Chapter 27: Jack; Shauran 45th, 344SR; 08:00

The sun was at its highest in the sky, shining down in the early morning and stinging Jack's eyes. 'Why does he come up here so often? There isn't much to do...' Jack looked over the roof of Marina's house, Ajal walked on the red beam while observing the streets down below. The descendants of Ophi in the streets of Rea were preparing for the festival. Lanterns were lightened and made to float, anchored by a string so they didn't fly off. From the tops of the red beams white banners with circular golden floral-like patterns gently swayed in the winds hurrying into the town.

"They are pretty safe to walk on," Ajal asked.

"Not to fall off of though..." Jack declined.

"It's not that bad of a fall," he said sarcastically.

"Yes, yes it is a bad fall..." Jack nodded.

Ajal's white shirt and baggy pants flapped in the wind, he stood on his toes to stretch his calves. Jack stepped onto the red beam, and looking down immediately gave his heart a jump. Jack took one step forward but suddenly felt a fear that stopped him from taking another. 'The ground looks so far away...'

"I don't know how you do this," said Jack.

"Well for starters, don't think about falling all the time, but if you don't want to follow me you don't have to, this isn't some last-minute training," said Ajal.

"Why'd you call me up here then, I wanted to keep practicing?"

"You've improved at Spirit Arts a lot, you can perform an ignition on command. I just wanted to talk to you alone, I haven't been able to much recently," Ajal admitted.

'I won't be fine... I need way more practice than that to be strong enough...' "What'd you want to talk about?"

"The plan for tonight... And some other stuff."

"I remember the plan-"

"Are you okay with it?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Jack thought back to the discussion the group had a few days ago. 'Ajal is going to try and stop the resistance tonight during the festival... And also try and free the slaves by negotiating with the hybrid leaders... If it doesn't work, we make way for Argol tonight to avoid the alliance...' Jack scratched his head as he looked down at the hybrids preparing for tonight. The festival was a national holiday, and people across Hiria didn't have to work so the streets were packed. They seemed happy as they relaxed and caught up with their neighbors and friends. Jack felt envious. 'Non-unified didn't get a day off... While working twice as hard as them... For them...'

"Yeah, I'm okay with the plan-"

"Are you telling the truth?" Ajal cut him off.

"Huh?"

"I can sense when someone's spirit fluctuates. The sixth level, Spirit Sense, I'm naturally proficient in it and so are you. I can't know when someone's lying, or read people's minds, but I can see when your spirit becomes violent in regards to some things."

"Violent?"

"It becomes unstable. Uncontrollable."

Jack felt a little awkward, he scratched his head unsure of what to say.

"I-... I can't forgive them, I know you don't want anybody to die, but... I don't know if I want the same," Jack admitted.

Ajal turned to him, he looked down in thought for a moment. Then sat with crossed legs on the red beam. Jack's foot slid back slightly, 'I thought he'd be angry...'

"It's tough to forgive people who've wronged you, and I really can't tell you that you should or shouldn't. I don't know if it's fate that you and I met, but I think you're a good person. I think everyone's born pure, really, but life is always plagued by sins. All I can tell you is not to contribute to that, it'll only bring about more pain," Ajal lectured, Jack felt a hint of anger within himself.

"It's not just me either though, and they deserve to pay. I hate watching them live such peaceful lives while we were beaten, tortured... Humiliated... Degraded as a species to maintain... To maintain- all of this!" Jack's tone rose as he gestured to the buildings around him.

"Not all of them-"

"Of course not all of them! But there is a lot of scum, the scum responsible, and the scum needs to be wiped out! I'll gladly do it myself!" Jack shouted.

Ajal looked down.

"The path of vengeance is jagged ... And it will take you to dark places you may not be able to handle," said Ajal.

"But justice is at the end of it."

"Not always..." Ajal sighed. "I don't know the extent of this world's history and problems, I'm in no position to tell you you're wrong for having those feelings. But, I'll try to talk to the leaders of the hybrids tonight."

"And if it doesn't work?" Jack asked.

"I have the strength to try convincing them a few times if it gets to that, though I'd like to avoid anyone else fighting with me. Those clan leaders are strong, and there are a few I haven't ever seen. It might become messy..."

"I want to help, I should be there..."

"No, it's because you're strong I trust that you can get the key to Argol. If things go south we're relying on you, Jack."

Jack looked down. "I got it... But, I don't know if I can agree to it even if it goes well, not until justice is served."

"I understand," Ajal told him.

'Do you?'

***

'When the people of Logos celebrated, I didn't think much of it... Andurill is... On another level...' Jack looked around at the various people in the crowd filling the center of Ketova. He held his breath unintentionally, getting lost in the surreal scene in front of him. The crowd started to grow more and more. Eventually, it reached Jack who had stood still in front of the library.

"Let's set it up here," Jack heard a voice behind him but he was too focused to see who said it.

The darkness of the night was lit up by hundreds of lanterns hanging off of the buildings made from the rare green wood found in Bomo's jungle. The central plaza where the library was, now full of hybrids of all races. The entire pavilion felt much smaller with so many people crowding it.

Amongst the chatter and laughter was a searing noise that grew louder with each second, the chatter from the crowd stopped. Jack was suddenly startled as the young hybrids in the crowd all turned around and looked directly at him. 'What...' He turned around to see the source of the noise, a green smoldering light. 'Logorite?!' Jack looked left and right at the people around him, and then back to the source of the noise. A red and white striped pole with a red cone at one end with a green flare on the other end burning the ground was making the sound. 'Are they crazy?!' Jack shielded his eyes as the logorite reached a blinding luminosity, a sharp whistle cut off the searing noise and left the crowd in collective awe. An explosion lit the entire area with an array of green and blue sparkles of light in all directions. Jack looked up and watched the traces of colorful embers scatter over the city, before dying out in the wind and floating upward like smoke in the air.

The crowd erupted with cheers, breaking the silence as someone ran forward with another one. Jack shook his head, 'Nope, no way!' He turned and walked up the steps toward the entrance of the library. Jack got through the crowd and found himself in front of the library, he turned and observed the crowd as another strange-shaped device launched into the sky with the sound of a sharp whistle. It exploded in the sky and the area was once more engulfed in bright light, this time, gold and silver. 'Is that some sort of logorite weapon? But why are they using it during a festival? ' Jack pondered his questions, but then looked back down to the smiles and grins within the crowd.

"There are so many people here... I don't even have to worry about hiding from guards..." Jack whispered to himself.

The numerous hybrids wore an assortment of sleek and beautiful clothing, which bewildered Jack. People from all sides of Hiria had gathered in Andurill, expressing their culture and values, accepting those of others, and enjoying the company of their families and friends.

"I wonder what the people from Logos are doing right now..." Jack asked himself a rhetorical question.

Descendants of Ophi wore sleek white coats that covered their knees, the wide collars made their coats hang loosely off their shoulders. The vests inside seemed to be different colors which allowed them to look much more unique. Groups of children ran about all over the place, exploring the various stores and eating the variety of food available. Men and women from each hybrid race within the alliance danced to the sound of beating drums. No group was left out, everyone engaged in the pleasant madness. Descendants of Ophi were using their gift on other hybrids of all races so they could climb up the buildings safely.

The men and women from Welis wore bright red silks and sashes that wrapped around them. Veils swayed elegantly off the shoulders and waist of women, and the gold clouds on the edge of their clothes sparkled. Jack looked up in shock as they climbed the rooftops, the red sashes flowed with them as they skillfully scaled the buildings. Those same women lined up at the edge of the roofs on both sides of the street, looking at one another with bright smiles as they waited for the rest to get up.

A large brown-haired man with mutton chops and a full beard stood on the top of the library stepping back and forth. Rhythmically moving as he hit his drum, the beats vibrated in Jack's ear each time he struck it with his electrified palms. 'What the?!' He wore red pants and a red vest, both decorated with golden cloud patterns around them. On the other roof, the women pulled the red sashes off their necks and jumped at the same time. Spinning through the air, as their sashes elegantly twirled around them as they floated to the ground. All of the red sashes spinning at once stole Jack's gaze. 'Wha...' Jack was entranced as he watched them spiral through the air slowly, then land in the arms of their kin. They all laughed as if their stomachs would burst. Jack felt the urge to join them, he wanted to try too.

The hard-working people of the country of Baltin wore shiny green vests and pants that hugged their muscular bodies. The men and women had rippling physiques they weren't ashamed to show off. Jack watched as a woman chugged a barrel of wine, the red liquid dripped down her chin and her neck as she continued to drink. She pulled it away and smashed it into the ground, Jack watched as she grinned and threw her hands up with a roar. 'They all look really strong... And scary...' At the same time, all of the others around her threw theirs up as well, yelling loud enough to almost block the music. The sudden excitement made Jack forget his previous thoughts.

The tranquil people of Lemen looked the most extravagant of all. They wore black and gold suits with purple scarves, their wealth was in plain sight. 'Wow... They're tall... ' They either seemed to be keeping to themselves, or making their way toward the northwest district of Cabac. Jack turned to the west, the blue cylindrical towers reaching into the sky reminded him of the Celestial. The thought made him more anxious about the plan.

Jack looked down in awe and his heart skipped a beat, the bright lanterns hanging above the streets lit the clothing of the people, resulting in a sea of sparkling colors for him to gaze upon. He looked back up at the black sky, then heard the sharp whistle and saw the bright green explosion once more. Jack squinted as he felt his eye irritate with a sharp pain in his head.

"From a distance, you look like you're in shock, it's kind of funny," said Ajal.

Jack turned and saw Ajal approaching with a cone in each hand, the cone filled with a glossy white ball with colorful sprinkles on it. He wore the clothes of a descendant of Ophi, however, the shirt didn't reach his knees,

"Why are there so many lights... My eyes are starting to hurt... What is that?" Jack pointed at Ajal's hand.

"Ice Cream? Here, take this one..." Ajal handed Jack the cone. "Man, even though there are so many people trying to do crazy stuff today, including us. I kind of wanna just join the party," Ajal bit the ice cream.

"Yeah... it looks like fun-" Jack was cut off by the sound of the whistle, he quickly shielded his eyes as the bright green light filled the sky once more. "Why do they keep wasting logorite like that?!" Jack suddenly complained.

"It's- a firework?"

"A firework? Is it a weapon?"

"They're commonly used for celebrations or some nighttime entertainment, but- as a weapon... It's pretty useless... At least the ones I've seen... Who knows what kind of punch they pack with that stuff igniting it though."

The others approached where Jack and Ajal stood. Sarah was chomping down her ice cream with massive bites.

"This stuff is amazing!" Sarah shouted at the ice cream she held, but then grabbed her head and looked like she was in pain for a moment. "Brain freeze... Ah!"

"Brain freeze?" Jack asked himself. "John, what are you wear-"

"Hm?" John turned to Jack with a strange mask, black lines stretched vertically down the mask from the eyes.

"Hm?" George turned to Jack with a different mask, this one had red circles around the eyes and looked intense.

"Okay... Never mind," Jack replied.

"Here you go Jack, Ajal this is the last one," Reinhardt approached with two more unique masks.

Reinhardt handed a mask with waving stripes around the sides to Jack. Ajal received a mask with three slash marks on each cheek and the forehead. Reinhardt wore a mask with an upside-down triangle on the forehead, as well as two small rectangles just underneath the eyes.

"Apparently everyone wears a mask for the main event in the northwest district, that's where the crowd seems to be going, that's where the queen will be," said Adam.

Adam wore a mask with a single line over the nose and under the eyes. Each mask was white and resembled the face of a person, however, the different marks and their meanings were unknown to the group.

"Can I trade?" Ajal looked at his mask in disappointment.

"What? But yours is so cool?" Sarah asked.

"No it's lame..." Ajal replied.

"Why are you so picky about clothing Ajal?" Sarah asked.

"I have preferences alright, leave me alone," Ajal spat back with a grimace and an annoyed expression as he bit the ball of ice cream.

"Are you people serious right now? It's just a mask," Ben mocked.

"You need a mask, Ben. Your ugliness is gonna kill someone," Franklin tried to joke.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"Hopefully you."

"Huh?!" Franklin snapped.

Marina laughed and almost dropped the other tray of ice cream. She wore red silk robes from Welis rather than the clothing the descendants of Ophi and Wilo wore. 'Odd... Maybe she likes their outfits more?'

"Don't drop the ice cream ma!" Korra shouted.

"I didn't so stop shouting you, lil grump!" Marina snickered.

"What're the masks for? And who's that guy on top of the library?" Jack asked Marina.

"Hm? That's a descendant of Goku from Welis, he calls himself the 'The Beat Monk,' just a wandering performer. The masks are to help you stay discrete, but it's worn in honor of the founder of Hiria, each mask represents one of the twelve swords of the great harbinger Zadia," Marina explained.

"Twelve? I only saw six kinds of masks though?" Ajal asked.

"Zadia's twelve swords were given to the first queen of the hybrids, the previous Queen Zadia."

The crowd of hybrids started to move towards Cabac, the capital city of Andurill. Korra and Yorin gestured for the others to follow. Marina and Ajal walked to the front of the group.

"Zadia gave the swords to... Zadia? I'm not following?" Ajal scratched his head.

"No, Zadia was one of the three great harbingers, along with Xenia and Yuria. Zadia Grehilia, the first queen was given the name of the harbinger, the Lithonian chosen to carry on the great one's will and pass the will of the Celestial to the future," said Marina.

"Hmm... That sounds somewhat similar to the harbingers of Imperion... Why are there only six masks then and not twelve?" Ajal pondered.

"Zadia Grehilia gave birth to two children, each inherited six of the twelve unique swords. The current queen of the hybrids, Vala Grehilia holds half of those swords, each mask represents one of the blades and the spirit within."

"And the other?"

"The other six went to her brother, Arken Grehilia."

"Huh?" Reinhardt heard that.

All of the resistance members suddenly got closer and listened. Jack was suddenly at the back of the group. He looked left and right as he bit into the ice cream, a freezing chill struck his gums as he chewed the solid ice which quickly melted into a satisfyingly sweet cream. To the right, he watched as a couple from Lemen walked into a building with their arms intertwined. To the left, he watched a black-haired child follow a chubby blonde man in white robes, the man had a golden arm. 'A descendant of Wilo? I haven't seen that outfit yet...' The sharp talons surrounded the wrist of a child who was led into the alley. 'That's kind of weird... I wonder what that alleyway leads to...' There was a guard near the alley, his grey robe covered his left side, and in his right hand, he held a gourd-shaped bottle.

"Did Arken use swords?" John asked.

"No, no that can't be... Why would he have ever needed Spirit Arts from the demons then?" Reinhardt questioned.

"The rumor is Arken hated the swords- not because he didn't like using them, he was a monster with a sword on the battlefield if you knew about his feats," Marina stressed. "But he was someone who- didn't approve of the angel's methods. Arken wanted to unite-"

"Hey, you pigs!" a lazy voice dragged the words, followed by a deep belch.

Everyone turned their heads to the left side of the street corner in an alleyway, the drunk guard approached with a sway in his step. He waddled from side to side, which was a little worrying considering he was Ajal's height. His short and fuzzy brown hair outlined his big square-shaped head, and his mouth hung ajar as he breathed through it. There was a shimmer from the spilled liquor on his scruffy beard. He wore a grey robe over his left shoulder which meant he was from Andurill. 'He looks like he's from Baltin...' Jack looked down the alleyway, and all he could see were trees. The fat blonde man in the white robe was gone, and so were the children.

"Don't you talk about that disgrace Arken around here you- you-," the drunk guard sneezed loudly and a booger flew past Franklin.

"Ew..." Franklin whispered in disgust.

"You pigs! You're descendants of Jor, aren't you... Show me your- faces..." the guard hiccupped.

"We- look nothing like that! How rude!" Marina spat.

"I said take off the masks!" the drunk guard wasn't listening.

Marina gulped, and Jack was starting to feel anxious as well. 'Crap, are we already screwed?' The guard raised a bottle to his lips and threw his head back as he took several gulps.

"Well, let's see those faces!" he shouted in a drunken stupor. "Come on! Take the masks off, unless... You wouldn't be one of those useless non-unified from Logos would you..."

'Useless...' Jack started to focus his spirit into his fist, he glanced at Ajal. The glare from behind the mask told Jack not to move, he froze in his spot. 'Does he have a plan?'

"Haha! I'm just joking, no way one of those worthless weaklings could do anything, they'd die in a few days in Hiria! Haha," the drunk rambled as he took another mouthful of liquor.

Jack felt disgusted and started to focus his spirit on his hand again as he stepped forward. The drunk man swayed to the right. Jack was about to charge in, but Ajal walked forward quickly.

"Easy brother, easy," Ajal quickly got to the guard's side the moment he swayed. "You would've fallen just now, you should be more careful."

"Huh... Oh... Thanks," the guard replied awkwardly. "I don't think I'd have fallen though..."

"No, I'm positive you almost fell... How much have you had to drink?" Ajal asked.

"Huh? No, no I'm okay-" Ajal snatched the bottle out of his hand and started to walk in the opposite direction of the northwest district. "Hey!"

"Can't have you drinking on such an important day," Ajal shook the bottle as he walked down the street in the opposite direction.

Sarah and John turned and looked at each other. Reinhardt and Adam tried their best not to laugh. 'Huh...'

"Get back here with my booze!" the drunk hybrid shouted as he ran after Ajal, but failed to catch up. "Huh?! Get back here right now!"

Ajal jogged down the street, but still, put a great distance between himself and the guard. Ajal eventually made it around the bend, and the guard followed as well out of sight. Jack stared at the street nervously, unsure of what just happened.

"Well... what now?" Ben asked.

"Now, we leave," said Ajal.

Jack whipped all the way around to see Ajal now standing behind the group even though they just saw him run off. Ajal put the bottle of liquor down next to the alley the drunkard exited from.

"I wonder how long before he realizes I'm not over there. Who am I kidding he'll never know," Ajal turned and snickered to himself.

"Pfft, haha!" Sarah broke out into a fit of laughter.

"That's just devious..." Reinhardt chuckled.

Jack looked down, 'He took care of that so easily-' "Ow!" said Jack as Ajal poked his forehead.

"Don't take idiots like that personally, it's not worth getting angry over," Ajal lectured.

Jack rubbed his forehead, 'He didn't call you useless while benefiting from your hard work...' Jack pouted to himself.

"Also, I swiped this off him when I took his drink," Ajal held up a map.

Franklin and Ben's jaws both dropped at the same time, Ajal handed the brown paper to Jack, and on the top left corner was the label "Andurill." The shape of the country was a big circle, with five districts. The outer circle was made up of four cities, the northeast district was the smallest and most simply designed, Ketova, where Jack and the others currently were. South of Ketova was a dense cluster of buildings, Rea, the city seemed to have a red grid drawn over it. 'Those are most likely the beams between the buildings...' West of Rea was Bellos, which was similar in density to Rea, however, several yellow lines were drawn over large streets. North of Bellos was Cabac, the capital of Andurill. This city was simply a loose cluster of blue colored circular shaped buildings, in the center of the district, was a diagonal line that cut straight through the middle. The inner circle of the city was named Anka, it was located in the center of four mountains. 'That's the area we could never go to because of the guard's presence, but today... What the?' Jack noticed multiple red circles drawn over the streets. One of the circles in Ketova had a red cross over it, the mark was very close to the border to Cabac.

"The red circles have dots next to them..." Jack noticed.

"Yup, notice the one with the cross, I'm pretty sure that's near where we are, this must be the locations of guard checkpoints across the city," said Ajal.

"There are three dots on that post... That guy must have ditched his partners to get drunk... Maybe all of them got drunk..." Jack pondered.

"How the heck did you become that good of a pickpocket?!" Franklin whispered as he clenched his fist in envy.

"I didn't even see you take it... When did you do it!?" Ben asked, his expression astonished.

"Before I took his drink I noticed it in his back pocket. Let's take this route," Ajal said as he pointed at an alley and walked toward it.

"Yes sir!" Ben and Franklin yelled and hurried after Ajal.

'Wow... Ben usually doesn't listen to anyone...' Jack and the others followed after them, between the buildings towards the border of the northeast and northwest districts. They came to a large stream that separated the two districts, to the left was a path that led to a stream of sewer water. On the right was a bridge people had been crossing. However, the map had shown that across that bridge were multiple guards. Ajal shrouded his hand in a black-and-white aura and imbued it into a black scythe, he aimed it upwards and threw it just lightly enough to reach the other side of the river. Ajal turned towards the group and put his hands on the ground. The shadows of the alleyway seemed to bend around and form an orb that surrounded everybody. As the shadow fell they were on the other side of the river.

"Huh?" Marina, Yorin, and Korra looked around shocked.

"You know I thought that would be painful or sickening but it wasn't, it doesn't even feel like we moved," Sarah described.

"Yeah, that technique is intense..." said John.

"We split up here," Ajal announced. "Jack, Sarah, Ben, Franklin, and John will enter the Andurill security office and find the key to the gate. It's a big building but I'm sure they have some way up, all the offices should be empty since all the hybrids in Andurill have gathered here. Adam, Reinhardt, George, and I are going into the main event, the feast. Remember, I'll see the hybrid leaders alone, but two people should at the very least go for the key. The rest of you will keep an eye out and be in a position to make a quick exit."

"We should follow the crowd, they'll probably lead us to the place," Adam recommended.

"I don't think people eat with these masks on, so we have to find Raum before it's time to take them off," Ajal added.

"What does Raum even look like?" George asked.

"The clan leaders don't wear masks, neither do the co-leaders, however, the co-leaders are assigned to different parts of the city. You just have to find the one guy without a mask, and a golden arm before the feast begins. He's about six feet, with spiky black hair and a nice jawline," Marina explained.

"If Raum doesn't have the key then it's definitely in his office, it's right next to the town center where we will be anyways, so we can regroup quickly, even if it's not."

"How will we know if he has it or not?" Ben asked.

"I'll shoot a blast into the sky you won't be able to miss if Raum has it, that's when you go into the building. However, if he doesn't, I'll use dark abyss in a wide enough range for you to notice. We're not trying to start a huge conflict here either, just get to the queen, and if it goes wrong, we get out and be on our way. And one other thing, George, no matter how good it looks, please don't eat the food," Ajal asked.

"What?" George turned to Ajal with angered eyes. "That's crazy talk I can smell it from here!"

Jack sniffed the air, he could only smell a pungent dirty smell from the sewer. 'What?'

"Seriously, we're not here to party or feast, we need to hustle right now," Ajal argued.

"I can only promise to try," George crossed his arms and looked the other way.

A bell tolled across the city.

"The harvest feast is starting in ten minutes," said Yorin.

"Good luck everyone, don't get hurt, watch each other's back," said Adam.

"Remember, just keep your mask on and you should be safe," Marina advised.

"Hopefully this all goes smoothly," Ben cautioned.

"George you seriously better not eat anything!" John warned.

"You better not be dumb," the large man grumbled back at his brother.

"Remember to just get in and get out, avoid fighting, and don't get hurt!" Sarah cautioned.

"We're gonna take the main road and migrate into the crowd," said Reinhardt.

"The rest of you take it slow, stay together to know what the exact update is," Adam instructed.

Jack looked around at the people he had become so familiar with over the past few weeks. 'If this goes well... And the non-unified are set free... I want to see everyone get through this.'

"Alright... Let's go," Jack stuttered the order.

***

"So, Ben... When are you gonna apologize to Jack," Franklin asked.

"Shut up Franklin," Ben replied without even turning to him

"Yeah, shut up Franklin," Sarah also scolded.

'I hate this... Why did Franklin have to come with us... Apologize for what anyways?' Jack walked in front of the group. The clothing was certainly the most fashionable thing Jack had ever worn, but it was restricting. He pulled the button at his collar off to free his neck and breathe just a bit better. They exited the alleyway and immediately looked up to see the tall spire-like buildings stretching incredibly high into the sky. 'I feel like they were trying to model these after the Celestial...'

"Which one do we have to get into?" Ben asked.

"The tallest one, that's the building where Andurill's security offices are and one of the primary headquarters of the descendants of Wilo," John explained.

"Tallest..." Jack shivered at the idea of being at the top of one of these towers, it was much higher than the height of Andurill's outer wall.

The crowd nearby was walking parallel to the group, 'I wonder why no one is on this side, pretty sure these paths all lead to the center...'

"Let's hurry," Jack started a slow jog.

"The harvest is starting in a few minutes, would all the people of Andurill gather in one place?" Sarah pondered.

"It'd make sense for the resistance to attack now," John added. "However, the co-leaders should be stopping them as we speak... I think."

"The building should be just past the next alley," Jack led them towards the tallest building in the city.

As they got closer to the center of the wealthy district, the sound of drums and various other instruments was booming from the center of the town. They arrived at the base of the building. At the back was a gate connected to a ten-foot wall that surrounded the Andurill Security Headquarters.

"Why is the gate open?" John pointed out.

Jack and the others walked in front of the open gate, Jack stopped and his heart skipped a beat. Multiple guards with their bodies hacked to pieces, sliced limb from limb. A pool of blood spread around a pile of lifeless hybrid corpses. Grey robes soaked the red blood from the bodies. 'What the...' Sarah gagged, John looked away, and Franklin and Ben just looked with wide eyes, each of them confused. Jack looked to the right, the crowd was dwindling in numbers.

"What... happened?" Sarah asked.

Jack looked up at the building, glass windows on every floor were black, the lights of the city reflected off of them, and the sky was pitch black. He proceeded forward through the gate.

"Wait, Jack, we shouldn't go forward, just wait for Ajal and the others," Ben stopped him.

"This... is the correct building, right?" John pondered.

"Correct building or not, this is horrific-"

"Hey!" someone shouted at them from behind and cut Sarah off.

Jack turned to see the brown-haired drunk from earlier, his expression furious. He marched forward, teeth grit and fists clenched, each step thumping against the concrete. Jack gulped nervously, his thoughts were all over the place now. In front of him, a bloodbath they had nothing to do with, while a guard approached behind angrily, unaware of that scene. All of them were frozen, unaware of what to do. 'How did he find us?!'

"Where's my map? Where's my drink? Thieves!" he cursed.

"Wait! We don't have your drink-"

"Liar!" he cut Jack off. "I saw you take my drink! But you took my map as well! You're resistance members, aren't you? Why else would you take my map!"

"We didn't take your map!" Franklin shouted.

"Let me see your faces! Then I'll know whether you're telling the truth!" he ordered.

Each of them shook where they stood, none of them resembled a hybrid. Jack's breath became rough, trying to breathe was useless as he shook uncontrollably. 'Do I fight him? Can I win? What would Ajal do?'

"We need our masks for the feast though, come on let's go guys it's starting soon," Sarah tried to lie and turned her back to him.

Jack glanced at Sarah as she walked away, and Franklin looked back and forth. Jack's heart beat heavily, 'What do I do, what do I do, what do I do!?'

"Yeah, we need this for the feast," said Franklin as he walked away.

Jack turned back to the man who raised his right hand forward, on his palm were two streaks that resembled horns. 'Shit!'

"What- Ah!" Franklin stuttered before he shrieked in fear.

"Huh? Franklin!" Sarah shouted.

Franklin struggled to walk forward, the man dragged his hand down. Franklin flew past Jack towards the drunk, his skin scraped against the ground as he was dragged by an intangible force. 'It's that gift! Morne's reach!' Franklin collided head-first with the man's bicep and his mask flew off. John, Ben, and Jack were frozen as they watched the man look at Franklin.

"Huh?" said the drunkard. "Non... Non-unified?" the drunk said before he looked up and squinted at the other three.

'Shit...' Jack thought.

"You're non-unified? What are you doing out here?" the drunk asked and then turned his head to the right.

Jack turned left, towards what the guard was looking at. The guard dropped the mask as he witnessed the same scene they saw. The hybrid's mouth hung ajar, he was shocked to the core as he looked at the corpses. The guard took two steps forward, his hands shaking,

"What- how..." the drunk guard was speechless.

His large head slowly turned to them, Jack felt his heart beat rapidly once more.

"Wait! Wait this wasn't us I swear! We just got here-" Ben walked forward and tried to reason.

The large hybrid lifted his hand towards Ben, and he was pulled through the air just like Franklin. The drunk slammed his fist into Ben's face, and his body fell limp on the floor. Jack focused his spirit on his leg and ran forward, jumping and kicking the large man in the side, however, instead of blocking with his left, he used his right arm.

The guard swung his right hand, smacked Jack across the face, and knocked the mask off. His back hit the ground and scraped against it, his jaw felt numb, but the mask took most of the impact.

"Jack!" Sarah cried.

"His mask shattered?!" said John while running forward to help.

The guard stared at Jack for a moment, and his mouth hung ajar as if he recognized him.

"You..." the guard looked down at him. "It's you... So you are part of the resistance..."

"We didn't do this-" Jack quickly got on one knee, but the guard was swinging his right fist down at him once more.

Jack quickly dived to the side and dodged. 'Why is he only using one hand?!' Jack quickly got to his feet. The veins on the guard's forehead started to bulge, he looked at Jack with an infuriated expression. He swung his right hand at Jack, 'I see it coming!' Jack ducked under the fist, 'Spirit Ignition!' Jack's fist pressed into the guard's stomach and he backed up.

"Argh! They called me crazy," the guard's voice filled with drunken contempt. "They called me crazy! Yet here you are!"

The guard jumped up with his leg raised, Jack dodged backward as he slammed his foot into the ground. 'I can take this guy... I don't know why he's only using one arm... But if he keeps doing that I can win... I can win!' The guard tore his robe off, and Jack's eyes widened as he realized who he was. Jack's thoughts all came to a sudden stop.

"They didn't believe I found a non-unified using Arken's Chambers! And they didn't believe that he was saved by Geral Murdok!" the guard shouted at the top of his lungs.

Jack froze as he observed the severed left arm of the guard. 'He's the one... From the market...' Jack knew, convincing him would be useless now. The guard raised his hand behind him towards John. 'What- No!'

"John! Get back!" Jack shouted.

John's leg was pulled up as he jumped and he was dragged toward the guard's palm. The guard grasped John's ankle.

"Ah!" John cried as he was held upside down by a huge guard with one arm.

Jack ran forward and focused his spirit on his foot. 'Imperial Battle Arts! Ha-' Jack stopped as the guard braced his stance, and swung John towards Jack. 'He's swinging him-' Jack moved his spirit to his arms. The guard let go at the last second, flinging John's into Jack like a ragdoll. 'Agh!' As John collided with him, his feet left the ground. The two flew to the other side of the street, opposite the gate, John collided with the wall and Jack's skin dragged against the ground. His entire left side hurt, his arms were heavy and he couldn't get to his feet.

As he raised his head the guard closed the distance and kicked him directly in the jaw. Jack was knocked upwards, as the guard raised his hand towards his face. 'Agh!' Jack opened a single eye as he tried to remain conscious. The guard grasped Jack's head with his right hand and raised him. Jack's feet dangled in the air, 'I have to!' Jack felt his body suddenly move, his heart skipped a beat as he was driven into the ground. He focused his spirit on the back of his head and neck and mitigated part of the blow. 'What the hell... This is just one guard?!'

"There's no use running, you're going to pay for what you did to my friends!" the drunkard shouted with tears flowing out of his eyes.