-Planet Galvania, Redwood Village -

The group convened inside Pilot's childhood home. His home appeared to be as if the occupant was a minimalist, with a few pieces of furniture, utensils for cooking, and other essential items needed to live without being overrun by clutter. The group sat around a red wooden round table with tea in front of them. Selen-ja sipped her cup, then stared at her longtime friend.

"Where were you two? We were excluded from knowing your location. We know you need to be discreet when traveling to areas where Guardian can travel freely. You know foes will try to lay low."

"Was it the isolationist kingdom?" Jin gave a severe glare. "No one has ever marched there for over a millennia."

"Sir Zeracakja would never send us there." Jex shivered. "No soul has lived to exchange information about that nation. I doubt we would come out alive unless we have an army."

"No, it was not there," responded the Sword Unit leader as he drank tea. "It was Mudbrook."

"One of the nations that refused to allow Guardian to walk freely without a documented reason from the Emperor and the head of Guardian." responded the noble.

"But even with the document, it can be cumbersome for that territory to accept." the blonde knight sighed. "Even if the Radiant are active, they need to be cautious. Mudbrook will place you under house arrest until negotiations are done, which is the tamest compared to the others."

"Regardless, We were still risking our lives. That is why we had to sneak in and march the landscape, fight Alterbeasts, and watch for rogues and local authorities. The team with us only helped secure a route of escape whether or not the mission was successful. We had to leave each person in an area to keep the escape window open. Old-fashioned comms to alert if we are still alive with a code. Jex and I were on our own." Pilot stared at them. "We found the hideout deep in Vanhan Forest, but we were not the only ones."

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-Three Weeks ago, Mudbrook, Vanhan Forest-

The compound appeared to be a small military outpost, with a building that looked disrepair after being abandoned for years. A few armed rogues and canine-like beast patrolled the compound. Spying on them from far away and hiding in a bush, was Pilot and Jex. Both gazed out at the scene before them before turning away. The protege gazed at the older man. "What do we do sir?"

"Scope out the territory." He scowled. "We need to know their patrol route and have a rough estimate of how many are in the unit. Where also need to know here he is in the buildng. We might be here for days... or we could wait til nightfall and sneak in. Less waste of mana and not overtire ourselves."

"That sounds good to me, sir!"

Pilot grimaced. "There is also the possibility of another rogue and not him."

"Sir, we would be helping Mudbrook at least eliminate a stain on them."

The redheaded canokian turned his attention to his apprentice. He was a full member of Guardian and has since stopped being under him, yet still behaves like he has much to learn when around him. The youngling still tries to appease him six years after taking the boy under his wing. Already a full-fledged member, and he still honors him more than anyone. He has respect for those around him, but there is an attitude he has. Yes, the rogues can be seen as a stain, but there is venom in his voice he did not like. He had heard that tone from those who believe themselves the betters. He still needs to try to remove the attitude.

"The authorities will have less to worry, true." He peered over his shoulder. "Come on, let's examine the parameter."

Once the word broke his tongue, he noticed a glint in the forest. He scowled. "Jex."

"I see it, sir." growled the boy. "Being covert is no longer an option."

"Wait." Pilot narrowed his eyes at how the glint was blinking. "It's a coded message."

"A message? How can you be sure? Are those fools luring us?"

Pilot raised his hand to silence the spiky-haired youngling as the glint flashed. His eyes widened at the pattern, then grumbled. He glanced at Jex and sighed. "We can trust it."

"What? Why? Are you sure, sir?""

"Yes," the man moved forward. "I know who is communicating with us."

"You do? Who else would be he- oh. Him."

"Follow me."

The two warriors carefully moved away and began their trek to the light source. They were careful not to make any noise; no twigs snapped, trying to be discreet as they moved across the forest. Moving closer to the source made Pilot be on edge. He knew Jarlon would be in the area but did not believe the man would contact him. They never spoke after that man left Guardian for feeling slighted. He did not blame him for being mad, but leaving was not the correct idea. The death of their friend, then Jarlon leaving, caused the damn to break and have his unit disbanded. One retired and went home, and Jin temporarily joined the Emperor's knights before rejoining Guardian. Selen-ja took a brief reprieve before returning to Guardian. After what seemed like half an hour and a long trek up a hill, they came across a cave. Pilot scoffed and stood in front of the cave. He gestured for Jex to stay and walked up to the entrance. He whistled a quick, high-pitch tone before stepping back a few feet. Another high-pitched whistle echoed out shortly after. After a minute, Pilot spoke.

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"I'm not entering."

A grunt could be heard, followed by footsteps. Appearing before them was Jarlon, looking annoyed.

"Bastard, we can't be out here."

"I would rather not enter dark tunnels. You never know what the darkness holds."

"Ass." Jarlon scratched his head, then glanced at the youngling with annoyance. "This is all you brought?"

The redheaded canokian brought up his hand to prevent Jex from speaking. "There are others who remained at different positions to ensure our exit from this country remains open."

"Smart." chuckled Jarlon. "I guess you learned a lot in the past ten years. I heard you made a name and became less carefree."

"We grow up."

"Hn." He sneered. "If Yojo was still alive, he would question your changed behavior."

"He would. He had that insight to him." Pilot lowered his eyes. "That insight killed him."

"And Guardian refused to chase De-lan and Brakt." A hissed escaped from the rogue's lips.

"It was rumored they were in the Isolated Region. We could not venture there."

"That was to throw us off their trail. They were not there; they hid. That's why I became a bounty hunter." roared Jarlon.

"Hey!" Jex growled. "Guardian had a good reason not to risk finding him."

"Silence, boy," Jarlon growled. "Adults are talking."

"Don't waste time, Jarlon."

Leaving the cave was a blue feathered bird; a calm yet imposing demeanor was shown on his form despite her small stature. The youngling glared at the bird, but one look from Pilot told him to be silent.

"You are another member of the Gemstone Squad, correct?"

"Correct, Crimson Blade." She nodded. "You may refer to me as Sapphire."

"I see." Pilot sounded disappointed, but understood. "You won't tell me your real name at all?"

"My apologies, Crimson Blade. You know that names have a lot of power. You won't find my face anywhere. I like my privacy."

"Tsk." grumbled the youngling. "A woman without a background sounds more suspicious to me. Why should I trust a vagabond such as you?"

"Be that as it may, youngling. It is what it is." the aviana smiled. "I did not think you would allow yourself to have a partner this uncouth, Crimson Blade."

"Jex." spoke the redhead. "At times, you do not show your mistrust; at least remain non-threatening until you need to. This is not that time, not with me here. Clear?"

"Yes, sir."

Pilot sighed. "For the current situation. Are they in there?"

"De-lan is there." sneered Jarlon. "Brakt is still hiding. You know there is a rumor he is plotting something. We don't know what, but we might find out there."

"We stumbled across this information while on a job." spoke the featheried woman. "Jarlon wanted to take on the task himself, but our captain wanted me to assist him. Make sure he does not become too raptured in his quest." She crossed her arms. "He sent you the information with the idea of of you joining, and that was only a 'what if'."

"I am surprised you abandoned your job of training the Radiant," the bounty hunter smirked as he leaned forward. "I thought you would ignore my message. A sense of duty is you after all, even when you were more relaxed."

"And have you be a fool?" Pilot clenched his fist. "You gambled on my decision, and I decided to chase after you. I was allowed to chase rogues along with making sure you don't end up dead."

Jarlon sighed. "Where was this version of you back then." He sneered. "You didn't want to be consumed by vengeance, but here you are, only because Guardian decided to let the leash loose."

"Consumed by vengeance, I don't doubt I still have it in me after all these years, but I reigned myself in. You..." He clicked his tongue, holding back his frustration. He began carefully, letting his words out. "You didn't need to take the burden yourself. We all needed to share the burden."

"Of course." Jarlon barked. "I admit, I chase leads that went nowhere, but I was doing something other than waiting for the lead to suddenly pop up. You waited while being adored by the flock."

Pilot growled. "Wandering aimlessly is not a way to live. You became a bounty hunter for vengeance than the average vagabond. Admit it, you joined the Gemstone Squad because you were just an empty, destructive husk needing support!"

"You!"

"We need to focus on the present instead of reliving the past," Sapphire said as she stepped in-between them. "Even if the echoes still linger, you both have a history. You were a unit. We don't need to behave like undisciplined younglings.

The two men glared at each other before their gazes softened.

"If you have a tiny amount of respect for the other, use it for the mission. I don't need you all to be in worse form than this. Right, youngling?"

"Y-yeah," Jex spoke up. "We are a makeshift squad."

"Good, you have seen their stronghold, correct?"

"Yes," Pilot crossed his arms. "I noticed guards just outside. Five were patrolling along with a few Alterbeasts. The initial plan was to scope the patrols for a week, then wait till midnight. Unless you have a better idea."

"We can tackle it tonight," answered the rogue canokian. "We have been monitoring their patrols for a week. We found out they change guards every five hours. I suggest we strike around midnight. The darkness will hide us from their eyesight, and as long as we don't exude our mana, we can remain undetected. The youngling does know, correct?"

"Of course! Sir Pilot trained me well."

"Suck up." thought the canokian rogue.

"Is there anything else you know?" asked Crimson Blade. "What is the history of the facility?"

"It used to be a fort during a war over 600 ago. It has been abandoned since then," informed the bird woman. "It will be easy to break in once we dispose of the sentries. We know nothing else, so we must be ready for the unknown."

"Right." Pilot nodded. "Tonight, we will move."

The two members of the Gemstone Squad retreated into the cave. Pilot calmly walked away from the cave entrance and entered the bush, where he sat. Jex moved to join him.

"When I received his message to send to you." said the youngling. "I was surprised he joined the Gemstone Squad. I did not fathom he would join them after wanting to be alone."

"He wanted a squad with loose rules." The older canokian nonchalantly closed his eyes. "Why not join a group like them. Their powers aren't abused anymore."

"They act like bounty hunters." He looked back at the entrance. "Their powers should be used for Guardian."

"You want to pry them from House Greenbush?"

"I..." He groaned. "I thought House Greenbush disavowed aligning with them."

"That's only to save public face. However, Guardian knows they are covertly employed. More importantly, one of the kin is the current leader, who is the outcast in the family. Through her she uses the gems differently, than what they were previously used for."

"To think the gems they wield were experiments."

"That's what happens when people try to harness the power of the crystals to create replicas of the Radiant. Fortunately, only six were created." He glanced at the cave entrance. "Jarlon is the new Onyx wielder of shadow. That woman is Sapphire, wielder of water."

"They still pale to the true power of the Radiant Crystals."

"True, but they are still as formidable." He turned to the direction of the outpost. "What matters is we confront De-lan and learn about Brakt's plans."