On a high-ish class area where rich people lived and regular little security booths stood, there were several three or even the occasional four-story buildings with adequate spacing between, each was fancy in its own unique way.

A few weeks past the high-earning middle class lived here, now it stood deserted like all others, funny how everyone just got up and ran, or died.

Eian had rarely come here, he disliked associating with Edward's people, they were a snobbish bunch of dysfunctional guys who thought too much of themselves, a little money and they pretended to be better than everyone else.

He found it funny money couldn't help them now, just as it didn't help half the world, people were people and they had trouble rich or poor.

Eian peeked over the corner, he was going to get a major scolding from his mother, again.

Only his enhanced eyesight let him see his target; the apartment building sported clear damage, Edward and his crew had a large house with several which they had used as their base, rent was high but nothing compared to what they made.

No person stuck out to his eyes, there was not a soul in that area he could see, the front door was ajar with an unknown pile covered with tarp beside, which led Eian to believe it may be abandoned.

Approaching slowly Eian observed the surroundings, there was still clear evidence of a bloody fight, the smell of decomposing flesh waiting to greet him.

The pile turned out to be decomposing bodies, most were stacked up and already burnt, Eian wondered who burnt them and why.

A soft near indiscernible breeze caught his attention, focusing further it proved unnatural, Eian turned to the roof of the nearby building.

Eian noticed a man staring in his direction, cursing Eian bolted, he let his guard down, again.

Burning time, Eian dashed to the corner of the block and ran circles until he was sure he had lost the sentry.

Slowly making his way back, barely winded though the heat made his body sweat, Eian got to their current hideout; a ransacked cheap fast-food restaurant.

Jumping inside and shutting the entrance Eian went to the back, where was likely the manager's office.

"People are there, they saw me but I think I lost them," Eian admitted to the group.

"Do you know who they are?" Ezrael was casual at first, his eyes sharpened soon.

"No. Could be anyone really." Eian sighed, sitting on the only unoccupied chair.

Elisa stood and begun pacing, the new girl Kristal was watching them with mild interest, Ezrael looked concerned while his son was whistling a tune on the corner.

"Then? What do you want to do?" Ezrael looked at him like a dangerous animal, Eian grunted at him, getting angry.

"Fuck, I don't know." Eian scratched his neck, after calming his nerves.

"I'm not placing my son in danger. You get that right?" Ezrael quizzed.

"I'm not charging in dumb as fuck either," Eian answered testily even as his indecision was gnawing at him, his mother reminded him about language.

Elisa turned and looked at him.

"We ...should just leave." Elisa wrung her hands, shame evident.

"I...agree? Slightly, or maybe they can help us?" Ezrael stared at the ceiling, their path unclear.

"Help us!?... Help us how?" Elisa seemed surprised at the suggestion, Eian listened, he wanted to help his friends but not risk his mother.

"I say...let us greet them, with the proper caution of course. At worst we can just leave if things look bad, if they are your friends, maybe we can warn them? At best, we join a group which can help us survive." Ezrael explained.

At the sound of crunching wood Eian started by grabbing a bat, he hadn't had time to find a proper weapon, the blocked door at the front had been slammed or shattered.

Eian braced himself empowering earth allowing his spirit's flow easier while channeling Qi up his arms.

A gentle double knock at the office door, made Eian curse himself stupid, they should have left already.

"No need to fight, just making sure you aren't enemies. I'll go in alone, please don't attack me." A newcomer's voice came from the other side of the door, though the voice was a trace familiar Eian couldn't place it.

As the newcomer emerged, Eian first thing he saw of the man was his grim scowl as dark as his skin, then his eyes fell on Eian.

For his part, Eian took this time to thoroughly analyze his face, then a distant resemblance from a corner of his mind came.

It took some time to come to grips with reality, matching the near past with today, it felt weird to see him like this.

Russel stood straight, clean-shaven from his head to chin, dark skin with newly toned muscles of a warrior and an overall bulk denoting a strength, straining his undersized worded T-shirt.

His frown turned neutral before turning into a joking smirk, Eian noticed his distinctive nerd glasses were missing.

His old slim friend had been swapped with an upgraded Hulk version, thick upper body with a slim waist and a square jaw.

"So...sup bro? Long time." Russel joked.

"You hit the gym." Eian smiled awkwardly.

"Heh, the exact one you did bro. Hello, miss Elisa." Russel added before politely nodding to his mother in acknowledgment.

Four other confident men entered and surrounded Russel at his behest, though their posture relaxed further as Russel vouched for them, Eian recognized none of them, perhaps new friends?

Each was as different from each other as the elements themselves, Russel was the only black man, Russel didn't like being called colored so it stuck to Eian, which likely didn't endear him to other black people though.

A bulky full blonde Caucasian with had an air of authority and strong jaw, secondly was an Asian man fanning himself moving weirdly, a guy whose suffocating attire screamed Goth, and the last looked Polynesian with a figure of skin and bones, a distracted or dazed expression on his face.

******

After a brief greeting, Russel asked them to follow him to a safer place to speak.

He led them to another block entirely, several blocks down actually, it was clearly more modest than the previous place, the pale paint scraping off from the building at seemingly random spots.

While of similar size, being three stories, this new home looked out of maintenance even before everything went to hell, entering Eian realized it split into a multitude of unique apartments.

Russel did warn Eian and crew that some of their group may be hostile due to a fresh attack, Ed and his people especially.

Hearing this, Eian did feel guilt but he decided it was best to hear what his friends had to say before jumping to conclusions.

Elisa protested slightly, but conceded as this was Russel, Eian's mom always trusted him for his impeccable conduct.

Entering the hallway, which looked as though people threw everything around haphazardly, everything looked disorderly, closer to a dump from a ghetto than apartments.

This new place was large and quite a bit away from where Edward's base had been, another piece of information filed away within Eian's mind, painting a picture of desperation.

Russel spoke mostly to his crew, the residents hanging here were dejected, Russel did try to talk to Eian a couple of times, but he seemed to have his hands full with his group.

"Like what we did with the place?" Russel asked, quirking an eyebrow at them, Eian still felt weird seeing him without glasses.

"What happened here?" Ezrael was the first to ask.

"Had to relocate, I'm sure you have more than an impression, at least by now," Russel answered, smirking as though he was privy to some hidden knowhow.

"What?" Ezrael frowned, confused.

"Manners, please stop meddling in places you shouldn't." Russel's voice grew serious and tapped his temple, Eian recognized a hint of anger in the statement and that look.

Eian heard Edward in a heated argument with his father as they passed an apartment, they both sounded distressed as well as many others, Eian still wanted to punch Edward's face.

Russel made sure no one bothered them long, though many people looked angry or depressed, some crying even, which was natural with the times but things were adding up to a bad picture.

Finally, they arrived into what must have been the only comfortable living room with enough space plus extra, Russel's four friends blocked the entrance, Eian frowned, he trusted his friend but being heavy handled was annoying.

"If you want something, spill it," Eian voice had a trace of heat.

"Excuse me?" Russel focused on Eian, question in his eyes.

"You've got all these guys around us Russ, it's annoying." Eian pointing at his goons at the door.

"Oh!? No bro, they're here to protect you all." Russel dispersed the thought with his hands frantically.

"What?" Elisa spooked, she clutched Eian's arm feeling intimidated.

"No please, you misunderstand." Russel kept both hands up in peace, Eian eyed the machete at his side.

"Then clear it up." Eian patted his mom's arm, growing highly annoyed at Russel for putting her in this state of distress.

Russel took a deep breath and let it out slowly, shaking his head and sighed before beginning.

"They assaulted us E, murdering then kidnapping some of their friends and family," Russel answered gesturing behind the door to the hostile bystanders they had passed, Eian felt all eyes on them.

"Who?" Eian had a good idea, but...well he just wanted to be sure.

"Obviously those pieces of shit who had you, E. As you can expect Ed is livid, they took his sisters." Russel sighed and wiped some sweat from his shaved head.

Eian stayed silent, a weight of profound guilt gripped him, some of those people might have been innocents, maybe even children.

Quickly overwhelming the emotion with anger Eian found his emotional footing, it was not he who did those things, each person was responsible for his own actions.

Still a small part of his mind argued he had been reckless and gotten people hurt, but for now he could not let that consume his resolve, he and his mother came first.

"Why did you bring us here?" Ezrael was looking at Russel's goons with some agitation.

"I told you to stop doing that." Russel frowned, raising his voice a half-octave, startling Ezrael.

Eian clicked at the warning, Ezrael was simply being a dick again, though that brought up more ideas on his enhanced friend's abilities.

"You..." Ezrael opened his mouth and closed it with a snap as Russel glowered.

"Yes. I can feel you trying to read our minds. AGAIN, stop it or else. The only reason I have not taken action is because of him." Russel gestured at Eian as he grew more serious.

Eian smirked, the asshole deserved it and if Russel was capable to seeing Ezrael's machinations, then that was a mountain off his back.

This presented a wonderful opportunity for Eian himself, however, as Ezrael's power was a constant worry, by very nature humans were distrustful.

Eian had known Russel for years since the second year of primary school, that was their first class together.

"He's not brain-washing me either, is he?" Eian asked his friend.

"What?" Russel looked at Ezrael again, alarm coloring his voice.

Retreating a step back, Ezrael raised both hands in surrender, his son grew wide-eyed, alarmed at his father's behavior.

"No! No, I'm not! That's crazy?!" Ezrael looked around for help.

Eian shifted from one foot to the other, getting lazy standing around while Russ inspected them closely.

"......No, you're safe bro." Russel confirmed after observing each of them intently.

"You sure?" Eian still felt a little queasy about that.

"Yeah. Sure as gold." His friend reassured Eian, a small trouble vanished.

Ezrael for his part looked relieved, though he did glare at Eian before folding his arms, disappointment clear, Eian shrugged he didn't care.

"That's useful. Dominion?" Russel looked at Ezrael, brow raised.

Ezrael confirmed it along with a reluctant sigh.

"I developed Farsight. I'll explain it to you later bro, we have to talk first though." Russel replied before the question even formed on his lips.

Then he started explaining their situation, Eian felt a migraine incoming.

"We were already starting with our plan really, it was to bust you out...now we have to bust even more people out AND they will be more attentive." Russel shook his head, then shrugged.

"So...what do you want me to do?" Eian asked.

"I want you to help us get their families back bro." Russel rubbed his head.

"Yeah, I get that, I mean how," Eian asked.

"I don't know how you managed to escape, as well as kill a few of their men, but your expertise there would be essential." Russel reasoned, Eian briefly wondered if Russel looked into his mind.

Was he asking Eian to fight those people? He was capable of taking bullets but there was almost an entire army waiting for them there.

"..." Eian pondered that.

"Absolutely not," Elisa answered.

"I'm sorry? Miss El...that's not your choice." Russel looked apologetic.

"What do you mean?" Elisa's complexion grew angry.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Elisa, but Eian's old enough to decide if he wants to help us or not." Russel nodded to himself but looked at her apologetic.

"Eian's my son! And I am not letting you get him killed, we are leaving." Elisa shouted at Russel, standing abruptly.

"Ma...let's hear him out first. Please, I don't~" Eian started

"What!? Do you want to go fight those people? Sweetie, they have guns, and there have to be at least a hundred of them." Elisa got more frantic by the second.

"Excuse me? Fighting? The direct approach is for people who drew short for brains." Russel raised his hands in a calming gesture.

Eian almost laughed as his mother's mouth hung open and snapped it shut, while funny Russel was being a little indirect and unclear, so he warned him about that.

Elisa sat down with a frown after Eian convinced her to listen to Russel, then they continued their discussion.

"We want to excavate a tunnel underneath towards where-ever the prisoners are being held," Russel said.

"Dig...Digging? That's your plan?" Eian gave him a skeptical look.

"Yes with luck we can distract the guards and grab the prisoners before the enemy even notices," Russel said.

"That's a lot of luck you're betting on." Eian answers.

"Work in progress, it would have been easier if you had not gone and broken out, but knowing the layout would be a great help. If we think of something genius we will go down that route, but we don't want to wait too long either. Some of these people were women bro, you know what that can lead to." Russel gave them all a pointed look.

Elisa turned to him, having calmed down slightly once it was clear Eian was not going to be asked to run face first into a shower of lead.

"You...think, those women are being...raped?" Elisa added with a look of utter shock.

"I hope not, but I don't want to wait weeks and find out they were. Or ended up dead," Russel added lastly with a sad look.

"Alright easy enough to tell you where, but how are you going to dig under to get there?" Eian asked, Russel still didn't know Eian could shape Earth and he alone could not possibly do it quickly.

"Already am, I have a few Earth-Elementalists around, managed to procure a few shovels in nearby stores, was planning on using them to build up. As for the Elementalists, we need to get their Spirits leveled up faster, we will also need more of them. You look strong which means you invested in Body, so you can help them get stronger." Russel gestured around to two men.

"Eian's also an earth Elementalist." Ezrael added glumly from his corner, he was clearly still annoyed at Eian.

"Elementalist? Excellent, that'll help tremendously." Russel nodded, a smile growing and he eyed Eian carefully.

"So you use earth too?" Eian asked, curious.

"Sorry man, but I was actually advancing on the air-element before we landed on this problem," Russel answered.

"Air? How does that work?" Eian asked he had little experience with that element.

"Like you would expect, but air manifests as a physical force also, force barriers negate kinetic force. Once I combine all three energies my attacks will be a notch sharper and stronger. Psi and Qi are my limit for now." Russel answered with a slight smile.

"Three? You can use them together?" Eian had used both Qi and Spirit, but each felt completely separate.

"My more devastating attacks are a combination Psi and Qi already, and I am improving to assimilate a cutting wind to its edge," Russel answered.

"How about Body and spirit? Can those two be joined?" Eian asked quickly, anything Ul had not taught him would be invaluable.

"That's the Adept route as my guide explained, but it builds on your foundations, we can go over it later. For me the first two eliminate the restrictions each energy has, good thing too, or else being a savant would be the easiest route to power, though it still sort of is, short-term." Russel answered.

"Savant?" Eian felt a bit overwhelmed with all the information, there was just so much he did not know.

"Oh, sorry heh-ha, my university friends, and I, discussed all of these things together, we all coin certain terms. So we each know a bit more than the average person." Russel licked his lips and explained.

Apparently, savants were people who focused solely on one discipline, either Qi, Spirit or Psi individually.

Russel further explained there were the two hybrids types, the first hybrid focused on two disciplines while the second type focused on all three.

Every choice could make you stronger, but specializing and having a clear understanding of what you were going for could, apparently, elevate you entire weight-classes more powerful.

Russel continued explaining that Eian should have a clear idea of how to get stronger, or he might just flounder around.

His friend pointed towards his current weapon of choice, a plain machete, explaining it was useful to him.

Eian learned Russel planned to have him mostly help others get stronger, tackle this problem and then help him establish a safe 'zone' of sorts for survivors.

Meeting ended, they were being led out to another room, space was a premium so they would have to share, Eian stayed behind with him for a short time after his mother exited the door.

"You need someone else to fight?" Eian asked his friend, once his mother was out of earshot, he DID feel guilty.

"...only if it becomes necessary." Russel nodded solemnly.