"I said, on your knees!" Alex commanded. Her tone was harsh, but her voice was shaky; the soldier likely noticed it. She had never held a man at gun-point before. And what exactly was she going to do next? She couldn't just kill him; something about that course of action just didn't sit right in her mind. Something told her to just drop it and leave.

Alex then noticed the growing strain on her arms. Her muscles were beginning to ache; the pistol in her hands weighed at least twenty pounds more than it had a moment ago, and it was getting heavier by the second. Her aim sagged severely. Thirty... forty... fifty pounds. "What're you doing?" she demanded.

"Isn't that gun a little heavy for you?"

The thief gave the stranger a look of bewilderment as she struggled. She could hold onto it no longer; Alex let go of the weapon and it landed solidly on the ground with a hefty whump. With the heavy burden suddenly gone, Alex stumbled back a step and a half. Instinctively, she placed a hand on the hilt of one of her daggers, but hesitated to draw it when the stranger's muffled voice echoed through his helmet again.

"I increased the density of the gravitons in your weapon, making it too heavy to lift. I apologize, but having it pointed at my head makes me nervous. ...Pretty neat huh?"

Gravity magic. What kind of SCORPIA soldier used gravity magic? What kind even could? SCORPIA's pawns weren't equipped with GFs. Then, who was this man?

Wolf appeared from around the corner with Starlit, and the Wolf Pack came into step behind them, and they all approached the pair in the middle of the street. All the while, the armored stranger continued, but Alex didn't pay attention to his words. Her eyes and focus were on the remainder of her escort as the formed up behind the stranger. Wolf came around and stood beside Alex.

"Thanks for the tip, friend. We’re kind of in a rush though, so for right now ‘survival’ will have to do." He turned to Alex and touched her arm. "Hurry, lead on."

Alex spared one last moment of hesitation before nodding the affirmative. "Right, let's go." She took a few steps before breaking into a steady jog, headed down the street towards the rendezvous point. Elia and Kai would have made it there by now, and hopefully they were retracing their steps in the van to meet up with Alex's unit. The others kept pace; Wolf carried Starlit easily, as though she were no more a burden than a basic satchel, and his team followed dutifully.

The street narrowed, and the group had to pack it in tighter. They were all out of time for stealth, so Alex simply prayed they would encounter no more resistance. A ways down the path, Alex heard a call from behind.

"Wait up!" The black-clad stranger's shout echoed down the empty street and carried a considerable distance.

Alex skidded to a halt and spun around; the others did as well. The man was chasing after them, padding down the street with considerable energy, given his heavy equipment.

Wolf scowled. "Damn it, that bastard's going to lead 'em right to us."

His expression was contagious and spread to Alex immediately. She stretched out a hand and aimed her palm at the approaching soldier. She led him a few feet, then dropped her aim. A cold mist swirled about her outstretched arm for a moment before three bolts of solid ice slid from her palm and shot forth. Upon impact with the ground, they shattered to form a slick, icy surface. The running stranger hadn't enough time to react and stepped into the trap. He lost his footing and went down hard.

"No, he won't," said Alex with a tinge of satisfaction.

"Actually, he already did."

Alex spun to face the source of this new voice, and there was no description for the surprise she felt upon seeing who it belonged to. A face from three years in the past, one she never expected to see again--especially not here, not now. Before her and her fleeing comrades stood Asher Nemitz.

---

Three days ago

The office was dimly lit and dingy. It was barren, devoid of any personal items and it constantly reeked of that "just cleaned" smell. Asher Nemitz hated it in here, and so did the four men standing behind him. Likely, so did the one sitting in the swiveling chair with his booted feet resting on the bare desktop, which would explain the state of the room. Asher's superior had never been much for conformity or rules, and certainly never for pencil-pushing or office work. He was a man who lived in the field and only sat behind his desk today because his own superior had explained that it was from here he could impart upon his agents new assignments.

"That makes two this week," said Asher. "Not bad, if I do say so myself."

The man behind the desk, shrouded in the shadows cast by the small lamp in the corner, nodded in agreement. "Not bad at all, Nemitz." He grew silent again. Assuming business was concluded, Asher turned to leave. "Wait. I've got something for you. Something I think you're gonna love."

Asher cocked his head and narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me..."

A wide grin split his superior's face. "Nyx has it all worked out. They'll all be there." His face grew serious again. "This is... a little off-protocol. As in, unsanctioned. This won't exactly coincide with Nyx's plans."

Asher's expression drooped slightly. "I see." He had given everything he had to work his way back into SCORPIA's good graces after his disastrous performance back then. The last thing he needed now was to piss off Declan Nyx.

"Don't worry. You're off the hook either way. Besides, I have a feeling Nyx is going to forget all about our little insubordination when the remaining leaders of the SeeD resistance show up bound and gagged at his front doorstep." He paused and stared at Asher. "Heh. I know that look. I can't afford any messing around, Nemitz. You're gonna bring me all of them."

Asher nodded, an evil smile consuming his face. "Yes, sir." He did love his new job.

… It was uncertain when it happened, but somewhere between yelling for his comrades to wait and the current predicament the Dark Knight found himself lying on the cold hard ground. With a temperature in the eighties and the ground being asphalt, it really should have been quite warm, yet ice had miraculously formed on the ground beneath him. No matter how sure his footing may have been, it was nearly impossible to regain it once he hit the slippery surface. After doing his best (unintentional mind you) attempt at the Charleston the armor clad young man hit the ground with a resounding thud; or was it a clang? To be honest he couldn't recall since his head was ringing from the impact. Many emotions went through him in an instant, but of all them annoyance was the most prominent. The target of this emotion was not the caster however, no; it was directed at a winged demon. The ever faithful companion whom he had been through thick and thin with was now cackling and no doubt rolling on the floor in whatever dimension he hailed from.

… Normally something like this would have led to an argument, but the circumstances quickly changed. A familiar face appeared and the man had the audacity to say that it was his fault that this meeting was able to take place.

Did he just call me a pawn?
Basically
Like hell...

… Rolling to the right the young man removed himself from the frozen patch then stood to face the new arrival. “I led you to them? Do you mean to tell me that the powers that be couldn't find them on their own? Perhaps I overestimated you.”

Crack.

Long before any of them would learn that sound to be the ill omen of a broken bone on the field of battle, a number of children knew that sound to be the sickeningly sweet sound of a bat crushing a ball straight back at the pitcher. The thrower in question was a boy with shaggy brown hair that covered his ears and fell down to mesh with his eyebrows. Leaning out of the way as quickly as possible, he felt the heat of the air as the ball ripped past his ear.

“Luuuucky!” He said in his best teasing voice as he watched the hitter run down the length of the path they’d created in the yard, a line of dirt worn into an otherwise well-manicured lawn that had earned them a few fleeting moments of trouble before adults finally just gave up and let the kids play. Heading down that path was a slender and lanky girl with a shirt that was easily one or two sizes too big for her, the cloth of the shirt and a long wave of blonde hair bobbing up and down behind her as she ran as fast as her young legs would carry her.

Crashing into the fence that signified her “safety” in their makeshift game, the girl turned around quickly and glared at the boy with a stare of death.

“Lucky? Who are you calling lucky? That’s five times in a row,” she said, charging up to him with steps defiant of the fact that he had a few years, a handful of inches, and at least thirty pounds on the girl.

“Geez, relax Elly,” the boy said with open palms extended. “Even I’ll admit it. You play pretty good…for a girl.”

His last words were all that the young girl needed to spring into action. Those charging footsteps turned into a sprint as she lunged herself into the boy. Within a second of contacting with the pitcher, the girl had them both down on the ground with clear intentions of doing anything but fighting fair. Pulling hair, scratching and biting were all fair game as she attacked in a blind rage.

“Hey, cut it out!” A third voice said, another boy stepping forward and dropping the ball he’d chased down. Much older and taller than the other two, this one had a similar hue of blonde hair but instead trimmed close to his head without a hint of unnecessary length to be found. Leaning forward, strong hands reached out and grabbed the young girl by her upper arm beneath the shoulder and jerked her away from the first boy and into the air.

“Put me down, Aiden!” The little girl nearly screamed as she tried unsuccessfully to jerk away, but the fact that he had almost a decade on top of her as well as physical training made it a futile effort to resist. In the end, the girl stopped fidgeting and the boy released her. She gave one last defiant jerk of her shoulder just to show that all the fight wasn’t completely out of her system.

“Lucky again,” the first boy sneers with a grin despite the stinging bite mark on his arm as evidence of the assault. “The rule about not hitting girls gets thrown at the window when little sisters start biting.”

“Shut it, Keiran,” Aiden said with a bark, immediately eliciting a long silence. “Besides, the only one that needed saving was you,” he fired back with his own lop-sided smirk.

“Look! It’s getting dark,” a young Elia Barron said, pointing to a lazy sun starting to set behind the Deling City skyline that nestled in the distance beyond the park near their home on the outskirts of the city, one of the wealthier districts.

“Mom’s probably got dinner,” Keiran said with a shrug, forgetting all about the fight as his stomach started to take over.

Without much need for any other conversation, the three siblings started to head back the short distance to the house where their parents would be waiting. With no warning, Elia run forward and jumped onto her oldest brothers back and wrapped her arms around the front of his neck. Dutifully, he supported her legs and carried the thin girl on as they walked.

“I don’t know why you have to leave. My teacher at school told me that all the wars are over and that we don’t need a bunch of soldiers anymore,” she said, clearly worried about the situation as any precocious seven-year-old girl would be at the thought of her brother leaving for a military academy.

“Ha! Probably got rejected from the Corps himself. That’s why he hates soldiers.” Aiden didn’t seem to have much trouble drawing the world in black and white. Right and wrong. “Besides, that isn’t for another couple of months. Plenty more time to keep the two of you out of trouble.”

“Then why doesn’t Dad still wear his uniform?” The girl asked.

“I told you, Dad’s retired,” Keiran said while tossing the ball up in the air to himself as they walked. “Aiden’s going to the Academy after the summer and I’m going in two years. Maybe then you can get straightened up in school.”

“Nuh-uh!” The young girl said with a kick of her partially-free leg, missing by a good foot. “I’m going to the Academy, too! I’m gonna be a soldier just like you guys.”

Both boys laughed audibly.

“Rrr…You just wait. You’ll see.” She said, sliding off her brother’s back as they came around the corner of the front door to the house house at the side of their father leaning back into his favorite chair.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Whatcha thinkin’ bout?” Kai Letrovan said as he and Elia Barron shared the cramped quarters in the back of the van waiting for the rest of the team at the rendezvous point.

A short breath escaped tired lips, pushing back a length of hair that had been dyed a darker brown. The eyes hadn’t changed much, though.

“Nothing.”

Kai knew better than to press the issue.

A whole group of people had gathered to watch these do-gooders die. Asher would bet money that every single one of them were relieved to see the ‘terrorists’ apprehended. Humans, no matter how good or considerate they claimed to be, think of themselves are naturally judgmental. SCORPIA said they were terrorists, and the masses readily believed it. It was comical really, how easily manipulated these people were.

The hunter watched from inside a closed bookstore on the square, sipping a cup of coffee as if his endeavor for the day were ordinary. For him, it was, but then again, not everyone considered hunting down men like animals as an ordinary career. His men were positioned within the crowd and other buildings surrounding the square. Watch and wait. That was the plan. Asher knew that the renegades would try to rescue the Wolf Pack (He laughed a bit mentally every time he recalled that name. Such an original name). It was just a matter of waiting for them to show themselves.

Surely enough, they did. It took a few moments for him to recognize their efforts, as they did a decent job of making it look like a civilian disturbance, but any normal disturbance would have dispersed much sooner. He watched the scene unfold, even as the FIRST soldiers collapsed, which took quite a bit of discipline. After this, he snuck over to the roof of one of the other buildings for a better view.

After two of the SeeDs ran off, Asher began to grow impatient. His synthetic GF reassured him that he had just to wait for the other SeeDs to exit the building so he could follow them to the others, but that did not keep him from feeling antsy.

“Unidentified soldier has appeared, Hunter 1.” The voice of one Asher’s men filtered through his earpiece. “He’s inspecting the downed soldiers with a technology of some sort.”

He saw the figure making his way up the street, getting closer and closer to the epicenter of activity. Why was he the only one not lying half dead on the ground? When the ‘soldier’ caught sight of the pink haired SeeD easily recognized as Alex Raines. She’d brought herself into the open, probably scouting ahead for the escapees. This ‘soldier’ approached her unarmed, oddly enough. He didn’t seem to be carrying a weapon at all, actually.

Despite having a gun to his head, the soldier was oddly calm. Asher could hear his voice, but he couldn’t understand what the figure was saying. Asher ordered his men to ready for pursuit as he saw the escapees round the corner. Shortly after, Raines dropped her gun, and ran off with the Wolf pack (-insert mental giggle here-) in tow. The figure picked up the gun, and shouted something along the lines of ‘wait’ before following.

More than ready for some action, Asher gave the signal to follow the figure, as following him would keep them a safe distance from the SeeDs so they wouldn’t attract attention. The group of hunters followed from the rooftops so as to maintain a visual on their targets. Raines and the crew rounded a corner into a narrower street that was just perfect for an ambush when Alex and the others looked back.

“ Damn it, that bastard's going to lead 'em right to us."

“Close in, but stay out of sight until my mark,” Asher commanded quietly, a somewhat childish, yet wicked grin on his face. This was his favorite part of the pursuit: the looks on their faces when the poor renegades get caught.

"No, he won't”

He used a haste to pass the group and use a ladder on the side of a building to slide down as Raines dealt with what she perceived to be the greatest issue at the time. Asher then simply drew Lucy from the equipment Synth-Shiva held for him and positioned himself directly behind the preoccupied SeeDs just before they turned around. In that moment, he took a second to mentally congratulate himself on his great timing.

“Actually, he already did,” He smirked as he took in the effects of his sudden appearance. Obviously Raines recognized him, because her face was priceless. The others seemed shocked to see him, too, but Alex’s face was, by far, the most amusing.

“I led you to them? Do you mean to tell me that the powers that be couldn't find them on their own? Perhaps I overestimated you.” This voice came from the figure that had followed the group. Though the comment was meant to offend, Asher had used that method to find other remnant SeeDs. It was a lowly tactic, but it was effective.

“Maybe you do. But it’s not like we would not have found ‘em anyways. We knew they would try to free their little buddies, so all we had to do was watch and wait for ‘em. You just happened to draw their attention so we could close in,” Asher gave a snap, and a moment later his four temporary cronies surrounded the group, one in the back half way between the main group and the mystery soldier.

“Enough of that; I’ve found that words can only do so much when spoken. I much prefer letting my gunblade do the talking,” He hefted his gunblade, blade folded back, “So, SeeDs, I think it’s about time we had a nice violent chat,”

With a slight chuckle, he fired a shot past Alex’s face and into the shoulder of one of Wolf’s little pups.“Take them!”

Four voices roared inside wolfs head, SON OF A BITCH!!

He didn't interrupt the snake as he and the rest of his group checked around them for others,
continuing even after the other snakes crawled out into the open. His team moved around slightly, positioning themselves to engage the targets of their choice.

The lead snake shot first, hitting Lyle in the shoulder, poor aim or sadistic cockiness? he doubted
it was the first one. He didn't need to give orders, they'd been in this situation enough times, they knew what to do.

Each team member made at least two, but no more than three, evasive maneuvers before striking. Kale, his strongest fighter over all took his opponents back in three lightning quick moves and smashed his elbow into the back of his targets neck.

Yukiko, the most agile of the group, had gone low then high, actually leaping over her target,
planting her hands on his head and twisting violently. James and Maverick weren't fast enough,
and had to go back on the defensive. Lyle didn't move to attack, instead hanging back behind James and Maverick

Wolf however didn't engage anyone. He bolted towards one of the buildings and leapt through a window and tucked Starlit somewhere safe, "Can't have you getting your pretty self injured anymore can we?"

"Shut up." she said, a whole variety of emotions in her voice as she stared down at the floor.

He leapt back out through the window and delivered a double barreled drop kick to the back of a soldier who just happened to be standing there.

"Weapons!", he tossed two of the rifles he'd collected to James and Maverick, who laid down a spray of fire, hitting the one attacking Yukiko and sending the other two scrambling for cover.

He noticed the mystery man seemed to fighting on their side and had taken down one of their foes, and the one James had hit didn't seem to be getting back up. So far, so good.

He looked around, but he couldn't spot the head snake. He ran to Yukiko and helped her up, then glanced back towards Alex just in time to see Him stab her from behind.

There was no flashback to similar events, though he'd seen them. There was no memory of shoving the rifle at Yukiko, but he did. There was no thought to acquiring a weapon, but he had. There was no thought, only reaction.

----

Yukiko almost fell over as Wolf shoved the rifle into her arms. His roar echoed through the street as he moved from a crouch to a full run, somehow he managed to grab one of the Hunters weapons without breaking his stride. She raised the rifle and tried to fire it at the leader, but the magazine was empty. She spotted the girls daggers on the ground and grabbed them before falling into Wolfs LOSS, hoping to launch a surprise attack when Wolfs devastating blow was begin dealt with.

The heavy slug from Asher's gun zipped past Alex's cheek. She stood frozen as a painful burning sensation spread over one side of her face. The agonized cry from behind where the shot struck Lyle's shoulder went unnoticed to the girl as she slowly raised her fingers to press against her stinging flesh. They touched something warm and wet. Blood, she realized, as she tilted her head down to see her crimson-stained fingertips. The sight of her blood was transfixing--or, perhaps it was the overwhelming thought that if Asher had aimed but a few inches to the right, the contents of her head would be distributed over the faces of her comrades behind. Was Lyle Asher's intended target, or was it actually Alex? Just how lucky should she feel right now? And should she feel lucky because Asher missed, or because he chose not to slay her outright?

While Alex stood dumbfounded, the others sprung into action. Wolf retreated into a nearby building to stow Starlit safely from harm while his team engaged Asher's men as best they could with nothing but their fists. Kale outmaneuvered his chosen opponent and slammed an elbow into the Hunter's neck, intending to knock him cold; he went down, but stayed conscious and came back at Kale with a powerful straight punch, his long rifle useless at such close range. Yukiko leaped into the vicinity of another Hunter and grabbed his head in an attempt to break his neck, but she was merely a girl, and he was a brute of a man; her minuscule strength could not put enough force into the attack to finish the deed. The Hunter reached behind and grabbed hold of the small girl. It seemed to cost him little effort as he hauled her over his shoulder and slammed her onto the ground, knocking the wind clear out of her lungs.

Alex slowly lifted her gaze to Asher, whose piercing eyes bore a hole through her more devastating than any his weapon might create, and his evil half-grin kept her still frozen in place. Behind her, Lyle backed against a wall and James and Maverick, finding no offensive openings, formed a wall around him. They faced down a third of Asher's Hunters, who raised his rifle just before Wolf came crashing back into the scene, knocking the Hunter to the ground. He bore a pair of extra FIRST rifles and tossed one to Kale, the other to James. James fired a shot that landed in the side of the Hunter attacking Yukiko; the high-powered shot knocked him off-balance and he tripped, tumbling hard.

The fourth Hunter closed in on Alex. He was present in the periphery of her vision, but she was so focused on Asher, and on the barrel of his outstretched gunblade, that she paid him no mind.

Alex!Alex!

The voices of her two Guardian Forces rang as one in her mind, bringing her sharply back into focus. She sucked in a quick breath that sounded more like a gasp as the Hunter brought down an electrified mace from her left. She raised her forearm to connect with that of the attacking Hunter, effectively stopping his strike. But she was not prepared for the overwhelming force of the blow and she instantly crumpled beneath it. Not giving the larger warrior the chance to attack again, she quickly prostrated herself and rolled away. Her left arm throbbed from her previous block and it helped little in lifting Alex back to her feet, but its hand grasped a dagger well enough. Alex drew her weapons in a flash and took a defensive stance, ready to fight off her assailant. Blood still dribbled down her right cheek, but she tried to ignore it.

The Hunter moved in slowly, and Alex took the brief moment to reallocate her junctions, boosting her strength as best she could without sacrificing too much of her best traits. Even with that, the man could likely overpower her, so her best bet was still to avoid struggling with him if possible. He lunged forward with his mace, its energized head humming through the air with deadly force. It was easy to dodge and Alex brought herself right up to him. She twirled one hundred and eighty degrees, using the Hunter's body as an axis, and when their backs touched, she shoved each of her daggers into the Hunter's sides. She aimed for his kidneys, but his thick clothing prevented the blades from digging too deep.

Still, the Hunter yelled loudly through clenched teeth. He tilted his head downward then slammed it back into Alex's. Suddenly, her vision liquified and black spots moved about her sight. The pain in the back of her head was so great and disorienting that she let go of her weapons, still embedded in the Hunter's flesh, and stumbled forward, drunkenly, for two or three steps before toppling over in an ungraceful pile. She struggled to regain her bearings. The Hunter spun to face her, obviously dazed. He shook his head a few times to clear it. A headbutt was always a double-edged sword, but in this case it was obvious who took the majority of the damage.

The Hunter hooked his mace to his belt and let it drop, then took hold of Alex's daggers and painstakingly pulled them free of his sides. His thick hide of clothing had prevented any major damage, but the puncture wounds would pain him for the rest of the battle. Angrily, he raised the knives then threw them straight down at the ground. They clattered and bounced noisily away.

Alex was on her feet now, but was completely keeled over, steadying herself with her fingertips which brushed the pavement. Waveringly, she straightened, but still she needed her arms for balance. The Hunter retrieved his mace and resumed the assault, planning to attack before Alex could fully regain her senses. Playing fair was not something SCORPIA's elite forces were trained to do.

As expected things went from bad to worse. His quest for answers would have to wait since Asher made it clear that diplomacy wasn't an option by firing a round from his gunblade into the shoulder of a new recruit. The battle quickly escalated as Wolf and his team sprang into action, but oddly enough Alex appeared frozen in place. Asher's slug had come a bit too close for comfort literally grazing her cheek, but SeeDs were trained to handle these situations.

What the hell is she doing?
Perhaps the realization of death has struck her. No matter how good the training, it is impossible to tell how someone will react when faced with the reality of it
I suppose you're right, but... thank god she snapped out it!

A sigh of relief escaped his lips as he watched his former comrade engage the enemy. After a quick observation it became clear that these soldiers were highly trained. In fact they appeared to know SeeD combat tactics quite well. Things were definitely looking bad. Alex was holding her own, but it wasn't long before the enemy had the upper hand. They were unprepared for this fight, the elites that had come before were bad enough, but these guys were in a league of there own, and sure enough Alex was at his mercy; and by the look of it he had none to give.

Before he realized it Kryse was muttering an incantation under his breath, the effects of which augmented his speed and agility. With a quick burst he slammed into mace wielding soldier knocking him to the ground. The man recovered quickly however and retaliated by swinging the electrically charged mace at the young man's head. Thanks to his increased agility he was barely able to dodge the blow. Serious injury may have been avoided but his visor was shattered resulting in minor cuts to the face and minor flash bang effect. The disorientation lasted only seconds but it was enough for his enemy to recover from the fall.

An impact hit him in the chest but his armor absorbed much of the blow, though it did little to prevent him from being knocked to the ground.
Kryse this is bad if this keeps up you might...
I'm well aware of the situation Diablos. In fact I'm about to end this. Swor...

The enemy however never came. Instead he returned to his first target. Alex had recovered somewhat from the initial assault and was preparing for the next one. The dark Knight quickly rose to his feet and addressed the attacker. “Lay a hand on her and you die where you stand!” The armored Elite ignored the warning and proceeded forward, his mace poised to strike.

Kryse, I know what you are thinking and it is a bad idea. Remember what Chloe said.
Fuck what Chloe said
Kryse don't...

Diablos' words fell on deaf ears as the young man began the incantation. It was similar to the one he'd used earlier against Alex but instead of focusing on the mace, his target was a much more vital one. The man froze in front of the Thief unable to move; his mace fell to the ground as he clutched his chest in agony. Blood began to dribble from his mouth and his vision began to blur, soon he was on the ground convulsing in pain.

Kryse walked over to the man. “That pain you are feeling is your own rib cage closing in on itself. Your lungs have been punctured and are filling with blood, but don't worry you won't asphyxiate. Your heart will give out before that can happen. You really should have listened to me.”

As terrifying as this was, what was most frightening was the look on the Dark Knight's face. The features were neutral, but the eyes were full of glee. By the time he turned to Alex the man was dead. “Are you alright ?”

“Something is wrong. It shouldn’t have taken them this long,” Kai Letrovan spoke with an edge to his voice. Hands clenched onto the grip of the sleek and powerful quarterstaff turning dark knuckles an ash white. The young man’s head leaned back against the cool metallic surface of the vehicle’s interior but the still craft lacked the comforting vibrations that would otherwise work him into a peaceful sleep to nurse his own bruises. For the moment, there was truly no rest for the weary.

“You’re one jumpy little brat, you know that?” Elia said with an annoyed grin, but her hands betray a similar sense of unease as she too gripped her own weapon, the sniper rifle that had seen her through so many conflicts up to this point and had often been her only companion on long, cold nights waiting in a nest for the right target on the wrong side of a map drawn by the enemy.

The two of them were left with the frustrating assignment of waiting. Waiting for the rendezvous with the rest of the team no doubt making their own daring escape from the facility with their captured SeeD brethren in tow, the same SeeD that had been dumb enough to allow themselves to get captured in the first place. Part of Elia wanted to slap Andrew Khevan on the back of the head for his foolhardy rush into the heart of the lion’s den, but the rest of her didn’t want to give him enough attention to let boy know that Elia actually cared whether the berserker lived or died.

“Yeah, I know,” Kai spoke through an exasperated sigh. “I just don’t like sitting still, ya know?” The boy fidgeted in his seated position and sighed again.

“I’m sorry. Want me to tell you a story?” Elia quipped back at him, but this time the bite was all gone from her words. At the end of the day, she cared and felt responsible for the young man seated across from her. It was Eva’s “fault” that Kai ended up uniting and training under the fugitive SeeD team after everything fell. Back when they were all students together at Balamb Garden, Elia remembered a young and even more rambunctious Kai Letrovan under the tutelage of an older aspiring student herself trained in the arm of polearms – Eva fa Toren. It was no surprise that the young woman was always thought as an excellent candidate for an instructor. Without her, it was likely that Kai would have never made it into the later years of his SeeD career. Then again, none of them could have predicted that the shattered remains of Balamb Garden would be sitting at the bottom of the ocean now, a hollow wreck haunted by the memories of the dead.

That thought, of course, caused her mind to wander to a number of names and faces that she would probably never see again. Phileo Arentus – the stalwart young man that had always followed her around with a mixture of protection and romantic longing that had never been returned. Irvine Kinneas – the sniper and instructor that Elia had learned everything from. So many other names and faces, so many others that would never see what they had become.

Beep. Beep. The electronic chimes caused Elia Barron to fired her head back down. The small computer interface that she’d been using at the beginning of the mission to follow everyone’s progress suddenly surged to life again. She’d thought that it had been damaged beyond repair in the fall. With Eva’s help, Elia had networked the machine to interface with the security camera uplink system for the television station. Now it suddenly began feeding data again.

“YOUR FRIENDS ARE IN TROUBLE.”

The girl stared, partly in disbelief and partly in horror.

“Where is that coming from?” Kai asked with a gleam in his eyes. Finally, something was happening.

“No idea,” the sniper breathed.

Immediately, the screen switched over to a live feed from a security camera catching every second of the battle between her SeeD team and Asher Nemitz’s Hunter regime. Elia's eyes flashed between the flickering image on the screen and blonde woman in front of them in the van. As much as Elia Barron had her personal issues and doubts regarding Eva fa Toren, the woman was a part of their team and the one with the most personal history regarding Asher Nemitz. Handing the device up to the girl, Elia didn't fell that there was much more of a need to explain.

“Let’s go,” Elia said, checking what little ammunition was left in the magazine of her rifle and wincing at the pain in her ribs as she climbed out of the van with Kai.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a heroic moment,” the boy flashed with a smile that showed he was truly too naïve to understand the gravity of everything going on around him,” but just how are we supposed to ride in an save the day.

Elia didn’t respond at first, just walked in front of the van and swung her leg over one of the motorcycles before nodding at the other. “Didn’t you watch any movies growing up, Kai? Every hero needs a good horse.”

Signaling to the Eva behind them, Elia kicked the stand away and leaned into the bike. It would take them a few minutes to get to the battle’s location. She hoped the team could hold out long enough.

After a few more blinks, Alex could see clearly again--clearly see the Hunter's mace coming in for another heavy blow. The SeeD Hunter grasped the hilt of his weapon with both of his meaty hands; the swing looked like it could shatter bricks. Alex leaned back, narrowly avoiding the mace's path and nearly stumbling to the ground again. She backed away quickly. Alex couldn't keep this up forever: at this rate, she was far more likely to tire first. She glanced at the pavement behind her attacker and noted her daggers. The Hunter was quick, but if she spent another Haste, she could probably get behind him and retrieve her weapons. She sifted through her extensive stock for the spell and prepared to cast it.

Before the magic could take effect, Alex caught sight of the armor-clad mystery soldier who had followed the party this far. He streaked across the battlefield under the effects of his own enhancement spell. Shoulder-first he collided with the Hunter, and the force of the impact knocked the larger man onto his knees, but he didn't stay down for long. If Asher's men could be commended for anything, it was their unrelenting stamina. In a wild, unpredictable movement, the Hunter pushed to his feet and twirled around, his electric mace whipping through the air in a deadly backhanded arc. The soldier tried to dodge, but was not fast enough. The humming head of the charged mace smashed through his visor, shattering it into an uncountable number of pieces and whipping the soldier's head aside.

Alex winced in empathetic pain, knowing first-hand just how hard that Hunter could hit, but the assault did not stop there. Disoriented by the blow to his head, the black-armored warrior had no chance to avoid the next one. The mace slammed into his stomach with a loud thump. The armor absorbed the discharged electricity and most of the force, but the man was knocked clear off his feet and onto his back. Then the Hunter turned back to Alex. Her heart picked up the pace as the fight was once more up to her.

She spread her feet and lowered her center, taking a fighting stance. She was effectively neutered without her trusty daggers, but she was going to have to fight her way back to them. She once more readied her Haste spell, but once again, it was unnecessary.

The dark soldier was on his feet. "Lay a hand on her and you die where you stand!" he called from behind the advancing Hunter. With the visor gone, the man's voice was unobscured. Why did it sound so familiar? She peered at his face, but the angle of it prevented any identification.

Asher's Hunter did not even spare the man a glance in reply; he simply closed the last few feet between himself and Alex and bore down with his mace. Caught off-guard by the Hunter's sudden burst of speed, Alex's only reaction was to cower and raise her arms to cover her face, but the strike never came. Cautiously, she lowered her fleshy shield and saw the Hunter frozen in place.

His expression was pure agony. He dropped his weapon and immediately his hands went to his chest, where they pulled and kneaded his thick coverings. He suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream. Droplets of blood escaped his bellowing throat. Everything around him stopped. All eyes turned to watch. When his breath was finally spent, he made to inhale, but it was as though his body would not cooperate. His gasps sounded like those of a swimmer emerging from the water long after exhausting every ounce of oxygen. And each breath the man managed to take in was immediately expelled in another violent scream.

Alex looked on in absolute terror. She could see the Hunter's insides warping. Her fingers shot to her lips and her own stomach churned at the sight.

The Hunter collapsed to the ground and convulsed over and over, pain racking his body. More frantic gasps and more screams of agony.

The black-armored soldier quietly stepped up to the helpless man and stared down at him. "That pain you are feeling is your own rib cage closing in on itself. Your lungs have been punctured and are filling with blood, but don't worry--you won't asphyxiate. Your heart will give out before that can happen. You really should have listened to me."

The man was close enough now that Alex could properly see his face. His expression was completely neutral, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings. He was enjoying this. And finally, Alex recognized him. Suddenly, it was no longer the man dying on the ground that horrified her. When words finally came, her voice was shaky, uncertain. "N-no... it can't be...."

The Hunter was dead, and Kryse looked up at Alex from behind the broken, bleeding body. "Are you alright?"

Alex took a step backwards and shook her head. Another step, and then she collided with someone. A powerful hand clamped over her mouth and pulled her tightly against its owner's body. Before Alex could do anything, before she could even scream, she felt cold steel slide effortlessly through her suit and the flesh of her back, just above her right hip. The world changed, then. It was difficult to say exactly how, but all of a sudden nothing was right anymore. There was no pain, not even when Alex felt the blade slide back out, but she knew something was terribly wrong. The hand left her mouth and shoved her forward roughly.

Her legs refused to work properly and she stumbled forward erratically. It was only a few steps before she tripped over the corpse of the ruined Hunter and fell into the warrior who had slain him with heartless brutality. She looked up at him, her bright blue eyes wide with disbelief. "Kryse?"

There was a dull throbbing where the stubby blade had penetrated her, and altogether it seemed bearable. If this was all, then she would probably be okay. A trace of a smile might have tugged at her parted lips at the thought. But as she continued to stare up at the Dark Knight, the throbbing slowly grew in intensity. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, and her lips quivered, but still she did not cry out. An eternity passed, and eventually the throbbing gave way to burning. This sensation, in turn, stretched on forever and ever, slowly building until the pain was searing. But it didn't stop there. A single sob pushed forth from Alex's throat, and as her face convulsed in response the salty streaks on her cheeks reflected the surrounding light and illuminated her watery eyes. And still the pain grew. No longer was it localized at the knife's entry point; it now dominated Alex's entire being. It was unimaginable. It was unbearable. It was all-consuming. Her entire body was trembling. "Kryse?" The name came out as barely a squeak and was accompanied by another sob. Alex's eyes rolled back into her head and she lost consciousness.

Am I going to die?

In one of the most horrific fashions imaginable the flame of life had been extinguished. The architect of this event stood over the body looking into into eyes filled with confusion and fear. As she backed away from him he went to extend his hand, but she was seized by the agent SCORPIA had sent to deal with them. Anger started to burn deep within him when he saw the pain in her eyes. Before he could act however, she was pushed toward him; the sense to catch her barely registering. As he held the trembling form in his arms everything else faded from existence. The sounds of battle were replaced with his ever increasing heartbeat and a loud buzzing in his head. When her eyes rolled back into her head; something snapped.

Of all the reactions one could have at the possible loss of a friend, laughter isn't usually one of them, but laugh he did; a twisted almost maniacal laugh. “I saved you and this what you do. What a foolish little girl. You rest now. I'll deal with your attacker.” The buzzing in his head increased to an almost intolerable level, but he didn't care. All that mattered was the destruction of his target and as far as he was concerned the man was the only one on the battlefield. Softly muttering under his lips he attempted to speak an unholy incantation, but the buzzing, that incessant buzzing was breaking his concentration. “Shut up! I'm trying to concentrate!”

The agent was in his sights but his words failed him; try as he might he couldn't remember the complex syllables needed for the spell. With his power apparently useless to him at the moment, he decided that a more personal meeting was in order. Before he could call out his blades a new yet familiar figure appeared in his line of sight. “Is that...Wolf?” Recognition hit him, “Wolf, that's right they were here to rescue him.” Looking around him the others came into focus.

Kryse, snap out of it!
Huh? Diablos?
No time to explain, Alex is hurt and has gone into shock. You must not let her sleep.
Alex, where?

As if waking from a dream Kryse was once again aware of the others around him and the woman in his arms. Immediately he took action by getting his wounded teammate to a safer location. The building was empty save for a young woman leaning against the wall, she appeared to be unconscious; who she was would have to wait. Gently setting the thief down in a half sitting position he began to administer aide. With a thought to Diablos an Elixir appeared in his hands. Gently tilting her head back he placed the vial to her lips and with his index finger and thumb applied gentle pressure to the lower jaw forcing her mouth open. “It taste horrible, but it works.” Relief washed over him as she swallowed the bitter liquid, with the elixir in her system he was confident she'd recover, but sleep could still be dangerous. Gently tapping her cheek, the young man attempted to rouse the thief's slumber. “Hey, you need to stay awake, at least for a little bit longer.”

Kai felt right at home while straddling the powerful bike beneath him. He’d been given one of this own as a gift for his “loyalty” during the time between washing out of SeeD and rejoining with Eva fa Toren and the rest of the team a few months ago. This model was different, but the principals remained the same as the young man took the lead and darted around a corner with Elia on another bike and Eva following close behind.

During their time waiting in the back of the van before launching their own evacuation plan thanks to the strange communication they’d received, Kai had been able to restore his comlink and used it to yell something through the wind interference back to his comrades in close pursuit.

“So tell me,” he said, lowering his speed and slipping into a lower gear to compensate for a turn, “do any of the plans you guys make ever work out right?” There was a hint of laughter in his voice, but the truth remained. This wasn’t exactly what he pictured when he thought about polished, true SeeD operations.

“What’s the matter, rookie?” The voice of the sniper spoke behind him. She tried to keep the tone line, but her own voice was plagued with a bit of stress as she attempted to keep the bike beneath her. It wasn’t exactly something with which she had a lot of experience. “Don’t tell me that you’re not having any fun. Life’s only good when you’re about to lose it,” she said.

“If I remember the layout of this place, we should be there in a couple of minutes. Hang tight, guys,” Elia finished and went back to focusing on not crashing the bike.

Deleted

The whole van was impatient. Elia and Kai in the back, and Eva in the driver’s seat, the three of them had not expected to have to wait for their companions for so long. All of them knew it, but only young Kai said it. Something must have happened to hold them up.

“You’re one jumpy little brat, you know that?” Elia teased him as Eva gripped the stationary wheel anxiously.

“Yeah, I know,” Kai said with an incensed sigh. “I just don’t like sitting still, ya know?”

Her forehead met the steering wheel. She knew the feeling, and it was not a pleasant one. She hadn’t felt this worried in a long time. Was it during her first jobs with the Wolf pack? No. Even then she hadn’t been so nervous. It was probably closer to her first missions as a SeeD. What was making her so uneasy?

“I’m sorry. Want me to tell you a story?” Elia quipped sarcastically, though she’d backed off a bit. Afterwards, the van drifted back into an uneasy silence.

You three sure are a lively group.

’Not now, Bahamut,’

Indeed. What do you expect them to do when they will have to flee for their lives any moment now?

Anxiety is best broken by a joke or two. Silence only allows the anxiety to multiply.

’At this point, guys, I’d much rather be left alone.’

As much as I am disinclined to agree, Bahamut has a good point.

You two know I’ve never been one for conversation. Nor do I feel like trying to make wise-cracks about our friends, who could very well…Hold on,’

An odd beeping noise in the back of the van drew Eva’s attention. The blonde turned in her seat to see Elia blinking curiously at the previously inoperable video link she’d been using before. All three of them looked towards the beeping device, eager to know why it had come back to life.

“YOUR FRIENDS ARE IN TROUBLE.” Words appeared on the screen. Kai seemed excited. Knowing that boy, he was just glad there was finally something to keep him occupied. Elia’s eyes spoke of shock and suspicion. Eva felt suspicious as well. Some outside source was contacting them, and how were they to know whether to trust this source.

The words faded to a live video feed of several people- their companions- surrounded by SCORPIA Hunters. Shocked by the scene, Eva gripped the seat and leaned forward to confirm the identity of the leader of said Hunters. A good portion of that shock quickly transformed into contempt when closer inspection showed that this attack was indeed led by none other than Asher Nemitz.

Elia must have seen Eva lean in, for she handed the device over so that she could take a look. Eva barely acknowledged this and stared intently at Nemitz’s sickeningly joyful face. She recalled a similar smile greeting her warmly as she entered the surveillance van on the day of the Deling Hotel hostage situation, only that smile seemed so good-natured then. Now the memory only transitioned into the image of the cruel smirk that never seemed to leave the man in the video’s face. She’d never imagined that ‘Officer Nemitz’ was a morbid and cruel SCORPIA operative. She hated him for tricking her, and she was mad at herself for being so easy to fool.

“Let’s go,” Elia’s words broke her out of her thoughts. Kai followed her out of the van to the bikes. It took him a minute to realize how she intended to get to the others, but he understood as soon as Elia threw a leg over one of the three bikes. Eva quickly set the surveillance device aside and got out of the van to push one of the bikes back inside. As she finished and turned back to re-enter the driver’s seat, she heard Elia’s bike come to life behind her. Eva opened the door and looked back to see the sniper nod back at her. The blonde returned the nod and slide into the van to follow the two motorcyclists.

“So tell me, do any of the plans you guys make ever work out right?” Eva heard Kai’s voice, covered thickly in wind noise, coming through the earpiece she still had in place. She heard him laugh a bit as well, and she had to let out a chuckle. He had a point. Most of their missions did not go according to plan. Her mind traveled back to Esthar for a moment before Elia’s voice chimed in.

“What’s the matter, rookie? Don’t tell me that you’re not having any fun. Life’s only good when you’re about to lose it,” she said. “If I remember the layout of this place, we should be there in a couple of minutes. Hang tight, guys,”

Elia was right. They were close. Eva knew Timber well, probably better than the sniper due to the time she’d spent here with the Wolf Pack, and the rescue would commence in just a few moments. Her stomach turned at seeing Wolf again, but she put that in her mental freezer so that she could keep her focus on saving her friends from Nemitz.

The moment his bullet made impact, all hell broke loose. It was an organized chaos, as to be expected from military fighters such as themselves, but a delicious chaos nonetheless. Asher’s green eyes danced from the wounded kids face to Khevan’s then back to Raines’s. While the others had burst into action, Alex stood there dumbfounded, staring at her fingers, now moistened by the blood from her cheek. He had to congratulate himself for that shot, he rarely got the chance to pull something like that off, and he actually grazed her cheek without mutilating her ear, too. His aim was either getting better, or this was lucky shot.

Aside from his pride in a shot well-aimed, he found himself amused by how slow Alex’s reaction time was. For a trained SeeD, she was acting like someone who’d just been shocked out of slumber on a vacation day. Didn’t she realize that SeeDs don’t get days off? He quickly shot a glance behind her to see one of his own closing in. Asher’s eyes returned to Alex just in time to meet her gaze. If he could keep her distracted for long enough, there’d be one less SeeD to mess with.

He maintained her gaze with a smirk. It was hard not to smirk with the paralyzing fear in her eyes. Just to tease her, he raised his weapon as if to aim it at her. The pink-haired SeeD remained transfixed like a beast in headlights until the very last moment when his hunter loomed over her. Only then did she snap out of her daze and move.

Asher cursed under his breath that they didn’t overcome Raines right then, but trying to rush would only lead to failure. She was still off of her game. More than likely his hunter would take her out, leaving bigger prey like Khevan to him. Asher stood back, watching while his other men kept the Wolf Pack busy. His smirk returned when his man was unfazed by Alex’s attack and his mood continued to improve as she fell to the ground, more dazed than she had been before. She was as good as captured, or so Asher thought.

The stranger from before stepped in with incredible speed and diverted the hunter’s attack. Asher’s smirk faded as he watched Alex begin to recover. Yet another opportunity was about to be lost, however, she remained in place and watched as her savior took a blow that shattered the visor covering his face. But rather than finish him off, the hunter turned his attention back to Alex.

In mid approach, the stranger gave a threat. This did not hinder the hunter, but the very act of threatening in this situation struck Asher as odd. Either the man was very naïve or he had something up his sleeve. Asher put away his gunblade and drew his knife; he had a feeling he would have to deal with Alex himself. Surely enough, something cause his man to stop, and it was more than enough to distract his target. With a nice flip, the four inch long blade unfolded and Asher crept slowly closer to Raines, maneuvering himself to stand behind her.

In doing so, he was able to see the full effect of what was happening to his henchman. For a moment, he was almost as transfixed as Raines, for he’d never witness such damage done to the human body. And the cause was that stranger? How was it humanly possible? Such god-like power…it was a shame it wouldn’t save the dear damsel. As much as such power piqued Asher’s interest, he was in a situation where the wielder of this mesmerizing power was his enemy, and he liked to be one step ahead of his enemy.

"That pain you are feeling is your own rib cage closing in on itself. Your lungs have been punctured and are filling with blood, but don't worry--you won't asphyxiate. Your heart will give out before that can happen. You really should have listened to me." That voice held a tone so familiar to Asher. That tone was the flag of a morbid pleasure. The hero was enjoying the twisted murder he was inflicting. Asher looked beyond Alex to see the man’s face and had to hold back a laugh.

Kryse Salamance. The dead man. Asher was both intrigued as to how he’d come across this power and pleased at the signs of what would happen next. The two were so focused on each other; Salamance worried about Raines and Raines shocked by Salamance that neither noticed he was there until it was too late. In one swift motion, Asher swept in, put a hand over her mouth, and drove his blade into her flesh.

He took but a moment to enjoy the feeling of his blade cutting through her flesh, the feeling of his victory before withdrawing the blade. He allowed the blood to drip from his blade as he watched her stumble forward into Kryse’s arms and fall into unconsciousness. And oh, the glare he received. Asher returned that glare with his favorite devil-may-care smirk. Kryse looked as if he would initiate a fight as expected, but instead retreated. It was not a moment later that he heard the sound of someone trying to fire a gun with no ammunition.

As Kryse dragged Asher’s conquest to safety, Asher turned to face a humorously pissed off Andrew Khevan. Asher had hoped to see what made Salamance tick, a fight with Khevan would probably be easier. He’d take it. The SeeD dashed towards him at full force now, a sight that would have made most cringe. Wolf was anger-driven. Anger is a powerful force; it gives more strength to those it possesses. But it makes them stupid, too. Taking advantage of this, Asher pulled a somewhat juvenile maneuver. Just a moment before Wolf could strike, the Hunter ducked to the side, leaving one foot in place so as to trip the heavy warrior.

All he could see was Asher. Nothing existed except Asher. Nothing but him, and a burning drive to destroy him.

Asher moved to the side narrowly avoiding the weapon he swung. His focus never changed. Locked on his face as he felt suddenly weightless and then slowing and going towards him again.

He saw nothing but Asher. The world around him had vanished while the man in front of him became hyper detailed, and the rage pounded in his head like a thousand war drums.

Ashers head turned towards him again and weaved to the side.

Again, his focus stayed on Asher as his body moved past him, and launched back at him again.

- - -

"AAARROOOOOO!!!!" Wolf roared as he swung the mace at Asher.

Asher side stepped the blow easily, even keeping his foot out to trip the larger warrior. And trip Wolf did. As he started to fall forward, Yuiko dove over him, arms outstretched and both daggers aimed for Ashers heart.

Asher rolled backwards and kicked up, hitting Yukiko in her thighs and flipping her around. She twisted in mid air, turning back to Asher and Wolf in time to see Wolf nearly horizontal, with one hand on the ground, as his body pivoted around it, his lips curled into snarl of absolute rage. when his feet hit the ground he immediately launched himself back at Asher, who turned his attention back to Wolf just in time to avoid another crushing swing of the mace.

Yukiko rushed back in, charging directly at Asher but at the last second veering off to the side past him and then leaping back at him in well aimed spinning kick, with both daggers ready to strike if the kick was blocked.

Slowly, Alex Raines opened her eyes to allow the suffused glow of morning light to fully awaken her after a long, restful slumber. The room was cast in pale luminance, tinted slightly blue by the shade of the single window, giving it a surreal, peaceful quality, as though it were part of a dream not fully ended.

As lucidity overcame the young girl’s body, a childish grin slowly crept across her rosy cheeks. Today was Wednesday, she knew, and that meant she would see Kryse, Nathan, and Sam.

Their mothers, all wives of top-ranking workers in Esthar’s famed Research and Development unit, had met at a company get-together last year and had been gathering at the Salmances’ nearly every Wednesday since. It was Alex’s favorite day of the week.

Like the small child she was, Alex used her feet to violently kick away her warm covers, letting the cool air of the clear, crisp, autumn morning embrace her. She rolled out of bed and onto her feet, sparing not even a moment to sit and stretch. Glancing at the digital clock on her nightstand, Alex realized three hours still remained before she and her mother departed, but that did not slow her down.

Being the daughter of one of Esthar’s wealthiest inhabitants, there was no shortage of clothing options in little Alex’s closet, but somehow she never had difficulty choosing an outfit for the day. She knew that she and the boys would likely play outside, so that narrowed down the choices. Eventually, she settled on a brightly-colored, long-sleeved blouse and a heavy skirt with warm tights.

Her eyes hovered for a moment over the traditional Estharian robe that had been a birthday gift this year, just as one like it had been given each year prior since she had become old enough to wear one. Alex was grateful her mother only forced her to wear the dreadful thing on formal occasions, because she hated it. Not that it was uncomfortable, or anything; it just looked ugly. The last thing Alex wanted was to look ugly, especially in front of Kryse.

The bathroom across the hall was the bright-eyed girl’s next destination, where she washed her face then thoroughly brushed her thick, wavy, pink-hued hair. For a time, she considered a variety of things to do with it, but ultimately let it hang loose. She then applied makeup from the small set her mother had given to her as a gift for her birthday last week, feeling incredibly grown-up as she did. She was seven now, after all; a big girl. And, as she had convinced her mother, big girls get to wear makeup.

Ready for whatever adventures the day might hold in store for her and her friends, Alex padded down the barren stairs. As she neared the bottom, the smell of buttered toast and crispy ham wafted into the hallway and instantly made her mouth water.

Alex’s mother greeted her with a warm smile as the child came into view. “Ready for your play-date, I see,” she said. Her voice was soft, soothing.

Alex nodded eagerly. “How do I look?” she asked, splaying her arms and presenting herself formally.

Her mother gave a knowing grin. “Very pretty,” she commented. Alex’s expression told her it was not the precise answer the girl was looking for. “Very grown-up,” she added.

Alex beamed. That was the reply she wanted.

Rebecca placed a small plate at one end of the counter; on it was one slice of toast and two of ham.

Alex climbed up onto the corresponding chair and ate happily. As always, she took one bite of toast and two bites of ham at a time, making sure she consumed each portion of her breakfast in equal measure. Her mother always told her that each meal should be balanced for a healthy diet.

The young girl cast her blue eyes all around, suddenly aware of a missing presence in the room. “Did Daddy come home last night?” she inquired. Part of her already knew the answer—her father often spent nights at work these days. She hardly saw him anymore.

Rebecca’s smile faded, as did most of the cheeriness that she had displayed this morning. “No. He’s still at work, Kiddo.” She put on a sympathetic face. “Maybe we’ll go see him later, ‘kay? Bring him something nice for dinner.”

“Okay!” Alex thought that was a fantastic idea. It had been a long time since she had seen where her father worked, but she knew there were all sorts of cool toys in that building. There was a time when her father would bring home some of the neat gadgets he worked on and would let Alex play with them, but ever since he had gotten sick, he had stopped doing that.

That was part of the reason Alex loved going to Kryse’s house on Wednesdays—Kryse always had a cool new toy from his dad’s work.

Alex pushed away her plate, having finished what she wanted of her breakfast. There was a corner of bread and twice its worth in ham left on it. Rebecca took it with a subtle shake of her head and placed it in the sink to worry about later.

“We aren’t leaving ‘till 11:30,” she said. “Why don’t you read your book ‘till then?”

“‘Kay.”

---

The drive to the Salmances’ place was long and fairly boring for Alex. They lived only three blocks away, but in a city like Esthar, three blocks was a great distance. The blue glass-like pathways that connected places were rigid and not very interconnected, which meant even more travel time.

But Alex was thankful that her father had purchased a car for her and her mother so they didn’t have to use Esthar’s tubular transportation system; Alex had ridden it exactly one time, and even though her mother had assured her it was perfectly safe, it had terrified her so severely that she had refused to board the circular bench ever again. She almost shuddered, thinking now about zooming through those dark tunnels at breakneck speeds.

The Salmances’ house was a little bigger than hers, and Alex hadn’t yet seen every inch of it—mostly, that was because Mr. Salmance did not want Kryse and his friends to go into his office, and out of respect Kryse kept them out of his parents’ room.

Rebecca pulled the car to a stop behind Nathan’s mom’s. Sam and his mom lived just two doors down, so they didn’t need to drive. Somehow, though, they were always the last to arrive.

Alex got out of the car and followed her mom up to the front door.

“Wanna ring the doorbell?” Rebecca asked.

“Yep,” Alex replied casually, as though the question were rhetorical.

The touch-pad was conveniently located just at the extent of Alex’s reach, and she pressed her whole hand firmly into its face. The familiar electronic chime sounded from inside, just barely audible through the heavy material of which just about everything in Esthar was constructed.

Moments later, the door slid snugly into the wall to reveal the tall, comely Mrs. Salmance. She bore a radiant smile, genuinely pleased to see her guests. Naturally, her gaze was tilted low, expecting to see Alex first at the door.

“Hi, Alex!” she said, her exuberance slightly forced in the manner one usually spoke to a child—not that Alex could really tell the difference.

“Hi, Mrs. Salmance,” Alex responded pleasantly.

“Kryse and Nathan are in the kitchen.” She stood to the side to let Alex pass.

“Hey there, Becky,” Alex heard Mrs. Salmance say as the girl darted towards the kitchen. Alex couldn’t be sure, but she thought she detected a tone of sadness in Mrs. Salmance’s voice.

She found Kryse and Nathan sitting at a small wooden table, one especially for the children when their families gathered for meals, gnawing on sandwiches and sipping glasses of milk.

“Heya, Kryse! Hi, Nathan.”

Their faces lit up as their long-time companion entered the room. “Hi, Lexi!” they each said in turn. “Want a sandwich?” offered Kryse.

Alex shook her head. “Sam isn’t here yet, huh?”

“Nope. We gotta wait for him. Holden’s taking us to Brightmeadow.”

The girl’s eyes widened. “Really? It’s been forever since we went there.”

“Yeah, I know!” confirmed Nathan. “I’ve been wanting to go forever.”

Brightmeadow Park was, of course, their favorite place in the whole city. A few years ago, the city council had commissioned a nature reserve right in the heart of the mechanical city of Esthar. The latest technology was used to produce it, but now it was utterly devoid of everything that defined Esthar; it was an oasis in a desert of cold, hard glass and metal. It featured an expansive playground—the main attraction for Alex and her friends—as well as plenty of lush scenery.

Kryse smirked a devil’s smirk. “Yep. I bugged him ‘till he promised to take us there.” He looked quite proud of himself, having set up the perfect day for him and his playmates.

The characteristic chime of the doorbell echoed through the house, signaling the arrival of the last guest. A minute or two later, Sam appeared in the kitchen, bearing his usual, seemingly ever-present grin.

Sam was a little bigger than the other two boys, and stronger, too, but Alex could outrun him—a fact of which she was quite proud.

“Hi, guys,” he said.

“Hi, Sam,” they all replied.

Alex turned to Kryse. “Okay, go get Holden! I wanna goooo!”

“Mm-hmm.” Kryse nodded the affirmative and rushed upstairs. Alex could hear the Salmance family’s housekeeper reply to the young Kryse with his deep voice that, no matter how thick the walls, always seemed to creep through.

Kryse came back into the kitchen with Holden in tow. The older man put on a smile and clapped his hands. “Okay, kids. Out to the car!”

---

This was the third time Alex and the others had come to Brightmeadow Park, but each time she saw it, it never ceased to amaze the girl. From the outside, it appeared as simply an enormous silver dome—completely unassuming—but inside was an expansive green recreational area featuring just about every aspect of nature. Estharian technology preserved the atmosphere of the park, meaning that, no matter the season outside, inside the dome it was always a warm spring day.

There were no animals in Brightmeadow Park, but Alex didn’t even notice. The city of Esthar was devoid of them anyway, so it was a factor she did not take into consideration. All she knew was that this was the best place to play, no matter the game.

She and the others immediately rushed to the playground, while Holden watched from afar. Alex always liked the monkey bars and the jungle-gym. Sam loved the swings because he could get really high. Kryse and Nathan liked to race through the tunnels and ride the zip-line, kind of like an obstacle course. Nathan usually won.

“You guys wanna play Hide-n-Seek?” asked Alex, knowing full well it was, by far, the game she was best at.

The boys gave each other that look, as though they knew the question had to come sooner or later. It also confirmed between the three of them that they were going to lose again, and they knew it.

But it was Alex’s turn to choose, so they had no say in the matter. Hide-n-Seek it was.

“Okay,” said Kryse warily. “But you count first.”

Alex shrugged. “‘Kay.”

No big deal. Being an expert at hiding meant she knew all the places to hide, even in a place as big as Brightmeadow Park. Still, she secretly hoped that at least one of the boys would find some way to best her, find some hiding spot so devious that she might even have to enlist the help of Holden, the ever-watchful onlooker, to finally sniff him out.

Alex leaned face-first against one of the wooden supports holding up the slide and pressed her palms firmly over her eyes. “One... two... three....”

---

When they finally got back to Kryse’s house, it was starting to get dark. Forty-five minutes to and from the park and countless hours of fun between passed the time very quickly for the children. Holden opened the door and stood outside while they rushed in, eager for the evening meal. No doubt their parents were wondering what had taken them so long.

Standing in the living room a small ways from the entryway, Alex noticed a new face amongst her mother and her friends’ moms: Mr. Salmance.

Approaching Mrs. Salmance, Kryse ventured, “What’s for dinner, mom?”

Mrs. Salmance barely acknowledged him with a glance. “Not now, honey.”

Everyone had a grave expression, Alex’s mother most of all. Mr. Salmance was speaking to her in hushed tones, and Alex drew closer to hear what he was saying.

“Yeah, he just collapsed. They took him to the hospital right away, but I haven’t heard anything since. I thought you should know.”

Rebecca turned away, her eyes closed and a hand clamped over her mouth.

“I’m so sorry....” Mrs. Salmance whispered. “Alex is back now. You should go.”

Silently, Rebecca nodded. She looked around the room until her eyes fell on young Alex. She took the girl’s hand and led her towards the door.

“What’s wrong, Mommy?”

There was no reply. Concern welled up inside Alex. Who had they been talking about? Why was her mother crying? She looked back at the receding forms of her friends. She waved at Kryse, but the front door closed behind her before she could see any reply.

Her mother was silent throughout the entire ride to the hospital. Alex could tell she was holding back tears, but she didn’t know why. “What’s wrong?” she tried again. “Is it Daddy?” Still, no response.

Alex hated the hospital. It smelled funny and had weird people in it, and she hated coming in for check-ups. Sometimes they gave her needles, and she hated those most of all. She was thankful that this trip was not for her, but it still smelled funny and she wanted to leave as soon as possible.

And all along, she had a creeping suspicion that this trip to the hospital was not so innocent. Her mother had said nothing and had done her best to hide her emotions from her daughter, but deep down Alex knew something was very, very wrong. Kryse’s mom and dad wouldn’t have been acting so strangely otherwise.

They took the elevator to the second floor. More silence. The hallway they entered was called “ICU,” whatever that meant. Everybody seemed to be in a real hurry here.

“Wait here,” said Alex’s mother as they approached one of the rooms.

“Can’t I come in?” Alex asked quietly.
“No. Wait here.”

Rebecca entered the room and closed the door. Alex pressed her ear up to it, but could only hear muffled voices. She kept listening. A few minutes later, she heard distinctive sobs.

Alex wanted to know what was happening. She pressed panel next to the door, but it remained firmly in place. Locked from the inside. She gently knocked on it, but there was no reply, so she pressed her ear to it again. The sobbing continued.

The nagging sensation in the back of Alex’s mind and at the bottom of her heart grew in intensity over the next two hours, during which time the door to the hospital room never opened.

“Hey, is your name Alex?”

Alex was sitting on the floor, against the wall opposite the room. She looked up and to her left, where she saw a middle-aged man staring back at her. He was bent over, his hands on his knees for support. He didn’t look like a doctor, but it was pretty obvious that he worked here.

She nodded.

The man gave her a sympathetic smile. His eyes told her he knew something—something he wasn’t allowed to say. “Your mommy told me to take you home. Can you come with me?”

Alex hesitated, staring back into the man’s eyes, trying to figure out what it was he was hiding. Seeing nothing, she pushed herself up from the ground and reached out her hand. “Okay.”

---

Alex lay awake in her bed. It was far past her bedtime, but no matter what, she couldn’t fall asleep. There were too many unanswered questions, and she was too worried about her mother.

The clock on her nightstand read 10:13 when Alex finally heard the front door open, signaling her mother’s return from the hospital. Alex crept from her room and watched from the top of the stairs as her mother thanked the man from the hospital and let him outside.

“Mommy?” said Alex cautiously when the front door was closed again. Without the light from the city outside illuminating the foyer, the house returned to darkness. It was like speaking to a ghost.

Rebecca stopped, but didn’t look up at Alex. “Go to sleep, hun.” She continued into the living room.

Alex wasn’t sure what to do. Her mother wasn’t crying anymore, which was a good sign, but there was an air about her, one which the young girl could sense even from all the way upstairs, that told her everything was still not alright. Alex realized that it was kind of like the way her mother usually acted whenever Alex brought up her father, except this was worse. Much, much worse.

She tip-toed down the stairs and followed Rebecca into the living room, where the woman sat on the couch and stared blankly at a muted television, the only source of light in the entire house. Alex approached from behind, unable to gauge her mother’s.

“Mommy? Is... Daddy coming home tonight?”

Her mother hesitated as Alex came around into view. “No, hun.” She resisted looking into her daughter’s eyes, focusing instead on her chest, or just to her left, or anywhere else.

Alex looked up expectantly at her mother. The dim light from the television seemed to intensify the shadows of her face, rather than illuminate them. She had an almost surreal look. “But... he’s been at work for three days. When is he coming home?”

Rebecca returned her gaze to the soundless television and said nothing.

“Mommy?” Dread was welling up in the girl. She had never seen her mother like this. It was frightening. Alex was afraid to prod further, afraid of the answers she might uncover. But she prodded anyway. “Mommy?”

Still, her mother’s gaze remained averted, her lips shut tight. She bore that same look she had in the car earlier, using every whit of her power to hold back tears.

“When’s Daddy coming home, Mo-”

That’s when Rebecca snapped. Violently, she spun to face Alex, all of her built-up tears seemingly exploding out into the open all at once. Her voice was harsh, warped by the pent-up sobs of agony she had been saving all night. “He’s not coming home, Alex!” she screamed. “He’s never coming home!”

Alex was in tears even before her mother’s outburst was complete. The meaning of her words had not yet registered, but their intensity had been enough to disturb the young child. Both mother and daughter now cried, but for different reasons.

It wasn’t until a few moments later that the gravity of her mother’s words truly sunk in.

---

Two men had come twenty minutes ago. Alex was supposed to be in bed, but for the three days since her father’s death, sleep was a comfort that seemed determined to remain just beyond her reach. She approached the stairs and crouched, listening intently to the conversation below.

“... can do about it. Now, we don’t want to have to take this to the courts, but we will,” said one of the men. Even at seven years old Alex could tell his sympathetic tone was fake.

“How can you do this?” replied Alex’s mother desperately. “What am I supposed to do?” She was exasperated.

“I wish I knew what to tell you, lady,” the other man said. “It is what it is, and there’s nothing we can do. Don’t make this into an issue.”

“Fine!” Rebecca seethed. “Take it! I hope your boss is happy counting every last gil while what’s left of my family suffers in poverty.”

---

The train squealed harshly as it came to a final stop at Esthar Station. From a nearby bench, Alex looked up at the enormous machine, whose shadow loomed over her ominously. The train itself was not what she feared: it was her destination aboard it.

“Mommy, I don’t wanna go!” she protested.

Rebecca knelt before her daughter and placed a reassuring hand around her neck. Her smile was pitiful in its attempt to comfort the girl. “I know, sweetie. I really wish you didn’t have to. You believe me, don’t you?”

Alex nodded solemnly, but some part of her still refused to believe what her mother had told her. Her whole life, she had known nothing outside the confines of Esthar, and she had been happy in her naïveté. The thought of leaving her home for realms unknown had never crossed her mind before, and now that she was being forced into it, it frightened her to her core.

Her mother had told her all about the place she was going, but Alex had hardly listened. It was cold and snowy, and about as far away from Esthar one could go. It sounded horrible, and that’s all she needed to know.

The girl sniffled, suppressing her tears because she knew that if she let them out, her mother would only cry as well.

“They’ll take care of you up in Trabia,” said her mother. “And I’ll come visit every chance I get, okay? You better get on the train before it leaves without you.”

“We’ll come visit you, too, Lexi,” said Kryse, who stood a small distance away with Nathan and Sam. All three had come to see her off, and it brought a small ounce of comfort to the girl’s heart.

“Promise?” Alex said.

Kryse nodded. “Yep.”

Rebecca stood up and turned to the man standing beside her. “Thanks for doing this, Holden. I wish I could go with her, but I-”

The older man held up a hand to stop her. “It’s alright, Mrs. Raines. I understand. I’m happy to help.”

Holden came up to Alex and bent over. “Come on, Lexi,” he said, curling his lips into a half-smile. “Better get going.”

He held out a hand, which Alex took. With her free hand, Alex grabbed the tiny suitcase that held what the bag on her back could not—between the two, they contained as many parts of the life she was leaving as they could hold, but there was still so much she was leaving behind, so much she could not take with her.

Alex’s eyes never left her mother as she allowed Holden to guide her onto the train, not until the doors slid closed, finally separating them, severing the ties Alex had to this place she called home.

---

She was paralyzed. Even her eyes were immobile. But she could see, and she could hear. She could hear Aiden Barron’s words as they poured so smoothly from his mouth, as though he had rehearsed his lines countless times, waiting for the right opportunity to force them out. Alex could hear him, but she was not listening.

Though outwardly she could not express it, inside she seethed with rage. Every fiber of her being fought against the SCORPIA agent’s magic, trying to break free, latch onto Barron’s throat, and squeeze until he was dead in her arms.

But she could do none of that. Her rage gave in to helplessness, and it was overwhelming. She was a prisoner in her own body, unable to do anything except hear Barron, and see him, and, when he got close enough, smell him.

When he finally left and the magic spell wore off, Alex broke down. Even though she had escaped the prison of her paralyzed body, she was still trapped in the tiny cell. She was still helpless, and one of her friends was going to die.

---

The boat sped away from the collapsing facility as fast as its underpowered engines would take it. Aboard were four SeeDs, who looked back at the prison from which they had escaped, and where they had left two of their companions behind.

It had taken Elia and Wolf’s combined might to pull Alex onto the vessel. She had fought them to the last of her strength to go back for Kryse, even though deep down she knew that he was beyond saving. They all knew.

It had been ten years since her departure from Esthar. Ten years since her separation from the only ones she called friends back then. When Kryse had suddenly walked back into her life only days ago, Alex had been overwhelmed with feelings she did not understand, ones she could not put into words. And she did not even try. There had been times since their first mission together in Deling where she had wanted to try, but hadn’t.

Alex knew that leaving Kryse behind in the SCORPIA facility was leaving him to die. She would never get another chance to try, to stumble foolishly over her words as she figured out which ones were correct, and which were just silly. She would never see that awkward look Kryse was bound to give when her feelings finally came gushing out in a stream of nonsense. Everything would remain forever in the dark.

She stood now at the stern of the vessel, next to Elia, staring back at the fiery wreckage that they had caused in their dramatic escape. Only the blonde girl beside her could see what was happening, but Alex did not need to look through the sniper scope to know.

An almost imperceptible wince in Elia’s cheek, synced perfectly with the final thrust of Balian’s spear, was all Alex needed to see to know it was over. She collapsed suddenly, as though the wound was hers instead. The spray of ocean water had masked her tears before, but now they came on full-force, and there was no hiding it.

Wolf sprang forward and latched onto Alex’s shirt to prevent her from tumbling over the end of the boat into the ocean, and pulled her back his arms, into safety. But she only pushed him away and landed on the floor. She could not think straight any longer.

The others let her be as she curled up on the floor where she lay, and cried.

---

Those eyes. They were unforgettable. His face was placid, but his eyes betrayed his true feelings as they watched the man writhe in agony in the street. Joy. Sick, warped joy. Those eyes burned into Alex’s soul as though they were trained on her.

Everything frightening in her life could not compare to the way those eyes made her feel. She could not make them go away.

---

Alex awoke to world of pain. Her eyes opened narrowly, but could not see anything yet. Frigid, bitter liquid wormed its way down her throat and lingered on her tongue, and her only reaction was to gag.

She coughed, suddenly breaking from Kryse’s grip and spraying remnants of the elixir all over the floor beside her. She choked and gagged on it, but she had already swallowed most of it.

When Alex could breath again, her first utterance was a cry of pain. The elixir had already begun to work, but her wound was severe. She twisted out of her sitting position and writhed on her chest, but that only made the pain worse, which in turn caused her to squirm even more.

But she was awake, and she was alive.

The three remaining hunters watched, with the rest of the gathered warriors, the grisly fate of their comrade. Their hearts sunk as they saw him writhe and scream in agony, and their stomachs churned as their minds, despite all reason, attempted to fathom what he was currently feeling.

But these men who followed Asher and SCORPIA religiously were seasoned veterans, hardened warriors, the cream of the crop. It was not long before their dumbfounded expressions melted away and their battle-lusting minds returned to the task at hand.

Their objective was to take the SeeDs alive. Khevan's young followers were not included in that charge, and only stood in their way. They would see a bloodbath after all.

The STF armor covering the vital areas of Yukiko's previous attacker had stopped the stray bullets from puncturing the Hunter, and now that the heavy sting of the impacts was beginning to wear off, he was back in action.

His target had gone, moving off to attack Asher directly. This man's weapon of choice was a hefty sword, perhaps more akin to a cleaver than to a traditional weapon. Not wanting to risk hitting Asher with his rifle, he drew this sword now and closed in on Yukiko.

Yukiko was quick, but Asher was quick, too. The magic junctioned to his strength allowed the SCORPIA operative to fend off the girl's kicks with little effort, and her follow-up strikes with Alex's daggers were easily parried with the bladed end of Lucy, his trusted gunblade. A second later, Wolf joined the fray as well.

Coming in from behind, the Hunter hoped to take advantage of the melee and strike Yukiko down in a gory mess, turning the tables suddenly on the ballistic Andrew Khevan.

He broke into a jog and, when close enough to chop a lock from Yukiko's head, opened with a powerful horizontal swing.

Across the street, the two other Hunters remained in cover behind a jutting corner, allowing the solid bricks of the tall building to fend off the seemingly endless stream of bullets from James' stolen gun.

One glanced down to the other, who crouched low. They shared no words, each understanding the unanimous plan to take out the young men.

Using his coiled legs as a powerful spring, the lower of the Hunters ejected from cover, darting across the street and drawing a hail of bullets. The distraction successful, the remaining Hunter wheeled around into sight and fired from his outstretched hand a ball of magical fire, summoned forth from the Paramagic Storage Device, SCORPIA's latest technological stride in the battle against the overpowered SeeD remnants, strapped to the corresponding wrist.

The fiery projectile sailed wide, and the Hunter cursed his poor aim, but, fortunately, the young men's attention was stolen from the decoy and focused on him, allowing the other Hunter a shot of his own.

A bolt of blue lightning arced from the second Hunter's open palm, courtesy of his own PSD, and struck the center of Maverick's chest. The boy gasped as the electricity coursed through his body, sending his limbs into spasms, and the impact knocked him backwards into a wall.

The Hunters were on the offensive again, and James and Lyle were now faced with an assault from two angles.

When James and Maverick opened fire, Kale suddenly found himself without an opponent.

After a second of thought he decided to loot the body.

These guys always had the best toys.

Wolf had already snatched up the guys mace in his berserker rage, but there was a pistol in a holster at his back, which he quickly snatched up. The odd gauntlet like device on his arm had a crystal of some sort on the back of the hand and "fingers" that only whent past the first knuckle. He'd never seen one of these before, but it looked new and expensive. He found a release switch and started to remove it to examine it more closely.

A sudden flash of light and heat caught his attention as one of the hunters shot a fireball out of his hand.

He looked down at the device in his hand then back at the fireball as it detonated relatively harmlessly against a wall.

"Oh fuck yes," he said, clasping it onto his arm. He tried to do this without looking because he was trying to watch the hunters to see how they used it. When one fired off a lightning spell the only thing he noticed was that he held his hand up with fingers spread wide, but that could have been coincidence. He tried it himself and saw the gem begin to glow and the device softly hum. He closed his fingers and the glow and hum dissipated.

He grinned wickedly.

He snuck up on the hunter who had used the lightning spell and tapped him on the shoulder while holding his hand up to the back of his head.

The hunter turned but before the device fired, he was able to bring his arm up and knock Kales hand away. He through a punch at kales head but kale twisted aside, evading the punch and starting a weak backwards sweep of the hunters legs, which he enforced by palming him in the face and forcing him down.

He did this with the hand equipped with the magic gauntlet, and halfway to the ground a blue flash and a blast of cold went off and the hunters head shattered on the street.

"I LOVE THIS THING!" Kale yelled as he aimed another spell at the other hunter who was holding his gauntlet up at him.

Yukiko glanced over her shoulder at the sound of footsteps, hoping it was her teammates, only to see a hunter swinging a very large sword at her.

She bent over backward as the sword sliced through the air just above her. She rolled back and hand sprung at her attacker, locking her legs around his neck, pivoting up and around onto his shoulders before throwing herself backwards, flipping the hunter face first into the road. She twisted around and threw a punch at his face.

* * *

"Shit." James said. He quickly scanned the battlefield and said to Lyle, "Quick, help me get Maverick inside."

Lyle glanced at Kale then nodded. He grabbed Mavericks collar with his good arm while James grabbed his legs and they hustled him into the building that had ended up a battlefield hospital.

The red head was sitting on the floor coughing something up, and the guy in black armor was kneeling over her, and the girl who'd let them out was sitting in the corner, looking rather comatose.

"Uh, medic?" James called uncertainly into the room.

The blond girl seemed to perk up slightly and tried to stand only to fall back down, "Bring him over here."

James and Lyle were quick to respond and dragged Maverick over. She cast a Scan spell to assess his condition and exhaled sharply, "He's in really bad shape, but he's very lucky. An inch to the right and he'd have been hit in the spine and killed, and if he'd been hit in the same spot on the other side it would have been his heart and killed. He's also Stunned. I can fix him, but it'll take a minute for the effects to wear off."

A green glow surrounded Maverick and she said to Lyle, "After I'm done here I'll look at your shoulder." She quickly glanced over to the man in armor, she didn't know who he was, but if he rescued Alex he had to be an ally. Right?

"You should probably get back out there, they might need your help," she said, "I can look after her if she needs it."