Gi hovered in the air over the Barrens. The heat pressed against his fur, but he was able to shrug off any ill effects with his high Vitality. It still made it uncomfortable though.

[Concealing Light] had been running for the last several hours. Thankfully, it's Aether consumption was much less to keep running than it was to activate. However, he was starting to stretch even that. If a target didn't show soon, he'd have to return to his makeshift camp.

The first couple had been easy, but they must have noticed a pattern since only pairs or more of Spiked Eagles came out to hunt for now. He was just about to head back and rest up when a shadow fell across his face. A glance up told him that at least one of the Spiked Eagles had forgotten their caution.

He took a feel of his internal Aether stores. They were low, having been feeding [Concealing Light] for so long, but his flight Skill [Unstoppable Nobility] would run without cost if he had any Aether at all. There should be plenty for what he needed to do if nothing went wrong.

Gi flipped over and shot upward into the air. The Spike Eagle's eyes were roaming the Barrens looking for prey, but in the bright light of day, they couldn't see him. He shot past the monster, getting above his prey and matched pace just above.

Gi tilted his head to one side and opened his mouth wide. Aether sparked in his throat and a deluge of water shot out in a large cone with all the force of a waterfall. From the angle of his head, most of the cone sprayed out into empty air, but plenty still struck the Eagle's wing.

The blast flung the Eagle into a spiral messing up its flight and sending it shooting towards the ground. Gi's [Concealing Light] had fallen when he used [Endless Torrent], but it didn't matter at this point. The Spiked Eagle tried to straighten out, but Water Aether into its Earth-based Constitution wreaked havoc on the Spiked Eagle.

Bits of stone and flesh flaked off in large chunks, each time changing the shape and structure of the wing causing the bird to wobble. It had seen him and wanted to get away, but it was everything it could do now to control its flight. Any little thing would send it plummeting towards the ground.

And Gi wouldn't consider his efforts little.

Gi kicked up speed and dove straight for the Eagle. Its eye was turned up towards him and it tried to dodge, but there was no hope with its injured wing. Gi smashed his body through the weakened limb, causing it to rain stone down towards the Barren floor.

The Eagle cried out in pain or alarm, Gi wasn't sure, but it immediately started to spiral out of control with the loss of the wing. Like the first one he'd fought, it would eventually die when impacting the ground if left alone, but Gi needed this one alive.

Using his tail to help spin himself back around, he chased after the falling eagle that couldn't get its spin under control. Its grating squawks echoed through the air and as Gi got closer he could see the panic in its dark eyes.

Gi flattened himself out just before he crashed into the spiraling Eagle, slowing his descent just enough not to smash through it again. For Gi, it still felt like he'd crashed directly into a boulder, but he'd done quite a bit of testing the past couple weeks and this was well within the realm of his Vitality.

Gi wrapped his over large legs around the Eagle's body. It panicked harder, bucking wildly in the air to throw him off, but Gi's Strength was far larger than this Adolescents. Leaning his head to the side, he released another [Endless Torrent] against the Eagle's second wing and it sheered off the top layer of stone and coated the wing beneath.

If the twins were there, they'd be able to see the water Aether diffusing the Earth Aether in real time, but Gi himself could only use the visual cues to decide when it had weakened enough. Satisfied that it had, Gi relied on just his legs to keep him steady and reached over to grab the wing with his good hand.

Like ripping a piece of paper, Gi tore the wing from the Spiked Eagles back. No blood or gore burst out of it as whatever Unique Constitution that the Spiked Eagles had was very thorough or perhaps their initial selection had been a Mechanical. It didn't matter. It wasn't strong enough to deal with Gi's Strength.

The only limbs remaining on the Spiked Eagle was its claws, but they weren't in a position to attack him nor deter him from directing the flight of them both. The brief combat had taken them very close to the ground, but Gi grabbed the still screaming Eagle in a headlock and used his feet to level out their spiraling dive and fly low back towards their makeshift camp.

It was awkward fitting the Spiked Eagle through one of the large cracks of the Barrens. They must have a similar trait as Samba that increased their size but the twins would be able to tell him all of that hopefully. Once inside the crack, it opened up much more than the entrance.

A desk sat off to one side while a makeshift operating table made of a giant boulder and some kelp rope they'd brought from the Lake Encampment. Wax and Wane looked up from the desk where they both hunched over it writing something. They'd brought their cat along as well. The orange tabby lazed across the operating table.

With his one arm, Gi managed to wrestle the struggling Spiked Eagle onto the operating table and the tabby gave an indignant meow before hopping down to stare at him.

"Be careful... of Killer, Boss," the twins admonished.

"He's fine," Gi said. "He's smart enough to know when to move."

He could tell the twins didn't agree, but they held their tongues. They rarely tried to force Killer to do anything instead always gently poking or talking to him which Killer ignored because he was a cat.

Gi still had all of Richard's memories so he'd met more than just the one cat in his time. There was once when he and Danna had found this stray outside of a coffee shop... He frowned. It had been weeks since his memories from Richard had become whole and his mood still dropped every time he thought of Danna.

He didn't want to be weak like Richard had been. Every step of his life since he'd met her, he had practically clung to her skirts like a child, relying on her for everything. When she'd abandoned him, that had been his last reason to keep going. Richard had been so caught up in his own self pity that he hadn't even thought of his son before taking that final step.

The Father had never been dependent on anyone. He hadn't been a good father, but he'd given Richard a roof to sleep under, food to eat, and a car to drive. He'd been successful despite his shitty personality. Gi wanted to be like that. If he couldn't be good, then he wanted to at least be competent.

This attack had to go perfect. He'd prove his competence and then he could finally put Richard's lingering weakness to rest.

"Boss?" The twins' voices echoed in unison in the small cave. Gi looked up, realizing that he'd pinned the Eagle down with one hand while they tightened the ropes to keep it in place. He'd been in his own head and hadn't realized that they were done.

He took a step back, releasing the Spiked Eagle. "Have you learned enough yet?"

The two shared a glance before explaining. "From the first two subjects, we're fairly confident that their stony exterior isn't from a Unique Constitution. Our working hypothesis is that they are one part Mechanical and one part Undead."

It looked like this would be a long winded explanation as Wax cut in to take over for Wane so Gi sat down next to Killer. The cat leaned his head into his paw as Gi rubbed along the side of his face where he knew from Richard that cats loved.

"The reason for the former is the fact that the two provided didn't seem to actually have a Unique Constitution. That makes sense considering how large the Spiked Eagle clan is. How could they provide Catalysts for all of their Adolescents?"

"And the second reason?"

"We can clearly see that the Spiked Eagle is made of stone, but it is not reacting as expected to your light attacks. We should be seeing the Earth Aether growing tighter, but it's not."

"Hold on," Gi said, his paw practically vibrating from the purring cat. "How is that possible? You said yourselves that Light Aether empowers Earth Aether. The book I found even confirmed it!"

Wane grabbed the book off the table and patted it with one paw. "This is the reason that we suspect something else is at play. The book talks about how there are 'other forces' in the world that can impact how Aether reacts. Before you ask, they don't describe what the other forces are, but it does explain how race can impact it. Do you remember what Mechanical and Undead races are weak to?"

Gi pursed his lips as he thought. His memory had always been pretty good if he could remember to remember. "Most recently I think it was Fire and Divine? But... I think it was different after the Infant Stage. I distinctly remember Lightning for Mechanical and both Holy and Fire for Undead. At the time, it made a lot of sense."

The twins nodded as though it was expected. "Lightning is a type of Fire Aether similar to Elizabeth's Ice being a type of Water. Holy isn't an Aether at all, but as an Infant that might just be how the system translated Divine Aether for you."

That one surprised him as he'd never known the system to be wrong, but after only a brief consideration, it made a lot of sense. The system had changed and grown more helpful as he passed through the stages. He'd thought it was just because he was further along, but his own growth must be part of it too. Gi thought he understood where they were going with this though.

"So the Spiked Eagles are a Mechanical/Undead mix with a trait like Stone Skin that fundamentally changed them making it look like they have a Unique Constitution when they don't?"

"That's the working theory. However, their bodies are made of Earth Aether so why isn't it reacting like it should? The answer is that for us; it was. We upgraded our [Divine Bolt] to [Piercing Light]. It's strong enough to damage them, but we do see the Earth Aether strengthening on impact. It was only your attacks that aren't working as expected."

"Divine Aether?" Gi asked and they nodded. "That can't be though. The wild Aether in the lake always caused havoc with my abilities."

"That's to be expected. Divine Aether is different than the primary Aether types or their secondary types. Do you know what tacos are?"

Gi blinked. "How do you know what tacos are?"

It was the twins' turn to blink. "I... don't know."

Gi just shook his head. They must have been reincarnated like he was. It was fairly common for monsters to know about things that they shouldn't. Hillin had been similar even in the Child Stage. Now that he knew that he'd been Richard, it made sense that perhaps all monsters were reincarnated and these strange blips of knowledge were from past lives.

He'd never met a monster who's memories were so vivid that they'd seemed like visions, but the fundamentals were there. Not that he wanted to explain that to the twins right now. They'd ask way too many questions. "Doesn't matter. Just continue."

"Okay, Primary Aether is like a taco."

"I'm very curious where this is going."

"It's a tortilla, chicken, cheese, and beans. Secondary Aether is like an enchilada. It's fundamentally the same ingredients, but it's presented differently. Are you following?"

"Fire Tacos and Lightning Enchiladas? Water Tacos and Ice Enchiladas?"

"Exactly. Divine Aether and the other metatype Aether are more like salsa," Wax said and Wane excitedly cut in.

"Or crema."

For a brief moment, Gi just marveled at how the monster language they spoke could somehow make him understand exactly what they meant from Richard's memories. Fundamentally, salsa just meant sauce and yet when they said it, he knew that it was Mexican salsa that they were talking about. They continued with their metaphor.

"Fundamentally, you can't eat salsa by itself. It needs a vessel and taco with salsa is going to taste different than a taco without even if there are the same underlying ingredients."

Okay," Gi said, "so what you're saying is that my [Divine Ire] is some portion Divine Aether and that it is helping me bypass the strength of the Earth Aether with the weakness of their Undead part of the race? Why didn't you just say it that way?"

The two otters looked at each other communicating in silence.

"I'll talk to Tiria about getting someone to figure out tacos."

Killer still rubbed eagerly against Gi's paw, but the Spiked Eagle had stopped screaming, seemingly accepting its fate or perhaps listening to their explanation.

"Thank you, my Progenitor," the two said with a bow. "For now, that's a theory as Divine Aether is difficult to see and the weakness of the Undead race comes from these "other forces" that the book mentions so they're invisible too. We'll need you or perhaps another clan member with the simpler [Divine Bolt] to confirm."

Gi nodded. "I'll be heading back soon and I'll send someone to you when I arrive at the Lake."

Wane turned back to the desk and picked up the piece of paper that they'd been writing on before. "These are our current assumptions on their capabilities."

Race: Mechanical base; Undead (Level 30 Major Racial)

Traits or Skills

Stone Skin (Tests)

Flight (Visual)

Size Increase (Visual)

Ranged Earth Shard (Poe)

Gravity Dive Skill (Impact Studies)

??? 1-2 more expected with as many as 5 additional; 5 is unlikely;

Progenitor Domain: Unknown

Expected Number of Classers: 100 (Poe)

Expected Number of Adolescents: 5000

Two Locations:

1 Encampment - Between the Ground and Sky tiers of Igna.

2 Encampments - Smaller Mountain in the Barrens

"Thanks, this is very helpful. With some of our more recent acquisitions. I think we can make our plan work even against a force like this."

The two glanced at each other again in their way and Gi had to admit the habit was mildly annoying. "Be careful in the Dungeon... or we won't get a chance to."

Gi gave them a flat look. "That advice is rarely helpful. I'm not planning on dying."

"You did... attack a Ground Clan by yourself."

Gi sighed. "If it's stupid and it works, then it's not stupid."

The two, again, shared a look between themselves, but thankfully, they didn't speak. What had they expected him to do? Let them keep sending people towards them? Get the clan killed by having them wrapped up in their illusions? "Let's get these tests over with so I can go prepare."

The two nodded. "First, it's time for Killer's lunch."