Location: Police Headquarters, Joren City

Asuka was in her boss's office back at the police headquarters. Angel stood behind her waiting for her next orders. The room was stuffy and hot and the only thing keeping it cool was a small fan that sat on the edge of the desk. The dry heat didn't help her tense emotions. She had let Oralom escape once again and she knew that this time she wouldn't walk away with out a punishment.

Asuka saluted and started her report, "We made contact with the leader of the bank robbers and after hearing their demands I took action. I gave the order to trade them three armored vans for the release of the hostages. Angel and I then went around back to prevent Oralom from escaping." She paused and swallowed the lump in her throat. "He how ever managed to escape. I take full responsibility for..."

Her boss, Ace, waved his hand cutting her off from finishing her report. He was a calm soft hearted man who often over looked small mistakes. This of course wasn't a small mistake. In fact he should be giving out her punishment now, but he knew that Asuka would later punish herself far worse then what he could have done for letting this guy go again.

He sighed saying, "No need to finish your report. I know what already happened." He then looked past her at Angel. "Your training session is over. You passed your final test. Welcome to the MOD Squad. If you go out the door my secretary, Ms. Schiezka will give you your first assignment." He watched her leave and then turned to Asuka, "We have orders from the Counsel. They want us to team up with one of their own in order to explore the lands to the West."

Asuka was shocked. "W-w-what? What do you mean the lands to the West. Thats just way to dangerous. It's Anon territory."

Ace searched around in his desk before answering, "True. It is Anon territory, but after many years of research we have found that the Anon's may be controlled by a single person who lives far to the West. Like a queen ant controlling her children." He handed Asuka a pile of papers and continued, "These are the people that the Counsel has been watching for sometime now. I've chosen you to scout out these individuals and recruit them for this mission."

Asuka's confusion only grew more as she looked through the papers and found someone she recognized. There staring at her on the paper was the very man she had spent years trying to catch. With a fury she slammed the papers on Ace's desk and pointed at the paper that had upset her.

"No! I refuse to work with this man! This criminal!" She shouted with anger at her boss. Then as if a light came on she clasp both hands over her mouth as she realized what she had just done.

Ace sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew this problem would arise when he himself looked through the stack. Its true that this man, Oralom, was a wanted criminal and has been for as long as he was in charge, but he did see why the council would want him. Oralom was not only a skilled fighter, but a master strategist, as well as fearless.

There was a knock at the door and then it open. Asuka turned to see a young looking man standing in the door way. He was wearing reinforced clothing and was equipped with what appeared to be a longer then average sword. His face was like a work of art and his eyes were filled with wisdom and mystery.

"Ah, come in Anubite." Ace said breaking the silence that settled in the room. He then turned to Asuka and said, "This is Anubite. The representative of the Counsel. He will be serving as your party leader as well as lead explorer. I want you to treat him with the utmost respect as he is the last of his kind."

Asuka was a little surprised at that. She knew the Counsel was made up of mostly elders from each of the cities, and that one of their members was an Immortal that had survived the crisis 200 years ago. She how ever didn't think that he would look so young, or so handsome. To clear her mind of these thoughts she picked the stack of papers back up and attempted to study them.

Anubite took note of his partner as being a young, attractive, more then likely ditsy woman who would only serve as a burden to his mission. He sighed inwardly as he swore he'd report Ace uncooperativness in giving him such a burden as a partner. He was of course used to working alone and argued with the council for many hours trying to convince them that he didn't need a group of Humans to tag along as he journeyed far to the West. In the end, they decided that it was best that he form a team from a selected number of Humans they had been watching for the past few years.

Taking his place next to Asuka, Anubite saluted and said, "Anubite reporting for duty. As ordered from the Counsel, I am here to lead a team of qualified personals on an exploration far to the West." He then studied the desk in front of him and asked, "Where are the papers that the Counsel sent ahead of me?"

Asuka handed him the stack she was studying and then asked Ace, "Are we recruiting all of these people or just a selected number of them?"

Ace shrugged as he answered, "I'm not really sure. I'll leave that up to you two to decid. I would like you to at least find 10 qualified people from that stack to join your party."

Anubite finished looking through the stack of papers and then handed them back to Asuka saying, "I think we should head out right away. The sooner we make the party and leave the sooner we can finish this mission."

Asuka nodded. She already liked how this man thought. He was straight forward and already showed that he made his job come first. She then thought for a minute before replying, "I agree with you. The sooner we finish this mission the better. Who should we attempt to recruit first?"

Anubite's tension let up some as he heard her agree with him. Its a good thing to know that she wanted to hurry up and finish this mission and part ways as soon as possible. He took a few minutes to recall all the people on the list and then he pointed to the top sheet. "I think we should go recruit this one. He not only has the skills required for this mission, but he is located in this city."

Asuka looked down at the paper and felt her motivation leave her. Staring up at her from the top of the stack of sheets was the cursed face of Oralom.

Location: Sewers, Joren City

Oralom ran down the sewer passage ways. He knew them as well as the city streets themselves. He often traveled through the miles of sewer while scouting out new places to rob. Taking a quick right he came to a dead end. Checking behind him to see if anyone was fellowing him he then pressed up against the wall. Putting all his might into it the wall gave way and revealed a hidden door. Stepping into a dim room he took off his backpack. The door shut automatically be hind him and he walked in and threw the bag on the couch next to a small pink bundle.

The pink bundle stirred and then leaped off the couch and into Oralom's open arms for a hug. "Your back!"

"That's enough Lila." A voice shot out from a dark corner. "You don't have to get so excited every time one of our missions goes according to plan."

Lila let go of Oralom and turned to face the direction where the voice came from. "Hope, your such a dull guy! You don't know how to have any fun."

Oralom smiled. He loved coming home to this everyday. This was the only family he has ever known. He was an orphan who lived on the streets as a small child. A man named, Fasad, later took him in and taught him the ways of a thief. A few years later Hope was added to the team. Hope and Oralom often spent their free time sparing and over time had grown close enough to be considered brothers. Soon after Fasad had step down as leader a small girl had found her way into their main base. Her name was Lila and she had run away from an abusive home. After a heated debate among the males, Oralom finally won and Lila was able to join the team.

The sound of foot steps interrupted Oralom's thoughts. He looked up to see Hope emerge from the dark corner and join them under the dim light.

"Where's Fasad?" Oralom asked him with a puzzled look.

Hope pointed behind behind him. "He's in his usual place. That old man has had his nose in those books ever since we got back from driving the armor vans. Bloody bastards only gave us half of a tank of gas."

Oralom looked at Lila for conformation, but she was lost in counting the money that was in the backpack. He was angry that the police only filled the tanks half way, but he was also thankful that everyone made it back in time. He nodded to Hope and walked past him. Walking into the small room in the back he then ascend ed the old circler metal stair way.

"Fasad! You still alive up here?" He said out loud as he reached the top of the steps.

Looking around at the piles of books that were scattered accross the floor and book shelves of the abandoned library, he soon spotted Fasad at a table with his nose in a book.

Fasad looked up as Oralom walked towards him. He smiled and said, "You finally made it back. I'm guessing that woman cop gave you trouble again?"

Oralom gave a smile as an answer and joined Fasad at the table. He quickly glanced over some of the books that were scattered about. It looks like Fasad was studying up on the history of the Immortals as well as old weapons and blacksmithing.

"What are you going to do with all of this information?" Oralom asked as he tried to figure out what Fasad was up to.

Fasad turned the book around and pushed it towards Oralom. With out saying anything he picked up another book and started reading it.

Looking down at the book Oralom saw that it was a list of rare ancient weapons that the Immortals use to wield in combat. There were 10 in all and were each unique in their own way. Forged by a legendary blacksmith way back before the time of Humans and were only used by high ranking Immortals. However through out time many of them were lost and even forgotten. After the war with the Anons only one weapon remained and that was a Masamune. The last recordings on the page is that the Masamune's power was unknown and that it was in possession of the Counsel.

Scratching his head he said, "I still don't get it. Why are you doing research on ancient Immortal weapons?" He closed the book and set it off to the side.

Fasad sighed and turned the book he was reading around. Sliding it towards Oralom he answered, "Because, the Counsel had possession of one of them. That means there are 9 other ones still out there somewhere."

Oralom raised his eyebrows as the information set in. "So we are going to find them and steal them. I bet they would sell pretty high on the black market. You think we could steal the Masamune and complete the whole set?"

"Correct." Fasad said as he sat back in his chair. "And it doesn't look like we have to go very far to get it. The Counsel entrusted the Masamune to the only survivor of the Immortals, Anubite. It just so happens that he's been spotted in this very city."

Oralom smiled as he heard this news and instantly started forming a plan. One that would be far better then any other plan he has ever hatched. This one would have to be cunning to the max and have room for back up plans in case the original plan failed. Then like a blinding light, the idea came to him.

Smiling, Oralom said, "This is what we are going to do..."

Location: Downtown, Joren City

Anubite looked down the street at the city bank. It had doubled its security since the robbery, but it was up and running once again. He had just finished an in depth conversation with Asuka about Oralom. She had informed him that he was a well known criminal and that she had been tracking him for many years. Sighing he went over the details of the bank robbery in his mind. What was the purpose of robbing the bank? Did he need the money for his next job? Why hasn't he fled the city? Where does he stay when he is not committing a crime? These question flowed through his mind as he tried to figure out this Oralom character.

"So, what do we do now?" Asuka's voice broke the silence. She had been standing behind him for quite some time now. Her curiosity slowly building up.

Anubite turned to look at her. "To catch a thief, one must think like a thief." He turn back around and studied the stores that lined the street. His eyes rested on one and he pointed at it asking, "Is this store very popular?"

Wrinkling her forehead in confusion she looked at where he was pointing. She then answered, "Yes. Its a pretty high class jewelry story."

He nodded as he heard this. "Good. I want you to spread a rumor that an uncut diamond will be shown here. One of the largest ever cut from the mine to the north."

She tilted her head as he said this. Then her eyes let up as she realized what he was planning. If rumors of a fresh cut diamond reached Oralom's ears then there was a high chance he would try to steal it. All they had to do was lay a trap and wait for him to take the bait. As she turned to head back to the car she bumped into a young female carrying some large bags.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you there." Asuka apologize as she took note of the extra cute pink outfit the girl had on. Oh, how she wished she could wear such cute things and still be taken seriously as a MOD.

Lila watched the cop head to the patrol car. She knew from the way the lady was dressed that she was a MOD. Shifting her eyes from the lady to the man and then to the sword that the man carried on his back, her eyes light up as she recognized it. Instantly she turned and ran around the corner. She continued to run down the street and into an ally. She stopped when she came to a dead end. Leaning her back against a dumpster she pushed with all her might and it rolled a few feet. The girl then set the bags down and lifted up a drawn lid that lid to the sewers. Picking up the bags she dropped down into the sewers and made her way back home.

Location: Oralom's Hideout, Joren City

Fasad laid on the couch and listened to the sparing match of Oralom and Hope. They had been going at it ever since he sent Lila out to buy supplies for their upcoming job. He had over heard Oralom's plan and knew it had no flaws in it. This was going to be a theft that would go down in the history books.

The hidden door opened and a small figure stepped through carrying two large bags. Oralom and Hope stopped their sparring match and turned to see Lila hurrying across the room towards them.

"You wont believe who I ran into!" She said as she tried to catch her breath.

"Whoa." Oralom replied as he noticed how exhausted she was. "Take a few slow breaths and lets try this again. What happened? Did someone recognize you?"

Fasad got up off the couch and came around to see what all the commotion was. He took the two bags from Lila and set them on the couch. He turned to listen to her story of what had happened.

Lila finally managed to catch her breath and she told them what had happened. "Both that lady, Asuka, and the guy who we are going to steal the sword from are walking around together. I overheard them talking about how they are going to tell people a new diamond was going to be displayed and they were going to use it to lure you out and then catch you."

Hope raised his eyebrows and looked from Lila to Oralom. "Well, thats interesting. Instead of us hunting down our treasure it seems to be hunting us down instead."

Oralom crossed his arms as he thought about this new information. He then smiled as he said, "Well, it looks like we are going to have to take the bait."

All three of them looked at him shocked that he said this and then all started at ask questions at once.

He raised his hand for silence and then explained, "It will make our job easier. We will play into their trap, but with a trap of our own. Lets look at this from all angles and once again out smart them. We could walk away with not only the sword, but a few fancy pieces of jewelry as well."

They then began forming a new plan to counter the plan that Anubite and Asuka were planning. When it was done Oralom smiled and knew this was going to be a job like no other.