Act 2 - Chapter 9

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

The afternoon sky was a dark grey even after several cycles of rain. The water on the edge of the roof dripped off a crack in the gutter, bouncing off of a rock. The tiny droplets separated down the rigid edges of the stone, falling into tiny puddles in the surrounding dirt. The sounds of rapid footsteps on the moist grass were followed by the sound of smacks. Ajal lay on his back, looking up at the patio roof with his third eye open. He their spirits as they sparred, following their movements closely while staring into space. George's fist slammed into Reinhardt's guard, and the red-haired man held his ground. The two men's white cotton shirts stuck to their bodies.

"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 your spirit," Ajal explained out loud.

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

They had been training in Marina's backyard, a small space enclosed by a fence made of redwood. Ajal looked down at the deck he sat on. It was the same material, and similar to the red pillars between the buildings of Rea.

George put his fists down, breathing heavily as sweat rolled down his head. His messy and curly hair was glued to his forehead. 'Hm?' George squatted down and took a stance, Ajal sat up and 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 on 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 Reinhardt as hard as he could, managing to break his guard and knock 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 do it recklessly," 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," Ajal replied.

"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 punches in the air as he walked past George.

Sarah stood with a somewhat worried 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...' Franklin's fist slammed into her guard once and her arms shook, another punch with barely any spirit managed to break her guard. Sarah cowered in fear of 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 isn't working 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. You aren't used to fighting, so for me to try and teach you this is rather stupid of me," Ajal explained.

"Huh- oh..."

"That's very humble," Marina added as she stepped outside.

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, get finished with beating each other up for the 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 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 backward and fell, his expression that of pure shock as he looked at Jack. 'His spirit is pretty strong... Has he been practicing?'

"Wow, he broke the guard in one hit..." Franklin asked.

"What the..." John uttered.

"That was a Spirit Ignition," Ajal pointed out as he walked up and patted Jack's shoulder.

"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, moving through Marina's small kitchen in a line. The stove top had a coil lit up a bright green, which was heating 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 at the roasted 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? What?'

They each took plates and piled rice, Marina divided the chicken and stir fry evenly. George collected a little bit of all of it on his spoon. He stuffed the spoon in his mouth in a single gulp and chewed.

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

"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!?"

"That's- not what I said, but yeah." Marina nodded.

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

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

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

"Idiot?! Listen here-"

"Stop arguing and eat, it never ends with you two..." 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 conversation. 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 gold feather 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 in her seat.

The little girl's 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.

"The Rocc family? Wait..." Jack swallowed his food as he stood up and leaned forward. "That's not the ring?"

"What?" said Marina.

"That's not the ring I found... The ring I found had a yellow gem embedded in it, that doesn't... That is a different ring..." Jack explained.

"That's strange..." said Ajal. "What's so important about this ring?"

"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?" Ajal tilted his head.

"They taught us in school that angels have new generation gifts, there hasn't been a new Celestial beast in a 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 the first generation is cooler," Yorrin explained.

'Gifts on Imperion aren't like any of those...'

"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 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 added hesitantly.

"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, and they all stared at him with concerned looks. 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, where can I find the leader of all of the hybrids?"

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

"Yeah... Her I guess..."

"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 an unusually long sword," Ajal mentioned.

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

"So, Dorad then? Where is Dorad?"

"That's a really bad idea too!" Marina said with a worried look as she saw Ajal's nonchalant pondering. "There... Is another option... The queen and all of the clan leaders will be gathering on the forty-fifth 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 held annually. But let me just warn you, you shouldn't battle the queen herself, she holds the weapons that descended from the great harbinger Zadia!"

"A harbinger?" Ajal was surprised to hear that. "The harbingers of Imperion's gifts were unreal in terms of power... If she has the abilities of a harbinger... That could be dangerous..."

"Very dangerous!" Marina stressed.

"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 in the corner.

"Oh- yeah, that's right I almost forgot! Ajal had trouble sleeping 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 this 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 stone...' The building was a bakery, and the scent of freshly baked muffins permeated the street. 'She better get me just 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 that covered his head and a scarf 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 that 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 by choice," said Ajal.

"Yeah but... 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 the 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 were 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 were all Ajal could see, but a majority of the time he was looking down. His arms were 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," Ben admitted.

"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, at the very least I think there's a 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 terrible... Part of the reason why I don't want to go back to Imperion is just that, do I deserve to see the future of that world when I contributed so much to its 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 who 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. She had her thumb on 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.

Marina 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, and its 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 the sweet flavors and velvety texture of the muffin. Ajal sighed as the drowsiness he felt from struggling to sleep promptly faded away. 'I needed that...'

"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 looked around the square plaza, stores were 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 without homes to return to or a reason for living. '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 bum, the fountains are not for drinking!" Various citizens cursed at the homeless man.

Ajal turned and noticed the others had already started walking further towards the southwest district, he followed 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 were no longer set up between buildings. The buildings were similar to the ones in Rea. However, the street was separated by a small stream of water. There were short arched bridges made from yellowwood that people used to cross the stream.

"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 northern 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. 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 spilled residual rainwater into the pot. Excess water spilled out of the bottom of the pot and crashed against the ground with a steady 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, and 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. 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-" said Julia.

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

"Oh... My bad, so... You're single?" Julia asked Ajal.

"No..." Ajal said as he looked left and right.

"Oh," said Julia. "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, and 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 the gate I told you about earlier, beyond that gate is 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 in my world."

"Your world...? Marina, are you befriending weirdos again?"

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

"Okay... 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 was 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... These 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, and 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 did you get these?" Ajal asked.

"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, should help you sleep fast..." Julia nodded. "So, Ajal was your name, right? Are you taking anyone to the-"

The sound of a cable being reeled screeched through the air. A slender figure landed on the rooftop of Julia's pharmacy, but they weren't focused on Ajal and the others.

"You there!" the woman who landed suddenly shouted.

Ajal opened his third eye and observed the spirits in the area. On the adjacent building was a group of kids wearing black. There were at least ten and they had their eyes on Ajal. However, there was a strange presence from someone in the group as he focused on them.

"We were being watched... If I wasn't so tired I would've noticed sooner..." Ajal sighed.

"Who are they?" Reinhardt asked.

Ajal squinted to try and see their faces better. Two of them were slightly recognizable, the same two children he challenged when he arrived in Andurill.

"Oh... They might be here for me..." Ajal realized.

"Huh, why?" Ben glanced at Ajal with a confused look.

Ajal looked up toward the top of Julia's pharmacy. Her black hair with blond streaks reached down to her neck, and 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 and swing themselves into the air. They landed knee-first onto the building. 'Grappling hooks? That's pretty cool...'

"You kids get away from that man! You shouldn't be around him!" the woman with black hair and a grey robe shouted.

"Shut up!", "Don't tell us what to do!", We can do what we want!" A child with a familiar voice shouted amongst the others.

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

"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 gift! Wilo's Talon!" said Marina.

"Wilo's Talon?"

Ajal looked at the other two guards, they had blonde short hair. On their forearms was a golden gauntlet, the sharp claws made it suitable 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, and her mother was a descendant of 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 were bright green, they were visible even from a distance.

"You're the ring leader here, aren't you?" the woman asked.

"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?"

"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 in 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 witty one replied.

"Who do you think you are?"

"What?" The boy's expression lit up as he raised his hands into the air. "There aren't many people, with a name like myself, you'd know me quite well as the villain around these parts! Chaos!" The boy introduced himself with a confusing arrogance.

'Chaos?'

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

"Self-proclaimed?" 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 grid of green lines enveloped Chaos's body. It formed shapes that materialized into pieces of armor. On his shoulders were two spikes connected to bulky shoulder pads, they started to spin and glow a faint green. On the left shoulder pad was a pack with several bright green bolts loaded into it. On the right shoulder was a machine gun. Leading down his right arm was a strange disk-like object connected to his forearm, it looked similar to a small shield. 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, the word 'DEMON' was written in white.

'Demon?'

Ajal recognized the spiral piece, and the plates, the letters too, were similar to the font that was written on his Imperial Dragoon. A helmet covered Chaos's face, and there was a space for his eyes to see through, 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 of 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. 'He- He's flying?!' Two of the guards fired hooks toward him and grasped his arms. However, he simply 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, and a multitude of thoughts raced through his mind. '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 two 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 to correct her course... 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 were weightless as they floated.

"You're mine!" Reyna shouted.

The grappling 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 reflecting 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 that 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 was still weightless... She makes versatile use of both gifts...' Reyna twisted her body in mid-air, swinging Chaos straight down.

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

She slammed him 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 top 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. 'That's...' A green light from within the smoke stole 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 glowing green rod with his bare hand.

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

"With his bare hand?!" 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, and 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 were 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 it.

"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 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 shoot!" Ajal shouted.

"Huh?! No, I have to stop her!" Chaos replied.

"Don't-"

Chaos gritted 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 toward Reyna. It just missed her, but instead, he hit the building next to where she'd landed. A massive explosion engulfed her, and 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 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 were 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."

"Heh, Haha! You seriously think that?"

"Yeah," Ajal responded without hesitation.

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

"You're a crazy idiot... 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 shouldn'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..."