Chapter 24: Ajal; Shauran 25th, 344SR; 11:56

The afternoon sky was a dark grey even after several cycles of rain had fallen. Water on the edge of Marina's roof dripped off a crack in the gutter and bounced off of a rock. The tiny droplets flowed down the rigid edges of rock and collected at tiny puddles in the dirt. The sounds of rapid foot steps on the moist grass was followed by the sound of smacks against skin. George's fist slammed into Reinhardt's guard, the red haired man held his ground. The two men's white cotton shirts stuck to their body.

"It flows like a liquid, you want to focus your spirit before a strike for the most efficiency. Same with using an attack, the attack should be used with the flow of the spirit," Ajal explained.

"That's so much to think about though..." Sarah pouted.

They had been training in Marina's backyard, it was separated from other properties by a fence made from a red wood. Ajal looked down at the deck he sat on, the same red wood was very similar to the red pillars between the buildings of Rea.

George put his fists down, he breathed heavily as sweat rolled down his head, his messy and curly hair was glued to his forehead by sweat. 'What's this?' George squatted down and took a stance, Ajal leaned forward as he watched. Reinhardt lowered his guard for a moment as he raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" Reinhardt asked.

"Wait- keep your guard up, he's going to attack," Ajal warned, rubbing his chin curiously.

Reinhardt raised his guard back up and focused his spirit. George focused his spirit into his feet, he kicked off the mud and charged at Reinhardt. Ajal watched the red mist turn orange around George's legs as it flowed to his right shoulder. He tackled into Reinhardt as hard as he could and managed to break his guard and knocked him over.

"Woah! He broke Reinhardt's guard!" John shouted.

"That was good, it wasn't a spirit ignition, but a spirit charge works better than just spirit control. You shouldn't focus solely on controlling your spirit, control your weight as well. Using your entire body as a weapon is smart, just don't be reckless," Ajal suggested.

George nodded as he held his aching shoulder.

"Making a spirit ignition is too much work..." Sarah continued to pout.

"With practice you'll be able to do it without thinking."

"You always say that."

"Stop pouting you pouter, you and Frank are up."

"Pouter..."

"Ah sweet, it's my turn to pummel," Franklin jumped to his feet and threw two air punches in the air as he walked past George.

Sarah stood, a somewhat anxious look on her face. 'She's been having a lot of trouble with spirit control...' Franklin grinned as he took a step forward, Sarah gulped as she took a step back. Her legs quivered as she got ready to block. Ajal watched her spirit struggle to flow, 'She's anxious...' Franklins fist slammed into her guard once and her arms shook, another punch with barely any spirit managed to break her guard.

Sarah cowered, she didn't want to take another hit.

"Stop," Ajal ordered.

"My punches are lethal!" Franklin boasted.

Sarah sat on the grass and stared at her forearms quietly. Ajal knelt down right next to her, her white shirt was covered in dirt and water. She was very skinny, her arms had close to no muscle. 'Hm... maybe i'm approaching this wrong...'

"Let's stop this training for you," said Ajal.

"Huh? Wait- I want to help though, it just takes practice right? I can get stronger if I stay at it-" Sarah implored.

"I didn't say you won't help, I'll teach you something else. It's something i'm rather bad at, but it might serve you better than it does me. Your body isn't used to physical strains, so for me to try and teach you this is rather stupid of me," Ajal explained.

"Huh- oh..."

"You're quite humble for someone so powerful," said Marina.

Ajal and Sarah glanced at the house. Marina stood by the screen door holding a wooden ladle. She wore an orange nightshirt with a blue floral pattern, and a white apron.

"Food's almost ready, enough beating each other up for a day," said Marina.

"I can smell it from here..." George's mouth watered.

"Jack, John, you two are up," said Ajal.

As Jack and John stood up and walked off the wooden deck, Korra and Yorrin immediately attempted to dive past Marina's legs and get into the backyard as well. The two black haired children ran across the wooden deck only for Marina to quickly dart forward and grab the both of them.

"Hey!" Marina immediately pulled the two excited children back.

"Ah!" Korra screamed aggressively like a wild animal.

"Darn! Come on ma!" Yorrin complained.

"I told you no playfighting for you two! And no watching either!" Marina scolded her children.

"I wanna learn how to fight too!" Yorrin struggled.

"No!"

John laughed slightly as he put up his guard. 'Earlier John struggled to break Jack's guard, now it's Jack on the offensive...'

"Alright let's go Jack, let's see that strength you used to beat Alexander Rael!" John taunted.

Jack took a stance but kept his arms low, he raised his hands without making a fist. Ajal watched him collect his spirit in his chest rather than his arms. 'Oh?' The red mist surrounding Jack's chest flowed to his arms and slowly collected. It gradually changed from a dark red to a bright yellow 'He's controlling it quite well...' John gulped nervously as Jack didn't move, only keeping his eyes closed as he focused.

"Y-you gonna attack or...?" John asked.

Jack took a step and threw his fist forward. Ajal watched the spirit flowing to his fist burst the moment before he made contact. John's guard broke as he stumbled backwards, his expression that of pure shock as he looked at Jack. Ajal stood up with a similar expression.

"Wow, he broke the guard in one hit... I didn't even hear him hit John?" Franklin asked.

"What the..." John uttered.

"That, was a spirit ignition," Ajal pointed out as he walked up and patted Jack's shoulder. "You didn't feel him hit you right?" Ajal asked John.

"N-no... it felt like a gust of wind blew my arms apart..."

"You messed up with the timing, the spirit ignition happened before you connected the punch," Ajal told Jack.

"That was an ignition?" Jack replied while looking at his fist.

"That was awesome!" Yorrin cheered as he pumped his fists into the air, while being dragged inside by Marina.

"Stop- admiring- dangerous stuff! You stupid kids!" Marina complained as she struggled to get Yorrin indoors.

"Don't forget that, you can charge your spirit a bit faster, but you controlled it nicely," Ajal praised. "Alright, that's probably enough for today, let's go eat," Ajal rubbed his eye, he was still tired from struggling to sleep.

They all made their way inside, in a line they moved through Marina's small kitchen. The stove top had a coil lit up a bright green, which was heating up a kettle of water. Ajal ducked under the small door frame and entered the living room where the food was set on the table. A stack of plates with a handful of silver forks on top stood next to a bowl piled high with brown rice. Marina had prepared a plentiful amount of stir-fry and two roasted chickens. The scent of fresh steamy rice, and the toasted spices on the chicken filled the air and caused mouths to drool. Ajal squinted when he noticed the chicken.

"Chicken?!" Korra gasped.

"Ma made chicken?! Yes!" Yorrin threw his hands up excitedly.

"Where'd you get that?" Ajal asked curiously.

"The chicken?" Marina asked with a confused expression.

"Yeah, I've barely seen any animals while I've been here. Just a few horses so far, it's a little surprising,"

"Oh, most meat comes from the angels, they are really good when it comes to animal farming, chicken is cheap so I was able to buy this for a good price."

'The angels?' Ajal squinted. 'All meat is sourced from them? Really?'

They each took plates and piled rice, Marina divided the chicken and stir fry evenly. George collected all of it on his spoon, and ate it all in a single bite.

"Mmm!" George's usually narrow eyes widened as he chewed. "This... is amazing! How can chicken taste like this?!" George shouted at Marina.

"I'm glad you like it, I tried a different marinade this time," said Marina.

"Marinade?"

"It's what gives it the flavor."

"Chicken can have more than one flavor!?"

"Thats- not what I said, but yeah." Marina nodded.

"You're a genius... you bend food to your will..."

"George loves food. You could probably see that though..." John snickered.

"Only idiots like John wouldn't recognize Marina's genius," George took another bite.

"Idiot?! Listen here-"

"Stop arguing and eat, you clowns..." said Reinhardt.

"Hey Jack, you mind helping me and Ben out with that spirit stuff? You seem pretty good," Adam asked.

"Huh? Uh- sure-"

"Don't ask on my behalf please, i'm not interested..." Ben suddenly spoke up with an annoyed tone.

"Ben's scared of Jack, haha!" Franklin laughed.

"You're the last person who should be laughing, dumbass," Ben spat as he took another bite of food.

The sound of cutlery dragging against the plates filled the room in place of the awkward silence. Jack looked between Franklin and Ben in confusion with a mouth full of chicken. Ajal looked around the room, and he thought about Eckleflor for a moment. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the golden ring with a yellow gem embedded into it. 'I wonder what that guy was up to...'

"Where'd you get that?!" Korra slammed her palms on the table and stood on her seat.

The little girls reaction surprised Ajal.

"Korra don't- That's..." Marina was about to scold Korra, but she noticed the ring. "Where- Where did you get that?!"

Ajal looked at the ring, then towards Jack.

"I found it in a house in Logos, then Eckleflor said it was his so I gave it back to him. What's so special about it?" Jack asked.

"That's- a ring of the Rocc family... how- why-" Marina replied, she was bewildered at the sight of the gold ring.

"The Rocc family?" John repeated.

"You know about the clan leaders right? While the clan is represented by their respective clan leader, the clan is a conglomerate of individual families who are oath sworn to different beasts who've received gifts from the celestial. The Septirion family, the Rocc family, and the Hawken family are all members of the descendants of Wilo. That ring is given to adults of the Rocc family, they are the most prestigious with one of the most political influences in Andurill..."

The room went silent for a moment. Ajal looked down at the ring. 'Political influence?'

"Why the heck did Eckleflor have it?!" Sarah looked around with raised hands.

"That guy's way too strange..." said Adam.

"That Rolo guy said something similar... he said he was oath sworn to Ophi... I don't get it, the angels don't have gifts like that... their gifts look like tools," Ajal pointed out.

"The angels have second generation gifts, hybrids have first generation gifts. " Korra explained.

"What?"

"They taught us in school that angels have new generation gifts, there hasn't been a new celestial beast in really long time."

'Gifts altered by generation? What? That makes no sense... Imperion's celestial gifts never changed...'

"First generation gifts belong to the legendary beasts which used to come from the celestial, second generation gifts are just tools. I think first generation is cooler," Yorrin explained.

'Gifts on Imperion aren't like any of those... Celestial beasts? Tools?'

"You're some of the weirdest people I have ever seen come through that tunnel..." Marina shook her head. "What's your plan anyway? Where are you going after Andurill?"

"The plan is to get to Argol from here..." said Adam.

Jack looked towards Ajal, he hadn't told anyone else about his decision.

"Argol?!" Marina shouted. "You can't go there?"

"Why not?"

"Well... first you'd need to get the key from Raum Septirion himself... and he's honestly someone whose pretty hard to get a hold of... And if you opened the gate to Argol... you'd open the way for mercenaries to get into the city... the descendants of Tyra have pillaged and plundered anything they can and leave nothing but blood behind..."

Every member of the party turned to Ajal, unsure of whether he'd be okay with such a thing.

"About that... I already told Jack this yesterday, I changed my mind about Imperion."

"Changed your mind about what?" Reinhardt asked.

"I'm not going back," Ajal said calmly as he looked down.

"But, aren't your friends..." John implied.

"My friends tried to kill me... if I go back and they do the same what was the point. I don't have anything to go back- to..." Ajal paused. "Either way, Imperion would have been better after that day with or without me..."

The sound of spoons dragging against plates stopped. Ajal looked up, they all stared at him with a concerned look. Sarah sniffled.

"Huh- Sarah are you crying?" Ajal asked.

"That's really sad, don't say stuff like that Ajal..." she sobbed.

Ajal looked down, "You're just a weapon! A damn weapon and nothing else!" An insult from long ago rang through his head. 'Did I really change... or am I still- that...' Ajal took the last bite of food as he pondered his past.

"I want to help this planet, I know I have no place or say in it... but if I can help you have the freedom to pursue your dreams and live your lives, I'd consider that something I could offer to this world," Ajal stood.

"Huh- free the slaves?" Marina muttered to herself. "Where have I heard that before..."

"So Marina, I must ask, where can I find the leader of all of the hybrids?"

"The leader? That would be the queen- you mean Queen Grehilia?!"

"Yeah... her."

"What do you mean her? She's dangerous! Like really strong, really really really strong! Much stronger than a noble angel or clan leader!"

"Well, even so I have to talk to her to get things to change around here wouldn't I?"

"Well... you're- not- wrong, but it's still insane!"

"I'm used to insane plans, where can I find her?"

"Well... you'd either have to storm Dorad and get past the royal guard... the clan leader from the descendants of Ginpa is fearsome herself, that clan is huge, and full of strong warriors."

"Do they wear blue?"

"Yes, the blue robe is for the royal guard."

"I fought one of them in Logos, she had a really long sword," Ajal mentioned.

"That must've been the co-leader... the fangs of Ginpa are a legendary set of swords, the two longest blades are given to the co-leader and the clan leader."

"So, storm Dorad? Where is Dorad?"

"There is another option... The queen and all of the clan leaders will be gathering on the forty fifth of Shauran for the festival of life," said Marina.

"The forty fifth? that's twenty days from now... The festival of life?"

"The festival of life is a cultural event which we hold every year. But let me just warn you, you shouldn't battle the queen herself, she holds the weapons which descended from the great harbinger Zadia."

"A harbinger?" Ajal was surprised to hear that. 'The harbingers of Imperion's gifts we're given to the six deities... if she has the abilities of a harbinger, then Marina's warning is a bigger deal than I thought...'

"Ma it's two minus one," Korra mumbled with food in her mouth.

"Just say one o clock... and chew with your mouth closed!" Yorrin yelled at Korra.

"Stop scolding me!"

Jack and Ben both stared at Franklin who chewed with his mouth open all the while in the corner. 'I can hear Franklin chewing over everyone else...'

"Oh- yeah that's right I almost forgot! Ajal had the sleeping problem right?" Marina grasped her head, slightly dizzied from jumping between topics so quickly without much thought.

"Yeah... I got a few hours in last night but I woke up again," Ajal replied.

"We can go see a pharmacist I know, she might be able to get you something."

"Oh... That sounds nice, I'd like to see more of the city as well."

"Oh me too! I wanna see the different food!" George turned around.

"I've already looked around the city," Adam had a smug smile on his face.

"How?" Franklin asked.

"I walked around at night... those red pillars are terrifying to stand on," Adam replied.

'Not really...'

"Can I come?" Ben asked.

"I wanna come too!" Sarah shouted while sniffling.

"How are you still crying..." said John.

"Shut up!"

"We can't all go..." said Reinhardt.

"We'll be here for a while if we wait for the festival, it gives us time to train. I think we could take turns getting some time away from the hideout," Ajal suggested.

"Then it's settled then, we'll take a vote for who goes with Ajal and Marina," Adam concluded.

***

'Stone...' Ajal looked down at the ground as he walked. Besides Marina's backyard, there hadn't been anything but concrete to walk on since arriving in Andurill, it bothered him. He looked at the buildings made from metal and concrete in front of him, 'more concrete.' The building was a bakery, the scent of freshly baked muffins permeated the street. 'She better get only coffee... they have that right?' Ajal tried to see through the glass.

"Even though it's been a short time, I can't get used to this place," said Reinhardt.

"You're telling me," Ajal replied.

"What? You have it way easier, at least you look like them."

Ajal laughed with a slight smirk on his face. Reinhardt wore a black sweater, but a hood which covered his head and mask covered most of his face. His red hair made him easy to spot, and there were no other hybrids with naturally red hair, only non-unified. Ajal looked up at the sign which read "Bread Bakery", past the window Marina and George spoke to the baker.

"Was it wise for us three to tag along?" Ben asked Ajal.

"What do you mean? We did rock paper scissors, so it wasn't really by choice," said Ajal.

"Yeah but... I don't think we should group the dumb people together. Franklin is bound to make Sarah or Jack do something stupid. Wouldn't it be best if we stayed in the hideout till the forty fifth?"

"Well... if we just waltz into the festival without a plan, that'd be dumb. We'll collect information we could use, anything, we just have to avoid the guards while doing that."

"That's a good point... So uh- you don't want to go back to Imperial?"

"It's Imperion."

"Yeah- my bad... I wasn't on board for the whole Murdok Bay thing... If the angels and hybrids we're bad, I don't think I want to meet more. I still think it's hopeless for the non-unified though... we'll all either be dead or slaves again," Ben said with a strange confidence.

"Ben..."

"What... you know it's true Reinhardt..."

'He's usually pretty quiet and to himself... I didn't think he was like this...' His narrow eyes and his slicked back hair we're all Ajal could see, but a majority of the time he was looking down. His arms we're well toned, 'wasn't he around Jack's age? He seems much stronger... I wonder if he was a slave longer than Jack...'

"And... in all honesty, I think it's really stupid if you think you can change Grelt without killing anybody."

"You might be right, which is why i'm working to make you all stronger," said Ajal.

"Huh?" Ben looked a little surprised by the response.

"You're all capable of making a change, just as much as me even if you don't have celestial gifts... but, if at the very least I think there's benefit in you all being able to defend yourselves. Of course, who am I to know whether or not you'll use it for good, at least this time you have a choice. Everyone was born innocent, but for some reason, there's always sin... and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a victim and contributor to that sin..."

"Contributor to that sin? You mean... you used to be a bad person?" Ben asked.

"Yeah... I was definitely terrible... Part of the reason why I don't want to go back to Imperion is just that really, do I deserve to see the future of that world when I contributed so much to it's suffering? As much as I try to redeem myself would it ever be enough..." Ajal tried to articulate.

"Hm, deep down your grimmer than Ben..." Reinhardt said with wide eyes.

"Hey... rude," Ben's head shot to the right.

"Hah, that's pretty funny..." Ajal laughed.

"Anyone whose lived has their darkness, if you want redemption Ajal, that's fine, and I'd hate to see you leave in all honesty... But I have to disagree if you don't think you have a right to your home," Reinhardt told Ajal in a serious tone.

"Sorry, having a lack of sleep makes me pretty pessimistic..." Ajal scratched his head, he turned to the café window.

Marina wore a beige coat with a grey turtleneck sweater, her hair tied in a braided ponytail, her thumb was under her chin as she curiously observed a display of baked goods. George was behind her with a similar expression and pose, he wore similar clothes to Reinhardt, a black hoodie which was useful for staying undercover. The large man's eyes were glued to whatever that display had to offer as well. Marina pointed at something in the window and looked up at the baker. She held four fingers up. 'Oh no,' George picked up a tray with four sealed cups off the counter and Marina took a brown bag filled with something Ajal knew he'd dread.

"They had fresh muffins!" Marina's eyes lit up with excitement as she exited the store.

She shoved her hand in the bag and aggressively pulled one out and handed it to George. The surface of the muffin was studded with crystals of sugar, it's golden crust cracked open with soft cake and chocolate chips erupting out. George bit into it, immediately, his expression lit up and he seemed to convulse in place.

"What is this... it's so good!" George uttered in shock as he chewed.

"You've never had a muffin?" Ajal said with a confused tone.

Marina handed one to Ajal, Ben, and Reinhardt. 'Seems like a regular muffin,' Ajal drew it closer and smelled the aroma, 'Ava liked muffins, well... anything sweet really...' Ajal bit into the soft but firm crust and immediately tasted the sugar crystals, the soft cake melted in his mouth and took the chocolate chips with it. The sweet flavors danced across his tongue.

"This is really good," Ajal felt he had to agree.

Ajal reached for a coffee and Marina slapped his hand.

"That one's for George, yours is this one, it's black." Marina pointed out.

"Black?" Ajal responded.

"Yeah? You said you don't put anything in it right? George puts cream and sugar in his."

"Cream and sugar? In coffee? What does that taste like?" Ajal asked curiously.

Ajal sipped his coffee, the hot liquid burned his tongue slightly. The sharp, strong taste immediately cut through sweet flavors and velvety texture of the muffin and the drowsiness he felt from struggling to sleep.

"It's pretty good," Reinhardt sipped his coffee.

"Huh?" Ajal looked at him in surprise.

'Did he just say coffee tasted good? Is coffee different here on Grelt?' Ajal thought as he brought the cup to his lips, he took a short sip, the scalding liquid burnt at his tongue but cooled down quickly, a bitter and strong taste overpowered his taste buds. 'Tastes the same... bitter...' Ajal thought.

He looked around the square plaza, stores we're in every direction you could glance with hybrids of all races entering and exiting. Around the walls and in the middle of the square was a fountain made from white stone. While the scene looked beautiful, Ajal couldn't ignore the multiple hybrids who sat on the ground lifeless, without homes to return to or a reason for living. He had asked Marina about the number of homeless. 'Most of these people had connections with the hybrid resistance before their clan merged with the alliance... would their lives have been better if the merger never happened?' Ajal watched as one of the hybrids reached into the water with his palm and drank it.

"Ew, gross!" "Someone call a guard!" "Damnit you old bum, the fountains not for drinking!" Various citizens cursed at the homeless man.

Ajal turned and noticed the others had already started walking further towards the south west district, he hurried after them.

"We're entering Bellos, I think you'll like this district more," Marina suggested.

Ajal looked up, the red beams he had run on days ago we're no longer set up between buildings. The buildings we're similar to the ones in Rea. However, the street separated to two sides, split by a river of water. The sidewalks were quite large, there were short arched bridges made from an orange wood which allowed people to get across.

"You and John are brothers? He seemed pretty upset when you called him an idiot," Marina asked George.

"Nah he's fine, I always call him an idiot, but he's way smarter than me despite being younger," George bit into his muffin again.

"I thought we had to look out for guards?" said Ben.

"The guards will be busy today, the great families from Lemen are coming to Andurill today so all of the guards should be closer to the north districts, Cabac and Ketova and the Central district of Anka," Marina explained.

"Hasn't anyone told you not to help outlaws?" Ajal joked as he observed the scenery of the new district.

"Well, most of the people in Rea are outlaws anyway."

'It's still nothing but stone and concrete as far the eye can see...' There were no more homeless hybrids in this district. Much further down this street Ajal could see a massive statue of a young girl carrying a massive stone sphere on her back. 'I haven't seen a single plant or patch of grass in this city other than in Marina's garden...' Ajal thought as he chewed on the soft cake.

"This way," Marina pointed to a building on the left.

The building was small and didn't have any signs or labels, 'Oh finally...' Ajal noticed a flower pot hanging from a hook on the corner of the building's roof, white flowers spilled out of the sides of the pot. A pipe connected to the gutter of the roof dripped residual droplets of rainwater from the earlier in the day into the pot. Excess water spilled out of the bottom of the pot and crashed against the ground with a rhythm.

The entrance was similar to the one at Marina's house, but the curtain had been pulled to the side, Ajal had to crouch to get inside, but even as he raised his head he was just inches from the ceiling. The floor inside was made of white tiles, in front of them was a clear path to a counter a woman stood behind. To the right in the room was a wall that didn't come up to Ajal's waist, it created a path for people to wait in while lining up to see the woman at the desk.

"Marina! How are you-" the woman stopped when she made eye contact with Ajal.

She had short and loose black hair, her eyes wrinkled but wide as she observed Ajal up and down. She wore a white coat, and a black shirt underneath, as Ajal made eye contact she immediately looked down back to the paper in front of her.

"Hey Julia," Marina greeted.

"Uh- hey..."

Behind Julia was something similar to a kitchen, however there were various jars full of herbs and plants, one cupboard was wide open and Ajal could see an assortment of extracts in more glass jars.

"Is this who you'll be taking to the festival?" Julia immediately asked.

"Huh? What... no, I came to get something for him, this is Ajal." Marina introduced.

"Hello," Ajal greeted and then turned back to the bottles of white cream on the shelves.

"I need something that can put him to sleep, do you have anything like that?" Marina requested.

Julia looked at Marina and then at Ajal with wide eyes.

"I don't know what to say... I'm glad to see you moving on after-" said Julia.

"Uh... no... no, no, no, no! That's not what I meant!" Marina's face turned red.

"Oh... my bad, so... he's single?" Julia asked Ajal.

"No," Ajal replied.

"Oh," Julia quickly gave up. "Well, come to the back, I have some herbs for helping sleep," she said as she turned and walked towards the back door.

Marina pushed a gate connected to the counter, and the three of them followed her. A cool breeze greeted Ajal as he stepped outside, his eyes widened. Off in the distance past a large part of the city, was a giant black gate. Ajal could only see the upper half of it, but he could make out the silver painting of a wolf on one side cowering underneath the silver painting of a tiger on the other.

"That's what I wanted to show you, past that gate is a valley which leads to Marauders Valley, that valley would lead straight to Argol," Marina pointed.

"That's a gate? That massive wall?" Reinhardt could barely believe it.

"You think that's special? You should see the gate to Braxus, it's over twice that size," said Ajal.

"Braxus?" said Julia.

"Yeah, it's the biggest city on my world."

"Your world...? Marina, what have I told you about befriending weirdos?"

"No he really isn't kidding, he's not from this world," said Ben.

"Whatever you say.... here, this stuff should help him sleep," Julia picked up a pot with a purple flower growing on it.

"That's a strange looking flower," said Ajal.

Ajal looked puzzled for a moment, something about the shape of the flower was off. 'Did she tie the branches together like that? Or is that how the plant is...' Ajal realized as he looked at the other plants, he hadn't closely looked at any of them since he had gotten here. 'Marina's plants in her backyard looked normal... why do these ones look strange...' The plant grew out of the soil with a single branch the width of a finger, and midway up the plant two branches seemed to curl around the main branch, and once more up above two more branches. There were twenty leaves on the bottom and top branches, the top of the bark seemed to expand slightly, where a deep purple flower blossomed from, it had a silky smell that comforted Ajal.

"Where do you get these?"

"It's perfectly safe don't worry!" Julia growled at Ajal with an annoyed look, "it's a native plant to Hiria, dry the leaves and chop it up, put it in some boiling water, let one flower petal float on the surface. Wait ten minutes and then drink," she explained.

"Sounds like tea," Ajal replied.

"Kind of, this one just helps people go to sleep fast-"

A zipping sound interrupted Julia.

"What are you doing here, state your name!" an unknown woman's voice shouted from above.

Everyone's looked around and then looked up. Up above on the adjacent building were a group of kids wearing black. There was at least ten and they had their eyes on Ajal.

"We were being watched," Ajal mentioned.

"Who are they?" Reinhardt asked.

Ajal squinted to try and see their faces better, 'Judging from their clothes, and height, it's those kids, but there's more of them...'

Ajal glanced up where a woman landed on her knee on top of Julia's pharmacy. Her black hair with blond streaks reached down to her neck, one side of her body was covered by a gray robe. A golden hand from a lower level shot upwards and grasped the edge of the roof she stood on. A zipping noise followed and Ajal turned around to see several people with gray robes soar upward swing themselves into the air. They landed knee first onto the building. 'Grappling hooks? That's pretty cool...'

"You kids shouldn't play at these heights now!" the woman shouted.

"Shut up! We can do what we want!" A child with a familiar voice shouted.

"I think I met some of them on the first day we got here, the others I don't know," Ajal whispered to Reinhardt.

"We should get back inside!" Marina whispered.

"Huh- Why?" George asked.

"That's one of the co-leaders of Andurill! She commands the city guard, I don't know why she's here, but if she sees you we'll have a problem!"

Marina tried to shove them towards the door but they were too interested in what was going on.

"What are those bracelets they're wearing?" Ajal pointed up.

"Huh bracelets- That's their celestial gift, Wilo's Talon!" said Marina.

"Wilo's Talon?" Ajal looked up at the three guards standing above.

Ajal looked at the other two guards, they had pure blonde hair. On their forearms was a golden gauntlet, the sharp claws made it good for latching onto things. The captain had loose black hair, but she also had the same golden device on her forearm.

"What's up with her? Is she a descendant of Wilo or Ophi?" Ajal asked.

"Both! Her father was a descendant of Ophi, her mother Wilo! We need to run!" Marina warned.

"Hmm, you can have more than one oath?" Ajal took another bite of his muffin as he continued to observe.

"That's insane..." Ben uttered with an awestruck expression.

"What's wrong with heights?" One of the kids who sat with one leg hanging off the roof stood up, "Do they scare you?" he grinned at her.

The one who stood wore a black shirt with short sleeves, and black camo pants 'His clothes look similar to that of the non-unified resistance...' He was about five to six feet, just taller than Marina, even though all descendants of Ophi stopped growing at five feet 'Is he even a descendant of Ophi?' His eyes we're bright green, they we're visible even from a distance.

"Are you the ringleader? State your name and district right now!" the woman ordered.

"You all go back to base, you've done your job and shown me the target, let me keep the guards busy," the one who stood ordered. "It's rude to ask a question without answering mine Captain Dival, or is Reyna fine?" he turned to the guard.

"Don't toy with me, brat," Reyna replied.

"Well we are acquainted aren't we? After all, you've been after me for some time now."

'This is interesting,' Ajal threw the rest of the muffin into his mouth.

"Marina, don't worry about us, Ajal is crazy strong, and the two of us have gotten a lot stronger too, we'll be fine. They don't seem to have noticed us yet." George reassured her.

"Who are those kids?" said Reinhardt.

"I played tag a few days ago with some of them," said Ajal.

"When did that happen? Is that related to this?" Reinhardt replied.

The children scattered into multiple directions, hopping and leaping between buildings and disappearing into the dense jungle of concrete. The one with green eyes remained.

"Hey! I didn't say you could leave!" Reyna shouted.

"Well I did," the remaining boy replied.

"You said I've been after you for some time... who are you?"

"What? You don't know me?" The boy raised his hands into the air. "There aren't many people, without a name like myself, you'd know me quite well as the villain around these parts! Chaos!" The boy introduced himself with an confusing arrogance.

'Chaos?'

"You... So- that's your true form. Geral's newest pawn, the self-proclaimed villain is just a pip-squeak? Pathetic I expected more than a scrawny brat," Reyna mocked.

"Self proclaimed? And did she just say Geral?" Ajal repeated.

"I'm not trying to impress a stupid animal. After all, I'm the villain. I'd much rather keep you up at night, fearing for your shallow lives, " Chaos replied with his hands raised.

"Enough nonsense, it's your fault countless descendants of Tavo and Morne are dead. Apprehend the criminal and his lackeys!" Reyna ordered as she pointed the talon at him.

The guards each pointed the golden device on their arms at Chaos before it fired a hook forward at him.

"I'm glad to hear that," said Chaos as he fearlessly stepped off the building and fell.

"He jumped?!" Reinhardt shouted.

Ajal's eyes widened as he noticed a green grid line enveloped Chaos's body. It formed shapes which materialized into pieces of armor. On his shoulders were two spikes that seemed to be spinning, connected to bulky shoulder pads. On the left shoulder pad was a pack with several bolts loaded into it, the bolts glowed a bright green. On the right shoulder was a machine gun, leading down his right arm was a strange disk-like object connected to his forearm, on the left arm was a crossbow with a bolt loaded into it. The sections between his joints had strange thick metallic fibers running through them which seemed to protect his body, his body was mainly protected by the green plate armor, on the chest was written 'DEMON' in white. The letters we're spaced out strangely. But Ajal recognized the spiral piece, and the plates, the letters too, were similar to the font that was written on the ship. His helmet covered his face, there was a space for his eyes to see through, but Ajal saw two green lights glow from underneath it. His black hair was not covered by the helmet, instead flowing wildly off the top of his exposed head. 'Wha- what kind of gift is that!?'

"Remember the report! His gift is powerful and we don't know the extent what he's capable of!" Reyna warned.

Chaos stopped in mid air the moment the spikes on his shoulder began to spin faster, he turned in the air seamlessly to an upright position. Two of the guards fired hooks towards him and grasped his arms, however he soared straight upwards and dragged them along. He spun around, tangling the two wires together before the two guards slammed into one another, and to finish them off he started to swing them around effortlessly.

"Descendants of Wilo are always so confident in the air! It must feel shameful to be bested!" Chaos shouted as he swung the two guards into a building.

Their bodies crashed through a wall and the grapple hook receded into the hole. Chaos remained in the air, Ajal couldn't form words, a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind. 'He said Geral... but... those parts... they look like Imperial tech?!'

"Hey Reinhardt... isn't that-" George stuttered.

"Yeah... the one who gave us the order to attack the angels, what's going on?" said Reinhardt.

"He's the one who gave you the order? But he's a kid?" Ajal couldn't believe what he heard.

"In truth, this is the first time I've seen him without his suit..."

Reyna fired her grapple hook forward and Chaos caught it.

"You watched those two fail when they tried that, did you really think-"

Reyna tugged the rope and to Chaos's surprise she flew directly at him. 'She made herself lighter and then pulled herself forward... she really can use both gifts...' the captain of the city guard soared through the air and swung her leg at Chaos. He raised his armored arms to block and her foot slammed into the metal, Ajal noticed she started to descend before she struck Chaos's armor with her palm. 'She deactivated the gift... and lightened him instead...' Ajal observed Reyna's strategy, she kicked off his suit with the grapple still attached. The two seemed to float in the air connected by the hook, both of them we're weightless as they floated.

"You're mine!" Reyna shouted.

The grapple hook began to recede and pull the two closer as she readied a kick. Chaos raised the disk on his arm and blocked her foot, she pulled her leg back and planted her foot into his chest this time. She raised he foot and slammed it into his helmet. Chaos grunted angrily. Ajal noticed a glint of light reflect off her footwear, 'Are those steel boots? ' They continued to descend to the ground slowly as Reyna sent a barrage of kicks into the suit of armor.

"That hurts!" Chaos growled as he continued to block her kicks.

She pulled him back up with the hook but Chaos's shoulders turned and let out a burst of energy which propelled him upwards.

"Not so fast!" Reyna said as she grasped the wire between them with both hands.

She held onto the rope and Ajal noticed she started to fall at a normal speed 'She returned her weight again... while he's still weightless! She makes versatile use of both gifts...' Reyna twisted her body in mid air, swinging chaos straight down.

"Shit!" Chaos shouted as he was pulled straight down where Ajal and the others stood.

She slammed his body into Julia's plants, clay pots shattered and their shards rolled against the stone roof, a cloud of smoke obscured the area. Reyna landed on the roof and turned to see the three spectators who looked nothing like hybrids as well as Marina who still attempted to pull them all away, and Julia who hid behind the door.

"My plants! Why would you do that?!" Julia snapped.

"Who- who are you? It's dangerous-" Reyna stopped, she realized that Ajal, George and Reinhardt weren't hybrids.

Reyna turned as a metallic shifting sound could be heard from within the dust. Ajal was suddenly puzzled to see golden light rising out of the dust, it collected into a ball of light before it dissipated into the air. 'Thats...' A green light from within the smoke caught his attention, a glowing green rod fired out of the smoke at Reyna. She ducked in time to avoid the bolt, but it headed straight for the pharmacy. Ajal quickly jumped for it, he grabbed the shining green rod with his bare hand. Reyna's jaw dropped as Ajal held the rod in hand.

"What is this thing?" Ajal asked as he observed the rod.

"D-did he just catch that!" Chaos exclaimed.

"Hey! Let go! Quickly!" Reyna shouted.

"Huh?"

The rod had a pointy tip, it burned Ajal's hand as he held it. The light continued to brighten and the rod grew hotter. Before he could let go the rod exploded. A wave of heat and smoke engulfed his palm, his sleeve burned up to his shoulder. 'Dark Abyss!' his third eye opened and released the black and white wave before the explosion could spread further. Ajal's hand was severely burned, he opened and closed his fist as the burns receded and healed. Chaos and Reyna we're speechless.

"How's your hand?" Reinhardt asked.

"That hurt a lot, I was surprised," Ajal replied.

"Who- who are-" Reyna stood up. "Three eyes, the off worlder who defeated Rolo and Avery..." she stepped back as her legs shook.

"Damn, I should've listened to Marina," Ajal groaned.

"You-you're the off worlder..."

"If you'd be so kind please don't tell anyone about-"

Ajal didn't finish as Reyna grappled to the building where her subordinates had been thrown.

"-this"

She landed on the roof where the other guards had been thrown.

"Get up, we need to report to Dorad immediately! The royal guard needs to be summoned!" Reyna shouted the order to the soldiers who couldn't stand.

"Ah... I really should've listened to Marina," Ajal realized.

"Royal Guard? Not so fast-" Chaos ran forward without his armor. "Huh?" Chaos looked at his hand and realized the right half of his armor was gone. "Huh!"

"Oh, my bad... that was probably my fault..." said Ajal.

"What! What the hell!" Chaos shouted.

Reyna picked up the two of them by making them weightless and carried them by their waist. She jumped to a building further away. Chaos's reached for his back with his left arm, loading another bolt into the crossbow and taking aim at Reyna as she fled.

"Hey, wait! Don't kill her!" Ajal shouted.

"Huh?! No, she has to die!" Chaos replied.

"No she doesn't!"

Chaos grit his teeth as he looked at Ajal, he looked back at the captain of the city guard running away. The mechanism released the bolt and fired it towards Reyna. It just missed her, but instead he hit the building next to where she'd land. A massive explosion engulfed her, a shriek of pain filled the air as three figures flew out of the smoldering clouds of smoke and fell to the street. The distant sound of their bodies splashing into the river followed.

"You asshole!" Ajal cursed.

"The hell did you want me to do! If the royal guard gets called to Andurill the resistance gets screwed!" Chaos shouted. "I doubt that even killed her! And it's your fault anyway!"

"The resistance?"

"Yeah... I came here to find you... according to Andrei and Morin they met a super powerful descendant of Ophi... but no... you're the off worlder from Logos... I came here to convince you to join us, but..." Chaos pointed at Reinhardt and George. "Hey- You two... I remember you, what are you doing in Andurill?" said Chaos.

"You ordered us to attack the eastern outpost, we did." Reinhardt came forward. "There was nothing there, but we found him," Reinhardt pointed to Ajal.

"That's not my point idiot, I mean why aren't you still there?" Chaos replied.

"Huh?" Reinhardt's head tilted.

Ajal squinted at the short black haired boy.

"You were ordered to continue attacking the outposts so the angels would focus their defenses there and leave Hiria alone, that way the hybrids would be at their weakest during the festival." Chaos explained.

"But- but... do you know how many of us died on that order, and every other order..." George asked, "The non-unified resistance is less than ten people right now... "

"People who never received a gift from the celestial only have their lives to fight with. You should be proud your lives meant something," Chaos stated.

Ajal felt his head throb with anger, his fist clenched and his teeth grit behind his lips.

"We... were all ordered to die? Me and my brother... were meant to die?" George muttered to himself with wide eyes.

"What... what do you think our lives are?" Ben uttered with grit teeth.

"Who are you?" Chaos asked Ben.

"Hey, Marina, we're heading back..." said Ajal.

"Huh?" said Chaos.

"You said you we're looking to have me join you..."

"Yeah, on the night of the festival of life, we will usurp the clan leaders and the queen and take this city for ourselves."

"I refuse."

"You refuse?"

"The resistance, and the hybrid alliance... both need to be stopped... I'm going to crush both of them."

"Huh? Hold on- if you want to crush the hybrid and angel alliance then we're on the same side?!" Chaos argued.

"You clearly don't value lives, your solution is to just kill the enemy, right?"

"Well... yeah..."

"That won't solve anything... you and the resistance are all fools."

"So what will? You think you can just change this corrupt world without killing anyone?!"

"Yeah," Ajal responded without hesitation.

Chaos nervously took a step back, Ajal's eyes didn't waver.

"You're crazy... crazier than me... fine then, have it your way dumbass." Chaos turned around.

The green lines surrounded his body, and the armor fully formed around Chaos and he jumped off the building. His thrusters activated and he flew upwards into the sky towards the wall. Ajal turned around to the others.

"Well... good to know even the resistance considers us to be expendable fools..." Ben pouted.

"Don't listen to that punk," Ajal advised.

Ajal looked over to Reinhardt and George who was on his knees. They both had shocked expressions on their face. Marina knelt down and patted George on the back.

"How many of my men died on that order..." Reinhardt muttered.

"If John had died, what would he have died for..." George uttered in despair.

"Come on... we can't stay here for long," Marina advised.

Ajal turned to them and offered a hand to George. "You all did what you believed was right... it's all any of us can do," said Ajal.

George looked up at him with watery eyes.

"John is still here, and you aren't all gone yet. We'll make things right... for all the lives this world lost, and the lives of those to come..."