his body straight.

Aw, why the hell not?

Buster turned towards JD who had started to seize a pillow likely in an attempt to smack the back of Kane's head. He grabbed JD's cheeks in his paws and pressed their lips together. The red wolf's fur fluffed out and his bright, blue eyes went wide as saucers. Kane and Skye both dropped was they were doing and stare in shock - in Kane's instance, he dropped Skye. Luckily, the picture was taken before the Tigris hit the ground and it captured his utter surprise.

Perhaps they lingered for a second or two too long but Buster could swear he had the faintest touch of a lick from JD as he pulled away. The sound of Skye hitting the floor was the excuse he needed to break the kiss and look down towards his friend.

"You okay there, little buddy?"

Skye just waved at him absently.

"That's certainly a memory I'll be keeping," Kane laughed, plucking the device from the air. "Alrighty, let's all give JD some time to rest. I think his dinner is about to come in."

As a nurse entered with a tray of some rather awful looking gruel, Wood and Kane both helped Skye to his feet and departed.

Out of some sense of nobility, Buster remained until the nurse left.

"Sorry about the kiss," he admitted. "I know you're underage and all but when Kane said 'silly', I just thought..."

JD gave him a smile and began shovelling the grey goo into his muzzle. The meal was served in a standard metal tray with a circular depression just for the colourless mush. A slice of protein-infused bread sat beside it as well as some heavily-processed fruit cubes that looked more like gelatine than actual fruit. "It was wonderfully candid. It'd make for an awesome addition to Kane's scrapbook."

That's it? No comment about if I was good or not? Not even about how I molested you?

"Yeah," he mumbled. "I'll bet." Hiking a thumb over his shoulder, Buster said, "I'll head off. My mom probably is freaking out about me being in another incident."

"If you want but for future reference, let's not use the excuse that Kane wants the moment captured to kiss, alright?"

Buster caught the sly look on JD's face and given that the Wulfun could never lie, he took that as a sign. His tail did loops back and forth happily and he couldn't help the smile on his face. "Hey, are you okay to travel?"

JD regarded the sterilized, white gown he was wearing. "All things considered, yeah. Why?"

He grinned broadly. "How about I take us out of here and get some real food in you?"

Another spoonful of the gruel was already halfway towards JD's muzzle. "This stuff is actually magically enchanted to aid in my recovery. The gruel has highly-compacted nutrients and nanobots to help me heal. The bread is infused with protein that the nanobots can use as well. The fruit cubes are just there to look pretty and for something sweet."

"Yeah but I figure you're used to that shit. How about we go grab some authentic Incendian Mushroom Soup?"

"What is it with you and that damn soup?" JD accused with a shake of his head.

"It's good soup!" He gently grasped JD's arm. "Come on. I'll bring you to this awesome place I know. You can try it for yourself. If you don't like, then I'll shut up about it."

A gentle sigh left the Wulfun's lips. He set aside the tray on the bedside table. "You know I'm not really opposed to you mentioning it over and over again, right?" The smile he wore was genuine and quite charming. "I'm really just curious why it's your go-to food for a situation like this."

Buster grinned guiltily, rubbing his meaty forearm lightly. "I guess I'm really looking forward to go to Incendius. I've never been off-Station. Never really thought I'd ever get the chance. So the most I've ever gotten to taste from another Station is the foods we get here." He blushed deeper, avoiding JD's gaze. "I'm a pretty simple guy. Simple goals in life and simple tastes. Own my own business, have a family, go home every day and have typical food for someone like me. Standard stuff. I can't really control or build my own business right now and I am not about to go trying to get some girl pregnant or something to start a family."

He turned his embarrassed smile back JD. "But every man craves a little variety, right? That's why the one thing can control that's out of the ordinary is the food I eat. If I can get something a little exotic every now and then, I consider it a treat and a victory."

JD stared at him for a good long moment.

Crap... That must sound stupid to a war hero like him. Here I am talking about how I have a 'simple life' and want a bit of 'excitement' every now and then and he's the one dancing with assassins and playing at the plots of the world!

I really am the boring, grounded guy of the group...

There was a flutter of sheets and JD was suddenly sweeping off his quilt and rising off the bed. He bare footpaws touched the cold, metal floor as silently as ever.

"I guess we'll be having that date after all," said the lean, scarred wolf. A gentle hum filled the air like a thousand buzzing bees softly swarming. The white gown JD wore dissolved into a faint cloud. Jet-black, neolight pants wrapped around his powerful thighs, two red streaks running down his flanks that let off a soft glow. A black hexweave shirt wrapped around his chest while that white jacket he wore emblazoned with the number 47 appeared above it. Buster noted the presence of that six-winged bird emblem on JD's left leg, marked across the right side of his chest and on the little black patches on his jacket.

"I have so many questions..." he admitted.

"Haamiah," JD explained. "The God of Time has a few pieces of attire 'saved' in Time for me. Whenever I need a quick change of clothes, he just 'loads' the clothes and they're on me. Really handy for those days where I oversleep and I'm so late for school that I don't have time to shower."

"You're never late for school."

"Exactly." The Wulfun gave him a bright smile. "Come on. Let's go to this Incendian soup house or whatever that we're going to."

Buster grinned at him and they immediately made their way out of the ship. No one stopped them. Everyone was too busy dealing with the aftermath of the conflict. None of the adults were present either and he could only guess it was because they had other pressing matters to attend to. Several news outlets were already hovering around the mote looking for a place to land and start pestering the military and attendees about the events that transpired.

JD managed to find them a small military hovercar, one that Buster happily drove away from Altima Meadows. It would be at least an hour before they reached the place he was thinking of so he filled the time with his curiosity.

"That six-winged bird," he commented. "Wood gave you a little statue that looked kind of like it. What is it?"

The brown-haired Wulfun let out a soft chuckle. "It's the symbol of Adramalech, the God of Fire."

"You like Adramalech?"

"Nah. Haamiah works several steps ahead if he isn't already at the finish line and I'm guessing he brokered the deal with Adramalech for me to work with him long before I actually started wearing his bird. From what I understand, I do some errands for the God of Fire and said God offers me mild protection from Pyromancy." He gave Buster a grin. "It's why I wasn't burned so badly when Char exposed himself at the train station."

You were pretty damn burned... If that wasn't bad, I'd hate to see you if you were badly burned.

"Does it worry you that Haamiah basically whored you out to the God of Fire?"

"I always have the option to refuse and it's not like I'm compelled to do the God of Fire's bidding. I'm just genuinely curious."

"Exactly what's the mission Haamiah put you on for the God?"

JD leaned absently against the window, peering out into the night as Chrysalis Core began fading softly. The lights of Haven began to spring up with all the hovering motes starting to ignite. Like thousands of fire flies hovering over the tall grass, the motes cast a fiery glow upon the overwhelming canopy of Geo-Haven.

"Apparently Adramalech's Champion, Hal-Seth, still lives."

Having been there for the narrative of Hal-Seth that Alex had given, Buster was surprised at the declaration. "Really? I thought he was killed!?"

"Well that's the story that my dad said. I'm not sure if that's really true. The Generals don't know everything especially when it comes to the dealings of the Gods." JD's paws clenched into fists. "Haamiah wants me to free Hal-Seth. Not only from wherever he's imprisoned but also from Adramalech's servitude."

"That shouldn't be too hard. If after five hundred years his God hasn't sent anyone or done anything to save him, I'm pretty sure that Phoenix is pissed off."

JD bobbed his head from side to side. "I dunno. After being betrayed by your most trusted bodyguard, being doomed to be the last of your kind and then being trapped for so long, I'm not sure he'd be perfectly sane." The blue-eyed Wulfun tugged at his shirt lightly. "Thing is, I don't think Adramalech fully wants Hal-Seth to be saved. He might actually want the guy to stick around some. If he was fully committed to Haamiah's deal, he would've given me full fire protection but he didn't..."

"You think Adramalech wants you to lose?" Buster asked incredulously. There was no pretending to know the Gods - he was still in shock about meeting the God of Time - but he could understand emotion. Pretending to support a cause was much worse than opposing it.

"I think he's not putting all his eggs in one basket. I'm not entirely sure what the entire story is but the Demon King has had the Gods suppressed for countless millennia. If I were Adramalech and I were significantly weakened, I wouldn't put everything I had on just one plan. Contingency plans are good."

He gave JD a sidelong glance. "Does that include you? I mean back there you kind of threw everything you had into hoping that Char would spill the beans."

JD blushed lightly, the undersize of his muzzle - which was white - turning a faint shade of pink. "That's why I'm not the best at planning. Dad and Rayne are better strategists. Like with the attack at Wood's gala. He had three teams doing things. I probably would've done it all myself."

Buster nudged JD lighting with an elbow. "You're a one-man army. I get that. But you've got the rest of us backing you up now. Skye with his Great Spirits, Kane being your old_Dead Tails_ buddy and I guess Wood being a Fallen. And before you ask..." He lifted a finger. "I'll be supporting you with exotic foods and reminding you that not _everything_has to be about war and you don't have to be 'on' all the time."

His passenger rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. He took that as a sign of appreciation.

The lights of Haven soon engulfed them as they zoomed through one of the many thick collections of motes amongst Strato-Haven. Between the lights coming from the towering gold and crystal buildings, shining stabilizer rings and other hovercars carrying their passengers, it was like they were flying through a sea of stars.

Buster brought them to a highly congested mote that was filled with buildings so much so that some of the structures even extended outwards from the edges of the floating, earthen rock or protruded from the underside as 'basement levels'. The mote - Uterim Maxus - was filled with a myriad of colourful lights that stepped away from the usual spectrum of Havenese colours which consisted of light blues to bright golds. There were reds, greens and purples as flashing hardlight signs attracted tourists back to their comfort zones. Being part of the 'Celestial District', Ulterim Maxus catered to those people who were after something from either Incendius, Diatollia or Nebulus - the first three Stations and collectively known as the Celestial Stations.

Parking was always an annoyance but Buster managed to find a complex, parked the car and led JD to one of his favourite restaurants. In true Incendian fashion, it was nothing as fancy or technologically advanced as any Havenese eateries and was styled after an Incendian inn or tavern. Brown wood dominated the architecture with only the stone fireplace being a break from the rule. Chairs and tables were made of the same material while plates and cutlery were made of an undecorated, grey metal. The only break from the Incendian-style were the few vids and electrical news banners showing the latest updates.

A waiter led them to a circular table with two seats lit only by a single candle. Though there was a condiments tray, it was actually filled with salt or pepper instead of the magical tubes that populated Havenese restaurants that would change the flavour without actually adding anything physically. It saved the weight conscious some calories if they knew exactly what the content of their food was without having to worry about how much more salt they were taking in.

When asked for their order, Buster immediately knew what to asked for.

"We'll start off with some of the drake skewers, a potato salad to share as a start then the mushroom soup, one for each of us. To finish off, we'll get the volcano burst please. Oh and I'll get the mead to drink and he'll have some soda..." He looked to JD for what kind.

"Spirit, please," JD laughed softly as the waiter left. "You really know what you want. Any reason other than spiting Wood that you want to have dragon-meat?"

"Drakes aren't dragons," he answered dismissively. "Wood and Skye has told me that many times before. And it's not to spite Wood. I'm putting that aside for now. I just want to have a good meal with a good friend."

I wonder if I should've called him my 'boyfriend'...

"Alright then." JD glanced around the restaurant, looking more visibly relaxed than he'd ever been. "Should we really be sharing a side though? I mean it looks like a lot of the people here are -"

He stopped when the waiter returned, announcing that the drake skewers and potato salad. The man had to use magic to levitate the enormous plates as when he set them down, they dominated at least half of the large, circular table. There had to be at least fifty chargrilled drake meat skewers lathered in a delicate, aromatic, sweet and spicy sauce on the one plate alone. The potato salad was served in a bowl wide as his arm and filled to the brim. A little sprinkling of orange fish roe was added on the top just to break up the creamy white of the salad.

JD visibly paled at the sight of all that food. "Have I ever mentioned that my body is honed to a very specific configuration and that any slight variation totally puts off my sense of balance and effectiveness in combat?"

Buster picked up the metal spoon offered with the salad and began shovelling some of it onto his plate. "Yes but you've also mentioned how you can manipulate your Force energy directly so I'm guessing you're more than capable of doing what I can. That is you can transform some of your physical weight into Force that you store." He winked slyly at JD. "I mean, whenever you use Shukuchi or throw lightning around, you don't lose weight or muscle mass because that would 'put off' your sense of balance and effectiveness, right?"

A sour expression crossed the wolf's features. "Touché."

"So eat up!" Buster laughed with a grin. "Out of all the other people in our group, I'll bet you and I are the only ones that can eat as much as we want and still look good. Well, except maybe Kane. That boy is huge."

"Kane is actually very strict about his diet," answered JD, picking up about ten of the drake skewers. Between the orangey, charred, white meat were bits of onions and sweet peppers. "I guess if he took anything from being in the military, it's discipline with what he eats."

He's almost making it sound like Kane isn't in the military anymore.

Inherent curiosity made Buster lean forward slightly and speak in a whisper. "You mean he's not in the military?"

JD lifted his eyebrows slightly. "No. I would've thought he'd have told you. He got kicked out."

An image of the big, burly bear stepping out from a military base was still burned into his mind. A prominent memory if only for the groin-igniting questions of what the Ursus looked like beneath those camouflage pants. "But he was coming out of a military base and is dressed like a grunt."

"He's still technically a 'veteran'," answered JD, munching on some of the drake skewers. He nodded in appreciate at the food. "This is good. Kane has limited access to the bases like I do but he has to be escorted all the time. His dad usually keeps an eye on him."

"Why'd he get kicked out?" Buster pressed. "I thought you took the fall for him that day and that's why you dropped out of military school."

An expectant look crossed over JD's features as he quietly munched on the tough and little rubbery but flavourful meat. "You really don't think someone like Kane would stick around in some place as rigid as the military, do you?"

His perception of the enormous Ursus completely changed, Buster sat back and spooned some of the creamy potato salad into his muzzle, mulling over the question and the taste at once. "I don't know what to think," he admitted. "I sort of took Kane to be this uptight military brat. You know, the whole 'yessir','nosir', salute at everything sort of deal."

"I guess his wardrobe does suggest that sort of thing."

His wardrobe, god-like build and the way he struts about like he's a drill sergeant.

"But Kane got kicked out of the military shortly after I did," explained the Red Lightning, setting down a finished skewer. "He didn't take too kindly to me taking the blame for him but then it was either they rescind my honourable discharge and turn it into a _dis_honourable one for lying at a court martial and he gets kicked out too or he just falls silent and let it sit as is."

As he went to scoop more of the potato salad from his plate when he found that it was empty. The drake skewers were getting cold so he plucked the rest of the serving and placed it onto his plate. "I'm guessing he didn't take to that quite well."

JD tried some of the salad and nodded in approval at the taste. "Yeah. He's always had a bit of a problem with insubordination. Doesn't take orders well if he personally disagrees with it. I mean, you saw what happened back there, right? Kane was meant to guard Char's body but instead he turned the body into _char_coal, smashed the chip and went to help out Rayne. He's always been like that."

The wolf sat back with a smile. "That's was a nice appetiser. When's the next course?"

Their meal, regardless of how big, had indeed been finished and Buster was pleased that this guest was willing to have more. With a wave towards the waiter to indicate that they were ready for their mains, their plates were cleared. Two large black bowls were set in front of them, each one as big as their heads. The inner part of the bowls were bright red and the broth had a heavenly, earthy aroma that permeated the air and made Buster salivate. JD delicately took the offered spoon, gingerly dipped it into the broth and brought it to his lips.

Buster was waiting for that 'eureka' moment when the delicate flavours and the twang of mushroom hit his friend's tastebuds and his eyes lit up. Then he would dive right into the soup, devouring every drop and licking the bowl clean. He waited but the moment never came. JD merely nodded in approval and began to taste each of the individual pieces of mushroom one by one.

"What do you think?" Buster pressed.

"It's good," came the simple reply.

"Good? Come on man, this is the best soup you could ever have from Incendius! And it's all vegetarian! How awesome is that!?"

JD gave him a helpless shrug. "I'm no connoisseur of food, Buster. I ate scraps and military rations for years while fighting behind enemy lines. I'm not picky with what I eat."

Huh... Maybe we're not so compatible after all.

"But I think the creativity and story behind this soup must be fascinating." JD's blue eyes peered wistfully into the broth. "I mean, you've got to wonder about the things that people decide would be edible or the process they undergo to prepare their foods. I've got to ask who decided it was a good idea to pick these five mushrooms in particular, generate a broth from them and serve them with these fried shallots and cook them in the specific order that they did so that the mushrooms don't get too soggy."

Buster's eyes lit up and his heart lifted. "Think that stuff is fascinating?"

JD gave him a puzzled look like what he had just asked was ridiculously obvious. "Well, yeah. As an assassin, I've got to figure out people's thought processes. Why do they go to the bathroom at particular times. W_hy_ they take this route instead of another. Things like that. I need to profile my target. Find out their strengths and weaknesses. It's not just about stabbing them. I've got to know where to stab them."

He's referring to Rupture_._

"If you're after the soup's history, I'm sure Natalia would be able to tell you more but I know the basic gist of it."

He then proceeded to regale the blood-red Wulfun about the great food shortage in Mirecragg on Incendius brought on by some guy who created a plague. Relief efforts were supposedly stalled because no one could get any food across a certain barrier or it'd just rot. All anyone had was water and the local fungi. Out of that hardship, the spicy and yet crisp tasting Incendian Mushroom Soup was born.

"It's Incendian comfort food," Buster explained. "When the going gets tough, anyone can just grab five kinds of edible mushrooms and throw them together in a broth." He snickered and grinned sheepishly. "Hell, I've heard some people actually put psychedelic mushrooms in there as well if they need to get high. Not that I've tried or anything."

JD regarded the broth curiously. "I wonder how similar some of these mushrooms would be to a poisonous one... Would it be easy to swap out to poison someone instead?"

Goddess, he's still 'on'.

"Sorry, sorry," whimpered the wolf, holding up a paw. "I'll try to keep the assassin thing back. It's just something I've never considered. Killing someone through poisoned mushroom soup."

Smiling thinly, Buster said, "For what it's worth, some mushroom toxins get neutralised in the cooking process. If you wanted to poison someone with toxic mushrooms, you'd have to serve the mushroom uncooked as a garnish just to be on the safe side. Besides, some of the toxins might dissipate into the broth and not everyone drinks it entirely."

He received a bright smile form Wulfun for that. "Fair enough."

Their soup was quickly finished and when dessert arrived, they were greeted by a large, volcano-shaped, white, gelatinous blob. Filled with a strawberry sauce, the wiggling spire was easily cut down the middle and the sweet 'lava' allowed to pour down the sides. They shared the meal happily. Buster made to pay the bill but when he waved down the waiter, apparently JD had already paid. When asked when the Red Lightning had managed to do that, JD just shrugged and said when Buster had taken a moment to take a picture of their dessert.

He could only smile and shake his head.

Maybe he'll never have an 'off' switch but I think that's what makes him so attractive.

As they stepped out of the restaurant, feeling somewhat full and with Buster glad that he had gained some of his weight back, JD spoke.

"Is it bad that I don't want this night to end?"

"Huh?" Buster replied. "You mean the night that we spent infiltrating a corrupt charity, nearly getting killed multiple times, facing off against a demon cult, one of our friends getting a Valour and then Falling? That night?"

JD rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant." His crystal blue eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, I got an idea. You drive. I'll show you where to go."

Genuinely curious and glad that their date was extending at least for another hour or so, Buster hopped into the cabin of their military hovercar and followed JD's instructions out into the air. He drove according to JD's instructions, drifting away from Strato-Haven's main motes until they were soaring through the air of Haven with only the vast forests of Geo-Haven beneath them.

That's when his 'boyfriend' picked up his phone.

"This is Captain Jack Denver Clarke. Serial Number: Delta-Tango-four-seven-Oh-Oh-one-five. Password: 'We are part of the Machine.' Coming in on the approach."

There was a short buzz from the phone and then a huge electrical fizzing noise from right in front of them. Buster jerked the steering when to the side as an enormous wave of crackling energies erupted in front of them. The air sizzled, waves of blue electricity peeling away at the air in front of them to reveal huge, black metal, blinking lights and the word 'Godslayer' emblazoned on cold, hard metal.

"What the hell is that!?" Buster cried, pulling the hovercar away.

"That's the Godslayer," JD said with a smile. "It's the mobile command centre of the Dead Tails. In the latter part of the war, we discovered an old, crashed cruiser down in Geo-Haven. It was infested with demons but we cleared it out. It took months to get it up and running again but when we did, we were much more mobile and could support detachments all over the Station instead of just the one patch we could."

Rumours of the Godslayer were prevalent in military legend just like how the Dead Tails_were nearly mythical. Pulling away from the ship itself, he could see it's long, black surface was indeed very different from normal Havenese design. Eight 'wings' stuck out from its main hull, spreading backwards with auxiliary engines running from the tips to help with steering. Despite its size, the _Godslayer was notoriously fast and he guessed with its cloaking technology, it could slip in behind enemy lines and drop off the Dead Tails without issue. Its main engines were located near the middle of the hull and came up as two, large 'fins' with powerful thrusters emitting a gentle, blue light emerging from the rear of the fin. A hanger was positioned at the latter half of the ship. As a cruiser, it was armed with some heavy pieces of artillery with two major 'main guns' that stuck out from the front of the ship's head that almost looked like a pair of horns. A long neck connected the front of the ship to the main hull with weaponry littering its flanks. Buster could see powerful port-side cannons that could rip into any ship that came up beside the_Godslayer._ There was one other prevalent feature and that was the enormous cannon that took up half of the ship positioned on its underbelly.

"That's a big gun..." he whispered softly.

"The Godslayer's signature weapon," JD explained. "Built by the Blue Barrier. _Heartlancer._It fires a 30-foot-wide warp slug using charged faster-than-light propulsion. The slug is designed in such a way that the moment it stops moving, it triggers its secondary effect and that's to open a powerful gravitational warp field that'll rip anything within forty kilometres of it to shreds."

"Damn... I've never heard of it being used."

"That's because it's never been fired." The Red Lightning shrugged absently. "Ethan really likes making experimental stuff but never firing it. The shielding of the _Godslayer_is experimental as well and I've heard that the Inquisition has been trying to figure out exactly how it works but whenever Ethan tries to explain it, it just goes over their heads. They can't replicate it at all."

So you've never fired the damn thing and don't really know how it works. Is that really safe?

"That's neat and all, JD," Buster said, "but why'd you show me the giant death machine?"

Flashing him a smile, the red-furred Wulfun said, "First of all, the Godslayer is actually pretty small for a ship of its class. Secondly, if what I overheard from my dad is right, we'll actually be staying in the cruiser during our stay on Incendius."

Buster mentally backpaddled. "Wait? What?"

"Remember how there was the option of staying locally on Incendius instead of making the commute back here after every school day?" JD flicked an ear in the direction of the ship. "Dad said he needed the Godslayer_and Uncle Hank mentioned that we'll be staying in it. And before you protest, remember that we've pissed off the _Goetia, the Fuocotan may still hold a grudge, Wood is a Fallen now and Skye is harbouring a Great Spirit within him. If you think about it, that's a lot of reasons for people to target us. Where would it be safer to stay while we sleep? The heavily guarded military ship or somewhere else on Incendius where you're unfamiliar with the land, the culture and would obviously stick out."

"Can't I just make the commute back home?"

"A lot can happen between here and Incendius, Buster. Portals can go awry. Someone might kidnap you on your drive home..."

Just imagining the scenarios made his head spin and his gut sink. "Okay! Okay! Fine! We're staying in the Godslayer." He sighed heavily and brought the hovercar towards the hanger. "I guess I'm getting the executive tour?"

"Perks of being the boyfriend of the Red Lightning."

It took a second before Buster realised that, for the first time, JD had referred to him as his boyfriend. That sinking feeling was replaced by a giddy sensation. Some part of him knew he had a little crush on the Wulfun but the sudden thrill of those confirming words was far stronger than what he had expected. Trying to keep himself from smiling like an idiot was proving hard so he focused more on driving the military hovercar into the hanger.

JD informed him that the cruiser wasn't really equipped to house any fighters or smaller craft and the hanger was mainly made for supply runs. The Godslayer was originally a Celestial-_class cruise ship, a civilian ship designed to look good and go around carting the wealthy on long trips across Stations or in the Void. Naturally, it had its defences but it had since been retrofitted to become a warship. Even then, the _Godslayer was fully self-sustaining complete with its own hydroponics level, power source, matter converters and scavenger drones that could collect materials to help sustain it.

"We could drift out in the Void for years or more and live perfectly comfortably," JD said as they stepped out of the vehicle. The military men and women that were scattered about immediately saluted JD and he gave them a sharp salute back. "Come on, I'll show you my room."

"Your room?" Buster repeated. "It's not a shitty military barracks where you have to stay with like twenty other guys?"

JD gave him a concerned look. "Is that a problem?"

"I honestly think it's hot," he snickered. "You have no_idea how many fantasies I've had about being 'drilled' by a man in uniform." A realisation dawned on him. "Holy shit! I'm halfway there already! I'm _dating a man in uniform!"

The wolf smiled in return and led him to the exit of the hanger. Being a rather big ship, the Godslayer had an inbuilt tram system that could take them all along the 'spine' of the ship. JD took them near the front of the ship just before the bridge and to his 'room'.

"This is my place," JD announced, stepping through the big, wide, open doors.

Buster's jaw dropped. "The observation deck? You have the whole observation deck?"

Magically reinforced glass surrounded them in a clear, circular panoramic view. A large open space separated by differing styles and equipment dominated the deck. There was a second level which had a large hole at its centre. From where he stood, he could see that JD's 'bedroom' was on the second floor as he could clearly see some bedsheets and pillows. Curling staircases to the left and right of the door led up to the second floor.

The first floor was divided into four segments, each one taking a good quarter of the room itself. One had various workout equipment that looked rather well-used. Another had a desk and surrounded by bookshelves. The third looked to be a museum of some sort with various items stuck in display cases. The last seemed suspiciously empty but as Buster stared at it for a little longer, the air shimmered and he thought he saw a fragment of the Machine.

"I guess I was a little selfish in picking out this place given my dad was our CO back during the Fall," JD admitted, striding into the space as if it were his own home. "Though back then, everyone had much bigger spaces. Ethan, the Blue Barrier, had the entire engineering deck to himself. It's where he ate and slept. Natasha Lilac, the White Crusader, lived in the hydroponics level. Ariel Gruben was our healer and was the Green Cross. She naturally took up the medical centre. Dad stayed in the bridge in the captain's quarters. Kane had the armoury and Rayne stayed in the rec centre."

"Goddess..." breathed Buster. "It must've been crazy... Where did the rest of the crew stay?"

JD's eyes dropped slightly. "There wasn't a 'rest of the crew'. It was just us, remember? Had a whole two-kilometre ship to the nine of us. Got pretty lonely."

At the thought of just having to share this huge starship amongst the few of them, he asked, "That's not going to be us, is it?"

"Nah. Dad has got a crew with us as you saw when we were moving in here." JD crossed his arms behind his head. "I think he plans to use the Godslayer like our major deployment centre for whatever happens down on Incendius."

Buster wandered through the room, making a beeline for the museum section and purposefully avoiding the shimmering visage of the Machine. "He really expects trouble, huh?"

"I really don't know. I get the feeling that he suspects this Lupus Civil War may have been orchestrated by the Goetia or something but we've only scraped the tip of the iceberg here. I honestly don't know what to expect."

Spying something in one of the glass containers, he leaned forward and frowned. It looked like a broken crown of sorts and he absently tapped the container. The artefact appeared to be reddish in colour but was charred and blackened in sections. "What's this?"

"_That was Emily's prom crown. The Fall hit just when she was having her prom. We found her huddled up next to her 'date'. This was months after the demons had killed everyone and done... things to her. The crown was her only weapon during that time and she used it as a weapon to survive. It took ages before I eventually convinced her that there was no point in getting vengeance and she gave up the crown. Asked me to keep it while she took up position as the Amber Eye, our intelligence officer."_

Buster noticed that there were nine sections in the museum. Each one was dedicated to the achievements of each of the original Dead Tails. His eyes were drawn to what appeared to be a back brace. "Is this yours?"

"Yep. After I regained use of my legs, I decided to keep that thing. I had to wear it for a month and a half as I underwent impromptu physical therapy behind enemy lines."

He turned back towards the Wulfun, still amazed at the young wolf's story. But his eyes were still drawn to the shimmering section that bled in from the Machine. "Okay. I'm sorry," he admitted. "But that damn thing is bugging me. Why the hell is part of the Machine here?"

JD placed his paws on his hips and chuckled, shaking his head in wonder. "I was wondering when you'd bring it up." He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. "If you ever need help from Haamiah, you can pop in over here and ask him. It's basically a permanent portal into the Machine that only those that've been in it before can see or even use. Even then, Haamiah still needs to give you permission before you can enter."

"So if I wanted to pop in there right now and ask him what the meaning of life was...?"

"You'd probably get a cryptic answer, be told to figure it out for yourself but ultimately leave feeling satisfied. It's basically like a golden confessional booth or a constantly ticking therapy session that will _probably_have you more likely to have an existential crisis than to avoid one."

Buster laughed and turned to JD with a little smirk. "Are you trying to show off to me?"

JD's eyes widened ever so slightly but he was strangely relaxed. In his observations of the Red Lightning, that was a sure sign that the military assassin was very guarded; he was consciously telling himself to keep calm. It was when he was tense and rigid that he was genuine.

"There'd be no point in denying it, is there?"

He snickered and pulled JD into a light hug. "You're adorable, you know that." Holding JD back out at arm's length, he said, "There's no need to show off to me, babe. You're the most amazing person I know. I mean, hell, you just invaded your own God's personal realm just to save an asshole friend. That's goddamn heroic."

"It was selfish," JD sighed, gently pushing Buster away. "I just don't ever want to deal with someone I care for dying. I've been through that. The guilt of not being able to do anything while they die, pleading for help... I never want to undergo that ever again."

The mood was turning gloomy again. Clearly it would be best to avoid subjects of heroism or the past. Somewhat difficult given that JD surrounded himself with memorabilia of his past and he bore his scars proudly like a badge.

"Hey," Buster began gently, "I think it's time to make new memories, new promises to live by." Gently grasping the Red Lightning's shoulder, he turned his boyfriend towards him bearing a hopeful smile. "So promise me this: no matter what happens on Incendius, we are going to have some fun, okay? Not everything will be about the mission. You're going to have to take some time for yourself and spend time with the rest of the team."

A single, brown eyebrow rose at him. "You're going to have to be a little clearer with what you mean by that. If we're going on missions as a team, we are going to be spending time together."

"You know what I mean," he snickered, nudging the wolf's cheek slightly with his knuckles. "We're not all about defeating the Demon King or saving the world, you know. I like food. Skye likes to learn. Wood... I guess he likes to build shit." Inspiration came in a blazing burst of light and he snapped his fingers. "Think of it as side quests. You've got to build the relationships with us with a few side quests to bring out the best in us."

A snort left the Wulfun and he shook his head. "That has to be the lamest analogy in the world. But I understand." He beamed up at Buster. "Okay. I promise."

"Great!" He winked at JD. "And who knows. You might get 'lucky' with one of us. These games have got to have at least one romance option, right?"

JD laughed softly and turned to head towards his desk. "I think my options are limited given Skye's preferences."

That was a surprise statement. "Uh... I'm pretty sure Skye is bisexual, bro. If you choose the right dialogue options, spend enough time with him, I'm sure you'd get that steamy 'cat and dog' sex scene the net is raving about."

The young, brown-haired assassin turned to him in surprise. "You didn't see it?" His features then lit up. "Oh wow... I actually observed something ahead of you."

Utter confusion and curiosity filled him. "Huh? What? What did I miss?"

Spiritual Scion (Skye)

Family Matters

"This is a pretty sweet neighbourhood," Kane commented.

A deep blush was burning in Skye's cheeks though it was coming from more than just his embarrassment at being driven home by the big, burly, black bear. Being in the Ursus' convertible had opened a window into the mindset of the Black Cannon and he saw a nature that was entirely contradictory to his own. Slow, methodical and with a deep focus on knowledge and planning, he realised that Kane was impulsive, carefree and was, in many ways, wild and primal. The first thing Kane had said when they had entered his convertible was 'Don't sit in the back. That's where I sleep and jack off. And don't worry about any splashes. It's dry by now'.

"Yeah," Skye murmured, holding himself tightly though he was unsure if it was because he was a little scared of touching anything in the right-hand passenger side seat or because he was just flushed in the presence of the bear. "My adoptive parents are the kind of people that you read about in all those money magazines. Dad owns his own company while mom socialises and stays at home doing whatever she does."

"You mean like banging the pool boy in the shed?"

Though he hated to admit it, that was something that had happened often. "Yeah..."

Kane's convertible was a relatively new design with the driver's seat right in the middle and flanked by two passenger seats. It had a broad set of back seats that could easily fit the sleeping bear's form. A virtual display on the dashboard offered all the visibility he needed of his flanks and rear. It looked more like a winged fighter plane than a luxury vehicle especially when the canopy was draped over like now. With its bright yellow colouration, it turned heads even as it was the middle of the night.

"I've been wondering," Skye began. For some reason, he didn't want any silence between them and just wanted to keep the conversation going. "Why are you sleeping in the back of your car?"

The bear sniggered. "Only place I can sleep, bro."

'Bro'. It was so casual. Carefree. It both confused and thrilled Skye to be called that.

"What about the military bases?"

"Eh, if my dad is feeling generous, I can sleep there but there's a lot of tension if I do. And dad is a little suffocating when I stay at his place. Never wants me to leave and shit. But I gotta be free, ya know?"

"I suppose..." He flicked his ears towards the bear. "But why the tension?"

The Ursus regarded him curiously. "Oh shit... JD never told you I was kicked out of the military too, did he?"

That was news to him. "No. I thought he was the only one to take the fall after the... erm..."

Kane laughed and patted his shoulder lightly. The little touch made Skye's whiskers stand on end like he had been electrocuted. "Don't worry about it, man. And yeah, I got kicked out but after I got drunk and JD was blamed." He grinned slightly and shook his head. "I swear, that pup will give you his goddamn heart if it'll save you." Looking back at Skye he said, "I was pissed that they let JD take the fall even though the top brass knew that I was more likely the one to cause the chaos. It got all the way up to a court martial because... well, a lot of my fellow soldiers got hurt in the process and I resisted arrest."

"How'd they even let that happen?" Skye asked incredulously. "There must've been witnesses."

"I dunno what JD did. He just got the blame. Tarnished record and all." Kane's enormous shoulders sagged and his gaze grew distant. "I honestly wouldn't have cared if I stayed in the military or not. Best years of my life were running around behind enemy lines with my cousin. If I had been kicked out, I'd be fine with that."

I hadn't realised there was so much drama involved with JD's dismissal.

Yvanir's voice suddenly boomed from deep within his consciousness. "Court martials are rarely so simple. It is clear that both these young men had their motivations. Perhaps the younger Clarke merely saw an opportunity to lead a normal life instead of being bound to the military."

Skye tensed slightly.

What are you doing here!?

"You lead such a fascinating life and meet such interesting people. I would be remiss if I did not at least meet your parents."

I'm not going to introduce you to my parents! They can't even see you!

"I said that I would meet them_. They would never meet me. Unless you told them you now have a connection to a potentially heretical source of power and a fragment of a fallen god. I have always wondered what an Inquisition facility would look like."_

Skye pushed the Great Spirit back mentally and focused back on Kane who was regarding him expectantly. "If it's worth anything," he said, "I think JD didn't mind giving up the military life. I've seen what he's like. As you said, he'd give everything he could if it meant that someone else would live."

"Exactly what it means to be in the military," Kane sighed, returning his gaze forward. "Your life for the people. Even when he's being 'selfish', he gives the excuse that it's so he doesn't have to watch people die again." The bear's lips pursed worriedly. "I have this terrible feeling that one of these days, karma is going to take him up on that offer and he's going to give too much."

We won't let that happen.

"Like Mr. Clarke said to Wood. JD is a Champion and we'll be his Sentinels." He reached over and grasped Kane's leg. His fingers wrapped around the knee so he shifted it slightly upwards so he could seize a little bit more of the meaty thigh. "We'll protect him."

"You mortals are so interestingly flawed. You clearly have a primal, sexual attraction to their bear. Why not just pounce upon him?"

In his panic at the suggestion, Skye's claws slipped out and dug into Kane's flesh. The bear gasped and jerked the car slightly.

"Ow! Ow! Okay! I get it! We'll protect him! I'll stop being a pussy about it!"

Skye immediately pulled his paw away and feigned a grin. "Good boy," he managed to say.

And for your information, Yvanir, it is a primal, sexual attraction and that is why I do not want to act upon it. There is no substance behind it apart from the fact that he is really... really... really_..._

"The walking embodiment of all things masculine?"

He didn't qualify that question with a response and leaned back in Kane's leather seats. "So if you're not living with your dad or with the military, how're you making a living or surviving?"

"Fight club."

"And here you thought he couldn't be even more masculine."

Skye did a physical backpaddle, pressing himself up against the door in shock. "W - wait. You're serious? You fight for a living!? Isn't that illegal?"

Kane gave him a cocky sidelong glance. "And you wonder why my dad worries about me." He turned his eyes back to where they were flying and they slowly descended into the suburbs. "And not just that. I do odd jobs. Warehouse stacking. Working at the docks. Sometimes sex. If you look up _BigBearSex.t13net_you'll find me under 'Lance Longshot'."

H - h - he's living in his car, he doesn't have a steady job and he sometimes gets paid for sex online. He's insane!

"And yet that makes him all the more attractive to you."

Skye mentally shot the Great Spirit a piercing stare but the demigod only laughed him off while making a comment he was nowhere near the intensity of the Red Lightning.

"Does JD know about this? Your dad?"

"Dad, no. JD yes. He keeps it a secret because he figures that it's no one's business but my own. Though he's got that damn promise that he'll never lie so unless someone asks him directly, he really can't keep it a secret. We all have our secrets, bud." Kane began to slow the car. "It's a sign that I trust you that I'm telling you this stuff."

Skye's heart eased somewhat and he leaned back into the eat. "Thanks Kane. I do appreciate that. I guess it's a bit of a culture shock that you're... uh... Well, let's just say you're not exactly the kind of guy I was expecting."

The bear smiled at him as he parked in front of the large, double storey home. "People will surprise you. You could know them all your life but they will still surprise you." His eyes turned back to Skye, bright, shining and earnest. "I hope this doesn't make things awkward between us."

Skye returned the smile even as he popped open the door. "No. It doesn't. I'm just glad you told me."

They emerged from the car with Skye leaving through the side door and Kane very coolly popping open the skylight and somehow squeezing his enormous frame through it. The bear even smoothly slipped over the front of the car in a single smooth movement. Though Skye felt a chill through his body at just how strong, independent and amazingly carefree Kane was, he could feel the disproving eyes of his parents burning into the back of his head.

If there was one wish he could have, it was that the short walk from the curb up the sleek, metal walkway to the front door would never end. As Kane had mentioned, his neighbourhood was typically Strato-Havenese. The homes were all sleek, metallic and adorned with crystals or gold. He approached the particle door and was about to advise that Kane head off when the entire frame abruptly dissolved in a wave of blue-green light and he was met face-to-face with his Equuis parents.

Phineas and Tiara Black were the definition of Havenese upper-class. Both were always exquisitely dressed all the time and looked eternally youthful. Phineas had chestnut brown fur that covered his powerful frame built into a masculine shape that wasn't overbearingly like a bodybuilder's like Kane's. Unnaturally platinum blonde hair ran down the back of his equine features. Stern, green eyes had been the inspiration for adopting Skye - because they had the same eye colour - from the rest of the orphans that the couple had looked into.

Tiara was built taller than her husband in an attempt to appear more dominant or at least not submissive to the man who brought all the money into the home. Her hair was bright red but only because the topic of the day was the Incendius and red was the colour of the Station of the Sun. Her features were remarkably stern but whether that was because of the constant chemical injections that made her youthful or her disproval was anyone's guess.

"Uh..." Skye began. "Hi mom... dad."

Tiara narrowed her bright red eyes - again, cosmetically altered to fit with the current hot topic. "Imagine my surprise when I heard that my son had gone to the home of a recent target of not one but _two_assassination attempts and was now being hailed as a hero for thwarting what many are already speculating to be an attempted coup against the Generals."

Years of being subject to such a disappointing tone immediately kicked in and Skye ducked his head in shame.

Then Kane spoke up.

"You should be proud. Skye was amazing out there and he saved a lot of lives."

"And who exactly are you supposed to be?" Phineas snarled. He eyed the big bear with clear disdain. "Judging from your clothes you're military so I will respect your sacrifices for our Station but I cannot condone the recklessness that is currently being blared across every possible news channel!"

"The world doesn't need anymore heroes," Tiara echoed, seizing Skye's arm and pulling him into the house. "Do you have any idea the kind of things I'll have to put up at my luncheon tomorrow? Oh! Chaitanya Wilson will make some backhanded compliment like I've clearly raised a strong son. So strong that he's breaking the rules! Urgh! And can you even imagine with Latoya Reese will go on about? She will play the contrarian and point out that you should've been at school and you had no business being there! And Maya Tsunatori will compare you to her_son who is _your age but already graduated and in Paladin Training!"

Even with his head down, Skye could see the lifted eyebrow from Kane.

"No offense," began the bear, "but the mere fact that you're surrounding yourself with a group of friends who all have names that end in 'ya' really gives me the impression that you're surrounded by a bunch of chickens who, instead of clucking, just keep screeching 'ya' at one another."

Tiara recoiled. "What!? How dare you!?"

"I dare as the fucking Black Cannon, that's how."

The use of profanity sent both Tiara and Phineas recoiling in shock.

"Such language!" exclaimed Skye's adoptive father. "You sir, are a scoundrel and a cur!"

"A scoundrel and a cur?" repeated Kane incredulously. "Who the fuck uses that kind of language these days. Mother-fucking-Goddess. Just call me a cunt or an asshole you stuck-up pussy. If that stick were any further up your ass, you'd be classified as a fucking flagpole."

The crude exchange lit a fire in Skye's gut and he found the strength to lift his gaze, beaming quietly at Kane as his friend glared down his father.

"I do not care what rank you possess in the military," scowled Phineas. "But you have no right to say that to me or my family! I know my rights!"

"Your fucking rights mean nothing if you're dead," scowled Kane, crossing his massive arms threateningly. "You think I won't rip off your head, piss down your throat and fuck each of your eye sockets just because of your fucking 'rights'? A demon won't give a shit about law and order, hoss, and I fucking kill demons."

Having been around the bear for the entire afternoon, he was fairly sure Kane was being purposefully antagonistic. His quiet prayers for the Ursus to pull back went unheard especially since his parents were more than willing to rise up to the bait.

"Well, I never!" Tiara exclaimed. "If this is the kind of discipline the military instils, then I say we stop paying taxes!"

"Athena's fucking cunt!" Kane roared. "Do you hear yourself, lady? It's all about you. You never. You say. Fuck! This isn't about you! It's about how a fucking hero your son is. Hell, you didn't even consider how traumatised Skye could be after facing down real goddamn assassins not once but twice! Have you even thought about how he's on the national spotlight now? Fifteen seconds of fame is still fifteen seconds where they're going to pick you apart."

Phineas' eyes widened in shock. "Blessed Lady, he's right!"

"Of course I'm fucking right." He hiked a thumb at his chest, the digit sinking almost entirely into the cleavage of his enormous pectorals. "Trust me, hoss, I was there. Right after the war, the media wanted to pick us apart. Squad 47 would've been like goddamn superheroes if we all didn't decide to put it all under wraps because of just how brutal the media can be."

That did not convince the proud, media-savvy horse. "Well you handled the media your way but coming from someone who is clearly more... photogenic than you, I think I know how to turn this to our advantage."

Kane rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Because the suffering of thousands and your son's traumatic experiences can only be used to give your career and popularity a leg-up." He made a rude gesture in Phineas' direction and turned to leave. "Whatever. I'm gone. But if I were you, anyone who questions Skye's actions I'd call fucking unpatriotic. He's a hero."

The big bear stormed back down the driveway towards the mailbox, each step seemingly causing the pristine, almost-plastic green grass to shy away from him. Those heavy footsteps likely caused some dents in the metal walkways. He stopped, however, right next to the traditional-looking mailbox; a single wooden pole embedded into a magically reinforced metal prism with a little red flag perched on the flank. Compared to the more modern design of the rest of the house, it seemed rather out of place but Phineas had insisted that it would make them appear more relatable and down-to-earth. Emphasis on 'appear'.

Even from the distance, Skye could see the glint of mischief in Kane's eyes.

"Oh and I'm stealing your mailbox."

Tiara looked incredulously towards her husband. "It may be that I have gone deaf from his roaring but did he just say he was going to _steal_our mailbox?"

Kane lunged for the mailbox, wrapping his mighty fist around the pole. With a single tug and a single arm, he yanked the small structure right out of the ground. Skye's eyes widened more and more with every vein that bulged along that thick, muscular arm and his cheeks burned at the sight of such raw, primal strength, draining the blood from his legs and making him go weak. The black-furred bear hefted the mailbox over his shoulder like he would his duffel bag and just marched into his convertible.

"I... I..." Phineas began, left utterly speechless.

Skye was similarly stunned.

He just stole our mailbox! Who does that!?

"The man whom you are going to thoroughly investigate with a net search on BigBearSex.t13net the instant your mother lets go of your arm."

Tiara quietly shut the door, he features ashen. "He's right you know."

Her husband gave her an incredulous look. "What!?"

"If Latoya Reese decides to criticise Skye, I can just call her unpatriotic." She began to rub her chin thoughtfully. "I know that she donates to charities. I wonder if she had some connections to the Reaching Flame..."

The cycle of rumours and plotting began again. In the moment that she released his arm, Skye was at least free from her icy grasp. His adoptive mother and father continued to scheme how they could spin his achievements to their advantage. It was with much relief that he didn't reveal he was now bound to a Great Spirit. The Gods only knew how they would spin that to increase their own popularity. Starting a religion of their own would not be outside of her capabilities.

With some of his feline grace, he was able to sneak up the metallic stairs and into his room.

He slumped into his bed and quietly shut his eyes, draping an arm over his eyes.

"Things will become much more complication now, aren't they?"

"The world was always complicated. You just never saw it."

He held out his arm in front of him, regarding the spirals along his arms that extended his natural stripes slightly. "At least they didn't notice these tattoos."

"They will eventually."

"There's nothing you can do about it, can you?"

"Not unless you wish to break our pact. And I have an inkling you will be needing my assistance in the troubles to come."

Depressing as the thought was, he could only agree.

Forged (Roran)

Back in the Game

Through whatever executive power that Alex may have possessed over the military, Roran found himself surprisingly unmolested by the invading Inquisition forces. Everyone else was scrutinised heavily. The red, mechanical eyes of the Inquisitors and their guards, the Custodia Puria_scanned for lies, secrets and more. Unrest was unfolding in the outer suburbs of Altima Meadows as those who had not been witness to Char's resurrection had found themselves fighting for what they believed in. It was frightening to think that the _Reaching Flame had become closer to a religion than an actual charity.

Alex had warned him about this part of the plan and it had been the only part that he had openly opposed. Most if not all of the people within the Flame had no idea what Char had been doing. On some level, he liked to believe that Konseral was innocent of the dark Pyromancer's machinations but he could not deny that the Porcinus had at least wilfully ignored some of the warning signs.

Distant explosions signalled the transformation of common charity workers into guerrilla fighters. Whether or not Sylana's lessons had actually helped forge them into such independent soldiers or not was a very good question.

"Damnit," he growled, fists closing around his hammer.

Don't deny what they've become, Roran. You helped make them what they are. They just needed a cause to become fanatical about.

"They're terrorists."

The admission stung. Though he had only been supplying weapons to the Flame for the past few days, as proven in the exhibition fight against Wood, he could churn out his works _very_quickly. A few days had seen him develop hundreds of weapons. Char had insisted they would stay within the _Flame_complex but upon hearing about how 'Northridge-Originals' were being used by the guerrilla fighters, he began to doubt that he could be absolved of blame as well.

A growl rose from his throat and he angrily swept his meaty arm across his workbench. His tools and half-finished experimental works clattered to the ground noisily. Every part of his smithy seemed so pointless now. So empty. It was all tainted with the corruption that he had wilfully ignored.

It's just like what happened with Valk. I believed in his cause and I ignored the shit he was doing.

The door to his workshop opened and he immediately caught the musky and slightly tart scent of Alexander Clarke. It reminded him a little of a forest and bringing up that imagery sent an image of a gently rushing stream cleansing away his sins.

"When I asked you to pack your stuff I didn't mean this," Alex offered, gesturing at the trashed workshop. A wry little smile was on his muzzle. "You doing okay there, kitty?"

Rayne Noam stepped into the workshop right after Alex and Roran immediately went rigid.

"Whatever you're feeling, Roran," rumbled the purple-eyed man, "you're not to blame for what's happening out there. If you hadn't made those weapons, Char would have found some way to smuggle weapons onto Altima Meadows anyway. The military has actually intercepted a few shipments and some of the resistance have been seen using weapons that are of Havenese designs." The man gave him a light smile. "If you hadn't told us about some of your weapons' inherent weaknesses, the Inquisition probably would be having a harder time trying to subdue the resistance fighters."

Roran's eyes dropped and he slouched against the workbench. "Yeah..."

Alex immediately moved to comfort him. "Something wrong?"

He gave the red-furred Wulfun a tight smile. "The fact that I could easily give you the weaknesses of my weapons says a lot about my character. I mean, I knew about them but I haven't done anything to fix them." A mournful sigh left his muzzle and he gazed upwards at the lone skylight. "I told Bladebreaker about Erik von Darkmoth. He's an Incendian smith. Higher ranked than me. But he'll always be at that rank because he announced his retirement. He'll be forever static. Whatever weaknesses or strengths his works will have will always remain like that and people will respect him for it. He has an excuse never to improve."

Rayne picked up a pair of charred, metal tongs and tossed it to him. Roran caught it deftly. "That's him," added the skilled pugilist. "You don't have to emulate him."

"Thing is, I kind of was." His intense gaze fell upon the tongs. "Everything I make has weaknesses. Weaknesses that I consciously know of but I have done nothing to fix them. I've been using the same runes and materials for years now." Strong fingers closed around the tongs, squeezing them. "I think it's about time I changed that."

Alex tilted his head to the side in that adorable look of canine confusion that just made his heart melt. "What're you thinking?"

He set down the tongs and waved his paw absently through the air. A flare of silver flames erupted from the tips of his fingers and produced a small, bright-red but silver-edged dagger. "Do you know how smiths are ranked in the world?"

"I can honestly confess that I have no clue."

"There's what's called the 'Great Game'." His eyes distantly regarded the blade as he remembered the myriad of competitions he'd participated in to get his rank. "People across Stations would integrate a spell into whatever they built. It would track how well what they made would work in the world. Depending on how they did, they would offer 'points' to the smith that made them. This is, of course, taking into consideration what the greats call a 'Smith's Pride'. You've got to be careful who you give your weapons to, after all. Can't give a potentially world-ending weapon that can cleave the earth in two to a child. If the Smith's Union found that you had given someone that was really careless a weapon and basically gave up your pride for the sake of money, they heavily penalise you."

He felt his mighty chest swell at the thought of competing once more. "I haven't competed in years. I deactivated the spells on my weapons but people still judge other's works against mine. My rank could still drop if someone else's work smashed mine, for instance."

"And you want to get back into the game?" Alex prompted. "I think that'd be amazing! Considering how we'll be travelling back to Incendius, I think you'll have a great opportunity to hone your Forge Arts and Pyromancy."

Roran shook his head. "Not just Pyromancy." He locked gazes with Alex. "In the short time that I've spent with you guys, I have seen a myriad of techniques and abilities that I never thought possible. Your son can permanently disable someone's ability to cast magic. You're a hell of an illusionist, a craft that I'd never even heard of! And Rayne is a demon."

Rayne looked like he had just been struck in the heart by a spear though Alex was able to maintain his cool.

"You mean metaphorically, right?" prompted the wolf.

Roran gave his current lover an exasperated look. "Alex, please. My best friend was corrupted by a Demon Lord. The moment Rayne began using his techniques right in front of me, I began to have my suspicions." He looked directly at the teacher. "But don't worry. I know you're a good guy. You went out of your way to chase down Sylana so that she wouldn't fall to Char. I know you care for your kids as well. You don't necessarily do a good job of looking after them but I can't really expect much from a demon, can I?"

The ebony haired 'human' chortled softly. "It's because I have such faith in my kids that I let them put themselves in danger like that. They'll never grow if they don't take risks or try out new things. But for the record, I'm not just a demon. I am a Demon Prince. Amon."

The news was not surprising. After having had to fight his friend who had been graced by a Valour and then subsequently Fell while under the influence of a Demon Prince, he had a reasonable gauge of the levels of power amongst demons. Rayne was definitely_holding a lot of his strength back and though it was muted, there was distinct..._taste to it that was unforgettable. It was raw, primal and ragged like rubbing his coarse tongue against a row of thistles.

"I figured as much."

"You must have so many questions..." Alex said, his tone apologetic.

Roran held up a finger to silence the Wulfun. "Not here and not because I forced it out of you. When you're ready, you can tell me. Right now, I relish the challenge of getting back out there and improving my craft." He closed his paws into a tight fist, a rush of energy and the thrill of competition pumping through his veins once more.

Then a thought crossed his mind and he looked apologetically toward Alex. "I also have to apologise beforehand if people come after me directly."

The military illusionist reeled back in surprise. "You'll have assassins coming after you!?"

"No! No!" he laughed but his last chortle was cut short. "Well... sort of. See, one sure-fire way to promote your rank across the Great Game is to go after a competing smith directly especially one that's higher than you. I mean, if a smith can't protect themselves with their own weapons, what kind of smith are they, right? It's a common tactic for smiths to actually send really skilled warriors out with their weapons to hunt down other smiths. It's not exactly condoned by the Union but it's technically within the rules."

Alex ran a paw down his muzzle in exasperation. "And here I thought we were done with the assassins after the Fuocotan left."

Roran's ears perked up at mention of the assassin's guild. "What happened to them, by the way?"

As part of the deal that JD had brokered - albeit without military approval - the prisoners that had been kept after the Bladebreaker debacle had to be released. With their assistance and the ultimate death of Konseral which fulfilled their contract, the Fuocotan were satisfied and left while begrudgingly sweeping aside any transgressions over the deaths of their people. Naturally, the top brass of the military and some politicians were not too happy with this but the Generals had stepped in and ordered the matter resolved.

"General Obadiah has actually made contact with them," Alex provided. "There are rumours that he's thinking about employing them full-time or at least their branch here on Haven. Their numbers and reputation were severely tarnished with the last two assaults and now openly working with the military has sort of confused some people. He's thinking about negotiating for them to be trained military assassins."

"That's ambitious," Roran admitted. "Not sure how I feel about that."

Rayne grunted and nodded. "Same here. Then again, Obadiah has always been the kind of guy to keep people at bay with the threat of blackmail and compromising information. He's never had a strong military force behind him. Getting some guns might help strengthen his position a little more."

"I honestly don't want his position to become stronger than it already is," Alex admitted. A shake of his head and the topic change. "So tell me, what's your plan to get back in the Game of yours?"

Roran stabbed his dagger into his workshop bench. "First, I'm going to get my shit cleaned up. Then I'm going to have to find a new place to work. Once that's done, I'm going to start looking into other arts that I can implement. Cryomancy and Hydromancy have always been my weakness since I focus more on Pyromancy. Maybe I can start with that."

A short cough came from Rayne. "Coming from someone with a lot of experience both teaching kids and outside of it, might I recommend a different tactic?"

Curious what a Demon Prince would have to say, Roran gestured for the Combat Arts professor to continue.

"It's what I told Sylana when we fought. Jack of all trades, master of none but often better than master of one. Thing is, when you face someone who is a master of multiple trades, then when you spread yourself out thinly, you're still screwed. Jumping straight at your weaknesses might seem like a good thing right now but you might end up uncovering even more vulnerabilities."

"Coming from someone with as much experience as you, I'll take that into consideration." Roran crossed his big, meaty arms. "What do you suggest then?"

"How about trying to look into the more obscure forms of Pyromancy?" offered Rayne. "Have you thought of researching the Lava Manipulator's Techniques? They merge Geomancy with Pyromancy and Earth Magic is at least neutral towards Hydromancy. It could be a stepping stone for you to explore Hydromancy itself."

That's actually not a bad idea.

"There's also the Bluefire Techniques," Rayne continued. "That directly merges Cryomancy with Pyromancy to create flames that 'burn like fire but bite like ice'. Not sure what that means but I know it's very versatile if a bit hard to master."

He knows his stuff.

"Alchemical Pyromancy is also very prominent and versatile and I think a smith like yourself would be interested in it," said the professor, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "I'd also recommend looking at the more natural forms of Pyromancy. We're going to Incendius so maybe see if we can find some info on Fire Elementals, the Salamantine or Phoenixes. If you're really after something a bit more info, I can teach you Deamonium Ignis which is demonic fire."

"If you want to piss off the Church, look into Chronomancy's version of fire," Alex said with a roll of his eyes. "From what I recall, one of the great Chronomancers who spearheaded those techniques was actually killed on Incendius."

"Pyrannos," both Rayne and Roran breathed at the same time. They exchanged brief glances and a short smile.

"I grew up on tales of that bastard," Roran added. "Pyrannos the Tyrant of Flames. He was known to consume entire towns and vast swathes of land in golden flames. It got so bad that apparently, he would conjure these wings of fire that would sprout from his back and his hoofprints would leave fiery marks in the ground that would burn for all eternity and if you touched it, you'd be consumed."

"I remember watching the battle that ended him," said Rayne. "Valkyrie, Chronos, Lumire and Celestia all had a tough fight."

Only two of those names he recognised. "I recognise Aria Valkyrie. She's one of the Angels that fought beside the Church and has stood around for centuries. She's a Templar now. Lumire too. But who are the others?"

This time, Rayne and Alex exchanged glances.

"If you're going to accompany us, Roran," Alex breathed. "There's a few things you should know. First of all, history as you know it is wrong. The Purge of Time was not won solely by the Church of the Tower. There was actually a Chronomancer who defected and he was the one that developed the anti-Time techniques that helped the Church_defeat the rampaging Chronomancers. He also fought alongside them. Even after the Purge, he stuck around and was the ultimate cause and hero of the _Fall of Haven." Alex froze like speaking further was emotionally hard from him and by the look in his eyes, it was a deep wound.

"His name was Harm Chronos," finished Rayne. "The Destroyer of Time."

A strange sensation like someone was physically pulling at his heart rippled through his body.

"Uh... Okay," Roran said, shaking off the feeling. "And Celestia?"

"During the Purge, there were four people who were the decisive factors in many battles. Their composition was actually the model for today's Paladin detachments. There was Aria Valkyrie, the bright-eyed leader and Templar. Lumire, a member of the Custodia Deos and the jailer of the third member, Harm Chronos the Destroyer of Time. The last was Celestia, a member of the Clericus Deos, the healer and..."

"... Chronos' lover," Alex whispered.

Roran flinched though he was unsure why that information was so shocking to him. "Wait... Chronomancers can do that?"

"Not physically," clarified the Wulfun. "There were rumours that Celestia and Chronos were just very close. They never did anything intimate. It was just an emotional thing. Thing is... Chronos was originally trained under one of the Thirteen, the most powerful Chronomancers ever and leaders of their cult. That same man, a black-furred Wulfun by the name of Longinus killed Celestia in front of him. He was so devastated that he drove a black spear right through the guy's heart and cursed the weapon to forever drain the Chronomancer it attached to of all their Time but never enough to outright kill them. The spear would keep them from healing through their status as being Time Locked but it would never let them die either."

"The Spears of Longinus..." whispered Roran. The Spears were probably the most insidious weapons deployed by the Church of the Tower during the Purge of Time. The black spears were heavily used once they were developed as it prevented the Chronomancers from fully regenerating thanks to being Time Locked. When the invading Chronomancers had been defeated, the Church took their armies and their Spears to the Chronomancer's home Station of Temporal and despite repeated pleas and gestures of surrender, the Church impaled each and every Chronomancer with those Spears. Billions of people were impaled on the horrific devices, left out in the desolated planes of Temporal for all to see, never quite dying but forever in agony with the occasional spasm to remind onlookers that these heretical creatures who thought themselves to be like gods would never be allowed to die. The location where most of them were located was called the 'Twitching Wood' for obvious reasons.

"And here's the kicker," Alex said grimly. "Chronos is back."

Metus Daemonium (Rayne)

Agares

Alex was in a better position to inform Roran of all the ins and outs of their operation since he would know what to tell the smith and what to keep a secret. For his part, Rayne left the workshop. Even as Chrysalis Core had dropped into a gentle, low glow and most of Haven had been plunged into the darkness of night, the lights from the Foreboding Sunlight kept the Reaching Flame complex illuminated. Fires had broken out in the outlying suburbs. Another military frigate had joined the fray as well. A few bolts of flames were being tossed at the starships but no matter how skilled the Pyromancer, those little sparks could not pierce the powerful magical and mechanical shields.

Rayne let out a ragged sigh. The past week and a half had been a rollercoaster. First had been JD's exposure as the Red Lightning with the attack of the Fuocotan. This was followed, of course, with Buster's attempt to bring JD into the more social aspect of being a teenager then Kira's appearance. The Bladebreaker gala followed shortly afterwards and that gave him a few headaches with certain parents. To cap it all off was the events that took place just a few hours ago with Skye making a deal with a Great Spirit, Wood falling and the revelation that the Custodia Goetia were once again active.

Pride swelled in his chest at how well his students had dealt with it all even if there were a few mistakes made along the way. They were stronger now than they ever were and their bonds, though a little bent and twisted, were reinforced. He could easily see that JD was the lynchpin to the entire dynamic. With his constant drive for 'the next mission', the Red Lightning pushed them forward and kept them focused. Buster was much more grounded and served as a means to remind them that they were still young and should enjoy their childhood while they could. Wood was a driven and hopeful individual who had strong emotional bonds that were strengthened by these events and would rarely waver again. Skye naturally served as the font of knowledge and with his inherent curiosity, he would push the team to examine every avenue. Then there was Kane, the wildcard and rabblerouser that he knew could drive them to take more unconventional methods.

They made for a good team.

Finding himself some distance away from Roran's forge and away from all the lights of the Inquisition, Rayne looked back at those that he had surrounded himself with. Alex, Roran and even Kira had formed a bond with him that would take them to Incendius and beyond. The Demon King was waiting for the next opportunity to pounce. He would need all the help he could get to defeat him.

Though he hated to admit it, he was likely the one to keep his friends and teammates focused. Alex was quite easily distracted but was also incredibly loyal and had a keen tactical mind. Roran was steadfast and the fire he had seen in the Tigris' eyes had told him he would serve as the pillar of hope for the team. Kira's own ambitions and fiery disposition would serve as a foil to their more obvious tactics and convince them to examine themselves. All of them, adults, had their own connections with Alex as a General, Roran with his friends as a smith and Kira as the Lady Summoner of her House.

As for him...

He took a deep breath and glanced slightly over his shoulder.

"Took you long enough."

The red-scaled Draconis sighed at him heavily. "You do_realise it's not at all that easy to traverse the Void _without a ship and avoid the Demon King's roving patrols, right?" He crossed his arms gruffly, ruffling his wings which were folded around his shoulders like a cape. "I see you've been busy though, Amon. I've had my ears to the ground and from what I hear, the _Goetia_are back?"

He turned fully to the dragon before him. Stark, white hair tumbled down from between the Draconis' head, both his horns broken and shattered about halfway up. Burning, purple eyes shone from his irises. An enormous sword as tall as he was and as broad as his shoulder hovered ominously behind him. A blazing red eye glistened at the pommel of the weapon while the mighty blade itself shone with an unearthly pearlescent black marked with glistening, white edges.

"What have the other Demon Lords and Princes have had to say?"

"They're hearing the rumours as well and some have even been approached by 'interested parties'." The Draconis' stance relaxed and he scratched his forearm absently. "I did as you asked, Rayne. And you're right. I think they've gotten to my lieutenants. Some of the other Demon Lords are suspecting the same. I've gotten responses from all of them but they either seemed guarded or insulted that I had even hinted at them turning back to the God of Magic."

Rayne grimaced, clutching his head in a hand. "Fuck... Just what we need. Bad enough that Asmodeus is resurrecting the Goetia but now he's trying to resurrect this demon army." He noticed that the Draconis had gone rigid. "Oh come on, Valk. You and I both know that myth about Asmodeus 'possessing' someone because they uttered his name is bullshit. It's just something the Goetia spread to increase worship in him. If you know the name of your enemy..."

"It puts him in the forefront of your mind," finished Valk. Once a Paladin and leader of the titular rebellion during the events known as the Burning Rebellion, Valk had possessed a Valour that he had kept a secret from the Church. Roran had been by his side but then he had become corrupted by the Demon Lord Agares thanks to the machinations of the Last Chronomancer, Harm Chronos.

Though Valk had been slain, it had all been part of Chronos' master plan. The Destroyer of Time understood that the demons were just the inhabitants of Wrath, the Station of Demons, and had a chance at redemption. So he had reached out to each of the Demon Lords and Princes, offering them an opportunity to live with the rest of Tower Thirteen and to stop the endless war that pitched the dark forces of the Demon King against the rest of the world. Few Demon Monarchs took up the offer like Rayne. Those that did not were lured into Tower Thirteen using the Fallen Paladins which were to be Asmodeus' replacement for the Demons. Fallen, after all, had all the qualities of a demon but infinitely more power and if forged right, were undyingly loyal to Asmdoeus instead of just hungering for power and more magic.

It was the truth behind Valours and the Church. Train as a Paladin and be crafted into a zealous fanatic fully capable of worshiping a god. Then fall, realise the truth and becoming ever loyal to the 'one true God'. Why have an entire race of admittedly immortal creatures that warred amongst one another with just the faintest sliver of loyalty to you because you hold power over them when you could trade them in for religiously loyal soldiers?

So when Agares possessed Valk, he had unwittingly made himself vulnerable to the true ploy of the Last Chronomancer. Agares' very essence was ripped apart while Valk's consciousness and soul were left intact. Chronos guided the deceased Draconis into absorbing Agares' demonic essence, teaching him how to reconstitute himself through the absorption of magical energies as a demon. But in his case, this Fallen was feasting on a Demon Lord's essence. When Valk eventually returned, he not only had the power of a Demon Lord but that of a Fallen as well. Under the guise of Agares returned, Valk ruled his segment of the Void, feigning loyalty to the Demon King while secretly guiding his Demons to their mass exodus to Haven.

For the past five years, Valk and the other Demon Lords had been living in secret amongst the rest of the populace, fighting the forces of the Demon King during the Fall and enjoying the world that they had left behind when they had all Fallen. The Generals were aware of this and they had actually helped relocate the Demons and treated them... well...

Just like anyone else. It was all part of Chronos' plan to neuter the Demon King. Take away his demonic army, bring them to Tower Thirteen and free them of his plot.

But now...

"Asmodeus is getting desperate," said Rayne. "We've detected Chronos running around but I doubt it's him. Something else is going on and I have the strong suspicion it's the Goetia trying to use his image to stir up trouble again. He may have learned how to strike from multiple sides just like Chronos."

"He'll never be like Harm, though," Valk said with a wry smile. "That Wulfun at least had the balls to fight on the front lines with everyone else."

Rayne shared the smile. "Admittedly, Asmodeus _is_trapped but I'm still holding that against him." That smile quickly faded. "Your lieutenants. They're on Incendius, right?" Valk nodded in confirmation. "I'll track them down. Find out what they know or what they're up to."

"Let me come with you."

Rayne immediately held up a hand. "No. Roran is coming with us."

Valk's eyes widened in surprise. "Roran? Roran Northridge?"

"Yes. That Roran. I don't think it'd be very smart for you and him to be under the same roof. I'll contact you again if I need assistance. But in the meantime, send me everything you have on your lieutenants. I don't want any surprises when dealing with them."

The dragon nodded grimly and started to stride backwards. "Rayne?"

"What?"

"The end is near, isn't it?"

He took a full ten second to reply.

"It is, Valk. It really is."

Till the End of Time

Incendius

The ticking of the Machine never stopped, never slowed.

Until the day that it would, of course.

Haamiah, the God of Time, stood at the edge of the Precipice of Apotheosis. It was on this very dais that he had almost utterly destroyed Wood Bladebreaker. On this dais, his Champion, Jack Delver Clarke, had stood in front of him and stayed his hand. And it was on this dais, so many billions of years ago, that Asmodeus had stormed in, demanding he surrender the_Machine_ or Athena's life would be forfeit. The God of Time still remembered that day. The Machine stood as an eternal testament to his inaction and the power he held over all existence.

But soon, it would all end.

Soon, the Machine would fall silent.

He welcomed that day.

"Your efforts are futile."

A column of flame appeared behind him, at the very centre of the Precipice. The deep, rumbling voice from beyond was filled with regret, weariness and the weight of loneliness.

"My sins are too many. They stretch across billions of years. My greatest regret may be my daughter but even should you reconcile me with her, you will never find the piece of the Infinos Arcanum_. It is lost to the wind."_

Haamiah chuckled softly. "Then it is a good thing I have orchestrated it so that my Champion has the full access of a very fast warship, isn't it? Not only that but he has the full resources of a General." Before Adramalech could protest, he continued. "Let's not forget that he has the assistance of one capable of communing with your Great Spirits, Spirits who embody the very land itself that you helped forge. A Fallen with access to the loftiest and wealthiest of the Stations. A down-to-earth, loyal companion with a charm to sway even the strongest steel. A street-smart rogue that has more experience than his young years would suggest. A Summoner with the rank and authority that she can flaunt publicly to grant access that her prestige would allow. A Demon Prince fully capable of reaching into the dregs of the world and finding the Demons that have been relocated there. A famed smith and veteran with connections built over decades. And of course, me."

The God of Fire was quite for a very long time. Though it was a moot measurement. Time was meaningless in the Machine.

"You planned this all along, didn't you?"

Haamiah chuckled softly. "Who do you think whispered in the ear of the right servant to advise Kira of Jack Denver's location? Who do you think made the suggestion to Kane through subtle messages in the news so that he would pester his father to let him join the mission? Who do you think placed Skye, Wood and Buster in the same class as my Champion?" He turned, hovering through the air towards Adramalech. "Who do you think convinced Roran of all the high-ranking smiths on Incendius to join the Reaching Flame_?"_

"Your machinations are impressive, Haamiah, but it will amount to nothing. I have sinned. Sinned gravely. Nothing will ever convince me to forgive myself."

"You misunderstand my intentions, Adramalech. It is not this team that will reconcile you with your daughter."

The flames seemed stunned by this.

"Oh Adra," chuckled the God. "You should know by now. I always play more than one angle." He turned, once again facing the vast, endless expanse of the Machine. "One party will find the Creed. They'll keep it secure, out of sight and ready for the final stage. The other will find your the piece of the Infinos Arcanum and your soul."

"I am unsure how I feel about being manipulated like this. It is almost like I am being emotionally attacked from two sides."

"You should feel elated. Your suffering will soon come to an end, my friend."

Haamiah glanced over his shoulder and gave the God of Fire a sly wink.

"But try to at least look mildly surprised when the time comes. It'd spoil the fun otherwise."