For the next day, the Seventh Sanctum was uncanny busy. The rumors of Greed and Envy appearing off the different coasts of America hit a nerve throughout the Seventh Sanctum.

Lust, Pride, and Wrath were still unknown whereabouts, but rumors spurred that they weren't far off and put people on edge.

Even Alexus felt unnerved at the thought of fighting all five at once, especially when they had trouble fighting one.

Jones arrived with Timothy as Alexus was putting on his Dragon Suit in the Crystals'

workroom, where he was attached with wires. Simon was present, helping hook up the wires as he was entangled in them. It took him a while to pull himself out of the mess he had created.

A few cursed words escaped Simon's lips as he pulled a few of the wires out.

Jones opened the door, looking solemn and stressed. He stopped in front of Alexus and spoke,

"Alexus."

Alexus looked up, wondering what Jones wanted. "Jones, what's up?"

"We have a problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Gerald."

"That bastard." Crystal spoke with a hiss. "What does he want?"

"He wants Timothy and a large group of people to go fight off Greed."

Jones' words were like a bombshell.

"Just the two of you?" Alexus asked in disbelief.

"Yea, I thought he would want you to come with us to make this fight easier." Timothy says, "It

would make sense if you did."

"It could be because Seventh Sanctum would be defenseless if both of you guys have left," Simon replied. He peeled off the last remaining wire that wrapped around him. "I apologize if this sounds morbid, but If both of you die, then the chance of everyone's survival diminishes by

50%."

"Still," Timothy replied uncomfortably, "it would be great to have back up against Greed.

"I agree." Jones replied, "Having you guys there would help a lot, especially when we are against a horde."

"What did Gerald say?" Alexus asked.

"He replied for the same reason as Simon. He wanted to keep you here, but I think he's trying to divide us," said Jones.

"That could be a possibility, but from how he's running this place, that's only half the reason." But, Simon replied, "he likes power, and having you guys split up puts both of you guys in check, while he has insurance that you would protect Seventh Sanctum."

"I had a thought it was that as well." Alexus crossed his arm. "What do you think, Tim? Are you going to go out? I don't have anything against you going."

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Timothy shifted on his feet, thinking over what he had just learned. "I'll go."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, if Jones and I can do something about it before it comes to the Seventh Sanctum, I'll go. Plus, we might find some clues about Marcus." A goofy grin appeared on his face.

The others were surprised by what Timothy said, especially as he was the first to have stopped searching for him.

"What's the change?" Crystal asked, curiously looking at Timothy.

"I think I found something."

"Explain."

Timothy raised his hand, bringing up his wrist, where he pressed a few buttons. A holographic view of the Animus machine appeared before everyone. "I have been searching through the old database from the old Seventh Sanctum. From it, I have found the Animus project and its technology. There was something strange about it since the first time it was created."

"I expected that," Crystal replied. "We all knew it wasn't something humans have created."

"Yes, it isn't. It's ancient technology, and it's not from this world."

"So, what does this have to do with Marcus?" Alexus asked.

"Well, while looking through his desk, there were papers that I had personally found in his

journal that he keeps by his desk. So I took it before Gerald did something to it." Timothy replied, "I didn't want that rat bastard messing up what Marcus was working on. Plus, Marcus cued me in on some secret project he was going on that he dropped hints about. So after finding his journal, I could find what it was."

"That is?" Alexus asked curiously, wondering what Marcus had kept hidden from them for so long. There was so much mystery surrounding him.

"He found another location of an ancient alien technology."

"What?!" Everyone spoke out loud at the same time. "It wasn't the Animus Progression?"

"That was just something small, but something else far exceeded that."

"Where is it?" said Alexus. This was huge, especially since something like this could help them

figure out what was happening worldwide.

"Grand Canyon."

"That's a huge place to scout," said Jones. "Anything else that's a bit more

"I could pinpoint a bit more accurately at the Horseshoe bend."

"That's a start," Simon stated. "This might be the real direction where the other Deadly Sins are heading towards."

"Possibly, or it could be the nest of the Devil Spawn." Timothy replied, "it's the only thing that I didn't want to bring up until I was absolutely sure that this was what Marcus was looking into. I just didn't want to tell you guys."

Jones smacked Timothy on the shoulder, "At least you found something. It's a damn good clue at that."

"Yea." Timothy rubbed his neck.

"Which makes sense, with you and Jones going after Greed will help distract him, while the other should go after Wrath. This should keep the two apart, and we meet at the Grand Canyon, where we continue our search with Marcus and the machine." Alexus spoke. "This should also get Gerald off our backs."

"He might be interested in coming with us," Simon replied.

"I hope not, but we definitely need to talk with the other strong Ouroboros to come alongside us to fight against Wrath." Alexus spoke, "I'll be going after WRath, Crystal, and Simon; I would like it if you guys would come with me."

"Sure," said Simon. "I have been thinking about joining you guys anyways after hearing what Timothy had found out. So my team will go with Timothy to assist, while I'll go with you guys."

"That works," Alexus replied. "Let's go out into the field tomorrow. Timothy, I need you to draw up the map for us. I expect to see you at the HOrseshoe bend in two weeks, and we'll camp there for another week before moving out. If you can't make it, head straight back to Seventh Sanctum."

"Understood," Timothy nodded. "I'll prepare what you ask for before we leave."

"Thanks," said Alexus.

Timothy walked out of the room.

"Do you think this is a good idea?" Jones asked, "splitting up like this?"

"No, I don't, but Timothy and I are the only ones that can hold a Deadly Sin back and fight on

equal grounds. If you guys could get Greed power for yourself and bring it back with you guys, it would help us out."

"I hope you know what you guys are doing," said Jones.

Alexus muttered under his breath that nobody heard, "I hope so too."

Jones turned and left, leaving behind all three.

"How close are you to the new upgrades on the suit?" Alexus changed the subject.

Crystal, listening to me the whole time, returned to work. "A few more quick calibrations, adding a few more small features, but I think your suit will be about 98% perfectly in sync with your body. Though the extra 2% still needs a bit more work, that will be dealt with as you get comfortable in your suit."

"That's good to hear."

"Oh, and though there has been a weird anomaly with your body reading."

"What do you mean?"

"Just some strange energy spikes, but that doesn't affect you or your suit, so I didn't quite put

much thought into it."

"Will I be okay?"

"Yea, I think," said Crystal. "On the other hand, I believe that you will be fine. It's not a major concern for now, but the energy spikes have been happening more recently as you use Gluttony's power. If anything strange happens, quickly tell me, okay?" Crystal asked with concern. She glanced up as they both locked eyes. Alexus couldn't ignore his gaze, understanding what she was asking for.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Thanks."