Will was halfway down Nexus Hill, moving on ahead of the rest of the group when a sudden hiss caught his attention. He didn't know why, but he knew before he turned that it would be Tobias. Sure enough, the wide mouth was instantly recognizable. He was tucked behind a tree a few yards away, clearly trying to make himself as inconspicuous as possible. Will cast a glance up the path to make sure nobody could see them and stepped closer.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice as quiet as possible. "You know there are still quite a few Fire Nexians who want to attack you on sight, right?"

"I had to risk it," Tobias said. His soft, sibilant voice sounded slightly out of place in the dark, peaceful scene around them. Then again, Will thought, this dark peaceful scene felt out of place, considering what he and his friends were about to confront. "I wanted to make sure you're ready."

"I'm ready," Will said, his voice hardening at the thought of Togai. "Kenta has taught me what the limits of his Condition are. I'm confident I can beat him as it stands, and now I can make it a permanent defeat."

Tobias nodded slowly, seeming to absorb his words. "If you're certain. You seem to have taken in the power I gave you well."

"That reminds me," Will said. "Why not just tell me you were making me an Alpha? I could have had some forewarning, you know."

"It would have affected you negatively," Tobias assured him. "Trust me, this way was better. Finding out the way you did, in the battle against Togai, gives you an advantage. He knows how much of a threat you are now. He'll be on guard."

"So he's made more preparations," Will guessed. Tobias nodded confirmation. "How does that give me an advantage, exactly?"

"You are free to move as you see fit," Tobias said, raising his eyebrows as if the answer were obvious. "You see? I have helped you limit his movements while giving you even more freedom. You can act as you please. He has but one course of action. If he wants his plan to succeed, he must defeat you."

"Well, it's not like it makes much of a difference," Will said. "He's guessed by now that I know his weakness, I'm sure. But no matter what he's done to prepare, there's still the fact that he can't keep up with my speed."

"Ah," Tobias said. "About that."

Will squinted at the man. For a god-like being who had created and spread a powerful thing like the Nexus, he was remarkably uncertain in his speech, he thought. "What is it now?"

"Well," Tobias said, drawing out the word to give himself time to think. "I've recently figured out how Togai is using his power, and how he's able to give normal people Nexian powers."

"Well at least one of us knows," Will growled. "Care to make that two of us?"

Despite the tension in his body, Tobias smiled. "First, I must tell you that I don't know everything that the Nexus is capable of. I simply am its source. What you do with it, how you grow it, and how it grows itself, I have no control over this."

The news surprised Will. He'd assumed that, as its creator, he knew everything about it. Tobias explained further. "I can only know your exact powers and Condition when I look at you. This is how I know that I did not give you fire."

"What are you talking about?" Will asked, taking a step back in surprise. He conjured a flame to his hand. "How am I able to do this if it does not fire you gave me?"

"I am not sure. I know that I intended to give you fire. I suppose the power of two other Nexuses in your body altered that somehow. You can conjure the flames, yes. But your core is no longer that of fire. It is a ball of lightning."

He was staring at Will's chest as if he could see the core he spoke of. Which, Will thought, was probably exactly how it worked. He put a hand to his chest as if he could feel the sparkling ball through his skin. He wasn't just an Alpha then, he thought. He was a new type of Nexus entirely. The Thunder Nexus, he thought.

"Well, that's good," Will said. "It means that he can't know my condition, even if he has learned the weakness for Fire. What is my weakness, then?"

"Normally, the process should be gradual," Tobias replied. "You should train this power, master it, and become familiar with it."

"I don't have time for that," Will retorted. Tobias inclined his head in agreement. "So you'll tell me?"

"I will. Your Condition breaks under two conditions. The first, which you are immune to, of course, is using too much power. Expanding the charge inside your body will weaken you, and leave you as feeble as any human."

Will nodded, filing the information away for future reference. "And the second?"

"If you are struck by lightning."

"But-" Will couldn't think of an adequate reply. "You mean to say that my power is my weakness?"

"Correct," Tobias said. "And there is a residual effect to your power, just as there is for every other Nexus."

Now they had approached a subject that Will understood. He clicked his finger. "Fire heats the air around us, making Fire Nexians weaker."

"Precisely," Tobias allowed a smile to form on his face. His wide mouth made the expression a little unsettling. "And with your new power, the more you use it, the more charge you build in the air around you."

"Oh," Will said, catching on. "Which means that I could create a lightning strike. And since I'm the thing with the highest charge in the area, I'm guaranteed to get targeted."

"Correct. Especially on a cloudy night such as tonight. So please, proceed with caution. You are much faster than he is, but it will be very difficult to outrun lightning."

Will remembered sidestepping the bullet Togai had fired at him. "I'll do my best. I think it is possible. But you didn't tell me how Togai is giving power to others."

"No, I did not. Well, you remember the feeling when he struck you in your fight? You felt like some of your life force had been drained from you?"

Will nodded. It hadn't been a pleasant sensation. Tobias continued. "Well, he can use that energy in various ways. There are too many to explain now, but the most important one is that he can pass it on to someone else."

Will's jaw dropped open, and he gaped. "He can make more Nexians just by touching me?"

Tobias nodded, his face grave. "The Soul Nexus has a wide variety of powers, young Will. They can do more than heal. They have the power of three Nexuses in one."

Well, that explained why they were so hard to defeat in combat, Will thought. He'd always been a little dissatisfied with the story of their prowess on the battlefield. If it was just healing and martial arts, then they shouldn't have stood a chance against the other Nexuses, let alone two of them. Togai had a lot more options available to him than he'd expected. That thought spawned another question.

"Why did you make Togai an Alpha?" He asked Tobias. "If you want him to be stopped, and prevent this disaster you keep talking about, why did you make him stronger?"

"I didn't," Tobias said. At Will's look of doubt, he shook his head. "I mean it, Will. There is another key difference when it comes to the Soul Nexus. None of them, including the Alpha, is immortal. Hitori was just as vulnerable as any man. They are saved by their extraordinary healing power, but even they cannot escape death."

Will frowned thoughtfully. "So Hitori wasn't a true Alpha, then. Or rather, he was, and when he was defeated, Togai also became an Alpha."

Tobias nodded. "He has the same power and energy inside him that Hitori once had. But this also means that, should he fall by your hand, the Soul Nexus will cease to exist."

"I doubt that," Will said thoughtfully. "He's given his power to a few other people."

"He hasn't. He doesn't trust another with that power, for fear that they will kill him, just as he killed Hitori. He is making many Nexians, yes, but they are from the other Nexuses instead of his own."

They were both distracted by the sound of talking and footsteps and glanced up the hill. The rest of the Fire Nexians, at least those who were part of his attack group, were coming down the metal steps now. They had no idea that Will and Tobias were there. They were just doing as Will had ordered, setting out ten minutes after he'd departed the hotel. He cursed internally at the realization. He should have been at the edge of the tundra, a mile east of where Edward would enter. Now he was risking being late.

"I have to go," he told Tobias. "But I want to know one more thing."

"If I can answer it, I shall."

"What will happen to the Soul Nexus once I kill Hitori?" Will asked. He noticed how he didn't even consider failure a possibility. "Will it return to you?"

Tobias shook his head. "I have already given it away. Soul was a special one. I cannot give it again."

"So once he's dead, it's truly gone."

"I expect so."

It was a little sad to consider, Will thought, but unavoidable. He knew that erasing an entire Nexus, or rather three, was much better than letting the holder of that Nexus achieve his goal. "That's concerning, but can't be helped."

He broke away then, just as his group was nearly within earshot of their whispered conversation. He ran, staying crouched low, trusting that Tobias would disappear easily on his own, as he'd done before. Once he was a few dozen yards away to the right, he activated his lightning, taking a long curving path back to the road and setting out for the rally point. He had to get there first to pick out a path through the tundra and ensure that there wasn't a perimeter that could ambush his group.

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

The coast was clear, as far as he could see. The light was almost nonexistent, of course, under a heavy cloud covering. Will scoured the horizon for any sign of people, his eyes squinting with effort, but he couldn't detect anyone. Well, that just meant one problem that he wouldn't have to deal with. He lowered himself to the ground and crossed his legs, waiting for the others to catch up. He decided to meditate a bit while he had the chance—no clue when his next peaceful moment would be.

The dream was much more vivid this time. The scenery hadn't changed, but it somehow felt more... real. For a moment, he couldn't tell if he was meditating, or if he'd somehow been taken to this scene. But reason quickly re-established itself, just in time for him to take stock of his surroundings. There he was, standing alone, electricity arcing across his body as he screamed for Togai to show himself. It was strange, he thought. How was his grief so powerful if he expected Edward's death? Maybe the emotional toll was just that strong. He ignored his screaming future self and focused again on the other aspects of the vision.

There was Charlisa, crouching over the limp body of her father. Will could make out the injury now. A rather large hole, punched straight through where Edward's heart should have been. There seemed to be very little blood around his body. Charlisa, however, was covered in dried blood. He couldn't tell if it was hers or not. With his new insight, he could also see the sign of her pregnancy. So Edward doesn't hold her back from fighting, he thought. The thought gave him a flash of fear. But Charlisa was alive in this vision, so perhaps there was a chance she'd turn out okay. Physically, at least.

Tobias appeared next to him, with no warning, no flash of light to announce his arrival. His future self turned towards him. "Where did he go, Tobias? I'm ending this now!"

Tobias slowly lifted an arm, pointing at something a short distance away. Will, both Wills, followed his pointing arm. But before the object could be revealed, Will felt his attention being snapped back to his body. He gave a short snort of frustration, hearing the footsteps of the others coming from behind him. Damn! He'd been so close to seeing what Tobias had felt was worth sharing. He had the feeling he could have seen it too if he hadn't been distracted. But it was a moot point now. He stood erect as the others approached, their eyes also glancing around, making sure they were alone.

"Are we ready?" That was Michael. "Edward said we're to wait here for a bit, right?"

"That is what he said," Will agreed. "But we're not waiting. I don't have time to explain it now, but I learned something new. We're going now."