The ring of a call buzes incessantly from his phone, Raven picks the person over the line speaking before he could,

"Raven" the person calls,

"Konan?" He inquires,

"Yeah, get everyone together, try getting your mom on a conference call, though i'm sure she's already aware" he states. Raven complies dropping the call, calling everyone together into the underground training facility before phoning his mother who picks on the first ring,

"How's my favourite child?" She states jovially over the line,

"I'm your only child" Raven deadpans with a smile,

"Must be why you don't care to fight for my affection, my boys all grown up" she quips,

"In my defense...i have no defense" Raven follows, "Sorry about that mum, i just don't want to distract you from your work",

"Nonsense!" Rachel replies, "being a mother is my first and most important duty" she replies,

"Awwww" the Jayson mouths with puffed, "mommas boy" Dennis mocks making an exaggerated frowny face with comically wide eyes, while Yanick James and Mari smile, the the latters smile filled with playful derision.

"now why are did you suddenly recall of my existence" she muses,

"A friend of mine has something important to say" Raven replies,

"Go on" she replies,

"Konan" he calls,

"Good morning ma'am, I'm sure you're well aware but it has come to our observation after that MURAKAN are attacking unaffiliated Shifters of considerable power..." He trails explaining the situation, hypothesis and possibilities.

Raven who'd been listening to Konan is quick to realise this situation must have something to do with his, whoever in MURAKAN engineered these... essentially living weapons his who he needs to find,

{It seems we finally have a fixed direction} Silver smiles,

(Agreed).

"We are aware" Rachel begins, "the reason we aren't totally overwhelmed is simply because the allied forces of both the SYNDICATE and ALITHEA are of mammoth sizes both individually and collectively, from what we've learnt, the longer one of these 'fake' Shifters are created they essentially burn their lifespan to maintain their power level hence why those of them capable of enacting a Pseudo Domain die the quickest, and their numbers are fixed at a certain figure" She replies,

{It seems your mother's quietness over the issue wasn't negligence} Silver states,

(Knowing her?) Raven smiles, (i knew she was up to something),

"You kids, i'm sorry to ask this of you but if possible continue capturing more of these combatants, MURAKAN hasn't perfected the system of operation yet, so far only whomever the Artifact user is is most likely to be the one splitting their soul into these bodies" she states,

"Capturing them and keeping them alive would be similar to locking up the slots" Konan replies,

"Couldn't whomever is doing this simply recall the fragments of his soul?" Jayson questions,

"It doesn't work that way" Raven replies, "especially not when they've taken root, think of it like a tree" he begins, "you cut a branch then plant it",

"You can do that?" Dennis questions,

"Basic agric dumbass" Jayson replies,

"Hey you wanna die?",

"Wait you serious didn't know?" Yanick questions incredulously,

"He's not playing stupid, he's just plain stupid" Mari quips causing the rest to burst into chuckles as Dennis's face squeezes,

"Back to the point, the branch in a sense can still be considered a part of the tree, even after growing to be another one, the same is true here, the branch off consciousnesses taking root enables the main consiousness to control them, in order to achieve this he also need to prevent them from developing past the embryo stage and attaining their own egos, so they need to be grown enough to transfer thought but unaware enough to be subdued, uprooting them forcefully would destroy both the consiousness and the host so we're probably dealing with a Shifter of incredible strength" he replies,

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"That does explain it" his mother follows,

"You're quite knowledgeable on this" Mari states they stare at him with worry,

(Because i'm living it),

"you okay Rave?" Jayson inquires,

"Fucking Fantastic" he replies,

"Language young man" Rachel replies, "well i'll leave you kids to yourselves, there is much to do, Konan, i'll have Evelyine reach out to you, since your friend have accepted her terms they are officially welcome as a subsidiary organization and of the SYNDICATE" she declares,

"Bye son, love you",

"Bye, love you too" he replies,

"Love you too" Dennis follows shooting Raven a wet kissy face.

The group bursts out in laughter,

"So, what's the plan?" Jayson inquires,

"We train" Yanick declares, "by the way, who did you have in mind?" He turn asking Raven,

"You'll find out" he replies as elusive on the the matter as previously.

"They're not going to talk are they?" Duke questions rhetorically, nevertheless Tobi who stood behind him gave a nod in response,

"What about the other two?" He questions this time turning to address Tobi,

"Holding on for now, since your unwilling to use force starving them is the worst we can do" he replies,

(This is taking to much time, knowing that bastard he's already ten steps or more ahead, wasting more time will make catching up impossible) Duke ponders, "let's move" he states,

"where to boss?" Daniel questions,

"MERCHANTS" he replies as they make their way towards a black Mercedes, "specifically the first affiliate" he follows.

"Darwin", Dexter calls,

"Sir" he replies, "you've done well",

"Thank you" he replies,

"I'm sure with my explanation you now know pivotal your role was, everything i do is simply for our survival" he states turning to survey the other executives, both the new and old.

"For those who are new i welcome you to MERCHANTS, i look forward to working with you all for our continued elevation, any questions?" He inquires,

"Will MURAKAN accept this outcome?, Sure we joined MERCHANTS as a less stifling alternative to joining any of the big three but is there really any difference? And will MURAKAN let us be?" A tall lean muscled bald youth inquires, Dexter smiles,

"I understand your concerns and like we've reviewed in your contracts, we're a business partner to MURAKAN on paper and you all can be considered an extension of their forces, do no you will not experience an attack and yes they will respect your decision" he answers, "any other questions?" He inquires,

"Will we have to fight MURAKAN?" a blue dyed haired lady clearly in her twenties,

"Whe will we have to fight MURAKAN?" she inquires, her question drawing the attention of even the most disinterested, hearing her question Dexter's smike morphs into one of his more sinister ones, the side of his eyes almost creasing, almost.

(This one's a sharp one) he muses, "you speak like it is an eventuality" he begins,"it simply depends on how the sea winds blow, like i've stated many times, i move for our survival and prosperity" he replies,

"Why would MURAKAN agree to this?, You're... we're not so powerful that they can't afford not to partner with us" she follows,

(Very sharp) Dexter notes, "on the contrary, at that moment in time we were, contextual of course, nevertheless we have a better deal than any other Murim contracted organization" he concludes, "that will be all, i wish you all a lively time here" he smiles.

Darwin follows behind the rest as they make their way to the elevator a text message from Duke draws his attention,

"'meet me at 'that' place'" he replies, looking up to observe the new executive who stared him down collectively from inside the elevator as if to assert dominance, maybe even intent, nevertheless Darwin dis not look away, his stare schooled into apathy,

(Dexter us really taking advantage of MURAKAN'S attacks on independent Shifters, and something tells me, he's the one who suggested it knowing MERCHANTS are best option, he's planning something, that something is what exactly i have to fnd out) he mulls.