The single file, brick and mortar, goverment housing buildings welcomed me as I rode in on my shovelhead motorcycle to the slums of Arkland.

You know it isn't often I get to come out to the slum district, and for good reason too. This is where the Fleets live, now you see Fleets are basically these extra dimensional people that started popping up when the Rifts first started appearing about fifty years ago.

It caused a huge crisis with the humanitarian lot, at first it was just handfuls of them which could easily settle in and assimilate to the populace but then waves by the tens of thousands would just appear out of nowhere dropping out the sky all over the world.

Sometimes way too literally.

So a big think tank was assembled to help plan out a way to deal with the migrant crisis that was materializing on our doorstep, so they somehow managed to create a device called a Terra Jack that could pick up these huge rift openings like ritcher scale, except of detecting the movement of tectonic plates it manages to feel the vibrations through space and time.

And even though we managed to pin down where the Fleets were coming from relocating them was a nightmare hence why the Arkland borough of Amalgam was built by order of Congress, which eventually devolved into the slums we have today thanks to myriad of things.

Mostly due to city officials be corrupt, with a hint of genocidal blood feuds that have existed for centuries.

But thankfully my friend is neither a genocidal manic nor corruption official, just a little… odd?

Yeah, odd. Let's go with that.

I roll my motorcycle in the nasty, garbage ridden alley where she conducts her business and park by the dumpster she has by her front door. Which was thankfully well lit as the morning sun was still rising above us, and I rather not have one of nocturnal Fleets getting any funny ideas about jacking my bike.

I walk over to the door brushing down my the little cowlick that had appeared due to helmet hair, before I hear the door opening to see a very unfortunate face behind it.

Serene.

Damn it.

A beautiful, giant, young woman whose skin looked like it was chiseled from a fine, pale green marble stood over me peeking out from the doorway in disgust as she gazed at me with those nuclear blue orbs and down twisting some of her long, glass-like jade locks between her fingers.

"Wow Bloom you look great. Black slacks, red undershirt, cream cardigan, and a plaid suit jacket? Did you kill a therapist to get those clothes?" Her voice sounded hallow and musical as she spoke.

I look at her with a deadpan glare, "I'll have you know I only took her dagger after I killed her thank you very much, and also Serene a former client sent me these clothes as a thank you gift." I say, slipping between her arm and leg which was blocking the doorway.

Ignoring her shocked look, and her body jolting a bit as I brush by, I have to admit her species is quite a marvelous thing to see.

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You see, Serene is a part of a race of Fleets that resembles giant stone statues come to life, and because of every member of her race being strong, tall, and beautiful they were dubbed by us non scientific types as Olympians.

Because of these traits they became popular as professional muscle, like Serene here.

And they had a natural affinity with molding the earth, hence why my friend's office looked like a damn ancient temple.

Seriously, do you really need a fourteen foot brazier in the middle of your floor? With an indoor pool too?

I notice the numerous stone pillars working as columns for the building as well.

I roll my eyes at the pompously uniform indoor hedges as I walk towards the back of the room; I'll never understand how Fleets manipulate space like this, like turning a little side shop into something the size of a stadium.

Eventually I reach the ornate dark wooden doors and open them to see a fairly simple fortune teller set up.

A small, candle lit room with a large round table in the middle alongside a crystal ball and a finely stacked, large deck of cards.

I closed the door behind me walking over to the customer seat nearby and sat waiting for the show to happen.

And right on cue the candlelight immediately snuffs out as a bright glowing orb materializes above the center of table quickly taking the form a giant robed humanoid form that looms over the room with a haughty arrogance with a great bellowing voice vibrating throughout my core, "Who dares trespass upon my dom– oh, Michael! Just give me a moment dear."

The candlelight kicks back on as the form shrinks and takes a much more petite appearance.

Before me stands a tiny young lady in a baggy violet robe who barely rose above my waist line in terms of height. She resembled something a possessed doll given how dainty and oddly perfect her porcelain skin and moss colored hair was, and not to mention those long pointed ears, but that perfection was marred when she opened her eyes and mouth in a crooked smile revealing a large mouth of piranha like teeth and pitch black eyes staring at me.

"Hello Esmeralda," I say, attempting not to seem so nervous by her coy grin.

There was a quick flash and I felt her arms tighten around my neck as she rubbed her face into mine.

"Ah, Michael you never come and visit me anymore. It isn't because you don't love this dear old lady anymore right?" She says now sounding like a peppy highschool girl.

I grab the elf by her face trying to pry her Velcro gorilla grip arms off my body."

"Love is a bit much, Esmeralda. I'd say I tolerate you at the most."

She lets out a fake gasp, "Michael you're so mean! Now I am never letting you go!"

I feel her death grip close in even closer as I see her face light up, with playful excitement.

You've got to be kidding me, "Bind."

Esmeralda's cloak quickly wraps around her, only exposing her face as I stand up and put the little pupae in her seat.

"Seriously?! You use the charm I gave you on me?" She pouts trying to struggle out.

"Yes, now stop pouting. I came here for something important."

The look on her face goes serious as she stops struggling, "Alright let's get into it then." She easily undid the charm and began to shuffle the cards on the table.

"Michael please explain what happened recently in the past few days, give me only the important details."

"I had been scouting out a target for the Association, turned out to be a possessive object like I suspected."

Esmeralda stopped shuffling and placed down a card from the top of the deck, the card quickly became clear to me as I saw art of a man standing in front of four mirrors where in front of each mirror his face was drastically warped in all different ways.

It was titled 'The Deceiver'.

"The object tried using a mirror of envy on me, but as per usual my little quirk kicked in and I never got hypnotized or saw any illusions,"

She nodded her head as we have discussed my strange ability before.

She places another card down, turns to show an angel holding a lamp and a burning sword in a dense fog warding off shadowy hands from a man walking down a path.

It reads, 'The Guardian'.

"And then I went to sleep and had a weird dream, where an Outlander contacted me, and it gave me a letter under the door telling me to 'answer the call' and I woke up to find that it somehow managed to scrawl 'REMEMBER' into my door.'

Esmeralda's hand shook as her hands grabbed the next card and sat it down, as the art faded into existence I could see a lone grave on a hill with the name scratched out with only the date of birth and death remaining.

It read 'The Forgotten'.

Esmeralda looked up from the table, hands shaking.

"Esmeralda is this demon something I need to worry about?" I ask leaning in.

She makes a grim smile, "Michael, dear. This Outlander isn't a demon, it's an Angel."