The midday sun beat down on Novaria's bustling streets, its rays catching on shop windows and casting sharp shadows across the cracked pavement. The air hummed with the whir of delivery drones overhead and the steady pulse of traffic below. Half-finished New Light Festival decorations dangled from lampposts, their colors muted in the harsh light. Angelo walked alone among the crowd, his thoughts drifting to loose ends left dangling in the wake of recent chaos.

"Everything's been such a mess lately," Angelo reflected, weaving between hurried pedestrians. "We haven't made any progress on finding out the truth about our parents."

Red's smoky form twisted lazily through the air elsewhere. "Hard to make progress when someone gets cold feet every time Ashford comes up. Face it - we're stuck because of you."

"That's not fair!" Angelo's internal voice crackled with indignation, his scowl deep enough to make a young mother hurry her child to the other side of the street. "We have other obligations. We still need to do the mentorship with Bill—"

"The rookie?" Red's essence rippled with dark humor. "Oh yes, let's drag him into our family drama. Sounds fun."

Blue's analytical tones cut through their exchange. "Your gift for creating complications never ceases to amaze, Red."

"Such kind words from our resident scholar," Red's smoky form performed an elaborate spectral bow. "Listen to that, Angelo - even Blue knows brilliance when he sees it."

"That was hardly a compliment," Blue noted with characteristic detachment, though his dry observation only fueled Red's amusement.

Angelo pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering just loud enough to draw curious stares from passersby. "Maybe real insanity would be an improvement. At least normal hallucinations might give me a moment's peace."

"Now there's a thought!" Red's essence swirled with renewed mischief. "Why stop at just us? The more voices the better, I always say. Though I do wonder if we'd get to enjoy the extra company..."

"And this," Angelo's mental tone sharpened with frustration, "is exactly why we never get anything done. Every single conversation spirals into—"

Red's form suddenly went rigid, his attention caught by a cluster of teenagers in disheveled school uniforms. Their animated conversation carried across the busy street, drawing both Red and Angelo's focus.

> "...just imagine being the ones to actually find it," one teen was saying, practically bouncing with excitement. "The Angel of Death's actual training ground!"

>

> "You're out of your mind," his friend replied, fear edging his voice. "This is the guy who took down those terrorists. You really want to risk running into him?"

>

> "Come on, he only goes after criminals," another chimed in. "After what he did to those Infernians, he's basically a hero!"

>

> The skeptical teen rolled his eyes. "Right. Because 'the Angel of Death has a secret base in some abandoned factory' doesn't sound completely made up. What's next - he flies around in a cape fighting crime?"

Their laughter faded as they moved down the street, leaving Red's smoky form hovering in their wake.

"What did they just say?" Angelo stopped abruptly, nearly causing a collision with a harried businessman. His mental voice carried clear bewilderment.

"Sounds like schoolyard gossip to me," Blue offered, his tone measured and analytical.

Red's essence swirled with suspicion. "My gut says there's more to it than that."

"Because your gut has such an impressive track record," Blue's dry response carried layers of sarcasm.

"Think about it!" Red's form twisted with agitation. "Those kids looks like ditchers to me. I bet they didn't hear this at school."

"Ah yes, Red the social analyst strikes again," Blue's detachment carried a sharp edge.

"Better than being a stuck-up bookworm!" Red shot back, his smoky form billowing. "At least I understand how real people work, you overgrown blueberry!"

"That's enough!" Angelo's mental command cut through their bickering. "Red actually has a point for once. We should look into this."

"Finally embracing social media?" Blue asked with uncharacteristic bite. "Never thought I'd live to see the day of your return."

Angelo's grimace spoke volumes. "God no. The cringe was bad enough to make me delete everything. No, we'll do this the old-fashioned way - ask around. If this rumor's big enough to reach beyond a single school, someone else must have heard it."

"Finally, someone listens to reason," Red's smug satisfaction rolled through their shared consciousness.

"Shut it," Angelo thought as he approached a nearby toy shop, his heart already beginning to race at the prospect of social interaction. He rarely had reason to enter such establishments, but it seemed as good a place as any to start gathering information.

Inside the toy shop, bright colors and cheerful displays contrasted sharply with Angelo's growing discomfort. A young employee was restocking shelves, music faintly leaking from her earbuds as she worked.

"Excuse me?" Angelo's voice came out smaller than intended. When she didn't respond, he cleared his throat and tried again. "Um, could I ask you something?"

The worker pulled out an earbud, turning with a practiced retail smile. "Hi there! Need help finding anything?"

Angelo's pulse quickened as reality crashed in - he was about to ask a toy store employee about vigilante rumors. His palms began to sweat.

"Feel that spike in his heart rate, Blue?" Red's gleeful voice echoed in their shared consciousness. "Our boy's in love! Talk about love at first sight!"

"Amazing," Blue replied with perfect disinterest.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"I... well... it's not actually about toys," Angelo stammered, his face warming. "This might sound strange, but..."

Understanding dawned in the worker's eyes. "Oh! Oh... I'm so sorry, but I have a boyfriend..."

"Poor Angelo," Red's essence practically vibrated with delight. "She might have given you a chance if she wasn't already taken. Sure, you're short, but you've got that brooding charm going for you!"

"Shut the fuck up, Red." Angelo's mental voice strained with mortification.

"Don't give up now! Show some initiative - steal someone's girl! I believe in you!"

Fighting to ignore Red's commentary, Angelo rushed to correct the misunderstanding. "No! That's not... I just wanted to ask if you'd heard any rumors about the Angel of Death lately?" The words tumbled out in an awkward rush.

"Smooth," Red snickered.

The worker blinked, clearly thrown by this conversational whiplash. "Oh, is that all? Yeah, actually. The break room's been buzzing about it. Something about a secret hideout in that old factory complex outside the city. It's all over social media too."

"Impressive," Red mused. "First try and we struck gold!"

"Thank you," Angelo muttered, turning to flee the store before his dignity could erode further. Outside in the familiar bustle of the street, he collected his thoughts. "So this rumor's widespread enough that even toy store employees are talking about it."

"The question becomes," Blue's analytical tone cut in, "whether this is mere gossip or something more carefully orchestrated."

"Would regular gossip spread this far this fast?" Angelo wondered aloud, drawing odd looks from passersby.

"Only one way to find out!" Red's form swirled with excitement. "Let's check out this factory!"

"That would be unwise," Blue countered. "If we're spotted there, we'd validate these rumors. And if this is indeed a trap..."

Angelo nodded slowly. "Good point. The chief would have warned me if something was up, right?"

"Why not call and verify?" Blue suggested.

Angelo's expression tightened at the thought of facing the chief's mood after their latest interactions. "Your points make enough sense. No need to bother him. Checking out the factory probably wouldn't tell us much anyway."

"Pussy," Red's disdain was palpable.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur of information gathering, Angelo carefully collecting scattered pieces of the rumor from conversations and overheard snippets. As five o'clock approached, he made his way toward the town square. He could continue his investigation while staying close to his meeting spot with Bill.

The town square bustled with pre-evening activity as Angelo waited at the designated meeting spot, festival decorations catching the late afternoon light. His investigation had revealed the rumor's impressive reach, but its origin remained frustratingly elusive. The implications made him uneasy, but before he could pursue that troubling line of thought, Red's alert cut through his contemplation.

"Look who's getting the usual escort," Red's smoky form drifted higher for a better view. "Hold up... those aren't Orin's regular handlers."

Before they could investigate further, a commotion erupted through the square. Hats and papers scattered in a sudden gust as a figure practically flew through the crowd, his wind aura leaving chaos in his wake.

"Not bad form for a rookie," Angelo observed as Bill's approaching figure became clear.

"Boss! Boss!" Bill's enthusiasm carried clearly across the square as he bounded forward with puppyish energy.

"Take it down a notch," Angelo called when Bill was within earshot. "You're giving the pigeons a heart attack."

"But sir, I have to ask - everyone at the station's been talking about it all day!"

"The rumor reaches yet another corner of Novaria," Blue noted clinically.

Angelo's lips twitched. "Let me guess - something about my secret training facility?"

"Exactly!" Bill's eyes shone with barely contained excitement. "The other trainees kept grilling me about it, but I had no idea what to tell them!"

Angelo pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly. "Come on, Bill. You're not seriously buying into this gossip?"

Bill's shoulders slumped, his earlier enthusiasm deflating visibly. "Yeah... guess you're right. Just a stupid rumor after all."

"Way to crush the kid's spirit," Red cackled. "Real mentor of the year material!"

Ignoring Red's jab, Angelo pressed on. "Besides, why is everyone so obsessed with where I train? It's hardly headline news."

"Well," Bill brightened slightly, shifting into analytical mode, "people love celebrity mysteries. The whole Angel of Death persona, all the questions around you - it's catnip for rumor mills. They eat this stuff up."

A heavy pause settled between them.

"People are weird," Angelo muttered.

"No argument here," Red chimed in.

"Quite," Blue concluded.

The rare moment of trilateral agreement hung in the air before Angelo broke it. "Since you're so invested in this mystery, why not help me investigate? We can track down where it started, figure out the why."

Bill's face lit up like a festival lantern. "Really? You'll teach me actual investigation techniques?"

His raw enthusiasm caught Angelo flat-footed. "Uh, yeah, sure..."

"And where exactly did you acquire these investigative skills?" Blue's inquiry sliced through their shared consciousness.

"Last I checked, we just punch the bad guys," Red added with unholy glee.

"Both of you, shut it!" Angelo's internal voice crackled with annoyance. "I prefer you at each other's throats rather than mine!"

Without another word, Angelo stormed off, leaving a bewildered Bill to scramble after him. They spent the next hour canvassing the square, questioning shopkeepers, pedestrians, and even the oddly twitchy officers who usually handled Orin's daily removals. The latter seemed particularly nervous when questioned, though perhaps it was guilt over losing track of their regular charge.

Their search eventually led them to a familiar gift shop they'd passed countless times on patrol. The bell chimed softly as they entered, but the shop appeared empty.

"Hello?" Bill's voice echoed through the quiet store.

"Just a minute!" A woman's voice called from behind the counter, followed immediately by a solid thunk. "Ow!"

An impressive afro emerged first, followed by its wincing owner as she carefully extracted herself from beneath the counter.

"Are you... alright?" Angelo asked, watching her gingerly touch her head.

"Good thing she's got a built-in helmet," Red snickered in their shared consciousness. "Nature's own safety equipment!"

Angelo and Blue's collective mental eye-roll was practically audible.

"Oh, I'm fine," the shopkeeper laughed, patting her impressive hair. "Natural cushioning, you know?"

"Told ya!" Red crowed triumphantly.

Angelo forced himself to focus. "Ma'am, if we could ask you a few questions?"

Recognition flickered in her eyes as she noticed their uniforms. "Oh dear, am I in some kind of trouble?"

"No, nothing like that," Angelo assured her. "We're from the Auron division, looking into these rumors about the Angel of Death."

"What kind of information?" Her earlier nervousness gave way to curiosity.

Bill leaned forward eagerly. "We're trying to track down where it started. Have you heard anything about its origin?"

"Sorry, not much help there," she shook her head. "Just picked it up from some friends before opening up today." Her gaze sharpened with interest. "But why is the Auron division investigating rumors? Isn't that more detective territory?"

Irritation flashed across Angelo's features. "It's relevant to me personally."

"Oh?" Her eyebrows rose. "How so?"

"Because I'm the one they call the Angel of Death," Angelo bit out, his patience with the conversation wearing visibly thin.

The shopkeeper's face went slack with shock as recognition hit her. How many times had she seen him patrol past her shop, never realizing she was mere feet from the infamous Angel of Death?

Bill, picking up on her sudden tension, jumped in with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry! He's not nearly as scary as the stories make him sound."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angelo's annoyance shifted targets. "Never mind. Another dead end. Sorry to bother you, ma'am. Have a good evening. Let's go, Bill."

"Right behind you, boss! Good evening!" Bill offered a cheerful wave as they left the increasingly flustered shopkeeper behind.

As the bell chimed their departure, color slowly returned to the woman's face. "Well, I'll be damned," she murmured, already imagining her friends' reactions to this encounter. "He really wasn't so terrifying after all."

The sun had begun its descent toward the horizon as Angelo and Bill emerged onto the street, casting long shadows across the square. Their investigation had revealed the rumor's impressive reach but left its source as mysterious as ever. Something about the whole situation left an uneasy feeling in Angelo's gut - one that even Red's constant commentary couldn't quite dispel.