Artamus

Touya took the hat that was handed to him and eyed the accessory carefully. Did she really intent for him to wear that? With a deeper frown, he slowly put it upon his head and glowered at the ground. He was sure he looked like a fool right then, but he supposed that if it saved their lives he could bear with it at least until they left the city.

“And that leads me to my next point. Why hasn’t Reginald been arrested? We shouldn’t have come back to Altheim,” April said as she looked around the street they were on after closing up Reginald's home. Touya glanced around as well, noting that the street was near empty because it was still very early morning. April took hold of both Damea and the Therian then and began moving down the street towards the western gate.

“We can’t trust Reginald. He may be the one who leaked the information of Val’s location to HQ. He may be working for HQ. Let’s just get out of here first. I’ll tell the rest later, and then you can tell me about those murders.”

Touya lifted an eyebrow at her, "Reginald working for this... 'HQ'? Why would he do such a thing?"

"It may not be Reginald, Touya," Damea answered as they followed after April. Every now and then they would pass steam powered mechanisms that fascinated the Therian, though he had no time to really examine them.

"What do you mean?"

"Therian's can shape shift, right? What if Reginald isn't really 'Reginald'?"

Touya grew quiet then as he thought about what Damea had implied. Was it even possible? For Reginald to have been a Therian the entire time in disguise? No... impossible. He wouldn't believe it until he saw it, until there was more proof to back the theory. They had worked their way through the near empty streets towards a courtyard where on the other side, loomed the western gates. Touya, who was next to April, could feel her apprehension. Her body language told him all he needed to know. She was anxious and fearful.

“Stick close and act natural. Hopefully we’ll be able to slip past. If things don’t go according to plan…I suggest we split up.”

Reaching out, he took hold of her arm and pulled her to a short stop. Leaning down he whispered in her ear, "You're too tense. Relax. This is your city, act like it is. Everything will be fine. If not... leave that to me if this fails."

Pulling away he gently pushed her forward to lead the way and fell into step right beside her. Damea followed on her other side and smiled at her. The mercenary gave the former soldier a wink as they approached the gates. Touya could feel the tension in the air and figured it was because of the earlier killings. He had a terrible feeling that the rebel Therian's were behind it, but he couldn't figure out why they would be in the city to begin with.

As they approached the gates to the city, the guards eyed them suspiciously and started forward. Touya's breath hitched as he watched them. What were they going to do now? The guards looked intent on stopping them from their advance towards the gates. The Therian's gaze shifted from one side to the other. What was he going to do now? There had to be a way to get them out of the city. Touya leaned down towards her once more as the guards got closer.

"I'll draw their attention. I'll meet you on the other side, I promise you," he said and bowed his head lower to slip off the hat and face the soldiers that drew nearer. He couldn't draw the blades along his right forearm, but the other was more than enough to be intimidating. The knives cut through the fabric of the jacket that April had provided him and he shoved the woman forward, making it seem like he was about to attack her. Damea, who was startled by the sudden show, wasn't sure what to do until Touya began glowing.

"Therian! It's one of those damned faceless! Stop him! He's going to kill civilians!" The soldiers shouted. Touya grinned at them and started backwards, drawing them away from the gates. As chaos ensued, Touya caught site of Damea taking hold of April's arm and dragging her towards the gates. Turning swiftly, Touya aimed his magic carefully so as not to hit anyone, but make it look as if he were trying to. The explosion was more than enough to gain the full attention of the guards and create enough panic to let April and Damea slip out of the gates easily enough. The Therian whirled around and swiftly started for the alleyways of the city.



He wasn't sure what the Therian was planning when he leaned down to speak to April as they approached the gates to the city. The guards had spotted them and had moved to intercept them from leaving. It was most likely because of the recent attack and Damea knew better than any that they would stop them from getting out of the city because they were most likely still searching for the culprit. Damea frowned, knowing that from the reports they were suspecting a Therian was behind the attacks and with Touya with them it was going to make getting out of the city all the more difficult.

It was only until Touya had shoved April and then allowed his body to glow brightly that Damea figured the Therian was going to do something stupid once again. Grinding his teeth together he couldn't do anything about what Touya had planned or done because right then chaos erupted all around them. It was all he could do himself to get to April to make sure that he didn't lose her. Taking hold of her arm, he started taking her towards the gates whether she wanted to go or not. There was no time to try to get to Touya, especially since he'd just revealed himself.

"Damn fool," Damea cursed as he made a bee-line for the gates. People were screaming and running around after Touya's show of power and exploding a merchants stand. Damea weaved his way through the mass of people, trying to reach the gates as quickly as possible. He was almost there when the jostling from other frightened people finally worked his grip free on April's arm. His fingers slipped from her and he whirled around with a look of fear. Immediately, he'd lost her. He couldn't see passed the people and the shoving and pushing was doing nothing to help him. Damea couldn't find her and he felt his heart rate rising as he tried to get back through only to be swept backwards continuously from the fleeing citizens.

Cursing to himself he turned around and let the flow take him to the gates of the city. Luckily there weren't that many people, just enough to make things crazy for several minutes. Once free of the throng of people, Damea quickly made his way off the main street and turned around eagerly to watch the gate, hoping to spot April before anyone else did.



She had been hiding in the shadows, watching the western gates carefully. It was her only way out of the city then seeing as the guards she'd killed had been on the northern gates. Ahmeil hadn't meant to kill them, but the fools had been too damned smart for their own good and her disguise as a soldier had been blown far too quickly. Luckily she'd learned quite a bit about the rumors that floated around in each of the cities. There was a scientist that was performing experiments on Therians, but not only Therian's, humans as well. Her lips curled into a frown. Human's were disgusting, foul creatures with no sense of honor or respect even for their own. She hated them, despised them and wished for every single one of them to burn in whatever hell they believed in.

Her eyes had narrowed as her thoughts had drifted from her original intent. However, when she came back to the present, she witnessed something intriguing. Three persons were being approached by the guard, nothing new about that really as all morning anyone who'd attempted to leave had been approached and turned away. However, it was the taller of the three that intrigued her. Underneath the hat was long silvery hair, loose at the moment, but she knew that the man who bore that style usually kept it braided.

Ahmeil's eyes flashed as she caught a glimpse of the pale icy blue eyes underneath the rim of the hat. Touya Khan glanced around as if expecting something terrible to happen, or maybe he was looking for a way out of their precarious situation that was about to arise. Whatever it was, she didn't care. What she did care about was that he was talking with two humans, and he seemed to be rather close to them at that. How could he!? Why would he do such a thing!? Didn't he know!? Didn't he know how ruthless, how brutal, how.... demonic... the humans were? Rage boiled through her as she watched him.

Then he sprung into action, taking off his hat and revealing himself to the public. Directing a blast at a merchants stall, he created so much chaos that it was hard to track him. Grinding her teeth even further, she uncrossed her arms and pushed off the side of the wall that she'd been leaning on. Ahmeil took one look at the people around her and shape shifted into a woman about her size. That woman had gone too close to the Therian and Ahmeil reached out like a snake waiting to strike. Pulling the frightened woman into the dark alleyway she withdrew her mechanized weapons along her arm and slit the woman's throat. Dropping the human mercilessly, Ahmeil ran into the crowd, fear painted on her face easily. It was in this way that Ahmeil Leain left the city and made her way into the trees just outside. Once she was far enough away she returned to her original shape and watched the road from a distance. She should have gone to find Val immediately after escaping the city to tell him of her findings, but she wished to confront Touya. There were things she needed to tell him and depending on his response, she would either kill him or love him like she used to, like the brother he used to be.

---

April Rosevolt

---

"You're too tense. Relax. This is your city, act like it is. Everything will be fine. If not... leave that to me if this fails," Touya said, pulling her aside carefully for guidance. April looked up at the therian and released a deep sigh, soothing her nerves. On their journey to gate she failed to realize how tightly she had begun squeezing his arm. Finding his words appeasing, April straightened her posture and continued walking towards the gate.

“You’re right,” she nodded, composing herself amicably.

She led their approach staunchly, not stopping to falter even as the guards stepped forwards to intercept them. Any traffic which passed through the gates required identity checks, but namely, it was vital to have an identification card. April was bargaining on hope. Generally the guards were more lenient to those exiting the city, unless you were transporting goods and supplies. Unfortunately it seemed that security had been stepped up a notch since the murders last night, anyone fleeing would be subject to particular scrutiny.

“What terrible timing,” April hissed under her breath

Sensing Touya beside her, April averted her eyes to his face. The therian had noticed the obvious dilemma as he now wore a anxious expression. "I'll draw their attention. I'll meet you on the other side, I promise you," he whispered.

April narrowed her eyes at him perceptibly, anticipating what his words entailed. “We’ll meet beyond the suburbs. Head to the outskirts of the main road. Don’t get caught, whatever you do,” she cautioned unnecessarily. Watching him take off the hat, Touya’s wrist blades ripped through the sleeves of his jacket as the therian unveiled his identity. In seconds his strong arms arrested her shoulders before thrusting her forwards in a deliberate act of terror. Playing along, April screamed, carrying her high pitched voice across the gate’s court. The reaction was instant.

"Therian! It's one of those damned faceless! Stop him! He's going to kill civilians!"

Shouting filled gate area as widespread panic broke out across flocks of pedestrians. Substituting himself for a villain, Touya smirked and congregated his magic. Dispelled from his palm, the blast shot out and rocketed into a merchant’s carriage. The vehicle shuddered, teetering on the edge of its wheels before Touya’s arcane powers combusted. Wood and bits of shredded vegetable exploded outwards, spraying the clearing with light debris. Spotting the danger, people ran away from the therian as the city guards closed. Over a dozen in number, they still hesitated before the therian, fearful of his power. What could batons and swords do to stop that kind of magic?

April observed the proceedings for as long as she could before Damea bolted in the opposite direction. Passing by, the mercenary dragged her along the arm, urging April to escape with him.

"Damn fool," he snarled, admonishing the therian’s reckless behavior once more.

Damea twisted through the mass of desperate to escape civilians. Adjusting her focus to concentrate on fleeing, April turned away as she started sprinting. “He certainly puts on a flashy show,” she commented, yelling to be heard over the general chaos.

April felt a bump to the side that threw the soldier off balance. Falling sideward, she landed on top of her left shoulder and winced as her bones impacted with the hard stone. With little time to recover, April rolled as a few people passed over her, avoiding their trampling feet. She pushed upwards, lifting herself back on her feet and quickly made her way to the archway. Separated from Damea midst the confusion, April resolved to reach the towns beyond the west wall first. Logically, if they were to reunite anywhere, it would be outside the premises of the city’s security.

Going with the crowd, it took relatively little time and effort before she was on the other side of the gate. Freed of the confines of the court, the density of people dispersed and April took the opportunity to glance back into the city. Praying to see Touya had escaped, the therian was indeed nowhere to be seen. Oddly, a swarm of curious onlookers had gathered on the other side, wondering what the uproar was about. They lingered along the main road, some peeping in an attempt to investigate, whilst a cue of carriages and caravans had ground to a halt by the events.

She slipped past and spotted Damea nervously waiting for her on the pathway. “Let’s head to the outskirts, the number of city guards are only going to increase here because of Touya’s actions. Best not to test them a second time,” she said upon reaching him.

The moment he spotted her he made his way over to her and she closed the distance between them. He was relieved to see that she'd made it through the crowd safely enough. What would Touya have done to him should he have lost April to something as simple as a crowd? Shaking his head slightly, Damea ran his fingers through his short white hair.

“Let’s head to the outskirts, the number of city guards are only going to increase here because of Touya’s actions. Best not to test them a second time,” April stated and started down the road to reach the very edges of the city limits. He followed after her, feeling a bit anxious at leaving the Therian back in the city. He frowned at himself and pushed aside the worries. Touya could handle himself and the man was more than capable of making a break for it. If they caught him, well they wouldn't be able to keep him long. The Therian was damned resilient if anything.

Once they reached the outskirts of the city, Damea followed April so that they were off the road a ways. It shouldn't take Touya long to find them, so Damea settled on the ground, stretching out his legs. As he sat there he began to get a tingling feeling along his spine and neck. Turning around he peered across the road to the other side where a line of trees grew tall and thick. The brush was fairly dense, so it was difficult to make out anything from where he sat. Even so, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was someone there watching them. His eyebrow came down and he turned away to face April.

"I believe we've got a stalker. The forest behind me. I could be wrong, but we might want to keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Damea said to the former soldier.



The guards were persistent as they chased him through the city streets. So much so, that Touya was beginning to think his chances of escaping were rather slim. The last thing he wanted was to be captured and then force April and Damea to come back into the city to try to break him out. Not that he would make them do that, but he knew how Damea was and the way April was recently, he was sure they both wouldn't just leave him at the mercy of the guards.

The sounds of guards coming down the alley ahead of him caused the Therian to grit his teeth and glower at his chosen route. Probably a poor choice to begin with, but he hadn't the time originally. Touya veered off and started down another alleyway, this one carrying him farther from his intended destination which was the western gate. Of course by this time, he was sure that the security around all of the gates was rather tight and he was going to have to come up with something rather... unpredictable, to get out of the stone walled city.

Touya's thoughts whirled as he ran, trying to formulate a plan to escape. So far, nothing came to mind and he was beginning to despair that he'd made the wrong decision once again. As he came around a corner he barreled into three guards and all four of them tumbled to the ground. Touya rolled to his feet, wincing slightly as his wounds gave him some discomfort. Twisting around he faced the men that were regaining their footing. In the alleyway that he'd just come from he spotted several other soldiers rushing after him.

Che, Touya glowered at them as he slowly stood up and stretched his hand forward. His body glowed a second time and he unleashed the power that built up along his frame. The explosion rocked the walls of the buildings nearby and dust exploded all around them as some of the rock was disintegrated from the attack. Touya used the dust to make a quick escape down the open street and back into the back alleys. If all went well he could start making his way back to the western gate. From there he would figure a way out. Until then, he would just have to concentrate on getting there without getting caught. Supposing, of course, all went in his favor.

---

---

Damea descended on the grass behind her as they waited for Touya. Admiring his nonchalance briefly, April gave a slight shake of her head before returning her thoughts to Touya. What was taking him so long? After witnessing the therian’s blistering speed on the plains and roadway to Altheim, she thought he would have beaten them here. Her brow furrowed as April’s nerves got the better of her. This position was awful. Exposed to ambushes and all manner of surveillance, she had no wish to remain rooted, particularly so close to the city.

"I believe we've got a stalker. The forest behind me. I could be wrong, but we might want to keep an eye out for anything suspicious," Damea whispered under a hushed breath.

April shifted her gaze to him, narrowing her irises. “Then we shouldn’t remain here,” she stated, attaching her hands to her hips. Interestingly, the soldier made no effort to look around or confirm Damea’s suspicions. Preferring to act casual, April was hoping to shake their pursuer before they the other party took notice. “We need to-”

Her face drained and she dropped on all fours abruptly, wrenching on air. Despite the absence of control, April’s sole focus was preoccupied with identifying the source of her current predicament. A sick feeling churned around her innards, threatening to throw out all she had eaten. Quickly, the burning spread to encompass her entire body, erasing any intentions to run. Instead, April’s thoughts were replaced by a simple, fervent hope for the pain to end. The woman released a strangled moan as she succumbed to the building nausea.

“Damea…run…”

Reginald appeared on cue, though the good doctor was leading a troop of Jaeger Guard down the main road. Marching in plain view, they adopted a brisk but certain pace, one that was neither hurried nor restless. Rather, it was one derived from knowing your opponent could not escape. Unknown to Damea, similar effects were about to seize his entire body. Reaching the position where April had fallen, Reginald strode forwards ahead of his squad.

“Damea, April. It’s a pleasure to meet you again,” he smiled, though the gesture was forced. “I didn’t expect you to run quite so soon, but I added a little something to the porridge as insurance.”

The medic looked towards Damea for answers to his next set of questions. “The ruckus at the west gates was your doing correct? Where is Touya?”

Damea startled when he saw April drop to her knees, doubled over and a slight moan slipping from her lips. He came forward to try to get to her but a voice stopped him cold in his tracks.His heart pounded as it was the same voice that he could recognize any day or time. Turning slowly he watched as Reginald came down the street with a group of elite Jeager guards behind him. The fire mage's throat clenched and he thought that he would die because of the sheer astonishment that wracked him.

They had been fooled.

This entire time they'd been fooled by the man. How was that even possible? Damea's mind couldn't wrap around what was going on and he stood up quickly, his hands reaching for his swords at his side. His mis-matched eyes were narrowed as he glared at Reginald whose demeanor seemed to change immediately.

“Damea, April. It’s a pleasure to meet you again. I didn’t expect you to run quite so soon, but I added a little something to the porridge as insurance,” Reginald smiled, but it wasn't the same smile that Damea had gotten used to seeing.

"You... you traitor!" Damea cried and then immediately after felt the same effects that April was feeling. His stomach twisted violently and he thought he was going to be brutally sick right there. He couldn't stand anymore, the world spun around him and he dropped to his knees with his own groan of pain. Slowly he fell off to the side, his arms wrapped around his stomach as he curled into a ball on the ground.

“The ruckus at the west gates was your doing correct? Where is Touya?”

"Go to hell," Damea responded between clenched teeth, he winced and curled into a tighter ball, rocking back and forth slightly on the ground.

"Here," the deep voice called from the midst of he Jeager guard and the men separated instantly. A man that was about the same height of Touya strode forward, his black hair was short and cropped like all of the other soldiers and he wore the same armor as the men did. However, as he approached Reginald, the human soldiers form faded away and the black hair grew long and turned silver, the dark skin paled and his black eyes turned to their crystal blue.

Damea sucked in a deep breath. It was the first time he'd ever seen a Therian actually transform their features before. Quite amazing to say the least, though he was in far too much pain to admire it for much longer. Not to mention he was rather irritated that the reckless Therian would so calmly make his appearance. Touya must have slipped in with the men when they were leaving the city.

"I should have known," Touya growled as he eyed the man, "But you play a rather good part, Reginald. Far too good. Though, now that we are far from the city, I don't have to hold back," Touya growled and the spikes on his arm extended outwards. His eyes narrowed and his body glowed.

Reginald backed of instinctively, as did the Jaeger Guard for a split instance of a second as each soldier sensed Touya’s vengeful lust. Eyes widening, the medic balked at their slow reactions. These were men who had seen over a dozen conflicts, men who had killed and been death’s closest companions for most of their lifetimes. Still they hesitated. Under normal circumstances, an armed faceless was not to be trifled with, much less an angry one. Yet right before them was a therian who had seen both sides of coin. Right before them was a man about to lose two of his dearest companions. Remembering who they were, the Jaeger Guard snapped into action with astonishing swiftness. A multitude of personal weapons spat forth, each one aimed and brandished with calm assuredness.

“Stop,” Reginald ordered, waving the Jaeger Guard down. They responded in their typical manner, instantly dropping aggressive stances but maintaining their guard.

“You to faceless, or how will you save April and Damea without the antidote?” said Reginald, directing his steady gaze towards Touya. Appearing nonplused, the medic dug his hands into his pockets and exhaled a deep breath in a motion that was unusually sinister given the situation. “Don’t worry, I swore an oath not to kill, remember?” Reginald said abruptly, smirking as if recalling better times, “But there are far more fates worse than death, yes?”

Foreshadowing their gruesome conditions, Reginald walked a few paces towards April, leaving Touya to his imagination. He bent down, gauging the faceless’ expression the entire time, and checked her pulse. It was a huge risk blackmailing the therian this way. Effectively, it would only work assuming Touya harbored affections. The original plan was to have Touya consume his porridge as well, but April had an unnerving habit of interrupting his plans. Just like when she unwittingly abandoned him to pursue Val.

“Help us,” he stated, certain the faceless had no option but to comply. “You and I, we want similar things. April and Damea aren’t the only ones in danger, countless others exist. There are people, Touya, people who will stop at nothing to see their fantasies realized. People who wish to see humanity turned into living weapons. Help us find and stop Val again, help us put an end to this madness before it starts.”

The moment Touya had unleashed his weapon, it seemed that the Jaeger guard had come out of their daze. Steel screamed in the air as the weapons were drawn and then pointed directly at Touya. The Therian's icy gaze shifted over to the group and he glowered at them, angered into a near fit of rage. His body glowed brighter as he prepared to annihilate them all.

“Stop,” Reginald's voice called out and Touya watched in mild surprise as the men all lowered their weapons but continued to watch the Therian wearily regardless.

“You to faceless, or how will you save April and Damea without the antidote? Don’t worry, I swore an oath not to kill, remember? But there are far more fates worse than death, yes?”

Touya watched the doctor ruffle around a hand in his pocket and continued his weary glare as the man approached April. Slowly his fist close tightly and the arm shook from his anger. The blades that he'd summoned from their compartment slowly retracted into his arm, folding down to be flat once again and like a bracer. The glow around his body also faded away as he released his hold on the pure energy, but didn't attack anyone. His thoughts went wild as he tried to figure out what Reginald could possibly be suggesting regarding April and Damea.

They were obviously sick, lying on the ground in pain. April's shifting in pain and slight moans were causing Touya much grief and heartache. He couldn't bear to see her like that and it was everything he could do to not reach out and strangle the doctor, force him to give her the antidote and then kill every last person there. He could have tried that and maybe been successful, but the actual odds of his coming out on top were very thin and for all he knew, Reginald could be lying to him right then. To make a move could endanger them all and Touya knew that he would most likely be getting himself killed in the process.

“Help us. You and I, we want similar things. April and Damea aren’t the only ones in danger, countless others exist. There are people, Touya, people who will stop at nothing to see their fantasies realized. People who wish to see humanity turned into living weapons. Help us find and stop Val again, help us put an end to this madness before it starts.”

"Don't!" Damea moaned as he winced, one eye was opened to look at him, the green one. The sharp color was filled with pain and discomfort and Touya ground his teeth, narrowing his eyes at his friend. A soft growl issued from the back of his throat as he turned his attention to Reginald.

"Why help you when you've done this to April and Damea? You could have asked me, no. You knew already that I was planning to go after Val again," Touya turned his body so that he was facing Reginald full on. His eyes were like smoldering ice, burning as he glared at the man he thought had been a friend, "What do you want?" He growled.

“I doesn’t really matter what I want. I am but a cog in the machine,” Reginald chuckled, lifting his eyebrows. Taking another few steps, he approached Damea and scanned over the paralyzed mercenary. “What matters is what my superiors don’t want. And what they don’t want to happen is for the human-therian hybrid project to come to fruition.”

Certain he held all the right cards; Reginald regarded Touya impassively, letting the therian's icy glare slide of him like cool water. The faceless could not possibly threaten him in his position. “Don’t act you have a choice faceless. I don’t have the antidote on me and you’re so close to Altheim that you can’t trust anyone with a simple request for aid either,” Reginald said bluntly, “Sure you were pursuing Val, but that was then. Both you and our army failed, so this time I need insurance.”

“So, here’s the deal,” Reginald continued, smiling quaintly, “You bring me Val’s head, and I’ll return April and Damea. I’ll give you two weeks, fail to do so and I’ll let toxin run its course.”

“Think of it as motivation.”

Human-Therian hybrids? What was Reginald on about? Touya hadn't heard anything about this. If it were true, then the humans really had sunk low. He didn't like the sounds of the implications. His stomach twisted as he tried to imagine just what exactly the humans and their scientists would have come up with.

Reginald moved from April to Damea and examined him as well. Once he was finished, Touya was clenching his fists and grinding his teeth in response to what the doctor had said to him. So, Reginald planned to keep Damea and April hostage while he sent Touya to kill a man that he could barely handle by himself. Was the doctor insane?

"You said it yourself, I failed to stop Val on several occasions. Your army failed to do so as well. What makes you think that sending me alone again will make any difference? You're a fool if you think that I can defeat Val on my own. I can barely stay alive when I fight him," Touya growled back.

"I think I'll deal without your little game," the Therian continued and his blades snapped forward once more. He lunged forward at Reginald, but he was stopped by the Jaeger Guard. Several of the mean leapt at him and pulled back his arms. A sharp kick to the back of his knees sent him to the ground and though he would have summoned the power to blast them backwards, one of the guards actually had a mind of his own and pressed his blade against the Therian's throat. Touya tensed his muscles, pulling against the men who held him, his deadly glare straight at Reginald.

Reginald backed off defensively, ever cautious of Touya’s abilities. The therian’s rash attempt to lash out landed him several quick jabs as the Jaeger Guard restrained him forcefully. Iron grips caught Touya as he leapt forth, pulling limbs whilst driving him into the dirt.

“You’re right faceless. I don’t trust you,” Reginald shrugged, “Which is why we have taken the courtesy of organizing you companion. They should be here any second now…”

With a quick gesture, three more figures paraded down the main road. Riding their horses, Reginald squinted to verify the identity of whoever it was that approached. Abruptly, the trio of horse riders veered off upon sighting them, hastily retreating down a side street. Reginald chuckled amusedly, raising one hand to his mouth.

“Whoops, wrong people. Guess life isn’t that convenient,” he commented, scratching the side of his cheek sheepishly.

Faintly, galloping hooves could be heard in the far off distance, clapping thunderously again pavement. The sounds quickly congregated on their position as the medic patiently waited with Touya in front of him. One more figure appeared on the horizon, though this man was easily identifiable from the clean crop of blonde hair and aristocratic good looks.

“Mr Riverbend, how nice of you to join us,” Reginald smiled as the Beast Slayer brought his steed to a startling stop. Miles’ eyes narrowed as he recognized the figures of both Touya and April.

“What in the empire!?” snarled the man, pointing his shock towards Reginald, “What is going on here? I was meant to be visiting the murder sight! Who are you?”

Reginald flashed a badge in the face of the Beast Slayer who immediately turned pale. “What do you want?”

“Judging from your reaction at the court house Mr Riverbend, we were hoping you’d cooperate with our mutual goals. We wish to acquire your unique skills in hunting a particularly dangerous faceless and therefore put a stop to the hybrid experiments,” Reginald explained, skipping straight to the point.

Miles glared down at the medic, his chin seemingly up in defiant resistance to Reginald’s will. “Why are we talking out here about this?”

“Because we felt it was vital to introduce you to your partner early on,” the medic responded, earning a low growl from the Beast Slayer as he glanced around him.

“You’re kidding me, you want me to work with the therian?” said Miles, deducing his meaning.

“Faceless, meet Miles Riverbend. Mr Riverbend meet Tou-”

“We’ve already met,” Miles interrupted.

“Perfect! Then you’re already acquainted!” Reginald beamed, "Faceless, Mr Riverbend will be ensuring that you carry out your mission effectively." Reginald had said last sentence partly for the sake of Miles, "You have two weeks Mr Riverbend, two weeks to kill the terrorist leader. Failure to do so ends in the doom of us all."

“You’re right faceless. I don’t trust you. Which is why we have taken the courtesy of organizing you company. They should be here any second now…” Reginald said with a slight shrug. The man looked off to the side, down the road where Touya could not see, but he could hear the advancing of several horses. His chest tightened at the thought of who it could possibly be that Reginald had called for.

“Whoops, wrong people. Guess life isn’t that convenient,”

"Your games are growing tiresome-" Touya hissed, but he was ignored and cut off as a new set of approaching horses could be heard. In a matter of seconds, Touya was greeted with a sight that he'd hoped not to see again. His fists tightened and he pulled harder against the men, eliciting a couple more of the Jaeger Guard to grab hold of him.

“Mr Riverbend, how nice of you to join us,” Reginald stated, calling out the name of the man whom Touya had fought not but a couple days ago.

The Therian couldn't believe that his 'partner' would be this man, a man who had tried to kill him -and almost succeeded- two days ago. Was Reginald out of his mind? Did he really think that Touya and Miles would just take this lying down? Touya wasn't about to agree to this at all, he didn't want anything to do with Miles and most of all he was tired of hearing Reginald spout his crazy ideas. He wanted to know why the man had been friendly before hand, why had he deceived them. What was it that he'd been planning on the entire time?

“Because we felt it was vital to introduce you to your partner early on,” Reginald's words pulled Touya from his brooding.

“You’re kidding me, you want me to work with the therian?” Miles replied, his voice telling of his disbelief and disdain for the situation.

"Believe me, I'm not happy about this either," Touya growled in return.

“Faceless, meet Miles Riverbend. Mr Riverbend meet Tou-”

“We’ve already met,” Miles interrupted.

“Perfect! Then you’re already acquainted! Faceless, Mr Riverbend will be ensuring that you carry out your mission effectively. You have two weeks Mr Riverbend, two weeks to kill the terrorist leader. Failure to do so ends in the doom of us all."

Touya glowered at them both. He was in a precarious situation. He wanted so much to pull on his power and destroy them all right there, but then what would he do for April and Damea? Glancing over to Damea, he noted that the mercenary was still curled in a ball, but because the man hadn't said anything Touya figured that he was probably too far gone in pain and delirium to deduce what was happening. His gaze moved to April, though he couldn't see her face by the way she was laying, he guessed that she might have been in the same state as Damea.

"Bastard..." Touya muttered. He opened his mouth to say more, but a feeling of immense power filled the air and he looked off to the other side of the road sharply. A swirl of blue light filled the air and shot across the distance, aimed right at Touya. Rather, he thought it was aimed at him, but the magic brushed by him just barely and instead knocked the Jaeger Guard off their feet. A second blast filled the air aimed right at both Miles and Reginald.

Touya didn't see what happened to them as he'd been knocked over from the magic. Covering his head, he curled slightly to try to protect his body from any more attacks. Looking over to the other side of the street, he spotted a woman making her way across the road, a large blade drawn and held at the ready. From her arms and legs were curved metal blades and he immediately recognized her as a Therian. As she grew closer, her body glowing, he then realized who it was.

Getting to his feet, he turned around and faced the Jaegar Guard. Reaching back he drew both blades and flicked them open. Touya glowed as well as he pulled the energy into his body, then launched himself at the nearest elite.

A few shouts of warning issued the moment a wave of blue energy singed the air, leaving a white vapor trail in its wake. Its kinetic force threw the Jaeger Guard off their feet resulting in harsh curses and dropped weapons. It came from the forests which marked the edge of the Altheim. Reginald looked around in time to spot a second energy blast spiraling towards him and gasped.

The medic jumped aside, as did Miles, though the Beast Slayer was much quicker to draw. Reacting a second too late, the surprise attack hammered into Reginald and sent him tumbling several paces across the dirt. On the other hand, Miles was up and had darted around, efficiently dodging the entire magical discharge. Swaths of dust and rubbish swam up in response to the sudden movement of gases, throwing garbage right across the street.

“Dammit! They were meeting someone else?” Reginald snapped, rolling onto his back. The medic winced at the bruise which now coated his wrists.

Unnervingly, not a single man stopped in startled surprise. The Jaeger Guard where the first to counter attack. One who held a pistol aimed the armament in the direction of the charging woman and fired, releasing a loud bang. Another was not as lucky as Touya barreled into him, catching the man on two blades. Impaled by the swords, any normal man would have given up, but this Jaeger Guard growled defiantly. Pulling close to Touya, he head butted the therian and reached out, attempting to throttle his opponent. Using the opportunity, another Jaeger Guard unclipped his flail and descended on Touya.

“The games up doctor,” Miles hissed, brandishing his already unsheathed weapon, “Go, and take your prisoners.”

Reginald looked up at the Beast Slayer and nodded his appreciation, "Hold them back!"

On this order the Jaeger Guard wold never fail. Immediately the medic was up. Running over, Reginald hoisted April over his shoulder and directed a fourth Jaeger Guard to carry Damea. Miles met the woman with a large blade head on and brought his sword swooping from his right hand. The first Jaeger Guard, the one who fired the pistol, moved in to support, thrusting his spearhead forwards in an excellent cooperative maneuver.

The man he impaled surprised him as he pulled himself across both swords and slammed his forehead into Touya's face. Blood trickled from the Therian's nose from the impact. He stumbled backwards, wincing slightly from the hit. With a growl of anger, he kicked the man and pulled his blades free from his body at the same time. Touya caught sight of the second Jaeger Guard who came at him wielding a mace like weapon.

Turning, he caught the downward strike with one sword, swiped it aside and plunged his blade into the man's chest. Ripping his sword free, Touya pivoted to face another opponent and from behind the man his gaze saw Reginald taking hold of April and another Guard grabbing Damea. His heart pounded rapidly against his rib cage and fear flooded his body as well as rage. Where was the man going with April?! What the hell was he doing! Across the way, Touya noted that the female Therian was engaged in a fight with Miles, her large sword swinging rapidly and accurately to try to cut the man down.

Touya growled and with a blast of his own power, sent several of the Guards away from him as they tried to circle him. He broke away from the chaos and started to give chase to Reginald, his speed increased by his power. However, his way was blocked by several of the elite men and he barreled into them, falling to the ground as he'd been completely intercepted. Looking up he glowered at Reginald's back as he made off with April and Damea.

"I'll kill you!" He shouted at the man. A sharp burn cut across his back and he was brought back to the reality that he was still surrounded by several of the Jaeger Guard. Flipping over, he retaliated and swiped both swords across his chest, cutting into the man who had wounded him. Touya flipped his body upwards, landing on his feet gracefully and rushed at Miles who was fighting the Therian woman. If she killed him, then he would have no way of getting April and Damea back. He needed to stop her. Of course, the other thing that he had in mind was why she was fighting in the first place.

"Ahmeil! Stop!" He shouted at her. He jumped in between her and the downward swing towards Miles' head. His swords crossed and cut her off, stopping the deadly blow, not that he thought Miles incapable of dodging such an attack, "Stop, or I'll lose everything," he told her again. As he gazed at her, there was something different in her eyes than from the last time he'd seen her.

"Why are you stopping me! Let me kill him! Let me kill ever last human on the face of this planet! They are filthy! Worthless scum who have no right to live!" She screamed back at him. Touya shoved himself forward, dislodging her blade from his. Shaking his head he turned to Miles and leveled his sword at the man.

"You're going to help me get Damea and April back, that mean's going after Val. Once that's finished, and only after both my companions are healthy again, then we can finish this."

"You! You! Traitor!" Ahmeil screamed, realization hitting her then. Touya turned to face her as she swung her sword now at him, "I didn't think it was true, but when I saw you in the courtyard of the city, I thought the worst had happened. I thought that you'd joined with the humans. I tried to convince myself it wasn't true! But here you are now, saying you want to save them! You pathetic fool! You! Don't you know what they did!" Ahmeil screamed as she continued to swing wildly at him. Touya, now on the defensive, watched her in confusion. What had happened to the woman he once knew?

"They killed him! They killed your brother, Touya! They tormented him! They took him away from me! They used him in their disgusting, vile, experiments! They killed him right in front of me!" Her voice was high pitched, her eyes wide with rage and blood lust, "Now you want to help them!? You traitor! You filthy traitor! I'll kill you!"

"Friend of yours?" Miles asked, raising an eyebrow as Touya stepped between him and his opponent. Not really trusting Touya, Miles kept his sword arm up and ready to strike. Still, the woman had just informed the therian of his brother's death, and judging by Touya's expression, Miles was preparing to defend himself on two fronts if necessary. "This one seems a little crazy if you ask me therian."

The Beast Slayer glanced around in the direction Touya had come from and to his surprise spotted three dead Jaeger Guard. So he does kill. Whistling low, Miles smirked down at Touya as he refocused on the immediate issue. The way Miles saw it, there was only one way to resolve the situation. "So what's it going to be therian? Will you save your precious wench? Or will you take your revenge? I certainly don't blame you if you want the later, but you can't have both."

Touya blocked another swing aimed directly for his chest. She was serious about trying to kill him. Every strike she'd made was a mortal blow to his body. If he allowed her even the slightest opening, he would be done for. Her eyes were wild with rage, lost in a agony he knew nothing of. However, at the mention of his brother his eyes widened and he barely managed to block her next blow. Even so, her powerful swing, coupled with an enraged blast of magic, threw him to the ground.

"Ahmeil... what are you saying?"

"They killed him," she growled back as she lunged for him. Her large weapon clashed with his and she leaned down, putting all her weight behind the sword. Touya winced as he struggled to keep her off him, "They killed him. Tormented him. It was horrifying, Touya. My husband... they killed him! Took him away from me! And yet... here you are, his brother, wishing to help these filthy scum!" She screamed at him.

Her magic boiled and writhed around her frame and she sent it down at Touya. The Therian's pale blue eyes widened slightly as the full force of her energy impaled him. A cough issued a spray of blood up into the air and flecks of it onto his face. Touya shook, shuddering under her pressure. One eyes was closed tightly as he glared up at her. A bit of blood trickled from the corner of his lips down the side of his face.

Miles' voice came to him then, asking what he wanted. To save April and Damea, or take revenge on the loss of his brother. It was true he couldn't have both. To kill Miles would mean the death of April. Saving April meant forgoing revenge. However, Touya knew that he could get revenge after saving April and right then, he needed Miles alive. Besides, he didn't think that Miles had been the one to kill his brother, and even if he had been the one, now wasn't the time for it.

He gathered his energy around him and expanded it outwards, the power pushing Ahmeil off of him effectively. She toppled over and rolled away from the hit and Touya got to his feet. He moved in front of Miles and aimed his weapons at Ahmeil, the sister-in-law he once loved and cherished. She was nothing but a monster right then, her mind lost to nothing but rage and revenge.

"Help me save April," Touya muttered to Miles as he eyed Ahmeil who started back to her feet once more. Ahmeil screamed, her voice holding the deepest parts of her wraith and insanity. Leveling her own weapon, she crouched down. The power around her vibrated and she was then flung forward at Touya at amazing speeds. He barely got his weapons up to block her straight thrust to his chest. Even so, the tip of her blade scratched deep into both of his weapons as he held them crossed in front of his body. Her magic had shoved her so quickly forward, that Touya skidded backwards from the attack towards Miles.

A blur of movement skirted around Touya before a sharp blade glittered in the face of Ahmeil. In the span of a second Miles had taken the opportunity to counter attack from the flank, swiping his blade in a horizontal swing that would have decapitated half of her head.

“I like that decision,” Miles commented, a fierce grin forming over his cheeks, “It means I get to keep my head a little longer. Jaeger Guard!”

The surviving Jaeger Guard, three in total, leapt into action. “Impressive fighting skills therian,” one remarked as he passed Touya, brandishing a pole-axe. The others, a spearman and fencer respectively, attacked in synchrony, following up Miles’ blistering thrust. If there were any lingering reservations about Touya, none of them voiced it for they dedicated themselves fully to bringing down the ambusher before them.

“Sorry girl,” Miles said, glaring at the woman with slick, black hair, “Go take your selfish revenge somewhere else.”

That said, the Beast Slayer’s left hand appeared beneath his right. He released a blast of concussive air, aiming to throw the therian woman off balance.

“She may warn the other therians!” Miles yelled, “Don’t let her escape!”

Touya was startled at how fast Miles had moved. In the next instant, Ahmeil's blade pulled away from him as she back peddled way from the man who almost too her head. Even so, a long scratch across her forehead bleed profusely down her face. The Therian woman yelled and swung at Miles, her blade missing him completely, but it was only to keep him at a distance. Touya watched as the last three elites rushed passed him, one commenting to him on his fighting. This made the Therian even more confused than before and so he did not respond.

Touya didn't move from his spot, watching in curiousity as they attacked Ahmeil. She was easily outnumbered and when Miles sent his magic at her, knocking her backwards, the woman decided that it was probably a good idea to leave. Turning around, Ahmeil sprinted across the earth and into the tree line. Miles yelled out an order to the men and they gave chase after her. Straightening, Touya turned to Miles as he sheathed his swords.

"Lets get started, the faster we get this over with the better."

---

Miles Riverbend

---

"Lets get started, the faster we get this over with the better."

Miles looked over the therian and scoffed at the man’s utter disregard for the escaping woman. Touya had sheathed his weapons, allowing the blades to fold over in snapping motions and therefore reducing their ungainly size to something more manageable. Now he was staring at Miles with icy blue eyes, apparently at ease with allowing the therian woman to flee. Was it all just a ploy? “You’re not going to chase after her?” Miles asked, sounding slightly incredulous, “She could warn the other therians and I’m not particularly keen on dying here. Well, it’s your loss also. Havoc’s one of those people who keeps his word, if you catch my drift.”

Shaking his head, the Beast Slayer looked to the dark blood that coated his sword. Another inch and the blow would have been fatal. That was a perfect lunge yet once again he had been undermined by the more advance therian physique. Releasing a sigh, he withdrew a handkerchief and wiped away the blood stains, running the piece of cloth up and down the length of his sword. “Can’t believe I got assigned to more guard duty,” Miles cursed under his breath.

“I must admit, I’m impressed by your display of loyalty again. That turncoat must mean a lot to you. I mean look at the mess you made for her sake,” Miles mused, not even looking up from his repetitive maintenance, “I wonder what she did to earn such special treatment? Wait, you guys haven’t screwed? Have you?!”

Shuddering at the thought of such a joining, he turned once he was finished with cleaning, pocket the dirty fabric and sheathing his sword with a click. “What a bunch of mavericks. Whatever, let’s get this charade on the road then, shall we? So therian, which way do we go?” Miles asked, waltzing back to the main road to reclaim his horse. "Jaeger Guard! Fall back!"

The remaining Jaeger Guard halted their pursuit, ending the sounds of gunfire. They turned to Miles grimly and saluted before disengaging to attend to their dead. Hoisting himself over the back of his steed, Miles took up the reigns between his hands. “Don’t expect me to organize your supplies though. You find your own horse and food. Fall behind also, and I'll ditch you faster than you can say Beast Slayer.”

---

Dean ‘Havoc’ Reginald

---

“Two weeks, huh?”

Presiding over the unconscious forms of April and Damea, Reginald jumped at the interruption with a sharp intake of sterilized air. Looking up from his work, the medic glanced around and spotted the silhouette of an individual he recognized. Well lit, the holding room was a pristine environment. Perfect for surgical procedures if necessary. White tiles lined the walls and floor, ending just at the edge of the rectangular roof. Steam powered lights shined overhead, prickling the back of his neck with warmth.

“Yes,” Reginald replied smoothly, turning his head back to resume his work, “Two weeks is the deadline for all of us.”

He was in the process of securing April to an operating table. The toxin he had fed them was particularly virulent and could lead to violent seizures during the later stages of its development. If such a thing were to occur, Reginald wanted to prevent his patients from hurting themselves, at least for the time being. It was vital he maintained his leverage over Touya.

“Two weeks from now is when Victor Hawthorn and his ilk have opted for a re-vote,” Reginald said, attaching a drip to April’s arm. Though comatose, the woman still winced unknowingly, her face riddled with accumulated sweat and agony. As though enduring a nightmare, she had tossed and turned more than a few occasions now, subconsciously desperate to escape her fate. Damea was similar, but fairing much better overall than the former soldier. “Something tells me they’ll make their move before then even. Currently most of the court doesn’t support the hybrid project, but that could all change at a moments notice.”

“People are getting desperate, they’re scared of the therians,” said the person. Reginald sensed a shrug behind the words and smirked.

“If it’s not faceless, it’s the elves. If not the elves it’s the beastmen. People are always jumping at their own shadows,” Reginald frowned, “People will be people, regardless of race.”

A soft chuckle penetrated the gloom from behind him, earning a raised eyebrow from Reginald as he performed his final checks. “Quite, we can only pray the therian succeeds. If Victor achieves his goal then a new era dawns of Altheim. A new era I’m rather afraid of.”

Reginald nodded, “It’s all up to Touy-”

April had started coughing abruptly, disrupting his speech. Fearing the woman would choke on her vomit, Reginald strode over and held her head up as she convulsed, fighting his grip fiercely.

“Is she meant to be coughing?” asked the voice.

“No, it’s not a symptom caused by the drug. Pass me that bucket!” Reginald grunted, struggling to hold April in place. Eventually she calmed down, but a wet goblet of red mucus flew out on the final wrench. Reginald’s eyes widened he gazed at the crimson liquid. “Blood…”

“You’re not going to chase after her? She could warn the other therians and I’m not particularly keen on dying here. Well, it’s your loss also. Havoc’s one of those people who keeps his word, if you catch my drift.”

"It doesn't matter if she warns them or not. They will know I'm coming. If I can feel their presence they can feel mine, no matter what. If you're afraid of dying then stay here," Touya scoffed. He would have remained silent, but the man spoke a name he had yet to hear. Havoc. Who the hell was Havoc? It only took a moment for him to realize that it was Reginald whom he spoke of. What an interesting second name the man had, suited him well.

“I must admit, I’m impressed by your display of loyalty once again. That turncoat must mean a lot to you. I mean look at the mess you made. I wonder what she did to earn such special treatment? Wait, you guys haven’t….you know? Have you?!”

Touya stared at him, raising an eyebrow. His arms crossed over his chest as he watched the man. Was he so dense that he thought April, of all people, would allow a Therian to touch her in such a way? Touya would have a knife in his heart quicker than anything. She was important to him, yes, but she would never harbor the same feelings. To her, they were nothing more than comrades. Hell, Touya was lucky to have even gotten that far with her.

“What a bunch of mavericks. Whatever, let’s get this charade on the road then, shall we? So therian, which way do we go? Jaeger Guard! Fall back!"

Touya watched, mildly interested as the three remaining Jaegar Guard returned to their commanders side. It was interesting how well disciplined they were. They began working around those that had fallen during the fight. Touya averted his gaze, feeling a bit of guilt rising at the back of his throat as he'd been the cause for many of the deaths, if not all of them. His eyes shifted to look up at the man as Miles mounted his horse.

"Into the wilds, as far out west as possible," Touya answered.

“Don’t expect me to organize your supplies though. You find your own horse and food. Fall behind also, and I'll ditch you faster than you can say Beast Slayer.”

"You underestimate me, Miles. I think you should be the one to worry about that," Touya countered. His body shuddered, his image rippling like water that had been struck by a rock. In a matter of seconds the tall Therian had transformed his entire body into that of a very large wolf. The white fur glistened in the light and the only thing to mark it as being Touya were the pale blue eyes that stared up at Miles. The beast's lips pulled back into what could only be presented as a smirk. Turning, the wolf took off into the tall grass, towards the trees where Ahmeil had run off too. Passed there, it was open grassland again and he would follow it until he came upon Val and his men.



His eyes opened slowly and he squinted as he was met by brilliant white wash light. Blinking a couple of times his blurry sight cleared and he could then see where he was. However, that didn't mean he knew where exactly he was. It was a room with white tiles all around and he was strapped to a cold table. His body was cold feeling like he'd been in ice for hours, however sweat beading on his forehead. What the hell had Reginald fed to him and April?

His breathing was short and it was hard to concentrate passed the pounding headache that wracked him. He moaned slightly as the pain in his stomach grew sharp for a moment before fading away. Damea's dry throat burned for water, but he couldn't find his voice to call for anyone. The ceiling above him spun then, his head feeling like it was swirling around and he quickly closed his eyes to avoid being sick on the table.

Damea turned his head off to the side and glanced around as best he could. Every movement was slow and the pain came and went, earning soft moans from him. His eyes finally caught sight of April on his right and he felt a bit of fear welling in his chest. She looked far worse than he felt. Also strapped to a table, her face was pale and she looked to be in constant pain, more so than Damea. He pulled at his bindings, trying to move, trying to free himself to help her, but to no avail. The movement only made him even more dizzy and sick.

It wasn't too much longer and Damea felt his eyes growing heavy. He couldn't stay awake any longer, no matter how much he fought. The headache was too much, the dizziness overwhelming. He needed to sleep, sleep and hopefully overcome whatever poison Reginald had given them.

---

Miles Riverbend

---

"You underestimate me, Miles. I think you should be the one to worry about that," Touya smirked before his body began changing.

Miles had witnessed it several times before, but even still the transformation stunned him. Watching a phenomenon he could only describe as surreal, the Beast Slayer blinked several times throughout the process, unable to fully accept the sight he was witnessing. Hands changed to paws, skin rapidly grew out tufts of silver fur. The most drastic of these was Touya’s face. Extending out, his entire bone structure altered, widening his jaw into a visage of a canine predator. Realizing the therian had morphed into a majestic wolf, the Beast Slayer looked entirely perturbed by the makeover.

“That’s a fabulous party trick. Is that how you snuck up to the caravan?” he remarked, lifting an eyebrow at the wolf. Touya returned a smirk to his comment, revealing a set of razor sharp teeth, before he set off in a westerly direction. Fortunately they were already by the West Gate.

Watching the therian go pouncing into the tall grass from atop his horse, Miles gripped the rope of his reigns tightly. Reflecting on what Touya revealed brought him no small measure of comfort. He had no idea the therian’s were so closely connected that they could sense each other’s presence. That meant the element of surprise was void unless they split up. To make matters worse, they had no army to support them. No task force, no Jaeger Guard, nothing but two disgruntled swordsman. Miles had seen better odds at a rigged gambling den. What exactly did Havoc expect them to do with so much stacked against them?

“This is a massive waste of time,” he grumbled, reluctantly kicking his horse to action. He set off after the therian, adopting a brisk pace to keep up with Touya’s new form. For more nimble than even his horse, Touya weaved through the grass without dilemma. “Well, I guess if I get hungry I can always get Touya to turn into some beef, or chicken.”

---

For the better part of a week the duo lived it out rough on their journey to kill Vals. As Touya would learn, Miles was a sociable individual, but one that was better suited to the luxurious dining halls of high society. Talkative and good humored, Miles seemed quite capable of conversing with the therian despite the social disconnection between cultures. Unlike Damea however, Miles had a tendency for snarky cynicism and obnoxious insensitivity. In fact, it was easy to attribute the qualities of a petulant child to Miles. The man had spent practically half their time complaining about their circumstances, fervently wishing he was in the city drinking and screwing instead.

Nevertheless, a sharp cunning existed behind the jovial façade. Miles had not spent his time with the therian idly. Never one to be fooled by gentle appearances, Miles’ frustrating behavior was rather deliberate at times. Mentally gauging Touya for weaknesses, quirks, and habits, Miles hoped to learn enough about the therian to at least alleviate the majority of his reservations, or confirm them. It was precisely that method that he employed then as they travelled along the dirt road, travelling ever more westwards, travelling ever further away from his beloved city. Not that he had much else to do given the scarcity of decent company. Touya and Miles had only stopped to meet traders on the route to what west given the therian's desperate insistence to save his comrades.

“Why do you braid you hair like that?” Miles asked abruptly. Touya had transformed back to his humanoid form now that they were drawing dangerously close to their quarry. “It’s not particularly functional. Someone could yank on it in a fight you know? Or it could get caught in some chains.”

“I think you should cut it short. Isn’t it a pain to wash also?” he twittered, layering on the criticism. “Empire’s teeth, I don’t know what they teach you at therian combat school. And that’s another complaint I have also, your combat form is all over the place. I’m beginning to think they don’t train you to use your abilities properly at all.”

They trotted on, the sounds of hoofs clapping mixing with the Beast Slayer’s general chatter, “You guys are always so fond of whizzing about. You’re like those new steam trucks with more horse power than they know what to do with.”

“And are we there yet? My hands hurt and it’s cold. I think I’m going to get frostbite at this rate.”

If Touya cared to look back, he would have bore witness to a shivering Beast Slayer. Miles’ elbows were tucked in as close to his sides as possible to maintain his body heat, so much so the man looked uncomfortable on top of his horse. He put on a sour face, evidently despising the exposure.

She couldn't believe how fast the human was. Then again she'd been focused only on Touya so she'd never seen the man move. Just barely had she managed to get out of the way of his attack. Hissing in anger, she started backwards and finally realized that she was gravely outnumbered. She couldn't possibly take on four humans and Touya at the same time. Touya alone was difficult to fight against as he was much stronger than she was. The only thing she had going for herself was her rage against him and the fact that he seemed reluctant to actually fight her.

Turing around, Ahmeil fled the fight. Rage flooded her at the audacity of her fleeing from a couple of humans. Even so, there was nothing she could do and after hearing what Touya had said to the man, she couldn't just stay there. Ahmeil needed to get to Val, she needed to warn him that Touya was coming for him. Not that the warning would be needed as they could feel each other, but if he knew ahead of time, he could prepare for his arrival far better than if he didn't know. The Therian woman rushed into the trees and used her power to accelerate forward faster. Her body twisted and weaved through the trees until she broke free to the other side.

From there it was much faster as nothing stood in her way. Ahmeil expanded all of her energy to reach Val. It took her three days, though, a much shorter time had she taken her time. Touya would reach them in four to five days, four if he were in a hurry which it seemed he was. Ahmeil stumbled upon Val's camp soon after, several of the Therian's coming to greet her as she approached. Her body was worn from her constant use of energy and when she made it, she simply collapsed. When she woke again, she was within one of their tents with cool water on her face and furs beneath her.

"Ahmeil."

The voice belonged to Val who was sitting next to her. Turning her head she caught his dark glittering gaze. He seemed displeased as he watched her but she ignored it. There were far more important issues than the failure at the city, "Touya. He's coming for you."

Val raised an eyebrow, lifting his head off his hands just slightly to regard her, "He is, is he? I wonder if he'd had enough of that human woman since her betrayal."

Ahmeil shook her head, eyes narrowing in rage, "No," she growled, "He was protecting her and he's even helping the humans to save her life. He's gone mad."

"Ah. I see. I could have only hoped. I suppose then, we should prepare to greet him. Is he alone?"

"No. There will be some men coming with him from what I could gather. Humans. Nothing we can't handle."

Val hummed as he sat there next to her. After a moment he spoke, "You'll head back to our settlement."

"Val!" Ahmeil shouted and attempted to sit up, but the room spun and she fell back. Val, in turn, glowered at her.

"That's why. You're too weak to fight. Go back and heal. Rest and only then will I allow you to fight. I do not wish to lose you to them just because you're too weak. I'll meet you there once I've finished my business."

Ahmeil frowned at him, but she did not argue. That morning, he sent her away with several other Therian's and they started westward towards the main group of Therian's.



For the better part of a week Touya had been subject to Miles constant chatter. The man was very sociable, reminding him a lot of Damea, however he was condescending in tone most times and complained constantly. It grated on Touya's nerves, but the Therian ignored it as best he could. For the most part he was quiet, enduring the constant talking. He only spoke when asked a direct question that he felt needed an answer. Otherwise, the Therian was silent and seemingly ignoring the human upon his horse.

As they drew nearer to where he could feel Val, he shifted his form from the wolf to his humanoid form. He walked along side the horse, thinking back to when Miles had told him that he would have to find his own horse and provide for his own food. He found it quite interesting to know that the man was terrible living out in the wild despite all his talk. He was a city man and enjoyed the comforts of that life far too well.

“Why do you braid you hair like that? It’s not particularly functional. Someone could yank on it in a fight you know? Or it could get caught in some chains.”

"It's not a matter of functionality, Miles. This is my clan's style, it marks me as a warrior of my clan. Therian's are broken into clans, or rather, we used to be like that. We were separated by what we shape-shifted into. Now, though, it's a matter of if you're against the entire human race or if you're willing to make peace. I can easily get out of someone holding my hair and it's never been caught before because I braid it."

“I think you should cut it short. Isn’t it a pain to wash also? Empire’s teeth, I don’t know what they teach you at therian combat school. And that’s another complaint I have also, your combat form is all over the place. I’m beginning to think they don’t train you to use your abilities properly at all.”

"Try to cut it and I'll behead you," Touya countered, his voice hard though he had a bit of a smile on his lips as he walked, not turning to face Miles, "I fight with honor, unlike you," Touya shot at him, the smile turned to a partial grin on his lips as he glanced up to the man, "I'm much faster than you humans. In my opinion it is you who have no training at all, you are all clumsy and slow. The only group of people who fight decently are your 'Jaeger Guard'. Though, I must admit, you've some talent as well," Touya complimented then added to it, "Not a lot, but some."

“You guys are always so fond of whizzing about. You’re like those new steam trucks with more horse power than they know what to do with.”

Lifting an eyebrow Touya wondered what the hell a 'steam truck' was or 'horse power'. In his mind he was picturing horses drawing some kind of large contraption with steam coming out of it. Shaking his head he sighed softly, he was never going to understand these humans. They had such strange ideas and strange contraptions.

“And are we there yet? My hands hurt and it’s cold. I think I’m going to get frostbite at this rate.”

"For one that likes to be superior you sure aren't meant for this kind of weather at all are you?" Touya asked as he slowed his pace and looked up at the man. The Therian was rather warm, his body kept that way due to his energy and how he was built. The cold rarely bothered him. Reaching up he took hold of the man's arm and directed his energy towards him. If they stopped then, they risked being over taken by Val. They had to keep going, which meant not making a fire to warm the human. Touya expelled his energy into Miles. The power should warm the man enough to keep him from freezing to death on him.

"Now, can you manage to be quite for a little while? We're nearly upon Val. I suggest getting off the horse as well. You'll want to have your body moving to stay warm as well. You'll need to be ready for a fight."

Whether or not the man heeded his words, Touya didn't stay to find out. He moved ahead of the horse and hurried to top the hill before them. He could feel Val just ahead and knew the man was on the other side, possibly down in the valley between hills. With the loss of surprise, Touya crouched down and unsheathed his swords. Snapping them outwards, he climbed up the hill and slowly peered over it to the other side as best he could. Touya got down as far as he could and searched for Val. About four hundred feet away from him and Miles were the rebel Therian's. Fires were burning as it was growing darker and colder.

Touya laid down across the grass to see how many Val had with him. He didn't have a lot of time to scout out the area, so he did the best he could with the time that he had. Looking over to Miles, he nodded his head in the direction of the camp, "He's here," Touya whispered to the man. As he lay there, he counted the shadows that moved. Val had several men with him, but not nearly as many as he had the first time. He knew Val well enough that the man would only fight with Touya himself and not allow anyone else to interfere. That was probably one of the good things about the Therian rebel leader.

As Touya prepared to get to his feet and get Val's attention, he heard a soft sound in the grass before him and he gasped slightly. The bastard was cunning. Looking to Miles, he knew the man wouldn't have a chance against what Val had done. Throwing himself at Miles, he covered the man as best he could from the attack that he'd failed to see till last minute. Val's clan was that of snakes, and the man had the cunning to gather several of them to attack Touya. However, Touya hadn't been his aim, rather he'd been aiming to get rid of the human first.

Three snakes shot forth from the dry grass and bit into Touya's arm as he'd only had a few seconds to cover Miles. There hadn't been time to summon any magic to blow them backwards. One of the snakes missed him completely, but the other two struck true. One sunk it's deadly fangs into his arm just above the elbow while the other clamped hard on his metal bracer. Thankfully the bracer was strong enough for the snakes fangs not to sink in. Reaching over he grabbed the one on his bracer and flung it away. The other he did the same too. Grabbing hold of Miles' arm he dragged the man to his feet and pushed him backwards as the hills were filled with the sound of hissing.

"Don't move," Touya hissed to Miles and summoned his magic. His body glowed and he expelled the power outwards. The grass blew backwards along with dirt and slithery beasts. Angered that Val would go to such lengths he turned his gaze towards the camp. As the grass settled once more, Touya caught the sight of a rather large snake that had been hiding in the yellow stalks. It's scales were yellow and black marking it very clearly as Val. The Therian, in his snake form, shot forward at Touya. Touya raised his swords and slashed outwards, cutting into the thick scales just barely. Taken down by the large snake, both Therian's rolled down the hill on the opposite side.

The hissing grew and Val shot forward, sinking his fangs into Touya's shoulder eliciting a sharp cry in the night air. Touya could feel Val's thick poison sink into his veins as the snake bit harder. Working his sword free with his other hand, he positioned the weapon as best he could and struck out at Val. The blade slid across the scales, doing little damage. Touya's energy focused and he expelled it out into Val's snake form. This shook the Therian and the snake released it's hold on Touya. Val shifted to his original form, leaning over Touya with a grin.

"You've grown soft. Being around humans for too long will do that to you, Touya. How about that woman of yours? I hear she's hurt."

Touya growled back, refusing to answer. Another powerful blast of magic cut through the air and threw Val off of him. Standing, Touya tested his arm that had two large holes due to Val's fangs. It was painful, but he could manage. Brandishing his weapons, he lunged at Val, the dirt around him kicking up as he was pushed across the earth via his magic. As he slammed into Val, the ground shook slightly and an enormous dust cloud kicked up followed by what could only be described as a clap of thunder. Steel ground against steel and Touya and Val faced off with each other.

---

Miles Riverbend

---

"I fight with honor, unlike you," Touya announced, gazing at him proudly, naively, "I'm much faster than you humans. In my opinion it is you who have no training at all, you are all clumsy and slow. The only group of people who fight decently are your 'Jaeger Guard'. Though, I must admit, you've some talent as well. Not a lot, but some."

“Honor? Honor is the kind of thing that gets you killed,” Miles said, his voice becoming low with menace as the goofy façade from moments earlier faded abruptly, “Do you think honor matters to a man when he’s bleeding out on the ground? When he’s trying to prevent his guts from fall out? At the end of the day all that matters is you and yourself. Honor’s just a petty excuse.”

“Anyhow, speed is only a part of it,” he continued, the storm of his anger passing as suddenly as it started, “Speed and control and two separate things. The more speed you have, the harder it is to control that velocity, to stop, to turn, to respond. Want to know how I beat you therian? I beat you because you’re predictable.”

"For one that likes to be superior you sure aren't meant for this kind of weather at all are you?" questioned Touya. He brought himself to a halt, ending up besides Miles.

“You act like that’s a bad thing,” Miles responded, a glint of a smile in his emerald eyes. Going from jolly to sour, his expression quickly transformed to one of suspicion as Touya’s hand extended up to him. Miles reached for his combat knife instinctively, folding his fingers over the hilt of the blade.

“What are yo-”

Warmth flooded his body, easing into his aching shoulder blades and frost bitten extremities. “You used your magic for heat transfer?” he asked incredulously, “Even though I was joking?”

"Now, can you manage to be quite for a little while? We're nearly upon Val. I suggest getting off the horse as well. You'll want to have your body moving to stay warm as well. You'll need to be ready for a fight."

Miles’ gaze came down as it narrowed at the therian. Nodding, he clambered off the horse wordlessly and followed Touya as the man climbed up grassy incline. Blades of grass crunched noisily underfoot, but then again, ambushing had never been a prospect in the first place. The Beast Slayer brought out his sword, anticipating the inevitable violence. Arrayed below them was a small encampment. Pitched tents glowed in the night, reflecting glimmers of orange flame and revealing a few dark silhouettes.

"He's here," Touya said, indicating the camp with a flick of his head. Miles frowned at the therian’s attempt to keep a low profile.

“If they can sense you like you said they could, there’s hardly any point in trying to remain inconspicuous is there?” he sighed. Expecting an angry retort, Miles response was greeted with unnerving silence instead.

Touya looked to him then, alarm written all over his moonlit expression. Impulsively, Miles scoured his surroundings, expecting an attack of some sort. What he was not prepared for was the scale of the attack. Miles was used to men, beast and eight-foot tall monsters trying to kill, stab and maim him, but having a nest of snakes burst from the bushes was something new entirely. Caught off foot, Miles stepped back in hesitation, only to be saved by Touya’s swift reaction. The therian jumped in front of the field of fire, receiving a multitude of snake bites for his efforts. One hissed past Miles’ face, before dropping into the obscurity behind him.

"Don't move," Touya directed, flinging snakes back to the ground.

“Don’t move?!” Miles said, snapping his head left to right for potential threats, “What kind of tactic is that?”

In another moment a blast of energy was dispelled from Touya, propelling everything in the immediate vicinity to the air. Miles shielded himself from the buffeting wind, twisting his head sidewards so he was facing the opposite direction. Spotting the writhing shadows being discarded into the distance, he stumbled on a new found appreciation for Touya’s magic.

“Nice to not be on the receiving end of tha-”

Turning back, Touya had completely vanished from his last position and was now tumbling down the other side of the hill. Miles heard a yelp of pain, glimpsing sinuous muscle wrapped around the therian’s body. Assuming another snake had gotten the therian, Miles had little chance to assess the circumstances for a proper enemy lunged at him, striking out of the darkness. Stuck mid-transformation, the therian was a horrifying amalgamation of flesh, scales and claw.

“Aren’t you a pretty thing,” Miles commented, recoiling at the sight. The Beast Slayer rolled aside as the therian shot past, its open claws scything through the patch he had last been on. It disappeared into the darkness behind him and Miles turned smartly, sword on the offensive. Somewhere a twig broke and grass rustled. Emerging from his flank came the same therian, or was it another one?

Miles shrieked a curse as his weapon was slapped aside. Sharp claws grazed the edge of his arm, eliciting a burning sensation as blood leaked down the length of his sleeve. Weaponless, the Beast Slayer was horribly exposed and oddly, harmless. There was no time for respite as the first therian jumped at the opportunity. It started straight for Miles, eager to have the honor of tearing him limb from limb. An unarmed human was the equivalent to a baby lamb. Slower and weaker in every respect, they were far more susceptible to injury.

“Gotcha,” Miles smirked.

In one fluid motion, a dagger was thrust at the speeding therian. Even though the knife was detected well before it was thrown, at the speed he was traveling, there was simply no time to turn or halt in his efforts. The first therian literally ran itself into Miles’ throwing knife, lodging the blade in the front of its forehead. Momentum continued to carry its body well past Miles even several seconds after the therian expired.

The second therian ploughed after his companion, howling at Miles in rage. By then the Beast Slayer had already retrieved his sword. Gracefully, he guarded and sliced back, his blow cutting the fingers from the therian’s hand. Toppling over, this time the therian screamed in pain, but Miles was already in the process of delivering the finishing blow.

“Regenerate this.”

---

Dean ‘Havoc’ Reginald

---

Alarms were ringing, furiously, and the air was filling with the sound of gunfire and shouting.

Reginald burst out of his office, a room he had acquisitioned since procuring April and Damea in order to remain close by. “What in empires teeth is going in?” he roared, greeted by a flock of agitated city guard. There was mass panic in the hall room outside as staff members fled down the emergency exit corridor, the one specially designed for fire emergencies. Jaeger Guard were hurrying in the other direction in response to whatever was causing the ruckus, leaving Reginald to wonder what could possibly be happening in their head office, midday.

It certainly was not a drill, gauging from the fear ridden faces around him at least. No drill in the world could have generated such a tightly realistic response. Sergeant Erin materialized besides him, a look of solemn concern in his dark, hazel eyes.

“Section E is under attack corporal, you best head off with the rest and-”

“How bad is it? Who’s attack?” Reginald asked, barking out questions.

“Grim. Over several dozen casualties. We know roughly a squads worth have attacked, mechanized in nature. Possibly therian,” Erin reported, “Now I must insist you leave corporal.”

An explosion rocked the facility then, followed by a terrible screeching that sounded like scorched metal grating together. The therian stormed into the hallway following a spray of broken glass. Reginald saw it, but was unable to comprehend the sight he was witnessing. It was therian, but also not therian in that it possessed none of the beautiful symmetry he typical associated with therian weapons.

“A hybrid…” Erin murmured, “Get back now corporal! We’ll handle this!”

Reginald’s eyes widened as he looked at the approaching hybrid and the door at the far end of his office that contained both April and Damea. How much time did he have?

“To think that Victor would be this direct…he’s mad!” Reginald stammered, “Wait! The prisoners!”

Sergeant Erin glanced at him anxiously even as his men commenced firing. A volley of bullets ripped through the hall, riddling the floor and splintering doors. Men started to die as the hybrid lolled wretchedly, nonchalantly shrugging off bullets like rain water before descending on them in a wave of carnage. Limbs were severed and collapsed in fountains of blood, shredded to parts by gigantic blades. The Jaeger Guard, the best soldiers humanity had to offer crumbled like wheat to a scythe.

“You can only carry one doctor. We’ll hold it off as long as we can,” Erin announced, firing his rifle. Reginald nodded his appreciation and ran back to his office. Kicking the door open, he went to the closest bed and undid the straps, hands shaking.

“Come on! Come on!” Reginald hissed as he tugged open the final strap. Once done, he lifted Damea’s body over his shoulder, grunting from the effort, and hurried back out the door. Erin and his men were still fighting the hybrid but Reginald just kept running, not daring to look back at their grizzly fates.

Touya let his weapons slide across Val's directing the man's thrust off to the side. He released one blade and struck out at the man, the slash came dangerously close to severing Val's head from his shoulders. Val, on the other hand, smiled at him as they fought. A thin trail of blood leaked from the hairline cut along his throat where Touya had just barely missed him. Val's blade dislodged from his and he came back at the Therian, another thrust to the chest. Touya deflected this one again, tossing it off to the right and slashing at Val.

It went on like this for a long while, thrusting and slashing, blades screaming against each other as attacks were blocked and turned away. Touya pulled his energy into his body and expelled it outwards at Val, who also did the same. Their power slammed into each other and blew across the field. Touya slid backwards from the impact as did Val. However, he wasted no time and lunged forward at the man as soon as he got his footing. His power propelled him forward and he crashed into Val, knocking him to the ground. The rebel leader expelled his power a second time and threw Touya off of him. Touya flipped through the air until he landed hard on his back some ways away.

A shout from on top of the hill got both of their attention and Touya looked to see Miles' form outlined by the moonlight. He had killed one of the Therian's that had attacked him and was about to kill a second. Val let out a shout of rage as Miles dealt the killing blow. Touya's heart clenched and he got to his feet as quickly as he could. He had to intercept Val no matter what otherwise... Touya tossed the thought aside and rushed towards the quickly moving rebel leader. His power was growing low, but he had to use it in order to make it in time. Touya burst up the hill and shifted his body so that he was in between Val and his target.

"Move, Touya!" Val screamed at him, angered that he was losing his Therian brethren again.

"No."

Val growled and slashed at Touya who blocked the attack and pushed back. Val's swings were more calculated and deadly as he attacked Touya with everything he had. The claws on his hands extended and the blades shot out from his arms. Touya let his own blades come free, unable to draw the claws on his hands. Steel screamed, sending sparks as they hit each other. Touya used both swords to push aside Val's and then with a quick twist around the weapons, he sliced across Val's upper arm with his arm blades. Val took a few steps back to get out of range and glowered at Touya.

Val lunged forward soon after, his words clipped as he attacked furiously, each clang of their weapons cutting into his speech, "Why... do you... insist... on helping... humans!?"

Touya winced as each attack jarred his arms, especially the shoulder where Val had bitten him earlier. He was slowly being pushed back and he could only hope that Miles had either moved or was getting ready to help in the fight. Touya didn't answer Val's question, knowing full well that no matter what he said, Val would never understand. Magic burned through the air and Touya crossed his blades to try to block the attack as he was no longer able to summon anymore energy. He was growing tired quickly having expended so much already.

He tumbled backwards from the power, trying to angle his body so that he did not crash into Miles if the man was still behind him. He hoped that the man had moved and perhaps was going to pull one his moves like he'd done so with Ahmeil earlier. If they could just drive Val back, they would have a chance. At the rate they were going, though, it didn’t seem like they were going to win.



His body was being jostled around and it hurt as well. The pain had spread from his stomach to the outer limbs of his body. A constant ache that kept him wishing to sleep. He wasn’t sure how much more he could handle, hell he wasn’t even sure how long he’d been in the state he was in. Where was Touya? Or was it Touya who held him?

His eyes opened slowly and he groaned in the hold of whoever had tossed him over their shoulder. He knew immediately that it wasn’t Touya who had him because of the lack of long hair. Shifting he looked as best he could, only getting a glimpse of dark, short hair. Unsure of who had him, he didn’t know what to do. Damea couldn’t even think properly.

Damea looked around after getting a look at who held him. He couldn't see anyone else, but he could hear the chaos down the hall. Something was going on, and whatever it was, it had gathered a lot of attention and fear. The man holding him was moving as quickly as he could down the hall in the opposite direction of the commotion. Damea's heart clenched slightly, though he wondered if it was mostly because of the poison in his system. Either way he felt a bit of fear as he realized then that April was not with them.

"April..." he muttered barely.

The world spun around him and he felt a different kind of pain welling through him. He groaned again, then a gasp of pain and felt every muscle tighten and release repeatedly. Unable to control himself, his body shuddered on the man’s shoulder. He half hoped that whoever held him dropped him because he was sure that this person had no good intentions for him.

His breath was short and quick as he convulsed. His eyes were squeezed shut as he struggled to gain control over himself and be rid of the pain. Damea’s body settled several minutes after, leaving him aching and utterly worn. All he could think before he was unconscious once again was that if and when he got better, he would love to drive his swords through Reginald’s heart.

---

Miles Riverbend, Touya Khan & Val

---

Without warning a flash of metal came through the darkness as Miles’ dagger cut the air spinning. Still caked in the blood of his therian comrades, it flew straight at Val in the absence of Touya. A diversionary tactic. Miles came in behind the knife, ducking low but travelling at a blistering pace. He rose up as the dagger reached its target, faking a sword swipe when he was actually aiming more dirty water. Drawn from his water canteen, the texture was yellow and wretched in smell.

“I had a lot of time to contemplate how to defeat you,” Miles remarked, hoping Touya would adequately support his efforts, “Have a face full of piss.”

The flash of steel was caught by Val's gaze easily enough and lifting his arm deflected the blade. His steel bracers allowed the knife to bounce off his forearm unscathed and he lowered it to glower at the human who thought that would have done something to him. However, he wasn't prepared for what happened to him right after the knife flew away.

Val stumbled backwards, his eyes stinging from the disgusting water and sputtering as it hit his mouth. He'd effectively been taken off guard and he was boiling with rage at the mere thought that a human had done it. The man had tricked him and used underhanded methods to get his guard down. Val growled at the human and advanced threateningly.

"Daruth kuth shan," Val cursed in their language.

Touya was back on his feet then and assisted Miles in the fight. With Val's attention on the human only, Touya came upon his left side and swiped both blades downwards. The first cut into Val's arm, creating a deep gash, the second locked against the arm blades that were out. Val ignored the cut on his arm and turned his dark gaze upon Touya. Quicker than Touya could disengage, Val pulled his arm towards his body with Touya in tow. A sharp punch to Touya's stomach had the Therian doubled over and coughing, a second to his face sent him crumpling backwards and dizzy.

The most stunning sight by far was Val's unnerving resilience to injury. Despite a fatal cut his arm that would have incapacitated any normal man, Val was still swinging strong. He laid out on his assailant, staggering Touya with his brutal onslaught, but Miles had no intention of simply spectating. Aiming precisely, Miles came between them, intercepting the next blow with vicious sword lunge to the therian's center. Simultaneously, he propelled himself forwards with an acute burst of air from behind, accelerating his speed.

Val had turned on Touya who was sprawled out on the dirt, nose bleeding and eyes unfocused from the last hit. He didn't see Miles' coming at him until it was too late. The sword came very quickly, too quickly, obviously propelled by the man's magic. Turning ever so slightly, the Therian took the weapon fully, surprised. Steel slid through the rebel leaders chest, effectively stopping the man in his tracks. Val lowered his gaze to the sword sticking from his body then looked up to the human. A bit of blood trickled down his lips as he smiled.

"How... fortunate for you... but don't worry, neither of you will live to leave this god forsaken place," he pulled himself forward on the blade to lean in closer to Miles, his wicked smile gleaming, "Even if you do survive, Touya'll die anyway. I don't expect you to save him, of all people. Give my regards to that woman of his," Val finished just as the camp below erupted. Val had done something to warn them, magic most likely. Or perhaps he'd just given them a time limit and that time was up.

Val toppled over and Touya's breath released in a sigh of relief. They'd kill him. Finally. It was over. Well, not quite as the camp below was in a complete uproar. Several Therian's were going to be topping the hill very soon. Touya pushed himself up to his feet and glanced over to Miles.

"Go," he said nodding his head to the open wilderness behind them. Touya turned and faced the other side of the hill, his swords held loosely in each hand. He would keep them occupied for as long as he could. That would give time for Miles to get a good distance away.

Miles glared at up at Val from where he had struck the therian, eventually letting the man slip off the span of his blood soaked blade. A soft thump prelude the explosion of frantic activity from the therian camp, signaling the game was up. How much time did they have? No more than a matter of seconds judging from proliferating sounds of shouting. Miles could already spot a few dark figures rising intimidatingly over the lip, moving close and closer. The wind picked up abruptly, whipping the cloth of his uniform. Grimly, Miles stepped in front of Touya and gave him a rough shove.

"We both know who the faster one here is,” Miles sighed. He was just about out of tricks. To make matters worse, his dagger had disappeared in the process of fighting Val, “They’ll be on us in seconds. I still have to get on my horse. Go save those prisoners.”

Chiding his decision to remain behind, Miles could scarcely believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. It was not Val’s words that had provoked him; few words rarely did when one came from a social background such as his. Nor was it any particular inclination towards Touya. Was it honor? Pride? Probably not if his life’s decisions were any indication. Having trained to fight since birth, Miles was far from his limits, but stamina was a moot point when one was outnumbered and outgunned.

Touya glowered at the man, "You and April are the same in that regard," the Therian growled. Flicking his weapons closed he sheathed them and reached out to take hold of Miles' arm.

"You think I'll really leave you here to die!?" Touya snapped. With a shake of his head he turned and started down the hill with Miles in tow. He didn't have enough power to use on both of them and speeding up his movements would be far to taxing. He could shapeshift into his wolf form and easily out distance the Therian camp, but he didn't wish to leave Miles behind.

"Quickly," Touya urged.

"You fool!" Miles snarled in growing frustration. The therian's stubbornness was utterly illogical given the situation. Scant meters away from being torn asunder by outraged therians, Miles switched his gaze from enemy to ally. This was not the time to be considerate. He whirled around and jerked his arm free from Touya's grip.

"Don't get us both killed! Take the horse!" he ordered. Miles adopted a defensive stance, rooting his feet to the ground to indicate he had no intentions of moving.

Touya growled in return, "Stubborn human!" He twisted around to glare at the man who stood rooted to the spot. If Touya had had enough energy he would have thrown the man off his feet and hauled him up over his shoulder.

Muttering under his breath in his own tongue, Touya turned on his heel and ran for the horse. He was soon upon the animal and mounted in a matter of seconds. Yes, he was definitely much faster than a human. Kicking the steed, he raced across the grass towards Miles' last position. He pulled the horse around the human and faced the oncoming group of Therian's.

"Don't let this go to waste," Touya shot at Miles who was on the other side of the horse. Stretching his hand forth, Touya summoned as much energy as he could and expelled it into a final blast outwards. The ground shuddered at the attack and the Therian's who were rushing towards them were thrown backwards and dazed. The noise alone was enough to have their ears ringing if not bleeding. However, it would not keep them grounded forever.

Touya turned to Miles and motioned for the man to mount the horse. His energy was falling dangerously low and with Val's poison in his system he wasn't going to be awake for much longer. Even so his vision was blurring and his body was growing heavy. Miles was going to have to move the horse if they wanted to get out alive.

Miles did not turn around to see Touya's response after that. So this was his end. He guessed it was suitably glorious, one against many, man versus beast. A story suitable for the history books. None of that sentiment particularly comforted Miles Riverbend as he faced down the approaching therians. Blades whirred, snapping out of hidden compartments like jaws hungry flesh and Miles could not help but shudder in anticipation of their cold edges entering his body.

An energy wave rocked him from behind suddenly, disrupting his careful composure. Hearing the thunderous clamor of a galloping horse, Miles span around in confusion. Approaching fast, Touya had taken command of his horse and was now in the process of expelling his magic. The resultant shockwave threw off the pursuing therians, throwing them violently. Gawping in astonishment, Miles shook his head and then sprinted towards Touya. Mounting the steed behind Touya, he snatched the reigns from his hands and kicked the horse into action.

“We should’ve done this in the first place instead of bickering like petty children!” Miles laughed, his joyous chortle echoing well into the night.

---

“Altheim! Finally!” Miles proclaimed, sounding genuinely please for the first time in days. His arms spread out in an open wide gesture, imitating a hug as he welcomed the archway of Altheim’s west gate. “Keep that hood on and stick close to me. Getting in shouldn’t be a problem that way.”

Another week had elapsed since their hasty escape. Fast as they maybe, even the therians could not fully outrun a horse full on the gallop, a fact Miles had much cause to be grateful for. Assuming that was the end of their problems was Miles’ impulsive error. Succumbing to pain and fatigue, Touya passed out moments after their getaway, but that was only the beginning to a string of dilemmas.

Initially Miles only held suspicions towards Touya’s condition, but as the days expired the venom was increasingly taking its toll. By the time he addressed the bites with a bandage to slow the transfer of poison, it was too late. With their mission complete, he considered abandoning the therian on several occasions. But Miles figured he owed Touya the courtesy of seeing him through to safety.

“Havoc’s office is a few blocks from central HQ. He should have something to counteract the poison’s effects,” Miles said, reciting a statement he had repeated many times over the course of their journey to comfort the therian.

They approached the gates, Miles walking on foot as he directed their horse and Touya on top. Taking the lead, Miles strolled up to the gates and past the guards, only to be quickly intercepted from behind.

“Excuse me sir, do you and your companion have identification?” asked the city guard.

Miles raised an incredulous eyebrow, “I’m Miles Riverbend, my face is my own identification. Is that not adequate?”

The city guard’s grip around his shoulder was tense, as was his face. In fact it was hard not to notice it now. Miles read anxiety on the faces of every passing individual, as though fear permeated the very air itself.

“This is highly irregular,” Miles complained, “Look, I’ve been living rough for two weeks now. Do you think that kind of person has the time to be worrying about identification?”

“I’m sorry sir, but you’ll have to come with m-”

“That’s quite alright sergeant.”

Miles looked around, spotting the familiar short, dark hair and rough features of Reginald. The medic strode down the court, crossing the bustling streetscape to reach them. “Mr Riverbend, what did you see on my badge the day I summoned you?” Reginald asked.

“A golden crest held by the national griffon…why?” Miles replied, slightly clueless.

“Just confirming your identity,” Reginald smiled warmly in return, “Welcome back Mr Riverbend….and Touya?”

“Bitten by a snake,” Miles explained, flicking a thumb over his shoulder towards Touya’s stricken form.

“May need to keep him that way for a while. He’s not going to like what we have to say,” Reginald frowned, growing somber abruptly, “Come with me. We'll treat him at the hospital.”

The horses jostling woke him slightly and he groaned ever so softly to himself. He couldn't focus on anything and as his eyes opened, the first thing that met him was a wash of brown snakes in his face, tickling his nose and face. It took a moment to realize that they weren't snakes caressing his face but the hair of the horses main. Looking up as best he could, he spotted the tall wall of the city before them. The wall, however did not stay still and wavered back and forth, grew a face with it's mouth wide opened in a silent scream and eyes wide as they peered at him. Touya fell forward, his stomach feeling sick and his body hotter than hell.

“Keep that hood... stick close... Getting in... a problem...” Miles' voice cut through is haze, the ringing in his ear as he leaned heavily over the saddle against the horses neck. Shifting slightly, he tried to make sure that the hood of the cloak that had somehow appeared on his shoulders was really there. His fingers barely brushed the cloth before falling away without any strength.

“Havoc’s office... central HQ... He should have... poison’s...”

Touya's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt Miles slip off the horse. He couldn't see the man, nor could he move all that well to get a good look at the human who led the horse. For a brief moment he felt his heart skip a beat. HQ. Why did that sound so familiar? He couldn't recall, but he did know for some reason that this 'HQ' was a bad thing. He didn't want to go there, he couldn't go there. Touya had to go see April, to make sure she was okay. Even so, he couldn't bring her face to mind, nor could he really remember who she was to begin with, too far gone in delirium to make any sense of anything. The noise of the city grew, escalating and the world around him spun rapidly. Touya closed his eyes and tried to get his body reoriented again. The horse moved slightly and he felt as if he were going to fall off. Snapping his eyes opened again, the ground beneath him opened up and seemed to beckon to him, into a pitch black hole. Touya fell into that false hole and was unconscious right after again.

---

---

A deep breath filled his lungs as he slowly woke again. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but as he opened his eyes he found himself lying down on a cold hard bed of sorts and staring at a white ceiling overhead. He half expected to see Reginald peering over him like many times before. However, the man was no where to see. Probably a wise thing as well because Touya was feeling rather irritated. Shifting slightly, he attempted to sit up but could only get his body up part way before he was stopped.

Looking down, he noted that he was strapped to the bed. His eyes narrowed and a frown pulled on his lips. He couldn't engage the claws of either hand and the blades of the one hand were of no use to him at all. His arms were what held him down, silver bands were welded to the bed beneath him, or so it seemed to him. Stretching upwards, his legs were also in the same predicament. With a heavy sigh he fell back and closed his eyes in frustration.

He could feel wrappings around his chest and shoulder, tall tell signs that his wounds had been treated. How on earth they'd managed to remove all that poison was beyond him. Touya supposed he should be thankful just to be alive, Miles could have easily left him to die and rot in the wilds without a second glance. He briefly wondered why the man decided to take him back to the city to begin with. Humans were strange creatures.

His energy was still low, but with the sleep he'd gotten he could feel a bit of it pulsing through him. Just enough to break the bonds and go see where he was at exactly. His body began to glow, however he never got very far, not even to directing the power to the bonds that held him. A spell trap activated the moment he began pulling the energy into him and he couldn't bring any energy into his body. Or was it a spell trap? He'd never known one to cause him such discomfort while trying to pull power into existence. It hurt to try to keep going, so much so that it was making him sick. Touya stopped trying to gain power and felt a bit of sweat on his forehead from the exertion.

Just what the hell was that? His eyes flicked about the room as best he could, breath slowly regaining regularity from the strain. Finally he spotted it, the thing that had kept him from summoning his power. It was a strange looking device, box like and with a circular end on it pointed right at Touya's prone body. Again his eyes narrowed as he stared at the damned thing. When did the humans come up with something so advanced as to stunt a Therian's drag of magic?

No matter, he would find another way out of his predicament. He was weak right then anyway. Perhaps if he were to be patient he could gather enough power to overpower the single device in the room. If he could do that, then destroying it was first on his list, that and finding Reginald to demand where April and Damea where.

---

Miles Riverbend & Dean ‘Havoc’ Reginald

---

“Looks like he’s awake,” Miles muttered observantly.

Viewed through the looking glass, Touya had started awake with a sudden intake of breath, more like an exasperate gasp. Caught in a daze, confusion was rife in the therian’s features as he took in his new surroundings. His breathing was audible, wracking the frame of his chest. Reginald watched from the comfort of his seat, retaining a position the medic was all too familiar with. Asides from Touya, Reginald could also see his own reflection, marred by the one way window, but noticeably dark and brooding.

“How are you going to tell him?” Miles asked, cracking a smile to display his curiosity. Reginald lifted an eyebrow at the Beast Slayer. The man had a strange mannerism like that. Never fully sincere, never completely earnest. He despised having the man’s company at that moment.

“I tell it to him straight. He’s not going to like it, hence the security measures,” Reginald explained, mostly to reassure his doubtful assertions. Human's currently possessed few means of containing a therian. “But that’s the least of our problems at the moment.”

Miles nodded, shifting his legs so they crossed over. The medic and Beast Slayer were currently sharing the observation room, a small deck space that connected to Havoc’s office. It looked over the cubic space in which Touya currently resided, securely strapped to a white bed that was not unlike those used in a mental institution. An ominous black box hung in the center of the ceiling, preventing any outbursts of magic. That was new also, but such magic inhibiting technology had yet to be made portable. Touya’s rehabilitation had primarily fallen to Reginald since their arrival in Altheim. Miles was surprised when Havoc volunteered to look after the therian, even despite the risks. Perhaps the doctor felt some small lingering guilt over the fate of Touya’s companion.

“Indeed, things have changed a lot since I returned,” the Beast Slayer mused, “That won’t matter to Touya though. After hearing what you have to say, he may become the next terrorist leader. Heck, he could become worse than Val. What then will you do Havoc?”

Reginald stood up from the table, drawing his seat back with a squeak. Crossing the length of the room, he approached the doorway and twisted the knob. “If things get out of hand I trust that I’ll have your cooperation Mr Riverbend?” Reginald said, pausing by the door.

“Tsk, you have the authority, why not just order me?” Miles returned.

“Our list of allies is rapidly decreasing. Not many are left after last week’s assault. My organization is practically in tatters. I need people I can trust,” Reginald shrugged, somewhat melancholic about the sorry state of affairs.

“Don’t worry doctor, I’ve got your back,” Miles said, giving a nonchalant wave to Reginald.

Chuckling, Reginald pulled the door open and disappeared into the corridor beyond. Miles waited, only accompanied by the ticking time as the doctor transferred spaces. After several minutes, the door to Touya’s room clicked and became unlocked. Reginald materialized in the doorway, along with an aid whose name Miles was not aware of and a third man with a black hood over his head.

Directing the party inside, Reginald carried a tray of food which he intended to give to Touya. A modest bowl of steaming casserole. The aid gently ushered the third individual into the holding cell before removing the cover. Upon seeing the light haired mane and mismatched eyes, Miles recognized the man was the other individual to have been taken prisoner by Havoc. Unlike that time, Damea appeared well-nourished and looked after. The affects of Reginald’s drug had long since been stripped from the mercenary’s system and Reginald’s men had only kept him incarcerated to uphold their agreement with Touya. Similar to Touya however, Damea was still cuffed around the wrists. The chains jingled as he walked in infront of Reginald’s adjutant.

“It’s pleasing to see you’re awake,” Reginald said upon closing the door behind him. Motioning towards Touya, he paced to a side table and laid down the bowl. “You must be hungry! Don’t worry, it’s not drugged this time, and I assure you it wasn’t cooked by me.”

Reginald stepped back again, cautious of therian’s response to his presence. Miles did not even have to be in the room to sense the burning tension. “Congratulations on returning. I took the liberty of removing the expelling the poison from your body. You should be proud, it was an incredibly perilous mission. Mr Riverbend has briefed me on the events that occurred. As promised, Damea, you’re free to go,” Reginald stated. Well aware of the therian’s next question, the medic spoke quickly to address it.

“As for April…I’m sorry to say we lost her,” Reginald said, staring impassively at Touya, “The hybrids attacked our building a week ago. In the ensuing chaos, I only had the time to save one.”

The door opened and Touya's concentration was broken as he'd been focusing on his magic. Looking up he glowered at the doctor who strode into the room. He had with him an attendant and someone with a black hood over their face. The one with the hood was soon revealed to him and Touya's eyes widened with a bit of shock and relief at the same time. So, Damea was alright after all and he looked better than he had when he'd seen the mercenary last. However, Touya's thoughts went to April immediately. Where was she?

“It’s pleasing to see you’re awake. You must be hungry! Don’t worry, it’s not drugged this time, and I assure you it wasn’t cooked by me.”

Touya's eyes watched Reginald as he put the bowl of steaming food down onto a table nearby. He glanced at the food for a mere moment before turning his attention to Reginald once again. He didn't say anything, not trusting him in the least. The Therian wasn't hungry to begin with either, or maybe he was but his worry for April was far to great to be thinking of food at that moment. Although, he did note the way Reginald moved around him. The man was weary of being near Touya. This gave the Therian a well of satisfaction. The man had every right to be cautious of him.

“Congratulations on returning. I took the liberty of removing the expelling the poison from your body. You should be proud, it was an incredibly perilous mission. Mr Riverbend has briefed me on the events that occurred. As promised, Damea, you’re free to go,” Reginald only paused for a second before he continued. Giving Touya the briefest moment to remember Miles once again. In between that, Damea had gotten to his feet, angered.

"What of Touya!?"

Reginald obviously ignored him as he continued to address Touya, “As for April…I’m sorry to say we lost her. The hybrids attacked our building a week ago. In the ensuing chaos, I only had the time to save one.”

Touya's heart skipped a beat. Silence filled the room for several minutes before the Therian remembered what breathing was. His pale blue eyes were wide with shock at first, but as realization sunk in, his eyes narrowed to smoldering chunks of ice that glowered at the man. Had there been no device to keep him from summoning his magic, Touya would have destroyed the room entirely in his rage. Even with the little magic he had, he was capable of that -though it would kill him in the process, but that didn't matter at the moment- and had every thought to try.

As his thoughts began to function properly again his anger rose steadily. The man was lying to him. How could he trust him after everything anyway? What the hell was a 'hybrid'? Touya had never heard of anything like that before. It made no sense. She had to be there, she had to. April wasn't someone you just 'lost'. There had to be more to what Reginald wanted than just Val's death. Touya flexed his arms against the bindings that held him down. His body glowed on and off, the unpleasantness of the device overhead wasn't affecting him at all right then, only keeping him from summoning. Baring his teeth at the man, the sharpened canine teeth in his mouth seemed to be ever more present than before.

"Give her back to me!" He shouted. All rational thoughts were out the window and the only thing that startled him was what Damea did right after.



Damea had been ignored almost immediately. Though Reginald had told him specifically that he could leave, that he was free to go, did the doctor really think he was going to leave without Touya? He was highly mistaken. Not to mention the mercenary had been wondering about the whereabouts of April as of late. His question was answered soon after.

Reginald addressed Touya calmly, almost too calmly and with a monotone like voice, he told the Therian that he'd lost April to a hybrid. What a hybrid was exactly, Damea had no clue, though he tried to remember back when he was being moved from the last hospital like room to another. Nothing was piecing together for him though, it was all a jumbled mess. He couldn't make heads or tails of his blurry and messed up memory. Damea didn't know what was delusion and what was real.

Thus, he stood there for quite some time, blank faced as he let the words sink in. They'd left April behind... and from what Reginald was saying, she wasn't alive anymore. No. No, that couldn't be right. April wouldn't just... die? Would she? That was impossible! Damea shook then, his heart racing as he slowly stood up from where he'd been sat down. Had there been the smallest of sparks in the room, he would have ignited everything. He had half a mind to strike the cuffs together as hard as he could to create a spark, but he didn't know if it would be successful. The other reasoning was that Touya was there in the room and he didn't wish to burn his companion alive.

Damea's eyes narrowed, his lips pulling back into a snarl and he lunged forward, aiming to grab Reginald by his throat and choke him. He had lunged almost immediately after Touya's deafening shout, the Therian's deep voice reverberating through the room. Don't worry, I'll kill him for you, Touya, Damea thought to himself as he rushed the short distance, hand held up and ready to grip the doctor's neck.

---

Miles Riverbend & Dean ‘Havoc’ Reginald

---

"Give her back to me!"

Reginald swallowed hard, becoming aware of the faint vibrations of vengeful anger emanating in the form of magic. Before him was a therian desperate not to lose a friend, maybe someone more than that. He saw a man trying his best to work around the web of lies that had intruded in his life. Touya’s shocked disbelief was not entirely unexpected, granted the therian had even less reason to trust him given the circumstances. Perhaps Touya was just in stubborn denial. Regardless, Reginald started to explain when something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, interrupting him. His jaw stiffened, turning to bring his gaze upon Damea as the mercenary leapt up in outrage.

Faster than either Reginald or his adjutant could respond to, Damea pounce downwards, reaching for Reginald’s neck. They crashed together, scuffling and grunting on the floor as the mercenary’s assault winded the medic, driving the air from his lungs. “And you wonder why I kept you in restraints,” Reginald cursed, his voice slightly strangled as he fought to keep Damea’s fingers from choking him.

Reginald’s aid ran forwards to keep Damea from causing further harm. Unfortunately, the man was merely a nurse, not an armed combatant, neither was he a trained one. He fumbled ineffectually until the door slammed open and a gleaming blade shot between Damea and Reginald. Miles gazed down at them both, wearing a dreadfully condescending expression. The sudden display of weapons seemed to make everyone freeze in suspended animation, dispelling the confusion with sudden clarity now that lives were in danger.

“I hate pointless violence. Come now, let’s all be sensible here. Killing Havoc may appease your temporary appetite, but what about afterwards? How did you plan to escape after murdering someone? What about your friend?” the Beast Slayer said, purposefully lifted the sharp edge closer to Damea’s throat. The movement forced the mercenary to lean back, lest he wished to lose a chunk of his neck. “Stand up, you to Havoc.”

Liberated, Reginald slipped out from underneath Damea and stood upright. Brushing his shirt and vest off, he nodded at Miles to show his appreciation, “In case you were wondering, Damea, you’re both free to go. You defeated Val and held up your end of the bargain. I only regret that it was all in vain. Victor Hawthorn found a way of supporting his hybrid project, even without Val’s intervention,” Reginald continued, referring to both Damea and Touya, “The only reason you’re currently restrained is for safety measures.”

A huff sounded out as Reginald recovered his composure with stunning alacrity. He had prepared for such reactions going into this conversation. What concerned him more where the implications. With the hybrids already in full production, the last thing Reginald needed was more enemies. Killing Touya and Damea was a final solution, something he sincerely wished to avoid.

“But April is gone. MIA, though the likelihood of her survival is…poor. That was over a week ago, when we were forced to abandon our facility. Assuming the hybrids didn’t slaughter her like everyone else, there wasn’t a chance for me administer the antidote in the time I had to get Damea out. That means paralysis, which in turn leads to dehydration and then death,” Reginald said, “We’re not holding her out of cruelty, spite or to blackmail you. This is the truth, whether you believe or not.”

Recounting the attack on their head office, Reginald’s brows furrowed as he re-imagined throngs of Jaeger Guard and personnel cut to ribbons. “Why don’t you tell them about the hybrids Havoc?” Miles suggested, reading the expressions of Damea and Touya. Miles had kept still the entire conversation, balancing his blade perfectly to arrest Damea. The wily aristocrat could be unnervingly insightful at times.

Reginald directed a skeptical glance towards Miles, questioning the purpose of informing the duo, “The amalgamation of a certain scientist’s life-long work and coincidence. The concept would’ve never seen fruition if you faceless had not awoken. It is a combination between a human and therian, part machine, part man. Quite brilliant when you think about the results, but quite horrifying when you think about the process.”

“How many have you seen?” Miles asked.

“Two, to date. The one unveiled at the court house, and the other one which slaughtered over a dozen Jaeger Guard. They kill remorselessly, efficiently, which leads me to believe they are stripped of their memories, among other things. The ones I saw were hideous creations. Irreparable, they possess none of the natural grace of your kind,” Reginald finished his sentence by looking at Touya.

“So the spotlight falls onto you, Touya and Damea,” Miles grinned enthusiastically, “I’m sure you know what this means. The scientist has been experimenting on therians. Havoc and his compatriots of do-gooders have been fighting a shadow war trying to stop that, but the cats out of the bag. Victor attributed the attack on Havoc’s office to the therian terrorists. Fearful, people caved in. What will you do?”

Touya watched, unable to do anything as Damea slammed into Reginald and took the doctor to the floor. Their struggle wasn't long as the door burst open and Miles came in quickly. The man brandished his sword and held it between the two, angling the edge just enough to have Damea back off. Touya glowered at the man too, why did he stop Damea? Was he in on the whole ploy as well too? Why did nothing make sense to him? Things were getting too damned complicated. Both men got to their feet and Reginald addressed Touya and Damea after brushing himself off.

“In case you were wondering, Damea, you’re both free to go. You defeated Val and held up your end of the bargain. I only regret that it was all in vain. Victor Hawthorn found a way of supporting his hybrid project, even without Val’s intervention. The only reason you’re currently restrained is for safety measures.”

Touya remained silent, seething in his anger as he leveled his cold gaze on the doctor. His eyes only flicked to the restraints holding him for a mere second before he looked back up to Reginald.

“But April is gone. MIA, though the likelihood of her survival is…poor. That was over a week ago, when we were forced to abandon our facility. Assuming the hybrids didn’t slaughter her like everyone else, there wasn’t a chance for me administer the antidote in the time I had to get Damea out. That means paralysis, which in turn leads to dehydration and then death. We’re not holding her out of cruelty, spite or to blackmail you. This is the truth, whether you believe or not.”

"I don't-" Touya began, but was cut off as Miles spoke, encouraging Reginald to speak further on this 'hybrid' that he'd mentioned before. The man was standing with his blade held just level with Damea to keep the mercenary from doing anything else.

"The amalgamation of a certain scientist’s life-long work and coincidence. The concept would’ve never seen fruition if you faceless had not awoken. It is a combination between a human and therian, part machine, part man. Quite brilliant when you think about the results, but quite horrifying when you think about the process.”

“How many have you seen?” Miles asked.

“Two, to date. The one unveiled at the court house, and the other one which slaughtered over a dozen Jaeger Guard. They kill remorselessly, efficiently, which leads me to believe they are stripped of their memories, among other things. The ones I saw were hideous creations. Irreparable, they possess none of the natural grace of your kind,” Reginald's gaze settled on Touya as he finished his explanation.

Throughout the detailed account, Touya had felt his heart clench tightly. Why would humans go through such lengths to do something so horrendous? It didn't make any sense to him at all. Was fighting all they knew? Then again, could he really say that when in the same light his own kind were just as ruthless? Touya sighed inwardly. He was irritated with the human race, more so right then than ever before. He didn't know what to think of them.

“So the spotlight falls onto you, Touya and Damea. I’m sure you know what this means. The scientist has been experimenting on therians. Havoc and his compatriots of do-gooders have been fighting a shadow war trying to stop that, but the cats out of the bag. Victor attributed the attack on Havoc’s office to the therian terrorists. Fearful, people caved in. What will you do?”

"You want us to go and kill these... Hybrids," Damea said, his voice bordering sarcasm. He glowered at Reginald and Miles before turning to look at Touya. The Therian met the mercenaries gaze for a long while before he looked away up at the ceiling.

"This... Scientist of yours, he must have high standing in your government. To be allowed to experiment on his own people. I did not think that humans would stoop so low as to do such things to themselves."

"Touya, you're not actually thinking of going after this guy are you?"

"What would you have me do?!" Touya snapped back, his voice growling as he lifted his head to glare at Damea. The mercenary took a step back away from the table on instinct.

"I... you should think this through, first. What if sending you off to this scientist is what these guys want?! To have you experimented on as well! Not many of your kind..." Damea shifted his gaze to the two men and switched dialects immediately. Now speaking in the Therian tongue, he was assured that the two humans would not understand, "Not many have your healing abilities. That is rare. What if they are sending you to be tested as a rat on your magic? You're just going to let them?"

Touya glowered and answered in kind, "No. I'm not going to let them test on me if I can't help it. Would you rather see this scientist of theirs continue his experiments on my people? On your people? We can't let that happen."

"So you're just going to blindly rush into things again, as usual."

"I'm not going to go blindly."

"Really? Then what do you have in mind."

"A couple of things," Touya turned his attention to Reginald and switched back to the common tongue, "April. I want to know for sure if she is... dead," he forced the word from his lips, "Where were you last? Where was the place that you were attacked at? After you tell me that, then I will consider going after this scientist who is causing all of this trouble. But I won't be going alone, either. He's coming with me," Touya jerked his head in the direction of Miles. Damea's eyebrow lifted as he looked between Miles and Touya. Even the Therian wasn't sure how he was going to get the man to come with him on the endevour of finding this guy. However, that didn't mean he wasn't going to try.

---

Miles Riverbend & Dean ‘Havoc’ Reginald

---

Reginald and Miles exchanged wary glances, as if communicating some hidden message. Eventually, the Beast Slayer lowered his sword from Damea’s neck, sheathing the blade without sound.

“Naturally I’ll be going with you,” he stated, smirking abruptly at Touya as if it his answer was the most obvious thing in the world, “I have a stake in all this also, though mine is rather more selfish. That sounds like what you wanted to hear though, isn’t it Havoc?”

Miles turned his head back to the medic, raising a cursive eyebrow. He nodded willingly to show agreement, not that the entire plan was faultless. Ideally Reginald would have liked to avoid investigating their head office. Indulging such petty whims was a risky endeavor in the grand scheme of things. The abandoned facility was currently secured by Victor’s forces. After the attack from a week ago, nobody had been allowed in, likely to prevent contradicting evidence from being discovered. At the same time, experience told him it was futile to deny Touya’s stubborn insistence. The therian would chase any lead, no matter how trivial, to protect his friends. Damea was a testament to that.

No, it would be far better to assist and guide the therian indirectly, therefore reducing the possibility of failure. “You want to go and investigate,” Reginald said, verbalizing Touya’s intentions, “I’ll warn you now, the facility is well-guarded. Any therian discovered, particularly now, will be persecuted to the fullest. Not just by city guard mind you, but hybrids are also a possibility. HQ is quite eager to test out their shiny new toys in a controlled environment.”

“Anything else you wanted to say before we conclude this, Havoc?” Miles added expectantly.

“No, that’s all for now. Give us two days to cook something up. Of course, Mr Riverbend and a few Jaeger Guard will also be accompanying you. Look after yourselves until then,” Reginald said, brushing the question off. The medic strode to the door, pulling it open with a soft tug. “Hans, would you be as kind as to undo their bindings? As a sign of good faith, you’re both free to do as you please until we summon you. Should you wish to leave, that is also fine.”

Reginald’s adjutant nodded and briskly moved forwards to perform his directives whilst Miles and Reginald left through the entrance. Shutting the door behind them, Miles tapped the medic over the shoulder, brining Reginald’s pace to a stop.

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

Reginald gazed around, craning his neck to observe the Beast Slayer. The man had been oddly sentimental since his return to Altheim, perhaps he respected Touya more than he let on. “Tell him what? That April had lung cancer? Would you crush such youthful hope? Why does it matter now if she’s dead?”

Shrugging as if to say he did not care, Miles whirled on his heels and started down the other end of the hallway, “You’re right, I guess it doesn’t really matter now…”

---

The group that assembled that night was a close assortment of Reginald’s trusted associates. They gathered at dusk, just as the sun’s rays fell beneath the crest of Altheim’s walls. Streetlamps, powered by a winding network of cables, were just starting to flicker to life, illuminating cluttered pavements. Inside Reginald’s makeshift office, the mood was somber. Packed cardboard boxes, some stacked as high as the ceiling, littered the interior, exacerbating the general sense of filthiness. Obnoxiously, no effort had been made to conceal the one way window which provided a cubic view into Touya’s room.

Miles Riverbend was present. Dressed in appropriately dark material, the Beast Slayer had requisition one of Reginald’s boxes and had it residing firmly under his bottom. Of the two others, one was Lieutenant Bastionne, the opposite of Touya in almost all regards. Where the therian was deathly pale yet graceful in appearance, Bastionne was bald and ochre skinned. He cast an intimidating image, more so than even your average Jaeger Guard. The second Jaeger Guard was the very same man that complimented Touya’s skills on the day they had taken Damea and April. He was tall and vaguely good looking, but a diagonal scar bisected his face from eye to cheek. His name was John. Damea and Touya were both summoned after exactly two days. Surprisingly, the duo had been left utterly left to their own devices in that time.

“Oh, why if it isn’t the little pacifist therian,” Bastionne remarked as he passed Touya, “Where’s your woman today?”

Strolling alongside Bastionne, John simply nodded his respects. Standing at the head of the congregation was Reginald. The medic began the briefing immediately after the Jaeger Guard settled down. In his possession were a series of floor plans, reports and a multitude of props.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t goad our guest Lieutenant, especially when he’ll be responsible for facilitating your entrance. Welcome all. As promised, we have devised a method of infiltrating the compound, but I’ll be short,” Reginald began. The doctor shot Touya a stern look as if indicating his next sentence was addressed solely to him. “We need someone on the inside to open the backdoor. The perimeter is heavily defended by squadrons of city guard, but once inside that shouldn’t be a problem. That falls onto you faceless.”

Moving his index finger, Reginald showcased the designs of facility. The building’s layout was ‘u’ shaped, with two wings acting as the walls and north/south entrances respectively. A courtyard resided in the center, outside the main entrance which led to a rectangular lobby. Overall, the building was no larger than four levels in height, with each storey identical to its predecessor. The ‘backdoor’ entrance Reginald was referring to lay near the center, situated in a rear hallway that connected to the inner lobby.

“I figured opening that access way would be a good use for your shape shifting abilities. The rest of the team will wait for you behind that door. After that, you have as long as you want to investigate, so long as you avoid detection,” Reginald concluded, “My office is in the north wing, ground floor. Shouldn’t be hard to miss, I imagine there’s still a bloody patch there where twelve Jaeger Guard died.”

---

Patterson Riverbend

---

“You hybrid scum, did Hawthorn send you? Is he killing members of parliament for simply disagreeing with him now?” Riverbend coughed as his precious life blood leaked out from his ruined lower-half.

Her blue eyes regarded him lazily, watching him bleed beneath bangs of dirty yellow and thick brown lashes. It was incomprehensible to Riverbend how someone so young could possess eyes so terribly fragmented. She remained silent, unaware of his questions as blades warm with blood retracted from the torso of her latest victim. The sixteenth that night. They disappeared somewhere into her silver wrists with a faint hiss of air. The slight jerk of her small shoulders revealed stitches placed to hold torn flesh from surgical cuts along her back. If not for them, she would have been a woman’s dream, possessing a figure both lush and deceptively alluring.

Riverbend gave a shake of his head, even with his eyes closed he could still see the tiny cuts; the arms marred like eaten stumps to fit metal prosthetics. Pitched against the front of his study desk, Riverbend forced out one final gasp, “Just get it over and done with.”

Complying with slavish indifference, she stalked forwards and ran the blade through his chest.

---

The Scientist

---

“You’ve violated our terms of agreement General Hawthorn, again,” droned the scientist, his metallic voice rising synthetically in volume to display outrage.

“Just a test of your latest model,” Victor reassured, “Killing two birds with one stone really. You wanted to test her; I wanted to secure our position.”

“The hybrids were designed for the betterment of humanity! Your killing is…self serving,” the scientist clamored. Had he been a poorer man, Victor would not have been surprised if he had knocked the papers from his desk. The general showed mild amusement, easing into the back of his grand study chair. It was pleasing to see that even the scientist could show emotion about certain topic matters. Every man had his vices. Supporting his weight, the furniture creaked in protest.

“The Riverbends were conspiring against us. As one of the major families within Altheim, they hold a lot of influence,” Victor droned, explaining his reasoning, “Killing them sets an example for the rest of the families.”

“We already possess seventy-five percent of the voters support,” the scientist countered, “Are you going to blame the killings on therians again? People won’t fall for the same story twice.”

“I understand your frustrations, but leave the political maneuvers to me scientist,” Victor said, “We’re so close to achieving your vision, would you risk everything now? Would you let all those sacrifices go to waste just on the account of a few lives?”

The scientist’s eye lenses whirred and refocused in mock imitation of narrowing at Victor. “Your right, we’re working towards a greater good. Just don’t get lost along the way General.”

It had been two days since Touya and Damea had been released. In that time, Touya had done what he could with his broken mechanics on his arms. Damea was no doctor, Touya had learned from experience then, but he'd done what he could. The Therian's forearm was patched up finally and the gears working again, though it was far from perfect. The blades had a hard time being deployed, but they came out none-the-less and that was all that mattered. The dent in his hand was fixed as well, and though he could draw his claws, he couldn't extend them out to their maximum length like his other hand. Again, they worked again and that was what he needed.

They were called upon on the second day for a meeting that Reginald was holding. At first Touya had had half a mind to just leave the place and go on his own to investigate the area, but he knew nothing about the place and he knew that Damea would have declined vehemently. So, the Therian stayed there to respect Damea's wishes as well as get as much information as he could about the place. Besides that, he was just a little more curious about Miles than before. He still wanted to know why the man hadn't dumped him the moment he had the chance to. Touya figured he would ask Miles later on when they had the chance.

“Oh, why if it isn’t the little pacifist therian. Where’s your woman today?”

Touya frowned at the man as he was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his long silver hair braided and falling over his shoulder.

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t goad our guest Lieutenant, especially when he’ll be responsible for facilitating your entrance. Welcome all. As promised, we have devised a method of infiltrating the compound, but I’ll be short. We need someone on the inside to open the backdoor. The perimeter is heavily defended by squadrons of city guard, but once inside that shouldn’t be a problem. That falls onto you faceless.”

Again, the Therian's frown deepened as his icy pale blue eyes watched Reginald throughout his entire description of the plan. As the man said 'faceless' Touya bared his teeth, his hands tightening over his arms, "Therian," he growled in correction. Reginald ignored him and continued, running his finger over the designs of the place where they were to infiltrate.

“I figured opening that access way would be a good use for your shape shifting abilities. The rest of the team will wait for you behind that door. After that, you have as long as you want to investigate, so long as you avoid detection. My office is in the north wing, ground floor. Shouldn’t be hard to miss, I imagine there’s still a bloody patch there where twelve Jaeger Guard died.”

Touya's gaze studied the plans intently, burning them into his memory before he lifted his eyes to look about at the group of men that were going to go with him. Uncrossing his arms, he turned and left the room without a word. Damea followed right behind him. The mercenaries demeanor had grown solemn in the past few days, he was no longer as talkative as before. Touya figured the poor man had seen more than enough for one man. He didn't say anything though, leaving the fire mage to his own devices. However if he ever wished to talk, Touya would listen.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes," Touya answered Damea shortly.

"Then all I have to say is be very careful. No matter what we find there, Touya-"

"I know."

Damea didn't say anything more but watched Touya intently before nodding his head.

---

The trip was spent in silence as they traversed across the city to where Reginald's old office had been. It took about an hour to get across town as Touya was moving rather quickly. He spotted the building that the doctor had described easily enough and pressed his body against the wall of the alley that opened up to a wide street right before the building. His eyes flicked from one end of the building to another. No one was visible from where they were standing and Touya leaned back with a sigh.

"I can't shape shift unless I know what to shift into," Touya said, mostly to Damea, but his voice was loud enough for all to hear. The fire mage smiled at him mischievously and patted his shoulder.

"Leave that to me, my friend," and Damea slipped passed him into the wide street. There was a long pause of complete silence. After that Damea's voice could be heard as he yelled loudly for someone to help him. Touya tensed, wondering what it was that the man was thinking. He glowered at the street before him and forced himself to wait, no matter how apprehensive he was at that moment. A few seconds later and Damea reappeared next to Touya, his eyes wide with fear as he looked at someone down the street. Waving his arm, he called out again.

"Over here! My friend! Please, he's hurt!" Then Damea ducked passed Touya and the tall Therian waited patiently as he heard the hurried footsteps of a disgruntled soldier. The mercenary had done well, that much he could commend the man on as a tall man about the same size of Touya came and stood right next to the Therian. Reaching out like a snake, Touya gripped the mans arm and pulled him into the alleyway. A hard crack to the side of his head put the man into darkness right after and the human soldier lay limply in Touya's arms.

Touya's gaze studied the man for a few minutes more and then his body shivered and his features transformed to match that of the soldier he held. Looking to Damea, whose jaw had dropped in awe at the display, he handed the unconscious man over. The fire mage took him and pulled him a little ways down the alley and behind some boxes so that he was out of the way. Touya turned and exited the alleyway going back down the way he'd heard the footsteps. There were several other soldiers down there as well, watching as Touya returned to them.

"What was it, Byres?" One of the men asked as they all walked together back to their station at the left wing of the building. He knew that Damea and the others were already making their way over to the 'back' door that he needed to get to.

"Nothing, just a delusional man," Touya answered.

"He didn't look delusional to me," another replied, eyeing Touya.

The Therian didn't answer only glowered at the man before him, hoping that they would not notice a difference in demeanor or voice. The soldiers stared back at him with suspicion, but one of them shook his head and sighed heavily. Almost as one, they disregarded Touya and the Therian made his way behind them. Slowly he worked his way backwards to the door that the men were stationed at.

"Whatever. Next time don't just go running around to follow some random person. You're lucky you didn't get killed," the first one commented but never turned around and silence soon fell among the four soldiers. Touya's hand reached out behind him and his fingers soon hit the doorknob. Quietly turning it, he backed into the building, keeping a steady eye on the four men outside. Once he was inside the building, he closed the door and lifted his hand. With a bit of magic, he locked the door and for good measure, turned the energy towards the metal on the side and warped it to the point of jamming the door.

Touya turned on his heel and looked around. He shed his shape shifted appearance, his hair returning to its normal length and color as did his eyes and pale skin. No one was in the hallway as far as he could tell and the door he needed to open was on the other side for the men. Moving quickly and quietly he made his way there, nothing hindering him as he went. It was almost too smooth for an operation. So much so that Touya was growing rather apprehensive. He reached the designated door and pushed it open slightly to let the men know he was inside.

Turning around, he eyed the hall and started back down it. He was now looking for Reginald's office. There had been destruction throughout the building, evidence that something had definitely happened there. Touya turned down right hallway, he worked his way through thrown furniture, papers and destroyed walls. It was amazing the destruction that littered the area. When he reached the office that Reginald had told him of, there was indeed a lot of blood left over. Touya walked around the room, looking at papers scattered around the desk and floor.

There was a window as well that opened up into another room, this one looking no worse for wear as Reginald's office. Beyond the window where several metal tables with leather bindings on them. All of which were empty. Touya felt his chest growing tighter as he eyed the area. There was no sign of April at all, the only thing that was left behind was blood.

---

Touya Khan

---

“Lost something?~”

Appearing abruptly out of nowhere, a pale man lazily emerged from the dense shadows of the room. His entrance was seamless, stretched out from the pitch gloom almost as if he had been there the entire time. Oddly, from his formal dress and mannerisms, he was so far removed from frightening it was surreal. Gloved fingers, so pale they could have been mistaken as transparent, delicately brushed over the icy cold surface of a metal slab as he regarded Touya. Had it been April who slept there? Or was it Damea? Only Reginald knew.

“They do say forgetfulness is a form of freedom,” commented the gentleman. He seemed earnest, but one could never be certain if he were intentionally mocking the therian given the green mask.

“Or was it the opposite?” asked the man, doubting himself immediately.

Shrugging, he spared only a second to gleam over his thoughts. A mop materialized in his hands then, though perhaps it had always been there. Shifting over, he navigated its rangy head downwards, sloshing water in a bucket that was hidden behind the table. “But some things can’t be forgotten, not completely. Only a little light can lift the haze,” he advised, spreading sentences that sounded more like riddles.

Turning to concentrate, he worked his way around the table. The man’s back and forth motions were almost methodical, blissfully unaware that the room was occupied. Nonetheless, he dolefully wiped out puddles of blood, plunging his dripping mop into the pail several times for good measure. “It’s going to take me weeks to fully remove these blood stains,” he grumbled petulantly, clinging to some lost hope the building would be used again.

Noticing that Touya was still watching, his emerald eyes glimmered, briefly displaying mild surprise. “Oh, strange. Usually you can’t see me by now,” he remarked, a ghost of a smile touching his unseen lips, “Alright, alright. If you insist. I guess I can chatter a bit more. I do wonder which path you’ll choose eventually. Humanity or the therians? I’ll leave you one clue to help make the decision. Toodle-oo.”

Something soft, yet solid bounced on the table before coming to rest. It rolled into light, revealing a recently severed arm, though the bleeding had long since stopped. Clearly effeminate, the limb ended in a clean cut just before the elbow. On closer inspection, a small object was found to be lodged between the fingers. Spherical in shape, it was an unknown badge of office. Segments of frayed, red cotton were still attached to the ends, suggesting the marker had been ripped from its origins.

Once again, the red haired gentleman had vanished without notice.

“What’s taking so long Touya? I hope you’re not pissing in there,” Miles hissed, his voice reverberating through the darkness to reach the therian, “We should move. I fear we have outstayed our welcome.”

Accompanied by Damea and the others, Miles had spent the majority of his time securing the surrounding vicinity. During that period, a noticeable lack of guards had passed beyond the windows. In fact, no body at all had appeared in the last several minutes. Eerily, the sounds of general chatter had ceased all together, only to be replaced by a faint clapping that echoed through the hallways. Miles shifted uncomfortably in his uniform, straining his senses for signs of potential danger. All the while he tried to ignore the persistent clapping. Every ten seconds the noise resonated through the tranquil building, like a death toll. What in the four realms was the cause of it?

“Smells like a trap,” Bastionne murmured, nostrils flaring as he sniffed the air, literally. The Lieutenant was practically invisible in the unlit premises of the hall. Deprived of his signature stubble machine-gun, Bastionne had restricted himself to a short sword in favor of stealth, even going as far as to dull the shine of the blade.

More clapping followed, maintaining tradition.

“Getting in here did feel far too easy. Think they want information on the identities of who still opposes them?” John responded, scanning the room from his crouched position.

Still the clapping continued, inevitably growing closer. Audible now was the distinct sound of metal rasping against stone.

“Nah, it’s probably just like Havoc said,” Miles intervened, unsheathing his sword in anticipation. “The scientist has a new toy and he wants to test it. I say, bring it on! I’m not worried! And for empire’s sake, can somebody stop that noise!”

Answering Miles, the clapping stopped. In its stead, a monster burst out from the darkness, eight foot tall and mewling wordless profanities. The thing charged forwards, heaving a mass of sinuous muscle and metal appendages that left the party gagging. Its disproportionate arms ended in one broadsword, and one giant hammer which it flailed about. Miles gulped, realizing it was the source of the clapping.

“I regret this immediately,” the Beast Slayer cursed.

John was the first to react, aiming his repeater crossbow down the length of the hall at the approaching hybrid. Pulling the trigger, he pumped the encroaching hybrid full of cross bolts before rolling aside desperately. No sooner had he done so did the hammer smashed through the wall behind him, pulverizing stone to dust. Bastionne had gone, lost in the chaos, but there were plenty of other targets left to massacre. The hybrid’s beady eyes focused on Damea and Miles, regarding them with deep hunger.

“Guess you smell better," Miles commented, brandishing his sword as the hybrid lunged towards Damea, broadsword swinging.

---

“Lost something?~”

Touya whirled around to the voice that called out to him. He had been engaged in looking at the papers strewn across the room. His eyes met that of a youthful looking man with a green mask over his face and an elegance that could have even rivaled that of the Therians. Touya's eyebrow lifted slightly as he regarded the man before him, not sure how he should respond.

“They do say forgetfulness is a form of freedom. Or was it the opposite?”

Touya, at this point was so confused that he didn't know how to respond to that. What was this man talking about? He wasn't making any sense to the Therian at all.

“But some things can’t be forgotten, not completely. Only a little light can lift the haze,” the man continued, his words were puzzling as Touya listened to him. He stared at the man as he suddenly gripped a mop out of thin air and there was a bucket of water right next to him.

“It’s going to take me weeks to fully remove these blood stains,”

What? Remove the blood stains? How... why was he doing that? Who was this man, where did he come from? These questions revolved around in Touya's mind as he stared at the man, unable to move or speak. He then recalled that Damea and himself had seen the same man out in the fields. Even then this person didn't seem to belong in their world, and his words were ever troublesome to make heads or tails out of.

“Oh, strange. Usually you can’t see me by now. Alright, alright. If you insist. I guess I can chatter a bit more. I do wonder which path you’ll choose eventually. Humanity or the therians? I’ll leave you one clue to help make the decision. Toodle-oo.”

If he... but Touya hadn't said anything out loud. He'd only stared at the man, perplexed at his appearance. The man's words were even more trouble some as he directly addressed Touya on the issue of the humans and Therian's fighting right then. Touya wanted what was best for both of them. It was just difficult getting there. Something bounced on the table beyond the window, making a soft sound as it hit and rolled into the light. It was an arm and Touya's eyes narrowed on it as he noted the cuts along the forearm, just below the elbow. The Therian's keen gaze caught something glinting and he could tell that it was something similar to that of the badges that the soldiers wore.

"Who are you?" Touya asked finally, his voice having been gone from him till then, as he looked up into the room. However, what met his gaze was emptiness and he lunged forward, pressing his hands against the window to peer inside the room and try to find the man again. He had so many questions, so many things he wished to know of the man.

“What’s taking so long Touya? I hope you’re not pissing in there. We should move. I fear we have outstayed our welcome,” The voice belonged to Miles who was coming down the hall then. Touya didn't answer him for some time as he gazed at the arm inside the other room. His hands had slid off the glass and rested at his side. He didn't know what to do. However, as the words sunk in from Miles his lips turned into a frown. How degrading for the man to suggest such a thing.

"You could have a bit more tact, you know," Touya suggested as he turned away from the window and went to the desk. There were so many papers there. He hoped to find something that would give him an answer to his question about April's whereabouts. Anything at all. All the Therian needed was the tiniest of information to go off of. As he shifted around the papers, the conversation outside hardly reached him, though he could hear their words.

"I think Miles is right, Touya... we should probably leave," Damea called, sounding rather nervous or tense.

"Just a little longer," Touya replied as he shifted through the papers as quickly as he could. His eyes scanned all of the documents as best he could. Nothing. He couldn't find anything of any relevance to April. However, something did catch his attention and his eyes scanned the paper.

“Nah, it’s probably just like Havoc said. The scientist has a new toy and he wants to test it. I say, bring it on! I’m not worried! And for empire’s sake, can somebody stop that noise!”

Touya looked up, perplexed about what it was that Miles was shouting about. He hadn't gone through the entire the paper yet and had only gotten that April had something wrong with her already. His heart was tight as he had read the paper, but with Miles' sudden shout about someone making some noise, he was on alert. Touya stepped around the desk slowly and looked out into the hallway where the men where. It was silent, but then a second later and a being taller than Touya broke through the darkness and lunged at the group. It's voice wasn't human, but it's mouth was forming some attempt at words. A broadsword was on the end of one of its arms, the other was a large hammer.

“I regret this immediately,” Touya heard Miles curse as the man pulled out his weapons and prepared to fight back against the monster.

One of the elite guard was the first to attack, John, if Touya remembered correctly. The youth shot his crossbow at the beast that was coming at them. Several cross bolts later and the thing was still going at them. John moved out of the way quickly and he was lucky to have the instinct to move for the monster dropped his hammer-like limb down into the wall right where John had been.

It's next target was Damea then as it turned and issued a deep growl of pure rage. Touya moved then, drawing both his blades and snapping them out as well as engaging his wrist blades and claws. He raised his weapons and shoved off against the downward strike of the broadsword that was aimed directly at Damea and Miles. Touya rebounded off the enormous weapon, but it wasn't the weapon that did it, it was the beasts pure strength. Even so, Touya managed to deflect the weapon so that it missed his comrades.

More cross bolts filled the air as they sunk deep into the creatures bare skin along it's back as John was now behind it. Touya got his footing back and lunged forward again, intent on showing his own strength against the beast. His body glowed then and he was propelled by sheer power. Touya slammed into the monster and pushed as hard as he could. Damea joined him and Touya was rewarded with a wonderful sight. Damea twisted around quickly, the fire mage moving gracefully and fluidly with all that he'd been taught by the Therians. His blades whirled through the air, cutting and slashing at the thing as he moved from one maneuver to another.

With Touya holding the monster with his own power, Damea was free to cut the thing into ribbons. However, no matter how much Damea cut it, it didn't seem to do anything to the damned thing. After a moment, Touya began to lose his footing and his forward momentum. The creature must have felt it as well and he pushed back against the Therian. Another push had Touya sliding backwards and finally the beast swung outwards hard. Touya was thrown so hard that his body's impact against the wall put a few cracks in the hall way.

Touya was dazed then, the room spun for a moment before his eyes and he staggered trying to get his footing. After he was balanced again, his body glowed a second time and he twisted his blades in his hands. Touya's long hair billowed behind him as he pulled even more power into his body. He was trying to get as much of an upper hand as he could with this fight. The Therian knew that this wasn't going to be easy. Touya slowly raised his gaze upwards to eye the monster before them.

Damea, breathing heavily, slid next to the Therian, his swords held at the ready as well, "This is going to take a long time," Damea commented.

Touya only nodded. He didn't answer the mercenary because there was really no point to do so. What he was trying to figure out was how they were going to kill this thing. Touya's eyes narrowed as the monster lunged at them, swinging wildly. This must be the 'hybrid' that Reginald had mentioned. Was it the same one that attacked the place? Maybe. Touya ducked, moving quickly as his speed was enhanced by his power. The wall behind him where he and Damea had been standing burst apart. Together, Damea and Touya lunged forward at the creature, blades swiping at the thing. Blood spurted from where they cut it, but still the creature drove on.

Twisting around it turned to catch first Damea across his chest and threw him down the hall. Touya's heart clenched as he heard the crack of the hammer against Damea's body. A second later he was met by the same fate with the hammer as well. Touya was a bit faster and his swords came up to take most of the blow, but he was still thrown backwards with amazing force. As he slid across the floor, he ground his teeth together. Humans had built this? They were insane. They were preparing for something big, that much was for sure. Slowly the Therian got back to his feet.

Touya was sure he was going to stop it.

---

Miles Riverbend

---

Miles braced himself to roll aside as the hybrid charged at them. Monstrously inhuman, Miles found it incalculably disturbing. Obvious traces still spoke of its origin, a haggard prison uniform, a faded tattoo. Recalling how the scientist had offered to help Glendale with its overcrowding, Miles’ stomach dropped sick. Clearly it was once a man, but that was before some deranged mind had decided to infuse bits of metal to flesh, creating the current atrocity bearing down on them.

Head lulling wretchedly, it huffed and grunted, announcing raw fury as it barreling down the length of the hallway like a berserker. Practically trampling the rubble beneath, Miles felt the ground shake through his bones. He aimed for the tendons, knowing a full confrontation was hopeless at best. Touye intervened then, bursting out from the room he had been investigating. The cold snap of blades heralds his entrance, followed by a silver stream of whitest hair. With an arm span to wide to comfortably swing without touching the walls, the hybrid’s broadsword had to cut through reinforced cement to reach them. Even still, the blade sliced forwards effortlessly, like a hot knife through butter.

Miraculously, Touya succeeded in diverting its trajectory without being violently severed. Miles whistled in reply, taking the briefest moment to admire the therian’s strength and quality of arms. A normal sword would’ve shattered from such an impact, leaving its user invariably and horribly exposed. The respite lasted the whole of a second as cross bolts pierced the hybrid, impaling its rear.

John had recovered by then, narrowly avoiding the hammer blow that would’ve crushed him into a pulp. The Jaeger Guard loosed the entirety of his magazine for what effectively amounted to nothing, only merely turning the beast into a pin cushion. The man issued a harsh curse and proceeded to reload as Touya and Damea sought to combat the monster. It was unstoppable, as inured to the pain of its own flesh as it was to the agonies of others.

Iron forged metal clashed against steel with a deafening clang as Touya competed for dominance. The therian assaulted head-on. Propelled by his magic, he pushed forwards with all of his might, landing the twin blades against the edge of his opponent’s. Acting in perfect unison, the mercenary closed in whilst the hybrid was occupied, weapons dancing. Like a whirlwind of blades, Damea’s swords hit the monster again and again, tearing a multitude of deadly gashes over the hybrid’s body. Wide, red cuts ravished the monster, yet none of it seemed to matter.

Growing weary of the shaving, the monster swang its arm forth. Touya’s flying body was a silver blur past the corner of his eye as the therian lost his footing to overwhelming power. Not daring to take his focus away, Miles watched as a similar fate was dealt to the mercenary. The man’s tousled form was flung by the impact, likely resulting in more than a few broken bones. Miles winced on his behalf.

“Well, this is going wonderfully,” Miles remarked, not caring to mention the fact that he had done nothing significant to contribute to the fight so far. Given everything he had witnessed, the man seemed reluctant even to commit to a strike of any kind. Petty tricks were unlikely to work here, and no amount of air or water he could summon would even flinch the beast.

Salvation arrived in the unlikely form of Lieutenant Bastionne. Appearing at the stern of the hybrid, the ochre skinned Jaeger Guard scaled the back of the monster, using the bolts John had implanted for grip. In one fell swoop, he brought his sword down with both hands into the skull of the hybrid. Rewarded with a sharp crack, a black fluid like oil sprayed up, showering the Lieutenant with slick solutions. The hybrid released a cross between a human cry and guttural howl, choking on its own body fluids as blood leaked into its lungs.

Carried by the weight of Bastionne, it rolled to the ground, slumping over its knees. The Lieutenant hopped off the moment it ceased to move, looking darker than ever thanks to the thin film of liquids coating his uniform now.

“So good to see you again, Lieutenant,” Miles mocked. Still cautious of the hybrid, his green eyes glanced around warily. “Thought you ran away.”

“The Jaeger Guard never run,” Bastionne growled, wiping the muck from his face, “It’s not-”

“Yes, yes, it’s not honorable. You’re beginning to sound like a broken record,” interjected Miles. He offered a flippant wave in the direction of Bastionne who regarded the impertinent display with loathing.

“You’d do well to-“

Bastionne never got to finish his sentence. In one instance his top half vanished, tossed like a rag doll against a ruined slab of wall. Miles stared at Bastionne’s lower legs opened up like a tin can, gaping in shock.

“Incoming!” screamed John.

Heeding the warning, Miles dropped to the ground as something large scythed overhead. Air, wall, brick, metal, it hardly mattered what you were, the broadsword never stopped. The hammer head followed afterwards, chasing him eagerly. Matching Miles’ torso in size, it cracked the floor with the force of its impact, scattering dust and stone. Miles was up on his feet by then, backing off with a blast of air to evade the relentless wave of attacks.

“It’s not living and it’s not dead! How on Artamus are we meant to kill it if conventional magic and attacks don't work?” John yelled, incredulous.

Landing beside Touya, Miles stuck his cynical tongue out at the hybrid, "How should I know?! Maybe you can appeal to its better nature. Or maybe you can try healing it. Yea sure, that sounds like a great idea, Touya? Why don't you try that while we break away?"

The hammer fell hard against his chest and he flew backwards. When Damea landed on the floor, he felt the air rush out of his lungs and he just lay there, numb all over. It took a moment before the burn of pain kicked in and he could tell that his body was in terrible shape. It felt as if everything had been broken. He was sure most of his ribs were, as well as including some fractures for those ribs that weren't broken. Upon trying to move his left arm, he found that his collar bone was broken as well and couldn't get his arm off the ground.

His fingers curled and he felt the handle of his sword still miraculously in his grip. His other sword was in his hand as well and he tightened his fingers around that one as well. Damea tried to sit up to see what was going on as he heard another crash in the distance. However, his body didn't allow him to move too much and all he could manage was to lift his head just barely to see the lumbering horror turn to face the group. The mercenary watched as the creature stumbled forward and black oil like fluid came flying out of its head. As it fell, one of the Jaeger Guard landed deftly and stood before Miles. As they were speaking, the hybrid moved and in one single swipe, cut the man in half.

“Incoming!” John's voice hollered from somewhere in the dark. Damea continued watching, his heart in his throat as he was unable to assist in anything. Miles jumped out of the way of the next swing as it came at him and came upon Touya who had gotten up from being tossed. The Therian had made his way over to them, and now stood with Miles next to him. Both men regarded the creature with disdain and horrified confusion. How were they supposed to kill something that didn't feel pain and obviously didn't die? John had been thinking the same thing that Damea had and voiced the concern to them all.

"How should I know?! Maybe you can appeal to its better nature. Or maybe you can try healing it. Yea sure, that sounds like a great idea, Touya? Why don't you try that while we break away?"

Damea lifted an eyebrow. Heal it? Wouldn't that make it worse? Heal the wounds that were already doing nothing, why would... wait. Perhaps the man was onto something. The creature was created from metals that aren't supposed to be on a human body. If Touya could manage to heal that damage, then maybe the horror would realize the pain inflicted upon it by their weapons and finally fall. If it was the modifications that kept it going, healing the body parts connected to the technology and that would effectively cut off the technologies hold on the body. At least... in theory.

"Why not roast the damn thing?" Damea asked from where he lay, unable to move. Touya glanced over to him and moved to kneel next to the mercenary. Upon a quick scan over the man's body, the Therian shook his head, a frown on his lips.

"You wouldn't be able to create a spark let alone conjure your fire."

"And I suppose you think that you can heal that damn thing and not get killed. I still say torching his ass would be faster."

"What if it doesn't work? I will still have to try," Touya replied. It seemed that the Therian had come to the same conclusion that Damea had as well.

"Are you sure you can do it?"

Touya shrugged, "I will try. If anything it will give the rest of you time to get out."

"Touya!" Damea shouted, but the Therian had already stood and was ignoring him. Damea growled in frustration. Did the man always have to throw himself into impossible situations? Was he trying to prove something? Well, maybe he was, but it still didn't make sense. The mercenary felt utterly useless right then and could only glare at his friend as he prepared to take on the monster alone while the rest of them escaped. He didn't like this plan, not one bit.



At first Miles' suggestion seemed ludicrous to him, but upon giving it more thought, it seemed reasonable. Perhaps it would work, if not it was still their best chance at getting away. Touya would distract the thing long enough for the others to make their escape, that was no problem. The only thing that worried the Therian was how he was to get away from the hybrid if healing it did not work. Well, he would figure that out later on, what mattered right then was getting the others out of there first.

Touya had stood up from where he'd spoken with Damea and faced the horror that was now turning to face them. The Therian rushed it before it could chose its next target, giving it no choice but to face him. Steel crashed against steel as he blocked the sideways strike from the hammer and then struck out at the creature to turn it around. As he went he started to pull energy into his body and prepare for the tedious task of healing the surgery that had been done to the man. If he could heal the flesh that had been torn apart to fit the mechanized parts on his body, then perhaps it would bring the monster down.

"Hurry and leave!" Touya shouted at Miles as he managed to get the creature to follow him. Touya maneuvered around the creature as best he could, trying to figure out how he could work what he had in mind. He had to be fairly close in order to heal, almost touching his hand to the creature. Touya batted aside the oncoming broadsword and realized that if he could get the weapon to be pinned into the wall, he would only have to worry about the hammer and then he would be close enough to heal the monster. Touya twisted around as the enormous blade came at him again. He managed to pivot on his foot and angle his body at the wall. The sword followed and using his own weapon, he directed it upwards just barely so that it didn't impale him. The huge hunk of steel cut easily through the wall behind him, the only thing keeping it from coming down and cutting through him was his own sword held up to keep it there.

Touya sacrificed his other blade to reach out and engage his healing attribute. Golden light filled his palm and extended to the monster before him. The light grew in intensity as it wrapped around the man's arms and sunk into his body. As Touya began the healing process the creature reacted violently at first and slammed it's hammer into the Therian, crushing him against the wall. It was a last second deal, but Touya had managed to protect himself with his energy, lessening the blow just enough. Even so, his body was being impaled into the wall and he found it difficult to continue keeping the protective energy and the healing going at the same time. Touya continued, though, refusing to give in simply because he'd been hit.

The magic poured out of him, slowly sinking into the monster before him. His concentration deepened as he directed his healing to close the wounds that had been made to add the metal additions to the man's body. The wounds inflicted during the fight closed slightly as well, though Touya had not intended that. However, he'd needed a place to start and that was the easiest. The luminescent glow around his body brightened as he pulled more energy towards him and directed most of it into the healing. The hammer's force grew heavier as he lost a bit of concentration on the energy shield between his torso and the weapon. Slowly, Touya could feel the healing power begin to work as he'd wanted it to. It was only during the process that he thought about how he should have worked to integrate the technology much smoother into the mans body instead of just healing the stumps that would have been his arms.

Touya didn't really have to time to switch tactics, but tried to do the best that he could either way. As he healed the wounds, he tried to heal the messed up technology as well, though he wasn't entirely sure if that was the right way to think of it. Touya's breath was slowly growing shorter with the amount of energy he was putting into his work and the shield between him the crushing hammer was slowly breaking apart. Even more pressure was pushed against him, making it harder to breathe. A loud crack snapped open his eyes and a pain filled gasp almost broke his concentration. One eye closed as he winced, his hand that had reached out to hover over the monster's wrist shook as he continued to feed the magic into the being.

His head was getting light with lack of air both from his overuse of energy and being crushed. Another crack resounded, this one earning nothing more than a groan of pain instead. Overhead, his shoulder burned as the blade in his hand shook to keep the monsters broadsword from coming down and cleaving him in half. Slowly, though, the more healing power he pushed into the monster, the more it seemed he was getting results. What started as mouthed words with no sense to them at all, became words that were pleading for help, to end it all. Touya felt guilt rush through him as he continued. The human's senses seemed to start to regain and after some time, the pressure overhead faded away as the man stopped trying to force his blade downwards. Eventually the same happened with the crushing weight of the hammer as well.

It had taken Touya several minutes of huge amounts of pure energy being pushed into the man before the hammer fell away, clanging heavily into the floor. The man stared at Touya for a moment more, mouthed something the Therian could not make out and finally toppled over. Touya's breath was heavy as he struggled to breathe. The air wasn't coming fast enough into his lungs, and with the broke ribs, it was harder to breathe anyway. His head swam with dizziness and he stumbled forward as he tried to start after the group. He wasn't sure where they'd gone, having not paid any attention to their retreat whilst he dealt with the monster. There was a thick coppery taste in his mouth as his eyesight dimmed. A couple steps more and his weary body couldn't handle it anymore and collapsed on the floor.

---

Miles Riverbend

---

"Hurry and leave!" demanded Touya.

Miles hesitated, struck by the gravity of those words. The Beast Slayer had never considered that the therian would take his suggestion to heart. Overriding his guilt with the necessity to live, Miles nodded solemnly at Touya.

“Never a dull moment, huh? Good luck therian,” he said, throwing a smirk on for show. It was the last time he expected to see the courageous refugee. Snapping into action, Miles sheathed his own sword and ran over to Damea. “Corporal! Help me carry this man! And you don’t complain or make this any harder than it already is.”

Responding with unnerving swiftness, John materialized out of the shadows, side stepping the hybrid so as to avoid its lethal attention. The man’s cross bolts had been all but spent in the ensuing battle, reducing him to a pair of combat knives. To Miles’ chagrin, John paused midway to crouch over the corpse of Bastionne. The Jaeger Guard muttered a few words of respect before jerking the dog tag free of his superior’s neck and hurrying over to assist him in lifting the mercenary’s weight.

“A good man,” John said, pocketing the name label.

“Empire rests his soul. Now, unless you want to join him, I suggest you haul arse faster,” Miles grunted, hefting Damea from under his shoulders.

Without responding, John shifted himself down to lift Damea up by the knees in a fore-and-aft position. “Secure?”

“Solid! Let’s go!” Miles confirmed, adjusting his arms to steady his grip. The Beast Slayer spared one last glance over his shoulder, glimpsing a brilliant flash of yellow light and the ominous black shadow of the monster. They were two sides of the same coin, almost.

Starting down the hallway, John navigated through the simple corridor. Their objective was an alternate route which existed by the north wing, and seeing as the hybrid was currently blocking any entrance into the lobby, it was their final alternative. They took a left, jogging swiftly into a ribbed hallway. Miles noted how the wall panels surrounding them looked battered and old despite the recent dereliction. Only a week ago this building would have been bustling with activity.

“How much further?” Miles asked, agitated to escape the suffocating premises. Getting outside of the building was only part of the problem given their discovery. Thankfully Havoc had the foresight to plan numerous routes of bypassing likely security. Of course, it also helped they were technically on home turf.

“Just at the end of this hall, a window should lead into a side alley,” John informed, reciting the path off memory.

Abruptly, Miles felt the impact rather than heard it. In response, the wooden beams overhead shivered, shaking dust onto their heads. Contemplating the cause, they all paused in unison.

“Sounds like something cut into the building’s structure, again,” John remarked, directing a cautionary gaze around at their surroundings. Both men knew that could have only been caused by one thing.

Concerned that the roof could collapse at any point, Miles looked up in tow and frowned. “Do you reckon you can carry Damea alone?” he asked, not bothering to consult the mercenary for his opinion.

“Sir?”

Miles assisted John in moving Damea into a firefighter carry, leaving the injured mercenary over the Jaeger Guard’s shoulders. “Call it a whim, don’t wait for me,” Miles winked.

Turning the other direction, Miles began sprinting back the way they came, praying the hybrid would be finished before he arrived. What he discovered upon reaching their previous position left him in utter disbelief. Discretion turned to amazement as he stumbled past the quiet remains of the hybrid, eyes wide. The surgical wounds and grafting remained, as firmly etched to its skin like knots in a plank, but the cuts and bolts were gone without trace. Even Bastionne’s head wound had vanished. Miles tip-toed past, uncertain if the monster was simply playing dead and unwilling to test the fates.

“Touya? You there?” he hissed.

Not far off, Touya’s unconscious form lay just beyond the hybrid, clumped up against the wall.

---

“A few broken ribs, for both of them,” Reginald muttered, reading the words off a checklist. The doctor had only just completed his physical examination of Touya. Damea, though still conscious, hardly fared any better than the therian and was currently resting in the adjacent bed.

Welcoming the gentle warmth offered by the hospital room’s interior, Miles leaned back in his seat, letting the tension slip out of his shoulders. Not so unlike the first room that Reginald used to restrain Touya, the key difference was a noticeably lack of magic inhibitors and metal bindings. “Skin of our teeth Havoc, it was that close.”

Reginald gave Miles a certain look, as if the medic was on the verge of saying something important before sighing. “I’ll read the report tomorrow,” he waved. The details could come later, but Reginald’s chief concern was determining how exactly the faceless managed to defeat the hybrid. “You’re certain about what you saw?”

Miles gave a tired shrug, “It looked like it just healed up then dropped dead. I did jokingly suggest trying to healing it…but I had no idea the therian was capable of such a feat, let alone if that’s what he even did.”

"I've seen him use it before. Anyway, he needs rest for now. There'll be time for questions later," Reginald said, "However, do you mind stepping outside? I have something important to tell you. Something about your family."

He shifted slightly and was greeted by the burn of broken ribs. He stopped moving and opened his eyes. The room came to focus and he took a deep breath of relief. Well, at least he hadn't been left in the building where the monster had been. Touya tried to recall exactly how he'd managed to pull of such a feat, but he couldn't really remember exactly what he'd been thinking at the time or how he'd manipulated his magic to heal such a thing.

"How are you feeling?"

Touya turned to see Damea on a bed on the opposite side of the room from him. The mercenary was bandaged up and looking far worse than the Therian. Of course, Touya was surprised to see the man hadn't died from the terrible wounds he'd received from the single hit that had been dealt to him.

"Better than you, I'm sure."

Damea laughed, but winced right after and controlled his laughter, "Where did you learn to be sarcastic like that?"

"You, I presume."

"Stop, it hurts to laugh," the fire mage insisted as he leaned his head back against the pillow with a grin on his lips. Touya turned away, a small smile also on his facial features, rare as they were. The Therian closed his eyes and pulled energy into his body to heal the damaged ribs. It wasn't much and so it only took a minute or so. What had killed him during the fight was how much energy he'd put into healing the monster. It was more than he'd ever used before and so the drain was exponential.

Once he was healed and sat up and tossed his legs off the bed. Standing, the tall Therian moved across the room and leaned over Damea. Hovering his hand over the man's body, he allowed the golden glow to sink into the flesh and heal the many wounds. Damea had opened his mouth to protest, but Touya wasn't going to listen anyway. The fire mage must have realized that and decided not to speak. Once Touya was finished, though, Damea glowered up at him as the Therian swayed on his feet.

"You know, you really got to stop doing that," Damea chided.

"What?"

"You know what, so stop it. I realize you worry for me and others, but you got to realize that we worry for you too and that sometimes you push too hard. Keep going like that and you're going to get yourself killed."

Touya watched the man as he sat up slowly and began unwinding the white bandage that had been wrapped around his entire body. Stepping back to give the mercenary some room, he crossed his arms over his chest, "Therian's are hard to kill, I hope you know."

"Doesn't matter. So what if you can endure a lot. Doesn't mean you're immortal. You can die, and you will if you're not careful. All I'm saying is," Damea looked up at him as the last of the bandage fell away from his lithe figure, "Take into consideration what others think and feel about you."

Touya's gaze dropped and he nodded slightly. He wasn't sure what to say in response to that, nor was he sure how to think either. The Therian wasn't entirely suited to keeping in mind what others thought of him. He'd always gone about his own way thinking of not of himself, but of everyone else. Though Damea had mentioned this once or twice before, it never had really sunk in. Even so, Touya wasn't sure if he could really comply with the mercenary's wishes.

"So, what happened?"

Touya looked up as Damea stood and stretched his muscles, testing his healed body, "I healed the creature."

"You... healed it? How? What happened?"

"I'm not sure how. I just... thought of it as Therian technology and tried to work my way through the mechanics to help ease the process of molding metal to skin. Basically I treated the metal as a part of the monsters body and healed it. After that, it just kind of... fell over. I think he thanked me..." Touya answered.

"Treated it like Therian technology... Interesting. So... does this mean that maybe you could heal your own wounds if you ever get wounded again along your metal?"

Touya shook his head, "No. There is no extra metal in my arms, so I cannot mold any of it. I remember turning the bolts and extra screws that were not necessary for Therian technology into the parts that were needed and healing the cuts that had severed the arm with the metal. I molded the flesh and metal together that way," Touya continued. It seemed that the more he talked about it, the more he could remember and it was easier to recall.

"Wow," Damea answered, putting his hands on the back of his head and shifting his body so his weight was on one leg, "You sure are surprising, I hope you know that."

"Is that a good thing?"

Damea laughed, "Of course."



She was leaning over Val's body, her hands working the bandage so that she could change the soaked cloth. It had been a couple days since the group of Therian's had brought Val's battered body back to the camp. How infuriated she'd been to learn that he'd nearly been killed in a fight with Touya and some human. The same human that had attacked her and nearly killed her. She still bore the cut along her forehead, partially healed. It would scar and that scar would remind her of her hatred for humans for as long as she lived, an addition to her already fueled fire with the loss of her husband.

Val's breathing was labored, his body in a sheen of sweat, but the strong Therian was holding onto life, albeit just barely. She was doing everything she could to heal him, from medicines to bandages changed everyday to energy being poured into his body to keep his strength up. Ahmeil knew if she kept it up, he would eventually pull through, but that didn't stop her from worrying so much or being angry.

"How is he?" A soft voice asked from the doorway of the makeshift tent. Ahmeil turned to set eyes upon Gretta.

"He's still in critical condition, but if I keep going, he'll make it."

"You shouldn't push yourself so much, Ahmeil," Gretta soothed as she walked into the room. The Therian woman put her hands on Ahmeil's shoulders and squeezed tightly. Ahmeil, on the other hand, ignored her attempt at comfort. She didn't have time for such petty things.

"And who will then, if I don't? I will bring him back to us."

"Let me help you."

"No!" Ahmeil shouted, standing and whirling on the woman. Gretta backed off a bit and raised her hands in a gesture of peace. Ahmeil bared her teeth at the woman, "We need him! And I won't see him die just because a human tried to kill him!" She spat.

"I know we need him. Trust me, I know. But please, you must let us help you. You cannot keep expanding your own energy, that will weaken you considerably and then what will you do when you can no longer help him?"

Ahmeil turned away and dropped down next to Val, ignoring Gretta. She reached out and pulled off the rest of the dressings and continued onward with her work in angry silence. She began to clean the wound and then re-wrapped it. All the while, Gretta stood behind her waiting for an answer. After a moment Ahmeil finally gave in with a heavy sigh.

"Fine. But only you. No one else," Ahmeil ground out. Gretta nodded with a soft smile. Stepping into the room, the Therian woman knelt down next to Val and Ahmeil. Her hands reached out over Val's body and her glow illuminated the room brightly. The blue glow circulated and centered around her hands before stretching forth and entering Val. As her pure energy flooded the Therian rebel leader, it seemed that his breathing eased and his pained look somewhat smooth. Ahmeil contained her sigh of relief and finished tying off the bandage.

"There," Gretta smiled, "With both of us, this will go much faster and our Val will be back with us in a few days."