Sector Zero - Training Grounds

Hector walked along the trails of the man made forest, waving his mercenaries to and from all around him. He shouted orders and made sure all the civilians' needs were met - ever since the speech, many more refugees were taken in, and Hector found himself at a loss in supplies and food. He now had a total of seven trained and equipped squads of ten mercenaries each. Three of those squads patrolled the bank that held the entrance to the shelter, two squads were out hunting and gathering, and two more remained at base, keeping things in order. On top of that, he now had a total of five host squads, made completely of guardians and conduits.

Hector tapped his ear piece and waited as it buzzed to life. He then pressed a button, allowing him to speak on local communication gear:

"Julian, what's your squad's status?" he said as he continued to walk towards the center of the grounds.

After a brief pause, Julian's voice, tired and raspy, came from the other end:
"We're on break brothah. Ria's patchin' up Rocky, and I'm just restin' by the trees."

Hector chuckled, knowing Julian was on his "smoke" break. "Sounds good, listen, we have a LOT of volunteers. We're going to need to form some sort of combat crash course. I can use this sort of basic run through program we learned in the academy on initiation day - the teachers taught us emergency self defense, so we either defended ourselves or got hazed. Think I should give it a go with these people?" Hector had grown to trust and respect Julian, enough to where his advice meant more than the just the filled sentences he usually delivered while under the influence.

Julian thought for a moment before replying, "Hm... Yeah, now that I think 'bout it, that'd be just perfect. Give me and m'squad an hour or so to ready ourselves. I'll rally the restah' the hosts, too, alright, brothah?"

Hector smiled, "Alright. One hour." Hector finally arrived at his destination: the lake. He observed the basic training that the mercenaries were engaging in and he sat by on a bench while he gathered his thoughts. The Lake gave him a place to plan - the gentle waters complimented by the background noises of training mercenaries just set the right mood for Hector.

Raeven calmly sat down next to Hector, relaxing on the bench. The time she had spent already at Sector Zero had been intriguing, and relaxing. She'd gotten used to being so far under the ground, and it hardly bothered her anymore. While Hector and Ishigo had been off doing their duties, she had introduced herself to the hosts that Hector had gathered and gotten to know their abilities. "I have to say, Hector, you've found a lot of useful hosts," she said, glancing over at him before returning her gaze to watch the calm lake in front of them.

Hector smiled and then shrugged, "Ishigo was the one who found them really. Most of the new ones came themselves. But you're right - they're going to decide our fate, essentially." Raeven smiled softly, chuckling. "I don't know if I trust them enough to decide my fate, but I'm hoping that you'll let me join them and fight." She looked over at him, "I don't want to sit around and patrol like you have a few others doing." Hector chuckled, "I doubt I'd be able to stop you either way. You can't really blame me for being concerned, Rae. I still have yet to see what you can do, or that you can defend yourself in a fight. Surviving and fighting are two different things that people often confuse with one another."

At that, Raeven felt a sly grin spread across her features. "Let's spar, Hector. I'll show you all I know." Boy, was he in for a surprise. "I'll just warn you that I'm still as active as I was years ago." Hector raised both eyebrows in surprise, "Whoa there, chica, is that a threat?" he said jokingly. He then sighed and got up, stretching his arms before removing his heavy armor. He cracked his neck both ways and then bowed mockingly."I accept your challenge, senorita," he said as he chuckled.

Raeven stood and faced him, chuckling as he bowed. "Ladies first?" She teased before warping the light around herself, appearing invisible to him. Hector instantly frowned, "Oh damn..." He said as he looked around himself. Meanwhile, Raeven snuck around behind him and tapped his shoulder before quickly taking him down, pinning his arm behind his back while pressing his stomach to the ground. She stopped warping the light, appearing above him. Her grin had widened, but her eyes were filled with amusement. "Still think I survived by hiding?"

At this point, a few of the mercenaries that were on break looked to each other with smiles of disbelief. They walked over and formed an audience around the two, having witnessed their leader fallen for the first time.

Hector tried resisting, but failed as he was pinned against his will. "Miérda... sneaky girl, huh?" He said sharply. He then relaxed for just a split second, waiting to feel the natural respone of his restrainer to relax as well. At that moment, he used his other arm to push up off the ground just enough to throw Raeven off balance. He then spun on his hands, his legs kicking in the air to provide some room for him to eventually flip back into a standing position.

Raeven reappeared as she gained footing, chuckling. "It's from sneaking around in the corn fields when we were little," she teased. Hector smiled and readied himself, but was soon interrupted by the calling of one of his mercenaries.

"Yo Hector, we got some news. New group of refugees want in, and that kid's with 'em - uh, the mall one," he said.

Hector looked over and then raised both brows in surprise, "Oh, damn... Ishigo's gonna wanna hear this..." He then looked to Raeven, "Apologies, chica, I've got to get these people settled. We'll fight another time, si?" he said with a wink.

Raeven smirked. "I can't let you get away so easily," she replied before smiling. "Do you need any help?"

Hector smiled, "Well actual-" just then his comms sounded and Ishigo took over the line. Hector held up one finger as he listened in on Ishigo's voice, "Que pasa, hermano? You good?"

Ishigo's voice came through as weak and frail, causing Hector to immediately feel concerned.

"I need... to get in, now... Where's the lift?" he asked over the communications. Hector tensed up, "It's bringing a group down as we speak, what's wrong with yah, hermano? Tell me."

Ishigo coughed as he spoke over the comms, "Nothing, I just... need to rest a bit."

Hector nodded and released his ear piece, "Ishigo's back. Doesn't sound good. If you wanna come with me you're free to do so, but I'll have to tend to the group first."

Raeven frowned, wondering what could have tired Ishigo out so easily. "I'll go to Ishigo and help him," she said, the concern apparent in her features. "Maybe I can help find out what did this to him, unless he was showing off too much and drained himself." She smirked lightly at the end of her remark. Hector nodded. "We'll regroup soon. 'Till then, chica," he said as he headed out with a mercenary.

---

'The pain won't stop...' Ishigo thought. He clutched his right arm and walked with a slight limp, as it took a large amount of energy just to sustain his balance. His right arm had a torn tricep, causing immense pain on flexure.

'Your spirit needs to regenerate. Your body is basically on autopilot recovery right now. You're lucky your brain is being operated with the small droplets of spirit that remain.' Jin said.

Finally, the lift stopped and opened. The previous group had already entered the shelter, having missed Ishigo by mere minutes. Ishigo limped over and was instantly greeted by a few mercenaries who helped prop him up as they led him inside.

Raeven was there as he exited the lift, walking towards him. She nodded to the mercenaries and took over making sure Ishigo stayed upright, letting them resume their other duties. "What did this to you, Ishigo?" She asked, carefully helping him towards the medic station.

Ishigo sighed as he leaned against Raeven for support. "A young man... I...I still have yet to figure out just what he was but... I'm fine," he said softly. Raeven frowned, adjusting his arm around her shoulder so she could support him easier. "He must have been a host. Any human that challenged you would have ended up like this instead of you," she murmured, a slight smirk on her lips in an attempt to make him smile.

Ishigo's eyes followed the ground, his mind was racing with speculations as to what exactly he had just encountered. "Raeven..." Ishigo felt his pace slow down as he spoke, "Do you... believe in destiny?" he said gently.

Raeven slowed a little to match his pace. It was better to go easy than rush the injured. She had learned that over her years of training. "I believe that your actions determine your destiny, like a half-fate, half-choice kind of deal." Ishigo let out a soft, deep breath, relaxing his muscles so he wouldn't have to slow the two down.

"I have to find him," he said sternly. "I just... there's something I want to do, but this is just something I feel I have to do. And it's frightening because... I have no idea why." Ishigo walked on in silence before looking over at Raeven, having forgotten to thank her for her assistance. Instead, he took a deep breath and stopped. Lifting his arm, he stretched it and rolled it back before beginning to slowly walk on his own.

"Thanks for helping, Rae," he said softly, "I'm gonna rest up and head back out soon." Raeven walked along side him, letting him take control, but making sure that he wouldn't fall over after five feet of walking on his own. "Let me go with you. I'm sure this boy will have a harder time against the both of us," she said, mainly worried that he would over-exert himself.

Ishigo finally looked up, thinking to refuse her offer. He wanted to keep her out of the more dangerous tasks, but he felt something brewing within him for the very first time. It was a feeling he had rarely had the misfortune of experiencing. The taste of defeat lingered in his conscience and he knew that as much as he didn't want Hector or Raeven to accompany him - he needed them. Someone to trust with his life, and someone who could trust him with their life. He then smiled ever so slightly, "I'll let you know when I'm ready."

Raeven smiled softly, glad that he and Hector were not going to treat her like some defenseless girl. "Good. Maybe then we can catch up on what happened while you were gone." Although she wasn't too excited to tell them about her time in Sovereign with the mafia lord, she wanted to fully explain how she was fully capable of defending herself. She was hoping that after telling them her past, they'd stop doubting her fighting capability. "Sleep tight, Ishigo," she said softly with a smile.

Sector B - Abandoned Skymall - Indoors

"So, you really think the flyers are true?" Ren, the conduit with tattered clothing and a scar over his forehead asked. "Well, I don't know. They were just white pieces of paper with crappy black marker on them stating there was a mystery prize for any hosts that were able to get in here. I mean, worst case scenario we find another host looking for the same shit and absorb his Kage, right? Just like we did with that girl in the next Sector, in the totaled skyscraper. Heh." Katar, Ren's "friend" and fellow conduit replied. The two traversed through the mall for some time, checking out the individual stores, when Katar stopped Ren, holding his hand out before him.

"Lets head to the food court. I haven't eaten in a day, and there's bound to be some shit sitting around. It's been a year, yeah, but we all know that Caliosa food lasts AGES." Katar said to Ren as his stomach grumbled. Ren grunted in agreement, and the two headed towards the court.

Upon reaching the food court, Ren slowed his pace, pointing excitedly at a white piece of paper attached to a desk. "Another one of them clues, Katar! Let's go read that shit!" Katar grinned. "We oughta get ready in case this is some sorta trap, Ren." Katar explained as chunks of the marble from the floor surrounded Katar and fitted to him like a suit of armor.

Katar then began walking toward the paper, as Ren yawned. "Ahhh...Good point, dude." Ren followed suit as rocks rose around Ren alongside himself. "You know, people would think we had the same power, with all this shit floating around."

Katar dismissed Ren, waving his hand to signal him to be quiet. "Hmm...the paper says..." Katar squinted to read the paper as he approached it. Upon reaching the paper, however, Katar's body hit the floor as he struggled to get up. "Ren, this isn't funny, okay? Fix the gravity befo-AHHH!" Katar was cut off by a broken piece of the ceiling that Ren had manipulated the gravity of to crush his legs. "No one's gonna make that mistake anymore, after I kill you and take this prize for mine! You think I'm stupid, Katar? You always bullied and bossed me around, but I know what I'm doing! I'll be just fine without you."

Blood sputtered out of Katar's mouth as he responded. "Y-you idiot...this was obviously a trap...piece of shit, I had th-the same fucking idea until I read that note..." Ren just ignored Katar's warning, reading the note. "Prize is on the table." It read, and Ren looked up to find a glowing silvery-white light on the table floating above it. "Must be some sort of power...awesome prize!" Ren called out, reaching for the light.

The light then materialized, and Ren's hand was intercepted by another hand on his wrist. "Oh yes, the prize is for me." Yugeto taunted, as Ren fell to his knees and the same light began to flow out of Ren's body into Yugeto's. "Can't stand up, like your friend there, right? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Nice phrase, really. You know, I think it's a good idea your last moments are those of me talking your goddamned ear off, wouldn't you agree?" Ren let out a screech, then a series of weak moans, before emitting one last guttural noise as the light left his eyes.

Yugeto burped, before lifting the rocks off of Katar using his Spirit to cover and move off the rocks; this feat was much easier than it would have been earlier, considering Ren's gravity effect ended with his death. "I'm letting you go, I'm full. Your companion was an idiot. Go away, man. Nobody likes you, gosh." Yugeto said jokingly, as Katar scampered off hurriedly.

Fifteen minutes later, Katar opened the door to the exit of the mall, basking in the moonlight. "Thank god, thank god I'm alive. That deranged lunatic killed Ren, and thank god for that too!" Katar yelled out to the heavens, before a disturbingly familiar silver light surrounded Katar. "No...no...please...NO!"

Mere moments afterwards, Yugeto looked up into the moonlight just as Katar had, mocking his speech and then burping once more. "Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups. Damn, I'm just on a roll with the quotes today!" He shouted, gleefully teeming with spirit.

Sector Zero

Ishigo wrapped the final bandage around his left palm. His arm had recovered quite quickly; Jin had explained how spirit was the number one regenerative agent, the more spirit one had, the quicker he or she healed. Ishigo still needed to wrap combat bandages around his upper arm. This time, he left his scarf and hood, wanting to make the most out of a minimized weight. He stretched his arm and sighed, 'We shouldn't waste any more time.'

He departed from his room and headed towards the center of the sector, where the enrmous courtyard was located. On his way there, he was approached by Julian, who seemed in more a hurry than he was.

"Hol' on, brothah, where yah headed now? Combat training's in about twenty minutes," he said as he approached Ishigo's side.

Ishigo nodded, "Right, so get trained. I've got to find someone," he replied in a relaxed tone. Julian chuckled, "Listen, listen, if yah gon' head back out thea' lookin' like this, well... let me come with at least."

Ishigo shook his head, "I've got Raeven; she'll be plenty of assistance."
Julian shrugged, "Well, if that's what yah want... but I did hear some rumors over in the locker rooms. Somethin' about the ghost of a young lad hauntin' a nearby skymall."

Ishigo stopped and then turned to Julian, "Who told you that?" he said sternly. Julian smiled, "It's been the talk of the mercs for a while now. They leave that skymall alone in their patrol for that very reason - it's one scary idea. A ghost? I mean, tell me that a year ago and it'd spook me, I assure yah, but now, we got people breathin' fiah' and turnin' to smoke! I don't have time to believe it's a 'ghost', brothah," he replied.

Ishigo let out a small breath of amusement, as Julian's words were more effective than he could've imagined. "Alright then, meet me at the lift in five or you're staying here."

---

Raeven leant against the wall next to the lift, watching the hustle and bustle of the Golden Mercenaries. On her way there she had passed Hector as he dealed with the new recruits, and two individuals who were planning on joining the Mercs. She had only waved as she walked past, smiling at him. She wondered if he liked running this whole corporation, with all of the duties and such. She didn't think that she could handle doing such a task. She was most comfortable doing smaller tasks. With a sigh, she rested her head back against the wall and looked up at the roof of the chasm, slightly bored as she waited for Ishigo to arrive.

Ishigo entered the hallway and smiled as he saw Raeven patiently awaiting him. "Sorry if I took long," he said. He then looked behind him, noticing Julian approaching right on time. "We're gonna have a third person tag along," he said, almost as if to cue Julian.

"Happy to be of service, brothah," Julian said before smiling at Raeven, "The name's Julian Drake. Don't think I've met you, yulie."

Raeven pushed off of the wall and smiled at Ishigo, "You're completely fine." As Julian approached, she eyed him, trying to sum him up by the way he acted. "Raeven," she said, extending her hand towards him. "I just arrived here yesterday after a fun reunion with Ishigo." She smirked, remembering their little scuffle.

Julian took her hand and gave it a gentle shake. "Glad to meet yah," he said warmly. Ishigo finished preparing his backpack and swung it over his shoulder so the single strap rested across his chest.

"Let's go," he said as he activated the elevator.

---

Abandoned Skymall

Yugeto had gotten an ever-so-pleasant rest after last night's events. The past week or two, Yugeto had been feasting off the Spirit of the silly low-energy hosts who had wandered into the Skymall in search of some sort of prize.

It's amazing what desperation does to people. Too bad I never ran into anyone that really filled me up good. I mean, I definitely got a shit-ton of Spirit, but yeesh, gimme a challenge! Yugeto thought to himself, and whatever deity he was entertaining on this particular day of the week.

It had been a simple week and an all-too-enjoyable life, one Yugeto would hate to give up. Still, the lack of a challenge and boredom from weaker hosts depressed him to an extent. What I would do to run into shadow dude again... Yugeto daydreamed about his encounter with the mysterious man who managed to pin Yugeto and nearly kill him. He thought about it day and night. I sure as hell don't regret underestimating him from the beginning, in hindsight. That would mean we could never tussle again, and what fun is that?

---

"It shouldn't be much further," Julian said as he remerged from his smokeform. The three of them were crouched behind the cover of a generator on a roof. Ishigo peeked over and saw the top of a large structure which he assumed to be their target mall.

"Alright then, let's go," he said as he jumped over the generator and broke into a dash towards the mall. Julian nodded and reverted to his smokeform, gliding across the ground behind Ishigo.

Raeven warped the light around her and disappeared, running alongside Ishigo and Julian's smokeform. "Want me to look around inside to make sure it's clear?" She asked Ishigo mid-run.

Ishigo nodded, "Julian," he said quietly with authority, "Take the high road and scout the insides up top."

In response, Julian's smoke trail shot upwards and headed straight for the canopy of the tower.

Raeven slowed as she reached an entrance to the mall. She quietly stepped inside, her feet barely making a noise as she sneaked through the mall, listening intently for anything.

---

Yugeto sat inside the top floor of the Skymall, enjoying some Caliosa pastries, when he noticed something strange floating around the area. "That's...?" Yugeto stood up, throwing the pastry into his mouth, and walking towards the smoke. After finishing chewing and swallowing the dessert, Yugeto squinted and began to speak to the smoke as if it were sentient. "Spirit Energy and Smoke? What? This is a good ton of energy, too." Yugeto grinned; was this the challenge he had been waiting for, or just a false positive, another disappointment?

Outside, Julian floated idly. 'Trust me, Senyuko, I could smell Caliosian Rumcakes from a mile away...

'You have a mission to do, Jules...'

Julian chuckled, his voice resonating from his smokeform, 'It'll only be a minute', he said within the recesses of his conscience before dashing forward and barging through a window. The glass shattered as the smoke crashed through the large frame; Julian's humanoid form began to take shape mid flight as he braked to a halt only a few feet from a counter. It was abandoned, the cash register torn apart, the glass display shattered. There was no sign of any delicacies that the signs which still remained spoke of.

Julian smacked his lips, "I guess I was just a bit homesick..." he said softly to himself.

Yugeto raised an eyebrow as he turned around back to the spot he was sitting at earlier to find a young man with dreadlocks shuffling through the counter. "Ay!" Yugeto called out. Julian jumped and prepared a defensive position when he heard the young man call out. However, upong seeing him, he instantly relaxed.

He jogged towards the man with a friendly smile. "Dude, sorry. I kinda ate all the Calosian sweets. Shit was delicious. There's another pastry stand on the first floor way down, if you wanna head there." He explained.

Julian raised a brow and smiled, tilting his head to the side. "You like Caliosian desserts?" he said warmly, "I haven't had one in ages... my mother used to make the best, I swear it," he said with a friendly chuckle.

Yugeto nodded. "You kidding me dude? That shit is awesome. Never had 'em until this whole incident here, I've only ever eaten from the remnants of Caliosian stands. Not from around here, honestly." Yugeto said with a yawn. "Anyway, I saw your little smokey thing, and it's pretty clear you're from Caliosa from the whole dread-beanie thing you've got goin' on there alongside the tattoos. This might come off as racist, but I've seen plenty of the Caliosian posters hangin' around the rubble. You smoke?" Yugeto laughed unnecessarily loud at his own crappy joke, before continuing. "If you've got anything on you worth sharing, I'll throw a little gift your way, on my word."

Julian smiled brightly, it was the first time anyone had been so aware of his culture. He momentarily forgot that he was here on duty, and instead, chuckled as he reached into a pouch on his hip. "You seem pretty knowledgable, brothah, and in fact..."

He finally pulled out two joints and a small pocket lighter. "If yah got the time to spare, I mean..." he said with a smile.

Yugeto grinned devilishly. "Brother, all I have is time. Bless you, bless you, bless you!" Yugeto chuckled. "It's my first time touching this shit, but I've heard it's prett-y wild." Yugeto gracefully held one of the two joints up to his mouth, and motioned kindly for Julian to light it.

Julian chuckled, "It's the best you'll ever have, grown in the tropical solace of Caliosa," he said as he flicked the lighter with a snap of his fingers. He brought the flame close to the boy's joint and lit, pocketing the lighter right after. He then placed his own joint upon his lips and held his breath for a moment before letting out a small stream of burning, hot ash, lighting the joint.

After a few jokes shared between the two, names exchanged, and a long conversation regarding the girls in the different provinces, Yugeto and Julian had finished and ashed their respective joints. "Good will and good people keeps the world spinning, Julian. You're a good guy, and I appreciate this gesture of kindness, my man. Lemme repay you, please. I insist." Yugeto put his hand on Julian's shoulder, and it began to glow a silvery white. "Trust me." Yugeto said calmly, removing his hand after about twenty seconds as the glow receded. Smoke could be seen being emitted off of Julian's body. "Well, Julian, lets just say you're gonna be able to light much bigger joints by now, brother."

---

Raeven returned to the entrance of the mall, where Ishigo was waitng. "First floor is all clear. I heard a crash upstairs, though. I'm going to check it out," she said, no longer warping the light around her to save energy. Without another word she turned and headed for the stairs, hearing voices resonate from the upper floors. As she reached the floor where the voices were coming from, she recognized Julian's calm voice. Without trusting the other voice, she warped the light around her and quietly made her way towards the voices.

Meanwhile, Ishigo began sprinting towards the wall of the tower. He jumped upwards and ran up a few feet before clutching onto various ledges and protrusions to scale the tower at a rapid pace. It wouldn't be long before he reached the floor on which Julian rested.

---

Julian tensed at first, as the sight of the spirit confirmed his suspicion that this boy was more than an ordinary survivor. However, he also felt that he was in no immediate danger so he relaxed, partly due to the fact that he was under the herb's influence.

"I don't know what you did, brothah, but it looks to me like you might be the ghost that the locals have been speaking of," he said with a soft chuckle.

"You're like...Julian squared, dude." Yugeto let out a gentle stoner laugh. "So they're calling me a ghost? That's some stupid shit, I'm just a dude who likes to eat." Yugeto explained, stretching his arms.

"So, go ahead and test out yer powers. Try to flex a "new" muscle or something. It's only like, my third time doing this but it should work fine. Go do your smoke thing, Caliosa-brah."

Julian chuckled, "Sure thing...." he said as he got up. His mind was clear and his breathing was relaxed. He walked over to the center of the room and let his arms hover by his sides. He then took in a deep breath and focused.

'Whoa... you feel that, Jules?' Senyuko said within Julian. Julian simply chuckled and nodded with closed eyes. Slowly, a spiral of smoke began to spin around Julian, growing until an entire vortex of black and crimson smoke spun at immense speeds. Julian frowned as he felt the slightest bit of strain, and his smoke began roaring to life. A flat tornado of thick, hellish smoke tore through each window as it raged in a circle around him, covering about a ten foot radius. Julian then let out his held breath, gasping as the smoke instantly dissipated.

"Holy shit..." he said as he shook his head, staggering a bit.

Yugeto smirked knowingly. "That...that's permanent. I'm sure you'll get control of it, but I can't help you with that since I don't know how your Kage and your Spirit interact. But, I hope you enjoy the new...assets to your arsenal, Julian. Least I can do for someone so willing to...introduce me to his culture." Yugeto said sleepily. "Man, this shit is getting to me."

Raeven raised an eyebrow as Julian displayed his apparently new ability. She noticed that the boy knew something about spirit and wondered if he was the culprit behind Ishigo's incident. She stopped warping the light around her, leaning against the doorway to the Caliosan shop. "Interesting demonstration, Julian," she said, eyeing the two. "Is that marijuana, I smell?"

Yugeto looked excitedly to the new woman who had approached the scene. "Why hello, beautiful..." Yugeto said coyly, leaning on a shelf that then toppled, causing Yugeto to nearly lose his balance and fall over. Yugeto quickly straightened himself. "Ah, fuck, this shit is just...ah, fuck." Yugeto giggled at himself.

Julian couldn't help but laugh either, "I think this is the lad that made a mess out of Ish, actually..." he then smiled, "Can't believe how, though..." he said jokingly.

Raeven frowned lightly, unimpressed by the boy. "Hm. Me neither," she said, her frown forming into a light smirk. "What is your name?"

Yugeto bowed politely, and then shrugged, tossing his hands up in defeat. "Fuck it, dude. I'm a gentleman at heart, not in body. Wellll, not really so much at heart either." Yugeto's grin only grew wider. "I'm Yugeto. And if Ishigo is Mr. Shadow hands, then yeah, I had a little back and forth with the dude, but I wouldn't say I made a mess out of him. Underestimated the dude, honestly. He woulda died if I wasn't such a jokester, and I woulda died if I wasn't such a jokester, either." Yugeto explained cryptically. "So yeah dude, are you guys here to try and kill me and kick my ass or some shit? Cause I mean, Julian's the homie but if that's what you gotta do I'm totally hungry for some Spirit." He said teasingly, with a venomous undertone.

Raeve frowned, her eyes narrowing as she listened. She knew that this little shit would have been an easy kill if he didnt have his kage.

"I never planned to kill you," Ishigo said from behind the group, dusting himself off and pulling out a small shard of glass from his forearm. He stepped out of the broken window frame and over the glass that lay below. "It's a good thing you didn't kill me either. It would've been foolish for either one of us to kill the other, really."

Yugeto shrugged. "Dude, you have a shit-ton of spirit. Like, a SHIT-ton of spirit. I was going to kill the fuck out of you, but I can't bring myself to do that now. If that happens, I can't fight you more."

Julian smiled and relaxed even more as Ishigo arrived. He then turned to Yugeto, "Why the killing, hm? Greed? Hatred? I've even heard some conduits go the whole 'it's mercy, they're dead anyway'-route."

Yugeto raised an eyebrow at Julian. "Dude, you should know me pretty well by now! I don't have any negativity towards anyone. I'm just a hungry dude. I guess you could call it greed. Greed, for lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit." Yugeto recited yet another quote to his new friend Julian. "See, basically you hosts have got Spirit, and a lot of it. And I have a lot more of it, more than you three combined. But there's no end to how much Spirit I want. Don't know why, I guess it's instinctual, but Spirit is what I want and Spirit is what I take."

Ishigo nodded and looked to Yugeto, "With all that power, you'd probably have an easier time learning a few combat tricks instead of making an enemy out of yourself, even if you do it out of 'hunger.'" Ishigo sighed and walked over to Yugeto, "I don't know who or what you are... but I can tell you'd make one hell of an ally. I doubt you have much experience being a team player, but hey. People change," Ishigo said as he held out a hand.

Raeven listened, interested in what Yugeto could bring to the Golden Mercenaries, no doubt what he could do to the military.

Yugeto shook hands with Ishigo, retracting his hand afterward. "Listen dude, I'm not making an enemy out of anyone. I just like to fight, I like to take Spirit, and I'm always bored. So I'll help you with your shit out of respect for you and my main man Julian here, but I want to fight. A lot. With you, too. And I can see you're out looking for people with high Spirit, recruiting them or whatever for whatever the hell you've got goin' on. And I can tell the three of you are chock full of Spirit. Now, I won't try to absorb any of your allies' spirit, but I can guarantee you if I run into a host when I'm hungry before you've got him on your side, or if you've got any strays not willing to join you, they're gonna be well-acquainted with me." Yugeto explained.

Ishigo looked at Yugeto and then at Julian. He took a moment to think to himself and then nodded back at Yugeto, "If you like to fight, then we've found you at the perfect time. Come with us, I promise you it'll be worth your while."

Julian smiled at Yugeto and pat him on the shoulder as Ishigo turned away to scout the area he had come from. "Look brothah, I'm not saying what you're doing is right, or what you're doing is wrong. I mean, hell, we've gotta murder plenty of people just to get out of here alive, so essentially, we're all on the same boat. We do what we must to survive. But sometimes you gotta give yourself more of a purpose than mere survival. Otherwise you're just a tick in th'machine, 'nah mean?" Julian looked over to Ishigo and then back at Yugeto, "I know a guy. Just your type. If you wanna fight, you'll get your fights. Just... try to play it cool around the shelter, right?"

Raeven took a deep breath. "I can only warn that if you step out of line, you'll have us and a lot of others, host or human, to set you straight," she said, watching Yugeto. "Otherwise, I'm excited to see what you can do."

Julian chuckled under his breath and winked at Yugeto non homo-ly while gesturing for him to not worry. "You'll be fine, brothah," he said as he began walking towards Ishigo.

Yugeto smiled genuinely. "Listen dudes, I won't fuck with your friends. But I'm still gonna go after hosts. And toss me your strays, for sure." He coughed a little as a result from the smoking. "I'll come with you dudes and fight with whoever's down for a spar or whatever. Maybe take the nice little lady over here out or something." Yugeto walked towards Ishigo alongside Julian. "Lets bounce?"

Raeven smirked. "As long as you return what spirit you take while fighting," she teased before looking to Ishigo.

~Samuel, Ariela, and The girl in the White room.

After a few hours of walking, Samuel found himself on the outskirts of a small middle school. From the outside it appeared to be an abandoned place, nothing but silence greeted him. A lone paper flew by, carried by the wind to a destination even it did not know. Samuel smiled briefly, he could see them. The chords of life that hung out of every opening in the buildings surface. He counted 26 in all, the 26th having a faint golden glow. He felt elation at the prospect of enjoying the taste of another host. It would be his third, and he hoped it would be just as filling as the other two. Samuel stepped forward, confident in his abilities and anonymity being enough to give him an upper hand. He reached the front door with haste and knocked thrice, not truly expecting an answer. He was a tad startled when a voice resounded from within.

"Coming." the young boy chimed as he darted for the front door. He believed the knocking to be Mary and the others coming back with food from their hunt. So surprised he was to find a stranger at the door that he forgot protocol entirely. Instead he let out a scream and turned and ran. Samuel took a moment to step inside the enclave and take his gloves and hat off before giving chase. He hung the articles on a nearby wall hook deciding to keep his jacket on as he did so. "I hope you do not mind me keeping my jacket." He announced. "It is just a tad chilly in here. I do hope this action has not offended you, it is the guests duty to please his hosts after all." After seeing the boy he was able to clearly identify which chord of life was his and he followed it without a moment of thought. whistling to himself as he went on his way. The other chords shifted slightly as the residents became aware of his presence.

Samuel chuckled to himself as he followed the boy's spirit chord. His hand passed through it as he attempted to yank on it, reminding him he needed to make contact with the boy before he could do that.

~~~

Ariela had been passing by the area when the boy had shrieked, the wail caught her attention immediately and she bolted towards it. She came upon an unkempt school, it seemed abandoned, and the front door lay swung open. Ariela approached it cautiously, taking into account the frailness of her child form. She crept up to the wall of the building and slowly made her way to the entrance. Ariela peeked her head inside, seeing nothing, on a nearby hook sat a hat and a pair of black gloves. They seemed to be placed rather recently, and she could hear foot steps in the distance. Ariela slowly stepped through the entrance way. A hallway stretched into the distance to both her left and right. In front of her was a staircase with a doorway beside it. She heard a mans voice from beyond the door way. She stepped towards it and stretched her head beyond.

~~~

Samuel was unaware of the child that approached him from behind, his focus was grasped by the child that hid in the locker before him. "Now, now little boy, come out and greet me properly. I promise you that it won't be a very painful process. Think of it as going to sleep, for the rest of existence..."

The boy trembled in fright as the mad man spoke of killing him, but then he heard something strange. The man was turning away from the locker, and then he said something. "What is this?" The man called. " I have a pursuer it would seem... Stay put little boy, I have a bigger fish to fry.."

~~

Ariela gasped as The man turned to face her. The man smiled a sickening smile as he approached her slowly. "Well, well, well.. It seems that you too have been gifted with a host my dear.. I will be taking your life first it would seem.." Ariela was taken aback, this man was a host, and a seemingly powerful one at that. How he was able to determine the fact that she was as well was beyond her, but all she could think to do was turn and run. She dashed into the hallway, making sure to give him a fleeting view of her form as she continued on her way. She did not know much about this building, so she was planning on learning it before she set her trap.

~~

Samuel followed in suit, walking slowly after the running girl. She passed into the hallway that led right of the entrance and he followed, just catching a glimpse of her heels as she turned around the corner. Samuel picked up his pace, walking briskly after the child. He did not want the residents to gain an upper hand before he had hunted down this intruder. It would be unacceptable if this went south for him. Samuel turned at the end of the hall, only to find the girl waiting for him halfway down the hall he had turned into. She then turned and bolted into a classroom to her left and his right. She is leading you.. Exercise caution.. I am aware of this my dear, he replied to his kage I do not have time for these games however, shall we end this? His kage nodded in agreement as he pursued the child, now lightly jogging.

He entered the classroom only to catch the door slamming behind the girl as she bolted down another hall. Samuel sighed in annoyance and followed her once more.

~~~

Ariela charged through the school, leading the man through a seemingly random combination of left, rights, halls, and classrooms until she came to a hallways end. Ariela stood before a lone door on which hung a cardboard sign that read 'quiet room'. She glanced behind her shoulder, seeing the man charging after her. She quickly opened it and slammed it shut, locking it behind her before turning to survey the room itself. Before Ariela stood a wolf with golden eyes, its teeth clenched in a horrific snarl. Ariela cringed in fear, expecting to be torn to shreds. Instead, however, the wolf spoke. "You... why have you come?"

Ariela grew confused, but before she could reply or ask why it was that a wolf was speaking to her, the man began banging on the door. "Oh little pig," He called "Won't you let me in?" Ariela moved away from the door. The wolf seemed to understand that it was the voice outside, and not her that was threatening it. Ariela backed into the corner as the man burst through the door.

~~~

Samuel charged into the room, taking a moment to take in the situation. The first thing he saw was a wolf flying through the air at his face. He was tossed onto his back and left disorientated. He regained his composure to see the wolf snarling at him, hovering over his form, whilst the girl from before stood in the background. "An interesting power you have their conduit," he remarked. "It seems I have been-"

"She, is not the reason I hold back.." The wolf replied, startling Samuel further. He looked into the wolf's golden eye's noticing only then that it had two chords of life, none of which matched that of a wolves. "and that.." the wolf continued. ".. Is my line.."

[End of Part I]

Mathias and Zachary-

It had not taken long for Zachary to collect what belongs he had thought he would need. All he had to do was gather them, all his tools as well as his trusty engineering reference book, in a pile and then store them in one of his trap cores, which he placed inside his bag. The trap core made travelling so much lighter, able to compact many, many kilograms of equipment into a small ball weighing much less than a kilogram. Zachary left most of the amenities which make up living quarters, as he assumed that he would be able to access similar facilities at Mr Winter's property. He took as much of the spare parts heap as he could in that trap core as well, just so he could have parts on hand to work with if necessary. If he stayed at Winter's place for a long period of time he would go out and retrieve the rest of his stuff, but for now he only needed the essentials.

A few minutes after entering his temporary workshop Zachary drove out of it again, barrelling down the streets and heading up over the skyway. Why take the hazard of navigating the streets full of people and debris when he could skip most of the journey and take the pristine skyways? Not only was it safer and easier, it was also much quicker. In no time at all Zachary had spotted the dark low-lying storm clouds and descended off the nearest functioning off-ramp. Over the short distance which remained there was, among other things, a road to go down. As he drove down this road, he spotted a military patrol out the side of his eye down a side street as he passed it, and they spotted him to as there were shouts and movements. However, by the time they had gotten onto the road and their fancy plasma machine guns had spun up Zachary was already at the end of the road and only a few plasma bolts streaked past his carriage, missing it comfortably, before he rounded the corner and was out of the line of fire. Zachary laughed. The lightness of this carriage allowed him greater speed and mobility than larger carriages, meaning he could easily outrun the pesky military. He had left that patrol far behind already.

As Zachary approached the snow-covered area he slowed down, despite the fact that he had the same level of grip regardless of ground cover. This perpetual snowstorm in a localised area was a strange sight. I'm betting it's a kage's doing, and I'm also betting that this kage belongs to a particular Mathias Winters, commented Kaa'is. Zachary merely nodded. The cold was creeping into his skin, and he wished that he still had his jacket. This wish triggered memories of how he had lost his jacket and the events connected to it, putting him into a somber mood. Soon the mansion was in view, and it definitely played the part. It had a foreboding air about it, although not entirely menacing. More men in black uniforms and blue berets patrolled the gate, but once they saw who he was they swiftly opened the gate and let him pass. Parking his carriage on a patch of snow-covered lawn beside the main path leading to the entrance, Zachary got out and took his bag with him. He trudged through the snow until he made it up the steps and to the door. He hesitated for a moment, realising that this could be the last chance he had to turn back, but then pushed those thoughts aside as he opened the door and stepped inside.

As if opposing the log fire that burnt heartily a cold wind crept across Mathias' shoulder. He had expected Zachary's arrival slightly later, but it made little difference.

"I'm just through here in the lounge, close the main door Mister Mason, would you kindly?"

Zachary did not need telling to close the door. The warmth of the room greeted him, as opposed to the freezing temperatures outside, so he shut the door behind him so he would be able to warm up properly.

Mathias was surprised by Zachary's youthfulness and healthy complexion, he had expected the engineering prodigy to have turned sickly, withered and worn by the events of the year. He rose from his chair and shook his guests hand before gesturing for him to sit and strolling toward the drinks cabinet.

"Whiskey? I've just opened a classic, 50 year old import from a distillery in Wintra."

Zachary politely shook his head. "No thank you. I prefer to keep my mind sharp."

"Suit yourself." Pouring himself a glass he seats himself back in the wing-back chair before the fireplace.

"They filter it you see, the whiskey. They have it trickle, like a waterfall, down a gigantic lump of ice...what's the word...an iceberg? No, no not an iceberg, but something like that...Anyway, whatever they do to it, it sure makes the difference."

Piercing into Zachary's eyes, Mathias paused for a moment. Silence was held back by the roaring of the fire, until Mathias finally smiled and spoke.

"I'm sorry to drag you here Mister Mason. I trust my agents briefed you on my proposal? I need to loan that marvellous brain of yours, I need a solution to a very daunting problem...I need your help and for it, you shall be greatly rewarded."

Turning his white-gold ring around his finger, he became transfixed by the glowing flames that bounced off the rings onyx setting. Zachary, meanwhile, was quiet. He was slightly nervous, and could not yet find suitable words with which to respond to this man of authority and status, so he let his silence be a signal for Mathias to continue.

"Dante's Inferno, are you familiar with the text? It follows the aforementioned protagonist as he descends hell. Level by level he travels, seeing such...unimaginable horrors,until he reaches the bottom-most level, the pit, the Devil's home..."

"You see Zachary, may I call you Zachary? You see, were all going to get out of here soon and that's just great! But you see the thing is, we aren't civilians anymore. To the outside world were monsters, terrible, mutated and violent monsters. What I'm trying to say Mister Mason, is that amid all this excitement everyone's forgotten the bigger picture, the question that needs to been pondered...What happens when we escape? Are we escaping the devils home...or will we be entering it?"

Mathias allowed silence to once more attempt its approach, suspense to accompany his monologue. Even now, after all this time, Mathias held a flare for the dramatics. While Zachary was unfamiliar with Dante's Inferno, he could picture what Mathias was getting at. His silence continued, but now it was evidently a thoughtful silence.
Once Zachary had digested the message, Mathias withdrew two suitcases from the corner of the room, having handed one to his guest, he sat and placed the other on his lap.

"Inside is everything you'll need, schematics, possible component locations and so on." He instructed gesturing toward Zachary's case.

Opening his own, he revealed neatly layed stacks of currency packs.

"Work for me and all this is yours. The world outside will not be the world we once knew, my financing can help you start afresh. Think about it Zachary, think it over well, this could be the best decision you ever make...or the worst."

En Route To Sector Zero

Raeven walked alongside Ishigo and and Yugeto, eyeing the streets around them. The four hosts were calmly chatting as they walked, knowing that they would be able to defend themselves if they were to happen upon any unwanted guests. She glanced over at Yugeto, trying to sum him up like she did with everyone she met. Yugeto caught Raeven looking at him and grinned. "Ah, the infamous wandering eye! Please, tell me you're captured by my enigmatic personality and physical allure." Yugeto said in a coy tone. "Is it the twinkle in my eyes or...?" Yugeto laughed softly. Raeven raised an eyebrow, not giving any sign that she was amused by him. "How old are you?" She teased before smirking lightly and turning her gaze onto the buildings ahead of them.

Yugeto scratched his head, and looked up at the sky with a look of contemplation. "You know, I'm not really sure..." Yugeto said half-seriously, as to where one would be unable to tell if he were joking or not. Raeven furrowed her brows, glancing over at him. "You look like you're in your early twenties, but act like a teenager." At that remark, she grinned.Yugeto just shrugged. "I dunno, what sets the standard for maturity in post-apocalyptia, anyway? There are twelve year olds with guns hunting for food, robbing and killing people; you're saying I can't let a little loose a little here and there, Raeven? C'monnn." Yugeto met Raeven's seemingly confused gaze.

Raeven frowned lightly, "Those twelve year olds were forced to grow up too quickly. No one that young should have had to go through something like this, and unfortunately they did."

"Yeah, and maybe I was someone who had to grow up too quick, and just want to catch up on my younger years...be a kid or something again, you know?" Yugeto's solemn expression then warmed up as he winked. "Or maybe I'm just an immature fucker that likes to see you trying to calculate me."

Raeven glanced over at him, her gaze a little irritated at his last comment. "I've already managed to pin you, Yugeto. Don't worry."

Yugeto had a twinkle of amusement flash across his face. "Please inform me of my persona, the inner machinations of my mind, the dark recesses of my mindstate, inform me my dear friend, I implore you to answer me!" Yugeto stopped walking and posed dramatically. "WHO AM I!?" He shouted obscenely.

Raeven chuckled, not stopping for his little theatrical show-off. "I would never," she teased.

Yugeto groaned and grumbled as he continued walking, speeding up a bit momentarily to catch up with the group. "Ohh, you like me! Admit it, you grouch." Yugeto baited.

Ishigo shook his head and mumbled as he rubbed his temples, "Like I said... you talk too much." Julian chuckled at Ishigo's comment and looked around at his surroundings, "You think we've got enough room and supplies for the lot? Lotsa new refugees comin' in," he said. Ishigo looked over in the distance, continuing to keep a scout's eye on their path. "We'll figure it out," he replied.

Raeven sighed softly in relief, glad that Ishigo saved her from letting Yugeto down. She looked over at Julian. "I'm sure Hector has a grand plan on how to recieve more supplies. Anyways, Ishigo and I could easily raid a military supply carraige and have enough to last a week."Julian nodded with a look of satisfaction. "Quite confident in yah abilities, huh Ms. Raeven?" he said to her. "Though, I must add, we might be out of here before a week is written." Yugeto rubbed his head once again, quite confused. "Hold on, hold on, you guys just straight up attack the military and take their shit?" Yugeto asked. "And...they have hosts guarding said carriages and shit?" An expression of unbelievable happiness covered Yugeto's face as Raeven shrugged. "Jackpot."

Raeven smirked and glanced over at him. "Someone sounds bloodthirsty." Yugeto shook his head in disagreement. "You misunderstand; I'm SPIRIT-thirsty. But yeah, similar concept. I want the energy of those dudes. Can we go look for some right now? You know, to 'bring back supplies to the base?'" Yugeto asked, using air quotes. Ishigo looked back, "We have priorities, Yugeto," Ishigo then thought to himself for a brief moment, still somewhat concerned of Yugeto's "desires". "If you really can't push through the urges, then we can assign you to a mission once we get you situated. That's the whole point of getting you there in the first place, remember?"Yugeto groaned. "It's not exactly an urge, or even an addiction. I can survive without absorbing any more spirit. I have enough spirit to last me lifetimes. Thing is, it's like candy. And I mean, we're saving the world or some shit while I do it too, right?" Yugeto sighed. "Fine, make me wait, asshole."

Raeven scouted the way ahead as they talked, deciding that Ishigo would handle it. "You'll need to learn to control yourself once we break out of the wall, anyways. Why not practice now?" She asked.

Julian laughed at Raeven's stern attitude. "Don't worry, brothah. Like Ish said, we'll figure it out." Ishigo then turned a corner and halted the four as he searched the wall of the new block.

"We're here," he said as he turned to Yugeto, "I trust you'll be able to handle yourself. Don't let me down."

Yugeto waved Ishigo off. "Oh, shut up. I'll play nice you buffoon. Fucking hell, if these guys are as stoic as you I'll kill myself." he groaned, approaching the shelter.

Raeven smirked. "Better get your noose ready," she teased before entering the bank.

Sector Zero

Hector walked into the briefing room where a new group of individuals awaited his instruction. Upon walking in, he gasped.

"Que la..." he said softly as he eyed the group. It was as diverse as it was large. On the left side of the room sat a huge man surrounded by a group of thugs that looked more menacing then the usual refugee. How they had gotten past the screening was beyond Hector, but the thought that maybe he intimidated his way through urked him. His boys were better than that, right? On the other side, there sat a more harmless looking group of refugees, among whom he recognized a particular young man.

"Kisheto?" he said with a raised brow.

Kisheto smirked and looked to Arianna before turning to Hector and nodding, "Alive and well, homie. Left me for dead, did yah?" Hector scoffed in disbelief, "Ai mierda, hermano, I cannot believe my eyes!" he said as he rushed up to Kisheto. He held out his hand, which Kisheto smiled and dapped with the most confident motion. "Yeah, man," he replied, "I'm glad to be back. I heard your brother, and shit, I'd be crazy to not join you guys. Promise to not... uh... fuck things up again."

Hector just looked on in shock before shaking his head, "No problem, hermano, look just..." hen then turned towards the rest of the group, "We'll speak later, let me get this done with, si?"

Meanwhile, Arianna eyed Hector, watching him and Kisheto interact. She half expected an apology for leaving Kisheto back at the mall, but guessed that he wanted to acknowledge the others in the room before getting into such a private discussion. She turned her attention to the thugs, her mind being bombarded by their brash thoughts ever since she was put in the room with them. It was an uncomfortable thing to hear, and she hoped that this briefing would be over soon so she could fill her mind with more pleasant thoughts.A slight smile pulled at Miles' lips as his eyes roamed over the room that his group had been lead to. The wide variety of people even in this little area simply amazed him. As he took in the last bit of the room, he started humming softly making his way over to Arianna. Each step he took was light and quick, moving in time with his tune. About halfway to her his movements mimicked dancing while his song reached its crescendo. By the time he reached Ari both his movements and his humming faded away leaving only his smile. "I never got the chance to ask, but where do you hail from Arianna?"

Arianna turned to look up at Miles, her lips spreading into a soft smile. "Argos," she replied, a bit of homesickness rising within her as she remembered her hometown. "Although I moved to Sovereign right before the Void Gate opened." Miles smiled and replied. "I visted there once! It remains one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to, which is quite remarkable really. The College was my favorite place to go while we were there." Miles' thoughts drifted away for a moment, eyes losing focus, before he shook himself out of his flashback. "What brought you here?"

Arianna chuckled as he zoned out. "I mostly came here for the culture, and for the large Central Library. Unfortunately, when the Void Gate opened most of the books were burnt in a fire. I visited it once, but there was nothing left to salvage. All the remaining books were being used as firewood for the civilians that took shelter in it." Miles nodded along with her words, his smile remaining. "That is a wonderful reason to visit any city, I am sorry that you couldn't find what you were looking for. You are a most interesting woman Arianna, very interesting."

---

Yugeto pranced into the debriefing room after passing a few guards alongside the others, despite warnings of a possible meeting by Ishigo and Raeven. He had entered just in time to notice the exchange between Miles and Arianna, and rudely spoke up. "Well, now! They didn't tell me it was THAT kind of de-briefing room." Yugeto chuckled. "Oh, hello."

Arianna looked up at Yugeto, blinking. She shifted a little in her seat. "We were only chatting." Yugeto smirked. "And now we're all chatting. I'm Yugeto. And this is chair," he spoke, pointing to a chair next to him. Arianna glanced at the chair, then held out her hand towards him. "I'm Arianna." Yugeto slowly shook Arianna's hand, and then pulled back. That Spirit...eh, I promised I'd behave. Fuck. Arianna frowned lightly as she heard the thought, but decided to keep quiet about it.

Miles tilted his head to the side at the entrance of the new individual, mind wandering idly all the while. "And I am Miles. Where are you from Yugeto?"

Yugeto shrugged. "Around, I guess. Sovereign, sorta. The details are a bit fuzzy. It's good to meet you two, you're much nicer than some of the people I showed up with." Yugeto glanced towards Hector. "Yo! I'm with the dude with a stick up his ass and too many shadows, and his hot companion. Oh, and Julian." Arianna raised an eyebrow, unsure about who any of these people were. She glanced at Kisheto, then Miles. Miles' attention had already drifted away from Yugeto, and by extension Arianna, as he began aimlessly wandering amongst the couple of groups in the room. He didn't bother them by speaking, rather he just watched them humming softly waiting for something to catch his eye.

Hector turned away from Kisheto towards Yugeto and raised a brow, "Hm? Oh... the ghost, right, well..." he said as he turned back to Kisheto. "I'll catch up with you later, I gotta get these guys situated, si?"

Kisheto nodded, "Sounds good, man." He then turned and headed over to his seat.

---

Hector walked over towards the center of the briefing table and activated the holographic interface. The room instantly fell silent as it beeped to life and let him navigate a menu of intricate options. "Alright..." he began.

"So what we have here is twenty nine fine folk, correct me if I counted wrong. You're here because we make sure that all newcomers are well practiced in our rules and regulations here at Sector Z," he said. Chief grunted, causing a few of his goons to chuckle quietly. Hector raised a brow before continuing.

"First, I'll explain a few simple rules that must be followed. We have a zero tolerance policy for people who break them, unless you're more than a new comer, which none of you are.

First: All basic citizen rights apply at Sector Zero. If you do something that would have broken the law a year ago, you can't do it here. That goes for the obvious - don't hurt anyone, don't rape anyone, and... just don't be a dick.

Second: No one leaves or lets anyone in without proper permission. All use of the lift must be monitored by a Golden Mercenary. If you really need to go outdoors, you're free to wander our biodome. We tend to frown upon recreational leave to the city above.

Third: There are set training hours for the Golden Mercenaries. The most prevalent are 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on tuesdays and thursdays. During these hours, NO ONE is allowed on the training grounds except those permitted into our forces.

Fourth: All hosts must be registered and accounted for at all time. If you're a host, for security reasons, you must live within private dorms. It's better really, but more for the sense of security that the civilians get. Furthermore, you are encouraged to join our forces. We have seven squads of golden mercenaries, and five more squads made entirely of hosts. These hosts wilingly joined us to help further our cause. They will lead the charge against the military, seeing as how they can pack one hell of a punch in comparison to our weaponry.

And last but not least, Rule Five: No exhibiting any powers outside of training or missions."

Hector nodded, "Bien, are there any objections? If not, you are free to go, though I do request that anyone interested in joining our forces remain here." Chief raised his hand, "I like to fight my way. Don't plan on having me train with your little golden girls," he said with a chortle. Hector shrugged, "You're free to train on your own with your own men on designated hours. I'm assuming you're joining us then?" he said. Chief laughed, "Sure, you could call it that," he said as he rounded up his thugs and left the room. Hector shook his head and sighed, having finally escaped the uncomfortable company of the titanic Chief.

Yugeto raised his hand. "Dude, I dunno about the no exhibiting powers thing. I'm eventually just going to have so much spirit it'll be bubbling off of my body. I can't do shit about that." he said as he shrugged.

Arianna let out a soft sigh of relief, feeling the air grow a little less uneasy. She stayed in her seat, glancing around as the refugees began to stand and leave. She raised her hand, a question forming in her mind. "Will we be assigned to these five squads, or will we be a part of a new squad?"

Hector looked over at Arianna and thought for a moment. "It depends. I do believe a few squads may have open spots, but Ishigo and Julian are in charge of that. We don't base the squads on numbers as much as we do according to compatability and synergy," he said. Arianna nodded once in understanding, looking at the holographic screen in slight interest as she thought about how things worked around here.

Kisheto then raised his hand a spoke without waiting to be called on, "Yo, can I be on your squad? You guys had it down pat, I'd love to be able to train with you all." Hector chuckled, "All my boys have years of experience, Kisheto. It isn't something that an emergency combat lesson can prepare you for." Kisheto shrugged, and sat back in his seat, "Bet..." was all he said.

Arianna looked back at Hector. "Will we learn any other combat other than an emergency combat lesson, or will that be up to us to do?" Hector nodded, "Of course, if you want and have the time to do so. However, Ishigo often says that nothing beats the experience of being on duty in the city, learning where everything is and how to maneuver the battlefield. But its ultimately up to you. Are you a host, chica?" Arianna nodded. "Yes. While it may not matter, he is a kamikage. We've survived mainly by avoiding fights, but when I need to fight, I use my rapier and the abilities he gives me."

Miles turned his attention to Hector, his lips pulled down into a slight frown. "I may have some difficulty with the rule number five. My power activates whenever I play my violin, and I dislike not playing. It feels wrong."

Hector raised a brow, "You know, I once heard a conduit tell me that fighting his urge to kill felt wrong. Said it right before I popped one in between his eyes." Hector shook his head, "If you're not hurting anyone, I honestly don't care at this point." Hector felt somewhat guilty for responding in such a harsh tone, but the stress was beginning to eat at him. Focus Hector, focus. These are your people here... Arianna glanced up at Hector, smiling softly in understanding.

Miles tilted his head a bit, nodding in understanding a moment later. "I suppose that is a proper response to an individual like that, but I promise you that I am not capable of hurting anyone. I just play music and bring people hope." His frown quickly vanished being replaced with a smile. Hector shrugged, "Ay, if your power is to make people happy, then you can be an exception, alright, hermano?

Arianna raised a finger once more, to get his attention. "What abilities are present in the squads so far?"

Hector crossed his arms while the interface began to load something else. "Hmm.... from what I can remember... we have two elemental squads. Squads 4 and 5 - they both consist of one host with the ability to control fire, one with the ability to control water, and one with the ability to control lightning. It's minor, as their control is rather limited, but it works really well. Squad 3 consists of our tank or bait squad, they have a man who can regenerate faster than anything I've ever seen, a man who can churn the land to his will, and a woman who can turn into various animals. You ever seen a mammoth in rocky armor charging at you before? It's rather scary," he chuckled as he spoke, remembering a past experience.

"Now let's see... I know squad two is Julian's squad, he can bend smoke and make it do things I would never have imagined possible. He can also turn into it - it's actually pretty cool once you get used to it. He is assited by Ria and Ivor. Ria has a unique power - she can heal wounds almost instantly and even cause limbs to grow back within seconds. Mr. Ivor has the ability to send someone's spirit out without them having to physically leave. It's really helpful - he can send in Ria's spirit to heal fallen or injured men without Ria having to actually be in harm's way. She's only about twelve, so its risky just having her in the force. Oh, they also have Rocky, the lad has the strength of a thousand men I swear. Um... Squad one, let's see... who's in Squad One.... OH! Right, that's Ishigo's squad. Originally it was just him, the puto can manage quite well on his own. The dude can control shadows and just... he's crazy," Hector said with a chuckle. "Ishigo serves as our top recruiter, and other than that, the best recon we have. He recently added a new member, though, her name is Raeven, you might see her around here. And... yeah, that pretty much sums it up," he said with a smile.

Arianna smiled softly. "I can't believe all of the different abilities kage's have. It sounds like we might win this civil war with just the hosts." She held out her hand. "I forgot to introduce myself; I'm Arianna."

Hector smiled and shook her hand, "Hector Esteves, glad to have you Arianna." Hector said her name with a thick accent and he flinched at his sudden change in dialect. "Wow, haven't heard a name like that in ages, where are you from Arianna?" Arianna chuckled softly and smiled. "Argos. I moved here to continue my studies just before the Void Gate opened. Hector nodded, "Ah, sorry things didn't turn out as planned, hm? But, anyway, as you said it does seem rather encouraging to have the hosts on our side. It would be a beacon of hope were the military not to own their own little batch of supernatural whoopass. There are hosts out there specifically designed for hunting down other hosts, whether or not they resist. So I wouldn't call it a surefire victory just yet." Arianna blinked, her eyebrows furrowing in worry as she heard of these host hunters. Did they already have targets?
Miles drifted towards Arianna and Hector, resisting the urge to twist and turn. "Seeing as we are introducing ourselves, I am Miles Gershwin. I would like to do anything in my power to help your efforts, even if I can't actually fight." Hector smiled at Miles, "Good, my friend. People tend to underestimate the power of morale, I feel you could be the key in proving those people
wrong."

"Do you have any intel on these hosts that are with the military?" Arianna asked, deciding to have him explain it in words rather than pick his mind apart looking for it. Hector sighed, "Negative. All we know is that they exist, and its likely not just one. You saw how this bank was closed off into a little pocket of space in between rubble? Outside that pocket, there used to be a constant flow of conduits running amok. Someone cleaned them up, and it wasn't us. I also highly doubt it was the guns of the military that could do such a thing. Only proof we needed was the bullet-less corpses of the fallen hosts."

Arianna frowned lightly. "There must be around four or so, if they can clean up the streets like that." She had a small, risky idea, but went with it. "Is there any way that you could get close to a military squad without being detected?" Hector hesitated before nodding, "We could figure something out," he replied. Arianna nodded slowly, thinking more about the little idea. She definitely wasn't comfortable with making plans at the moment, but would speak with Hector when she was properly trained and could fully understand the Golden Mercenaries' methods.

Hector thought to himself for a moment. It was curious; these military hosts were specifically designed to kill other hosts. Their powers must have been incredible regardless, but the fact that they were military hosts meant they had combat training as well. Hector looked up and around the group, "First things first. For anyone who wishes to help - mandatory training is tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. If you're not training, you're helping or going out on duty. If you want to help, you're all in, or you're out. I can't be having halfsies in my forces, comprende? I believe in every single one of my mercenaries, only because I've fought with them, I've trained with them. I need to be able to establish that same kind of trust I have with you."

Hector then proceeded to mess around with the holographic interface, twisting and swiping through floating menus until he came upon a map of the training grounds. He pointed to a spot near the lake, "The lake is the center for all combat training. There's a cabin right around here where we keep our arsenal. Any gear and equipment you'd need can be found there, but first..." he then dragged the map until he came upon a small clearing in a forest near the entrance to the manmade land, "you'll need to be assigned to squads. Here are some of our meeting rooms and mess halls. Look for Merc officials wearing golden armor here. They can direct you to the sign up boards, and keep in mind they'll be eyeing you the second you mention you're a host. It's all in good intention. Once you sign up for a squad, direct yourself over here..."

Hector brought up a separate map of the shelter's housing section. "All hosts get a private dorm, as I mentioned. Once you sign up for a squad, you'll be given a dog tag which will serve as your ID and means of accessing your dorm. I would suggest taking a minute to get your dorm situated, trust me, once you're done with training, the last thing you want to do is return to an unsettled dorm. After you get cozy, report back oveeerrrrr..."

After a bit of scrolling, Hector returned to the training grounds, where he zoomed in on another stretch of forest far from the entrance. "Here. This is where all the hosts gather in their squads. All squads have numbers which are flagged across their respective zones; you'll spot 'em on trees, lamps, posts, etcetera. Find your squad, meet each other, get nice and tight, and then head back to the lake. All of this must be done BY 9:00 a.m. tomorrow. Got it?"

Kisheto sighed. His mind was racing as Hector spoke, drifting from thoughts of the execution he had witnessed to memories of meeting all the people he came to know. At the sound of Hector mentioning the time, he frowned, "We gotta wake up early as fuck don't we..."

Sector Zero - Training Grounds: Golden Mercenary Gym

'13....14....ugh... c'mon you scrawny fuck.... C'MON.... Kisheto's veins began to dilate and press out onto his skin. His arms were straining and his forehead was tensed as he grit his teeth for the last rep. He took a quick, sharp breath and then exerted with all his force.

"Fif-fucking-teen..." he said with a gasp as he rest the bar on the weight above the bench. '15 reps of 200 on the bench... wow, I could barely hit 130 before I...' Kisheto slowly sat up on the bench, sighing and stretching out his torso as he did so. 'This strength is unreal... I didn't work out anywhere near the amount I'd have to in order to be this strong... Maybe... maybe she was-'

"Ay, yulo, y'done hea'?" Julian said. His warm, friendly tone instantly relaxed Kisheto, who smiled in return. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I got my three sets in, bench is all yours." Julian smiled and nodded as he began to wrap his hands in protective bandaging. Kisheto got off and slung his shirt over his shoulder. He then got one final stretch in, extending his arms above his head with a groan of pain. Julian whistled, "Damn, yulo, you been findin' protein out in the streets? Where'd yah build that?" he said with a nod at Kisheto's torso. Kisheto looked down and raised a brow, noticing his body had become much stronger than he had been able to estimate through exertion itself. "I... well, y'know. Roamin' the roof's not easy business, my man. Takes upper body strength to get around the walls. Wouldn't be able to scale 'em like I do if I had flabs like you," he said with a chuckle as he jokingly slapped Julian's abdomen.

Julian flinched and chuckled, "Oh really now?" he said as he cracked his neck. He then took off his shirt and began stretching his arms. "Maybe I should give the roofs a go then, hm?" he said as he slapped on two more 45-lb plates onto the bar. Kisheto cocked his head back skeptically as Julian laid down on the bench and cracked his knuckles. After taking in a breath, he pushed on the bar. Kisheto watched in amazement as Julian, almost effortlessly, lifted 290 lbs above him and continued to rep it for twenty counts. After he finished his set he sat up and looked to Kisheto, who simply stood there shaking his head.

Julian chuckled at Kisheto's disbelief. "I'll let yah in on a secret, brothah. That there?" he began as he pointed to the weights on the bar, "I can only do it 'cuz of my kage." Kisheto raised a brow, "Wh-wh... so like... what? Is that a side power or something?"

Julian laughed, "No, brothah. Yah ever seen 'em skinny people on the martial arts channels on tv? They'd be lifting much more than yah'd expect forah' scrawny lil' man. But it's only because they have the spirit to do it. Humans with more spirit are just naturally able to exert much more effort, and take much more pain and such. And having a kage only gives me about a thousand times the spirit of a normal human, or so. Of course Senyuko could just be wrong about this and in reality, you're just a lil' bundle of sticks."

Kisheto laughed, "Oh, you're askin' for trouble, Locks." Julian tilted his head, "And I'm not afraid to, Sticks," he replied as he laid down on the bench once more. Kisheto scoffed and looked off at the rest of the gym. These men were unbelievably fit, and their bodies were shaped to perfection. Julian himself was toned with enough muscle to perhaps even last in a fight with Hector. He definitely out powered the rest of the men there. 'It's definitely the kage mojo that's juicin him up...' Kisheto thought. Just before Julian could begin a new set, he looked up, "Oh! Kisheto, did yah meet the new yulo that Ishigo brought in?" he said.

Kisheto raised a brow, "Nah, why? He anything specia- OH SHIT! Ishigo? He's back here? Where is he?" he said as his eyes widened at the mention of the name. Julian laughed at Kisheto's excitement and looked over towards the entrance to the gym, "Yeah he's back. He and his old friend Raeven found some strange yulo who's got a smart mouth that's almost as snappy as yours. He's trill though, shouldn't be a problem. Looks to be around your age, so, yah know, I was just guessing maybe you could use a friend or two. Things do get pretty lonely..."

Kisheto shook his head and laughed, "Fuck you, locks, I'm out," he said as he turned to leave the gym. Julian chuckled, "Peace be with yah, brothah."

Sector Zero

Vates cautiously walked down the long hallway towards the light. He was in the Golden Mercenary's base now, having had little problem passing their checks. They had taken him for just another survivor who was of little threat, which to be fair, he was. As he reached the end of the corridor he was met with the stunning view of the underground city and felt a pang of irritation; "How did I not know this place existed?!" he asked himself. He didn't like being in a place that he knew nothing about, and he was determined to change this.

The Golden Mercenary that was left in charge of leading Vates looked over to the man and smiled, "They all have the same typa' face when they see it for the first time." The mercenary chuckled and shook his head as he weaved through oncoming mercenaries and civilians. As he walked, he pointed other mercenaries to specific locations, continuing to perform his duties as he gave Vates a brief guide. Eventually, he stopped in front of the large room isolated from the rest of the civilians.

"Well, Mr. Vates, the man's in here. I've gotta head back now, but don't worry, you're in good hands," he said with a smile.

"Thank you" Vates muttered but the man had already begun walking away. Straightening up his jacket and clearing his throat, Vates walked into the room he had been directed to. There was a few things going on but his focus was on the man standing over the central table looking at a map. "Hector Esteves?" he said gaining the mans attention as he took a stand on the opposite side of the table. Hector raised his head, looking up from the map he was focusing on. "Hm? Yes, yes it is. And who might you be my friend?" he said as he walked up to the man with a hand extended. "Vates. I was hoping you could shed some light on this war you have planned... and maybe I could shed some light of my own." he replied taking the mans hand.

Hector nodded, "Ah, I see, I see, have I... have I seen you before?" he said as he raised a brow and eyed Vates curiously. "No, but I have done business with the Mercenaries before. I've sold you some information on occasion." Vates replied, failing to think of any specific piece of information he had sold. He was strangely lost for words, standing in front of what was possibly the current most powerful man in Sovereign; the polite conversation hardly seemed to reflect this.

Hector simply nodded once more. He looked to the side and began to think for a moment while letting out a light "Hmm..." Before long, he turned back to Vates and crossed his arms, "So you want to know what exactly we've got goin on in our minds, hm? I'm thinking you're thinking that what I'm thinking is wrong. We aren't exactly at a war here, Mr. Vates." Hector then turned to the other mercenaries in his room and whistled once while pointing two fingers towards the door. The mercenaries instantly left the room, closing the door allow the two to discuss in private. Hector walked back and shut down the central table's console.

"So, Mr. Vates. What exactly do you want to know?" he said as he turned back around.

Vates heart beat sped up slightly as Hector signaled to his men, but was relieved when he realised he was sending them out. "I want to know how you plan on breaking out. You've clearly got a strong force and the hearts of half the city, so whatever happens you're going to give the military a run for their money. I'm just worried about what backlash might occur if you fail. The military don't tend to let the same mistakes happen twice." he said, maintaining eye contact with Hector at all times.

Hector chuckled softly and he smiled in acknowledgment. "I see. You are concerned at the stakes of our endeavors, right, amigo?" He then sighed, "In truth, the real one running this whole parade is mi hermano Victor. Since birth, I've known better than to doubt him. He's got a plan to blow that wall down like it was made of paper. He's bringing his own army, too, as you've heard. Since then, we've had hundreds upon hundreds of civilians flood here with their own resources and offerings. This is the first time that I feel a city has gathered together. And way I see it hermano? It's at the point where fighting will sort of be a win win situation. These people know that this wall is just gonna wait us out till we rot away, so in essence, fighting the military means either euthanasia or liberty."

Hector stopped talking for a moment to collect his thoughts, "But what I really see in you is a lack of faith in the forces we have growing on the inside. You think of this as a roll of dice, hm?"

"More like a deck of cards. I'm not sure you quite know what hand you have yourself." he said leaning on the table, "This city is full of innocent people. But it's also full of conduits and other sorts of bad people. Gathering them all together might work out badly regardless of whether or not you manage to achieve your goals. Still, I suppose there's little option." Hector nodded at Vates' last statement, "Si, there is no other option but death. And I agree completely - harboring the hosts in an effort to unite them under our cause is extremely risky but we've done so successfully. You wanted information, hm? Well, currently, I have five fully trained and equipped squads of nothing but hosts, with many more hosts coming in. Those five that I have already? They're not just the hosts fighting for the Golden Mercenaries. No, with the trust that I've built? Until we've broken that wall, they are Golden Mercenaries. And they can fight damn well too. We're teaching these hosts how to fight a soldier - they themselves must hone their abilities when it comes to fighting other hosts. So in reality, our fear for other 'evil' hosts is dying out. You gotta remember, hermano, they're still human."

Vates smiled at that last sentence and his thoughts flashed quickly back to Marley. The squads sounded impressive, but he would have to see them for himself before he had any real faith. "That they are Mr. Esteves. Well, I suppose I better show you what I have in this bag!" said Vates. He quickly removed his rucksack and started emptying it on the table, paying little regard to what was already on it. A few of his supplies rolled out which he quickly brushed to one side, leaving only a collection of rolled up maps and a couple of memory drives. "Some maps that include the locations of multiple military caches, some military patrol routes, and some other details you might find useful. These drives contain some pre-event information on the walls construction and some military personal data; I don't know how useful it'll be now though." Vates didn't give Hector a chance to reply as he quickly drew one of the maps closer, "Those military caches have some useful stuff. I've been living off a couple myself. I imagine that when the fighting starts they the military might try to reach or secure them - it might be worth keeping in mind when you plan your attack."

Hector whistled in awe, "Wow, hermano that had much more detail than the map that Raeven secured..." Hector raised a brow and looked at Vates. "How... how exactly did you get your post-event intel? Did you have some sort of... group?" he asked curiously. This man had a lot of valuable information, and not all of it was gathered years ago. If he was alone, to be able to get that much information either meant he was with the military, or he had something else up his sleeve.

"Information was, well still is, my business. When the event occurred I managed to keep some sources open for a while. But otherwise I've simply taken what I already knew and found the rest out for myself." Vates said with a cheeky grin, "I live in the Heights District, so I'm not too far from the military. Hell, I know some of their routes just from watching them from my balcony!" Hector chuckled and nodded. "You seem like a good man, Vates. You seem concerned for the people, and the people are my priority. My responsibility, if I may. I could use someone like you on our side, you know."

"And I could do with making sure you're successful." Vates smirked, "I can handle myself in a fight, but I'm not sure how useful I'd be on the front lines"

Hector smiled and held out his hand once more, "Well, Mr. Vates, I'm glad to have you here with us then. If you decide to join the fray, let my men know and they'll have you situated immediately."

~Samuel, Ariela, and the big, bad, wolf
[notice, edits made to part one, please read dat shit]

~~Samuel

It was, in that exact moment, that Samuel realized the dire nature of his current situation. A smile spread across his lips and his eyes closed, as he prepared to strike. After a moment they shot open and he saw it all. His eyes glowed a dark violet as he pushed his spirit to its limits. His hand shot out, latching onto the wolfs paw and sending a shock of electricity threw its body. The creature leapt backwards, snarling at him as it did so. Samuel let out a dark chuckle as he slowly rose to his feet. He took a moment to brush off his jacket and correct its placement upon his shoulders. "Now, now, now." He spoke with a mocking tone, making his confidence clear to his opponents. "Do you two honestly believe that you can defeat me? Honestly, I am the pique of perfection.." He took a moment to run his fingers along the life chord of the wolf's kage. It pulsated at the touch of his fingertips. "..and you two... are but children, powerless before me as all others have been.." A wicked smile broke across his lips as he cackled madly.

He grabbed the kamikage's chord of life without warning and wrenched it forward with all his might. The wolf screeched in pain as it began to lose its form. "Yes..." He remarked "... abilities that act in a trans-formative nature tend to rely on perfect balance between the host and the kage's spirit. Even the slightest tug can cause the two to fall out of balance.." Samuel pushed the chord wolf's chord of life to the ground and stepped on it. He ground his heel into it as the kage's chord fluctuated in response. He was, in theory, cutting off the flow of spirit between the two beings. He cackled as the wolf returned to it's true form, that of a little girl.

"Hahaha! I was speaking theoretically earlier, but it would seem that both of you are indeed children! What a pity it is that-"

~~Ariela

Rage filled Ariela's heart as her form crashing into the evil man's caused him to be cut off mid sentence. Ariela rolled past him and landed in a crouching position behind him. She had had countless prectice fighting those larger than her, and her mobility in this body was perfected. She had killed hundreds, but this time she would do it for different reasons.

"Why you li-"

She cut him off again with a kick to the stomach. The man coughed in pain and snarled as he got to his feet with surprising quickness. His hand shot out, and before she could dodge, latched onto her right ankle. The man through her across the hall. she tumbled, just barely managing to prevent her limbs from breaking. She shook her head and stood up once more, only too see the man standing about eight feet from her, brushing off his jacket with an angry look.

"You have done it now you little pest, I was going to let you sit and watch patiently whilst I dispatched your friend, I even thought about letting you have a quick and painless death.." a dark anger projected from him as the color of his eyes darkened. ".. but now... now I am going to make you feel it..." The man's voice began to change, taking on a deeper and more feminine nature.

Ariela was not fazed however, she had fought many hosts like him, she would use his confidence against him, she would- "Eah!" she yelped as the man grabbed at the air and pulled, and her own body followed, planting her face on the floor.

~Samuel

Samuel snarled at the child, who now lay pitifully upon the ground. "This is your own doing pest. I am going to show you true pain." In the corner of the hall the other girl lay, barely conscious. She had clearly used up her spirit and had become useless in this fight. Samuel pulled a small surgeons knife from one of his jacket pockets. He had recently acquired it from a trip to a local hospital in search of weak survivors he could feast upon. The spirit of the desperate tasted, sweeter somehow. He did not know how to word it, but he felt.. fuller when he took from the weak. Perhaps it was all in his head.

He approached the girl, kneeling down and pulling her up by her hair. "Now, shall we have a little fun together?" he asked whilst running the blade upon her cheek. To Samuel's discontent the girl looked neither afraid nor depressed. Instead a look of pure hatred filled her eyes, and it grew with every moment that past. "Well, well," he remarked. "you are quite the impudent child.. Your parents would be displeased with your defiance.. perhaps we shall have too.. train you.." Before proceeding he looked into the girls eyes. They were blood red, and it was clear that she had no conventional form of sight. As he looked deeper a great chill travelled through him.. this girl was more than she seemed..

Samuel smirked as he drew the knife to her lips. "Let us see what lies behind those eyes..." He slit the sides of her lips, dragging the cut half an inch deep before releasing. He then did the other side and proceeded to bring the knife to her ear. The girl did not even blink, all that grew was the anger in her eyes as he continued his torture. Samuel was greatly disturbed by the child's lack of proper reaction and dropped her too the floor. "You have proven to impudent to save my dear, all that can be done now is too put you out of your misery..."

Misery...?

The voice was deep, foreboding, and ominous. It did not match the child that had now begun pushing herself to her feet. Samuel!? Miralda warned in exclamation. He immediately knew what it was she spoke of...

This voice..

could belong to only one Onikage..

Yes... I do believe you could call it that... The little girl's head shot up, her eyes now completely black, relate-able to only that of a demon's. You spoke of pain before.. did you not?

Samuel could not respond as his hands began to tremble and sweat broke out across his body.

Yes... This, my child.. Is true fear... Learn it well, for you will live with it for an eternity.. Forever I shall hunt. The small child stepped forward, her steps were heavy, and her shoulders hung down as she dragged herself along, an Ebony blade dragging behind her as she slowly approached him... Do you fear me..? Or is it... Something else?

The girl's lips did not move once, the voice seemed to bounce of the walls, causing Samuel's eyes to dart from side to side, searching for its source. His eyes shot back to the little girl but in her place his sister's zombie like corpse stared at him with dead eyes, black eyes. Half of her jaw hanging lose and swaying back and forth as she stepped closer. "Samuel..." the raspy noise came from his sister's throat as the half of her jaw that was still attached formed a sickening grin. "Come back to me Samuel..." It was then that all the others he had killed took place beside her, their zombie like figures filling the halls, and stumbling towards him. "Join us..."

Samuel screamed and fled from his ghosts. But when he turned he came face to more of them. They were everywhere, The woman at the tea shop hung at his waste, her legs were missing. "My baby.." she wept "what have you done with my child!" She shrieked and clawed at him, tearing his pant leg. He pulled free of her grasp and ran into the crowd. The hands of the dead clawed at him from all sides, his clothes fell from him, leaving him entirely naked. His skin was torn off, leaving his flesh bare. He screamed and jumped from the darkness of his own insanity...

[end of part 2]

--Three Months After the Fall—

The tattered room Weston found himself in could hardly be called an office. What had once been the seat of power for Gaia’s head of military force now made his old captain’s office in Arcarus look like a luxury suite. Despite the tidying Weston had done since first moving in, the walls and floors were still cracked and chipped and the old Brigadier General’s desk was getting ready to fall in half. Despite it’s condition it happened to be the most in-tact officer’s quarters left at Fort Readon, just as Weston happened to be the most in-tact officer there.

Sitting back in a rickety left-over chair, he stared blankly at the ruined ceiling tiles above him, counting the broken corners in a dazed attempt to maintain his sanity. Finding little solace in this exercise, he lowered his gaze back down to the desk in front of him and the chipped glass half-full with amber liquid in his left hand. Part of him regretted downing that whole bottle of Valiran Malt, while the other part wished this wasn’t the last glass. A sigh passed his lips at the sight of the four empty bottles gathered in the corner of the desk, and then another at the sight of the pile in the corner of the office. I guess I should count myself lucky this much of the General’s stash survived, he thought before taking a penultimate gulp from the glass.

Casualty counts, survivor conditions, food and fuel inventory, priorities, plans, speculation: The weight of the world sat on Weston’s shoulders and not a single person out there could lighten the load. It had been little more than two months since the Void and Aeros collided so violently, tearing Leginia’s capital to shreds. Any measures or procedures taken for disaster recovery had been completely abandoned, leaving Sovereign in a state of confused, chaotic anarchy. The few resources the remnants of the military left were not enough for Weston to provide any noticeable relief for survivors of the catastrophe, so the forces he had left to command were little more than refugees themselves. However much he wanted to help and keep tabs on the city, keeping his soldiers nourished enough not to go postal was challenge enough already.

His eyes once again fell on the glass, now gleaming in the evening twilight, sitting in his hand. There was a finger’s width of liquid left filling the glass, taunting Weston with an impending lack of alcohol. Finally murmuring a “Fuck it” from under his breath, he lifted the glass to his lips and—

“Captain!”

Suddenly, the door to the former general’s office swung open, and Weston found his front soaked in Valiran Malt. In the doorway stood a familiar Lieutenant Riley Maize with a familiar look on her face. “Captain!” she called, breathing as if she had sprinted ten miles to get to the office.

Déjà vu, immediately crossed his mind. “Riley, what is it?” he answered, half expecting her to say ”The 104th is being deployed, sir,” just to complete the Groundhog Day sensation. Instead, he got a surprise that topped the deployment of an entire Army base:

“They’re… here,” Riley breathed out desperately.

“They?” Weston replied. It was obvious who “they” were, but the Malt did its best to sustain his denial.

“The military. A handful of shuttles just passed over the wall and are on the way…”

_____________________________



“Oh my, isn’t this troublesome.”

A light breeze swept through what was once a carriage parking garage, all but breaking the silence among seven figures, only five of which were living. The two lacking in life SEemEd to have solidified into statues of their former selves, expressions of utter fear painting their stony faces. The other bodies in the empty garage floor varied in shape and size, ranging from a nervous-looking white-haired girl to a disinterested androgynous teen in a thick hoodie. Crouching in front of the rocky silhouettes was what apPeaRed to be a dirty-blonde young man with both a smirk of amusement and squint of concern in his expression. His red-tinted snake-like eyes darted back and forth between the anxious girl next to him and the pair of man-shaped sculptures. With a disappointed sigh, he glance back at her and said, “You really need to stop doing this to strangers, Shara. They turn to stone, then their friends get mad, then we have to tell them, then everything turns into a big mess, y’know?”

The nervous girl named Shara looked at the ground and hid her face with her hands. “I’m so so so sorry, B,” she wined, then continued with increasing speed, ”I just turned the corner and they were right there and they had guns and I thought they’d shoot and they looked so mean and—“

~Shut uuuup~

“Hey hey,” the snake-eyed boy interrupted, moving over to the girl and resting his hands on her shoulders, “calm down, it’ll be okay. Okay?”

Shara looked up at him, removing her hands from her face, and slowed her hastened breathing. For some sTranGe reason, she found comfort in Bishop’s sinister-looking eyes. “O-okay,” she mumbled, wiping away a tear on her left cheek.

“You’re such a baby,” a new voice teased. A rather tall lanky man with long jet-black hair stepped closer to the pair and placed his hand on Shara’s head, tousling her ivory hair. “How have you made it this long? Shouldn’t you be outta bottles and diapers by now?”

~Oh, how clever~

“Why are you so mean Jardis?” Shara wimpered, emphasizing the word ‘mean’ as much as possible. “I’m far from a baby and you know it!”

Jardis scoffed, “Oh really? If you’re so old, you should act more like it then. If it wasn’t for me and Alex, you’re crybaby attitude would’ve gotten you killed a long time ago.” He nodded his head toward the teen in the purple hoodie. “Isn’t that right?”

Without hardly moving, the hooded Alex glanced briefly at the gaunt man and replied curtly, “Whatever, sure.”

~Well aren’t you cool~

Obviously annoyed Jardis, brushed off Alex’s rudeness and continued, “Exactly, so you need to grow up girly. We can’t get by turning everyone we run across into statues, then crying all day about it.”

Just before Bishop could reply, another voice—a young woman’s—piped up: “Can we get a move on already? By now, that guy is probably nice and cozy in their hideout and we’re out here crying over spilled milk.” The girl was perhaps, the strangest-looking of the group: She had what was once bright-pink hair, now faded over time; she wore an ugly orange sweatshirt that was too big for her with an oxen silhouette sprawled over the front of it; and a metal collar bound loosely around her neck with three chain rings hanging off the front of it.

Jardis and Shara lowered their heads in self-disappointment, while the snake-eyed boy brought himself to his feet and Alex continued to lean nonchalantly against the wall.

“Y’know she’s got a point. Our new friend is getting farther out of reach the longer we mosey around here. So what say you we all stop by the hospital and pay him a visit?” Bishop stretched his arms above his head before taking a step toward the downward staircase, but was interrupted before he could take another.

“Not sure they’ll be too happy about their buddies becoming a new tourist attraction.” Alex piped up, almost showing a hint of concern in the usually uncaring voice.

~Can we leave?~

Bishop quickly swung around on his right toes and replied energetically, “It’ll be fine, just have faith my friend! I’m sure they have friends of their own with abilities and they’ll understand. It was all just a big mIsunDerstAndiNg, so let’s get going!”

~Finally~

Sector Zero - Training Grounds

Kisheto sighed in satisfaction as he tossed away an empty water bottle that he had chugged in a matter of seconds. He felt renewed already - as if he skipped the entire 'being sore' chapter of a typical work out. Instead, he showered and put on his usual, light cloth wear. He had gotten a good work out in to refresh his muscles; it was more of a test of his strength to see exactly how far he could push his body.

'The dude's gotta be 'round here somewhere...' Kisheto thought. He squinted and scanned the area for Ishigo, the man he had been searching for. After about a half hour of waiting, Ishigo finally emerged from the thicket of the man-made forest. Kisheto smiled and rushed over to him immediately, darting past mercenaries and civilians who either utilized and enjoyed the natural setting.

---

"Looking for me? Wh- Oh... speak of the devil... I'll call you back, Hector," Ishigo pressed his ear piece and closed the call before slowing to a halt to let the boy approach. Ishigo held back a smile, his own mind seemed to barely grasp the fact that he was indeed alive. As much as he believed in it and wished for it to be true, it still came as a shock when he witnessed the boy running up to him as if nothing had ever happened. "You're alive, huh?" he said.

Kisheto chuckled, "Heh, you know it, man. Yah can't kill me that easily. Thanks for leaving me by the way." Ishigo looked down for a moment in guilt. He did regret having left the boy alone, declaring him dead despite the chance that he may have survived, which he quite obviously did. He looked back up and nodded to Kisheto, "We won't be ditching anyone anymore." As Ishigo said this, he returned to his usual, authoritative tone. It was as relaxed as it was powerful - a conflicting mixture of tonality. Kisheto smiled, "Alright, man, that's cool. So, I was wonderin', y'know..." he began, as he looked around him briefly. "Yah think you could teach me how to uh.... kick some ass?"

Ishigo raised a brow at his request, and Kisheto held up his hands and shook his head, "No, no, I mean... I want to be able fight and, well... I guess I just wanna be useful..." Ishigo simply looked at the boy as he spoke, his expression blank save for the natural furrow in his brow that expressed itself whenever he entered deep thought. The young man had something about him that got to Ishigo, and probably everyone else he encountered, too. This wasn't the first person he had met to have such a powerful impact. But Ishigo saw more than just an intriguing character in Kisheto. He felt an inner duty to protect the lad, partly out of guilt of having left him for dead. Ishigo's mind was racing with thoughts and speculations, but he decided to shake them off and focus on the boy's request.

"I understand, Kisheto. I understand completely. You want to help us; you want to be in this fight. But you just got here, and you've barely had time to unwind and settle down. I think you need some time to clear your mind and focus bef-" Ishigo spoke and chose his words carefully, but was cut off as Kisheto interjected forecfully.
"C'mon, Ishigo, I'm fine. I've gotten stronger, yo! Check out my 'ceps though!" he said as he flexed his right arm. Ishigo raised a brow and chuckled, choosing to forget his natural habit of repressing laughter.

"Kisheto... strength is only half the battle." Ishigo looked out past Kisheto, towards the mercenaries that continued to train. He then returned his gaze to the young man and put his hand on his shoulder. "You've got a lot to learn, Kish. Discipline, focus, attitude, composure, patient - all of these things are just a few of the many things you must understand in order to be what I consider battle ready."

As soon as Ishigo had placed his hand on Kisheto's shoulder, he instantly focused. He felt relaxed and reassured - the small gesture served as a temporary anchor to the real word. Kisheto simply nodded and looked down. Ishigo smiled at the boy's decision to remain quiet; it seemed as if he was learning already.

"Look. Tomorrow we've got basic training for all those willing to join the fight. I want you to be there. If you can get past that, I give you my word, I will teach you all I can," he said with a smile. Kisheto's eyes widened and his entire expression lightened up as he also smiled. He laughed and playfully hit Ishigo on the chest, "Man, I KNEW you could be cool."

Ishigo chuckled softly and pressed on his ear piece. As it began to buzz to life, he gestured towards the forests from which he came, "I got us a new recruit today, Kish. His name's Yugeto and he looks to be about your age. I think you should meet up with him; he seems to be... your type of company." Kisheto nodded with a smile, "Sure thing, boss."

~Mathias and Zachary~


Zachary sat in silence with the closed suitcase on his lap and the suitcase full of money open in front of him on Mathias' lap. This was a big decision, and he was somewhat shocked at the large sum of money. Reason was his ally, however, and he quickly realised that while, in a single cash payment, that amount seemed to be a lot, it probably contained a pretty standard payment for an engineering project. He also considered how little value money has in Sovereign at the moment, but of course if and when they got out of here that money would most likely be useful. Mr Winters seemed to be a kind enough man, at least enough to allow him freedom. But before he could make his final decision he would need to look inside.

Conveniently, he didn't have to open his case or even move to identify the contents. Using his powers of machine reading he was able to identify the contents (as well as the workings of the suitcase, but he ignored that part) in great detail while merely looking contemplative on the outside. And what he found was quite an interesting project. The schematics outlined the function of a sonic weapon, designed to incapacitate a soldier by emitting an intense sound which causes severe pain in the ear.

To make things more interesting was a brief hand-written document describing the purpose and requirements of this sonic bomb, such requirements requiring modification to the basic design. The strength of this weapon needed to be increased in order to be powerful enough to incapacitate large, strong hosts, which would naturally be more resistant to incapacitation. Attached were a couple of photos of these hosts, illustrating their size and strength. Already he was milling over how he might complete this project and what information he might need. He was not particularly advanced in knowledge of acoustics, but he would be able to suss it out or find the knowledge he needed.

Kaa'is did not have any objections. In fact, the large sum of money seemed to kindle a sense of greed within him, followed by a spate of cynicism but that was not enough to counter the sense of agreement.

With that finally settled, Zachary returned his mind to reality, opened his case and feigned closely examining the papers. "So, you want a sonic weapon?" Zachary said looking up with a smirk, "What's the deadline?"

Mathias was impressed by the use of Zachary's power. He had thought the case would go unopened and such proof pleased him. "You have 96 hours...Are you up to the challenge?" At his own remark Mathias waited with anticipation.

"Of course I'm up to it," Zachary replied confidently, "I should be able to get something together in four days." Especially with the help of his carriage, he added to himself, although the rebellion which was bound to break loose at some point could slow him down.

Quickly downing the remaining contents of the glass, Mathias rose from his chair and stood before the fire. "I can offer you safe passage too, the grounds of this estate are vast, the north-most fields back onto the wall. Help me, and I'll see to it that you are transported safely out of the city when the defences are down...Well...That's presuming you'd want to leave of course? Would you stay? I know it may sound strange my friend, but I have heard rumours that many plan to call Sovereign their home for years to come. I mean to stay is one thing...but some actually LIKE this way of life! The slaughter, the thievery, the completely lack of respect...savages!"

Zachary was in agreement with Mathias on this one, but something itched at the back of his mind, how he had himself savagely slaughtered a man just last night in a host-driven hormonally fuelled rage. He tried to push it back before the grimness made it to his face.

Mathias' glance moving higher, away from the dancing flames, Mathias spies a small framed photograph, his wife and children smile back at him and all thoughts of the cities horrors vanish, as if the embers from the hearth below. "Do you have anyone on the outside Zachary? A loved on?"

This shift of topic brought Zachary away from the dark thoughts of murder and reminded him of why he wanted to get out of Sovereign in the first place. He followed Mathias' gaze and noticed the photograph of what he presumed must be his family. "Indeed I do. My own family. Mother, father, two brothers and a sister. I wasn't going to be in Sovereign for long, I was just going to be here for a short while to do some work on my PhD, but then the Wall came up. My family don't even know if I'm alive..." His voice trailed off, sadness creeping into it. He shook that off and continued, "But hopefully that should change soon. Have you got a workshop or garage I could use?"

"Yes, there's a workshop on the estate: just east of the Manor, next to the garage. We've developed a small scrap heap of sorts around there too, bits and bobs, nobody around here knows what half the materials could possibly be used for, perhaps you might be able to find something there." With that Mathias stood up and walked Zachary to the door, "You will see them again." He said with a gentle tone, the sort only old friends and fathers use. "I promise you Zachary, we will make it out of this city."

"Thank you, Mathias," Zachary replied, "I shall get to work immediately."

Arianna let out a soft sigh as she took her time walking to towards the small forest near the entrance to the cave. Her head swum with the thoughts of those around her and her own. Unfortunately, the loudest thoughts in her mind at the moment didnt belong to anyone in Sector Zero. Even if Castiel took away her ability, she would still hear them. They were seared into her mind. Helplessly they cried in anger and grief. Those that had died so few hours ago still were affecting Arianna. She welcomed the thoughts of the mercenaries and refugees. They were full of hope, determination, and happiness. It was a big change compared to the desperate thoughts of the little girl and the rebels that had died today.

There was nothing you could have done, Arianna. You would have been taken down the moment you revealed yourself. It would have been in vain. You made it here to help the rebellion, and you will help greatly. This will make you stronger. Use it as a reason to fight. Castiel gently murmured, attempting to console her.

Arianna let out a soft sigh, pushing her hair back from her face. "I'll be fine, Castiel. I just need to mull over it all and figure things out," she murmured. Castiel rustled in her mind before falling silent and still, signalling that he understood her meaning behind the response.

As Arianna neared the forest, she spotted the two golden armor clad soldiers waiting. She took a deep breath before approaching them, her mind switching to focus on her duty in the Golden Mercenaries.

"Are you here to sign up for the Golden Mercenaries?" One asked, eyeing her.

Arianna nodded in response. "Yes. Hector told me that this was where I'm supposed to sign up for a host squad," she told them, listening to their questioning thoughts. The Merc nodded and gestured towards an office-like building. "Right through that door will be a bulletin board where you can see the other squads and sign up. We like to have a don't ask, don't tell basis, but with hosts it is different. All we want to know is if your kage is a kamikage or onikage, for certain observation purposes. You'll also need to write your abilities down as well."

Arianna nodded and walked past them, heading towards the room. As she entered she noticed a bulletin board with a list of the hosts, their kage, and their abilites on it. She read over each, her curiosity peaking as she read their abilities. A string was thumb-tacked to the board, and at the end it was tied onto a pen. She took the pen in her hand and added her name, kage, and abilities.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion out front. She turned to see a dark-haired girl arguing with the men.

"Look, if you have a problem, you're going to have to talk to Ishigo and Hector," Raeven said before walking past the soldiers and into the office. She smiled at Arianna. "You'd think that they would be a little nicer to a lady." With a soft chuckle she took the pen and wrote her name and abilities, but put a little winky face where her kage type was supposed to go. "There. Perfection." She read Arianna's information and raised an eyebrow. "Telepathy? Wow. That must be annoying when you're around Hector. The man never stops thinking."

Arianna read the paper, then looked at Raeven and smiled softly. "It can be a pain, sometimes," she said. Raeven chuckled and mimicked her, "Sometimes." She shook Arianna's hand. "I'm sure Hector will be happy to have someone that can read minds." Arianna sjrugged lightly, smiling. "I'm willing to help in any way possible." Raeven smiled back and nodded. "Good, good." She looked her over. "How well can you fight?" Arianna bit her lip and gestured towards her rapier. "I'm really only good at swordsmanship."

Raeven smirked, wondering how this petite girl had managed to handle herself in a fight with just a sword. "It is a good thing to know. How about we spar tomorrow after training? I'll teach you more than Hector's drills ever could." Arianna smiled, relieved that someone was already offering to teach her some skills. "Yes, of course. I need it." Raeven nodded curtly and grinned. "We'll see how tomorrow goes. For now, get some rest. The cots here aren't exactly clouds, but they are much more comfortable than the tough ground up in the city. I'll see you tomorrow morning." With that said, she turned and headed out, waving at the guards goodbye.

Arianna watched her go, slowly walking out. Raeven intrigued her, making her wonder what she could do other than become invisible and see in the dark. Arianna's time in Sector Zero was guaranteed to be interesting.

Blake strided across the office, heading to Arianna. Finally...the culmination of my efforts. The other child is here with one of the scouts. Blake's dark expression flashed over his face for only a second before being replaced with a visage of determination and curiosity.

"Blake, you know you've got to play this right...I'm not going to let you kill her in front of these Golden Mercenaries. Stay in character, play your role, you're supposed to act as a Squad Leader for these hosts. Don't you dare reveal yourself, we have a plan to stick to."

Blake internally groaned, but walked out of the office towards Arianna nonetheless, as he overheard her conversation with Raeven and interjected when Raeven walked off. "Hello! I couldn't help but to have heard your conversation with one of the Mercenaries here. Telepathy? That's an interesting power if I may say so myself." Blake sighed internally, but knew he couldn't drop his ground around her with this newfound annoyance.

"Dama, can you start depicting your memories or start rambling whenever I'm nearby her? I can't afford to let her read me, lest you lose a fine host.

The reply he received was merely a hearty chuckle, as Blake felt his mind become flooded with Void nonsense. Relaxation blanketed Blake like a cool wind. "I'm signed up to be a Squad Leader, and it's quite impressive that you've got a grasp over swordsmanship. I'm a swordsman myself." Blake patted his bandaged sword.

"Would you be up for a spar at the training grounds? My name's Blake, by the way. We can get acquainted since we'll be working in tandem during group-Squad operations; it'd be interesting to spar with you, and we could learn one another's fighting styles on the off-chance I end up becoming your Squad Leader." Blake said softly, in a benevolent and caring tone.

Arianna blinked, a little caught off guard by the amount of spar-buddies she was finding in one night. To be honest, she'd been looking forward to her new cot, but at the moment, she wanted to find out what this Squad Leader's interesting sword could do. "I suppose a spar wouldn't hurt," she said, smiling softly at him. "I'm Arianna. What type of sword is that? Is that a core?"

Blake smiled warmly."It's a special type of core. The core itself is incredibly old, one of the oldest. It's undergone modifications from Core Researchers, such as David Chrystein, and then forged by the great blacksmiths of Wintra. It was given to me as a gift here in Sovereign, and it suits my Kage very well. I'll tell you now that it's a Flame Core, but not the type you're expecting." He explained, gesturing towards the fields. "Ladies first." He chuckled. Arianna smiled at the mention of her father's name. "David is actually my father. I'm surprised he never told me about such an interesting core," she said as she began to walk towards the training grounds. "He used to always share his inventions and discoveries with me."

Blake held back his urge to grab Arianna by the hair and bash her skull into the concrete of the wall the two were next to outside the office and began to walk, headed for the training grounds. "This was a discovery made by a Corologist, but your father and a team of geniuses had worked together on the modifications. It was just finished the day....well, you know." Blake looked down solemnly, feigning remorse. "It was given to me then, and I've had a little over a year with it. Kataskai's her name, and I do believe it was your father who christened her. It was his final invention before he headed to Argos and the wall went up, I believe. Quite ironic I will be using it against you." Blake said to Arianna sweetly, despite the weight of his words carrying much more malice, unbeknownst to her.

Arianna's smile softened as she thought of her dad, then chuckled. "I'm interested in what it can do, and I suppose the best way to do that is to fight against it." She found an empty spot to spar by the lake and pulled her rapier from her belt loop. "I haven't really thought of naming my rapier. The only special thing about it is that it has survived this long."

Blake smiled. "You should have a connection with your sword, like you may with your Kage. It tells a beautiful story, dances gracefully, and sings a song unlike any other." Blake grabbed his sword handle from his back, and the bandages fell off the blade. "A song of fire." Blake said slightly menacingly, as he charged at Arianna with the blade in one hand, a display of his adeptness with the weapon. Arianna moved into a defensive position and raised her rapier, clashing with Blake as she blocked his attempt. She took a small step back and to the side to handle the impact, then tilted her rapier to the side to let his sword slide off of hers. She moved to a better position before making her move, stepping forwards and bringing her rapier down hard onto his sword.

The rapier collided with a groove in Blake's sword as he positioned his sword to have the impact occur there, allowing Blake to curve Arianna's rapier upward and inward towards her. "I told you, this is no ordinary core. Ancient technology and modern modifications have birthed the most elegant of lovechilds." Unlike you... Blake thought, as he gripped his sword tighter and the sword was enveloped in a bright blue flame. Blake waved the sword in Arianna's direction nonchalantly but quickly, waiting for her reaction. Arianna took a step backwards as she stopped her blade from coming any further to herself. She watched the sword, trying to figure out its purpose. "What kind of core is that, if not a regular flame core?" She asked before spinning and sending her sword colliding with his, attempting to knock it out of balance.

Blake simply smiled. "An Ancient Core. It was a Blue Flame core even before your father and his team got their hands on it, but they've added some tweaks to it. You won't see those today." He explained, letting the sword's tip touch the floor as he used it as a pole, lifting his whole body with the force and swinging around towards Arianna to attempt to kick her in the stomach. Arianna watched closely as he leaned on his sword and immediately ducked, letting his feet fly over her. She simultaneously swung her rapier at the sword, clashing with it as she tried to dislodge it from the ground.

The sword was kicked up, and Blake used the force to bring it back upwards, letting it go as it went into the air. He kicked off Arianna's rapier, using it to push himself into the air. Blake then grabbed the sword from mid-air, and twirled in Arianna's direction with the sword facing downward to create a Blue Flame spiral headed towards her. Arianna's eyes widened in awe before her instincts kicked into gear. She rolled out of the way, taking her rapier with her, just before the spiral collided with the ground. Quickly, she got to her feet, watching the blue flame interact with the ground. "Amazing."

Blake nodded silently as the flame dissipated from the ground. "I extinguished the fire using my ability to prevent damage to the area as this is a spar, but I haven't used my powers as to keep this fair. Would you like to keep it that way?" Blake asked her
quietly. Arianna looked at him, "What ability do you have, exactly? Is it some sort of core or fire manipulation?" Either one of them seemed plausible to her.

Blake shrugged. "In a way. I'm a Spirit specialist. I'm actually Blake Ketrius. So I can explain to you that a Kage's power tends to manifest by interacting with a person's spirit, memories, and personality in an odd way alongside the Kage's own reserves to generate powers. I have a vast manipulation over energy itself. That means I have full reign over how my fire moves, but it also means it'd be impossible for you to actually win a sword fight against me, as I'd simply absorb all the kinetic energy," he explained elaborately to Arianna. "I think it's better we continue our fight as is." Arianna nodded slowly, weighing her options.

"Although your ability intrigues me, I think, to keep the spar fair, we should continue without our abilities. I'd like to test myself without them, unless you're willing for me to use mine while you don't use yours." She chuckled, wondering how that would turn out.

Blake simply nodded again. "I agree. Let us continue our fight, and if you begin to feel overpowered by Kataskai, feel free to use your powers while I contain mine." Blake slashed his sword down, sending a wave of blue flames towards Arianna, as he dashed behind the flames, jumped, and came down with a horizontal slash, sending out more flames and the slash itself. Arianna spun to the side, then stepped out of the way of the flames from above. She brought her rapier above her and let it clash with Blake's, then pushed up with her blade. She turned to face him as he landed and came at him from the left.

Again Blake caught the rapier in a groove on the side of his blade, and twisted his blade so the rapier was sent down, then immediately pushed the hilt of the blade up to elbow Arianna while Blake kicked the rapier outward as it came down to off Arianna's center of gravity. Arianna ducked to dodge the elbow, but lost grip of her rapier as he kicked it away from her. She immediately backed out of range of his sword, wondering if she could get it back without using her abilities.

Blake used this time wisely, slashing precisely as he advanced towards Arianna behind his flames, then spinning to send a flaming circle outward to prevent Arianna's advance. Amidst the heat, Blake took hold of Arianna's rapier from the ground. "Might want to use your ability." Arianna jumped and ducked, dodging the flames. She noticed the circle and dove forwards, slipping right through the center. She rolled to a halt, crouching in front of Blake. She stood and sighed. "I suppose so." Without another word, she linked her mind with her rapier and ripped it from his hand, letting it fly through the air towards her before she gracefully caught it. She whipped it around, warming up her arm a little more. "Continue," she said with a slight smirk.

Blake raised an eyebrow. "I heard Telepathy, not Telekinesis. You're something else, heh." Blake changed his stance, loosening his grip on his blade as it dropped slightly downwards. The blue flames danced along the blade, and Blake dashed towards Arianna, swirling and cutting in a completely new and unpredictable motion at Arianna complimented with flames. "Zōr Waraji!" He called out as he windmilled the blade to send a constant cyclone of blue flame at Arianna, and then sliced into the vicious spout to augment it with more flames protruding from it at random times.

Arianna rolled out of the way of most of the flames, but used a flat rock laying near the lake to act as a shield from the rest. She then moved the rock aside as she swung her rapier up, clashing with his sword. She then twisted her sword and pushed it towards him, leaving his blade pointing upwards and being bent towards him. Blake was slightly burnt by the flame, and groaned. "Impressive." he kicked into Arianna's knee inwards, and pushed the hilt of the sword into the rapier, flicking it down. In a series of crescent strikes, he sent flame wave after flame wave at Arianna, coupled with actual sword strikes.

Arianna smirked as he complimented her, then buckled as he kicked her knee, wincing. She backed away, keeping a tight grip on her rapier. She jumped and flipped over him, slashing downwards at him as she did so before landing behind him. Blake spun, sending more flames at Arianna. He then thrusted his sword forward and leaped at Arianna, bringing his sword to clash with her rapier and attempting to grab a hold of it with his free hand.

Arianna barely dodged the flames before his sword clashed with her own. She felt his hand wrap around hers on the hilt in an attempt to grab it and narrowed her eyes before using his grip to yank forwards, simultaneously pushing outwards with the tip of her rapier. Blake's blade barely caught the rapier as he headbutted Arianna as he fell forward, scratching the rapier's blade across his torso as he forced the rapier upward into Arianna's chin and spun the blade around her to surround her in a tight circle of blue flame.

Arianna winced as his head collided with hers and quickly tilted her head back, the rapier nicking the bottom of her chin a little. She stumbled backward's a little, sucking in a breath of air through her teeth. She stopped as the flames surrounded her and frowned. "You definitely have an interesting way of fighting," she said, touching her chin to feel the nick.

The flames faded away and Blake bowed. "You as well. You're quite the exceptional swordsman, better than the ones you'll find here for sure. But I'm sure once the full training is underway and you've got a strong handle on your telekinesis, we'll have a power-inclusive fight. An even more interesting one, to say the least." Pulling out new bandages from his back pocket, Blake wrapped his sword and holstered it on his back before walking back to the Golden Mercenary main campground. "Good luck in Squad Placement!" Blake called out, hoping he would be her squad captain; a perfect opportunity to deal with her on a mission and preserve his "innocence" among his peers.

Arianna watched him walk away, thinking over the spar that had just occured. She pulled the back of her hand away from her chin and saw a little blood, frowning lightly. If he could do that when he wasn't using her abilities, she wondered what he could do while using them. He was definitely a good fighter, no doubt cunning as well. His techniques weren't normally seen in a fight, and it brought new excitement to it. She chuckled before heading towards the hosts' dorms, her mind on the training that would take place in the morning. As she found her room, she noticed all of the other hosts asleep and made sure she was quiet as she found her cot and laid down, relaxing finally after a long, hard day. She removed her shoes and stretched, then curled up under the blanket. It wasn't long after her head hit the pillow before she was soundly sleeping. For the first time in a while, she didn't have to worry about anything but getting enough sleep.

Vates – Golden Mercenaries’ Base
Vates strolled through the base, observing all the little details and ensuring he was familiar with his surroundings. He found a couple of little spots that, if need be, would be great for hiding himself or some belongings. One included a man-made burrow beneath a large tree, one which had clearly been made a long time ago purely for the purpose of fixing a pipe that had been damaged by the trees growing roots. Vates had also taken note of various faces and groups he had come across, including where they were staying. Having gotten familiar enough with the temporary accommodation he made his way over to a group of mercenaries that were handling sign-ups. “Hello again! You signing up?” asked the same burly man who had shown him around earlier.

“Hmm… what’s the pay like?” joked Vates.

“Fucking awful! But you do get a pretty outfit and some decent company!” boomed the man. He grabbed the clipboard with a signup sheet and was about to hand it over when he hesitated, “Oh. Before you sign-up, you’re not a host are you? If you are you’ll want to head over there and join one of the special squads.”

“No.” Vates lied, taking the sign-up sheet. He didn’t like revealing too much about himself, which also led him to also miss out his first name when signing the sheet. Besides from that he was hardly a powerful host and doubted he would meet the standards set by others when it came to abilities; his was simply a passive one whereas he knew many others could use theirs to wreak damage.

“Brilliant. Glad to have you on board mate. If you follow these lads now leaving you can find a space in their barracks; it’ll give you a chance to get to know your teammates too. Suggest you get some rest cause we’ll be training first thing tomorrow.”

Zachary opened the briefcase and unfolded the schematics on to the workbench. They were vague from an engineering standpoint, and not quite up to the mission at hand. This sonic weapon, which was entitled Sonic Disruptor, operated using mainly just a powerful sound core and a lightning core to sufficiently power the Sparker to create a high-power sound in a frequency particularly sensitive to the human ear. Zachary pulled out his engineering books, a pencil and the task requirements and began looking at how he could execute this plan. To take out the hosts in question he estimated that he would probably need a couple more orders of magnitude of power. However, cross-checking this with the sound core reference, that kind of power output would require a sound core beyond the quality or size of anything he could salvage. He could always link up several sound cores, but then he could run into problems with resonance, and the multiple parts.

But there was a way around the problem. He did not have to use a sound core to produce sound. Instead, he could use a wind core, for sound is merely the compression and rarefaction of air. Wind cores have the benefit of coming in much higher power outputs than sound cores, but at the same time they don't naturally make sound waves. In order to make sound waves he would need to pulse the wind core. Fortunately, such a solution is as simple as applying an AC current of the desired frequency and passing it through a diode. On a separate piece of paper he began sketching out a potential design. The trouble would be acquiring the AC current and voltage. He considered for a while using a rotational inverter, but then he had a better idea. He could take an oscillator used in some radios, which is perfect because it operates in the audible frequencies, and use that. It doesn't have a particularly high output voltage, but if a sensitive Sparker alloy is chosen then that would be no problem at all.

Once he had the functional components figured out he then worked on getting a proper housing. This would be no trivial task, as the stresses and vibrations on the device would be enormous. However, the schematics given did indeed cover the structure of it, although Zachary would have to make it even more robust. The air core would be attached to the rest of the device by a sort of spring, allowing it to move with some freedom without shaking the rest of the machine apart. The rest of the device would be shaped like an inverted bowl, heavy and made of metal to minimise the shaking. The shape would give it stability, as well as reflecting the sound off it. For the power Zachary wanted he would have to be sure to thoroughly weld and fasten all components in place, for if it were to shake apart mid operation that could spell ruin for Mathias, and by extension himself.

The final matter would be the trigger. While the schematics specified a wireless triggering mechanism, such a component would be too complex for him to build a fully reliable wireless system in such a short time-span. Instead, Zachary opted to use a switch on the end of a long cable, which he would have wound up on a hook on the device for transport and storage. As he went over the design again, tidying up numerous details, he found it funny how similar to a discus or Frisbee it appeared. He supposed that, if he built it solidly enough, it might survive being gently thrown like one. That would be a good way to get some distance between yourself and it in short notice. Except then he realised that the cable would get tangled, which may cause problems.

With the design complete, all he had to do now was build it. He looked briefly around the workshop to see what it had before taking the trap core out of his pocket, pointing it at an empty patch on the ground and pressing the button. With a burst of expanding air, flash of red light and the clanging of metal, Zachary's own scrap and his tools appeared on the floor. Putting the core back, he rubbed his hands together. He had work to do.

En Route to Sector Zero

Footsteps echoed through the emptying streets as Xovos wandered through the middle class district. He had heard that he might find employment under the Golden Mercenaries, which was apparently led by the man on the speakers of the city. The food had become scarce and even consistently doing jobs, Xovos couldn't gather enough to feed himself effectively, so he finally donned his armor and spear.

Due to the lack of use, the armor had a certain sheen to it, as if newly cleaned. It was in great repair and lacked the use and wear that had became akin to the rest of the city. Among the quiet streets, Xovos stood out like a sore thumb, his armor reflected the sunlight with a flare and made a great deal of noise with each step as large animal skulls that adorned him collided with the metallic surface of his armor. Thus it was no surprise when he arrived at the Bank which doubled as the entrance to the Mercenary base, likely having had his presence announced a great multiple of blocks ago.

A nearby Mercenary on guard at the entrance of the bank had been watching Xovos arrive since the moment he saw the glint on the large man's armor. He nodded to one of his squad mates, signaling that he would take care of the man. "Evenin'," he said, eyeing the spear in Xovos's hand. "State your business here."Xovos looks towards the mercenary, out of his own reverie, following his line of sight before slinging his spear in a well-practiced motion into a holster placed on his back. "Good evening to you too, I heard there was some sort of enlistment going on here?" He took off his helmet, it was quite obvious he was young, and though his features could be defined as handsome in the tradition since, they also looked worn and scarred from the combat and beatings that he had experienced, his face alone made it quite obvious he had tasted defeat at one time or another. "My name is Pelias Xovos, and I have acted upon rumor to join this...organization", it was followed by a bit of a flourish and half-bow, though it looks somewhat awkward in armor.

The Merc smirked, glancing at his buddies in amusement at this man's sophistication. He then straightened, becoming serious once more. "Do you posess a kage?" He asked, going through the normal protocol for entry to the base. "Kage? Oh, you mean the voice, correct? Yes, I do", Xovos's lighthearted smile slowly faded as Sven woke up as if sensing he'd been mentioned. "You done being passive yet?" Sven inquired, sounding all too excited. Xovos shook his head, still unused to sharing his head with another voice,"I need food, Sven, don't think I'm going around eating people or whatever it is you want me to do", Xovos stated to Sven inwardly,"I need to eat too, and we're just eating their Spirit not them themselves". Xovos didn't like the idea of consuming somebody else, but he put the thought off for another time. He refocused his attention to the gaurds, his interior conversation worsening his mood, though he didn't show it.

The Merc nodded, glancing him over as Xovos was silent for a moment. He continued protocol and screened Xovos, making sure that he wasn't just joining the Mercenaries to cause trouble. Once he cleared the screening test the Merc nodded. "Alright. Follow me." He said before turning and opening the bank door. He lead Xovos to the back of the bank and nodded to the Mercenaries on duty. After the vault door was unlocked, the door swung wide open to reveal the elevator that would take Xovos down to Sector Zero. "You'll want to be debriefed in the main building to the right. They'll tell you what to do," he said before holding the elevator's gate open for Xovos.

Xovos offered a small smile before entering into the elevator. His large frame matched the size of the doorway, and as he traveled down he held a conversation with himself and Sven, attempting to ward off Sven's desires to consume spirit."When do we get to eat?", Sven inquired, much to the annoyance of Xovos
"When we're offered food, Sven. Why were they asking about you anyway?"
"How am I supposed to know? All you did was mope around and occasionally go out for a drink or for some work!"
"Whatever Sven, I'm not eating people, I'd like to think my mental fortitude is great enough that I not go insane from something as survivable as this."
Sven remained silent, pouting in his own way, Xovos merely fiddled with his pocket pistol, spinning it until it suddenly went off, barely missing himself as the pistol dropped to the floor. As the elevator doors opened, Xovos timidly picked up his small firearm, holstering it before making his way towards the specified building to his right, placing his helmet back over his shaved head.

As Xovos entered the building, he noticed a Mercenary in his fourties waiting for any new recruits that came at a time that Hector wasn't available. The Merc took him through the basic briefing, explaining the process of signing up for the hosts' squads and getting a dorm. The Merc showed him the maps of the training grounds, telling him that each host squad had a designated, and numbered, spot where they were to train at 9:00 A.M. on the dot. After the briefing was done, the Merc smiled at him and held the door open. "Welcome to the Golden Mercenaries, lad." Xovos paused for a moment, "What is the procedure for someone who has already recieved combat training?" He asked, his helmet tilted somewhat. The Merc grinned. "You may know your own way of fighting, but you still need to learn the Golden Mercenary way. Also, you need to get acquianted with a squad and learn how they fight to better suit your squad. You'll find out a lot from one training session." Xovos nodded in agreement, "Understandable...is there a living space of sorts I could, perhaps, acquaint myself with?" He seems to be uncomfortable with the idea of living with other people but takes it in stride.

The Merc shook his head. "All hosts are to be monitored together. Just to make sure the civilians and, well, some of the Mercenaries feel better sleeping at night. Just sign up, get your dorm, and get some rest. You'll get used to it." Xovos nodded in respect to the Mercenary before heading towards the office like building and reviewing the bulletin board. He wrote his name in, but that's about as far as he got before becoming stumped, for his specification between Kamikage and Onikage he merely wrote the name Sven, as for his abilities, he simply filled it in with "Good with spear". Xovos's handwriting was more akin to scribbling though it had a great deal of flourish to it, containing long curls finishing off his letters.

Xovos eventually headed towards the dorms, his rather slow rate of travel allowed for a great amount of time to think. He disliked acting on such small amounts of information but he needed the food, he preferred fighting blindly over wasting away. When he had finally found the bed he could claim as his own, he ungracefully flopped onto the sheets in his full armor. The bed protested under his weight but he simply closed his eyes with a sigh, having become as still as stone.

A low rumble shook the uneven ground, dislodging several small pieces of rubble. While normally that would’ve gone unnoticed by the average person, it rang clear enough to startle the girl sleeping beneath a slab of granite. What had once been pavement became her temporary shelter, one that she realized she’d have to leave again in order to guarantee her safety. It didn’t help that the being that had resided within her for the past year decided to stir, making an uncomfortable throbbing sensation build in her head.

“Cool it, will you?” Noel grumbled. She stirred underneath the slab, irritated at the jagged piece of concrete digging into her side and the nagging presence of the Kage. He had succeeded in waking her up, however, as the vibrations slowly grew stronger every second. They were rhythmic, the kind that Noel had eventually identified as footsteps a week after the opening of the Void Gate. Footsteps were never good, in her experience; she knew that far too well to ignore. Scrambling up in a hurry, she stuffed whatever food she had left the night before into a miniature backpack and ran for it, legging it in the opposite direction of the footsteps.

Ruined buildings flashed past in a dizzying blur as Noel sped through the streets, her heart thudding so loud that it startled her for a second. The sensory enhancements were lifesaving most of the time but it had taken quite a while to get used to the sound of her own breathing and the amplified beating of her heart. From the way it was racing right now, Noel was surprised she hadn’t succumbed to a heart attack yet. Though as the way things currently stood, Noel would probably sense it before any symptoms made themselves clear.

The Kage in her head snorted at her logic. <Instead of contemplating on the state of your health, why don’t you pay attention to the shape-shifter currently following us?>

Noel turned her head in alarm, her eyes falling on the dark dog-shaped figure bounding after her around thirty meters away. Coupled with the hound’s tracking abilities, Noel knew she was in a tight spot. Its senses were probably equal to hers, making them evenly matched. “Oh shit, look at those fangs –” She had every reason to stare wide-eyed at the hound’s fangs, for they resembled daggers more than teeth. Her eyes were still fixated on its fangs when the Kage’s deep voice boomed across her already strained mind. <Watch where you’re going!> Noel’s head snapped back the right way, her eyes meeting the blank expanse of a wall. For a moment, she ran at it at breakneck speed, her mind slowly taking in that there was a wall in her path. A very solid wall. Solidity usually hurt. It dawned on her very slowly that collisions with walls weren’t a good thing, and that she wasn’t intangible. At the last moment, Noel turned left, the momentum nearly making her slide on the pavement and fall. Her shoulder painfully scraped the wall’s rough surface, momentarily distracting her from her mad dash away from the shape-shifter.

By now she had gone into autopilot and wove in and out through the ruins of Sovereign, almost by memory. The past year hadn’t been uneventful – Noel had explored nearly every part of the city that had piqued her interest long enough and was safe enough to venture into. They day she’d woken up after binding with her Kage, Noel had stood on the surviving edge of a building, surveying the decimated skyline. Unlike others’ fear and desperation upon seeing it fallen apart, Noel couldn’t have been any happier. Sovereign had become her own personal playground.

<I swear to Aeritus, you have the attention span of a goldfish.> The Kage ground out, tugging at her mind to get her attention. <Do you know where you’re going?>

”Not a clue.” Noel replied. She let her speed and momentum play their part as she leapt onto a section of a ruined building, propelling herself upwards. ”But he sure as hell can’t catch me up here.” Once she’d made it on top of the collapsed skyscraper’s side, Noel ran up the side and nearly slid off, the smooth glass don’t nothing to help her ascend. Luckily, the building was almost on its side and even as she reached the edge, Noel knew that if she jumped, the danger of breaking something or dying would be minimal. With that in mind, she leapt off the edge much like a skydiver would jump off a plane. The feeling of air rushing past her at an unfathomable speed was all too exciting and she felt the familiar thrill of her stunt days. It only lasted for a second or two, unfortunately, and Noel landed on the ground feet first. The shock that went up her legs wasn’t enough to startle her; jumping off hundreds of buildings like these had its advantages.

As the first sounds of voices filtered through her rather selective hearing, Noel set off at a brisk pace, stretching out her arms as she went. Snippets of conversation made their way to her, words such as ‘Hector’ and ‘hosts’. That alerted her enough to set her thinking at an alarming pace. She was homeless with very little food to last the day. That wasn’t the best situation, but Noel would be damned if she couldn’t see an opportunity when it presented itself. While inwardly scheming, a three-way fork presented itself as the street she was on branched off in three different directions

<Go right. The center is a dead end.> Her Kage instructed. The right-handed way looked much more run-down that the other two ways and Noel could see that the path in the center was indeed a dead end. But as she turned to head right, she felt a sinking feeling in her gut.

“No, not there, it doesn’t feel right…” She muttered, backtracking.

<Unlike you, I can orient myself. I’ve heard rumors about some group or the other setting up headquarters somewhere here and while you were reminiscing or whatever, I familiarized myself with the area. Go right! Move, will you – don’t you dare go left! Listen to me –>

By the time he’d uttered ‘don’t you dare’, Noel had made up her mind. She deliberately turned left, racing down the clear street. Footsteps and faint voices became clearer and in another act of deliberate defiance, she bolted directly towards them.

The human voices were now getting closer and Noel slowed to a brisk walk, straightening out her threadbare jacket and cargo pants. The guard at the entrance was the first to spot her and pointed his weapon at her head, readying himself to shoot. Noel didn’t understand why he’d felt the need to do that; she looked as harmless as any other young girl roaming around. Nevertheless, she held up her hands to shoulder-level, showing him that she was unarmed. It didn’t make him lower his weapon, even as Noel came close enough to speak.

Ignoring the flurry of sounds from the interior of the building, Noel offered him a carefree smile. “You’re rebels of some sort, aren’t you? I heard you were recruiting – well, eavesdropped would be right word but –”

The guard held up a hand, stopping her in her tracks. While she was talking, his expression had become more and more strained as he tried keeping up with her words. Another guard had approached him from behind, and he’d only worn a stony-faced expression the entire time. As soon as Noel stopped talking, he took the lead. “You’re not asking the questions – we are. In this case, you answered most of them before we even asked. I presume you have a Kage?”

“Mhm.” Noel hummed in agreement, bouncing on her heels as she surveyed the building’s exterior above their heads.

“Pay attention ma’am.” The first guard spoke and waited for her to look at them again. “You’re going to have to follow the rules and get checked. Hand over your possessions so that they can be screened.” He quietly watched the irritation pass over her face and snatched the small backpack that was tossed at him. A torrent of small objects thrown at him were also caught without trouble, though he could see that she was getting exasperated. As the second guard went through the routine screening checks with Noel, the first guard inspected the contents of the backpack. A half-full canister of water, a tiny roll of bread and a handkerchief. The rest of the objects were random things – a large feather, two beads and a keychain. Nothing potentially dangerous there, he decided, and stuffed the odd objects into the backpack before handing it back. He pointed to the hallway behind him and motioned to the stairway leading down to one side. “Go up down two floors and ask the guard there to lead you to the hosts’ rooms.”

Noel nodded absentmindedly and bounded in, running down the stairs two at a time. She adamantly ignored her Kage’s protests at her actions, knowing that he was just about questioning her sanity at this point. He knew that she didn’t like being restricted, so why did she just offer to join a mercenary group? That last question, though not aimed at her, made her answer. ”Because I want to break out of this damn city. See the world, see what I haven’t seen. I’m not going to rot in here and the rotting will only happen faster in the streets. This is my ticket out of here. Besides, I can always get out of here if it doesn't go my way.” Her Kage didn’t bother answering and retreated to the back of her mind as she approached the guard she’d been told to.

After explaining her situation, the man went through the program and what she was supposed to do, like get up at a specific time and stuff like that. Noel tuned him out at the fifth sentence and smiled at him when he finished. “Just put down your name and your Kage abilities there, and you’re good to go.” Noel’s eyes followed his to a sheet tacked to the wall with a string attached to a pen on the side. As she picked up the pen, a mischievous smile tugged at her lips. How would she describe the Kage’s abilities? After a moment of contemplation, she put down ’Human explosive’ next to her name, fighting the urge to laugh at her choice of words. It was followed by ’Abnormally sharp senses’, though the latter was considerably more normal than the former. Still laughing to herself, Noel followed the guard down more flights of stairs to the hosts’ rooms.

Upon entering the room designated to her, Noel flopped down onto the cot and placed her hands behind her head just as her Kage exploded. She casually crossed her ankles as she listened to him rant, her eyes following the random patterns she found in the ceiling. <Have you been planning this all along or are you just stupid? Do you even know what you’re doing?> Noel smiled at that. Her Kage already knew the answer, yet he still liked demanding answers from her. Still, she knew of something that would make him even madder,

”Y’know, sometimes you just gotta fly by the seat of your pants.”

Hector's Quarters

---

With a yawn and a stretch, Hector sat up in his cot and greeted the small sliver of sun peeking in through his solitary quarters. He looked at his watch and frowned, tapping on the glass. In the night it had frozen at 1:37. He tossed the watch to the side and continued on with his day. He pulled on his boots and laced them up tightly, then stood and pulled on the same shirt he had worn for months. Supplies were low, and he wanted to make sure that all of the men in his ranks were clothed. Anyways, his shirt only had a few stains and only one small hole in it. It was hardly as battered as it would have been considered a year ago. He smirked at the little thought and borrowed a better working watch from one of his men. “Five A.M. sharp,” he murmured to himself before heading to his office.

For an hour he listened to debriefings on patrols and other missions he had running while he was asleep. A knock on the door let him know that it was six, meaning that his men were right on the dot with the sign-up sheets for the new hosts. “Come in,” he said before gesturing for the Mercenary that had been debriefing him to be dismissed. He smiled at the Mercenaries that brought the sign-ups in. “Good morning, men. You’re right on time.”

“Here are the sign-up sheets, like you asked, sir,” Lucas, a tall, blonde Merc, said as he handed Hector the folder. Hector took them, pulling the sign-up sheets out before setting the folder down on the surviving desk. “Ay dios mio,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “I didn’t think this many would sign up.” He read through the sign-ups, chuckling and shaking his head as he saw Raeven’s winky face. “I have to say, all of these abilities are impressive. Spirit manipulation? Telepathy? What is this- ¡escuchan! – human explosive? The military won’t know what hit them!” He grinned, reading over the sign-up sheets again. His two men only blinked in disbelief, glancing at each other. “Will that be all, sir?” Lucas asked. Hector only nodded, still preoccupied with reading, re-reading, and re-re-reading the sign-up sheets again. “Yes, gracias.” The two men smiled at each other before leaving Hector to his work.

After a busy morning, Hector eagerly awaited the training session. With such extraordinary abilities, he was hoping that these hosts had also learned to fight while they were gone. If anything, he wanted them to learn to fight in order to keep themselves safe from harm. He sat down at the PA system desk in the meeting room and checked his watch, watching as the display read 9:00 A.M. With a quick clearing of his throat, he pressed the button on the microphone and broadcasted his voice across the base. “All trainees must report to the training grounds. I repeat, all trainees to the training grounds,” he said before releasing the button.

---

Hector walked onto the platform at the training grounds and looked out among the hundred or so trainees waiting for their instructions. “Today you will be put through four stations that will test your abilities and teach you skills that every Golden Mercenary in this base knows by heart,” he began, his deep voice spreading throughout the training grounds, letting everyone hear him. “For all of the hosts, you will not be able to use the abilities your kage gives you through the whole training session. You will be able to use your abilities in a later training session. This session begins as soon as I am done explaining, and ends at 5 P.M. The only breaks you are allowed are water breaks. If you complete all four stations that you will be divided into by the four men by the platform, you will begin again until you are finished at 5. After that, all non-hosts are allowed to eat. All hosts must remain afterwards.

“Station one is for physical fitness and cardiovascular endurance,” he said, pointing towards the sign with a one on it. “Here you will be running, jogging, doing jumping jacks, and jumping rope. There is a trail that runs through a small forest in this sector where you can run or jog.” He moved on, pointing towards the sign with a two on it. “Station two is physical fitness! Here you will improve your strength by lifting weights and other physical activities.” Hector watched the crowd, noticing the cogs begin to turn in their minds. “Station three is for basic combat maneuvering. Here you will learn how to duck and cover, read battlefield orders, and move as a unit.” He moved to point at station four. “Station four is for GMMAT, which stands for Golden Mercenary Martial Arsenal Training. Here you will learn key fighting styles involved in hand-to-hand combat.”

Hector took a deep breath, watching as all heads turned back from the stations to look at him. “Make sure you take this training seriously and don’t over-exert yourself in the beginning! As you go on with training, it will become harder and harder. So, for now, just see what you are capable of doing and begin to push yourself further throughout training. Your capability in our ranks depends on your improvement in all four stations. Good luck, future Mercenaries.”