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Dante was a kindred spirit when it came to sharing the experiences Fire had displayed upon watching the videos, although, he'd learnt to stomach the sight a little better and chose instead to glance away, "Being a major event, it's seen as a good way for the smaller vendors to improve on their profits, although I disagree with killing creatures for sport, it's also helping out the little guy..." he closed the screen, "A lot of people are also quite afraid of what resides outside the citadel walls, so to see that these creatures can be defeated, or rather, that there are people who are capable of eliminating such beasts...then that puts a lot of fears to rest...It's not exactly an excuse I agree with, but I can understand where they're coming from..."

He gave her chance to calm herself before answering her question regarding payment, "We get enough to survive, but I think it's to help inspire us to work harder for our reward," He smiled, "He's provided a lot for the gang, we have a roof over our heads, access to clean water and food, even the TV and laptops were an early reward for our efforts," he couldn't really fault the man, the act of scratching another's back for one's benefits was clearly in place here - and it was working. His smile faded a little when she asked his thoughts on Lord Raven's power being overthrown, but his reply was simple, "In all honesty, I'd rather the Devil I know than the Devil I have yet to meet..." There was no saying that if Lord Raven was ever dethroned that the new ruler would be just as bad, if not worse... Admittedly, a new leader could also turn out to be a nice individual...but there was no guarantee... Lord Raven was a reasonable ruler and for the time being, Dante was content to work under the man's rule.


The sound of panicked monitors and that of the glass chamber splintering aroused Ngozi from the limbo that he'd been left in from the serum's effects... His soft, amber eyes opened slowly, blinking the sleep from his vision as blurred movement drew his gaze towards the figure as it struggled to rise and then approach his cell...

Hearing the soft impact of the female hitting the ground, he gave a groan, exhaling quietly as he watched her reach out, then closing his eyes as he felt her hand brush his face; still in chains that now felt too heavy to move, Ngozi would watch in silence as she regarded him with wary eyes. He considered himself a friend to prey and saw similarities in the female which seemed to spur a feeling that he'd only felt once before with another humanoid being...

"You are...friend?" her face was becoming more visible to him now and as his vision strengthened, he started to attempt to move, bringing his large hand up to find hers, "I am weakened...my blood simmers...burns..." Although upon the surface, Ngozi appeared to have overcome the effects of the serum, it was clear it still maintained a hold on him...

He would not stop her freeing him from the shackle around his neck, but as she reached for those around his wrists, he paused, attempting to rise, but only managing to roll onto his side, "I am...dangerous." this would answer her question as to why he stopped her, but not when she said she wished to see more... "You would free...a Monster?" It was clear she could not quite fathom the dangers of releasing him, but he would gently take hold of her hand so she couldn't destroy any more of the chains.

They would perhaps sit there in silence, Ngozi now able to rise enough to lean his head against the bars, he didn't trust himself and felt that the female was safest on the other side, but he would keep a gentle hold of her hand should she still wish for comfort,

When Ritzu returned, depending on the scientist's reaction, Ngozi would remain caged, his amber eyes narrowing at the woman's presence and watching her carefully.

Aware that their existence was for a predetermined purpose - one that would most likely end in a fatal encounter, Ngozi would fight the weakness and demand that the girl be excluded from the plan, "She is like a child." he frowned, "You would feed a child...to wolves?" he had noted Ritzu's guilt before and knew it would be just as hard to utilise the girl for the sport of the Owls if she was made aware of it... "I have made peace with my gods...I am willing to fight and fall for your Master's blood sport...but I will not allow you to send a child into battle." At this point, he would be standing, his body hunched over due to the chains keeping him low,

Depending on Ritzu's reaction to this, Ngozi would consent to the scientist's continued experiments, provided she promised that the girl would be protected. Eventually as the tests would continue, his 'human side' would become more quieted, whilst the beast grew stronger, he would still bow to Ritzu's order, but to any other that should approach, he would become feral and wild and ready to strike out should they get too close...

When it came to the day of the Festival, he would travel with the others and be silent when caged...waiting and ready for the time he would be released...


Dante would make good time, arriving early enough to allow those that had chosen to travel with him the opportunity to wander around before finding their place on the rooftops in preparation for the Hunt to begin.

He would meet with Silver in the agreed location - where other betters would also gather to place their bets - he wore a grey, hooded cloak, but that was more for security than fashion. Jesse and Tala who had been ordered to stay with Dante also wore cloaks, but their colours were varied.

"It's too hot..." Tala fumbled with the hood of his black cloak, dropping his arms down as Jesse, who had chosen to wear a bright, red cloak turned, pulling the collar out so there was more airflow around the male's neck, "Where are the others?" his eyes glanced across Fire who had flanked them closely by Dante's command, then he looked away,

"Logir and Renn have gone on ahead," Jesse couldn't help but take note of the amount of guards that had been posted to protect the citizens, "Estel and Anji should already be in place. Now, keep your face hidden." She pulled up the mask which he had deliberately allowed to slip below his chin, "We're supposed to be incognito." It had been agreed that although the prize was tempting, nobody would be taking part in the hunt... Partially because Dante didn't agree with the sport, but also because their leader couldn't stand to lose anyone to the beasts or stray bullets that often claimed the lives of those taking part.

When Silver and Dante finally met, he would lower his mask and greet the male with a bow before glancing to Fire; "A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, My Lord, I hope your bets are fruitful and that we can do business again sometime in the future?" Dante's intention was to keep the conversation brief so they could slip away into the crowds before anyone really took notice... He pretended to pass something to the man, claiming his own prize in the motion before nodding to Fire to make her move.

Once the exchange was made, Dante would bow once again, then lead Jesse and Tala up to the rooftops, making a quick observation to ensure everyone was safely out of the way before getting himself comfortable and drawing out a book to help pass the time.

Tala's eyes would scan the scene now, he'd settled himself on a barriered ledge, close to Dante, yet with a good view overlooking the centre of town where the Hunters would gather.

"They have so many entries this year." Jesse sat beside him, splitting a roll with the male before leaning against the barrier, "Let's just hope they put on a good show...I know I would have." she of course had considered entering in the past, but aware that Dante frowned upon the sport, she had reluctantly resisted the urge to add her name to the list.

"...Why couldn't we enter again?" Drawing a pair of binoculars from his cloak, Tala scrutinised the Hunters, taking a bite of the roll in his free hand before holding the morsel in his partially open mouth as his gaze fell upon a familiar figure amongst the ranks...

"Dante didn't want to upset Ice by allowing us to enter." Jesse frowned, still unsure as to whether or not she'd liked the female, "Said she was quite shocked by the video he'd shown her and...are you listening?" she'd noticed that Tala wasn't actually chewing and that his hand - the one holding the roll - had dropped into his lap. "Tala!" she nudged his arm and the male jumped, having clearly been distracted by what he'd seen, "What's wrong with you?"

"...It's Cyrus." Stunned to see his old comrade had entered, Tala couldn't tear his eyes from the man, but he held out the binoculars so Jesse could see for herself.

"Oh-ho! Now we're talking! Do you wanna make a bet as to how long he'll last?" she laughed, earning a glare from the youth; she had of course recalled in her mind the events of her previous meeting with the man, how he seemed to have been more than a little negligent in his care for the male... This was just proof to her that Cyrus had moved on with his life and forgotten all about Tala.

"But why would he take part?" he couldn't understand... "He has nothing to gain from winning..."

"Beats me." Jesse shrugged, unconcerned. "Hey Look! They're getting ready to start!"

From behind them, Dante tore an eye from his book, looking over to the centre where the Hunters were drawing their weapons, Moments later, after a brief welcome and introduction from Lord Wolf, the first Gong sounded and the entrants scattered as traps containing the low-leveled beasts were released.

Cyrus had allowed the other hunters to get ahead of him, taking a moment to casually check his weapons before stepping towards the first walkway. The initial wave of rats were easy pickings and his aim was perfect. Anything that leapt towards him was eliminated quickly and painlessly with a single shot.

Tala couldn't help but stand up as the man disappeared from view - with someone he knew in the arena, he didn't want to lose sight of them and his movement drew Jesse's attention from a tall, handsome chap she's bet upon in the line up. "Hey! Where you going?" she frowned as he stepped nimbly past her, "Tala!" She pushed herself to her feet, catching his arm but letting go as he glanced back at her with narrowed eyes. "Yo Dante, Keep my seat okay?" She frowned as her leader waved her off without lifting his eyes from his book.

The initial wave had only claimed one rather foolish hunter who was clearly new to the profession - he'd decided to take on a horde of goblins which had overpowered him and bludgeoned him to death with his own weapon, but it was at the sound of the second gong that released the wolves and bears that the event really got started.

Tala flanked Cyrus from the rooftops, watching as he chose to find a place at height in order to eliminate a bumbling bear which had charged blindly at two other hunters and barreled them into a side street. Once again, his shot was a one-hit-kill, Cyrus believed that if something had to die, it should be done quickly - and he didn't disappoint.

"Tala! Wait!" Jesse stifled a growl as the youth wove between seated observers in order to get a good view of his comrade as he dispatched yet another enemy. "Why is this guy so important to you?" she breathed, leaning forward with her hands on her knees as Tala finally came to a stop.

The youth didn't answer, but his composure stiffened as he spotted a pack of dire wolves rushing towards the man's location. He knew there was nothing he could do, but knowing full well that a pack worked together to achieve a kill, he couldn't help but feel some concern...

Already at height, Cyrus had an advantage over the pack, he took a step back on the small roof, stifling a yelp as one of the tiles slipped and he fell, sliding down towards the pack as it surrounded the bear.

"No!" Tala lurched forward, letting out a snarl as Jesse gripped his arm and spun him away from the edge, towering over him as he stumbled backwards, landing with a thud,

"You Can't get involved!" she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring down at the youth before stepping aside as the male scrambled forward to watch, "For one, you didn't register, secondly, you could get yourself killed!" she reached down and gripped the back of his cloak just incase he decided to try again...

Luckily, Cyrus had been able to stop himself from falling and now hung just metres above the pack, it was from here he drew his backup gun and proceeded to take aim, initially to scare the pack backwards, but then to hit a wolf between the eyes as it attempted to jump up and catch his ankle...
He hadn't heard the scuffle above him and was still presently unaware that his charge was watching from the rooftops above...

A round of gunfire took down all but the alpha...this beast required a second shot to the head, but as it fell, Cyrus released his grip on the ledge and dropped down amongst the fallen... "Such a damn shame..." he frowned, feeling pity for the creature as he recognised the alpha's markings as one that used to hunt in his old territory... There was no time to waste though... He knew the numbers would reduce quickly with the high volume of hunters and that meant that it would only be a matter of time before the Third Gong would sound.

Tala pushed himself away from the edge as Cyrus set off back towards the citadel centre, Jesse couldn't help but roll her eyes and follow as Tala set off back the way they'd come, keeping his eyes on the hunter as he took down two more bears before stepping in to rescue a fellow hunter who had been gravely wounded...

Meanwhile, as the bodies began to mount up, a certain scientist had started his rounds... Armed for his own protection, Skylar Creed worked in the shadows, observing the hunt before sweeping in to remove any unattended cadavers. Should he happen to come into contact with anything 'beastly' he would shoot it with his silenced weapon before dragging its corpse down a secret route to his hideout. Of course, he hadn't really considered that anyone would be counting the fallen, but until he was caught - which he was certain wasn't going to happen, he couldn't care less.

If Ngozi had already been prepared for release, the Behemoth would be unrecognisable... With the Serum having built up in his system, it was taking much longer for the effects to work off and with the scent of blood in the air, the lust to kill was flooding his veins...

When the final creatures from round two had been defeated, the third gong would sound and he would burst from his holding cell, charging out into the fray and crushing all who stood in his way...

Silver would wince seeing so many ripped to shreds during the second round and more being crushed in the third round. I know it's important the people don't fear what's out in the wild but I'd had thought a more humane way would have been created by now. He thought with his stomach twisting at the mangled sight of a body of a hunter falling under the hooves of a mutated warthog.

~*~*~*~

Lava was wandering, trying to figure out where she was exactly but followed the sounds of fighting. She walked along an alley before stopping, wincing as she heard a disgusting sound of a man being torn to shreds by a strange bear. Slowly she looked up after it was dispatched.

Carefully she came to the edge of the alley and hesitated but jumped when hearing a familiar sound. Her head jerked to one side and she quickly ran out without a second thought. "Ngozi?!" she asked quickly as she ran, looking around and gasped, sliding to a stop before jumping back away from a jackle bear hybred. She pushed fast and managed to run past it and continued towards where she heard the sound she recognized.

The jackle was on her heels, grunting and giving a loud gross roar as it continued after her. A hunter came up and shot it four times in the back of the head, killing it and looked at the cloaked female. "What the heck is a girl doing in here?!" he was shocked and shook his head. "Not my problem." He then moved out of the way of a large ram before attacking it.

She would move and gasp with her eyes widening when seeing him and two others. "My friend!" she exclaimed happily and tried to yell for him only to lose her balance, falling back on her butt as a hooved beast that was a mix of a stag, tafar (thing that like an ardvark pig thing I think) and an ox jumped from its kill and stomped a hoof at her. She rolled out of the way, getting to her feet and quickly began to run back towards the square center.

The beast followed after letting out a horrible noise from its mouth. It charged after her with horns pointed at her. "Help me!" she screamed closing her eyes tightly, not knowing how to use her magic for combat, barely knowing how to use it to break things.

If Ngozi would hear her screams for help, she would be in the more open area of the square, trying to dodge the creatures stomping hooves and stabbing horns. She would release her fire-ice mix at the beast only for it to shatter the creation that was a weak attempt at a shield. She would trip and fall over a corpse in her haste and gasp, both from the pain from the good scrape to her arm but also because of the creature looming over her and readying its horns to impale her.

If Ngozi came then she would slowly open her eyes to look up and slowly smile to him with happy tears. "You're my friend still,right Ngozi?" she would ask and watch him and move closer to try hugging him. If she could she would hug him around the waist best she could.

Ritzu would be inside the building safely and see this and groan, quickly getting onto her spare phone. "That stupid idiot!" she nearly shouted and waited then got an answer. "Zen! Go to the citadel center! There's two creations there I need taken down and brought to the outskirts of the citadel."

"Got it." The male on the other end answered before hanging up. "How come I always get the ones who get over their heads?" he complained to himself while loading a stun gun type of sniper riffle. He climbed up to the roof and made his way across and took aim at Lava and, if there, Ngozi.

If Ngozi was there then he'd aim and fire at him first, firing three shots at the beast of a man in hopes at least one or two or all would hit. If any did hit they would electrocute him. If this happened Lava would panic and throw up a dome looking thing of fire-ice to try protecting them, pulling Ngozi close if she could as the shot intended for her got stuck in her wall.

If all this unfolded then Silver would panic and grab one of the guards swords, leaping off the rooftop and teleporting down fast and hard, slamming the weapon into the ice to shatter it. He would hit her hard in the head and stare in shock as he'd realize something is off after thinking Fire hadn't stayed put like he asked. It would be now he would see the different cloak and realize the difference in her magic usage. Who is this? he'd think before moving back and sighed, tensing as a man came jumping down off the roof and bowing to him.

"Hello there, Lord Silver, I will be taking these two now. Sorry for the disruption. Seems they weren't registered and needed eliminating." He said and would make his way over to the pair if they were knocked out and use a device to drag them both off, using a large net like thing to move them both at the same time.

Now if the shots missed then he would keep trying at a different angle and Silver would stay in his spot, bitting his lip and hoping that wasn't who he thought it was although he was confused since he couldn't decide if it was or wasn't Fire he was seeing.

Silver took note of the yell from Lady Tigress and narrowed his eyes when seeing movement then the beast leaping off the building. He quickly ran, deciding that the woman drug off with the large beast was not going to be within his power but was curious about this large wolf that lept off the building.

Quickly he made his way down an alleyway and side street as he headed towards where Tala had gone down.

~*~*~

Hunters had seen this large beast and thought it was part of the final round. They made their way after the black wolf. They made their way with weapons drawn after the monster. One ran forwards, yelling as he charged and stabbed then swiped his sword at Tala.

A second hunter came up with his riffle ready and fired three bullets at Tala aiming to hit him in the side and leg.

If those two missed and were knocked back and down, a third would aim with a pistol and fired off a bullet at one of Tala's legs before retreating back and letting out another shot after taking aim if he could.

If he was taken down a fourth would try his luck with two daggers aiming to stab or slice Tala. The other three if they had been knocked back would get impaled by a pair of cross-bred bulls that would be taken out by the third hunter before he passed out from his injuries.

During all this Silver would start teleporting and silently with the sword. He would wait for his moment before taking a chance to strike the youth in the back of the head, thinking it would be easier to talk if he didn't have to keep chasing him and could restrain him in a cell or room, knowing Lord Dragon's dungeons well enough.

If he could strike Tala he would land and strike again with the hilt of the weapon to try knocking him out before he would try picking him up and teleporting away before anyone could see. He then got another idea and took Tala to Fire, that was if Tala was knocked out and leave him with her. "Keep him here and explain to him what we want to do. I'll come back when all are dismissed." He would whisper before leaving.

If this happened Fire would look at the beast confused and not understand. "How does a wolf help us take out he Owls?" she would mutter and look at Tala. If he turned back she would stare wide eyed at the scene and her jaw would drop. "Whoa...." she would whisper in awe.

If Tala woke up she would reach out and take hold of him, readying some ice to use on him if needed to keep him put. "Don't run, stay put. Silver will be back soon and we'll head out." She would watch him and put her hood down. "I'm Fire and we want you to help us take down the Owls." she would keep her voice hushed.

If Tala questioned why he should trust her then she would not hesitate to turn her back to him, lifting her cloak and shirt, showing him the wounds from Lord Dragon remaining as a reminder on her back from his gauntlet and some remains from the burns she took in the fire. "Because, I took down Lord Dragon, the Owl Silver has replaced. We want to remove the others and give freedom back to this land."

She would stay still and let him see and touch if he wanted and if he did touch she would flinch a little but would stay still. She would then lower her shirt and cloak back down before turning to look at him again. "I'm Fire, the woman Ritzu is looking for and the one the Owls have been trying to find that murdered Lord Dragon."

Now if Tala managed to run from Silver instead then Silver would give chase and try hard to knock him out or try to get him to listen to reason. If he could get him to listen to reason then he would take him to Fire and explain briefly, leaving Fire to explain the rest before he left to not worry anyone that something happened to one of the Owls.

~*~*~*~

The man who Ritzu had called drug the pair out of the citadel to its edge and would look back. He saw her come out on a single persons cycle wheel and watched her step off. "What do you want done now?" he asked as she walked over.

"Release them." she instructed sternly as she had a serum ready to give Ngozi if he hadn't reverted back yet to help him go back to his normal form.

"You sure?" he asked and she nodded. "I think you're getting soft in your age."

"Heh, maybe I am...but they deserve to live however they wish...just like Rosalie once she has full control of her beast."

Lava would softly groan and start to stir before gradually opening her eyes to look around. Her blurred sight scanned and she gasped, jumping and moved, hugging Ngozi quickly while watching Ritzu scared and defiantly. "You aren't touching him!" she snapped sharply.

Ritzu shook her head. "I plan to let you both go so enjoy what you can with each other." She explained and looked to Ngozi. "You two shouldn't have been put through all this and you have the phone I gave you. You can put it in the sunlight to charge it. There's a panel on the back that slides over to charge it."

Lava took out the phone and looked, finding the spot and closed it back up. "I can keep it?" Ritzu nodded. If Ngozi would start to wake up Lava would jump and rest a hand on his shoulder. "Ngozi, you okay?" she would ask concerned for him since he took two shots and all she had was a pain in her head from Silver hitting her.

If he woke up Ritzu would watch and motion for the man to move back which he did. "You are free to live where you wish. If you get into any trouble, I gave Lava my phone so you can call me or anyone in the contacts for help." She instructed. "I'm sorry for putting you through all this pain...." she rubbed one arm. "I didn't want to do this monstrosity to anyone like Lord Dragon had to Rosalie. But...I had no choice unless to make her relive that event she still struggles to control." She looked to Ngozi. "Take care of Lava and I hope one day I can find forgiveness for the pain I have caused you."

Silver would keep after the youth, dodging any attacks and when he saw Cyrus he was stunned to see the man again from the day Rosalie had been in Delta. He came to a stop, slightly out of breath and looked up as he heard a loud crashing and a horrible roaring like noise. He looked back and frowned seeing four large tusks on the elephant like monstrous beast.

He moved running now. "Cyrus! Hold onto him!" he ordered, planning to teleport all three of them to safety. If he could he would grab Cyrus's shoulder and Tala's before focusing hard to an area outside the camera sights. If it worked the final beast would roar and start its attack on the remaining hunters.

It swung its two trunks and stomped its hooved feet to try trampling the humans. The people cheered as Lord Wolf also was cheering and getting back into the fight as the cameras stayed on the hunters battle to win. A pair of hunters went to stab it in the legs as a third was taking aim and trying to shoot out its eyes. A forth with his daggers aimed to slice off some of its two trunks, only to get thrown back and killed on the hard impact into a wall.

One of the two using a sword was grabbed by one trunk and crushed in a gruesome sight. The second with the sword swung and took off some flesh of the beast before moving back to lessen the blow from the second trunk slamming into his body. The one with the daggers tried to slide under to get in a few hits when it reared up, getting crushed as it came down by not moving out fast enough.

It charged towards the shooter with the riffle, destroying things in its way but missed before taking another bullet.

~*~*~*~

The fight kept the onlookers busy as it was not a beast to fall easy. Silver had appeared with Cyrus and Tala, landed and collapsed breathless. He had teleported them further than he planned in his panic and now was trying to catch his breath on the ground where he fell in a heap. "O..k..ay....that-that wasn't...my smartest....move..." He gulped panting for air and looking slightly pale for the time being.

He looked at Cyrus confused. "What are you doing here? You know this shapeshifter?" he looked to Tala, not recognizing him but felt like something was familiar although he couldn't put his finger on it. He would stay quiet as his was regaining his breath. He watched Tala quietly and would keep quiet, speaking when it wouldn't interrupt anything between them. "That power could help take out more of the Owls..." he looked to Cyrus. "Would you like to regain more of this land back to being it into the light? Back to where it was before the land was destroyed?"

~*~*~*~

Lava moved, staying with Ngozi as they left, holding onto his hand. The man would give a small yelp as he fell backwards from the scare and sighed. "Do you think they can even survive?"

Ritzu nodded. "I do and I trust he'll do good by her. She needs to learn of a peaceful life, not one of fighting and death." She began back into the citadel. "We should get back before any questions arise."

The man nodded and followed after her. "What is she exactly?"

"...A clone of someone I wanted to study yet she slipped through my fingers...so I cloned her and mixed in beast DNA to create the girl you saw. She...wasn't suppose to develop a mind, to think, talk, question and yet somehow she did."

He nodded as they went back to where they had to.

Silver, once he regained his breath slowly made his way to his feet and dusted himself off gently. He thought over more then looked to Cyrus and Tala. "I have three left in my group. One goes by the code name Leaf and he's good at passing as an everyday citizen without trouble. He's good at recon. and not drawing attention to himself. Then there's a teen code named Tool who is his brother. He's a brilliant mind when it comes to tech and created what we use."

He then sighed softly. "Then, there's the one code named Fire because of her hair and common personality trait that gets her into trouble. It's also because, like me, she can use magic. She has trouble waiting and can be impulsive but she's strong although reckless...with sadly a one track mind." He coughed once and rubbed his tattooed arm to make sure there was feeling in it as it had felt strange after pushing himself that far.

"I want you both to work with those three. Fire has successfully killed Lord Dragon, as I'm sure you both saw reported on the news. She nearly got herself killed doing it because she rushed it in the last moments in his bedroom. If your charge can become other animals that would work for our group. Tool is always creating so if we can use Leaf or even Fire, given the right disguise in case they caught any footage of us leaving for basic characteristics...that combined with his shapeshifting ability would be useful to take out an Owl in stealth."

He eyed Tala some before looking to Cyrus. "Especially if he can merge into the shadows themselves. That would be a great tool. We would need to ensure we had someone set up and established to take over or that would be picked as a replacement for the Owl taken down, like how they picked me. It will not be a fast process and we would need to bide our time between any successful kill...but it could be done...or I think so."

Silver shifted and looked to Tala. "Are you able to merge into shadows and or take other forms aside from that wolf body I saw? How long can you hold it?" he would wait for his answers before looking to Cyrus. "And you are good at planning and stratigizing. That would be useful with Leaf to plan out any attacks accordingly as well as making sure any angles and chances of things going wrong would be covered. You were a former military person, right?"

He would go quiet and listen while looking up at the sky. He missed the way it was before and could only imagine them succeeding. "If we can gain control again then we can expand the research to regrow our land beyond the Owl's palaces and fortresses." He looked to them from the sky. "Research could be grouped together and we could try replanting and set up boundries where it's too dangerous for people, yes, but we could work on rebuilding together instead of having the major cities and others being left on their own in smaller settlements."

Silver went quiet again before inhaling. "I just got Fire back from a group working for Lord Raven. According to them Raven seems to be different so he might be the only Owl I'm thinking could be excluded from the hit list. Lady Tigress, Lady Snake and Lord Wolf are still on it. They are not an exception. Lord Raven will only be considered if he changes his methods and becomes more like them and the former Lord Dragon."

He folded his arms, his tattooed arm feeling a little stiff and he hoped it was just due to exhaustion and not because he was in need of a visit so soon but would check the ink later to see if it was faded. "Would you be interested? I can give you both shelter at the base Leaf and Tool stay at. I'll be sending Fire back to the base as well in Delta. You would also be allowed to move around freely because, as the head there, I can grant you protection inside Delta just not outside of it and we could use the help. Fire can't do this alone and Leaf doesn't like to fight unless he has to. He also doesn't want his brother to see battle so doesn't want him involved in any killing missions."

If there was any question about if there were any other Shaders he could call on, Silver would sigh shaking his head. "There is possibly one left as far as I know of aside from the group that found Fire...and then I'm not sure how much in use they are. I also would guess this other group might be under the lead of the one Fire is obsessed with finding. His name is Lysin and I saw a file bleep when I was checking on some news, mainly to see if anything about Fire was in there. I saw a change from 'missing deceased' to 'missing' with the 'deceased' part removed. The change was made from Lord Wolf's citadel so something's happening."

He looked to Tala again as he had caught mention of Lady Tigress. "He would also have protection from Lady Tigress who seems to want him. She sounded angry in her order for her guards to capture him. So joining us would also grant you both protection from her wrath." He straightened his clothing out some. "Would you both like to consider it? Even if you don't join I'd be happy to give you a place to hide from Tigress so your charge can heal. Tool has made some good medical devices. He's had to remove more than enough bullets out of Fire to be a top expert at this point." He said with a tone of slight exhaustion due to the fact it was true and it still worried him she would get herself shot dead one day or worse.

Silver watched Tala leave and sighed shaking his head sadly then turned his attention to Cyrus, glad to hear he was interested in helping. "I could but I'm trying to draw as little attention to myself. If I were to start investigating Lysin myself I'm afraid they may question to why I'm doing that. I'd like to keep them away from figuring out I'm a shader unless they already have, then my cautious steps are for naught. That is unless they are thinking I've turned away from that then I will be glad if they think that."

He looked in the way Tala had gone. "Maybe he'll come around?" he looked to Cyrus again. "I can give orders to someone else to look into things as I think that would be less eye drawing. That is their method which is delegating it to another. Plus there's only so much the system can tell me as it's limited to what's put into it. I'm only guessing someone might of been looking into Fire and found something about Lysin being alive so changed it since they don't know an exact location. I'm not sure he even has a group up and going or if it's just him on his own."

This was moments like this he hated not being able to slip away. "I may need to call on Skylar again. My arm is feeling stiff so I might need to call on him again if it doesn't start acting right in a few days once the rest of me is recovered." His eyes flickered to his arm then towards the citadel. "I'll give you clearance and send you and leaf to look around. He works with the floral stores and electronics so that could be a cover for getting into whatever citadel Lysin could be in...I doubt it's Lady Tigress and I've never seen anything to indicate here so that leaves Lord Raven and Lady Snake."

He thought back to his talk with Dante. "The group working for Raven didn't seem to know who Lysin was so it's doubtful he's there which only leaves Lady Snake's citadel. I can check their stock logs and if you wouldn't mind acting as a common citizen's guard for the ruse then that should give you and Leaf a way to look around and see if you see anything or anyone who might fit the bill." He wasn't sure how good of a plan that was exactly but it was something at least.

When he would hear the concluding gong to indicate victory in the air he sighed. He would wait for Cyrus's answer before speaking up. "I'll let you meet the trio first and then we can talk more later in Delta and plan things out to see if we can make contact with Lysin. The more help we have the better. He might have a group that has other skill sets that can help us." He started to walk back into the citadel arena area before pausing. "If you want to head back to Delta with Fire tehen you can find her at," he gave the location, "let her know you're working with me and that I want you to meet the other two. She'll take you there once in Delta if you choose to do that. I should get back to my place before worry happens."

He took a breath and sighed, moving inside more before teleporting himself away, having regained enough strength to send himself back to or near where he had to be.

~*~*~*~

Inside the people where celebrating and cheering for the victor, a hunter from Lord Raven's citadel. He stood after getting medical attention at the rooftop with Lord Wolf. "Hunter! You have made it with the most points alive and killed the final beast. We reward you with this prize and-" he continued with the speech, not noticing as Silver came back to sit in his seat.

Silver caught his breath again and looked around and noticed Lady Snake eyeing him. He would stand and move to her when motioned to advance. "Where have you been, Lord Silver?" she hissed coldly.

"I had left to see the condition of a participant I knew from the outlands." Silver lied to a point.

"And how is this one you knew?"

"He is alright, banged up but will live. He had signaled to drop out so I rushed in to help him." He explained and she nodded.

"Very well but please learn to use others for such minimal tasks? They are there for a reason such as that."

"I will next time. Sorry to worry any of you." He bowed his head as he knew and she did the same before waving him back to his seat. He got back and sat down, relieved that worked and hoped in trying to stay behind the scenes would allow them more movement. At least with a new face not yet associated with a shader group would allow some leverage considering he figured they knew the basics of Viola.

~*~*~*~

If Cyrus went to see Fire and tell her what Silver said, she would nod and get up, leaving with him and would work as his guide to their underground sewer base later once arriving in Delta.

Fire would eye Cyrus and be cautious until he explained. Once she was sure she would nod and leave with him as the others were heading out as well. Once they were back in Delta she would lead him from the station down the street and turn down an alleyway. She walked then would come to a stop, look around and move the manhole over. She would silently nod for him to go first and she would follow after, closing up the hole behind her.

Once landed she would put her hood down and get her barrings since it had been a while since she had been there. Listening closely in the quiet she pointed. "This way." And she would move to lead Cyrus to their hideout, looking back at times to ensure he was still with her.

She would move into the lit area after some time and looked back to Cyrus. "Here we are, what was and now is again home sweet home." She moved over and picked up an apple, making sure it was clean then took a bite. "Dang this is good!" she said with her mouth full.

"Fire! I've told you a hundred times to use your manners even if it's just us!" a young man, Leaf, scolded as he came out of his room from behind his curtain and froze, his eyes on Cyrus confused. "Um...Fire....you know you brought someone with you?" he asked slightly tensing.

"Oh calm down, he's with us. Silver sent him to me and said for him to meet you and Tool so he can help us take out another Owl." She explain, swallowing the bite in her mouth.

Leaf looked Cyrus over and slowly neared. "Hey there then. You know Silver? How?" he was cautious but wasn't going to deny or think what he heard from Fire was a lie about what Cyrus said. "I go by Leaf and you are...?"

Moments later a door opened and out came a teen with a device that looked like a gear shaped push button with two rounded points sticking out on the sides. "Hey Leaf, I need to borrow some parts out of your pistol again, I'm missing a spring for this shooter." He didn't even look up from his messing as he came out and was already making his way towards Leafs room without waiting for an answer. "If I can get this then we should be added safe at night, just in case."

Fire snickered, taking another bite of her apple. "Still the same, huh Tool?" she asked as he entered the room.

Tool froze, stepped backwards and looked up. "Viola! You're home!" he shouted excited and ran up hugging her tightly around the waist. She hugged him back and pried him loose off her.

"Yup I am so tell me what you guys been up to? Also, can you find me any tracks of Creed? I need to find that lowlife because he has something of mine and I want it back." She hissed dangerously with anger.

Leaf looked over to the hothead. "Cool it or I'll push you into the water. We haven't found the guy who caught you nor have we found that woman who took you. We also never found your missing necklace in your bag so keep focused and relax now that you're home for once." He took a breath and looked back to Cyrus. "Tell me about you and what your code name will be. It's the safest way to communicate to one another without risk of problems when using our real names out in the open where safe to or another code name."

He moved and sat down at the table, motioning to the other chair for Cyrus to sit if he wanted. "I'm guessing Silver had a plan if he recruited a new person to join our little family?"

~*~*~*~

Silver would return later and feel embarrassed by Lady Tigress outburst. I can't believe she's actually an Owl. That's more childish behavior than what anything I saw Fire do when she didn't get something she wanted. He thought as he made his way out.

It would be later before he arrived back he relaxed and listened to the quiet noise passing by. When back he would speak to the aid and figure out what he had to do before he would attempt to get some rest before planning to contact Leaf or Cyrus. He trusted Cyrus to fill in Leaf and for them to work out a plan together.

~*~*~*~

Ritzu would head back as well along with Lord Raven who was pleased by the sights and was glad Ritzu had pulled it off. He was curious when he saw Rosalie yet it hadn't been her. "Tell me, Ritzu, how did you manage to clone someone?" he questioned after finding her as he moved away to get out of ear shot from the temper throwing Tigress was doing.

"It...well I hadn't before. I took a guess based on some book research and I managed to succeed. Why, Lord Raven, do you ask?" she questioned as he motioned for her to get into his personal car.

"Because, if we can I want to do some testing out and see what and how far we can go with your new discovery."

She had a bad feeling but nodded, not one to argue with the guy in charge. "Alright but I must say that they can gain a mind, thoughts, opinions and a personality of their own based on what I found in research and in testing. It was kind of strange when those happened."

He nodded. "Don't worry, this is just because I'm curious to how far we can push it. If it can be done just so then maybe we can find out how to better help the people of the citadel and the surrounding area, maybe even give them crops they can grow in the recovering soil and those crops would be safe."

Slowly she nodded having not fully expected that answer but it didn't surprise her as he was more reasonable than the others. "Alright, I'll try plant cloning once we return and see if I can do that." He nodded and sat back in silence as their car began moving. She was quiet and would ask after a bit, "do you plan on letting Lady Tigress know so her outburst will be stiffled?"

"I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about seeing if you could clone any trace of DNA she might have from the one she calls a pet. I'm sure his DNA is somewhere in her palace or on shackles or something for use."

Ritzu sighed nodding and had an uneasy feeling in her stomach at the thought of doing that again with a living creature. Maybe he won't tell her or maybe she wouldn't have noticed anything and I won't need to see if I can do it a third time. she thought, trying to be hopeful.