"Are you sure this is the place," Draven looked around. Day had turned to night, and Luna hung bright in the sky. The green and blue twin of Draven's home planet, Terra, was like a jew in the sky. He turned his attention to his surroundings. They were in the slums. The homeless huddled around burning fires in large metal drums, attempting to fight off the cold. Graffiti littered the walls of the brick-and-mortar building they were standing in front of.
The small boy looked up at Draven suspiciously, "You calling me a liar?" He pointed his dirty finger at Draven's face. "I ain't no liar. I know what I saw. And I saw Pami and Mydren both going into that building." The little boy held out his hand. "Now pay up!"
Draven dropped a prepaid card in the kid's hand, "Don't spend this all in one place."
The kid's eyes widened and sparked with delight, "How one hundred bucks, thanks!" He then ran off, disappearing into the cold night.
The building in front of Draven was old. Cracks lined the brick-and-mortar exterior, and moss and other vegetation had been growing on it for some time. Draven approached the large double metallic door leading into the building. He knocked on the door hard, the sound of bone on metal causing a metallic hum through the air.
"Any harder, and you would have knocked the door down," Sygvar snickered behind Draven.
A slit on the door opened, revealing a set of piercing pink eyes. They focused on Draven first, looking him up and down. Then they drifted to Sygvar. "Who are you two? And what do you want?" A rough, deep voice asked.
"We're Al'Manti, and we want to talk to Pami," Draven answered.
The man hissed, taking in a breath of air, "You fuckers can get lost. I don't know anyone by that name here."
Draven was taken aback, "There's no need to be rude."
"Yes, there is after what you did to Club Love. I had some good friends who were there on that night. All you people know how to do is cause destruction and put down the people who are misfortune." The person on the other side of the door moves, bringing their mouth into view. They spat out of the slit in the door. The spit landed on Draven's shoe. "Go away!" They closed the slit in the door.
Draven furrowed his eyebrows, "Fuck you too!" Draven whipped his shoe off on the side of the wall. His anger began to boil to the surface. Who did that fucker think he was! You don't deny Al'Manti! We are the warriors of the people! Draven screamed in his mind. Draven's eyes and Sygaldry began to glow with Essence along his body. The kinetic force began to condense around his fist. Draven drew back his fist and aimed at the thick metallic doors keeping them outside.
"What do you think you're doing?" Sygvar asked from behind him. "We're here on a diplomatic mission. You destroying their door will defeat the entire purpose of our mission."
Draven absorbed his kinetic Essence. The glow in his eyes and Sygvaldry tattoos diminished to nothing. "Then what else do we do?" Draven threw his arms up in frustration.
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"We get in another way. Come with me," Sygvar said as he walked around the building. He scanned the exterior, looking from the very bottom to the very top. Help us find a place that looks like we could get into."
"We go through one of the windows." Draven pointed at one of the various windows lining the building. Metal bars covered the outside of the windows.
Sygvar shook his head. "We would have to cut through the bars. Also, the windows are tinted black, preventing users from seeing what's inside. For all we could know, we could be entering a room full of rebels."
Sygvar's eyes brightened. "Ah, that looks perfect." Sygvar picked up his face and started scaling the side of the building, Using Essence to enhance his strength and allow him to jump further when climbing. He reached the third floor of the building, right next to a large vent covering. Sygvar looked down at Draven. "Come on!" He then ripped the vent cover off and entered the vent in one smooth motion.
Draven shook his head and then followed after his master. He entered the vent, his shoulder barely fitting inside of the crapped square vent. Draven followed after his master, going further into the vent system. Eventually, Sygvar stopped over vent covering. This one led down into the building.
"Dive into the Weave and tell me if anyone is around," Sygvar whispered.
Draven did as he was told. He tasked one of his four parallel minds with connecting with the Weave. It filtered the Threads of the Weave, focusing on the people in the building. "The hallway is clear," Draven answered.
Sygvar removed the vent covering and dropped it down below. Draven waited for Sygvar to move out of the way and followed his master.
Yellow lights flickered above Draven's head, illuminating the hallway. Some of which were out, bathing some sections in darkness.
"Can you feel Pami or Mydren?" Sygvar asked.
Draven sat his parallel mind to locating Pami and Mydren, but he still needed something. Draven shook his head, "They must be blocking her presence in the Weave."
"Well, let's first check the top floor," Sygvar began walking through the hallway. "Keep scanning for rebels."
Draven kept his mind connected to the Weave. A group of two had made a turn and would collide with Draven and Sygvar at the next turn in the hallway. Draven grabbed Sygvar's sleeve, "Two rebels are up a head at the next turn."
Sygvar nodded, picking up his pace but being careful not to make a sound. Draven followed after his master. They both stopped shy of the turn, their bodies pressed against the wall as they waited for the rebels. Draven heard the sound of his boots against the floor first, then came their voice. Slowly, as they drew closer, Draven could make out what they were saying.
"... and then she took out all of my clothes. Can you believe that? After all, I do for our family? I go out to the strip club one time, one time, and I'm the bad guy." The nasal voice one said. "It wasn't even my idea, it was yours!"
The feminine voice laughed, "Hey, I didn't force you to do anything you didn't want to. You're your own man, and you make your own decisions."
"Fuck, now I need to find a way to make it up to her."
"What about that play you were telling me about? Wasn't she talking to you about wanting to see it the other day? You could take her there."
The two rebels rounded the corned. They stared at each other while they talked. The first was a short, bald man with big knows. He had a gut, one from drinking too much. The other was a tall, thin woman whose limbs were extremely long.
"That's a great idea," the short bald man said.
Draven jumped the man, pinning him to the floor. Sygvar took down the woman. Draven covered the man's mouth before he could scream. He then connected one of his parallel minds to the rebel's mind and compelled the man to fall asleep. He then tied the man up. Draven looked to Sygvar, finding his master dragging the unconscious, tied-up woman into a janitor's closet. Draven did the same with the bald man, stacking him on top of the female rebel.