Whoops! I had login issues the last two weeks and missed those uploads, but here they are and this week's will be coming later! Sorry!

"Alex," the police Captain sighed as she closed the door to her office and massaged her temples. She took her seat behind her desk across from him and reviewed the contents on her computer. "I… I don't know where to start, but do you honestly think that a fight in the pit was one of the more low profile things that you could do on a night off?"

"Is it online?" Alex asked. She nodded without breaking eye contact. "So then you know it really wasn't much of a fight then."

"Alex," she scolded. Alex slumped in his chair, folding his arms. "Really?"

"It works for my daughter," he noted. He exhaled and shook his head. "You know when the council calls I have to answer. We've been going after these kidnappers for a long time."

"And this is how you got your answers?" She questioned facing the monitor towards him.

"That was for my pride," he squeaked.

"I've never known you to be so reckless," she stated.

"Apparently you're not aware of half the times I've fought down there since becoming a cop," he pointed out before looking at her and realizing that wasn't the right thing to say.

"If you weren't our best cop I would have fired you by now, you know that?" She grumbled.

"It won't happen again!" He declared leaping to his feet.

"Sit," she demanded. He complied. "It's not only the unwritten rules you've been breaking, you know. What was the call from dispatch last night for."

"Possible kidnapping," he plainly remarked, understanding she was done playing games.

"Then where's the record of the call?" She interrogated. He averted his gaze from hers. "You know that's protocol."

"I also know I was off the clock," he added.

"You can't keep compiling violations to cover your ass," she stated standing slowly to loom over him. "You're a great cop, and an even better man, but the city's council members' patience is running thin." He waved her off.

"So what?" He questioned.

"They're the ones making sure we're being paid," she reminded him. "This is your last warning, I'll cover for you this time." She looked out into the department beyond her office windows. "I would never tell you that I want you to leave, no one has done more for Mistral than you have… but maybe it's time to choose one or the other."

"What do you mean?" He priced. She looked at him.

"Serving the council, or being a police officer," she stated. "I'd hate to see you go, but I'd understand." The words weighed heavily on him. Give up being a cop? It was all that he had ever wanted to be since he was a child, but it was becoming more glaringly obvious that he wouldn't be able to do both, for one reason or another. "Not to put you on the spot."

"Or course not," he agreed as he shifted.

"You're free to leave. Like I said, I'll handle the Headmaster and his cronies," she replied laughing. "And think over what I said. Take the day off if you need it."

"About that…" he began as he stood.

"Alexander…" she tried interrupting.

"Actually need you to extend my hours this evening," he exhaled.

"For what!?" She shouted.

"To follow up on a lead for the kidnappings," he explained.

"No," she shut him down.

"Please!" He declared. He smiled wide. "Last time, I swear." She scoffed.

"Yeah right," she doubted. He held the smile until she cracked. "Fine! You sure that damn smile isn't your semblance?"

"Pretty sure," he pondered. Just then the door slammed open and Iris stood in the opening.

"Don't punish this man!" He declared. "It's all my fault! This man is a saint!" The captain shook her head.

"Take him with you," she instructed. He gave a single nod.

"Will do," he complied.

"Why, might I ask, are we heading to the beach?" Iris asked as Alex drove them down the only dirt road that led miles out of town to one of the most popular tourist spots near the City of Mantle. Alex checked his rear view and gave a sigh as the skyline of the school disappeared behind them. Leave the force? Leave the council? He didn't want to have to choose. "Eh?"

"I'm meeting my family for lunch since I'll be working late tonight. And I told you several times that you didn't have to come with," Alex told him. They sat in silence for a minute before Iris spoke.

"Did the Captain give you an ultimatum?" He questioned quietly.

"She's making me decide which I'd rather do," Alex explained.

"Which one are you leaning towards?" Iris inquired. Alex drove without replying until the beach was in view.

"I don't know," Alex answered. Iris stared at him. He'd known Alex the entire time they were in the academy together, and not one had the man not known what his next move was. The next step. There was always something planned next. Once he finished cleaning up Mistral he was thinking about leaving, but would he have to do so sooner? His list hasn't been checked off yet, there were still several high value targets that the man had yet to take down. But he'd also felt something else during Salem's War when he had fought with Coco and the others. Maybe he was meant for something more. And Coco had seemed to think so, she kept bugging him to help them originally. There were countless major disasters he had prevented in Mistral and the Eastern side of Vale that had been in tangent with the council. He felt accomplished, but at the end of the day, whatever he chose, it was more important to him that Violet and Eliana were safe.

No sooner than he had gotten out of his squad car, Eliana was already clinging to him, trying to climb up his body for a better vantage point to look Iris over from.

"Is this your new partner?" Eliana asked as Violet approached and gave them a warm smile.

"It sure is," Alex announced. "Mommy's met him before but this is Iris. Hopefully I won't need any new partners after this." Violet chuckled.

"We'll see how that plays out," Violet said. She shook his hand. "It's nice to see you again, even if it was just in passing the first few times." Iris's face turned red as he remembered the photos from the night before and Alex cleared his throat, tempted to smack him in the back of the head.

"You too!" Iris blurted. Eliana giggled.

"He's strange," Eliana noted.

"Would you like to talk with the strange man for a few minutes while I talk with mom?" Alex asked. Eliana looked skeptical.

"I know a spot on the beach where the baby sea turtles can be seen," Iris stated with his nose in the air. Eliana leapt down without hesitation.

"Alright! Let's go!" Eliana shouted. Alex watched them for a moment.

"Hey! Don't forget Spot!" Alex told her. Eliana face palmed.

"Right! Here Spot!" Eliana called out for the invisible dog. Violet chuckled and shook her head.

"You two," she sighed happily.

"I know right?! Get her an invisible dog and she forgets it half the time," Alex replied. "Kids…"

"What did you want to talk about?" She questioned. He looked at her for a long moment before looking out at Eliana splashing in the ocean with Iris.

"My jobs aren't agreeing with each other," he started.

"Not to mention you're running yourself thin," Violet added as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. She cuddled against him. The ocean always had a knack for calming him down and with Violet's presence surrounding him, he had a moment to think clearly. "You can't keep burning the candle on both ends."

"I know," he admitted.

"But you don't know which end to snuff out," she informed him.

"You really do know me," he chuckled. She followed suit.

"You go get those kidnappers, take a few days, and figure out what you want to do," she instructed. "Elli and I will be with you no matter what you choose, and I know you'll make the right choice."

"You're really good at this," Alex noted. "Do you have experience?" She shoved him playfully.

"Too many late nights with you," she laughed. "But I wouldn't trade them away for anything. I'm just happy knowing I can give you peace of mind." He smiled at her. Infectious. Eliana had inherited it. He watched her giggle and splash water on Iris. Maybe it was time for a change.

"You know what I like about the ocean?" Alex asked Violet as she stood beside him and he wrapped his arm around her.

"Oh boy, here we go again," she smirked.

"What?" He questioned.

"You say this every time you're here," she groaned. He gasped.

"I… I have never!" He defended. He pulled her in for an unexpected kiss. Her lips were soft on his. "I love you, Vi."

"And I love you, Alexander."

"Dad! We found a crab!" Eliana shouted rushing over with Iris.

"She's quite the energetic one," Iris declared exasperated.

"Any chance you could keep an eye on her for a moment longer," Alex inquired. "Need to make a call to see who can get us into the casino tonight." Iris waved him off.

"I can get us in," Iris informed him.

"Really?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah…" Iris fidgeted his fingers as he clasped his palms. "You might not like to hear who my contact is though."

"You gotta be kidding me!" Alex shouted as they entered through an employee entrance and showed one of the girls working their badges before she disappeared down the hall into one of the side rooms. "Next time I'm making you tell me who ahead of time!"

"And I thought the best officer on the force could extrapolate that information!" Iris replied in a hushed yell. "You two aren't still being weird towards each other, are you?"

"I've never been weird about it!" Alex exclaimed. "But she makes a big deal out of it every time she sees me!"

"Just relax, we're on a job tonight, so I'm sure she'll be less tightly wound," Iris tried reassuring him as the girl returned with an outfit and ID for Iris and one of the casino's cards for Alex.

"Most people would consider that a high stress situation," Alex grumbled as they followed her to a dressing room for Iris.

"You wouldn't," Iris informed him, starting to change before Alex had time to close the door.

"I said 'most' people," Alex repeated. Iris gave himself a once over in the mirror and nodded. The door opened and in the hall stood a woman with long white hair and white rabbit ears, pink eyes that matched Iris's, and a bunny outfit that she filled out too well. Her face turned red with blush as she spotted Alex before darkening with anger as she saw Iris.

"Iris!" She yelled slamming the door as she entered. "You didn't tell me you were bringing Alex!"

"Daisy! Now calm down! I thought it would be better to surprise you!" He defended.

"So I couldn't say no," she accused. He rubbed his neck and chucked.

"Or maybe because of that," Iris admitted.

"Iris…" she growled. Iris stood up and pushed past her.

"We needed in without involving anyone else," Iris explained.

"That's not true," Alex informed her. "I have people for this purpose."

"And now you don't have to bother them," Iris noted.

"For this purpose," Alex repeated slowly.

"Look, we're already here, it's too late to change the past, and your man is going to be here real soon," Iris listed. "I say we go get ready to do this thing, and you can all yell at me later."

"Is she up to speed?" Alex called out as Daisy chased after her brother down the hall. Alex sighed. "I'll take that as a no." Alex followed them out onto the floor, the bustle of crowds filled his ears, along with the blaring of slot machines and people cheering at a nearby craps table. The carpeting was just as tacky as any other casino he'd ever been in, and another woman in a bunny outfit approached him and offered him a drink which he politely declined. They'd given him a VIP badge, using his actual name despite Alex insisting that they didn't. He was to meet Strakh in about five minutes in the cocktail lounge as it had been reserved for two, but Alex was planning on inserting himself into the situation. Where had those siblings gotten to?

Alex finally spotted Daisy after scanning the crowd and viewing many other girls in the same outfit, which inconveniently included bunny ears, making most of them look quite similar to her, with the exception of hair color. Alex made his way to her and entered the lounge. Windows tinted from the outside, the inside was dark but classy, a different music, a kind of jazz, played rather than what was being aired on the intercom on the main floor. Alex sat on one of the stools at the bar, Iris turned around to face him and poured him a drink.

"This is the plan?" Alex questioned.

"If things go sideways, I grab his scroll," Iris offered. "But I'm sure you can handle this." Iris handed him the drink and Alex stared at it for a long moment.

"I'm going to need something stronger," Alex said as Daisy sat next to him. "Much stronger."

"How have things been, Alex?" She asked. "Haven't seen you since you blew me off that night our senior year."

"You know why I blew you off, Daisy," Alex groaned. "My mission ran late that day. Not to mention you were too much of a party girl for me anyway."

"We could have been a great duo," she sighed turning away from him.

"We can still work together, just without the strings attached," he informed her.

"What fun is that?" She groaned as she stood.

"You know, we used to call you femme fatale for a reason," he remarked. She folded her arms, nails digging into her own skin.

"Are you trying to piss me off?" She questioned.

"Guys, he's here!" Iris cleared his throat in a panic. Daisy glanced back towards the door he was entering through, regaining her composure as she looked him over. The man was built like an absolute brute, and they immediately wondered if his semblance was simply the ability to accumulate muscle mass. His dark orange eyes were intense and knowing, this man was well versed in the science and methodology of Dust sales and application, and it was apparently simply by the look in his eyes. His black goatee seemed appropriate for a young man of his attitude and standing, though a scar running from the corner of his lip down the chin, assured one patch of hair wouldn't grow there ever again. Another smaller scar across the bridge of his nose. His short black hair was spiked and his suit was a tailored black jacket with matching slacks. His dark blue tie completed the look. He folded a pair of glasses that he was wearing and placed them in his breast pocket as he raised one hand slowly and Daisy rushed to meet him.

"You must be Strakh Temnota!" She declared, cocking her hip and sticking out her tongue with a wink. "I'm Daisy, I'll be your personal waitress tonight! Let me know if you need anything at all." She placed a hand on his chest. "Absolutely anything…"

"Then perhaps you can answer my first question promptly," he replied without any sort of reaction to her suggestion. "Who is the gentleman sitting at the bar? I recall quite specifically requesting that the lounge be reserved for myself and Ms. Conopsis, with no exceptions."

"He suggested that he was sent here by a colleague of yours," Daisy suggested leaning in closer, though he leaned back in retaliation to her chagrin. "Abigor, I believe he said that man's name was." It was then that Strakh gritted his teeth, seething before nodding once and smiling, as if the adverse reaction was nothing more than a knee jerk.

"Thank you," Strakh replied as he walked to the counter and sat beside Alex without giving him the time of day and ordering a glass of brandy on the rocks. "So…" Strakh cast him a side glance, observing his lanyard before turning back to the glass that his drink was being poured into. "Alex, is it?"

"I heard you were the man to talk to if I wanted to get a piece of the action of what's been going on around here," Alex informed him. He looked to Iris and nodded. "I'll have what he's having."

"Sure thing," Iris replied with a wink that made Strakh chuckle.

"It sounds like you don't know what you're talking about," Strakh chuckled, sipping lightly on his alcohol.

"He's a cop, they won't tell him much," Daisy said with a wink, bending at the waist between the two of them to place a small glass bowl of peanuts between them, her ass intentionally much closer to Strakh than it needed to be. Alex shot her a glare and she smiled wickedly before winking at him, pulling back slowly, becoming frustrating at her failure to get a rise out of Strakh.

"A cop, hm?" Strakh questioned. Iris glanced between the two of them, sure that Alex could talk his way out of it, right?

"She's right," Alex admitted. He slammed the brandy as if he was taking a shot, the glass crashing down on the bar top harder than was necessary, but not with enough force to shatter it. "But the department is constantly cutting corners and cutting our bonuses and standard wages wherever they can. There's no more moving up, and when you have a family and dog to provide for, you'll do whatever you have to in order to go beyond making ends meet. Surely a man from Vacuo can understand that." Strakh stared at him for a long moment.

"I think you might have me pegged for the wrong businessman," Strakh said plainly. "I worked hard to get where I am. Just another nobody, in another wandering tribe of nobodies, in the middle of the desert that nobody cared about or would have missed. A sandstorm killed everyone but me. I grew up on the streets and put my intellect to good use. I could sell anything to anyone. An entrepreneur for the ages. Whatever you think we're doing here isn't 'doing whatever'. What we're doing will revolutionize the way that wars are fought forever."

"So you're a warmonger at the very least," Alex noted. Strakh sighed and nodded.

"I guess there's no better term for it, is there?" Strakh admitted. He laughed. "I like you. You seem like a man who has no fear, a rare quality in a world full of monsters that feed on it."

" Fear isn't a luxury for someone like me," Alex stated. Strakh nodded.

"That's why men like us claw our way to the top so effectively," Strakh pointed out as a woman appeared in the doorway. "Fear doesn't dictate our lives."

"Such ideology can lead to recklessness," said the woman who had been in the opening but had instantly moved to Strakh. He looked up at her and smiled softly, the both of them looking at Alex who was turning white. White dress that came down to her knees, slightly blue tinted skin, grey hair in a mess with piercing white eyes that were hazy. He knew this woman. "Who is our friend?" She spoke slowly. Alex knew exactly who this woman was. He spied the single fang of a King Taiju, or at least a weapon modeled after one, attached to her hip. This was Medusa. Jaibrian 'Medusa' Conopsis, and she was on his most wanted list.

"Alex L…" Strakh paused. "I never caught your last name."

"Latherus…" She added a few seconds later. Iris nearly dropped the glass stein he was cleaning, glancing back over his shoulder at the woman and smiling with a nod. "Just water."

"The two of you have met before?" Strakh inquired, delighted.

"He saved me from a King Taiju," she explained, her words slurred. "He's half the reason I'm alive. The other half is Silvia Blood." Strakh nodded.

"I see now why you want to help our cause," Strakh said, standing and offering her his seat. Blood. Silvia Blood. That was all he needed! Though something told him that dipping out early would be frowned upon, but it wasn't like additional info would hurt him.

"At the time she was only able to stop the poison from killing me… she wasn't able to remove it," Medusa explained. "I'm hoping to meet her and she can finish what she began."

"That might be more difficult than you'd expect," Strakh pointed out sitting again. "She's constantly on the move due to the taboo nature of her work. I've only met with her twice myself." Medusa seemed annoyed as her hand crawled painstakingly towards the glass of water.

"If I cannot meet with her… helping her is good enough… for now," she responded in fragmented thoughts.

"If I support this endeavor of Ms. Blood's, how do I know what I'm giving towards?" Alex interrogated. "Jaibrian might not need an answer, but that won't cut it for me." Strakh placed his hand over his face and laughed heartily.

"You doubt me?" He asked. "As I've already noted, her work will change the tide of wars. There will be no stopping us. We have the formula all but perfected, it's not as if I'm unknowing in the ways of Dust or Aura. I've discovered that a person's aura can be syphoned from them and transplanted into another, their semblance then taking on a new form, if not quite as strong as the original. And Dust applications go far beyond that of simple physical applications or those of producing energy. Imagine Dust based medicines."

"Then I suppose I'm in," Alex shrugged. Strakh looked at him with an air of confusion. "There's no amount of prying that will get me more information than you've already given me. And like you said, men like us need to stick together."

"He's something else… huh…?" Medusa managed as she placed her lien on the bar, easily twenty thousand. The most that Alex had managed to acquire from the council was ten thousand, but they had bugged a few of the lien, and seeing as the man was far from his home in Vacuo, it was assumed he would be leaving straight away from this meeting to pay Blood.

"He certainly is," Strakh agreed as Daisy draped herself on his shoulders.

"Is there anything I can help you with before you leave?" She asked, dragging her fingers across his upper chest. He removed her hand and shook his head.

"My meeting must remain brief," Strakh explained, standing and shoving her away. Iris made eye contact with her, he knew that look, though he hardly ever saw it. Her semblance was the ability to break Aura through simply physical touch, the more the person was aroused by her, the easier it was for her to shatter… but this man was giving her nothing. "I will only be here for a few days and I must return home next week ahead of the storm that's coming. My wife has a bad habit of driving recklessly in the rain."

"It was a pleasure having you here at the casino," she called after him, surprised by the illusion of urgency he was suddenly giving off.

"Yes, quite," he informed her, leaving.

"Please come again!" She yelled, chasing him down.

"She's looking a bit desperate," Medusa laughed to herself.

"Eh, he didn't spend any money while he was here," Alex noted tossing lien on the table for both of their drinks. "I'm sure she's just trying to convince him to come back."

"Your heart rate elevated when I entered… why?" She inquired. Alex averted his eyes.

"I wasn't sure you'd recognize me," he sheepishly offered, hoping she'd buy it.

"I know I'm on the most wanted list," she noted slowly standing. "You were thinking of scoring big. You still are." She looked at Iris. "So are you."

"What?" Iris asked, backing away slowly and laughing awkwardly. "I assure you that I'm nothing more than a bartender."

"But why would I make you nervous then?" She questioned. "Is there something about me that frightens you?" Iris reached for his weapon which was attached to his side, ready to extend the lightning Dust prod at a moment's notice.

"I just found your skin a bit off putting," he admitted. Alex's eyes grew wide as he glanced up at Iris, teeth gritted as he shook his head. Iris was honest to a fault!

"You don't think I'm attractive?" She sighed.

"I don't think you're unattractive," he offered, trying to calm things down. It was the wrong move. He watched her carefully for a long moment before she was instantly beside him, her arm swinging down to puncture his shoulder with her venom-filled, weaponized fang. It came to a sudden halt as it hit one of Alex's barriers.

"You're going to regret this exchange," she informed him. She could see the fear in his eyes, teleporting behind him and trying again, only to be stopped once more, looking for a mirror before noting Alex's gaze on her, using her semblance to blink to him, almost catching him off guard. He blocked at the last second, despite her being behind him.

"Don't look at her!" Alex shouted at Iris.

"So I was right," she noted. He threw her back from him with a forcefield and moved briskly to the counter, dragging Iris out from behind it and forcing him towards the opposite entrance.

"Go!" Alex shouted at him. "I can fight her without looking at her!"

"Sure!" Iris replied without hesitation.

"You saved me before, and now you're willing to fight me?" She questioned. He used his force fields to map the room as he reentered.

"Like you said, I'm thinking of scoring big, and I know your weakness," Alex noted moving towards her carefully, well aware of her disadvantage of sloth that inflicted her body.

"Then you know my kill count, and that they haven't been able to stop me yet," she replied as a smile crept across her face. "Help!"

"What?" Alex stammered in disbelief.

"Someone help!" She screamed. He glanced up to where she'd been but she was already gone. This was the worst case scenario, but the odds that she'd simply leave were in their favor now that she was armed with the knowledge that he could stop her if given another chance.

"Don't we need to stop her?" Iris asked as he returned, looking through the slits between the fingers covering his face as they left back out onto the casino floor. Alex glared him down and moved quickly past his partner who chased after him.

"Not unless you've got an idea or Aura cancelling restraints with you," Alex explained. "Her strength and speed increase ten fold when she teleports, but it can only happen if she's being looked at. Not to mention, her profile made it a point to repeat over and over again that as long as people aren't actively pissing her off, she has a pretty long fuse due to how slow her heart is, so thanks for getting her worked up. I really hope she decides to tell Strakh all about this."

"We hardly have to worry about him again," Iris noted as they left out a service entrance. "With those tracking lien, we'll be able to find this Blood woman without any issue. We'll finally find those kids and rescue them. Just another day for Alex Latherus, one of the council's best and one of Remnant's finest huntsmen."

"You make my job sound easy," Alex chuckled as he remembered he still had a choice to make. Was he going to keep being a cop, or give it up to join the council full time? No, his focus had to be on finding this… Silvia Blood and finding out what she was doing…

What will Alex find? Next week, Chapter 28: Experiments!

A big thank you to AG_Nonsuch, Helihi, Cadhla182, Carlomontie, Nliast, Y8ay8a, Sa-Dui, Diyaru4500, Demize00Zero, TheCipherNine, SketchHungry, Ookaminoki, Lightning-in-my-Hand, and Dishwasher1910. The artwork can be found at Deviantart, you can search Silent-Celica and under my favorites tab, I have a collection for NITE.

Until next week, stay classy!