The group reconvened before a large doorway. Earlier, Jex and Jarlon reached the area first. They used an old communication tool to contact Pilot and Sapphire just as they finished interrogating and learned about the basement. A while later, they reunited before a large metal door and 'kindly' ask the two rogues to open it. The rogues had no choice but to obey. One of the rogues approached the door, unlocked it and proceeded to grab a chain. He began to nervously pull down on the chain. The door parted in the middle, and began to retract slowly. Suddenly, the group tensed as they felt a shift in pressure from inside. It wasn't suffocating, but it felt as if it was craving for something. Once it fully opened, Pilot turned to the rogues.

"What is that?"

"We don't know." whimpered the grunt. "All we care about is that he can stay in there with it."

"Why do you think we kept the door shut?" groaned the other. "He wanted to be hidden until he figured out how to dispose of it. He also wanted us to alert him in case someone found us. Plus, keeping this shut helped us not to feel this uncomfortable feeling throughout the base.

"He stayed with that for two months?" Jarlon narrowed his eyes.

"Troubling," spoke Sapphire. "It does not feel like the essence of chaos."

"But it's dangerous," growled the youngling. "You think he might have an artifact?

"We won't know until we step in." The redheaded swordsman glared down the hall. "Jex, if the situation turns dire, retreat to HQ and inform everyone what happened here. If there is a looming threat, they need to know."

"Yes sir."

"The Illuminary Gems will return to Jade if we die," informed the bird woman. "She too will know."

The crimson swordsman nodded, then faced the two men. "You're assisting us downstairs."

"What?" One of the men shakily glanced down the stairs. "Don't you feel that? I am not going down there."

"Did he stutter?" The onyx warrior grabbed one of the men by the throat. "We still can't take your word, and if we leave you here, you might tell your buddies or anyone else of our location, especially since we infiltrated another territory. So... you're going ahead of us. He's asking nicely. I'm demanding." He smiled deviously. "You don't want to lose a limb, right?"

After very little persuasion, the two rogues were forced downstairs with the group following closely behind. The rogues grew more terrified while descending; the uncomfortable feeling was not the same as the strangers behind them, but they rather deal with them than that unknown entity. Pilot narrowed his as they moved closer to the source. He was taught that when the parameters of the mission changes, adapting is needed. He adjusted his pack on his belt where he kept the tools needed to subdue and distract. Smoke bombs, hook launchers, and flash cylinders were needed if the threat was too tricky. Whatever De-lan had could be an artifact or a strange creature. It did not feel like chaos was present, though it was a danger that needed to be eliminated before it grew more unstable. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath as they reached the bottom and walked the long hallway, passing by broken doors until they reached an eight foot tall door at the end of the hallway. The grunts immediately turned around with distressed looks.

"Can we go!?"

"Go?" Jarlon sneered, baring his teeth. "I thought you were our rivals in taking odd jobs? Is this the extent of how much you are willing to handle?"

"All of you should retire," said Sapphire. "This will be an example of the threats out there.

Jex shook his head. "There will be fewer rogues if you retire."

Pilot sighed. "Listen, I don't care what you do. You need to think about your future plans because one of these days you will encounter something like this, and if you act like you are, you won't last long. There are worse things out there."

"Worse than this?

The crimson swordsman narrowed his eyes. "Yes. Leave."

The two grunts tried to leave, but the Gemstone members ensnared them and forced them to sleep from the drug they used earlier. Jarlon set a grunt down as he glanced up at his ex-friend. "Why did you let them go? They could've caused trouble."

"I knew you would handle them." Pilot nonchalantly stepped forward.

"Ass."

The bird woman's feathers ruffled, humored by his action.

The crimson swordsman grabbed the handle. "Whatever is in there, we need to go all out."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Jarlon grimaced.

The crimsons swordsman forcefully pushed open the door, revealing a wide, spacious room that appeared to have been a storage area, evident by broken boxes, damaged equipment, rusty shelves, and other assortment of damaged items and goods. There were signs of battle with scorch marks around the room. If they could compare it, it would have to be a junk yard due to large piles of debris scattered around the room. As they analyzed the room, they heard footsteps echoing the room, followed by a weary voice.

"Are we under attack?"

De-lan appeared from behind a broken crate. He was a yellow-feather aviana with red feathers around the top of his head, cheeks, and shoulders. His yellow eyes showed his exhaustion as his ruffled feathers mirrored his fatigue. His eyes widened in shock at seeing the group, then he sighed as a chuckle escaped his lips.

"Pilot, Jarlon. I did not expect this reunion. Have you come to kill me?"

"I want you to answer for your crimes." scowled the crimson swordsman. "But there are answers we need from you."

"After ten years." sneered the onyx user. "I want to kill you, but now there is something in the air that smells like a rotting corpse. Looking at you, well, you seem on edge. A lack of sleep from guarding whatever crap you have hiding here."

"That," The traitor's voice sounded tense. "Is..." He sighed. "How did you find me?"

"I joined the Gemstone Squad a few months ago. During a mission, some vagabond approached us and told us where to find you and eliminate the package. He paid us in advance."

"The circumstances made our leader suspicious." replied the birdwoman.

Hearing this, De-lan could only laugh, but it held a sad, empty tone. The tone made Pilot and Jarlon share a glance at each other with disturbed looks before turning back to their old squad mate. He calmed down and sighed.

"I thought I covered my tracks, but I guess Brakt is more resourceful than I thought, or I was not careful enough. He'd rather hire help than finish me off himself; he decided this was a loose end."

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"What do you mean?" scowled the crimson swordsman. "Why is Brakt chasing you? What did you do?"

"My question is, why did he want the Gemstone Squad to eliminate me instead of his other pawns." De-lan groaned. "He was a military commander, so he must have wanted something from you. He may not have wanted to waste his resources, so he sent you, hoping you would finish me off without an idea." He chuckled. "Did he know Jarlon was a member? Did Brakt know Jarlon would call you or thought you would be so filled with rage that you would kill me with no second thought? Did he plan for this?"

"That's a stretch," said the youngling. "I thought many did not know the identity of the members of the Gemstone Squad except that Jade is a member."

"Only those in her family... and other members of House Bushgreen." the birdwoman narrowed her eyes. "Did someone leak info to Brakt?"

"Looks like Jade needs to investigate," growled the onyx user. "If true, then they must know about the new Ruby."

"Damn," Sapphire hissed. "Doesn't matter, Jade will handle the traitor."

Pilot did not care; that was their private matter to handle. He needs the truth to carefully carry out his decision. "What did Brakt promise you that compelled you to slay Yojo?"

The yellow-feathered aviana's face fell, guilt growing on his face. "Remember when my cousin fell ill? The only way to cure him was a rare herb located deep in forbidden territory. Unfortunately, I could not acquire it if I was a member of Guardian, so I sought alternate ways through the Dark Inventory."

The other ex-unit members recalled the cousin and their faces showing a mixture of sadness and anger. "Guardian stopped you from acquiring the herb through them," Jarlon softly spoke. "but that herb could have made it worse if it was prepared improperly."

"The research into it made it a very unstable product." added the crimson swordsman.

"It was worth the try, but everyone kept saying the herb could've driven him insane!" grimaced the traitor. "Could have does not always mean it will. You need the right equipment... but I know now when I acquired it after my defection and... we used it on others who had it. The results were terrible."

"Y-you!" The onyx user grew enraged. "You used others as test subjects?"

"I get why you needed to save your kin." Pilot narrowed his eyes. "but your actions until now are still questionable."

De-lan snorted. "That dark time was when Brakt took advantage of my desperation. My pleas reached his ears and he sought me out. During that escort mission all us took, Brakt secretly sent me a message to meet him. That night, I snuck away to meet him. He promised he could help me if I'm able to discreetly provide funds to him. Unfortunately, Yojo found out. He must've seen me sneak out and saw the exchange." His voice lowered. "I guess I sent a message to you all before I killed him, but if he just remained with you all, I wouldn't have killed him. If not me, then Brakt would have done worse than just killing him." He shuddered. "Killing him instantly was mercy, Brakt would've let him die slowly and painfully."

"Enough!" Pilot growled. "I understand everything. If Yojo hadn't found you, Brakt would've been provided funding through you and eventually Guardian would have been compromised. You allowed yourself to be preyed upon by that man in order to save your cousin." He grimaced. "You are aware he died eight years ago, correct?"

"...yes."

"You need to at least own up to the betrayal."

"You have your own ass to blame for being strung along for a cure that does not exist," Jarlon growled. "You're not a complete psychopath, so maybe I won't kill you and just let Guardian turn you in. Although, I wonder why the hell are you here now?"

"I thought I could hide from him!" yelled the yellow aviana. "But he somehow found my trail and used you all to get to me. I hid because his plans have grown to be far more dangerous." He briefly glanced to his left. "I tampered with his notes before I escaped. He's planning to destroy anyone that wronged him. The Chiara Kingdom and the Azure Lands are high on the list. He's been hiding in Silverburg until recently when he decided to move forward with the next stage of his plan. That plan is in that crate." He sneered. "I stole it before it was fully ready, but it's still dangerous. He said it wouldn't be ready until another month from now, but I delayed his plans. They might have to start from scratch, even if he has a backup of his notes."

"What's this merchandise these morons keep talking about?"

"It's in a storage unit. Brakt calls it an Amb-Alterbeast. A beast created in a lab and filled with the essence of his ambition." he spoke hollowly. "According to the notes, it would turn other beasts and alterbeast into lesser versions of itself. Although he would need to test it to know." He smirked. "It won't matter if he tested it or not, I delayed the-" His eyes widened in fear. "YOU!"

Everyone whirled around to the doorway, suddenly sensing a presence that revealed itself. It was a woman with long, shaggy purple hair flowing down to the arch of her back and gray eyes that glared at them. Notable features included her elongated ears, more vertical by five inches. When she smiled, her teeth were jagged, almost beast-like. Her eyes were more oval, almost like the eyes of a beast. Sapphire glared at the woman.

"Identify yourself, sulupian!"

"That..." De-lan choked out. "Sulupian... she's loyal to Brakt. Her name is Kateri-mimi."

"Damn." Jex grumbled. "She hid her presence well, I didn't notice."

"De-lan." sneered the sulupian. "Brakt is not happy. You know the punishment."

"Ho-" He lost his voice when he suddenly felt a throbbing in his heart. "HA!?"

"What?" Pilot turned to De-lan. "What happened?"

"Those who align with Brakt cannot betray us." She sighed as she crossed her arms. "You thought you could hide, you thought you could erase your trail but you weren't too careful." She said with a demeaning tone. "You did delay our plans, but it doesn't mean we are stopping because of your betrayal."

"Why didn't you come earlier in the month to kill him?" growled Jarlon.

"Because he could have sent the beast after us first and we would've been further delayed." She sighed. "We did not want to waste our time trying to kill the beast when we have other duties to attend to and a schedule to uphold, which unfortunately has changed because of this traitor. I had to spare time to come here and now I need to return." She turned her attention to where the crate was. "Brakt thinks it's a lost cause now." She smirked. "But maybe you could get a sample... Gemstone Squad and Crimson Blade." She glanced at De-lan clutching his heart. "Oh." She smiled. "As I said, anyone aligning with Brakt cannot betray us, you only delayed your demise, De-lan. That essence of Brakt's ambition inside you has led to a broken heart."

Then De-lan's heart gave out due to the stress from the corrupted essence. He collapsed to the ground as his life slowly faded. Pilot ran forward to the body as the others eyed the woman.

"You're dead, sulupian." Jarlon growled.

"Hypocrite, you would've killed him. If you wanted to, you should've done it immediately and not pry the truth" She smirked. She raced forward and leaped over the pile of junk. After landing, she raced down the path until she came across a metal crate with a mana-tech control panel. She slammed her mana-coated fist against the panel, destroying it, causing the seal on the crate to deactivate. Seconds after, the crate began to vibrate. Her ears twitched, alerting her to danger. She quickly sidestepped from a fist courtesy of Jarlon. She backflipped three times until she landed on one of the junk piles. "It's useless to us now, but let it be a warning to those who wronged Brakt that we will be coming." She jumped to avoid being struck by water pellets.

Sapphire watched the woman escape through the doorway. A hiss escaped her beak while clenching her fists. "I need to tell Jade when I return." She glanced at Pilot, then approached him while sensing the rising presence. "You don't have time to mourn, get ready."

"I know." He picked up the body of his once fallen ally. He moved toward the edge of the room as the presence continued to rise and set the body down against the wall. He solemnly gazed at the body, then closes the aviana's eyes. "You made choices that affected everyone, but you also gave us an edge against an enemy by delaying his campaign and alerting us to a looming threat, whether you intended to or not." He stood up and walked away. "I will slay the beast, then inform Guardian of Brakt's plans." He gripped his sword tight after it manifested in his hand.

He joined the others as they watched the crate shake before it exploded and a malicious smoke exuded from where the crate stood. It expanded as it gained a physical form. A twenty-foot-tall, gray-skinned lizard beast with sharp claw. Its skin appeared to be faded and breaking down along with a bulb flower on its back that appeared to be wilting. Despite its appearance, it felt imposing. Immediately, it roared, signifying its entrance, before settling its attention on the group. Pilot glanced at the enraged Jarlon who displayed a black aura thanks to the onyx gem. Armor started to form on his body until it covered his face. Same with Sapphire with blue armor. Jarlon turned to Pilot and snarled.

"You feel that power, Crimson Blade? Don't hold back on me. We need to wipe it out."

"Yes, Illuminating Onyx." Pilot glared at the beast. "Illuminating Sapphire, Jex? You ready?"

"In some circumstances I would have hated how you treat me as a subordinate." said the blue armored warrior. "But this is different."

"Ready." Jex responded, armed with a sword.

"This abomination needs to be carved down." Pilot aimed his weapon. "Show it the warrior way!"

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A/N: Sulupian is taking the Latin word Lupus, rearranging the letters, then adding letters to the word. Lupus is wolf in English.

Dark Inventory is the equivalent of the Black Market.