III stood atop one of Genesis' taller buildings, her form hidden from view as she blended with the night sky filled with rain clouds. She took out and looked at the orb which flickered and glowed weakly, causing her to slap it a few times. After a moment of contemplation, she activated her floating tetrahedron once more, and this time only one hologram appeared.

“Number III, reporting in.”

“Number VI receiving. It’s been some time since last comms, what’s your status?”

“So, first, I’m pretty sure I’ve got the right target. Her name's Auriel, a girl living with some kids in an orphanage.”

“Good work. What’s her status? Current abilities? Plans to move here?”

“Whoa whoa whoa, one thing at a time," voiced III putting her hands up, ambushed by VI's barrage of questions. “So. When she came into contact with the orb, she released a wave of energy. There’s no doubt, she’s the source of the reading we picked up on. Not to mention, last night I’m sure she released another one.”

“I see I see... Things might get a little complicated on your end. Possibly.”

“Come again? How complicated are we talking?” queried III, folding her arms as she prepared herself for the answer.

From VI's hand appeared a projected map of the area around Genesis, with various symbols marking different positions.

“After the initial reading, I’ve been consistently tracking the signatures in the surrounding area, and have recently noticed a growing number in the west. I think you should keep an eye out; you might have more coming your way.”

“Seriously? I went through quite a few of them. How can that be?”

VI rubbed her chin slowly, rocking side to side, then said “I can’t say for sure, but it might be related to the bursts of energy. Yes... Though if she IS the cause, it’s a wonder how the village hasn’t been overrun yet.”

“That’s probably because they have a decent group of wielders. Anyway, speaking of our growing number of problems, I’ve got one.”

“And that is?”

“When I grabbed her arm for confirmation, I could barely sense a faint sliver of energy coming from her. It’s like she’s been stripped clean of it.”

“Stripped clean? Are you sure? That doesn’t make sense.”

“You’re telling me," shrugged III. "Maybe something happened to her. She's as strange as they come.”

VI paced back and forth, biting her index finger in thought.

“Doesn't make sense. It’s paradoxical, to suggest the source of this persistent energy somehow doesn't have any herself. Almost sounds like she’s not even a living person, with how you described it.”

“Well I know for sure she’s not a ghost ‘cause I touched her arm. Maybe a ghoul? The undead?”

III clapped her hands as she had a lightbulb moment. “Got it, she’s a zombie.”

“Quit playing around III, I’m sure there’s a logical reason behind it. Though, it is a peculiar conundrum. I'll inform the Commander to see what he thinks. In the meantime, bring her in.”

“You got it VI.”

VI's hologram dissipated, this time in shards reminiscent of ice crystals, picked up by the wind and dispersed through the atmosphere. Low, grumbling thunder was heard in the distance, and as the air filled with petrichor, III caught tiny droplets in one of her palms. She turned in the direction of the orphanage and began bounding over the rooftops. However, a flash of light in her periphery stopped her in her tracks. To the west appeared a gigantic fireball, resulting from a deafening explosion, and with barely passing moments, several more explosions followed.

“That looks bad, but not my main focus right now. Unless she's involved somehow? Nah. What are the odds of that, right?"

~X~

Another explosion occurred deep within the village, rousing the inhabitants. At the orphanage, Auriel rushes to check on the kids, ensuring their safety with Ms. Maia. Hearing a cacophony of confused voices, she had outdoors to assess the situation.

In her haste, she had forgotten to change out of her sleepwear and hugged herself to stave off a slight chill from the evening breeze. Lining the streets were many confused villagers, some that appeared from the source of the explosion, and others attempting to discover the truth of the events. One of the GSO agents attempting to calm the citizens recognized Auriel ran up to her.

"Are you okay?!"

“For now, what’s going on?!”

“I don’t know if it's related for sure, but there's been a breakout! A few prisoners have escaped!”

“Do you have a team ready to round them up?”

“Working on it. You coming?”

"Yeah, let's get a move on."

Barely after they made their way down the nearest road, a nearby burst turned their attention to the direction opposite the most recent blast. This time, sparks of light and energy were seen in the distance.

“Here too?! There must be separate groups attacking right now!” hypothesized the GSO agent.

“I’ll check it out, you go on ahead!” Auriel affirmed with a nod.

“If you can make it in time, then don’t forget to grab your gear from HQ! You’re gonna need it!”

The agent left, while Auriel ran as quickly as she could to discover the source. Exiting the alleyway, she came across a standoff between a few escaped prisoners and GSO agents. Their battle echoed against the nearby buildings until drowned out by the rolling thunder. Joining the fight, she knocked away and subdued two of the prisoners, and proceeded to provide support to her fellow agents.

The other two were wielders, and thus more difficult to manage. They manipulated the air around them to produce powerful soundwaves with their voices, and with powerful claps of their hands, they replicated the explosion heard earlier.

While keeping on her guard, Auriel felt the pull of instinct telling her to evade, and she jumped back, dodging a downward attack from a large hulking figure that struck the ground with enough force to be felt by those nearby. From the twisted smile, she recognized him.

Auriel: “You again? Just my luck.”

“Things won’t go the same way as last time!” snarled an enraged Cannibal Tiger.

With claws raised, he charged at her like a mad beast driven by blood lust. The other two agents attempted to subdue him but he knocked them out of the way the moment they stepped in his path. Best she could, Auriel dodged his vicious attacks, but he moved much faster than she remembered from their last bout and one of his swipes narrowly missed her stomach. At that moment, an energy wave appeared to extend in the arc of his swing and cut through her blouse, nicking the very surface of her skin. Her blouse became torn and hanging at the midriff from the attack, so she ripped it off completely.

“Well shit. That’s a new trick.”

“I’ve got more where that came from!”

With her keen eyes, she noticed the jewel in one of his gauntlets, luminous with a fiery glow. She prepared herself defensively and stared down her opponent.

“So what’s your plan huh, to blow up the village?”

“Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, I’m just here for my revenge!”

Before he could move, a sword sailed through the air, heading straight for the brute. Noticing it too late, he barely dodged, with the blade taking first blood as it passed one of his cheeks. Two more swords flew towards the angered Cannibal Tiger, but as he had now prepared, he knocked one away and jumped back to evade the other.

Another sword struck the earth between the combatants, and upon it landed another arrival, standing on the pommel. The other swords disappeared in a flash of light, and one reappeared in the outstretched hand of the new fighter, who pointed it at the fuming bandit.

“Well, that was dramatic,” scoffed Auriel at the stylishly posed Aram.

“Maybe. Unlike some people, I thought it was a good idea to retrieve my gear instead of running in wildly at the first sign of danger.”

“Was that aimed at me?”

Auriel rolled her eyes as Aram tossed his sword to her, and stepped down, drawing the other from the ground.

“If the shoe fits. Let's get to the point. I'll help you out here, so we can head to the West Gate as soon as possible. Got it?”

“I'm still not entirely sure of what's going on over there, so I guess I'll have to.”

“Who's going to finish up now?!” bellowed the belligerent Cannibal Tiger, speeding towards them.

Fighting together, Auriel and Aram clashed with the mighty powerhouse of a bandit. Back and forth, they parried the fearsome foe's unrelenting attacks. Playing dirty, he headbutted Aram, but before he could strike him down, Auriel came to his aid, blocking the sharpened claws and using the momentum to move them both out of the way, though the energy wave caught her on the cheek.

She wiped her cheek and let out a sigh. “We can’t be wasting any more time on this guy.”

“Agreed. Do you have a plan?”

Auriel: “Somewhat.”

Cannibal Tiger became increasingly enraged as they whispered, seemingly ignoring him.

“I won’t let you!”

Thunder tore through the sky above them, and rain began to fall as the bounding brigand charged at Auriel once again. She adopted a neutral stance, preparing while Aram ran towards him. He summoned and threw two swords: one up in the air, and another straight, breaking the charging fighter’s focus.

Using Aram's shoulders like a platform, she jumped in the air and grabbed the flying sword. Dual-wielding, she swung both in a spinning motion to cut through the gauntlet the moment Cannibal Tiger deflected the other that was thrown at him. When both blades failed to cut all the way through, barely nicking the jewel, the bandit grabbed them and disarmed Auriel, tossing them aside and knocking her back with a strike to her chest. He readied his claws once more, but sparks of energy from the crack in the jewel leaks out and shocked him like lightning, forcing him to discard it.

“Now you’ve done it,” he hissed, with evidence of pain on his face.

The swift warrior recovered from the hit, catching her breath while her foe readied his remaining claw. Aram stood at her side; his sword raised to welcome their difficult enemy.

“You’re done!”

The two prepared to counterattack, but all 3 combatants were interrupted by a mysterious man of modest build, dressed in a short-sleeved hoodie jacket and dark trousers, who jumps in the middle of the fight. He outstretched both arms towards either side before removing his hood, revealing a youthful visage: brown in complexion with reddish amber eyes, and short curly twists of black hair atop his head, with a medium fade on both sides. He gently rubbed the back of his head as he stared down the fighters, while two other individuals appeared, one retrieving the discarded jewel, containing it, and giving it to him.

“Stream Walker?!” Cannibal Tiger blurted in surprise. "Why?!"

“Yo, you look like you’re taking your sweet ass time.”

Aram stepped forward with a sword at the ready and Auriel raised her fists, but the new arrival put up a hand to stop them.

“Tisk tisk, don’t even think about it.”

He snapped his fingers, and an army of hooded bandits surrounded them, armed with varying weapons. Pulling out a small throwing knife, he flipped it in the air as he walked up to the two, grinning from ear to ear.

“Looks like you got a bit of a security problem," he smirked. "Hear me out though, I’ll take this guy off your hands, and we’ll go about our business, sound good?”

Aram stared him down, but Stream Walker's confident gaze did not waver. He lowered his sword, and Auriel relaxed.

"That's what I thought." Stream Walker clapped and rubbed his hands together gingerly as if enjoying the moment. “So!”

“… So? What do you want?” snapped Cannibal Tiger as he relaxed his stance.

He showed the burly bandit his broken gauntlet with the malfunctioning jewel. His eyes narrowed, and his tone became more serious.

“When I sent you this, I expected you to focus on heading back, yet here you are, messing around.”

“This is personal, between me and those two! Stay out of it!”

A swiftly thrown knife cracked the earth in front of Cannibal Tiger's feet. Stream Walker's eyes seemed to have an ethereal shine to them in the light of the few lit torches not extinguished by the rain.

“I wasn’t asking. The Boss needs you back as soon as possible, and if I were you, I wouldn't keep him waiting. Consider myself and these hard-working gentlemen your escorts, cause we're gonna get you where you need to go.”

Cannibal Tiger took up and tossed the throwing knife at Stream Walker, who caught it by the handle, and returned it to a sheathe under his jacket.

“Lead the way, then.”

As the group began to walk away, Auriel stepped towards them, as if trying to stop them.

“Hold on, what’s happening here??”

“Oh! Almost forgot you were still here. Run along now, I’m sure y'all got better things to do.”

“Wait a sec!”

She attempted to run, but Aram caught her by the shoulder, stopping her. The enigmatic Stream Walker waved them off.

“Peace!”

The bandits dropped smoke bombs, and when it cleared, the two found themselves alone.

“I can’t believe we just let them go!” she exclaimed, looking around.

“You need to work on your instincts. We would have lost if we took them all on.”

Stepping away from Aram's hand on her shoulder, Auriel gazed at him a look of annoyance. “Speak for yourself.”

“Don’t get too cocky just because you took down one of their leaders. I doubt we’ve seen the last of them, but we have a more pressing issue at hand.”

Auriel: “The West District, right.”

Aram turned his back as he addressed her. “I suggest you take a second to gather yourself and change your attire, especially in this weather.”

“Oh right! Had so much adrenaline going I forgot! Didn't even realize it was raining!”

Aram sighed and shook his head. “Seriously though. Make your way back to HQ. In the meantime, I’m more concerned about the rest of the roaming prisoners, so I’ll take a few people and round them up. See you there, eventually.”

The two parted ways as Auriel raced to the GSO's main building, pondering what the threat could be.

~End of Chapter~

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