Jäger's mind raced as the titanic lizzie staggered backward, not stunned but stalled by the immense power of the lightning bolt. It was about the maximum capacity Jäger could pack into a punch without special circumstances, and the strain it put on Jäger's arcane network showed. His shoulders heaved in synchronized breaths of his chest, the archaic tattoo on his face faded in and out of brightness, and beads of sweat cascaded down from his thick, black bangs. Small bursts of static electricity came raging off of Jäger's body, discharging the electrons he'd accumulated from the overload.

There was no way of stunning this thing, so getting on top of it would be impossible. Jäger looked over his shoulder to witness Dan escaping into the ATV. One part of his thoughts cursed the diver for being a coward and escaping to the confines of the Z-ATV. Another part of him thanked the weak fighter for getting out of his way. Over his other shoulder, Zay complemented the monk's prowess. The lightning monk nodded weakly, conserving every micro ounce of energy for the coming spell casts. Seeing that Zay was preparing a spell of his own, Jäger began doing the same.

First, he cupped his armored gauntlets together so that they saw no light. And then, the faintest of whispers came from within. Two whispers. Four, louder now, lines of blue momentarily escaping the metallic confine. The crackling multiplied into a contained sphere, and Jäger opened his gauntlets to reveal the whispering sphere now speaking. Roaring as it grew, louder now, like thunder and rain and hail and storm. With both hands, a stomp of his armored boot, and a powerful grunt, Jäger took the ball over his head and threw it to the desert below. Crashing, it disappeared beneath the dunes before erupting again in a wave of sand. The roaring thunder shrieked forward, ready to ride up the body of the monstrous Lizzie and explode in its face. Its attractive properties would allow for any spells to follow it and combine with its essence.

"Whatever you've got, do it now," Jäger said, between heavy breaths and heavier blinking.

Sulfrax scoffed at the comment from Florence, and turned towards him with a half smirk. He rose one hand and uttered something under his breath. A single bolt of arcane energy flew forward and tore through the Gaian's skull before dispersing into a flurry of sparkles, scattered through a spray of red droplets. The Gaian's head twitched. Ruso looked over in utter shock, and then towards Sulfrax. "The Dungeon will do fine with one prisoner, Rem. I've little patience for insolent whelps," Sulfrax groaned, spinning around and heading towards Hyznia Castle with an even stride. He assumed Rem would follow, almost hoped, actually. The man has roused his interest. Perhaps going off into the unknown for researching purposes wasn't such a bad idea after all.



As soon as Sulfrax and Rem were to approach the main gate, they would be stopped by a collection of Hyznia's most famous soldiers, the holy guard. Men adorned in gold-plated armor with sun-like symbols emblazoned on their breastplates, they were the governing force that surpassed all other soldiers in the Castle city. Equal to arch-mages in rank, but separate from the CMAS on special request of Hyznia's government, they could act as they pleased outside of the dreaded Mage-society's watchful eye. Or so they thought, anyways.

"Master Lauchlin. The king has requested your audience posthaste. There is a visitor here that has prompted the need for your return," One of the five guards announced, eyeing Rem curiously, "You may bring your... Vassle, if you so wish it." Sulfrax paused for a moment thinking the summons over. What the hell could they want with him? He turned and looked to Rem, nodding.

"Very well," He finally answered, making his way towards the Throne room. "Rem, stay close to me. You may bring that beast with you, as long as you can keep it at your side."



Zay nodded lazily as Jager prompted him, watching the electrical display with a smile. Sparkly. They were like the fireworks that he enjoyed in his youth, but more... Dangerous! Zay shrugged the thought and clapped his hands together in front of him. The resulting sound was metallic, and his palms fused together into what looked like a small cannon barrel. "Hopefully that lightning reacts!" Zay shouted, launching a small globe of amorphous, unstable and chaotic silver metal at the electrical ball of energy. The giant lizard was preparing to charge once again, but in the time it took to regain its composure, Jager and Zay's attacks were already upon it.

Dan began hitting the top of the ATV with his arm, but his voice was muffled. The two lasers behind Jager began to whir powerfully, appearing as if they ready to fire. Zay's hands unfused and he turned around to witness the glowing barrels of both laser weapons. "Oh, oh oh!" He said, hopping through his silver goop, towards the ladder that lead off of the ATV's roof. It wasn't the best warning, but hopefully Jager would hear the whirring as well and react accordingly.



As Jenso climbed, and climbed, a body fell behind him with a hole piercing through its head. The hot-headed Diver had tried to stop these snipers moments earlier, only to fall prey to the crafty woman's trick shot. "Good riddance," The woman's voice uttered, turning back towards the ATV with her rifled pointed away from where Jenso was approaching. The man at her side clapped slowly.

"Thatta-girl, Midge... Ah, there's another approaching from the South-west." The man tugged her sleeve and pointed towards Par from afar. "He looks armed, might wanna keep an eye on-" Before he could finish his sentence, the woman spun around and fired at him with deadly accuracy, striking his head right between the eyes. "-Uh... Him." The female hunter cackled triumphantly and turned back to the ATV, waiting for another fool to poke their head out.

As Jenso climbed, his eyes widened in horror as a diver's corpse fell down behind him, and a bolt of blue light erupted from the top of the rock and pierced Par's head. 'Par! NO..!' He thought, as his ally collapsed into the dirt. He glared back at the top as he finally managed to get up. He was close enough to hear the man mention that the woman's name was apparently Midge. Jenso was unsure what their intentions were, but one thing was clear; They were enemies. They were attacking the Junkers and killed his friend with no remorse. There was no more time to waste.

As Jenso reached the top, he dashed for Midge immediately, aiming a quick punch at her side with his right fist as she was focused on the ATV. He took into account the fact that the man was there as well however, prepared in case the man would try something. Despite wanting to end this fight before the Junkers would receive any more casualties, he couldn't let his guard down now. He didn't exactly intend to share Par and the other Diver's fates.

"Huh?" The lazy man mumbled as Jenso rushed past him. He was still laying with his back against the rock face that Midge used for cover. The guy didn't look particularly athletic or energetic at all, but Midge was quick to react despite the fact that Jenso had the jump on her. Her lightning-fast reflexes helped aim her rifle towards Jenso the second he began his approach, but as Jenso's fist struck her ribcage, she fired her gun too early, off into the distance, harmlessly. Midge toppled towards the edge of the plateau helplessly, losing her grip on the high powered arcane rifle in the process. Her weapon rolled towards the rock face that shielding them from the Junker's sights, but her ally didn't move to grab it. "Hey!" he said weakly, gesturing to Jenso with an open hand, "What's your problem?"

"Argh!" Midge grunted, barely stopping herself from tumbling right off the edge of the rock. "What kind of strength is that? It's inhuman!" She insisted, clutching her ribs. Two or three ribs, cracked in a single blow. What was this guy? "Dom, help?!?"

Dom ignored Midge and shrugged. "I aint gunna get my ass beat for nothin' Midge. This wasn't in the bounty header," He announced. "Buddy, we surrender," The man then rose his hands helplessly and shrugged. Midge groan loudly in annoyance and fell limp.

"Useless!"

Jenso glared at Dom as he asked what his problem was. "What do you think?! Your ally has been killing people left and right, including my friend!" He spat out, clenching his fists in anger. He gave the man a confused look as he claimed that he wanted to surrender already. "Uh...well, I guess I'll accept your surrender. But first-" Jenso muttered, taking aim with the palm of his right hand at Midge's sniper rifle. He launched a flame ball from his hand at the weapon, in an attempt to destroy it.

He was unsure if Dom just didn't want to try, or was planning something. Either way, he'd need to keep a close eye on both of them. "So...what bounty header are you talking about?" He asked Dom, as he took a less threatening stance. His eyes shifted from Dom to Midge, and back to Dom. He wasn't letting his guard down completely yet.

Staggering and stalling, that was their job. In the midst of two powerful attacks, though, Jäger had stalled himself. He fell to one knee as a bead of sweat did. The clank of armor against steel was nothing to the titanic roar of the lizzie, destroying mountains of sand with its stride. Jäger breathed heavily: once, twice. His jaw hung low. He paused, pupils traveling upward but head remaining bowed. It walked. There was no killing the thing, certainly not in his condition. And so they stalled, waiting for... something. And that something came, in the form of powerful, engineered buzzing behind him.

It was all the queue Jäger needed to stand swiftly to his greaves. The black rushed before his eyes as blood rushed from his spinal cord to other parts of his body. A pulse of black, and then a blurry image appeared. Small, yellow spheres clashed with a streak of faded blue. Jäger's eyes refocused, and the image before him came to life once again. Swaying a bit to the side, the monk used that momentum to propel himself in the opposite direction. Nearly stumbling, he waved one of his armored limbs to regain balance. His leather tome bounced against stalwart metal between strides. His hurried, loud pace would hopefully bring him to the ladder in time. In time to slam the hatch down before sliding down the ladder into a crouch, elbows grinding against knees.

Ruso was not the only one who was surprised with Sulfrax's decision. The violent end to Florence rendered the more likely one to talk into a worthless corpse. They were already caught, that action didn't befit an archmage. Sulfrax was good with his magics and with word but he was brash, conflicted by emotion. After Rem had seen the hands of the archmage it was safe to assume that the brashness he expressed and the haste he took in his research had cost him. He had paid a price for that power. Was it worth it to him?

------


Rem did follow Sulfrax. After an assassination attempt like that there was no way around it. The mage had gotten himself into more trouble than he wanted. The path was set and he would follow it. This event just got bigger than him. Gaians? Whoever they were they posed a threat to the known kingdoms. Just those two were surprisingly strong, clearly not stronger than Sulfrax but enough so that they were a clear threat. If there were skirmishers out there still doing this in the land it would explain a lot of trouble lately. This was just the beginning. Hopefully some real answers would be pulled out of Ruso.

The guard called Rem a vassle. A smile crept onto his face that he just couldn't help. He'd almost laughed too. Whatever. He made sure to direct the guards to the disabled Ruso outside as if they hadn't noticed the interloper yet.

Senna nuzzled against Rem's sleeve. Rem spoke soft commands to her. "Stay close. Be good." She seemed to understand. A little too much. She snorted at him with dissatisfaction. Senna glanced up at his face and he looked steadily back at her. She broke her gaze away first and complied. The Ironbristle stayed close to him as he followed Sulfrax through Hyznia to meet the king.

The throne room stood at the head of Hyznia Castle square, where the civilians gathered daily to trade and converse. Everyone made way for the Holy Guard and their luggage though, splitting like bugs that scurried away from danger. Nothing stood in their way as they strode towards the massive staircase that lead into Hyznia's main Tower, where the Throne room was held. The Guards ascended hundreds of steps carefully, and entered the tower through a pair of massive iron-set doors. A few twists and turns, and the group was in the king's chamber in a few minutes flat

The room was adorned with red cloths. Most bared Hyznia's golden Lion crest. The Golden Lion was a mascot for their people, a symbol of power, wisdom, and eternal youth. Drapes hung from the ceiling, and light was allowed in through two frescoes behind the tapered throne, each depicting scenes that only the most elite could recite in Hyznia; Grand Arch-Knight Orson's battle against the black dragon Helzmut, and the union between Hyznia and Arcadia at the foot of the royal steps. The carpets sprawled out in all directions, red and blue pigments intertwined to create and uneven webbing that was rather difficult to walk on, and made footsteps particularly loud. To dissuade intruders Sulfrax remembered, carefully keeping his balance.

"You are in the presence of his highness, king Thrallmor the second. It is ordained that disrespect shall be punished without restraint," one of the elite guards bellowed from the king's side. Sulfrax, Rem and Senna had been lead to the throne hastily after their return to the city, and with very little explanation at that. The Holy Guard were concise, punctual, and above all else, a force to obey without question. Even Sulfrax knew this. Despite his unfathomable power, there were many Arch-mages and warriors within the Quadra powers, and even throughout the ranks of no-mans-land, who could challenge or outright match his abilities blow for blow. The holy guard was one of those forces. A unit of arch mages who work with utter fluidity. Although while separated from one another, they were less sightly in combat, there was no other team that worked together quite like them.

"Sir Sulfrax. You've been busy," The king finally spoke, gesturing his overly-jeweled hand towards the visitors, prompting a bow. Sulfrax hesitantly bent forward. It was an almost unnoticeable gesture. "We're lucky to have you here so soon after your most recent departure. I haven't even had a chance to speak with you about what happened in Arcadia-"

"Fools with power, far too boisterous for their own good. I was removed from the Scattered Shades Project for ill-supported reason. They were afraid of me, or envious- Whatever it was, it will not affect the relations between Hyznia and Arcadia, I assure you. Scattered Shades is no longer any concern to you-"

"Oh but I'm afraid it is, Sulfrax," The king interrupted, gesturing his head towards the shadows. A figure made his way out and towards the group, aided by a royal guard in platinum armor. The king nodded, but caught Rem's presence a little later than he'd wished to. "But before sir Luke provides an explanation for my bold claim, I'd like to know exactly who that is, and why he commands and ironbristle so carelessly in my presence?" The newcomer from the shadows stared at Rem as the king said this, perturbed by a memory. Where had he seem that man before? Sulfrax glanced at him as well, but turned his head towards the third guest cautiously. It was him! What the hell was that monster of a man doing here??

"You a diver, buddy?" Luke Juuno asked roughly, looking down on Rem with his overbearing presence.



A thunderous boom almost upset the balance of everyone on their feet. Both cannons fired simultaneously, cracking the very air around them as oxygen and nitrogen atoms were annihilated into raw arcane energy by the sheer force of each beam. The Lizzy, previously stalled further by Zay and Jager's previous assault, rushed towards the ATV once again, just in time for both lasers to delve deep into its relentless maw. A shrill, but short-lived screech echoed past the boom that each laser created. The lizard's armor was torn asunder from the inside out as each laser passed through the roof of its mouth. Brain matter and bloodied flesh spewed upwards, and the Lizard veered a sharp left. It wasn't a clean collapse though.

"Shit!" Zay roared, grabbed Jager and suddenly surrounding the both of them in a layer of liquid steel. The darkness that followed blocked off what had happened, but there were muffled sounds of rending metal and earth. Zay kept the barrier up, regardless of what Jager Might've objected with, lowering it only after the sounds had stopped.

The reveal was somewhat horrifying. The lizzard's carcus lay immobile in the desert beyond them, but where the ATV once stood, there was merely a large patch of torn dirt. Thankfully, Haley stood stalwart near the edge of the small cliff, overlooking the damage with her back turned to the two of them. Buttercup was nowhere to be seen, nor was the ATV. "What the hell?" Zay whispered, a little too afraid to go over and get a closer look at the scene himself.



Dom shrugged as Midge's gun was torn asunder by the newcomer's fireball. Wasn't his weapon. Hell, he preferred to be up close and personal. Midge on the other hand, shrieked in terror. "NOOOO!" That was he favorite gun- Well, he only gun. She'd even named it and everything! How dare he just destroy it like that! Then Jenso asked about the bounty head, and Dom being the nice fella that he was, nodded happily and answered his question without a single issue.

"A bounty header from some Arcadian official. Really precise stuff, didn't catch the guy's name, and the bounty document doesn't reveal much more than what I could tell ya. It just detailed a 'clean up' job, that's all, man," Dom explained, to Midge's shock.

"DOM! DON'T TELL HIM THAT!"

Jenso listened closely to Dom's words. They confirmed Jenso's thoughts about Yvette even more. 'So the higher-ups in Arcadia want Yvette and her men dead? She's definitely gotta be working for Luke, then...they must have found out somehow and want her dead.' Jenso thought, looking at Dom. He was unsure what to do with these two. He could try to capture them and take them to Diver's Paradise, but that would just be a waste of time. And along with that, there were many things that could happen on the way back. "Alright, thanks for telling me." He responded to Dom. He didn't believe that Dom was holding back any more info.

"Look.." Jenso began, and paused for a moment. "Now that your sniper rifle's destroyed, you guys won't be able to shoot at people from afar anymore. I'm willing to let you guys go, if you stop coming after us. I suggest you take my offer, or you'll end up regretting it." He said, turning his gaze over at Midge. She didn't seem to be a Ki-user, judging from her response to his attack earlier. As such, his strike was bound to have cracked some of her ribs. "I know it might be difficult to climb down from this rock with cracked ribs, so I'm willing to carry your uh...friend..if needed, if she doesn't try to, yknow, stab or shoot me. Do we have a deal?"

Dom shot Midge a glance. "Uh, yea. Ok there, man. We'll forget about this bounty entirely. No big deal," He assured Jenso, raising his hands up. "You don't have to help us or anything though, we'll make our way down on our own. Don't you worry about it." Dom waved Jenso away and rose to his feet lazily. Midge was groaning angrily, glaring at Jenso with a pair of bloodshot purple eyes. Dom knelt by her side and lowered his head to her ear, but her expression didn't change. She huffed angrily, and dom helped her to her feet. He then turned to Jenso and smiled. "Once she's feelin' a little better, I'll help her down,"

Meanwhile, Yvette, Onweer, and Brian were still stuck inside of the wrecked ATV. "The shots stopped," Brian said quietly. Yvette nodded, looking between her own hands. She was conjuring up a large rifle of her own, too afraid to approach the weapons chest as it was on the other side of the ATV's back windows. "Are you going to.."

"Quiet Brian, I'm trying to concentrate. A weapon this big and powerful isn't easy to maintain," She snapped. "Just another minute.."

Jäger descended the ladder. His armored greaves hung carelessly, having difficulty grasping the rungs. The lightning mage skipped two, three at a time half for speed and half by accident. It was difficult to focus when his armor hit the sand. Jäger took to sprinting in images of black on the desert. He saw bright stars float by in his visions, but he kept running. Finally, he was able to catch up to Zay but not without immediate incident. The quicksilver mage grasped an arm just as he had caught up to him. The action was so swift, Jäger had no time to react as he was dragged away from his path and into a shield of liquid steel. Jäger took this opportunity to collapse into the dune on bended knee. He punched the sand lightly, armored plate heaving with his expanding lungs. It rained below him, droplets escaping bangs of hair. All was dark in the throes of metal and flesh.

The shield lifted to reveal little. The ATV was gone, not crushed. It appeared Haley was the only immediate survival. Jäger's sunken eyes froze, pale sand, pale iris, pale skin. His shaking hand dragged across his breastplate, starting at the base of the neck. It travelled to his shoulder, then to the hip, to the other side, the other shoulder now, and back to the neck. Finally, the skidding finger made its way to the center of his being before muttering something low.

"I am made humble before the will of Kho. My strength is preserved by grace. Thus, my journey continues."

His neck swiveled. Jäger's face was caked in sand, made adhesive by the gratuitous sweat that covered it. The lightning mage's heart finally began to slow down. He wiped away the grains with his free hand, gauntlet swiping the dirt from his face. Blinking, his pale, blue eyes met Zay's.

"I owe you my life, or your own to defend."

His gauntlet pushed against wet sand. The momentary rest had given him strength to stand and pose with firm posture. His eyes now transfixed upon Haley as he walked, leaving Zay to his own words. He strode to Haley's position and brought a closed fist against his armored chest. His fingers shook, but his salute remained steady.

"What are your orders?"

Haley looked over the scene before her in horror. The ATV was flipped onto its back, and through the front window, she could see the driver through a slurry of red specks that coated the inside of his windshield. He wasn't moving, and his head looked contorted to one side. It'd been broken, and with the driver's life, Haley's hope had left this world. "Orders?" Haley murmured, searching for Buttercup. "Orders..." She turned to Jager and offered him a fake smile and a nod, but turned back towards the wreckage eagerly hoping for a figure to reveal itself. But when she noticed the golem's bottom half near the edge of the toppled ATV, sliced clean from the rest of his body, her hope for his survival disappeared. Regardless, she remained standing at attention. Half of their platoon was wiped out in an instant, but they still had their ally ATV's at their backs... Or did they? they should've caught up by now! Where the hell were they? Were there more giant lizards? Damn it all! Haley spun towards Jager and pointed back towards Arcadia. "Scout the ATV's wreckage. Check if Dan is alive. If he can pilot the ATV, we'll flip the vehicle and search for our comrades. If we can't make contact with them by sunset... We'll return to Arcadia in the morning," Haley ordered, eyeing Zay. "Zay, scout the environment, please. Make sure no more of those, Things... Attack us."

Zay shook the thought of his own demise and glance back up at Haley, after mulling over Jager's words. That was quite some gratitude. "Yea, on it," Zay blurted, jogging over to the highest dune in sight, not too far away from the site of the incident.

Haley looked at Jager with a reaffirming smile and nodded again. "Good work with the lizard, Jager."

Everything in the throne room was placed with purpose. Whether for aesthetic, historical or practical reasons the grandeur of the room befit a king. However powerful the king himself was remained unknown to Rem. The personal guards who surrounded him however carried quite the renown.

Prompted by the aid at the king's side, Rem knelt to one knee and bowed his head. He motioned Senna close and brushed a reassuring hand against her back. She was very uncomfortable in the presence of so many armed men. If one were familiar as Rem was to the nature of her kin they would understand she was scowling at them. Thankfully she resisted the urge to growl or pace. Instead her eyes darted back and forth, watching for threats.

King Thrallmor and Sulfrax spoke forwardly to one another. It was clear they had some familiarity judging by Sulfrax's ability to interrupt the king with no backlash. Another individual was escorted into the room but there was little time to pay attention to him. He was becoming the subject of the conversation but the king bore sudden interest in Rem and asked. "But before sir Luke provides an explanation for my bold claim, I'd like to know exactly who that is, and why he commands an ironbristle so carelessly in my presence?"

Rem raised his head and answered, showing the respect he could to the most powerful man in the kingdom. "Liege, my name is Rem Vano. I am a mage, junior among many when it comes to power. I have used my strength to carry on my mentor's work of uncovering the secrets of No Man's Land." He turned his face to Senna and stroked her bristles down. "This is Senna. So long as no threat is caused to myself or her she shall remain calm, especially in your presence. Please understand that she is no mindless beast. So carelessness is not mine intent."

The shadow in the background made himself known, interrupting any further explanation. "You a diver, buddy?" There was a carefree over-confidence to his demeanor. Dressed strangely in a land of armor and robes.

"A diver?" Rem seemed to think that over a moment. "Technically. Yes. My reasons aren't particularly personal but I take them with full purpose." He stood back up on his feet and kept a hand on Senna. What was the king's reason for bringing this man and Sulfrax together? The Scattered Shades.. the project Sulfrax mentioned. The king wasn't ready to withdraw his interest. This man had to be the key to King Thrallmor's next move.

"Right..." Jenso simply responded to Dom, before beginning his climb down. He was unsure what the two were planning. For all he knew, Dom could have whispered something to Midge. It wouldn't surprise him. He didn't trust either of them, despite how nice Dom was acting. There was a good chance that he and Midge would still be going after the Junkers, but at the very least they wouldn't be able to attack from a long distance anymore without the sniper rifle. That's what Jenso believed, anyways. He simply wasn't the kind of person to try to kill people who surrendered.

As he climbed down, he looked up every now and then in case Dom or Midge would try to shoot him down while he was distracted. If he were to safely make it down to the ground, he'd dash towards the location of the Junkers. He tried to use the many rocks as cover in his approach. He was unsure how they would respond if they saw him again, and he didn't want to take any chances.

"Understood, Ma'am."

Jäger was curt, overwhelmed by scenery. His training hadn't prepared him for such a desolate situation. He believed himself capable to stop such a disaster from occurring. It appeared the world and its creatures were much larger than described. More powerful than intended. No words or drawings written on pieces of paper had made him capable. No opponent in Arcadia or Saiga trained him for this. His attention faded to round his shoulder. He surveyed the wreckage, its bloody ends and marred insides. The husk of the titanic creature loomed over them like the hindsight of apocalypse.

"Good work with the lizard, Jager."

Jäger's eye twitched. He grit his teeth. He gripped his fists as his knuckles bled. Though, his fury knew no words. His respect for authority was greater than the scar upon his pride. By just the tiniest, slimmest, fraction of hairs. Hairs floated in gusts of sand and wind. They were ripped from the deceased, flying past a silent monk. He turned quietly from Haley, unable to recognize the comment with anything but hate. A little for her words, but mostly for himself.

The lightning monk would scout the area of wreckage, searching for any signs of life. He kept to himself in his watch, one hand upon the leather tome tied to his belt. If there was any person, whole or dismembered, he would bring them to a row. They would be buried in any case, even if Jäger had to fight ten more of the beasts. Their corpses wouldn't be left to be touched and soiled by the living. As he stepped into the red, red cockpit, he was reminded of the pilot's voice on their journey out. Having a memory that could no longer be revisited was new to Jäger. Did it make him stronger, or did it burden his soul? Right now, it all seemed muddled. Though, so did everything.

King Thrallmor narrowed his eyes at Sulfrax after rem explained himself, clearly unsatisfied with the man's explanation. Sulfrax kissed his teeth angrily and stomped between Rem and Luke, staring up at the tall man to match his presence. Luke met Sulfrax's eyes and cocked his head back. "Can I help-"

"How dare you set foot in this Castle!" Sulfrax shouted, pointing at Luke's chest with a threatening glance. "And with such shameless disrespect!"

"Disrespect? Oi, Lauchlin, calm yourself-"

"Don't." Sulfrax backed away and looked at Rem, then back at the king. "Thrallmor, this man is currently under my watch. You may trust that he is not a danger to you or your people. I will make sure of that personally-"

"Hey! How 'bout a little fuckin' courtesy wizard boy!" Sulfrax didn't waste any time in stomping back towards Luke with his right hand raised, and covered in a thick layer of arcane energy that crackled outwards like electricity. The King watched his display fearfully, knowing full well that the men before him could potentially level the entire tower. It plagued him to known that his own magical abilities were non-existent.

"Watch your tongue you insidious little-"

"Enough!!" The King shouted, prompting his guard to strengthen their stances. Sulfrax slowly turned his face towards the king with his magic still at the ready. Luke tilted his head slightly and huffed a short laugh.

Try something Luke thought. Sulfrax reluctantly pulled his arm back and scoffed at Luke's arrogant smile. "I'm tryin' to be civil here, bud,"

"And civility will overcome your outbursts, sir Sulfrax!" Thrallmor assured adamantly. The king coughed into his fist as silence filled the room once again. "I will allow Rem to stay-"

"What is this about?" Sulfrax snapped, cutting the king off. Luke sighed and rubbed his temples. the King cleared his throat and glanced at Luke, waiting for his explanation. Luke exchanged this look, surprised that he'd been informally given the floor. A nervous shiver crept up his spine and he gulped hard on his own spit. Sulfrax turned to him again with angry eyes. "Well?"

"Ah," Luke breathed. He scratched his head and thought for a moment. "I uh... Me and my er- Constituents... Have reason to believe that the CMAS is making some serious moves to not only take full control of Arcadia's government, but exterminate Divers altogether," Luke paused, but not because he was finished speaking. A series of chatters and gasps filled the chamber, but the King remained silent. "Eh! Quiet down!" Luke shouted, quelling the guard with ease. Sulfrax stared doubtfully at Luke despite his announcement, and then back to Rem.

"Luke has come here to ask aid of Hyznia's forces in the coming weeks. He plans to uproot Sydney and his fellow counsel-men from the CMAS head," The King interjected. Luke sighed contently, happy to know that he wouldn't have to explain anything else. Surely the king would take it from here.

"The CMAS? Planning to kill off every known Diver? Forgive me if that sounds utterly preposterous." Sulfrax spat. Luke grit his teeth and eyed the mage.

"It's fucking true, Sulfrax. Those assholes marched right into Diver's Paradise with two platoons of Mages while I was away. Hell, I think they have somebody on the inside of my guys as well! Me and Alvios-"

"Alvios and I," Sulfrax cut in with an inappropriate grammar lesson. Luke grunted.

"We were both guided away from the Paradise by Tinon right before the attack. Not only that, but- Uh.." Luke paused and shifted uncomfortably, "When I was uh... Out sabotaging the Scattered Shades survey group, they only had 12 members. Most of them looked like Rookies, and their vehicle was an out-dated Z-ATV prototype." Sulfrax's eyes widened slightly, mostly due to his annoyance that Luke had outright admitted to sabotaging his project. Then again, it wasn't under his command anymore. It wasn't really his to defend. "Yea, and Yvette was leading the group herself. I think Sydney sent them out to die. They knew that Yvette was a spy for the Divers, and that I wouldn't pass up leading-"

"Yvette was a spy?" Sulfrax cut in.

"Yeah. We kept in contact after I left Arcadia, even after she'd made a name for herself. That shiny new title didn't make Yvette to abandon her friends."

"Ironic that you'd speak of abandonment, Lucas."

"I'm not gettin' back into this shit-"

"Then don't prod at it so blatantly!" Sulfrax shouted, stomping the ground. Luke's eyebrows tensed up before he went on. The man breathed deeply and crossed his arms to conceal his chest's rapid thumping.

"I think that Sydney's aiming for a lot more than just wiping out me and my Divers. This shit's gotten hectic. I aint even sure who I can trust anymore. The only reason I came to Thrallmor is because of Hyznia's reputation outside of the Quadra powers. You guys respect Divers, hell, Hyznia is practically a Haven for Divers who don't know about the Paradise. Alvios thought so too." Sulfrax thought over what Luke had said carefully. Although he harbored a particular grudge against the self proclaimed head Diver, made obvious through his demeanor, he was not fond of the idea that the CMAS was planning to wipe out Divers at large, especially after meeting one with an interesting pool of knowledge to share. It was akin to burning books, and that was a crime punishable by death as far as Sulfrax was concerned. "I sent Alvios to check up on Yvette. We didn't end up killin' one another like that fancy scumbag wanted. If you don't believe me, I'm sure Yvette will be perfectly fuckin' willing to confirm everything I've said here," Luke said in a relatively calm manner. Sulfrax nodded. The King looked to Sulfrax and cleared his throat, preparing to speak.

"The reason I've called you here, Sulfrax, is because I believe that your ejection from the Scattered Shades project falls in line with what Luke has said here today. They needed somebody obedient to lead project S-S, like Joshua. Somebody who would not speak out against their travesties. In addition, my own spies within CMAS can confirm that they have already sent out a second Survey group, totaling 20 men and women who's abilities and experience far surpass the nameless peons that took part in 'Survey group Alpha's' voyage. Their moves are suspicious to no end, and if Luke is correct, then they will no doubt reach a point of uprooting all current governing forces, including myself and my guard. I'm not sure why any of this is happening, but if Sydney is truly behind it all, then that man cannot be allowed to continue his duty as the head of CMAS." King Thrallmor's words didn't seem to strike Sulfrax as deeply as they had struck his guard. The armored guardians, once a holy symbol of the kingdom's strength and individuality, seemed to crumble like expired sentinels. Sulfrax turned to the Kind and nodded again.

"I believe that your words, and his, ring true, Thrallmor." Sulfrax agreed.

"I've decided to ally our kingdom with the Divers, behind the back of Hyznia's CMAS branch."

"As you should."

"Will you stand with us?" Sulfrax didn't immediately respond to the king's inquiry, instead turning to Rem with a curious smile.

"Rem, will you accompany me to Illon? I've reason to believe our presence would be appreciated there," Sulfrax asked forcefully.

"That is not an answer!" The king shouted, demanding an alternative.

"I am not under any allegiance, Thrallmor. But you would rest easy knowing that we share an enemy, yes? Take that, then. But know that I have other concerns to attend to. I will discover Illon's Allegiance for you in the meantime-"

"They do not have intention to ally with Hyznia!"

"Oh? Spying on all of your sister nations, are you?" Sulfrax mocked. "Come, Rem." Luke rushed into Sulfrax's path with his arms still crossed. Sulfrax stopped, but didn't turn around.

"Sulfrax, we need you to stay here and discuss a plan of action-"

"I've other concerns to attend to," Sulfrax repeated, turning to face thrallmor again. The king eyed him irritably, but knew that there was not much he could rationally do to stop Sulfrax from wandering off on his own. "You would be wise to have your men retrieve the assassin that I left frozen at the foot of this Castle's hill. To the south," Sulfrax abruptly advised. "Come, Rem!" Sulfrax awaited Rem's decision. Would he stay with the King? Or would he follow Sulfrax on his journey to Illon? Luke eyed Rem as well, waiting for the man to pick his path, but silently urging that he stay with the king's men.



As Jager sifted through the debris and crept towards the now jammed-open cockpit door, a voice called out to him from the back of the iron tomb. "Jager," It heaved, weakly. The voice was a familiar tone. Aged, but not burdened by elderly drawls. It was Dan's, and he was laying diagonally near the back of the ATV, impaled through his lower abdomen by a shard of metal that was torn from the ceiling. "Hey... Buddy..." He struggled between breaths to contact Jager, hoping that the man would notice his pleas for help. The Cockpit might have seemed tempting, but the pilot was most certainly dead. His head was facing Jager, covered with a thick protective helmet, and barely hanging from a strip of flesh as blood still welled from the man's neck. "C'mere..." Dan groaned, coughing twice before going silent again.



When Jenso hit the bottom of the giant plateau tipped rock, the two bounty hunters exchanged a happy glance. Midge laughed to herself and patted Dom's back. Dom chuckled and lowered her against the rock-face that hid them from the ATV, and by extension, Jenso, who was not making his way towards them. "Give me a few seconds," Dom said. Midge nodded and bit her tongue impatiently, not saying a word.

As Jenso approached the wrecked ATV, Onweer peeked out of the vehicle's side window at the sound of foot-steps, only to have her head completely blown to pieces by yet another stream of arcane energy, originating from the rock that Jenso had just come down from. Brian shrieked with Yvette at his side, but the commanding woman remained silent, not clutching a large weapon with two massive spheres attached to it above the base of the handle. Jenso was now hidden behind a larger rock that broke the line of sight between him on the hunters, but reaching the ATV like this would be difficult, to say the least.

"Where's that no-good Diver shit-head!" Midge yelled, wielding a new rifle that outclassed her old weapon completely. It was lined with several glowing ventricles that flooded with arcane energy as the weapon charged its next shot. The entire thing was over 4 feet long, but despite this, the injured hunter Midge was able to wield it with amazing accuracy, and no weapon sway. "COME ON OUT, FIRE-BOY!"

Dom sat patiently at Midge's side, humming a tune to himself. Go figure.

The group held a lengthy and heated discussion that could very well sway balance between the kingdoms. Something to change balance in the Quadra Powers was exactly what Sulfrax had been pondering about before their lives had been threatened. Yet here he was prepared to ignore a personal request from King Thrallmor.

Sulfrax Lauchlin. You know something you're not letting on. Rem smiled as both sides pondered his decision in the matter. After a moment of silent thought he made up his mind. It wasn't as hard as he imagined when asked by both parties.

"Apologies, liege." He turned to Luke. "And honored guest of the king. I am but a humble mage and a researcher. My place is not on the battlefield but in the wild and with my kin, procuring valuable knowledge. I have faith in Master Lauchlin's stubbornness. I will journey with him. We might even recover something to win this conflict in our efforts. Have hope in us." Rem bowed his head down to waist level and turned to follow Sulfrax out. Senna followed suit, staying close to his side.

As they left earshot of the king, his guards and guests, he leaned over to speak to Sulfrax. "I don't know what scheme you have this time but I'm interested."

Jenso's feet screeched to a halt as another blast of Arcane energy struck near the ATV and Onweer collapsed to the ground. He took cover behind the boulder, glaring up at the rock. He clenched his fists in sheer anger. He had given the two bounty hunters a second chance, and they wasted it. He wasn't going to hold anything back. Flames gathered in his right hand as he weaved through the stones, left and right. He made sure to keep moving as he made his way back to the rock while trying to avoid being noticed.

He launched several fireballs into the air while he kept moving from his right palm, aimed so they would crash down into the hunters from above. He was unsure if his attack would even strike either of them, but at the very least he believed it would keep them busy long enough for him to move to the back side of the rock. A whip made out of flames solidified into his left hand. He threw it upward as it's end wrapped around one of the many rocks at the side of the plateau. Pulling it twice, it pulled him upward with great speed.

Thrallmor looked as if he were about to urge Sulfrax to stay once again, but as Rem spoke up, the King caught his tongue and looked away as the two mages left his throne-room in a hurry. Luke kissed his teeth. "Told ya he wouldn't listen," Luke gawked. Thrallmor let out a long, wheezing sigh in response. "What's all this stuff regarding Illon, kingsly?" Thrallmor glared at Luke as he used that repugnant nickname to address him. But he didn't call the Diver out on it. By now, the king had had his fair share of conflict. Albeit reluctantly, the King's lips parted, but no words escaped at first. A few seconds of silence passed. Luke's eyes widened, expecting an answer.

"Illon's role in all of this is... Complicated," Thrallmor insisted.

"Hit me. Until Alvios meets with us, I'm not goin' anywhere," Luke rebutted. Thrallmor Sighed, and began to explain the details of Illon to the curious Diver as concisely as he could...



Sulfrax waited until the two of them were completely outside of Thallmor's keep before he offered Rem any sort of response. "I wouldn't call it a scheme, Rem. I've merely a favor to redeem from an old friend in Illon. A war is not won merely with courage and hope, after all," Sulfrax explained. He paused as they reached the bottom of the holy steps and looked out into the city square cautiously. "Thrallmor will not hear out any of my 'schemes' if I stay with him and his counsel, but truth be told, without the Aid of another Nation, a war with Arcadia will be short, and costly. The king would not like to acknowledge this, I'm sure."

When he stopped speaking again, he gestured Rem to follow closely as he darted his way into the crowding of civilians as a group of CMAS officials made their way towards the two of them. "I don't doubt that the CMAS already suspect insurgency, either. Look around. Even with so many CMAS traitors, there still remains a handful of loyal peons eager to relay even the slightest hint of treachery to Sydney. Eugh.." Sulfrax darted left, then right, then right again, trying to fade into the crowd seamlessly. It proved to be rather impossible with Senna following so closely behind. "Perhaps you should have left your beast on the outskirts. Curse my poor foresight!"



Midge looked for Jenso behind the rocks, but the man proved far too fast for his exceptional aim. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! I can't lock onto him!" She whined, darting her gun from left to right. She fired two shots, both of which tore through stone but didn't even come close to hitting Jenso. When fireballs starting rising, she pulled her gun back. "What in blazes?" Before she or Dom could react though, flames encompassed their crows nest and completely blocked their vision. Dom was hit dead on, and his arm was overtaken by fire.

"OH MY GOD!" He squealed, dropping and rolling in a panic. "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD I'M ON FIRE OH MY GOD"

"Quit yelling Dom!" Midge insisted. But Dom kept squealing like a useless hog.

Just then, as the flames engulfed the plateau, Brian nudged Yvette's shoulder. "They're surrounded by some kind of magic!" He whispered, "Flames, I think?" Yvette nodded, and inched towards the front window. She slowly moved past Cecil's corpse, and took aim at the large protruding rock-face. Just as Brian said, it was covered in flames. "I should have noticed them sooner, I'm so sorry!" Brian apologized. Yvette hushed him and aimed her weapon carefully.

"It doesn't matter now," She whispered, pulling the trigger of her gun. "They're dead."

The barrel of Yvette's weapon let out a single sphere of swirling blue energy at a high velocity. It shrieked loudly as it tore through the air, heading towards the rock that Dom and Midge were camping from. What kind of weapon was that? Well, everyone nearby would find out in a few seconds, if they weren't dead by then.

Meanwhile, nearly a mile to the southwest, Alvios was sprinting through the rockfields, attempting to find Yvette in the hellish terrain of rocks and gravel.

Jenso took note of Dom's loud screaming as his whip pulled him up. It seemed that his attack hit one of them at least. But then, he heard the loud shrieking noise and saw the sphere surrounded by blue energy that headed for the plateau. He was unsure where it came from, but the direction that it appeared from made him believe that it had to be the Junkers. Right now though, he needed to move. He didn't know how powerful the sphere was, and he certainly didn't want to be anywhere nearby when it went off.

He absorbed the flames of his flame whip. He ended up falling right beside the plateau, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He aimed his feet at the rock wall as a burst of flames erupted from them, launching him downward towards a group of rocks further away. He spun around in mid-air near the ground, landing on his feet. He took cover behind a large boulder.