"Leo!" A voice greeted him once he left Adam's room. "Glad to see you alive and stronger than before. We will really need you tomorrow."

Looking between Clara and Holden, Leo raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I guess... Anything you need now? You know you don't have to see me off whenever I come here, right?"

"I'm aware," the leader sighed. "I just thought to clue you in about tomorrow before you leave. I don’t know how much time we will have for that once Frank and his people arrive."

Leo hummed, nodding. "I can see that... Alright then, go on. Be quick, though; I still need to reach my little hiding hole for the night."

"Aye," Holden agreed as they slowly walked towards the backdoor, eyes following them from each side. "Clara, please find Diana. She needs help figuring out the exact teams for tomorrow."

Giving her traditional mock salute, the redhead turned on her heel. "Roger, Roger. See ya, Leo."

Leo tipped his head lightly towards the woman before turning to Holden. "So..."

"We decided to go with four groups. I want to switch fighters with each rotation, give one some time to rest while the other takes over. It should be less risky if everyone is at their peak."

Not a bad idea. Not everyone is like me. Hell, going back and forth with a bunch of scared humans might tire even me. Leo concluded. "What about the exact numbers?"

"Not including Adam, I have fifty-three people here. About fifteen of those can handle your usual Voidlings without a problem," Holden listed, grimacing. "There are a few more who can fight, but they are underleveled. I don't want to risk them."

Are you fucking kidding? Leo stopped, giving the other man a stern look. I knew it was bad, but come on!

"I know, it's not looking good. But there's nothing we can do about it now," Holden let out a long sigh, shaking his head. "That's one of the reasons why I agreed to Frank's terms. We need more capable people. If he can somehow make them adapt once we settle in the new Safe Zone, then so be it."

You should have thought about it earlier. It might be too late now.

As much as Leo wanted to throw some sarcastic remark in the older man's face, he held back. It would change nothing apart from damaging their already brittle working relationship. Holden knew well that he messed up; now he had to fix it. Or, like he already planned, let others deal with it.

What a mess. Not mine though. As long as Adam and Ava are fine, I don't care.

"Whatever," he finally shrugged. "What you do with your people later on is not my problem. Just remember our deal... And speaking of. My family. When is their turn?"

Holden narrowed his eyes but still answered quite calmly. "Third group. I plan to make it smaller, no more than six civilians. Just in case something goes wrong with Adam."

Smart.

Even if this was his godson they were speaking about, Leo understood the dangers of escorting him through the city. They still had no clue how the boy would act in the open, where Voidlings could appear at every corner. With fewer people to protect and him on site, chances of anything terrible happening should go down quite a bit.

"If we don't encounter too many surprises on the road, each group shouldn't take longer than two or three hours. Of course, that includes returning here," Holden continued when Leo remained silent. "The Sun is out for close to seventeen hours each day. Even if Frank takes his sweet time to arrive, we should still be fine."

Leo's eyebrows jumped a bit upon hearing all the information. Seems they at least got the logistics down.

"Sounds good." He stopped just by the exit. "One more thing though. Frank and I. Did you tell your people what to expect tomorrow? I doubt your friend is gonna hide what he became."

Holden winced. "I gave everyone a heads up about some special allies I agreed to work with. Only my fighters know what exactly you are. For more I need Frank here. Forgive me, but between you and him, he is less intimidating."

"Fair," Leo snorted. He still thought it was a bad idea to leave most of the group in the dark for so long, but again, it wasn't his problem. No matter what would happen, Adam and Ava were getting to that new Safe Zone.

Still, one thing's for sure. He grinned under the hood. Tomorrow morning will be entertaining as long as Frank and Holden can stop people from panicking too hard.

The Night is coming. Find a secure shelter or prepare to fight for your life. Nightmares are waking.

Bonus experience and Ether can be obtained during the night. Good luck.

And that's my cue to leave.

Obviously, the other man also received the same message as he had already moved to open the door. "Time's up. I will be here an hour after dawn," Leo stopped in the doorway. "Oh, and Holden? You really should evolve before tomorrow. At this point, you are only wasting your potential."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The older man froze, hesitation practically oozing off his body. Leo didn't even need to be in his head to know that.

"I will see what I can do. Take care, Hale," Holden replied, still stiff as a board.

Leo could say more, explain every single advantage of evolving, but even if he had time for that, it wouldn't matter in the long run. Holden wasn't holding back because he didn't know what an evolution could change. Quite the opposite in fact.

Despite all his words about accepting evolutions and what they represented, he was still scared. Scared about losing what he had. Scared about becoming something similar to Leo or Adam. And most likely, he was afraid about people fearing him.

Well... I said my part. The rest is up to you, mate. Good luck. With a final nod to Holden, he stepped out, disappearing into the darkness.

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

The Night is here. Good luck, and may your hunts be fruitful, Prime.

The System's warning echoed in his head as Leo dived into the only building he knew to be safe. The thrumming of his heart slowed slightly with each breath he took. He was safe, more or less.

That was very, very close. He grimaced, stepping deeper into the house. Nyx, you here?

His new partner didn't waste time answering, her somewhat sleepy voice coming through their link. 'The bathroom.'

Uh oh. Leo chuckled, his gaze falling on the large feline, her curled body easily taking over half of the bathroom floor. I see someone was already sleeping.

Nyx raised her head, eyes narrowed. 'After the feast we just had? Why wouldn't I? Sleep is a pleasure I will never give up, no matter what you say.'

Of course, of course. He answered, still laughing. Suppose the love for naps is universal for cats, even those from the Void.

The feline huffed, turning away from him. 'Like you humans are any better. Almost the same in every damned Universe.'

Noting this information for the future, Leo shrugged. Fine by me. He settled down against a wall, on the opposite side from Nyx. Ready for tomorrow?

'I see nothing to be ready for,' she mumbled, still not looking at him. 'Unless you have changed your plans and I will be no longer responsible for clearing all dangerous Voidlings on the way?'

No, everything stays the same. It's just... I don't even know. It's as if I'm forgetting about something. Do you feel it too?

Finally, Nyx turned to him, her head tilted. 'I can't say I do... Will you let me?'

Leo nodded, knowing well what the feline meant. Instantly, a massive presence surged through their link and right into his mind. It settled there for a moment, searching.

'Curious,' Nyx whispered. 'Just like what you felt inside the Safe Zone, it seems to come from your inherited instincts. What are they trying to say? I have no idea. It's you who needs to uncover their true message.'

But how? You said it yourself, I need time to adapt to them fully. For now, they are weak.

The Voidling nodded. 'Indeed, but think Leo, think about your time with Hunter. Maybe somewhere there lies the answer.'

He furrowed his brow and dived into his mind. There wasn't much to search through; his time with Hunter was short at best. Still, he went through every memory, letting all the old emotions and sensations embrace him.

Yet, as the process continued, there was nothing special he could find, nothing that could help with this mystery. Or at least that was the case until the last memories played out in his head.

I think... Leo opened his eyes, meeting Nyx's waiting orbs. This might be it.

'Prepare. Be ready.'

The words of a beast that died to protect him echoed in his mind, loud and clear. They carried a message, one he had almost forgotten about with everything that had been happening in the last day.

He was worried about something. He muttered in the safety of their link. No... The weather. He gave me this warning when the winds got stronger. Nyx, do you have anything?

For a brief moment, only silence surrounded them.

'I know the Void hides many secrets, including what you would call natural disasters.' The feline answered slowly, measuring every word. 'I don't know what they are all called, how they appear, or even when they come. Maybe if I was a pure Voidling or inherited everything from Hunter, then I could tell you, but...'

Nyx shook her head. 'No... I doubt even he knew what exactly was happening. There would be at least some bits and pieces about those things in my mind if he did. He just felt a threat coming and warned you to get stronger in time.'

Leo scowled. And Nikra? She really didn't know anything?

'She did,' Nyx quickly replied. 'Like I said, the Void hides many horrible secrets... Nikra witnessed those disasters destroy much of her home universe without the help of a single Voidling. Yet, remember Leo, all of that happened before the creation of the System, and even then, Nikra never studied those things. She only saw them come out of nowhere to wreak havoc and disappear without a sign.'

Shit... He sighed, leaning harder into the wall. So pretty much we are going in blind?

The feline snorted. 'Not exactly. You got stronger, just like Hunter wanted. And his warning still stands. We just got to be careful.'

I really hope this will be enough, Nyx, I really do.

'It will,' she vowed. 'Now get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us. Good night.'

Leo chuckled at the very familiar words.

Yeah... I guess we do. Good night.