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Episode 1: Rockslide

Graesham is one of the major economic mainstays of Rillotia. The mining town - while relatively small - provides Rillotia with an unsurpassed amount of raw materials. With the processing plants also within the town, this small, isolated, mountainous area a great contributor to the country's economic stability. It is also the home of Rocky Groundwater known as the Elemental Lord of Earth but also by the title of 'Green Guardian' or 'Saint of the Earth'.

Ivan Thare

Mortaelis World Travel: A Guide to Our World

Jacob Reaper sighed.

His breath gently wafted across the mass of brown fur and muscle that lay snuggled up in his arms. For the briefest of instances, a bolt of panic shot through him. His memory lapsed for the first few seconds when he held his breath as the familiar, earthy scent kick-started his memory with some vivid imagery from the past few hours.

Oh, he chuckled mentally, now I remember.

Quietly so as not to wake the slumbering figure, he carefully, slid out from under the sweaty, sticky and musky sheets in his large studio apartment that he rented from Mrs. Jenkins. The clock by his bed read 6:26 PM.

Hmmm... Spectre...?

The arm-length white feral wolf with black wings who was curled up a short distance away on the windowsill flicked his large, triangular ears in irritation. Jacob picked up the loose bits of clothing that lay strewn around the room. His red boxer shorts lay dangerously close to Leonardo Custer's muzzle. Before he retrieved it, he was visited by the memory of the two of them sliding their lupine muzzles up the legs of his discarded precum-stained boxers and meeting in the middle where they shared a passionate, hot, steamy, toe-curling, tongue-diving kiss.

He had no idea how his boxers still remained intact but he didn't mind. Plucking the boxers away from Leo was a little difficult as Leo was quite a light sleeper. That point was proven multiple times since they had stolen away into the apartment six hours ago. Jacob tended to fall asleep after he orgasmed but even the slightest touch would wake Leo and then they'd be at it all over again. After some pillow-talk of course.

The instant Jacob so much as touched the boxers, Leo stirred and Jacob had to pause for a bit, holding his breath. When the big, sexy Tribal didn't budge, Jacob continued with Operation: Boxer Liberation. Little by little, Jacob pulled his boxers free of Leo...

... until the Tribal decided it was time to roll over.

Leo rolled right over his boxers. If Jacob hadn't pulled his paw out at the last instant, he would've been pinned down.

Oh for the love of...

Now how am I supposed to get my boxers away from him without waking him?

Spectre yawned and uncurled slightly. "You could always go commando...?"

What? In pants made out of a special metallic alloy? Hell no!

At that moment, Jacob realised that there was no need for him to actually keep Leo awake. In fact, he was in a bit of a hurry to wake the Tribal.

So, he turned and headed into the kitchenette of his apartment, picked up a glass, filled it with water, opened the fridge, grabbed some ice and then proceeded to fill his glass with the ice cubes.

"Is that really the way you want to wake up your mate?" Spectre asked.

Jacob was still getting used to that word... 'Mate'. He knew what mateship meant of course. It was deeper than marriage in some respects but in others, it could be considered an act of instinctive lust. Jacob wasn't entirely sure what this 'thing' between himself and Leo was but he was quite sure it was more than just a 'casual fuck' like it had been between himself and Taylor.

When he looked at Leo, there was this over powering feeling to just be himself around the young, brown-furred Tribal. Leo exuded this aura of... peace and freedom that he simply could not resist. Being around Leo compelled him to just be his true self.

Unfortunately, his 'true self' was a sadistic, cruel and selfish individual with no sense of morality whatsoever.

I suppose not...

"Jake, if you want your relationship to work with Leo, you're going to have to give some ground here. You'll have to compromise a little. Learn a bit from him while he learns a bit from you."

Jacob growled softly as he left the kitchen and entered the bedroom once more.

What? You expect me to not be so villainous and mean, instead adopting a bit of Leo's carefree, innocence while he gets some of my witty sarcasm and overall cruelty?

"Well... We established you're really not that 'villainous'."_Spectre said, drifting in beside him."You're just misguided and set in your ways."_

Despite knowing he was mentally conditioned to think he was an evil, sick, psychopath with a penchant for murder and mayhem, Jacob still maintained that didn't stop him from becoming who he was currently. Besides, he liked being cruel and senselessly violent. It was fun.

Whatever. In either case, you're asking me to be me but not be me.

It's like you're asking me to be a 'bisexual of morality'. Not a villain but willing to push an old lady off a bridge if it's funny but also not heroic but just as willing to save a town if it comes to disaster.

What other thoughts he may have had were instantly brushed aside when he entered the bedroom. Leo was resting up against the headrest, smiling angelically with the sheets conveniently covering his privates. It was clear he was aroused, however.

"Is that for me?" Leo asked, ears perked.

Jacob regarded the glass... and then the partially nude wolf in front of him.

_"Jake..."_Spectre warned.

"Yep," Jacob answered with a big, broad grin, advancing on Leo. "It sure is!"

He held out the glass of water in front of Leo and just as the big Tribal reached for it -

Splash!

... he threw it into Leo's face.

"Cool off, Leo," he said. "We gotta be at the train before it reaches Graesham or we'll have a lot of explaining to do."

Leo spluttered a little shivered at the touch of the ice cold water. "Alright!" he replied cheerily. He smacked his lips a couple of times. "What is in the water? It tastes... A little like metal..."

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Huh?"

"Water in Shellington has different minerals in it, remember?"_Spectre supplied, landing on the foot of the bed."Part of the processing of 'drinkable' water."_

Oh... right...

Can't believe he tasted that.

Must be because he's not used to drinking so heavily processed water.

"We put different minerals into our water to help make us stronger," Jacob answered, picking up his boxers and slipping them on.

Leo's expression brightened and his tail began wagging. "Oh! You mean you get your strongest and mightiest males and milk their semen to be put into your drinking water?"

Jacob almost fell over and banged his head against the corner of the bed. His mate had a rather unhealthy (or healthy depending on who is being addressed) obsession with semen. Apparently, his culture held semen of any kind in high regard, considering it a means of passing on strength from one person to another or empowering another (male or female). Apparently, as part of the hunting team, Leo was constantly mounted by the leaders of the tribe or the team to infuse him with the strength needed to make the hunt successful.

Their constant couplings apparently held not only physical and emotional meaning to him but also spiritual as he considered it a way for Jacob to infuse him with his essence. A way for them to be 'one'.

Jacob suspected that one day, Leo would ask to mount him but he had a few personal space issues when it came to that. He was fine with mounting other guys - he had resolved that he was gay a while ago - but being mounted... That posed problems.

There was a reason why he normally couldn't sleep in any given location unless he spent from 7 to 10 days sleeping there or why he always build a 'fortress of pillows' around himself whenever he slept. Even as he got dressed, he had to peel back the 'ramparts' of the fortress to reveal his clothing.

Thankfully, Leo had yet to ask him to do such a thing.

Jacob wasn't sure what he'd do in that situation.

Probably something to do with the fact that Jacob was technically Leo's 'Alpha'.

Lying seems like the best course of action but could I really do that to someone I -

Spectre was suddenly very awake.

Jacob cut off that thought and pulled the black jeans over his legs.

_"Someone you...?"_Spectre prompted, standing up.

Nothing.

"Oh, come on... You were so_going to admit you love Leo!"_

_No I wasn't,_Jacob thought angrily as he shoved his blue shirt with a hood over his impressive, muscular torso.

"So you don't_love Leo and yet you're his mate?"_

Of course I -

Now he was just utterly confused. He had never been in a relationship before and more often than not, he had abused that fickle term called 'love' to his advantage. Leaving a trail of broken hearts was something he did surprisingly well.

Was Leo one of those broken hearts...?

Jacob decided not to think about it and ignored whatever else Spectre might have to say as he pulled his white coat over his shoulders. The stylised markings of his Brand were displayed across his shoulders and back, subtly hinting at his abilities. To the casual observer, they were an interesting design choice. To those that knew, it was a little act of rebellion against the Mortaelis Organisation for Defence and Diplomacy(MODD)

He glanced over his shoulder at Leo as he watched his mate - that word - pull a pair of torn, denim cargo shorts over his enormous, muscular thighs. Leo was much bigger than Jacob who stood at a comfortable 6'7'' but Leo was well past 7 feet tall and was brimming with even more muscle than Jacob and yet still maintaining his proportionate build. Brown fur of a moderate length covered his entire body save for his chest with was a delicate cream colour.

Jacob chuckled at the memory of those shorts. They had originally been pants but Leo didn't like their constricting feel and tore them off. Like his clothing, they were made of mythril-V5, a cloth-like alloy that offered great protection. It was almost armour-like except that it was as light as cloth and possessed the same consistency. So for Leo to tear them apart so easily was a feat on its own.

Jacob quickly discovered that each of the Branded had their own special abilities. While he had a talking Animus and the ability to teleport from doorway to doorway, Leo possessed supernatural strength, more so than anyone else. He believed Leo had more but in the short while since they left Pollenburn - incidentally where they had met - there had been little time to explore their abilities. Although, Leo's acts of incredible strength was a major turn on and having the guy literally bench press him...

Shaking away his arousal, Jacob turned away as Leo put on the light brown leather-like jacket that he had to accompany his shorts. Leo didn't possess any other clothing. Not even shoes or underwear. He insisted on going barepaw everywhere. The only other thing he wore was an ornamental necklace made of beads and ivory.

"Where did you get that anyway?"Jacob asked as Leo put the necklace over his head.

Leo beamed at him. "This is my Pilgrimage Totem. It is a sign that I am on my Pilgrimage. Normally, if I meet any people of my tribe along my Pilgrimage, they'd know I am on my spiritual voyage and aid me if they can."

"Fat chance of that happening here, huh?" Jacob scoffed lightly.

The big Tribal wolf inclined his head to the side and gave Jacob that look of canine confusion that would've melted most hearts. Jacob's melted and seeped into his cock. Leo was seriously adorable when he was confused.

It wasn't hard to confuse him either.

"Does that mean there is a good chance we will meet someone?" Leo asked, his tail suddenly wagging very excitedly. "Have you met someone from my tribe before, Jacob? Did they want to join? Will I have a brother?"

Shaking his head, Jacob grabbed his personal belonging which had been strewn around the area as they were lost in the throes of sex. His wallet, his watch, his specialised gloves and of course, the broken pocket watch his father had given him. The watch used to just be a golden memento that was shattered but with the petrified flower that was now attached to the golden chain, it was a physical symbol of Jacob slowly rebuilding his life.

He pocketed all the items but not before flipping open the watch.

The words, 'One day, we shall all die' were written on the inside cover of the watch.

"First of all, no, Leo," Jacob replied. "I haven't met anyone of your tribe around here. I was being sarcastic."

Leo's confusion turned to disappointment; his ears drooped, his lips quivered a little and he whimpered a little. "I am sorry, Jacob... I was not aware you were using sarcasm..."

It was hard to stay mad or frustrated at him.

Jacob smiled softly and hugged his mate - yikes - tenderly, nuzzling Leo's neck lovingly and enjoying the strong, earthy scent he got from the young wolf. That fresh aroma of dewdrops or freshly cut grass filled his nostrils and he felt his heart start racing.

He pulled his muzzle away slightly and pressed his nose against Leo's. The bigger wolf pressed back but still seemed a little disappointed. Jacob licked Leo's nose for extra comfort. "That's how you learn, Leo," he whispered softly. "People here in Rillotia are a little... bitter and they can be sarcastic. No one is as honest as you."

"I apologise..."

Jacob cupped Leo's cheeks gently. "Don't be. Honesty is hard to come by these days. At least not with strings attached. In fact..." Jacob clicked his fingers lightly right next to Leo's ears, making the bigger wolf jump a little. "... forget the strings. Most of the time, it's garrotte wire or the fuse to a bomb."

He gently kissed Leo and the young Tribal's worries melted away as their tongues brushed against one another. "My point is," he said, pulling away once more, "is that you're perfect just the way you are, Leo. That's why I -"

He choked.

"Say it!"_Spectre cried. Behind him was what appeared to be a studio audience filled with different versions of the Animus. One was a female and another had a _very thick moustache. "Say it!" they all chanted.

"... chose you as my mate," Jacob finished.

The audience and the real Spectre 'booed'.

Jacob had no idea how his Animus could project his own unique thoughts like that but he had no doubt it had to do with the fact that his Animus was a conscious, living creature where all the other Brandeds' Animus were quite two dimensional.

Leo beamed and their lips brushed against one another's again. Jacob's heart began racing again when he realised just how committed Leo was to this relationship. The kiss alone told him just how much Leo cared about him. Leo's blind acceptance of his word as law was proof of his devotion and idolisation.

It filled him with comfort knowing these facts... and decided he would strive just as hard to make this relationship work. There was so much about Leo that he admired... That sense of freedom... the carefree nature... his devotion, determination and seemingly endless well of hope...

"Jake. You've got a train to catch."

Rolling his eyes, Jacob was forced to pull away from that glorious, uplifting kiss, causing Leo to whimper a little.

"Did I do something wrong, Jacob?"

He couldn't help but smile at that. He patted Leo's cheek and headed towards the door. "No, Leo. You didn't. Spectre just reminded me that we've got to get back to the others." Before Leo could respond, Jacob flicked his ear towards the door. Leo did the same.

They both nodded as Leo was suddenly on edge.

Jacob headed towards the door and gently pulled it open. An elderly turtle who's flesh was so wrinkly that it would've put a prune to shame straightened suddenly and let out a little gasp.

"Good morning, Mrs. Jenkins!" Jacob exclaimed cheerfully, giving her a big, toothy grin.

Her big, bespectacled, grey eyes turned to him and then Leo who stood a few short paces away. "Oh... Hello, Jacob. I had no idea you were having guests over. Some of the neighbours were complaining of some... odd noises coming from here the past few hours."

That was plausible since it was the middle of the night...

"Sorry, Mrs. Jenkins," Jacob replied, stepping side to give her a full view of the towering Leo. The big wolf grinned brightly and was just about to go and try and sniff her crotch when Jacob held him down with a firmly placed paw. "I didn't think anyone was here. This is Leonardo Custer. He's from Oxis."

"Oh?" Mrs. Jenkins replied, her eyebrows rising. Her lips began to purse a little as Leo's lack of clothing. Her views on clothing were quite traditional. Anything short of having les than 3 pieces of visible clothing was something she disproved of. "Are you sponsoring a child from the tribes to integrate into our society?"

The mischievous part of Jacob began kicking in and since he wasn't listening to Spectre, he wasn't getting any morally good advice. "Oh no. He's actually my mate"

Mrs. Jenkins went rigid. "You're... what?"

"My mate," Jacob answered with half-grin, half-smirk. He wrapped a paw around Leo's waist and pulled the big Tribal against him. Leo giggled a little and began panting, the tent in his pants becoming painfully obvious.

Poor Mrs. Jenkins looked like she was about to erupt into a fit of rage but because Jacob had effectively paid rent for the next year, she wouldn't be able to kick him out unless she broke their contract. He wasn't above taking her to court and robbing her of all her money on grounds of 'discrimination' and whatever else he could think of. Not that he really cared about labels or the differences between the 'conservatives' and the 'liberalists'.

To him, they were all the same. If he had to, he could play on the strengths, weaknesses, fears and joys of one or both sides.

"That explains the noises then..." Mrs. Jenkins said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Say... Would you mind if I had my nephew come over and meet you and your mate, Jacob? I'm afraid that he feels all lonely at college because he cannot find his own boyfriend and others that share your... leanings aren't as open about his orientation."

For a second, Jacob had to run her words through his head twice. It was clear that Mrs. Jenkins wasn't entirely one of the 'conservatives' but she still had her reservations. Not only that, but he had this eerie suspicion that she's been trying to set him up with her nephew, Shaun, for a while now. She kept insisting that they meet...

Maybe I'm not the only evil one living in this apartment...

"Um... Sure. Leo and I are going to be out of town for a few days, however..."

"That's alright," Mrs. Jenkins answered, beaming broadly. "Next time you're in the building, give me a call and I'll let the three of you get better acquainted."

"Will do, Mrs. J," he answered a little shakily. "Have a good day."

"You too, Jacob." She nodded towards Leo. "Pleasure meeting you, Leonardo."

As Mrs. Jenkins turned and headed back up the stairs to her top floor apartment, Jacob couldn't help but notice the slight spring in her step.

Leo leaned slightly towards him. "Do I sniff her rear now?"

...

"No," he muttered, taking Leo's paw and guiding him down the stairs.

They made their way out the front door and into the side alleyway beside the apartment building. The metal jungle which was Shellington surrounded them. Curving metallic highways were suspended hundreds of metres above the ground just to supply people walkways. Cars zoomed in midair along perfectly assigned lines. Even as the apartment building rested on a street that was built about 500 metres above ground level, there were still many more buildings around them that shot well into the sky.

In fact, a current project of the Rillotian government is to construct what they called 'the Space Elevator' - essentially a large cargo lift that could bring materials from the surface of the planet up to the international space station currently being built around Mortaelis entitled 'the Black Ring'.

As they turned into the alleyway, Jacob removed a pile of discarded boxes to reveal a plain, white door that had been torn from whatever building it used to belong to.

He pressed a paw against it and said, "Train 54, Express from Pollenburn to Graesham, carriage 4, compartment 6." Once done, he pulled open the door and stepped through.

The four individuals in the compartment looked up; a cougar with a rather expensive perm, a slightly paunchy bronze-scaled dragon, a tall, athletic coppery-furred fox and lastly, a shy, slim doe. The cougar - Taylor Yates - had a holographic newsprint in his paws; basically a large panel of light that displayed current news like the archaic newspapers of old but dissipated after a certain amount of time.

"So, what's new?" Jacob asked, sliding in beside the cougar and snatching the newsprint.

"Just the usual MODD propaganda," the fox, Joanna Swan, replied lazily. She waved absently at him and turned towards the window. The scenery had shifted from the metallic landscape of Shellington to the rocky, near-barren landscape of the lands surrounding Graesham. "They're really playing up the Space Elevator and Black Ring development."

"Right... Of course..."

"What's the 'Black Ring'?" Leo asked, sitting opposite to Jacob. He was so big that their knees actually brushed and Jacob had to fight the overwhelming sensation to hug his mate.

"It's a massive space station being built around our planet," Max - the dragon - answered. The bulky dragon puffed out his chest and began proudly advocating MODD. Despite the fact they were essentially secretly wanted fugitives, he still had this dogmatic belief that MODD wasn't all bad.

Which, in a sense, was true. Not all of MODD was bad... just... misguided or trapped.

"The Black Ring is a MODD initiative," Max continued, swaying his head smugly. "It's mean to decrease transport time to all sections of the world by 70% due to orbital drops via several commercial Space Elevators, allow for global monitoring and push our civilisation back into outer space!"

It was a long standing belief that at one point or another, civilisation on Mortaelis had come to the point where interstellar travel was entirely possible. Ancient ruins from all over the globe pointed to the possibility that before or even during the Seal War, Mortaelians could traverse the stars. Unfortunately, most of that technology was lost because of the catastrophic war that almost tore Mortaelis apart.

An ongoing 'space race' amongst the various governments of the planet continued and it seemed like the Black Ring Space Station would be the greatest equal launching platform for all nations to launch their galactic ambitions. There had been probes and launches to the moon but beyond that, nothing as enormous as the Black Ring.

But in reality, it was just another hold MODD would have on Mortaelis.

"Funny how you mentioned it's a MODD initiative when this newsprint actually claims it to be an international effort," Jacob said, waving the holographic print in his paws. Max shut his muzzle with a loud click.

They all knew MODD was funding and spearheading the Black Ring project. It was being built using Seals and wherever there were Seals involved, MODD was involved.

"Can we not fight about what we already know?" Kerry asked softly, he eyes drifting back towards the darkened landscape. Her brow furrowed suddenly. "Hey... What's that...?"

Everyone in the compartment peered towards where Kerry was pointing. Jacob dropped the newsprint onto his lap as Spectre came to hover beside him. In the distance was a large patch of grey soil that stretched towards the distant mountains. Even from their distance, Jacob could make out several buildings embedded into the mountain and he guessed that was Graesham.

"Ah, that's the Grey Grounds Cemetery,"_Spectre said, landing around Jacob's neck and curling around him like a white, fluffy scarf. _"If I recall correctly, MODD used to have a training facility up in the mountains close to the town but some SWORD member decided to run off with her lover and ended up destroying a large portion of the surrounding landscape, effectively turning the grounds into a barren, grey wasteland where nothing will grow."

"Sounds a lot like Pollenburn," Jacob murmured. None of the others paid him any heed despite the fact none of them could see Spectre. They all assumed he was talking to his Animus.

"Funny how that works, huh? Except this SWORD agent was actually the then-Elemental Lord's daughter."

Jacob blinked in surprised. "Do tell..."

"From what I recall, about nine to ten years ago, the Elemental Lord's daughter fell in love with a miner's son from Graesham. Apparently, no one approved of the union. So the two decided to run away. Problem is, MODD is good. They caught up with the two but the girl used her Seal to fend them off. No mean feat, I'll tell you that.

"Unfortunately, she was gravely injured in the fight but the boy kept pressing for their freedom. They got to the place now known as the Grey Grounds Cemetery where MODD caught up with her again. The boy was nowhere to be seen. She pooled her entire existence into her Seal but instead of becoming an Unsealed, her power just... exploded_and seemed to 'irradiate' the surrounding landscape as well as destroy the large contingent of MODD troops that had been chasing her down."_

Jacob looked out into the Cemetery. He noted that there were tombstones littered there and he guessed they were erected in memory of all those MODD troops that had been killed in the coup that had taken Graesham. Part of him wanted to break down the window and shout 'You go girl!' at the top of his voice while the other felt pity for those MODD troops that were just doing their job and got caught in the whirlwind of chaos and destruction that usually surrounded the Seals.

"Sounds like she was an idiot," he murmured.

"What!?"_Spectre cried, uncurling from around his neck and hovering in front of him. A clear, angry expression was etched on his face. _"How could you say that!? What happened here was a tragedy for both parties!"

"If you want to run away, you usually try not to get caught," he answered, picking up his newsprint again. "I mean, chances are, she did something stupid like leave a note for her father telling him she was running away with her boyfriend."

Spectre didn't answer and neither did he land on Jacob's shoulder again.

Jacob was just getting to the part of the newsprint where MODD was going into day 7 of their 'Pollenburn Disaster' coverage when -

BOOOM!

Crrrack!

Kerry's scream was accompanied by the sound of the train's windows shattering. An odd, turtle-like creature standing on it's hind legs with two-dimensional limbs leapt into the compartment.

Can't I go one_train ride without being attacked by Unsealed?_

Jacob got up and seized the turtle Unsealed's head with one hand. The creature seemed to freeze in shock and never got to retaliate as he quickly threw it out the window.

"You guys take care of any Unsealed in the carriages," he ordered, leaping up onto the broken window. "I got any of these guys that come in from outside."

"Not without me!" Taylor shouted.

"Or me!" Leo chimed in.

Leo, Jacob expected to accompany him. They were in the same 'pack' after all and they were mates. It filled him with this odd, tingling sensation that he couldn't quite understand. It felt good but at the same time it left him with worry over Leo's safety. The kid - he was only eighteen - was ridiculously naïve and there was some instinct in Jacob to make sure Leo's innocence wasn't stolen from him. On the other hand, the dominant, logical part of him just said the guy was eighteen years old. If he wasn't wise to the world at that point, he should just put on a pair of XXL Adult Diapers and leap into the nearest crib.

But with Taylor... He didn't understand why Taylor would want to accompany him...

They had been bedmates before... was it possible that Taylor was now jealous?

Oh this'll be fun.

Jacob gripped the edges of the window and leapt up onto the roof of the train. Countless of those turtle-like Unsealed came flying in from all directions, emitting a loud, ear-splitting screeching noise. He immediately pulled up his headphones and placed them over his big, triangular ears, switching on some soft, soothing, classical piano music. Reaching into the inside of his coat, he pulled out a pair of high-silver, wraparound sunglasses and slipped them over his eyes.

A high-tech display instantly flashed before his eyes. They identified the Unsealed as 'Pebbles' and warned him against their 'spinning top attack'...

...whatever that means

Taylor and Leo leapt up from the carriage and flanked him.

It was the middle of the night and Jacob could see the stars above him. Even in the near darkness, however, he could make out the solitary figure lying on his back in the middle of the carriage roof two carriages away. Pebbles were streaming in from the front carriages, diving for the hapless civilian.

What the hell_is a civilian doing on the roof!?_

"Hey you!" Taylor shouted. "Get up!" The cougar reached to the metal rings that were attached to his shoulders. On the outside, they just appeared to be a cool accessory but in reality, they were a pair of bladed rings known as 'chakrams'.

Each of the Branded had their weapons hidden on their person at all times. Leo's weapons were a pair of metallic gauntlets that were currently hidden as a pair of tight-fitting bracelets around his wrists. The instant he charged forward to the rescue of the civilian, the bracelets sprang forward, encompassing Leo's huge fists in metallic gauntlets with silvery edges.

Jacob held back... because there was something... odd about the civilian especially when the guy sat up.

A wolf... A wolf with jet-black fur and short-cropped golden-blonde hair. Sapphire blue eyes were wide in confusion. The guy was shorter than Jacob, about 6'2'' or 6'3''. Slimmer too. Beneath the jacket and denim pants he wore, Jacob could make out an athletic build. However, he didn't look very much of a fighter.

Still... his features were...

It was like looking into a mirror.

Pebbles landed on the carriage just behind the wolf. Their red eyes flashed and they leapt into the air, tucking their heads into their emerald-green shells. Their blade-like limbs spun around their shells, turning them into something resembling a bladed top.

They all swept towards the hapless wolf.

"No! Get back down!" Taylor shouted, waving his chakrams.

Leo surged forward, fangs bared. "Behind you!"

The wolf turned around and his jaw dropped. "Holy -"

Jacob's fingers twitched but he refrained from summoning his two specialised weapons. Truthfully, while he was somewhat concerned for this look-alike, he really didn't care that much for him. Tactically, if the guy got killed, that would slow down the Pebbles and give them a chance to get rid of the Unsealed.

Unfortunately, the wolf had enough sense to quickly duck, pressing himself against the metal of the train. The Pebbles sped right past him.

Damn idiot... Why couldn't he stop the Pebbles with his body...?

Jacob clicked his fingers and light erupted from the disc-like extensions on the palms of his gloves. Two large swords appeared from the light; one straight forward longsword which he held in a forward grip and the other a large, thick enlarged combat-knife-like weapon that he held in a reverse grip.

He pointed his longsword - Radiance - towards the oncoming Pebbles and pulled a secret trigger around the hilt. The weapon peeled open and -

Zap!

... shot a searing bolt of light from the barrel that formed the core of the weapon. The laser blasted through the Pebbles, scattering their remains into the winds. One shot was all it took and the group of six or so were instantly gone.

Leo and Taylor scrambled to the prone wolf and helped the guy to his feet. Taylor patted the chest of the stranger while Leo did what Leo always did when meeting new people unless restrained.

He bent down... and sniffed the wolf's crotch.

Jacob took some grim satisfaction at the wolf's startled expression but that quickly faded as he more of the Pebbles began streaming in around them. There were dozens of them. The train shook beneath his feet and there were a few explosions that he guessed - and prayed - was Joanna and the others beating back the Unsealed down below.

"Hey!" the strange wolf exclaimed, quickly slapping Leo's nose.

The big Tribal stood back up, a slight frown on his face. "That is very odd... He smells like you, Jacob."

Jacob flicked his gaze briefly towards Leo before turning back to several Pebbles that were quickly encircling them. He was pretty darn sure he had a unique smell - apparently, he smelled like 'crystals' though what crystals smell like, he had no idea. He never wore cologne or even deodorant for that matter. As far as he was concerned, he had never met anyone else that smelled like him.

He felt the eyes of the strange wolf on him and it sent an odd, tingling sensation down his spine. Something told him he should know who this guy was. There was something oddly familiar about him.

No. Focus. Gotta beat the Unsealed.

He found it also odd that Spectre wasn't talking to him... then again, their last conversation didn't end so well. For the briefest of moments, he glanced towards the wolf and their sapphire blue eyes locked. A strange twang hit his heart and it filled him with a sense of... of...

... longing?

He wasn't sure what it was... He just felt suddenly empty and that somehow, this guy could complete him...

"That's great," Jacob grunted, glancing away back towards the circling Unsealed. He gripped the blades of his swords tightly, ready for the attack. "We can explore our similarities after we defeat the train-threatening Unsealed!"

"Train," the odd wolf replied. His voice was a little higher than Jacob's but they held that same... tonal quality. Just those few words gave Jacob - who was a master of the Elements of Light and Sound - a sound comparison between his own speech and this wolf's.

The conclusion:

They were almost the same.

He had no idea why he was comparing himself to this wolf... In many respects he sounded more like Taylor than anyone else but still... The idea of their voices being similar...

... it send that shiver down his spine again.

"Get back down to the compartments," Taylor urged. "We got this."

The wolf hesitated. "But I -"

The Pebbles all began closed in around them. Jacob snarled. "Tayl!"

Taylor gave the wolf a slight shove and leapt beside Jacob, readying his chakrams, small sparks rising against the red metal. "I got your back, Jay!"

With a swift nod towards Taylor, Jacob bolted forward and hacked through the oncoming Pebbles. They were easily dealt with but their numbers were great and their range of attack terribly wide. Dodging them was a task on its own.

Leo suddenly surged past them both, black lightning dancing between his two gauntlets. Despite his bulk, Leo was frighteningly fast and he dodged the Pebbles with surprising ease. He jumped into the air, somersaulting right above a Pebble. Just as the Unsealed slipped beneath him, the Tribal uncurled form his tucked form and slammed the creature to the ground.

ZAP!

Black lightning blasted out of Leo's gloves, destroying the Unsealed instantly.

Taylor swiftly danced between the creatures, built more for agility and speed than either Jacob or Leo. Where Leo focused more on brute strength, Taylor was all about dexterity. Flames encircled his chakrams but despite this, he was not burned. He spun and twisted swiftly, slicing through the Unsealed much easier than either Jacob or Leo could.

The Pebbles were aligned with the Element of Earth which made them naturally weak to Fire which Taylor specialised in.

Glad he came along...

The creatures posed little trouble to Jacob as well who deftly dispatched them with carefully placed slices and blasts of light from Radiance.

More Pebbles came streaming in from the night sky.

"Alright," he growled. "That's it..."

He dismissed his swords, letting them slide back into his palms in a flash of light. Once the Pebbles were close enough, he kicked up all his speed and bolted straight into their midst. With his blades outstretched, he spun around...

BOOM!

A shockwave erupted from all around him, sending the Unsealed sailing away and smashing into the ground. He clicked his fingers again and his swords returned. His senses screamed and he quickly spun around, cleaving through six of them in three swift slashes from both his blades. Beams of light shot out of Radiance and cut through the Unsealed with ease.

One beam missed an Unsealed and the creature pounced on the opportunity, lunging at Jacob in its top-like form.

SWISH!

The beam of light returned in the form of a sword made out of shimmering light. It punctured the Unsealed's shell and pinned it to the roof of the train, utterly helpless.

Jacob spun around, gripping his left-hand blade - Requiem - tightly. A powerful sonic blast surged out of his weapon, appearing as a thin blade of transparent energies. They cut easily through the surrounding Unsealed and avoided both Taylor and Leo with ease. As he spun, he caught sight of the dumbfounded wolf that still stood on the train roof!

"What are you still doing here!?" he shouted, locking gazes once more with the odd wolf. He ignored the odd sensations running through him. "Get down to the train!"

"But -" the wolf protested weakly.

He better not tell me that he's scared!

"GO!"

Only then did Jacob see that the wolf was actually armed... with an odd looking sword no less. It appeared like someone had stuck two handguns together back to back and then a blade had been pulled out from between the two with the barrels of the gun flanking the gun itself.

The wolf brought up his sword, pointing it straight at Jacob -

What the -!?

BOOM!

Jacob instantly ducked. He felt the brush of fire against the back of his neck and he spun around instinctively. The last vestiges of a Pebble vanished in the flickering flames.

Did he just...?

Zzzzip!

A small sparkling crystal shot past his left ear. He followed its trail into the middle of the turtle-like Unsealed. In the briefest of seconds, there was a flash of light and that odd wolf appeared from the flash. Flames erupted from around his blade and the wolf spun around in a circle, burning all the Pebbles around him. His moves were swift and agile like Taylor but strong like Leo's. The wolf danced back and forth, cartwheeling and somersaulting in the perfect dance between offence and defence.

It was actually fairly impressive.

A little... girly but impressive nonetheless.

The Unsealed backed away, once again returning to the circling the group. More seemed to just continuously flood the area, forming a cloud of spinning, green tops.

Jacob stood up and scrambled to the side of the newcomer. "Please tell me you're not from SWORD."

The wolf gave him a confounded look. "I have no idea what 'SWORD' is." He levelled his blade at the circling Unsealed. "I've got two swords though."

Jacob bristled a little. He couldn't believe that this arrogant bastard was holding back on purpose! He could imagine that the guy was just lying on the train, lounging about and getting ready to do some flashy attack to save the train.

Typical MODD.

"Then pull out your other one!" Jacob barked as Taylor and Leo came striding in beside him, pressing their backs against him.

There was an evil glint in the wolf's eyes.

"Sure. Help me with my pants."

Jacob balked for a second and stared murderously at the wolf. He couldn't believe this guy was making lewd jokes when there were people dying! He was tempted to throw the guy into the Unsealed or tie him to the rear of the train and see if he was still cracking jokes.

Taylor had the same look.

The odd wolf shrugged. "Sorry. When I'm stressed and not having my heart broken, I tend to make jokes."

BOOM!

The wolf pulled the triggers of his sword, sending bursts of flame into the masses of the Unsealed, burning a large hole into their midst.

Taylor lost his look of anger and chuckled. "Great. We got another Fire-user. This'll make it easier!"

That was a good point...

An idea hit Jacob.

"Spread out and keep them from getting to the civilians below us!" he cried. "Tayl, go with Leo to the rear!" He shot a penetrating look at the new guy. "Newbie! You're with me!"

The wolf looked startled. "What -?"

Before he could finish, Jacob was bolting towards the front of the train, blades flashing and shooting beams of light into the Unsealed. He was faster than the sorter, slimmer wolf and that gave him a bit of grim satisfaction.

They both came to a halt in front of a large wall of the Pebbles and struck out at the Unsealed. Five of the Unsealed came speeding towards Jacob immediately but he quickly spun dove forward and rolled onto his back. The instant the creatures were above him, he blasted them all with beams of light from Radiance.

He flicked his gaze towards the other wolf and was surprised when the supposed non-SWORD fighter, jumped into the air and summoned a dozen orbs of flame around him.

"Burn!"

The wolf swung his blade like a baseball bat and sent the spheres shooting down onto the train, consuming the Unsealed in a fierce conflagration that illuminated the night sky.

A burst of light erupted beside Jacob and he jumped when the wolf appeared beside him.

A begrudging smile crossed his features. "Heh, not bad there kid. Nothing on par with SWORD. So I guess you're with ExIT?"

The wolf cocked his head to the side in confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

BOOOM!

The entire train suddenly shook violently. Jacob managed to keep his footing. A huge Unsealed landed a few metres in front of them, curling its long, serpentine tail around the train and seizing it securely. Rising to about four storeys in height, the Unsealed possessed four, long, muscular arms with a large, silvery sword gripped in each. While its scales looked hard and diamond like, it had this odd, greenish tinge to it that made it look more like some sort of rubber. Black and green armour was wrapped around its impressive torso with a large help adorned by a crown of leaves sat on its head.

A Seal was engraved on the forehead of the snake.

Great... just what I need.

CREEEEEAK!

The train beneath his feet jerked to the right suddenly and Jacob grit his fangs together as he fought to maintain his balance.

"He's going to derail us!" the wolf beside him shouted.

"What was your first clue?" Jacob murmured, his eyes scanning the creature. His sunglasses could not identify the species much to his dismay.

Guess I'll have to do this on the fly!

A loud roar erupted from the Unsealed. It's jaw sprang open and a jet of green liquid erupted from deep within its throat. Jacob instinctively dove towards the edge of the train, letting himself drop off the edge. Quickly, he bolted across the length of the train's flank, his body parallel to the ground. He reached the Unsealed's tail and delivered two quick slashes to its hide before scrambling up its spine onto its back.

The Rockslide - for that was what he decided to call the Unsealed - spun around and brought one of its swords crashing down -

CLANG!

Jacob scrambled to the side of the wolf who looked utterly dumbfounded. He noticed a small gash across the snake's tail which he guessed the wolf had attacked.

"You know," he muttered, "for a MODD agent, you suck."

The odd wolf growled at him. "I'm not with whatever organisation you're with!"

Now that was an interesting little fact...

So not with MODD... and yet able to use the Elements and with a degree of skill... That certainly piqued Jacob's interest.

"I'm not with MODD, kid," Jacob chuckled.

At this point, the wolf looked royally annoyed. "I don't even know what 'mod' is! Can we just please get rid of the freaky snake monster so I can get off this train and go back to my own world which is currently being taken over by a complete nut job that's trying to turn it into his own personal gay fantasy playground who also happens to be my former-best-friend!?"

...

Jacob remembered this guy admitted that when he was stressed, he made a lot of jokes. So he decided to take that completely random outburst as one of those jokes.

It wasn't funny anyway.

He narrowed his eyes at the wolf, examining him closely. Again, there was that odd tugging in his heart... "You're crazy."

Another roar cut though their conversation and Jacob turned lazily towards the Rockslide as it swung it's four swords towards then, making a wall of razor-sharp metal. The wolf jumped up and somersaulted backwards away from the attack. Jacob instantly brought up his two swords and -

CLANG!

His arms stung a little from blocking all four blades but it was far from damaging. Jacob was actually a little surprised the creature's attack was somewhat weak.

A black and blue blur sped over him as the strange wolf vaulted over him and landed on the stopped blades. Seeing the wolf's intentions, Jacob drove the blades into the train roof, pinning them temporarily as the wolf bolted up the length of the blades, up the Unsealed's arms and launched himself at the creature's head.

The wolf plunged his sword straight into the eye of the Rockslide. A scream of agony split through the air as the Rockslide threw its head back and sent the wolf soaring away from the train!

Jacob had a terrible vision of the wolf's prone and splattered body on the ground, joining the countless bodies lost in the Gray Grounds Cemetery.

Thinking fast, he drove his blades through the swords of the Unsealed, pulled up his left sleeve and gripped his left shoulder. A bright symbol glowed against his black fur. The eight-pointed star that had a long, lower 'leg' that curled down to his forearm let out a brilliant glow that concentrated itself into a ball in his paw.

"Spectre!" he cried, throwing the sphere straight at the falling wolf.

The sphere shattered and Spectre came surging out in a flash of light in his full, Animus form. The titanic, white wolf with black wings easily caught the falling wolf, letting the lupine land on the black and gold saddle on his back.

Grinning grimly, Jacob retrieved his blades just as the Rockslide did the same. They squared off against one another, eyes locked. The Rockslide let out a loud his and spat a stream of its acidic saliva straight at Jacob. Sensing what the Unsealed had planned, Jacob rolled to his right. Before he finished his role, he drove Requiem into the train roof and let his momentum take him spinning around the weapon like it was a pole. The Unsealed's blades came crashing against the weapon, bouncing off the nearly unbreakable metal and missing Jacob entirely.

As he came to a complete 360 turn around Requiem, Jacob pulled himself towards the ground, pulled Requiem out and charged at the Unsealed! He leapt at the creature's armoured chest and lashed out with Radiance, cutting through the armour and into the flesh of the Unsealed. The next second, he spun, slammed Requiem against the exposed armour and pulled the weapon's trigger.

BOOM!

The shockwave send him soared well away from the Unsealed - a whole carriage away - as the Rockslide staggered in place.

CREEEEEAK!

Uh-oh...

Moving the Unsealed, even inadvertently was a bad idea. Its tail was still securely wrapped around the bulk of the train.

So either I chop off that tail or I don't move it.

Yeah, I like chopping stuff.

Gripping his swords tightly, Jacob sped forward at high speeds. The Rockslide recovered too slowly as Jacob was instantly slashing into its tail and lower have of the body, spinning and slashing to keep his eyes on his surroundings while still attacking.

From the periphery of his vision, he saw two of the blades coming at him but at the same time a small crystal comet shot towards him from where Spectre and that wolf stood. He thought he knew what that crystal meant... and he put it to the test.

Quickly, he jumped back and crossed his blades -

CLANG!

...

There was no biting pain against his back.

Glancing over his shoulder, he saw the wolf blocking the other blade of the serpentine Unsealed with his own blade. The lupine looked a little shaky, however.

"I see you've finally decided to join me," Jacob muttered, keeping one eye on the new wolf and the other on the serpent's head and two remaining swords.

"You looked like you needed help," the wolf answered with an edge of arrogance.

Confidence... Typical MODD.

"I could've handled this by myself," Jacob said with a faint snort.

A loud hiss hit his ears and he spun back towards the Rockslide just as a large spray of the Unsealed's green acidic goo came spraying towards them! Jacob jerked to the left but to his surprise, the wolf remained in position and held out his paw towards the spray. The saliva froze in midair and collected into a single, viscous orb.

What the...?

"Spit on this!" the wolf shouted.

With a flick of his wrist, the corrosive sphere sprang back towards the Unsealed and splattered all over the serpent's face. Black smoke rose out from the creature's remaining eye as it and the Rockslide's helm melted away in the embrace of the Unsealed's own acidic spit.

Jacob was dumbstruck. "You can control Water and Fire?" he demanded, staring at the newcomer. "What are you? An Elemental Lord?"

He realised that was probably the last thing he wanted to ask.

If this guy was an Elemental Lord, then Jacob had just admitted to him that he wasn't part of MODD and yet possessed the power of one that did belong to MODD.

Damn...

I may have to kill him...

"Don't kill him, Jake!" Spectre cried, back in his invisible, shoulder-wolf form.

Why not?

"Just don't. Trust me on this one."

Jacob had always been wary of people who said 'Trust me'. It always sent off alarm bells in his head. If a person was to be trusted, they didn't need to say 'trust me' unless they needed to convince someone to trust them.

But this was Spectre after all...

You've got some explaining to do.

Spectre remained silent.

Just as well as the wolf said, "Nope. Just the gut that's better than you."

Fire suddenly surged through all of Jacob's veins and he bristled. He growled at the arrogant pup standing next to him.

"Better than me, huh?" he challenged. As if sensing the plight of their master, more Pebbles came flying in from all around them. "Tell you what? The one who kills the most Unsealed is the better wolf."

That fire turned into a degree of confidence. He wasn't aware of what his wolf was capable of but some 'competition' might actually be useful. Jacob considered it an opportunity not only to observe his rival's fighting styles but also his weaknesses. If they did end up fighting, at the very least, he'd have some information on this guy.

He didn't even know the wolf's name.

"Okay," the wolf answered with that irritating overconfident tone. "Oh and the one who wings gets the ass of the other."

If Jacob had bristled before, now he was on the very of leaping back in horror with all the thick fur over his body standing on end. His tail was even fluffed out. "What!?"

"You hear me," the wolf answered with a cheeky smirk. "When I win, I get to rape you. Though, it wont be rape if you're willing."

Jacob was on the verge of panic. On the same day he ran into the dilemma concerning the distances he was wiling to go for Leo, he now has to compete against a guy who could control the opposing elements of Fire and Water for the right to the loser's anal cavity!

A thousand possibilities ran into his head.

If he agreed and lost... what would Leo think of his Alpha being mounted...? Would Leo still be his mate!?

And what if he agreed and won... Would he actually have sex with this total stranger?

No... No I won't.

I'm with Leo now... We're mated and there is no way in hell I'm going to let this jackass ruin that.

So, I'm going to win and when I do, Leo and I are going to tear his ass open until it bleeds a river and let him drown in it!

That'll show him for trying to tempt me.

"Deal."

The instant he said that, he turned and bolted straight towards the Unsealed, hoping to catch his rival off guard. He felt something brush his right arm. The wolf was right there beside him! They shared exactly the same thought!

Damn... He's just as evil as me.

However, Jacob was much faster and he kicked it up to maximum gear, reaching the nest of Unsealed way ahead of his rival. He put the extra speed to good use, slicing and hacking through the Unsealed faster than even they could retaliate. With every slash, he worked up a momentum, his blades cutting through his foes faster and faster with every attack.

"Ten!" he shouted, cleaving through an Unsealed with both blades. He hurled both swords forward, cutting through two more Pebbles before surging forward and snatching both of them from the air in mid-flight. "Eleven! Twelve!"

Suddenly, the rival wolf jumped into one of the spinning Pebbles. Using the creature like a bladed skateboard, he drove it through many others, circling Jacob and clearing the immediate area around them.

"Whooo-hooo!" he shouted. The wolf pulled up his gun-blade and fired it into the Unsealed, setting them all alight.

Crap... I forgot he could manipulate Fire...

Damn... I might actually lose this one!

The Unsealed stopped and the wolf jumped and sliced it in half. He stood cockily in front of Jacob, one paw on his hip and the other gripping his sword like a cane.

"Let's just call that 'twenty', shall we?"

A spark of irritation crossed Jacob's mind and he was tempted to show this cocky bastard 'twenty ways to die'. "Don't get overconfident." He quickly snapped Radiance onto Requiem, combining his two swords. "Watch this!"

He funnelled raw strength into his blade, brilliant, white light encased the weapon, extending the weapon's edge to a massive twenty-five metres in length. He lunged forward and made a single, horizontal slash. The Rockslide screamed as the combined weapons sliced cleanly through it, right across the chest and through the countless Pebbles around them.

The remaining Unsealed screeched in dismay and quickly fluttered away, retreating from the battlefield. Jacob grinned grimly as he watched many more shooting out from the windows of the train and heading towards the mountains away from Graesham.

Tail wagging, he turned towards the odd wolf. "What do you think of -?"

"Jake!" Spectre screamed. "Look -"

BOOOOOOM!

*****

Jacob felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his chest when consciousness began creeping its way back into his mind. He was tempted to just succumb to the pain and let go of his thoughts but his body wouldn't allow it. The pain intensified with each passing second, making them seem like hours. He could feel his unnatural regeneration closing the wound in his chest and healing various parts of his body.

Slowly, strength returned to his facial features and he managed to crack open his eyes a little. The battle had drained him of some of his strength but not all. However, recovery was sapping him of that power. He was momentarily afraid that he might not be able to fully recover.

"Jay!"

Tayl...

He heard a soft whimpering behind his left ear and he instantly recognised Leo. Instincts took over and he slowly wrapped his arm around his mate's firm neck. Leo whimpered even louder and his strong arms wrapped around Jacob's chest tenderly. Another pair of arms helped him rise to his feet and when his eyesight finally returned, Jacob found himself in a vision of hell.

The train lay wrecked all around them. Bodies lay strewn everywhere, half-burned or half-buried under the flaming debris of the train.

"Where...?" he choked.

"Everyone's here," he heard Joanna say. The strength returned to his neck and he managed to gaze behind him.

His friends remained relatively untouched. There were a few other civilians around them - about twenty or so - but nowhere near as many people that had boarded the train. Jacob thought he should have felt guilty that he wasn't able to protect any of those that died but he was overcome with relief that his team had survived... Even Max, begrudgingly.

He grunted as the hole in his chest fully healed up and he managed to stagger onto his own two feet. Leo whimpers again, nuzzling him tenderly. Small bolts of electricity darted from Leo's paws into Jacob's clothing. The marvellous feature of mythril V5 was that by applying a short electrical current through it, it could repair itself. His tattered and torn clothes quickly mended themselves, leaving him with not a scratch.

"What..." he croaked, feeling his throat terribly dry. "What happened...?"

"Some huge fireball came shooting out from somewhere in the planes," Kerry answered, her eyes cast towards the distance. "I managed to save some civilians."

He didn't want to ask how she managed that. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and he guessed that while he felt nothing for those that had died, she more than made up for it. It looked like she had been crying too.

"Anyone know where that fireball came from?" he asked. Only then did he notice he had his arm firmly wrapped around Leo's waist. Nothing in him compelled him to let go. The warmth from Leo's body was oddly comforting.

"Just out there somewhere," Max said, nodding towards where Kerry was looking. "Funny thing is... I think the Unsealed knew..." He dropped his voice a little so that the distraught survivors who had pulled away from the team could not hear. "Just before the fireball hit, they all just started... fleeing."

Recalling how MODD had the capability to create Unsealed and even control them, Jacob said wondered if the Unsealed had been sent to attack the train... and whoever was behind the fireball saw that they were about to lose and used the attack as a trump card. But that begged the question: who had such power?

Controlling Unsealed was a tremendous task and not many mere successful. Those that were tended to be a little crazy.

Then he remembered his rival.

"Where's that wolf we met?" he asked.

"Your twin?" Taylor asked, confused. "I haven't seen him."

Twin...

Now that he thought about it... They did sort of look similar...

He shook the thought from his head and pulled away from Leo. The instant he turned around, he spotted a figure amongst the flames. Still on edge, he bolted towards the silhouette, ready for combat should the form turn out to be the source of the flames.

It wasn't.

"Hey!" Jacob shouted, running towards his rival.

"You're okay!" Taylor exclaimed in relief.

The wolf looked distracted. "Yeah... I'm fine... What... What happened?"

There was sincerity in his tone and body language so Jacob was inclined to believe him. The wolf looked distracted however. "Something hit is," he explained in a deep growl, his fangs bared. "Whatever it was, it was big." He glanced back towards the wolf. "You sure you're okay... Um..."

Right... I don't even know who he is.

"I never got your name."

For the first time, Jacob caught a glimpse of the wolf's true nature. Panic sparked across the wolf's features. Jacob's warnings were on the verge of erupting. This pup was hiding something.

"Sam."

Jacob lifted his eyebrows dubiously. "Huh?"

"My name," the wolf answered unconvincingly. "It's Sam." No one really believed him. Jacob could see the dubious stares from everyone else. "Wolfe... My name is Sam Wolfe."

After a quick exchange of glances from the others, Jacob decided that this guy - 'Sam' - was lying. The attack on the train, the sudden blast of fire... Yeah, it all pointed to something fishy occurring. Sam was the unknown here and he had to be interrogated. After all, his actions caused the death of countless of people.

Not that Jacob really cared but it sounded good on paper.

Besides, he wondered how Sam would react to him claiming that he will 'rape his ass' for each of the people the guy got killed.

Sam suddenly spun around and reached down his shirt. He pulled out what appeared to be a golden key on a silver string and pressed it outwards. A golden door appeared out of thin air in front of him, suddenly outshining the reddish glow of the flames.

What the..?

"Sam?" Kerry asked, confounded.

Sam flashed a grin towards Jacob and the rest of the group.

"Sorry guys. I gotta head off! It's been fun!"

With those words, Sam immediately turned around, ripped open the door and jumped straight into the swirling mass of colours beyond. Jacob's reflexes took over and he lunged forward. The door shut just before he could reach it and vanished in a flurry of golden sparks.

He staggered back, blinking in astonishment.

"... the hell just happened...?" Max murmured. "Who was that guy? Some long lost brother of yours, Reaper?"

I don't know...

... maybe...

It made some eerie sense... Jacob could teleport through doors... this guy could do the same but he could create doors...

Do I have a younger brother...?

"Stop where you are."

Jacob spun around. The metallic voice that sounded like it was heavily synthesised sent chills down his spine. He recalled similar voices from people who possessed the power of the Seals and had a synchronisation rate of 90% and above. This allowed them to encase themselves in nearly unbreakable armour.

And as such, their voices were slightly altered when they spoke...

A new possibility entered his mind...

Maybe... Sam wasn't the one that attacked the train...

Because certain MODD members knew that MODD was in the business of creating Unsealed... and willingly created the vile creatures, controlling them to further the company's business and reputation.

Jacob gripped his swords -

...Damn...

In the explosion, he has lost_Radiance_ and Requiem... he was unarmed. Manipulating Light and Sound was still in his capabilities but in his weakened state... he wasn't sure how much damage he could do...

Damnit!

In front of them, just beyond the group of survivors, had to be a whole contingent of MODD troops. ANVIL guards stood in their glossy, black, futuristic armour, their kinetic and laser weaponry levelled at the group of six. A few tanks were hovering behind them.

Jacob knew he could take down a group that side. Along with only Leo and Joanna, they had assaulted an entire MODD fortress and saved the prisoners inside. Fifty MODD troops was nothing.

But it was the guy standing at the forefront of the battalion that sent his hopes plummeting.

The man was dressed in black and gold armour from head to toe. A golden star-shaped crest was emblazoned on his chest while is pauldrons were shaped similarly. The black armour he wore was trimmed with gold and everything save for his long, brown tail was covered in the thick metal. A billowing, black cape hung from his shoulders. His features were distinctly lupine but were concealed by a thick help that looked like a snarling' wolf's head with two of the star-shaped designs for ears.

"Look who finally showed up," Jacob muttered, stepping forward in front of the group. Leo was right beside him.

"Jacob," Max whispered softly, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Before you go picking a fight, maybe you should consider that... well... not all MODD is bad..."

He shot Max a critical look. "I've considered it and I don't like it."

But I'm not about to go charging into a battle that I'll probably wind up dead in...

Learned that_lesson the hard way..._

_"Identify yourselves,"_the armoured MODD soldier demanded.

Jacob didn't think there was any point in lying. Whatever happens, he would get checked anyway and under the full scrutiny of MODD, no lie could stand.

"Jacob," he answered shortly.

There was silence...

_"Last name,"_the soldier demanded.

"That's not fair," Jacob answered, crossing his arms. "I just gave you my name. The least you can do is give me yours. It's only polite."

"What are you doing?" Max hissed in his ear. "You want to get out of here not get thrown in jail!"

"Then I won't be able to make my stunning escape from jail," he answered with a brief grin towards Max.

The soldier sighed... and reached for his helm. He pulled it off and revealed the features of a brown and white timber wolf. Oddly enough, his eyes were a sapphire blue too but his hair was an almost white-blonde. Platinum blonde most would say.

"I am Rex Nebula," the wolf answered. "The Elemental Lord of Star."

All of Jacob's hopes instantly went down the drain.

Not only did he get a Seal wielder... but he got a goddamn Elemental Lord.

Brilliant.

What's the Elemental Lord of Star doing in the Elemental Lord of Earth's domain anyway?

"Your last name," Nebula demanded.

Jacob sighed and shrugged, making a helpless gesture. "Reaper."

There were a few murmurs across the gathered soldiers and even the civilians.

Max gave up at that point and took a few steps away from him.

"Jacob Reaper?" Rex Nebula asked, making a swiping gesture with his right hand. There was a flash of stars and from his palm followed by a burst of flames. A shining golden blade shaped like a star with a black hilt appeared in his paws. "The notorious criminal? The guy that has murdered countless people all over Rillotia, stolen billions of Solars and caused misery where ever he goes?"

"Actually," Jacob began, lifting a finger. The instant he moved, all the Anvil troops were suddenly on edge again. "Whatever count you have, add an extra one to that."

Rex's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"Because I killed Gale Winthrop too."

The shock on everyone's features was priceless. Even Max and the rest of his team were horrified... Well... Except for Leo who stood proudly, his tail rigid and ready for battle.

Rex was first to ease out of his shock. "Gale died in a massive Unsealed assault on his hometown of Pollenburn."

Jacob grinned a little, hoping his fear and weariness wasn't showing. He actually leaned a little against Leo to support his weight as his legs were about to give out from underneath him. "Ask Marcus Willows. He knows what happened."

The Elemental Lord didn't move... But lowered his sword.

"That's a bold statement to make, 'Reaper'," Nebula said softly. "You realise you could be in a lot of trouble if you stick with story."

Jacob dug deep for the last bit of ammunition he had. "What's the worst that could happen? I get executed? I get thrown in jail for life?" He watched Rex's expression closely. "I get turned into a Seal by MODD?"

The wolf didn't show any chance of expression except for a small twitch of his nose.

Damn...

"And your companions there?" Nebula asked, nodding towards the others.

"We -" Leo began.

Jacob lifted a paw, pressing it against Leo's impressive chest. He felt the Tribal's heartbeat and tried to memorise it. There was some grim part of him that suspected this may be the last time he will get to feel it but he didn't let that cloud his judgement. He wasn't going to give up... Not yet.

"Were just bystanders," he finished firmly. "They have no association with me."

Leo's eyes widened and he locked gazes with his mate. For a second, Leo looked hurt... then comprehension crossed his features. That realisation was followed with shock and then horror and pain... Leo whimpered but Jacob shook his head and turned back towards Rex.

"They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, puffing out his chest. "I caused this attack. I summoned the Unsealed to attack the train to create a hellish army of my own. I called down the fireball that struck down this train."

Someone in the crowd began to speak. "That's not -"

The person next to her silenced her with a firm stare.

"So you're sticking with that story?" Nebula asked.

Jacob wondered... He considered the possibility that perhaps he may have won over Rex after all... But even then, who would take the blame for the attack? His memories were already filled with heinous deeds so what was another villainous act to add to his record? Maybe he could convince himself he died...

Or, better yet...

I can squeeze out info from Rex as he thinks I'm about to die and when I'm done, I'll make a spectacular break out and humiliate him.

Yeah, I like that plan.

"You are so_evil,"_ Spectre sighed.

"Yeah," he answered to both Spectre and Rex. "I am."

Rex nodded towards several of the ANVIL soldiers and they warily approached him. He didn't resist as they handcuffed him and marched him towards the line of MODD troops. Leo growled but Taylor and Joanna restrained him.

As Jacob passed Rex, he said, "Thanks for telling me your name by the way."

Rex glanced at him and frowned slightly. "Why?"

He flashed Rex a dark grin. "Because now I know what name to carve into your tombstone."

******

Stasis Fields were the common method of restraining any individual. Using powerful Stasis Seals, the Fields restricted movement and left Jacob hovering in midair within a wall of light. Five Seals were used. Two for his paws, two for his legs and the last was the 'Master Stasis Seal' that was drawn into the platform where he hovered.

He could still move his lips and his neck however so he could see Graesham through the windows of the transport heading towards the headquarters of the Elemental Lord of Earth.

The city was built into the mountains itself. Situated in a long valley, instead of the residents building their civilisation along the Shade River, they actually developed along the walls of the valley. A series of complex aqueducts that served both to supply water to the populace and the miners deep inside the caves criss-crossed the valley.

As they passed through the obsidian gates of Graesham, Jacob saw the towering skyscrapers and uneven metallic jungle that was the city. Each tower was built on uneven grounds and spaced differently. Some of the towers were even positioned in odd angles, appearing like metallic spears that had been thrust into the earth. Concrete pathways led them from one to the other, cutting into the mountain itself at times. There was a multitude of tunnels and caves that honeycombed the valley.

The riverbed area, however, looked like it was a slum area.

"Doesn't look like this place is far from ideal."

On Rex Nebula was the only one with him in the transport and the Elemental Lord was sitting on a chair as far away from him as possible, watching him closely.

"Graesham has seen better times," the Star Lord answered. "It's about that time of year for the Fossilisation Plague to hit."

At the word 'plague', Jacob groaned.

It was Pollenburn all over again only this time, he was dealing with the Plague instead of its remnants.

A Seal is probably involved...

"Don't belittle this," Rex growled. "The Plague is serious."

The wolf - still in his armour but without his helm - gazed out into the slums. It was odd that despite the makeshift housing and the dirty streets littered with rubbish, there were some fairly realistic statues everywhere. All looked to be in peaceful, serene positions.

"I don't suppose the Plague has flowers taking root inside people's lungs and erupts from inside them, causing severe and fatal damage while spreading their infectious pollen, does it?"

Rex snorted. "The Pollenburn Plague at least killed within hours. The Fossilisation Plague takes a whole month." His features darkened and he rested his muzzle on his fist. "One entire month where your body starts to slowly turn to rock... Bit by bit. First your flesh... It's apparently like having an itch that you just can't scratch and soon it grows into this searing pain as every cell in your body fossilises. Within the first week, people's outer limbs are completely fossilised and the pain is excruciating because while their skin has turned to rock, everything else remains the flesh and blood."

Rex's eyes darted back to Jacob. "Imagine it, Reaper. Having the capability of moving and yet not being able to because your flesh is bound down."

Jacob gave Rex a sour look and nodded towards the Seal beneath him. "Gee, I really can't begin to imagine that."

For a second, the Elemental Lord looked amused then his expression turned grim again. "Week two sees almost your entire body turned to rock. Only your head remains flesh. The rest is rock. Even your fur in the infected places have turned to stone. Your outer extremities have completely turned to stone. Flesh, bone and muscle.

"Week three, your limbs are rock. You cannot move but your heart continues to beat. The last days are the most painful as your face hardens to rock but you can still barely breathe and your heart continues to beat. Most people actually starve to death before they turn completely to rock. Most choose to be euthanized instead of letting themselves fall into that position."

Rex nodded towards the statues. "All those statues you see there? They're the people who died because of the Plague. They chose to be killed and leave their bodies in serene positions for their families." His eyes darted back to Jacob. "Can you imagine that, Reaper?"

Jacob didn't want to answer.

It was a horrifying prospect...

He was always free to a degree but to slowly have that freedom stolen from him bit by bit until he died...

Wait...

"So is that how you're planning to kill me?" he growled. "Expose me to this plague of yours so that I'll slowly turn to stone and even after I'm dead, I'll be an eternal reminder of all that is bad in the world? You know people will steal my statue and worship me right? I'll end up being an evil god that you can't extinguish."

Of course, that wasn't true but it was an amusing prospect.

"Don't be stupid," Rex answered, rising from his chair. "I have no intention of killing you or even getting you executed."

Okay... What?

"Care to explain the restraints then?" he asked, nodding towards the Seals.

"A precaution," Rex answered with a smirk. "You're still dangerous after all." He turned back towards the window. "Every year, Graesham suffers this Plague. The big black gates in front of the valley are put there to stop people who are infected from leaving. The whole city is in quarantine now. Only MODD troops can come and go as they please.

"The Elemental Lord of Earth, Rocky Groundwater, came back here to see if he can help the ailing civilians. He's made it his mission to find a cure for the Plague for years and stop it but to no avail." Rex turned back to Jacob. "Rocky is a good friend of mine. We were in training together. I vowed to help him too."

Jacob rolled his eyes. "Wow, props to you then. I never knew two of the Elemental Lords were so close. Never knew you guys were that kind of friends either. I mean, you both share common grounds, right? Both of you have a statue fetish?"

That caused Rex to scowl and turn away. "Cute. But here's the thing, Reaper. I don't trust you but for some reason, you know how Seals are made. That speaks volumes."

Wait... Huh?

The origin of Seals was a grim tale. The Eternal Seal was used upon a person and that person became the Seal itself. If the bearer of the produced Seal had a strong connection to that unfortunate soul that was turned into the Seal, then they would become incredibly powerful.

It was a secret kept from most of MODD an almost all the world. Those that knew could do little to reveal it to the public as most of Rillota - hell, the world - relied on Seals. If the source of what made their life 'better' was revealed to all... and everyone who had become so dependant on Seals just boycotted it...

Total anarchy.

Not that Jacob would have minded total anarchy.

Just he didn't want some random killing Balthazar Palmers - the Director of ExIT - before him.

He had a bone to pick with that bastard.

"You know about that too?" Jacob asked cautiously.

"I do..." Rex murmured, pressing a paw against his chest. "My own mother was turned into a Seal right before my eyes."

Shock was the least of Jacob's emotions... Disbelief was there too. "And you still serve MODD?"

"MODD is an ever-evolving, ever-progressing organisation, Jacob," Rex answered sharply. "It's why it's so successful." He paused a moment, his eyes distant. "She was turned into a Seal because she was convinced it was right. I watched because they told me it was for the betterment of all Mortaelis. I think they wanted to start the integration process of letting people know where Seals actually came from.

"Make me like a mascot. If I can get over it, so can others, right?"

"That's just devious,"_Spectre murmured. _"The awful thing is, it works."

Stupid mortal psyche...

"Now that I'm older, of course," Rex said, turning back to Jacob. "I know better but I'm not about to go nuts on MODD... At least not yet. Getting support is the hard thing and convincing Rocky of my intentions was one of my other goals for coming here."

Colour me surprised.

Apparently, Rex was trying to do exactly the same thing Jacob was planning on doing... So that made them... allies?

"What I want to know," the Star Lord said, striding up to Jacob's cell, "is why are you doing this? I'm striving for a peaceful, just world that doesn't rely on the sacrifices of loved ones to make it better. What drives you?"

Jacob shrugged. "Shits and giggles?"

The timber wolf looked taken aback.

"I mean, wouldn't it just be fun to bring down a global corporation?" Jacob answered with an evil grin. "Imagine what that'd do to the economy. What it'd do to the people and the world?"

Rex chuckled softly and wagged a finger at him. "I almost believed you there..." His tone turned serious. "But really... Why?"

"Go on,"_Spectre urged, poking him with his nose. _"Rex seems a nice enough guy. You need allies, Jake. Not more enemies."

But he's MODD...

"Only in name."

...

I suppose that's true...

Turning serious, Jacob said, "Because Gale made it his mission to do exactly the same thing you're doing. He did so much for me and I was forced to take his life because of what the truth did to his mental state. I am not about to let his sacrifice go in vain. Plus, Balthazar screwed me over. He killed my dad, made me think I killed him and then experimented on me until I escaped. Who knows what he did with my mom.

"He's got a lot coming to him."

Rex straightened and crossed his arms securely across his chest. He looked very calculating but also amused at the same time. A half-smile crossed his features as he said, "So... It's not about saving the world and making it a better place. It's about fulfilling a friend's mission and vengeance?"

"Sure. Let's go with that."

Jacob had no intention of going after Balthazar for vengeance. He had long accepted that if he were in that bastard's position, he would've done exactly the same thing. But as it stood, with Balthazar after him, he couldn't just run.

I need to go on the offensive...

But he wasn't going to reveal that to Rex.

The Star Lord didn't trust him and Jacob was just returning the sentiment.

Shrugging, Rex said, "And I take it those people with you...?"

"Others like me. They have their own goals but they're following me to help stop Balthazar."

"Admirable of you to have taken the fall for that."

Jacob grinned. "Well, knowing them, they probably have busted me out anyway. They're pretty darn strong, you know."

"I figured..." The Star Lord snickered. "Well, I guess this makes us allies. We just need to convince Rocky. He'll take my advice but if you were to say something, she'd probably kill you on sight. What do you say you let me do the talking?"

With a shrug, Jacob said, "Knock yourself out. After all, I am currently incarcerated, right?"

The transport shook abruptly and Rex turned towards the door as it slid open. An ANVIL soldier poked his head in.

"Sir, we've arrived at the Emerald Crown."

Jacob inclined his head to the side. "The what?"

Rex ignored him and began speaking to the soldier, making a few gestures towards Jacob.

_"The Emerald Crown is Rocky Groundwater's headquarters,"_Spectre explained.

Several other soldiers came into the transport with a gurney that they used to lift the Stasis Field. Still suspended in the field, Jacob was carried out of the transport with countless ANVIL troops pointing their weapons at him.

Beyond the soldiers was probably the tallest mountain in the Graesham area... and just beneath its summit was a ring of green and black structures; a fortress built to encircle the summit of the mountain. It was, as its name suggested, an emerald crown that sat on the mountain top. With the snow capped summit, it was a breathtaking contrast against the shimmering green of the structure.

Although...

"So..." Jacob began, turning to Rex. "If we're 'at the Emerald Crown', why are we several kilometres below it?"

Being able to see the summit of the mountain meant that he was still too far from the structure itself.

A smirk crossed Rex's features. "Reaper, this mountain is the Emerald Crown."

Whu...?

Spectre hovered in front of him, flapping his wings lazily and gazing at the amazing structure. "When the Elemental Lord of Earth's daughter escaped all those years ago, she managed to destroy half of the mountain you see before you. Over the years since then, MODD has literally rebuilt the mountain to become one of the biggest fortresses in the world.

"What you're looking at is just the surface. Deep inside is a massive_complex. All MODD of course."_

"Thank god I'm in this Stasis Field..." Jacob murmured.

Rex gave him a curious look. "Why?"

He, in turn, flashed a devious grin at the Elemental Lord. "Because now your grunts have to carry me up to wherever it is we're going."

Horror crossed the Star Lord's features.

"That won't be necessary."

Jacob flicked his ears towards the source of the voice. The ANVIL troops all parted perfectly down the middle to give way to four individuals. A sense of awe and respect instantly fell upon the troops and there were several who were on the verge of kneeling down in respect. There had to be at least three metres between them and the four figures.

Leading them was an broadly build brown-furred bear with short, cropped, red hair that looked like it was about one inch away from a buzz cut. He was dressed in the typical long, black MODD coat of an ExIT commanding officer but his coat was trimmed with green. Two, emerald green cloths fluttered down from his shoulder pads, wrapped around his waist and hung down against his thighs like an intertwined curtain. Another long, grass green cloth was draped over his left arm. In that same arm was a huge, rectangular, silver, green and gold tower shield that was equal to his 6'8'' height.

A golden chain was wrapped diagonally across his chest from left shoulder to right hip. Attached to the chain were what appeared to be capsules gilded with gold. He wore a necklace with some sort of holy symbol on it that Jacob didn't recognise. Amongst all the glamour and highly clean armour, however, was a single brown, pouch that hung from his left hip.

There was no doubt in Jacob's mind that this guy was the Elemental Lord of Earth, Rocky Groundwater.

He spoke with authority and there was a bit of a cold, malicious edge to his voice that somehow just demanded obedience.

"Congratulations on capturing the notorious Jacob Reaper, Rex," the Elemental Lord of Earth said, his voice calm but still holding that dark edge. "Did you want a public execution or would you prefer we go through the trial process so that we can go through all his crimes slowly."

His emerald green eyes held a piercing stare but Jacob wasn't fazed. He was used to getting hateful stares. It was part of being a world-wide, notorious criminal.

"Actually, I had another punishment in mind," Rex said. There was caution in his voice as he stepped in front of Rocky, blocking Jacob inadvertently.

"Something more fitting for his crimes?" Rocky asked, lifting one eyebrow.

It took a moment for Rex to pause. "Sort of..."

The ursine's features hardened. "What did you have in mind?"

Rex took a deep breath then offered a cheeky smile. "Community service?"

The ram standing near the back of the group of four instantly spoke up. "What!? That is absurd!"

Unlike the other three, he wasn't dressed in black... In fact, two of the figures weren't wearing normal MODD attire. The ram and the greying gorilla looked more like... like they came from a church. The ram was dressed in long, flowing, white vestments gilded with gold and little else. The gorilla was dressed in black robes with a hood that made him look like he was a monk. Both of them wore the same golden holy symbol that Rocky wore.

"Gabriel," the gorilla said in a gentle, reassuring voice. There was no doubt he was a priest. His movements were slow and non-threatening but each one was heavy with emotion... Unfortunately, it was manipulative emotion. Jacob detected the slight inflection in the use of the ram's name that hinted at disproval and the way the gorilla rested his hand against the ram's shoulder, gently pushing him back was a clear sign of authority.

The ram instantly buckled beneath the gorilla's influence. "I apologise, Father Belford." He bowed and took a step back.

Belford turned to Jacob, his watery, grey eyes appearing weakened from age. "There is repentance for all that seek it. Taking the life of another is only the most desperate judgment mortals can pass onto another for no mortal has the right to slay another mortal. If you" - he turned to Rex - "believe there is a chance for redemption for this poor lost lamb, then I support it with restrictions."

Who is this guy to think he can boss around Elemental Lords...?

"Someone who is a leader of an Elemental Lord's faith,"_Spectre murmured grimly. The winged wolf nodded towards both Rocky and then Belford. _"See how they both wear the same symbol? They're of the same faith and my guess there's more meaning to Rocky's title as 'Saint of the Earth' than his philanthropic actions."

"What do you suggest, Rex?" Rocky asked darkly. Clearly, he disproved and clearly, this 'Father Belford' had significant pull in the Elemental Lord's opinion.

"The Fossilisation Plague is in its earnest," Rex said, waving towards Graesham which was not too far away. It seemed that the Emerald Crown was located at the very end of the valley. "People are dying left right and centre. We need to find a way to stop it without risking anyone. Now if we sent Reaper here..."

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Whoa! Wait! You're going to send me in there to try and figure out a cure for the plague?"

Rex smirked at him. "Why not? You're a wanted criminal. If you died trying to save everyone, you'll actually be praised as a bit of a hero. If you actually found a cure, then that's one step to redeeming yourself."

I'm tempted to just let them execute me...

"Weird how you dying in the line of duty seems to absolve you of all crimes when finding a cure just makes you partially_absolved..."_

Rocky Groundwater chuckled darkly. "I like that idea. Of course, he has to be under constant supervision."

"I'll look after him," Rex said, raising his paws. "Don't want him running off on us."

"Trust me, I wouldn't be running from you," Jacob snarled. "I'd be running straight towards you, sword ready to chop off your head. And I'm not talking about the head with a face."

Neither Rex nor Rocky were scared.

"Very well," the Elemental Lord of Earth said. "We'll start him on light duties first." He nodded at some of the soldiers. "Get him out of that Stasis Field."

Jacob grinned. "No. I got it."

Still grinning, he summoned the power of his Brand. It glowed brightly against his left arm, outshining the glow of the five Stasis Seals around him.

SMASH!

All five Seals shattered like glass. He dropped onto the platform with a heavy thunk to the awe of those around him. The fragments of the Seals around him transformed into heavenly wisps of light that drifted into the sky. From up close, it was possible to see a few faces in that light.

Jacob dusted himself off theatrically and grinned at Rex. "Well? When does my sentence start?"

*****

'Light duties' apparently involved Jacob guarding a large caravan of fossilised individuals towards the Gray Grounds Cemetery.

He sat on the roof of a large truck heading far out of Graesham with Rex standing attentively beside him. The Star Lord never took his eyes of Jacob for one second. It was a little irksome. Jacob constantly felt those two sapphire-blue eyes poking holes into the back of his head, trying to see into his mind.

"Why didn't you just break free?" Rex asked. "You had the power to free yourself. Why didn't you do it earlier?"

Jacob shrugged. "Because seeing your faces as I broke out was funny."

The Elemental Lord growled. "Is that why you're doing all of this? For laughs. You kill people just for some sick sense of amusement."

"Yep." There was no denying that. He loved seeing people scream and gurgle their last especially if they deserved it. He recalled one particular sick bastard who robbed his own daughters of their personalities to give them Seals only to kill them when they failed and then absorb those Seals again like they were nothing more than crops to harvest.

That guy he was glad to have killed and slaughtered like the pig that he was.

"So why are you agreeing to this? I know you've got another trick or two that you can use to escape. It was too easy capturing you. I have no idea why Belford even agreed to have faith in you after that little stunt."

That was something Jacob wondered at as well...

One would think after seeing a notorious break out of a containment field so easily would shake the hearts of countless people and have them pulling the triggers to their various guns. But not so Belford... The monk... or priest... or whatever he was, just laughed and rambled on about 'good humour' being equivalent to 'good faith'.

He instantly didn't like that guy.

Jacob smirked when he saw a flash of red in the distance. He slowly stood up and dusted himself off. "Because... being on a caravan like this is like putting up a sign that says 'Here I am! Come rescue me!'."

For a second, Rex didn't understand what he meant...

... then...

BOOOM!

Jacob leapt into the air just as a fireball struck the side of the truck. The vehicle exploded into a burst of flames and rolled onto its side. He landed on solid ground a few seconds later.

"Jay!"

He spun around, letting instincts guide him. His paws lashed out and -

Thud! Thud!

... he caught both Radiance and Requiem!

Continuing his spin he -

CLANG!

... clashed blades with Rex Nebula.

"I should've know better than to trust you!" Rex snarled, his Seal Weapon pressed against Jacob's crossed blades. He was much stronger than Jacob... Jacob grit his fangs together and tried to hold his ground but bit by bit, he was getting pushed back.

Damn...

Well, I'm not alone...!

A deafening roar cut through the air. Rex jerked his head upwards and threw himself to the ground.

BOOOM!

A massive, four-armed, blazing red lion-like creature landed where he had been standing. The creature wielded two massive hammers and two chakrams. All his weapons were alight with ferocious flames. Prometheus, Taylor's Animus, lashed out at the convoy, cutting through the multiple trucks and scattering their cargo all over the ground.

"What the -?" Rex began.

He never got to finish.

ANVIL soldiers screamed as bright blue stars descended down from the clear, blue sky and collided with them. They were instantly encased in ice or impaled on icy spears. A titanic, armoured, white wolf landed beside Prometheus. Polaris, Kerry's Animus, lashed out with his long, icy-blue spear, summoning frigid waves that froze all in its wake.

Rex tried to rise -

Swish!

... and suddenly had a multitude of weapons levelled at his neck.

All the Branded stood around the Elemental Lord of Star...

The remaining MODD troops, seeing their leader down, dropped their weapons and surrendered.

"The tables have turned," Rex muttered grimly, lifting his paws and dropping his sword. "I guess I should've guessed your friends would've come to your rescue..."

Jacob smirked and kicked Rex's weapon away. "It's a good lesson to learn."

_"Are you going to kill him?"_Spectre asked.

No.

"He would make a good bargaining chip..." Joanna mused, her spinning her sai expertly in her paws. "If nothing else, we could try to extract information out of him and use that to blackmail MODD."

"MODD is a corporation with billions of Solars under their belt," Max countered. "Trying to blackmail them would be like trying to sue the Creator."

True...

Leo bent down and - in typical Leo style - sniffed Rex's crotch. He pawed at Rex's armour. It was clear the Elemental Lord was uncomfortable and tried to shy away but there was little room for him to move. Jacob enjoyed seeing the wolf squirm.

"You know, you should make the Elemental Lords your allies not enemies. Blackmail sounds good on paper but you know the instant your hold on Rex loosens, he'll turn on you."

I know...

"He smells nice," Leo announced, leaning forward and sniffing Rex's neck. "Very strong. Very manly."

"Is he alright...?" Rex asked.

"This is your chance you know..."

Taylor sniggered and pressed his chakrams against the back of Rex's neck, forcing the wolf to draw closer to Leo. "Don't worry. All he wants to do is drink your semen so he can become stronger."

_"What!?"_Rex cried.

Chuckling, Jacob lowered his blades and dismissed them. He held out his paw towards Rex, much to the surprise of everyone else around him. Rex blinked and gingerly took his paw. He pulled the Elemental Lord back up to his feet.

"Here's the deal, Rex," he said firmly. "Everything I told you about Gale and my mission is true. I want to do something about MODD. Not sure what yet but I need the combined strength of the Elemental Lords. I know MODD has some dark secrets and forcing people to become Seals just to fuel their economic empire is just downright wrong. You and I both know that.

"We're in similar boats here. MODD screwed you over but instead of you becoming a notorious criminal like me, you became MODD's pawn."

Kinda freaky if you think about it...

... If I hadn't escaped, I might just have turned out like Rex...

A pawn of MODD... They probably would've convinced me that in order to make up for my 'crimes', I had to serve MODD...

That thought alone built a sort of... rapport with Rex already.

After Rex bargained for his freedom - sort of - and after learning about Rex's past... Jacob was inclined to trust him. 'Inclined' being the operative word. Rex still grew up with MODD and he wasn't sure what the Star Lord's true motivations were.

All he said was that he wanted to gain support from the other Elemental Lords.

But for what?

Did he want to control MODD himself?

What if he wanted to promote a Seal-free world and was allied with the Rebels?

Jacob knew that MODD and the Rebels were two extremes of the same spectrum. Shifting the world to one or the other completely would destroy the world entirely. A good friend of his that died in Gale's rampage told him that... and he was inclined to believe her.

No... Rex is good to have on my side... but I'd prefer to keep him where I can see him...

I don't trust him.

"So..." Rex murmured cautiously. "You're officially making us allies then?"

I don't think he trusts me either...

Shrugging, Jacob said, "I guess you can think of it that way." He held out his paw.

"I hate to think what'd happen to your enemies..." Rex snickered.

"Here's an idea..."

WHAM!

Rex hit the ground hard, rubbing the side of his muzzle. Blood was seeping from his nose where Jacob had struck him. The Elemental Lord was more shocked than hurt and he stared at Jacob, wide-eyed.

_"That's_for sticking me in a Stasis Field."