The two men were interrupted by the honk of a horn in the distance. Someone was coming up the road. Leavery was just about to order his boys to reform defensive lines but then he noticed the American flag flying above the lead truck. The other flag on the pickup matched the description of the Veteran Militia and soon the battered forces of the trilogy and the Congressional Militia were joined by another 20 from the Veteran Militia. By the look of them they were probably either former or current soldiers on leave and led by a Peter Norson. A tall red head, at least the guys mustache, the only hair on his head other than his eye brows was red, with bright green eyes that surveyed everything before them like a hawk in search of pray.

Leavery sent his people off to recover before he and the Mayor went up to greet the new arrivals and brief them on the situation, though it was mostly Leavery who did the talking sense he had been in the thick of it. "So that's the situation thus far. We don't know what the status is of the people within the facility but we are ill prepared to handle it if they have any more illusionists and if the last report from inside is any indication then they do." An attendant came up and informed the 3 that there had been a development. The Neon Lights leadership was on the radio and, by the look on the attendants face, the news wasn't good.

The supposed leader of the Neon Lights forces which had taken control of the facility had a voice that was somehow both smooth and manic at the same time, a rather disturbing combination. "What trickery do you use to kill our brothers ? No way you could have gained the power to face them in fair battle and survive."

Leavery ground his teeth at the audacity of an illusionist to accuse them of using trickery to win the battle and he cut the mic before growling his opinion on the matter. "Mother Fucking Illusion slinging, sneak attack leading, United states service member murdering, hypocritical Shit Bag."

The other 2, Zolinski and Norson nodding in agreement before the mayor took over for there side of the conversation after flipping the mic back on. "If you think were going to just tell you how we bested you people after you first killed a convoy of national guard who came to help those in need and then attacked our facility without provocation then I would be happy to demonstrate the process for you. Or... You could surrender and come out with your hands up. There doesn't need to be any more blood shed today."

There was no delay in the other mans voice and the response came swiftly. "Big words for an old man. I'm thinking that if you could show me then you would already be up here, showing me. I think maybe you got a taste of what we can do and now you afraid and you should be. Tell you what old man..." The voice of a woman crying out in pain came out of the speaker, her voice muffled, probably by a gag. "EEENNNNMMmmm." The unhinged and yet smooth cadence of the other mans voice returned. "Here is what is going to happen. We are going to take the guns, the ammo and the people we have captured here and we are going to leave. Is the least you can do for killing my brothers. Speaking of. I take it you have already stripped them of their weapons ?" The mayor confirmed that they had and the man updated his demands. "Alright then. You will also have all of their gear collected on the side of the road for us to pick up on our way out. You have 1 hour."

The radio went silent after that so Zolinski cut the mic and wiped his face as he began to pace. "What do the two of you think ?" The new comer looked to Leavery sense the once again soldier had the most dealings with the enemy.

Leavery through for a moment while rubbing his chin. "According to the fire team that engaged one of their illusionist head on they either have the chi sight skill or an equivalent. They also have aura projection and can imbue auric effects.." The looks of mild confusion from the other 2 men prompted Leaver to explain in more detail, describing what the skills did and how they were used. He then went on to explain how they could count the number of people within their own force who had the aura projection skill on one hand and only 3 of them were here, himself, the Chi instructor and Harper, the head of the medical department. He further went on to describe how utterly confident the illusionist and their elite guards had seemed in the power of their abilities and how much that confidence contributed to the success of Stevens fire team. "We can't count on them being so reckless again. The illusionists will fight with their main force next time now that they know we can beat them."

Norson looked confused about something and voiced that question. "Why didn't the illusionists join in the original fight ? Why did they hang back and wait while you dispatched their underlings ?"

Leavery pressed his lips into a flat line while sighing hard and deep through his nose. "I'm not sure. It might have something to do with REP though." Now the other two man were really looking at him with curious gazes, so he continued. "Last night, when I went to sleep, I received notification through the interface that the people I had killed had awarded me REP, Refined Energy Points. We have sense discovered that you also gain REP whenever you increase the level of a skill. We were wondering why we were getting levels that gave us alteration points on top of getting alteration points for upgrading skills and that's the answer we found. The REP I received for those kills helped me gain another level. Maybe you gain less REP from weak kills when you reach higher levels and the illusionists didn't want to waist their limited Chi points on killing weaker opponents." He shrugs. "Than again maybe its internal politics. Who really knows with these ass wipes."

The other 2 men had a lot to think about but the once again soldier wasn't finished. "But back to the subject at hand. They are probably confident enough in their abilities that they are expecting us to try and ambush them on their way out. They just need the hour to clean the place out of anything valuable first, hence the 1 hour timeline. So if were going to hit them, we need to hit them before that deadline. However, we cant rely on stealth. I.... don't actually know if Chi sight can work through walls..." The squad leader makes his way over to one of the busses and stands very still for several seconds, obviously focusing hard. "Fuck...." He walks back over. "I can sense whats on the other side of the wall of the buss. It took extra effort but it can definitely be done."

The newcomer, Norson, mulled the info over for a moment before asking. "Any chance that you Chi expert can find a work around for this ? beyond just keeping everyone calm that is."

Another long sigh through his nose later and Leavery comes to a conclusion. "We've been relying on the Chi instructor a lot today already. Daley has already been pushing the limit and the last update I received made it clean their tank was more or less empty. I ordered Maik to rest and do their best to recover before we started this meeting..... And their recovery speed far outstrips anyone else, as far as I'm aware." The had coach scratches the underside of his chin. "In 10 minutes Maik might..." He holds up an index finger for emphasis. "Might be able to keep a couple tightly packed fire teams calm while under the mental attacks and even detect when the enemy detects our people. It wont be for long though. The group will need to move fast, hit hard and worse of all, stay together." Norson inquires as to how close was close, to which Leavery replies in a grave voice. "Within 30 feet. Its a little more than that but that's what the men should count on."

The veteran paces while thinking. "So with your Chi expert in the middle they can cover a area that's 60 feet wide?" Leavery nods. "Yeah, we can fit a couple fire teams within that space without impeding effectiveness too much. Now the question is.." He addresses the Mayor with his gaze. "Is there any way to get up close without being noticed ?"

The Mayor goes on to explain that just north of the school is a vintage farm campus, so that students can lean how to grow their own gardens for fresh produce. There is a thick tree line that separates the two facilities but one of the northern most structures of the school facilities, the library, buts right up against that tree line. From there they can use the smaller portable building and the walk ways between them to advance on the main structure under cover. Its decided that this will be their best bet to catch the Neon Lights by surprise, especially sense they will be advanced on the opposite side of the facility from the parking lot. It was a rush job, as they were under the clock and just 14 minutes after the deadline was given the three walked away from the SUV that had been huddled at while planning to set things into motion.

Maik had gotten in just as much cultivation time and was back up around 750 Calories of Chi, which felt much better. Stevens forced himself back to his feet and cracked his neck but his nose started bleeding again so he was asked to sit back down and recuperate. Similarly Leavery's arm was still in a sling and most of the conscripted Chi soldiers were sporting some injury or another. But more than that they were in high school. Sure they were all going to graduate in the next couple months but psychologically they just weren't prepared for the war zone they had just been through and none of them looked mentally prepared to make another go at the Neon lights with the exception Nathan and some guy named Trevor. Again Eugene was just such a big target so he was sporting another couple bullet wounds and James took one in the shoulder while saving the guys that went down from the mental attack that hit Leavery's group while assaulting the van.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Those 2 were permitted to join and saddled up with the rest of the vets before they made their way around and through the farm campus. By the time they disembarked and entered the tree line they only had 32 minutes left before the deadline. Nathan and Trevor weren't on point with Maik and the 7 vets that lead the 23 man force that now advanced onto the contest grounds of the Congressional Militias base. They reached the library with 26 minutes remaining and started leap frogging, moving quickly, efficiently and with purpose. With 22 minutes left they reached the north west corner of the main building and still no contact. Maik keeping their aura projected to the maximum while the lilin did their best to feel out for any other fields.

It took a moment to push their aura through the wall and feel out what was happening inside while a couple vets used the old reliable method of using a mirror on a stick to peak in though the window. Neither saw nor sensed anything in the classroom but now they needed to get the full sized, triple pane hurricane windows open without alerting those inside. There were about to start breaking the glass when Maik interrupted. "Maybe I can get it open. Let me try something."

Norson just shrugged and told his men to keep at it. "We have multiple windows to work with." He points to another window. "Whoever gets theirs open first wins." After nodding the lilin makes their way over to the second window and starts infusing it with Chi, specifically the rim of the window. The Chi instructor feels it out, using Chi sight and Chi projection to reach the first of the 2 latches and tries to move it. Nothing happens. By now the others were carefully removing the second layer of glass before starting on the third. Maik concentrated on how the energy flowed when it enhanced the lilins strength and instead tried to project that force beyond their body and into the latch rather than through their muscles to enhance them. The latch moved.

Tier 5 skill acquired - Chi force projection - Beginner

Project physical force produced by the body beyond the bodies physical confines.

The distance and percentage of the force Maik could project was probably determined by the level of the Chi manipulation skill multiplied by the level of the skill being used, just like all the other skills Maik had learned so far. This meant that its range wasn't much but it was enough for this task at hand and the lilin had the window up at about the same time as the others. It was deemed a draw, but that was of little concern to the group as they made their way inside with speed.

Maik moved to the inside wall and pushed their aura through the wall but didn't sense anything in the hallway beyond. Quietly the door was opens and the hallway checked with the mirror. When they didn't see anyone they moved across the hall and did the same inspection of that class room as well. What they found was not good though. Bodies. A very one sided battle had taken place here and the attackers hadn't left any survivors. Norson's voice was the whisper of deaths promise. "Were moving on. Daley. On point and checking for aura fields. Lets go." They moved from room to room but found nothing but death. This hadn't been an attack of conquest. None of dead had been taken prisoner and then killed later, once they discovered that their rear force had lost. No. These godless shit stains had come with the intent to murder everyone on the building and had just killed the occupants when and where they found them.

Once the building was secure they radioed for the Mayor to come up. "Building is secure. Zolinski. Its bad. Really bad." The veteran give the mayor 3 seconds to brace himself before delivering the bad new. "There are no survivors. It doesn't seem as though the Neon Lights had ever had any intention of taking prisoners. From the look of things their orders of engagement were... Kill on sight, rather than to take any prisoners. The only ones that weren't killed on sight were some of the woman but they only suffered a worse fate... Given the state of their bodies."

Word quickly went around via radio transmission and Leavery cursed the fact that they hadn't taken care to capture any more of the scum alive for questioning. They still had the 2 captives from the first engagement of the day though and maybe they could still get more information out of them. Norson certainly wanted in on that and was informed that when Daley had recovered enough Chi that they could act as a conduit that connected their minds to help with that. The soldier had other, more proven methods he wished to employ and a group of his guys got to work on the two captives.

People back at Mellveiw High, the base of the trilogy, were getting worried that almost all of their High skilled Chi users were away from the facility. The news of a rabid force out there spreading murder and mayhem was causing them a lot of worry. But the call to arms had already gone out to hunt down this threat and skull stomp the shit out of it before it could do any more damage.

While one group of the vets worked on the prisoners another group escorted the Mayor through the carnage of his base to tally the bodies and make sure it was all of them. Yet another group was on over watch, keeping an eye out for if any of the scum tried to come back for a surprise attack while a final group searched for evidence of where the Neon Lights had gone.

Tracks were found leading to the west, heavy and laden with the weight of their supplies. All the weaponry they could carry given that was the only thing they seemed to have taken from the look of things. The tracks ran into the tree line and a clear path ran strait on through. On the other side was a sprawling upper scale suburban neighborhood. Every house had a yard and some trees. A great place for families. The nearest houses were clearly ransacked, with door and windows smashed in but the tracker team couldn't afford to track the quarry any further without a real risk of being ambushed and overwhelmed without reinforcement so they returned to report their findings.

By the time 5:00 PM came around several more groups of fighters had arrived to help, anywhere from 10 too 15 members each from the Free Birds, The Gators, The Protestant Methodist Church, The Black Pumas and The Florida Mafia. They were all going over maps and working out the detains of a command structure. The Mayor was at the forefront of the effort and taking over as the center of command despite his own force having been gutted in the attack. Word had gotten around that his youngest daughter was in the facility when it got hit and the fires of hell burned in the mans eyes after he had seen what the Neon Lights had done to his daughter. His elected position of authority, his furry and unbiased desire for revenge made it easy for all the disparate forces to come together under his banner.

Despite all this, the fact remained that it was getting late and trying to hunt an enemy in the dark was already a dangerous prospect. The fact that the enemy had illusionist magic users just made it all the worse. Zolinski's fists clenched hard enough that his knuckles turned white from the proposition that they wait until day break before pursuing the Neon Lights but he managed to speak in a calm tone. "I understand the risks involved but lets here what we have found out about the enemies motivations before making such decisions." He gestures to Norson and the vet begins his report.

"According to the prisoners this all started on day 0 AMH. After Magic Happened. Apparently the Neon Lights were a small time outfit that had recently started producing their own supply of drugs, both to supplement their own habits and to make money. They had apparently been in the middle of a drug binge, something they do on their off days when Magic happened and the captives state this lead to the founders undertaking a spiritual journey which granted them their first powers. They quickly used said powers to bribe, bully, dominate or destroy anyone attached to either their gang or any other gang in the immediate area, inducting each recruit who swore loyalty with a similar spiritual journey. Along the way they experimented with different drugs and found that the various drugs produced different effects."

He pulled out a note pad and started reading from a list. "Cocaine empowers the strength, stamina and durability stats and opens the paths of powers related to those stats. Meth empowers the Dexterity and perception stats while also making them faster and opening up paths of powers related to those effects. Any hallucinogenics enhances Intelligence, perception and Charisma while opening paths of power related to those attributes. Pain killers enhance durability and endurance while opening up paths to power related to what ever the persons true desires are. Marijuana provides varied effects that seem at once utterly random but also seem to suit the person almost perfectly."

He lifts his gaze from he note pad to address those of the meeting directly. "The paths of power are clearly the Chi skills that The Trilogy had informed us of. The Trilogy had also mentioned, in passing, how one could gain a certain form of energy from killing other beings and that this energy could help people gain levels." The man maintained a professional tone and demeanor but it was clear by the way he shifted his feet that he wasn't accustomed to the absurdity of the report he was giving. "Levels apparently provide more alteration points and thus more power. The members of the Neon Lights have been killing indiscriminately for this purpose sense day 1 AMH and some of them are rumored to have reached as high as level 5. From what Leavery had told us about their findings that means that not only do such individuals have... Magical skills but would also have gained over One hundred alteration points which have added to their abilities, even after the original boosts from their spiritual journey."

He flipped the page to double check his figures before commenting further. "To put that into perspective, 100 alteration points is enough to increase a mans overhead press from 200 hundred pounds to 420 pounds. So yeah, Its a pretty big fucking difference, but the main take away here is that these... people... don't seem to regard others as human being any more but more as sources of power to be harvested and in my professional opinion should be treated no differently than cannibals. Not just because of how they treat our fellow human being but because of their own mentality. They behave more like a literal hoard then as a properly defined force, military or otherwise. They are quite literally little more than animals at this point."