If you’re betrayed, release disappointment at once. By that way, the bitterness has no time to take root. - Toba Beta (My Ancestor was an Ancient Astronaut)

* * * *

~Agnis; September 231~

“It’s this way, isn’t it?”

“No, it’s that way.”

Raul tried to resist rolling his eyes. “Let’s just say it,” he said bluntly to a sheepish-looking Tatius. “We’re lost, aren’t we? Who’s the guy that said we don’t need a map, that he can always find us the way back?” He glared at Tatius.

Tatius looked both sheepish and embarrassed. “All right, so I overestimated my ability to not get us lost. So, sue me,” he grumbled. “Laura’s going to kill us.”

And Claudia would be next in line after her, if Tatius knew his sister at all.

It had been nearly six months since the entire fiasco with Zalfari, and nearly five months since Leroy had come by for his surprise visit. Aegis as a whole had been trying to fulfil as many contracts as possible from the contractors they knew amongst the underground to boost their coffers for a bit. As how Laura and even Letha have explained; their views and goals as Aegis are all well and good. But even vigilantes need money to survive, and they also need money to get weapons.

Today, it is Raul and Tatius’ turn to get groceries from the nearest town whilst the others do whatever it is they do on their free days. They’d been on the sea for days before Sera had decided to have a short stopover at the town of Agnis, much to everyone’s relief.

All of them might like their life at present, but even days being on the sea, seeing nothing but water and more water can be a little much.

The smirk on Raul’s face slipped away just then as he spotted the distinct black coats with the familiar symbol on them on the bodies of two men that have just stepped out of the nearby café.

“…Tatius,” Raul murmured, gesturing with his eyes towards the direction of the two men that he had spotted. Tatius followed his line of sight, and his facial expression changed completely at the sight of the pair. ESA agents. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

Tatius nodded silently even as the pair turned and walked down the path that would take them away from the agents, whilst not making it look suspicious. Like any Gifted, their senses were particularly sharp, and they caught snippets of the conversation that the two agents had between them.

“…no sign… sure it’s here… intelligence faulty…”

“…Gifted… been here for days… report back…”

Tatius and Raul exchanged looks even as they were finally far away enough that they couldn’t hear either of the two agents any longer.

“Guess they’re ‘hunting’,” Tatius murmured. “We had better be careful here.”

Raul nodded in agreement. “Let’s just get the groceries and leave—” he started, turning around a corner, only to walk headlong into a girl coming from the opposite direction, thus resulting in various books toppling like dominoes all around them.

“Oh my gosh!” The girl’s face was bright red, even as she gathered her possessions hastily, with Raul and Tatius trying to help her. “I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!”

“No, we’re sorry.” Raul apologised, handing several books to the girl. Several of the books seem to be about the histories of the country, whereas Tatius spotted a few books that were all but banned in the country by this point, as those were books about the Gifted and their histories.

Tatius and Raul exchanged looks.

“So, I’ve never seen you both around here before.” The girl said loudly, trying to cover up those banned books with the other books in her possession. Raul’s lips quirked. The girl is trying, badly at that, at trying to cover up the fact that she had banned books in her possession. Banned books, which according to some of the laws, could easily see her put in prison for several years. “Are you travellers? Visitors?”

“Something like that,” Raul answered with amusement. “Are you a local here?” The girl nodded, looking from one to the other. “Could you perhaps point us to the nearest grocery store?”

“Of course. I was on my way there anyway.”

* * * *

Even the locals don’t know of the little rundown café located in one of the poorer districts of the town of Agnis. Considered to be the ‘slums area’ by the locals, it is where the members of the underground conduct their business in Agnis away from prying eyes.

Sera sat in a corner of the small café, with a cup of coffee in front of her, holding a book in her hands. If anyone is observant enough however, they will know that Sera’s entire attention is on the surroundings of the café and not the book, especially with the way how she hasn’t turned a single page in the hour since she had been here.

The other members of Aegis have scattered around the town to gather intelligence or do whatever it is they do on their free days, whereas Tatius and Raul have gone off to stock up their little pantry—with it being their turn that week to shop for groceries. Sera meanwhile had taken the chance to meet a long-time informant of hers who had asked for a meeting.

A bell tinkled somewhere in the café even as the door opened, and a young man entered. He looked to be in his early to mid-twenties at best, dressed in an oversized black jacket over a thin black shirt and jeans. He is tall, with untidy black hair sticking up like he’d just rolled out of bed, with unusual skunk stripes of white through his fringe. His cat-like green eyes were however intelligent looking, with flecks of gold visible within them, even as he looked around the small café.

The lone barista in the café who is standing behind the counter nodded to the young man subtly before gesturing with his eyes towards the corner where Sera is seated. The young man nodded back in exchange before walking towards Sera and taking a seat opposite her.

For several moments, neither one of the two said a word, even as the barista brought a cup of coffee over to their table, placing it in front of the young man.

“It’s been a while, Ethan.” Sera finally spoke, lifting her eyes from the book in her hands, also closing the book with a light snap.

“Sera Kroix.” Ethan Simmons nodded to her. “I always did believe that you’re still alive.”

“Yeah well.” Sera made a rude hand gesture. “Though it’s unusual for you to call me out here suddenly. You don’t normally approach me. It’s usually the other way around.”

Ethan gave a light shrug of his shoulders. “I am an information broker,” he pointed out bluntly. “You pay, I supply the information. The same thing that I did with all my clients.” He trailed off slowly, lips quirking slightly at the ends. “Even if they are from the ESA.”

Sera let out a long, resigned sigh.

Ethan and she went a long way back—even before she had started Blade in the town of Zephys. At some point, Ethan had become an information broker—not something that surprised Sera when she learned about it. The guy had always been sneaky and crafty, even when she had first met Ethan, and could gather information easily. He had some good instincts as well, which definitely explains why Ethan is still alive, and is also one of the most in-demand information brokers there are in the underground.

It is however precisely the nature of how Ethan conducts his ‘business’ that had caused the man to be mistrusted by more than a few people. Even back during her Blade days, more than one member had cautioned Sera about Ethan. Even Alexis did at times.

“You know, it’s precisely because of the way you do things that most of those in the underground don’t trust you, you know?” Sera grumbled. The things she had to put up with because of Ethan…

Ethan shrugged uncaringly. “I need to eat and put food on my table,” he pointed out. “If the ESA is paying me, why not?” Not to say that Ethan doesn’t have morals, however. As far as Sera is aware, no matter the amount of money that the hunters offer, Ethan has never once accepted an offer from them. “Besides, you trust me, don’t you?” Ethan pointed out. “I always did say that you’re a fool for doing that. You can’t trust anyone in this day and age.”

Sera leaned forward slightly, meeting Ethan’s eyes with her mismatched ones. “I know how to read people,” she said simply. “It’s a skill you tend to pick up when you live on the streets. You won’t betray me, Ethan, no matter what.” Ethan’s eyes widened slightly with those words. “So, what’s up?”

Ethan made a show of stirring his coffee without saying anything for several moments. “Hunter activity is on the rise,” he began, “though I’m sure you know that anyway, considering how active Aegis had been for the last couple of months.”

At the moment, Aegis isn’t that well known amongst the general civilian population. But amongst the underground, there were already whispers about their existence, and what they’ve been doing. Sera knows for one that the information brokers have been up in arms, trying to gather information and dirt on Aegis and their identities.

It is one reason why Sera had set Raul on the case to encrypt files and their communication channels. And even why she had taken great lengths and pains to make sure that outside of a few trusted individuals, no one would ever know who they were.

Not until they are ready to reveal their identities to the world.

Ethan gave Sera a knowing look even as he sipped from his cup, making a face as he did so. “Activity and all information about your group are still kept on the down low. Knowing you, I’m likely not the only information broker you have on your payroll. But make no mistake, Sera, you are getting attention. There have been whispers amongst the ESA and even the hunter community. Even the civilians are starting to hear rumours about your group.”

“That was the plan.”

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “I’m not going to ask. Not right now,” he deadpanned. “I’m almost afraid to hear the answer.” Sera gave him an innocent look in response; something that isn’t fooling Ethan in the least.

“I’m guessing you called me here for a reason?”

Ethan said nothing for several moments, looking around the little café that they were in. Apart from the barista and themselves, there wasn’t anyone else around.

Ethan leaned forward, lowering his voice to a volume so that only Sera could hear him. “The ESA is in this town. Agents from the Gifted Task Force. That’s why I called you here. And what I’ve been hearing about the reasons why they are even here isn’t good. Hunters too have been sighted here, and you know what that means.”

Sera’s eyes hardened with that piece of information. “Whenever hunters are in a town, it normally means they’re on the tail of a Gifted. That means one is here,” she muttered. “The Goddess help us.”

“You need to be careful,” Ethan warned. “The underground isn’t quite what it once was, thanks to the mess that we now are in, due to what had happened to Whirlwind and Dragonfly, and even Blade. The restructuring and recovery are going to take some time. I suspect, and some of the other information brokers agreed with me—there is someone deep in the underground that had been sabotaging us and assisting the hunters.”

“Someone high up definitely,” Sera concluded, and Ethan nodded. “Probably someone high up amongst the hierarchy of the Abyss.”

“You leave that mess to me. You need to be careful, and take care of yourself.” Ethan warned again. “The hatred and contempt towards the Gifted community have always been bad. But with what the hunters have been inciting for the last several years? It had reached new heights. I think I know what you and your guys are planning to do. If it’s anyone else, I would call them insane for planning something like that. But if it’s you… I think it might just succeed. Just…be careful, Sera.”

“I will. I promise.”

“You’d better go. Get your guys, find whoever the Gifted is in Agnis, and get the hell out.” Ethan warned. “Drinks are on me. Go.”

Sera gave Ethan a nod before rising to her feet and leaving the café. The bell tinkled somewhere even as the door shut behind her.

Ethan said nothing for several moments, even as he drained his cup of the last few droplets of his coffee before he too rose to his feet and went towards the counter where the barista was.

“For the coffee,” Ethan said nonchalantly, pushing a few notes over the counter—with the money notes bundled up, and disguised in such a way that no one from the outside could notice the slip of paper within those money notes. “And another one to go.”

The barista said nothing even as he accepted the money, and Ethan pretended not to notice even as the money with the note was slipped into the hidden compartment on the barista’s side of the counter.

“You might want to warn him to lay low for a while,” Ethan murmured, drumming his fingers in a steady rhythm on the surface, even as he pretended to be busy reading the menu on the wall behind the barista. “There have been some rumours about the hunters lately. I heard news that a few of them have been turning up dead or even going missing.”

“He’s not going to listen.” The barista replied calmly from where he was busy mixing up another cup of coffee for Ethan. “Those guys are stubborn. You know that.”

Ethan sighed. “I do,” he replied. “The guys from Blade… They’ve always been that way. I’m not surprised he is too. They’ve always been the sort to go the extra mile for Sera. Him especially. He will do what Sera needs, not what she wants. Even still, he should be careful.”

“…I’ll tell him. But even I’ve been finding it difficult to get in touch with him lately.” The barista said, at last, handing Ethan his coffee in a disposable cup. “With the rumours about the hunters, it’s not that difficult to figure out what he’s been doing.”

Ethan shook his head, picking up his cup. “I have a job to do. Tell Jamie to be careful.”

“Will do.”

* * * *

“Is that everything on our list?”

The girl whom Raul had literally run into, had introduced herself as Lucie Dressen, before taking them to the nearest grocery store. From what Lucie had said, there are currently two in Agnis, and she just preferred shopping at this particular one. Lucie had surprisingly stuck around after that, helping Raul and Tatius to get the items on the list that Laura had written for them before sending them out earlier that day.

The trio then got to talking in between browsing the shelves of the grocery store for what they needed. Tatius and Raul were both careful to keep their stories brief and to not let anything slip. Lucie on the other hand had talked about her father.

It seems like hers is a single-parent household. Her father is a freelance journalist—a rather well-known one at that, which allows him to fix his own working hours. Now with Lucie being a teenager, and old enough to take care of herself, he travels more for his work. Her mother however was never mentioned, and Tatius and Raul were tactful enough to not ask anything.

Lucie was in the middle of regaling the two boys with some story that her father had told her when Raul’s phone let out a notification sound.

“Is that from Sera?” Tatius asked, watching even as Raul pulled his phone out from his pocket with a frown. “Do we need to go back?”

Raul was silent for several moments, reading the message that Sera had sent him. “No. She just asked me to do something for her once we get back,” he answered, gesturing towards a curious Lucie with his eyes. Tatius got the message at once and gave a short nod. “Nothing urgent.”

“We got everything on the list, right?” Tatius asked, leaning over Raul’s shoulder to peer at the shopping list that Laura had made for them.

Raul took several moments to look through the list before looking back down at the grocery basket on the ground in between them before nodding. “I think we got everything that Laura wants. We should head back soon anyway. The others would be back by evening.”

“It must be nice to be able to travel,” Lucie said wistfully, even as they got in line at the cashier to pay for the groceries. “I still have another year of schooling. I am hoping to be able to travel around Eldario, and maybe even beyond after that. I was mostly home-schooled, so the ‘friends’ that I have are mainly made through the Net. I never had the chance to leave Agnis.”

“Sounds…kinda lonely.” Raul managed to speak, trying to imagine such a life. Sure, he’s as much a computer geek as much as he is a ‘nerd’, but even he had actual, real-life, human interaction. Is there perhaps some reason why Lucie’s father had kept her so isolated? Even in a town as small as Agnis, there should be a school or something, right?

They’ve reached the bored-looking cashier by this point and were quick to ring up their purchases, putting them away carefully in the bags provided.

“I should probably head home, anyway,” Lucie said the moment they were out of the store, looking skywards and shielding her eyes from the glare of the sun. “Dad should be home anytime soon.” She smiled at Raul and Tatius. “Let’s exchange numbers and net addresses. Let’s stay in touch, yeah? It’ll be nice to talk to someone that isn’t my dad.”

“Sure.” Raul was quick to exchange numbers and net addresses with Lucie before they parted ways. The former then scowled at the grin on Tatius’ face even as they made their way in the direction of the dock. “What?”

“Nothing.” Tatius was still grinning like the cat that had caught the canary.

Raul sighed. “Besides that, have you noticed anything…off about Lucie?” He lowered his voice so that only Tatius could hear him.

“Like?”

Tatius and his siblings, much like the twins, likely have never had much human interaction with others apart from each other, let alone fellow Gifted. So, it likely isn’t that much of a surprise that Tatius couldn’t sense it from Lucie.

But Raul had been a street kid. Much like Sera and Laura. And he knows how to tell if someone is Gifted or not. Part of the reason why the Normals are normally so apprehensive towards the Gifted is also mainly the reason that the Normals could sense something different about them. The hunters’ doctrine towards the Gifted community doesn’t help.

Those within the underground however have respected power and authority, and honestly don’t care if one is a Gifted or not. To them, power is power. There is a reason why most of the Gifted community normally seek refuge with the street gangs if they don’t decide to become a nomad.

Though with Lucie, her Gifts are most likely still dormant, if she even is a Gifted.

Raul gave Tatius a look before shaking his head. “If you can’t sense it from her, I’m not about to tell you,” he murmured, shifting the grocery bags in his arms before walking towards the direction of the harbour. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Raul, you can’t just leave it at that and not tell me anything!”

* * * *

Sera stared at the screen of her phone even as it blanked out after she had sent off the message to Raul, going into sleep mode.

‘A Gifted? In this town? And one that can bring both the ESA and the hunters here?’ she wondered. ‘A Class 2 Gifted, perhaps? Probably one on the radar of the ESA for some time now.’ She bit on her lower lip.

Every instinct in Sera is screaming at her to grab all her friends and hightail it out of Agnis as soon as possible. But Ethan would have given her this information for a reason. And Sera had more than enough personal experience with both the ESA and the hunters to know that a Gifted being on the radar of the hunters isn’t good news.

“You will do the right thing, Sera, like you always do.”

Zest’s voice echoed through her head.

‘Will I continue doing the right thing, Zest?’ Sera wondered.

“Uh… Sera?”

At the sound of her name, Sera turned towards the source of the voice only to see a young man standing at the entrance of a nearby oddities shop. A young man whom she instantly recognised as Lucas Alescio. A younger version of Lucas stood next to him—most likely his brother, with the younger of the two looking from Sera to Lucas in confusion.

“Lucas.” Sera nodded to the young man politely. Her sharp eyes took in the sight of the familiar black jackets that they both had on. Jackets that bear the symbol of the ESA on them.

“Lucas, someone you know?” The younger version of Lucas asked him with confusion.

“Something like that.” Lucas coughed politely into his hand, stepping off the front steps of the store that they’d just stepped out of, and onto the pavement. His brother followed his steps. “It’s been a while. About six months, right? Give or take?”

“Around there.” Sera nodded in agreement. Her eyes went towards the younger of the pair by Lucas’ side. Had to be around her age, at that. Maybe around seventeen or so? The two look like carbon copies of each other – with the same dark hair and onyx eyes. The only differences between them are their facial features, with Lucas having worn his hair in a short ponytail, whereas his brother has his hair falling to his chin. “Your brother?”

“Yes.” Lucas nodded. He placed one hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Misha, this is Sera. I met her a while back. Sera, this is my kid brother.”

“Misha Alescio.” The younger of the pair nodded to Sera politely. “It’s a pleasure.”

Sera didn’t let her facial expressions betray her, though her hand twitched slightly with that last name.

“Pleasure.”

“I went back to Aurora after our last meeting, but I couldn’t find you,” Lucas commented. “I wanted to see you again.”

“I don’t live there,” Sera answered simply. “That was just one of my stopovers. I travel a lot. I’m a mercenary.” She went with the cover story that she often used.

Technically, that isn’t exactly a lie, anyway. Sera did take on various job contracts from the contractors that she knew in the underground, and even from some of her informants. Most mercenaries in the underground have crews of their own. Before Aegis, Sera had done it solo. These days, she often did it with a few members of Aegis. Both to allow them to earn their reputation and credibility amongst the underground and also to show them how the entire system works.

“Oh.” Misha blinked, looking at his older brother. “It sounds like something that we used to do.” Lucas only smiled grimly at his brother with that reminder.

“So, you did join the ESA after all.” Sera gave pointed looks at the jackets both brothers had on. “I did wonder. And it seems like your brother did as well.”

Misha let out a grimace with that remark before he let that expression slip away again.

Sera is looking from one brother to the next with a raised brow. “I was going to ask what you’re doing here in Agnis, but I think I’m better off not knowing,” she deadpanned, and Misha’s lips quirked.

Lucas was about to open his mouth to say something when his phone rang. He frowned when he pulled it out, reading the name on the LCD screen. “Misha, wait here. I need to take this.”

Misha nodded silently, even as he watched his brother walk further down the street before answering the call – far away enough that even he couldn’t hear the conversation—with his enhanced senses and all, being a Gifted.

Despite both brothers being in the ESA, Misha only had a certain level of clearance, despite also leading a team. Unlike Lucas and his team who tend to take on more high-profile cases, the cases that Misha and his team take on are different.

Hence, it was really a surprise to Misha when he received orders to head out to Agnis together with his brother when as a whole, they don’t really tend to get many opportunities to work together since finishing their training and becoming official agents.

“I don’t think I want to know.” Sera deadpanned, looking from Lucas to Misha and back again. “Though I’ll harbour a guess here and guess that you’re both here on a case?”

Misha grimaced again. “Don’t ask questions if you already know the answer,” he muttered, and Sera gave a quick grin. “How did you meet my brother, anyway?” Misha was curious.

Before they’d accepted Leonid’s offer and enlisted into training, there wasn’t anyone willing to even talk to them in the last town they were staying in. The people from that town are closed-off and dislike strangers. And that was what Lucas and Misha were, despite living in said town for nearly four years then.

“A while back. Back then, he was still agonising whether or not to join the ESA.” Sera answered. “At least, that’s the impression I got. Though you don’t seem all that happy to be an ESA agent.” She added, eyeing Misha.

Misha gave a grim smile, shrugging his shoulders lightly. “You’re the first to figure that out,” he said bluntly, turning his gaze towards his brother who is still on his phone call. “I don’t think even my brother or my best friend knew that I’m not truly loyal to them.”

Sera eyed Misha critically. “…You know, far be it from me to tell you what to do, but if you want my advice, I’ll tell you not to broadcast that statement,” she said cryptically. “People disappear for lesser reasons than that.”

“I’m not worried.” Misha gave a grim smile. “I don’t think you’ll tell anyone, since you give me the impression that you’re not too fond of either the ESA or the hunters.” Sera stiffened. “I’m not going to ask. But I’ll guess either you’re from the underground… Or you’re also Gifted.” Sera’s hand twitched slightly. “I won’t say anything. I think it’s safer if I don’t get a direct answer. The ESA is not the best place to be. I knew that from the start. We can’t always do what is right.”

Sera sighed, moving her bangs out of her eyes, looking skywards. “Everyone must walk a path of their choosing, so they can face their final moments with pride,” she said mysteriously. “If you have doubts about what you’re doing, you need to ask yourself that at least. Ask yourself just what it is you want.” She gave a light shake of her head. “I need to go. I have some stuff to attend to. Tell your brother I said goodbye.”

“Okay.”

Misha only watched as Sera turned and left, watching until she turned around a corner, and he could see her no longer. And then, Lucas approached him, having ended his phone call. He looked confused, looking in between Misha.

“Where’s Sera?” He asked, confused.

“She left. She said she has something to do.” Misha answered, eyeing his brother critically. Lucas looked upset. Clearly, whatever the phone call was about, it had given Lucas some bad or upsetting news. Or even both.

“I see.” Lucas sighed. “Too bad. Seeing that she’s a mercenary, I was going to ask her about a lead that I have about the Gifted we heard about. And then again, maybe it is best if we don’t involve her in ESA business.” He added, frowning thoughtfully. “It might bring her trouble.”

Misha raised a brow, staring at his brother. “…You think…she needs your protection?” He asked incredulously, staring at Lucas as he had just grown two new heads.

Lucas raised a brow, eyeing his younger brother.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Misha hesitated before he sighed, slumping his shoulders, and shaking his head. “Never mind. If you didn’t notice it, brother, I’m not about to enlighten you,” he said at last. “Come on, we need to meet up with the others, don’t we? Let’s go.”

* * * *

It was just past seven in the evening, with darkness already starting to set in.

Sera had been lounging on the roof level of the boathouse, absently staring out at the coastal waters, with the steady click-clacking of Raul’s typing on his portable computer being the only sounds that could be heard, apart from the sounds of the waves, being almost like a background sound.

Hence, the moment that sound stopped completely, it caught Sera’s attention. She turned over her shoulder to see Raul already setting his computer on the ground, with one tongue sticking out, as he attached some strange-looking cylinder-shaped contraption to his computer.

“Raul, it’s done?”

“I’ve set it to scanning mode.” Raul gestured towards both his computer and the peculiar device that had been something that Raul had been building for months from scraps and pieces since Aegis’ founding. “Once it detects the spike of a Gifted’s aura, we’ll get a hit.” He pinched his nose. “Of course, the only way it’ll pick up the spike of a Gifted is if said Gifted uses their Gift. At the moment, our technology can only go so far when it comes to searching for the Gifted.”

Sera nodded silently, knowing what Raul meant. Though honestly, in a way, Sera is relieved that they didn’t have the technology yet to search for a Gifted, as the hunters will be even more zealous if they can find a Gifted without said Gifted using their powers.

Most Class 3 Gifted can avoid the hunters’ radar, as most of their abilities are subtle and weak. Not enough to ping on the hunters or even the ESA’s radar. It’s the Class 2 Gifted that are at risk, with Class 1 Gifted being assumed to be a mere myth.

“If it ever does, then let’s hope we get there before the ESA—or Goddess forbid, the hunters do,” Sera said grimly.

Raul sighed, getting to his feet, and stretching until he heard the satisfying sound of his bones popping. “Can we even trust the information from Ethan?” he questioned Sera bluntly.

“He’s never lied to me. I trust him. He’s one of the best information brokers out there.” Sera reminded.

“I’m not denying that.” Raul let out a long, low sigh. “But there are rumours about him. Yusa mentioned him before his passing. It’s said that Ethan will sell information to anyone for the right price.” He eyed Sera critically. “Even the ESA.”

“Don’t worry about Ethan. When it comes to information like this, we can trust his word,” Sera reassured again. “He won’t betray me.”

Raul eyed Sera carefully before shrugging. “If you say so,” he said doubtfully. “I’ll tread carefully around him though, Sera. Information brokers are bidders in a way. They sell their talents and their information to the highest bidder.” He warned.

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

Sera was about to say something when a loud beep echoed from Raul’s computer. As one, both of them turned towards the device; with Raul immediately getting onto his knees in front of the computer and typing away furiously, his tongue sticking out. The scanning device that Raul had made with Neil and Tatius’ help meanwhile was blinking red instead of the glowing blue that it was previously.

“Raul?”

“We got a hit,” Raul announced without looking away from his screen. “There’s a spike in activity.” He typed away furiously. “Somewhere in the residential district…” He hesitated. “There are other Gifted converging on the location.”

There’s only one group that Sera could think of in the current situation that would have fellow Gifted converging in on a Gifted’s location.

“…The ESA.”

Raul nodded solemnly, finally looking at Sera. “ESA,” he echoed. “What are we going to do?”

Before Sera could answer, Raul’s phone rang with an incoming call just then, causing both of them to give a start. The latter immediately fished out his phone from his back pocket, hesitating when he read the name on the screen, with his eyes flickering towards Sera.

“Better answer that.”

Raul doesn’t need further prompting even as he clicks on the ‘Answer’ button on his phone.

“Lucie?”

Sera’s eyebrows only rose with the sound of that unfamiliar name. The sounds of approaching footsteps reached Sera’s ears just then, and she turned towards the door only to see Tatius and Laura entering, concerned looks on their faces.

It seemed like the little commotion earlier had caught their attention.

“What’s going on?” Laura wanted to know.

“Lucie! Don’t hang up!” Raul’s loud outburst caused nearly all present to jump. Their resident hacker is currently on his feet, the hand holding the phone tightening to the point that his fingernails turn white. “Lucie, stay on the line! Lucie?”

“Raul, what’s going on?” Laura demanded.

“Was that Lucie on the line?” Tatius looked concerned. “What happened?”

A bright glow coming from the direction of Agnis caught all their attention just then. Sera narrowed her eyes with that bright, red glow.

Fire.

Raul’s computer, meanwhile, is screaming like crazy.

“Is that…fire that I see?” Laura asked weakly, squinting in the distance. “That’s…coming from the residential district of Agnis, isn’t it?”

Sera closed her eyes briefly.

“…Goddess above… Help us…”

* * * *

Lucas was expecting a great number of things when he’d gotten up that morning.

Being sent to hunt down a supposedly dormant Gifted with a rare and powerful gift, and for said Gifted to nearly fry him alive is not what he is expecting when he had first gotten up that morning.

It was a little past ten at night, and both teams of Alpha and Delta were now gathered in the meeting room they always used in ESA headquarters, with every single member nursing some kind of burn or injury on their person.

Lucas sighed, examining the large burn on his arm, and making a mental note to burn the clothes that he was wearing that day. He knew from personal experience that the smell of smoke and burning flesh, and even bloodstains, is hard to get out of clothes, no matter how many times one washes it.

“…Is it too late to resign?” He joked weakly with Leonid who was seated next to him, with the older man also nursing several injuries of his own.

Leonid only grunted. As someone who has some control over water, his injuries aren’t as numerous and serious as some of the other agents. It is only thanks to Leonid that they even managed to subdue the Gifted that they were sent after, to begin with.

“I think that’s the closest I ever came to staring at Death in the face.” Louis Krusen, Misha’s second-in-command of Team Delta sighed, currently sprawled over the table. He had dark brown hair tied back in a pineapple-style ponytail, with equally dark brown eyes, with a pair of headphones currently hanging around his neck. “Is it too late to go back to my old department, Misha?” He asked Misha half-heartedly.

Lucas remembered something about Misha being the one to personally recruit Louis for his team when he was first promoted, with Louis and Misha having gone through training together. The teen might seem lazy at first glance, but Lucas had seen Louis Krusen’s records and knew that the teen was highly intelligent, with an IQ to match. He was originally from Forensics and even the Cypher Division, and the division leader had fought Misha on it when he had wanted to bring Louis over to Investigations.

“Whoever gave that intelligence that her Gifts are dormant needs a good sock in the face.” Elijah Rosales grumbled, rubbing at the ends of his red hair that was partially singed. Team Alpha’s marksman is not amused at the faulty intelligence that they’ve received. “We all almost got cooked alive!”

“We got three hunters dead, an entire squad of ESA agents and hunters now in the emergency Burn Unit of the hospital, and half the residential district of Agnis now in dire need of repairs.” Maia Travis, Misha’s team medic pointed out grimly, ticking off points on her fingers. “How could just one Gifted do this?” She sounded perplexed.

Misha gave Maia an annoyed look. “I told you from the beginning not to underestimate a Gifted, especially when they’re pushed into a corner,” he reprimanded, his voice sharp. “But whether the intelligence we’ve received is faulty or not, it doesn’t change matters that she is powerful. Extremely so. Her Gift over fire is phenomenal. She can do things over fire that even Lucas and I couldn’t!”

Lucas nodded with reluctance. His Gift over fire pales in comparison to the Gifted that is currently in their holding cells, and who had just sent an entire squad of ESA agents to the hospital.

“Taylor, you’ve been rather quiet.” Lucas voiced, causing all present to turn as one to Team Alpha’s analyser. The sole woman in Lucas’ team had been leafing through the reports in her hands, keeping only half an ear on the ongoing conversation around her. “Your thoughts?”

Taylor and Elijah exchanged looks before the former let the reports that she was reading drop onto the table with a loud smack. “I think there is a possibility that her Gifts are dormant. At least, it was until we got there,” she said grimly.

Elijah nodded slowly, agreeing with his twin. “I agree,” he nodded. “I think we scared her enough that her Gifts awakened in a bid to protect their user. It’s not uncommon to have Gifts awakening this way. Her Gift is functioning purely on instinct earlier. More than likely, she is unable to control it fully.”

The destruction that is half of Agnis’ residential district is the very evidence of it.

Half the agents currently present are Gifted, and they all nodded in agreement with the twins.

’’Given that we killed her father in front of her?” Misha scoffed, rubbing at his temples. “Who can blame her? Of course she panicked!”

“She killed three of our allies. And even burnt down half of Agnis’ residential district!” Maia protested, only to flinch when Misha turned a frosty glare on her person. “I-I was just saying…”

Remi Wayne, Misha’s tracker, groaned, currently struggling with a bandage that he was trying to put around his right arm. “Give it a rest already, Maia,” he scowled deeply at the girl. “I have no idea what you got against the Gifted, but every single time we get on this topic, we always walk away with a headache. Just shut your trap already. We have enough to worry about. And it wasn’t that Gifted’s fault. We forced her into a corner.” Remi pointed out grimly.

“She was just lashing out. Scared because we cornered her. And right after our ‘allies’ as you called it, Maia, killed her father right in front of her.” Taylor said frostily, glaring at the younger girl. If looks could kill, Maia would be six feet deep in the ground. “I’m not a Gifted. But I can understand where she’s coming from. Anyone would have lashed out if put in that kind of situation. Especially with hunters in tow. What else do you expect her to do?”

Maia looked about to protest, but a frosty glare from Misha caused her to back down. Lucas had both eyebrows raised, as he looked from one to the next.

He never knew that there was such discord within Team Delta. His brother had never mentioned it before. Sure, Lucas had Normals in his team as well, like Taylor Elijah and even Allen. But not one of the three had ever expressed any dislike or hatred towards the Gifted, or Lucas would never have permitted them to remain in his team, considering the fact that at least half his team members are Gifted.

Even still, this was the first time he had met Misha’s team for himself. While Lucas knew it wasn’t uncommon to have ESA agents harbouring hatred or dislike for the Gifted community, this was the first time he met one for himself. The majority of the agents who dislike the Gifted are those with the Gifted Task Force or even with R&D.

“It’s been a long day for all of us,” Lucas said at last. “I’m sure we’re all exhausted. And more than one of us could do with a trip to the infirmary or even the hospital.” He added, eyeing a few of the agents in the room whom he saw had some serious burn or injury on their person. “Write your reports and send them to me by tomorrow morning.” He received nods from around the room. “Dismissed.”

With low murmurs, the members of Team Delta and Team Alpha started getting to their feet and leaving the room. Misha waited until the room emptied, and the door closed behind Louis who was the last to leave before he turned his attention towards his older brother.

“This isn’t right, Brother,” Misha said. “We know her fate. We know what awaits the Gifted that is currently in our holding cells.”

Considering both brothers were faced with a similar choice barely a year ago, Lucas knew it all too well. The Gifted in their holding cells right now would have a choice between joining the ESA or death.

Whichever way you look at it, it isn’t much of a choice at all.

And that is if the hunters don’t put pressure on them from above and force the ESA to hand the Gifted over to them.

Misha almost dreaded to find out the kind of damage that a Gifted with that kind of power and ability could do should the hunters succeed with the kind of ‘conditioning training’ on her that Misha had heard about.

“What do you want me to do, Misha?” Lucas sounded exhausted. The dark bags beneath his eyes told of several sleepless nights. “My hands are tied. Such a powerful Gifted…” He trailed off slowly. “Those at the top wouldn’t want such a powerful Gifted walking about unchecked. Whichever way that I’m looking at it, she would be better off with us than with the hunters.”

“That’s not much better, and you know it.” Misha pointed out grimly. “The choices that we would be offering her aren’t much of a choice at all. It’s enslavement.” He took in a deep breath. “This isn’t right.”

“We can’t do anything, and you know that,” Lucas said sharply, already gathering the files and folders in front of him. “Not without committing treason, at least.” Misha looked ready to argue. “I’m not about to get into this with you today, Misha. Your team is slated for guard duty for the Gifted until we can transport her for questioning. Arrange the guard shifts. My team will take the shifts to come morning.”

Misha clenched his hands into fists on his knees beneath the table.

“…Fine.”

* * * *

It was a little past two in the morning and save for the bare skeleton crew that guards and patrols the premises of ESA headquarters, there is literally no movement from anyone else at all.

As such, the guard at the front entrance of ESA headquarters was almost dozing off on his feet, his concentration slack. He could barely find it in himself to fight back or react even as an arm tightened around his neck from behind before a needle was jabbed into the flesh, and he knew no more.

The body of the guard was lowered to the ground quietly.

Laura O’Boyle pressed two fingers against the communicator in her ear.

“…We’re in.”

“Time is ten minutes past two.” Kailey’s voice echoed in Laura’s ear, even as the latter scanned the area for threats as Raul dropped to his knees in front of the front door, tapping away furiously on his computer. “Security cameras and the feed are disabled. It won’t last long, however. Someone will notice it sooner or later. You both got until three in the morning. Fifty minutes left.”

“Won’t be a problem,” Raul reassured, even as there was the sound of a loud click, and the door hissed open for them. “Neil and Tatius are still there for us as backup?”

“Yes. Sera and Letha are at the other two side entrances. All entrances and exits are covered. Make it fast.”

“We’re on it.” Laura nodded to Raul.

“The holding cells are in the dungeons of the north wing,” Raul murmured, recalling what they’ve gotten from the maps and information that they’ve gotten from Alexis and Ethan about the layout of ESA headquarters. “Chances are that that’s where they’ve brought Lucie.”

“They’ll likely transport her to the capital city of Avae in the morning,” Laura murmured. “We have to hurry.”

“I’ve mapped out a safe route.” Raul pulled on black gloves on his hands even as he nodded to Laura, removing a gun from the holster strapped to his thigh. “This way.”

“It’s unusual to see you this worked up,” Laura commented in a low voice even as she followed Raul. She has faith in Raul’s abilities to gather information and map out safe routes to their destination. Hence, she isn’t surprised that they met no one even as they walked.

“Let’s save Lucie first, and then maybe I’ll tell you something,” was Raul’s curt response, and Laura smirked. They finally arrived at a steel door with an electronic lock on it that from what Laura remembered of the maps, would take them to the underground holding cells.

“Do your thing.” Laura urged, even as Raul started hacking into the lock, her eyes flickering around in search of guards. This is getting strange. It is too easy. Where are all the guards?

“Laura. Status report. What’s the situation?”

Sera’s voice that echoed over the communicator in her ear almost caused Laura to jump, but she held onto her composure, actively scanning for threats.

“All clear. We’re at the entrance to the holding cells. Something is weird though. The security is too light, especially after the day they had, and with a Gifted currently held in their holding cells furthermore.” Laura reported.

There was a cackle before Neil entered the conversation.

“I’m on the roof. Security is light. Apart from the usual patrols around the building, I’m not detecting anyone at all.”

“Be on your guard and move carefully,” Sera answered a moment later.

“Roger.”

Laura took a peek at her watch. 2:25AM.

“Raul, hurry. We got a little over thirty minutes left.”

“I’m hurrying!” Raul snapped back. A moment later, there was the sound of a light click before the electronic lock on the door disengaged, and hissed opened. “Come on.”

The stone staircases that lead down to the holding cells made Laura cringe with every step that they took, as every step echoed back at them and made her look around every single time to make sure that no guard would come at them.

Raul however, didn’t seem too concerned; with his eyes fixated on his computer even as he took the steps down. It is a marvel that he hadn’t tripped.

Several of the holding cells that they walked past even as they reached the bottom were empty, but Laura could distinctly feel another presence at the end. Finally, as they reached the end, Laura spotted a small, cowering figure huddled in a corner with the knees drawn up to the chest.

Raul’s face changed into one of relief, even as he ran up to the bars of the holding cell. “Lucie!”

Lucie peeled her face from between her knees, her eyes widening when she spotted Raul standing outside her cell, along with Laura.

She licked at her chapped and dry lips. “…R-Raul…?” Her voice croaked.

“We’re getting you out of here!” Raul said determinedly, even as Laura knelt in front of the lock, fiddling at it with a lockpick that she had with her. Years spent living on the streets and amongst the underground had taught Laura several skills. Amongst those skills is lockpicking.

Click.

The sound of the lock opening echoed around the dungeons, even as the door of the holding cell swung open.

“Hurry, Raul.” Laura urged, eyes flickering around to ensure that they wouldn’t get any surprises. Her eyes flickered towards her watch. 2:40AM.

“I can’t…” Lucie cringed away from Raul even as he reached out for her, shaking her head. “Don’t come near me!”

“Raul, we don’t have time. Knock her out.” Laura barked from the entrance of the holding cell, still looking around nervously.

“Apologies, Lucie,” Raul said apologetically. Lucie was confused before her eyes drifted closed when Raul hit her in the right place at the neck, easily knocking her out. Raul picked Lucie up in a fireman’s carry easily. “Let’s get out of here—”

A cackle in both their ears caught their attention.

“Guys, might want to hurry.” Letha’s voice sounded concerned. “I think it might be due to the guard change. There’s some activity around the building.”

“We got her,” Laura responded, exchanging concerned looks with Raul, the latter who shifted Lucie’s weight slightly. “We need a distraction though, or we’re going to be swarmed with guards.”

“Very well. One distraction coming up.” Letha sounded oddly cheerful.

* * * *

It was a quiet and peaceful night at ESA headquarters.

Thus, Lucas was startled out of a particularly pleasant dream he was having when a loud explosion reverberated around the building, even causing the windows to shake in their panes.

“W-What?”

The warning alarms soon started blaring throughout headquarters—a shrill, wailing sound that is the signal for all ESA agents currently in the building to immediately report to their immediate stations.

“Lucas, are you up?!” Leonid’s voice could be heard from behind the door even as he pounded on it. Lucas was quick to pull on his jacket before he answered the door; he was so exhausted from the mission that he had practically fallen asleep in his bed with the day’s clothes on. Leonid looked haggard, with grim lines visible in his face. “We have intruders in headquarters!”

Lucas’ eyes were wide.

Intruders? In ESA headquarters?

Who on earth is insane enough to pull off something like that? And what are they after?

A moment later, that answer came to Lucas’ mind.

The Gifted from Agnis is currently held in their holding cells.

“Get the rest of the team, and head straight for the northern wing!” Lucas barked, heading back into his room to grab his gun. “Whoever those intruders are, they are here for her—”

BOOM!

Another loud explosion reverberated around the building. And from the sounds of it, it seemed like the eastern wing had just gone up in flames.

“They took out the communications tower!” Leonid was looking out of the window.

“Come on, let’s go!”

Lucas took the lead in heading towards the northern wing of ESA headquarters which is where the holding cells as well as the various team offices were located. Along the way, Lucas could already spy on several of the other agents currently trying to battle the fires over at the south and east wings. There were even entire sections of the wall being taken out. And with the communications tower down, there is no way they can radio for help from the other agents currently out on the field.

“Lucas! Leonid!”

Allen was the first one they saw the moment they made their way towards the northern wing. The redhead looked extremely frazzled, and had a fire extinguisher in his hands, with foam currently coating the flooring of the level that they were on.

“Allen, what’s the situation?” Leonid demanded, his eyes scanning the floor that they were on.

It’s chaos at the moment, with lots of screaming and shouting, even as the other agents are battling the fires currently sprouting everywhere. With flames this hot, Leonid knew that using his ability over water was only going to make the fire worse.

“Half the teams are currently gathering whatever files they can get, whilst the other half are combating the fires,” Allen reported, looking exhausted. “Elijah and Taylor have taken care of the files in our office. I’ve managed to call for the fire emergency services, but it’ll be a while before they can get here.”

“Who’s watching the Gifted in our holding cells right now?” The bad feeling that Lucas had is coming back tenfold. This entire commotion… Along with intruders from outside and an attack on ESA headquarters… This all coincides with the timing when they’ve apprehended that Gifted and had her in their holding cells, awaiting transportation.

Allen looked confused for a moment with Lucas’ words before he realised what he was getting at, and his ruby-red eyes widened.

“Goddess damn it!” Allen cussed, dumping the fire extinguisher roughly onto the floor in a corner before breaking into a run towards the direction of the holding cells, with Lucas and Leonid being right on his heels.

“Wasn’t Team Delta supposed to be watching her?” Leonid demanded even as they ran through the corridors, avoiding the other agents who were combating the fires—thankfully, it was small enough that it wouldn’t bring the entire building down around their ears or put them in mortal danger. “What the hell is Misha doing?”

“They are busy trying to save the lives of those at R&D!” Allen barked back, before skidding to a stop before the entrance to the holding cells. The door was however wide opened. “Oh, come on!”

The three agents practically sprinted down the steps and to the bottom, and following that, towards the end of the passage where the Gifted that they’ve apprehended from Agnis was held in the holding cell right at the end.

But it’s empty, with the cell door being left ajar.

“Damn it.” Leonid cussed, his eyes roving around as if in hopes of finding clues. “The attack must be a distraction. Whoever is behind it is long gone, I bet.”

“It must be Aegis.” Allen was examining the lock on the ajar cell door. “They’re the only ones I know of that are capable of pulling off something like this.”

Lucas looked skyward as if praying for some divine intervention.

“Goddess, help me.”

* * * *

For what seems like the umpteenth time that week, Lucas was once more in a meeting with his team as well as his brother’s team.

The clean-up of the aftermath at ESA headquarters is a logistical nightmare in the making, along with having to check just what needs to be replaced or fixed. As a result, only the most urgent cases are still being investigated or pursued, whereas the less urgent cases were put on the back burner for now until they could sort out the mess at ESA headquarters.

The attack was a little less than a week ago, and the ESA agents are still trying to clean up the mess. The attack was also all over the Eldario Times for days—Eldario’s daily newspaper, and didn’t exactly paint the ESA in the nicest light.

Surprisingly, the northern wing that held the team offices as well as the holding cells were relatively unscathed. Hence, the moment that the fires were battled out, and clean-up was in process, the ESA agents were quick to move their files back to their team offices—as the majority of those files were highly confidential.

“All right. Status report?” Lucas looked extremely exhausted. Heck, the members of both teams have been working to the bone for the past week, along with the majority of the agents. “Misha, what’s the number of casualties we have?”

“None,” Misha answered promptly, causing all those present in the office to turn their attention towards him.

“Pardon?”

“I said ‘none’,” Misha repeated his words, irritated. “There are no causalities. We do have a couple of injured that we have to send to the hospital for treatment. But it’s nothing life-threatening. They should be out of the hospital any day now.”

“That’s not possible.” Maia shook her head disbelievingly. “Have you seen the damage out there?” She waved a hand towards the entrance of the office, only to flinch when Misha fixed her with one of his death glares. It seems like today is not the best time to mess with Misha when he’s in this mood. Due to the lack of sleep for the past week, Misha is particularly dangerous today.

“Remind me again, Travis, just who is the one conducting structural checks and investigations in the recent attack?” Misha said in a low and dark voice.

Uh oh.

Louis exchanged concerned looks with Remi and Coleen Kodar—the latter who is their poisons specialist. When Misha starts breaking out the last names, it means he’s in a royally pissed-off mood.

…Not that Misha even likes Maia to begin with. To this day, Louis is certain that the chief must have bribed Misha with something to make him accept Maia into Team Delta. There is no way that Misha would ever allow someone so prejudiced against the Gifted into his team otherwise, considering that both Misha and Louis are Gifted. Coleen isn’t a Gifted. But with what she could do, she could almost be considered one. Same with Remi.

“Okay, enough.” Elijah interrupted hastily, seeing a brewing argument amongst the members of Team Delta. “Maia, I’m afraid that Misha is right.” Maia turned her attention towards Elijah, as did the rest of the room. “The fire makes it look bad. But apart from the communications tower as well as the east wing, along with the walls that need a new paint job for the other wings, there isn’t much structural damage at all.” He reported. Elijah after all had been part of the group running structural checks on the damage done to ESA headquarters.

“There were explosives used that night.” Leonid protested. “You’re trying to tell me that no one died despite it?”

“Only the explosives used to take out the communications tower are made from gunpowder,” Misha revealed. “The ones used at the other wings hold no explosive power. It’s more for distraction's sake, and to make it look worse than it did. The fire damage done to the other three wings too is minimal. And apart from ESA headquarters needing a good scrubbing and a new paint job, there isn’t much damage.”

“In other words, if it is Aegis behind it, they didn’t come here to kill anyone,” Taylor concluded, and Elijah nodded. “Sounds like their modus operandi. Anyone not on their target list is generally left alone, even if they witnessed something they shouldn’t.”

“Their target is the Gifted from Agnis,” Lucas concluded, looking around the room. “Right?” He received nods from all around. Lucas gave a long, low sigh. “Great. Now I need to report this to the chief, and think up an explanation to the hunters that won’t have them making even more sanctions on us.”

Misha rubbed his temples, and it almost seemed like half the room wanted to mimic his actions.

“Elijah. Misha. I’m going to need you both to do a report on the structural damage. I want it before the end of today.” Lucas said, and both mentioned nodded silently. “Dismissed.”

The two teams started filing out slowly, with Misha and Elijah being the last to leave the room, gathering their files together slowly.

“…You let her go on purpose,” Elijah murmured to Misha in a voice low enough for only the younger of the two to hear, even as they made their way out of the room. “The Gifted we apprehended from Agnis. You let her go on purpose.”

Misha’s movements stilled momentarily. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Elijah eyed Misha critically. “…We need to do up the reports that Lucas asked for. We can use my room.”

Misha looked as if he dearly wanted to turn down Elijah’s ‘offer’; but for all the fact that Misha is technically a team leader too, the truth is that Elijah does outrank him. The only one in Team Alpha who holds a higher rank than Elijah is just Lucas. While Leonid is technically second-in-command, the truth is that it is Elijah who is the one to plan out the team’s missions and is their tactician. So unofficially, he is third-in-command, though Leonid often lets him take the lead when Lucas isn’t around.

Thus, before Misha even knew what was happening, he was practically frogmarched to Elijah’s room where the latter practically forced him into the spare chair at the table, with the older male taking the other chair.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Misha insisted once more, even as Elijah turned his chair around to face him.

Elijah only fixated on Misha with a knowing look. “…The rooms of the agents are the only places in headquarters that didn’t have surveillance cameras,” he said cryptically. “We’re free to talk here.” He pushed his fringe out of his eyes, studying Misha carefully. “I’m not stupid. Neither am I blind. The guard on that girl was minimal at best. If you had really wanted to stop anyone from making off with her or even letting her escape, you would have increased the guard on her. The fact that you didn’t tell me everything I needed to know. I will bet that it’s only the confusion and the aftermath of the attack on headquarters that helps to cover up your actions that night.”

Misha looked away from Elijah. “…Are you going to report me?”

Elijah shook his head. “No,” he replied, and Misha looked at him with surprise. “I won’t say anything to anyone. I doubt anyone even realises what you’ve done. And I understand perfectly why you did that.”

Misha curled his fingers together. “You know as well as I do that the ESA isn’t a good place for the Gifted, despite my brother’s beliefs,” he said. “If I had a choice back then, I wouldn’t have joined the ESA. Though I understand perfectly why my brother did it.”

Elijah sighed, nodding. “Lucas is a good guy,” he began, “but sometimes, he takes things too literally. He is still of the firm belief that there is justice to be had. But we all know that not everyone can be punished by the law. None of us said anything. But in a way, Aegis’ existence and their actions have been doing us a favour.”

“Aegis…” Misha murmured, “I’ve been hearing their name a lot lately, especially in the last couple of months. And from what I heard; they’re getting quite the reputation amongst the underground scene.”

“Even the bounty hunters too.” Elijah agreed, “From what I heard from one of my contacts, it is said that if it is known that they’re after the same target that Aegis is after, the bounty hunters just scrap the job entirely and make sure to give the highest pay-out.”

“Is that normal?”

Elijah shook his head in response. “Not in the least,” he responded. “Bounty hunters are no pushover, especially those that have been in this line of business for years. The ESA often engaged their services for a reason. The fact that bounty hunters would do this just proves how dangerous and how much of an influence that Aegis has amongst the underground scene.”

Misha gnawed nervously on his lower lip, his eyes darting between Elijah and the table that they were seated at. The younger boy finally made up his mind. “Truthfully, despite what some of the agents think and believe, I don’t think Aegis is our enemy here,” he admitted, and Elijah nodded with agreement. “It’s apparent from their actions that as long as we don’t set ourselves against them, they’ll leave us alone. Their actions thus far seemed more along the lines of protecting the Gifted. They did for the Gifted community what we have never been able to.” He admitted sadly. “It’s their methods that give us the jeebies, I will bet.”

“I will assume you’re talking about Maia.” Elijah had an eyebrow raised. He, along with most of Team Alpha, has seen the way that Misha had reacted towards the girl. It goes without saying that Misha didn’t seem to like her. “I won’t ask too much, but give her some time. She needs to learn for herself that sometimes, you need to use fear to control people. Or even to stop them from acting out. That’s what Aegis is doing, Misha. And it is the only language that the people of the underground understand.” He made a hand gesture. “Fear. And power.”

* * * *

‘We’re going to need to lay low for a while.’ Sera mused to herself whilst atop the rooftop of the boathouse, letting the night breeze blow through her hair. ‘We’ve been attracting quite a lot of attention lately.’

Sera knew that attention would be the least of their concerns when she’d first started Aegis, and they started doing what they did. There’s no way that the hunters will just stay still and silent once they start doing what they did.

Heck, knowing them, sooner or later, the hunters are either going to suspect or know that she’s the one behind Aegis.

The lot of them have hightailed it out of the area the moment they’ve secured Lucie and have returned to the boathouse. Right now, they’re somewhere in the waters not far from Aurora, having anchored the boathouse so that they wouldn’t go off-course. It helps that it’s also currently low tide.

Lucie is currently in the room that they used as an infirmary, whereas the others have turned in for the night—with the day’s events having worn them all out. The only one awake, apart from Sera, would probably just be Raul who is currently in the infirmary watching over Lucie.

She recalled her encounter earlier in the day with Lucas and his younger brother, Misha.

“I don’t think you’ll tell anyone, since you give me the impression that you’re not too fond of either the ESA or the hunters.” Sera stiffened. “I’m not going to ask. But I’ll guess either you’re from the underground… Or you’re also a Gifted.” Sera’s hand twitched slightly. “I won’t say anything. I think it’s safer if I don’t get a direct answer. The ESA is not the best place to be. I knew that from the start. We can’t always do what is right.”

Sera looked out into the distance—unable to see anything at all but inky, black darkness. ‘Misha Alescio,’ she mused to herself. ‘He’s sharp. We’re going to have to tread carefully.’

Sera stiffened just then as she felt the distinct presence of someone using an ability down below.

“What’s going on?”

She immediately took off into a run back towards the boathouse, and towards the direction where that spike of power is coming from—the infirmary.

That spike of power had also roused the others, it seemed, as they were all crowded in the hallway outside the infirmary – a tight fit and most of them had just thrown jackets over their nightwear.

“What’s going on?” Sera demanded. As one, several pairs of eyes turned towards her.

“It’s Raul and the girl we brought back,” Kailey reported, looking concerned. “She woke up a while ago. It seemed like her Gift had been acting up. Raul is trying to keep her calm, and told us to leave.”

“…Neil, can you put a barrier around the room?” Sera requested, turning to a sleepy-looking Neil whose hair was sticking up almost comically.

“Yeah, no problem.” Neil rubbed at his eyes with one fist to get the sleep out, before he then raised his hands, and a pale blue spherical barrier then surrounded the infirmary. “If she’s as powerful as we think she is, even my barrier wouldn’t be able to contain her power for long.” He warned Sera who had one hand on the doorknob.

“I know. Laura, get ready to douse out fires if necessary.” Sera warned, and Laura nodded with determination. “I’d rather not have the boathouse burned down.” Several of the others cringed at that comment, trying to imagine escaping a burning boathouse out in the middle of the sea.

The girl—Lucie, as what Raul had said is her name, is huddled in a corner, terrified. Small flames were already sparking at the ends of her fingertips. Raul wasn’t far from her, trying to calm her down.

“Lucie, you need to focus. Stay calm. Look at me.” Raul’s entire body posture was tense, but he was still trying to calm the frazzled Lucie, knowing exactly how dangerous an elemental Gift user can be, especially one with powers over fire. “You need to keep control over your ability.”

“I-I can’t…!” Lucie wept, being huddled in a corner with her knees drawn up to her chest. Red-orange sparks were also cackling from her fingertips. “I can’t control it…! Raul… Help me, please…”

Raul crossed the room faster than Sera even thought possible, reaching to Lucie’s side, and wrapping the smaller girl in his arms, causing the girl to tense, and trying her best to push him away.

“N-No! Raul, get away from me!” she cried out in terror. The fear in her voice caused Sera to cringe. “I can’t control it! You’ll die!”

Sparks flew from her fingertips and onto the nearby floorboards, causing a small fire. Laura who had entered the room after Sera was quick to douse the small flame with her Gift. This action however caught the attention of the two in the room.

“Sera… Laura…” Raul’s eyes were wide, still with his arms around Lucie. “Sorry… I can’t just leave her alone.”

Laura isn’t amused. “You trying to play Romeo and Juliet here, Raul?” she deadpanned. From the muffled snickers Sera could hear outside, it seemed like half of Aegis could hear every single word that was being said in the room.

Lucie’s tear-filled eyes met with Sera’s from across the room. “Please… Help me…” she pleaded. “I…don’t want this to happen… I…can’t control it…” Another flame spark flew from her fingers and onto the nearby bed, but Laura was just as quick to douse out the flames.

“You can.” Sera stepped forward without fear, crossing the room until she was in front of Lucie and Raul, kneeling in front of them. She is just vaguely aware of the door to the room opening but doesn’t turn around. “You’re just afraid to, that is all.”

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” Lucie wept. “I can’t control it.”

“Lucie…” Raul whispered, still with his arms around her. He looked at Sera. “Sera, please…”

Sera nodded silently in response, never removing her eyes from Lucie. “You can,” Sera said firmly again, reaching out and grasping Lucie’s hands in her own, ignoring the burning feeling that she felt against her skin even as she did so. “It’s your power, Lucie. You need to believe in yourself. You call the shots. You can control it.”

“Uh, Sera…?” Neil’s cautious voice called out from behind. “Maybe…”

Sera ignored the rest of them, focusing instead only on the terrified Lucie. She can’t let her concentration wane. A terrified Gifted with no control over their Gift is a disaster in the making.

Lucie seemed to be calming down the longer she listened to Sera’s calming and soothing voice. “I-I don’t know how…” Her voice trembled.

Sera swallowed a lump that had appeared in her throat.

“I can’t control it,” Sera whispered fearfully, watching even as the items that weren’t nailed down to the ground were starting to tremble. Even the broken windows in this broken-down shed that she had hidden herself away were starting to rattle in their frames.

“You can.” Zest gripped hold of Sera’s chin, but not hard enough that it would bruise; forcing her to face him as he knelt before the younger girl. His other hand held onto her right forearm. “You can control it. You’ve been doing it your whole life. Remember what you told me before? A Gifted control their abilities with their emotions. You’re not unfeeling; despite what our enemies believe. You feel more than anyone I knew. You feel anger more than anyone I’ve ever seen. You’ve always been angry. You were angry all the time, Sera. Probably even before Leroy and the others stepped into the picture. You just hid it behind a mask of nonchalance so that others couldn’t see it. But underneath that, you’ve always been angry. I know. I understand that. Because I’m the same way.”

“You can,” Sera said at last, tightening her grip over Lucie’s hands. “You can control it, Lucie. Even when you’re doing it subconsciously during a time when your Gift over fire had yet to truly awake, you’ve been able to from the start. You just need to do it consciously now. Before you learn to wield it as easy as breathing like the rest of us.” Lucie was mesmerised by the look in Sera’s eyes. The sparks sparkling against her skin were dying. Sera clasped both of Lucie’s hands together. “A Gifted’s Gift will always protect their user against outside threats. It is why things never turn out well for people who meant harm against a fledgling Gifted.” For obvious reasons, Sera elected to leave out the hunters. “In Agnis, your Gift just awoke to defend you against the threats it can sense. You were terrified then. And you’re still afraid now. That’s why, you need to calm down.”

Lucie’s breathing started to calm as she listened to Sera. “Dad… He used to tell me stories of how the Goddess blessed her children with Gifts,” she murmured. “In ancient legends, those Gifted are seen as the Goddess’ Blessed. They used their Gifts to help their people.”

“All true.” Sera’s tone was gentle, even as she tried her best to coax and calm Lucie down enough to enable her to control her Gift. “Lucie, focus on the power within you. Will it back. It’s your power. You control it. Not the other way around.”

For several long moments, the members of Aegis outside the infirmary only watched with bated breaths and wide eyes as Sera calmed Lucie down, getting her to calm down enough to regain control. Should Lucie ever manage to control her power completely one day, she’ll be a force to reckon with in the future.

“I think it’s working…” Kailey murmured in surprise, seeing that the sparks and the red-orange glow that surrounded Lucie’s hands were slowly fading.

And then, Lucie tipped backwards in a faint. And if not for Raul who is holding her, she would likely have collapsed to the floor.

“Lucie!”

“Calm down, Raul. She just overexerted herself.” Sera calmed down the panicking Raul. “I’ve seen this happen before with Gifted whose abilities awaken violently.” Sera turned towards the entrance of the infirmary. “Kailey, can you come and take a look at her?”

Kailey was already making her way into the room and towards Sera, with Laura not far behind her—with the two girls being Aegis’ unofficial medics. Whereas Kailey is busy tending to the unconscious Lucie, Laura is currently tending to the minor burns on Sera’s hands and fingers, and giving her quite the lecture in the meantime.

“That was reckless!” Laura scolded, using her Gift to numb the burned areas. “What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I’d rather not have my boathouse burned to a crisp.” Sera deadpanned, not flinching in the least even as Laura dabbed medication onto her burns to prevent infection. “Besides, I’ve dealt with Gifted whose powers awaken similarly to Lucie before. I know how to handle it.”

“A fire elemental user, huh?” Laura murmured, wrapping gauze and bandages around Sera’s burns. “I know elemental users aren’t exactly rare. But still, you don’t see many of us around.”

“Tell me about it.” Sera sighed. “Though with the fuss we kicked up over at ESA headquarters earlier and then at Agnis, I think it best if we lay low for a bit.”

* * * *

‘Your power is part of you, huh?’

Three days later found Lucie Dressen lying on her back atop the roof of the boathouse, staring up at the stars in the night sky. Surprisingly, the rest of Aegis had accepted her quicker than Lucie had thought, though the girl sure did get quite the shock of her life when she realised just who it was that had saved her.

Raul had held her when she had woken up after fainting and had let her cry her eyes out over the death of her father. Some of Aegis’ members—and here, Lucie is guessing that it might just be either Letha or even Sera, had snuck back to Agnis to retrieve some of her stuff that is still salvageable amongst the burnt ruins of her house and the half that is Agnis’ residential district.

They’ve since been anchored out in the dock at Aurora since she was taken aboard, from what Lucie had heard from Raul. And considering the fuss that they have caused in ESA headquarters, Lucie does agree that it might be a very good idea for them to lay low for a bit.

That and Lucie is relatively certain that she is likely on the ESA’s wanted list by now if not the hunters. No one needs to tell her anything for her to know that her house was attacked precisely because the ESA and the hunters have found out about her existence.

‘I wonder… Can I do what they did?’ Lucie wondered, raising her hand above her, and partially concealing her view of the skies. ‘Can I help people with my Gift? Like how Sera did? And Raul? And the others?’

“You know, hiding away from the others isn’t going to work long-term.” Lucie gave a start; sitting up and turning around only to see Letha entering the roof, sipping from the straw of a carton drink. “The lot of us are pretty much doing some mercenary work in the meantime. But they aren’t going to leave you alone forever. Sooner or later, either Laura or Tatius is going to drag you out to face the others, or even drag you along with them for one of their mercenary jobs. They’re technically second-in-command when Sera isn’t here.”

“I’m not trying to,” Lucie said in a small voice, even as Letha sat down with her back against the side of the boathouse, but facing her. “It’s just…” She struggled to put her thoughts into words.

“Too many things have changed in a short period and you’re still trying to adjust to it.” Letha guessed, and Lucie blinked. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“How did you—”

Letha eyed Lucie knowingly. “Because as sad as it is to say, your situation isn’t exactly unique,” she said bluntly. “Most of us in Aegis have quite similar backgrounds. Heck, most of the Gifted in Eldario probably have similar stories.”

Lucie only nodded sadly. With her father being a freelance journalist, she had heard of many of those stories. Sadly, due to the prejudice against the Gifted, her father was never able to get most of his articles published. He did however post those articles on an online blog that he runs that had been gaining much traction and popularity over the years, which Lucie guessed might just be part of the reason why he was also targeted by the hunters.

“I heard about it before from Dad over the years,” Lucie admitted, pulling her knees up to her chest. “And when I first met Raul and Tatius in Agnis, they let slip a few things.”

Letha only made a sound in her throat. “You know, I used to run with a street gang,” she said suddenly. “Most of the Gifted in Eldario did, as it’s one of the ways for us to survive. Raul and Sera, and probably Laura, are just some of the others that I knew in Aegis who ran with one before. Unlike Raul however, the one that I ran with is pretty decent. I wasn’t the leader. But I was his second.” Letha gave a grim smile. “Klein’s a great guy. He gave me a chance when no one would. He made damn sure that everyone in his gang and the town knew not to touch me just because I am both a Gifted and a woman.”

“Klein… Klein…” Lucie closed her eyes. “I heard this name before.”

“If your father is—was a journalist, you probably did.” Letha agreed. “Leader of Whirlwind. The guardians of the underground town of Zalfari, one of the underground society’s strongholds.”

“Oh. Now I remember.” Lucie had an odd expression cross her face—like she wasn’t sure what to say to Letha. If her father did write an article about the fall of Whirlwind, and Lucie happened to read it, then Letha isn’t that surprised. “One of Eldario’s most infamous street gangs.”

Letha nodded solemnly. Even now, months after Whirlwind’s fall, her heart still aches when she recalls that night. “I spent my entire life in the underground,” she revealed. “I have no idea who my real parents are, or even if ‘Letha Joyner’ is my real name. My very first memory was that of wandering the streets. I did whatever I had to do to eat. In the streets, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. It’s every man for themselves. I learned that lesson quickly. And then, when my Gifts manifested when I was about five, it grew a lot worse for me.” Lucie grimaced. “I learned to be on the move constantly, just in case hunters are on my tail. I lived like that for years. Until I met Klein some years ago. He took me in and taught me most of what I knew. He taught me how to fight. How to survive. He even taught me how to read and write. And then…” Letha’s eyes darkened as she curled her hands into tight fists. “…The hunters came for me.”

Lucie was mesmerised by Letha’s tale.

“This is about a year or so ago, I believe. Give or take. Around the time when hunter activity was on the rise, and slowly getting out of hand. The hunters forced Klein to decide between Whirlwind and me. Ultimately, Klein chose to protect me instead. As did the rest. And the result is that they all paid the ultimate price for that decision. Unlike me, Klein’s a Normal. All he had going for him were his battle skills. But he was also so heavily injured that night when he went off to face the hunters that we both knew he wasn’t going to survive. He died. But not before taking down half the hunters with him. And then, I was alone again. It was probably the only time in my life when I truly felt hatred. I didn’t care if I died, as long as I took the hunters with me. And I know I could do it.”

“But you didn’t.” Lucie countered.

Letha shook her head. “I didn’t,” she echoed. “Because just as I was about to do it for real, Aegis showed up. Sera showed up. She showed me a different route. A different way to live my life. And that was it.” She made a hand gesture. “All of us here have made sacrifices. We suffered loss. I daresay Sera more than any other. You’re not the only one, Lucie. Do you think you’re the only one who can’t control their power? I daresay all of us did at some point in our lives. And you’ve probably lived a much better life than any of us had. You at least had the chance to know a father’s love. Most of us never had that luxury. You should think about it.”

* * * *

In a room with the lights turned off, the fingers of the sole occupant in the hospital bed twitched slightly. In the corner where machines were monitoring his vitals and heart rate, those machines soon started going off like crazy.

It didn’t take long before Reina burst into her office which also functions as a makeshift hospital room for Zest, turning on the lights, before she rushed to the bedside.

The look on Reina’s face was a cross between disbelief and joy even as she checked Zest’s heart rate with the stethoscope. After over a year, even she is slowly losing hope that Zest will never open his eyes or wake from his coma, despite Sera’s words.

“Zest? Zest?” Reina tapped on Zest’s cheek. “Zexter? Can you hear me?” She grasped Zest’s right hand, mindful of the IV line running into his wrist. “Zest, if you can hear and understand me, squeeze my hand.”

It was very slight, but Reina felt Zest’s hand tightening around hers. The young man in the bed started coughing, and then, a pair of disoriented red eyes slid open slowly. It took several moments for Zest to take in his surroundings and recognise Reina.

Zest coughed harshly.

“Zest, do you know who I am?” Reina asked again, fixing a breathing apparatus over Zest’s face to allow him to take in oxygen into his lungs. “Do you know who you are? What’s the last thing that you remember?”

For several moments, Zest coughed harshly, breathing heavily as he took in the oxygen currently being supplied to his lungs. Finally, his red eyes turned towards Reina. He still looked dazed, nothing too uncommon for someone coming out of a long coma. But he is conscious and knows where he is.

“…Sera…” Zest rasped, reaching up with one hand to remove the breathing apparatus on his face. “Where is she?” His voice is hoarse.

“Zest, you need to take it easy for now,” Reina said firmly, pushing the young man back into the bed when she saw that he was already trying to raise and get to his feet. “You need to rest—”

Zest’s hand shot out and grabbed hold of Reina’s wrist with surprising strength, especially for someone who had just woken up from a coma. His red eyes are clear and determined.

“You’re telling me now, Reina,” Zest said, his voice hoarse, even as his other hand massaged his throat. “Sera… Where is she?”