Hidden within its secret mountain range, the monastery used by the Order of the Elements kept its normal calm as the sun set, while many of those training there focused on their task, trying to master the elements assigned to them.
However, one individual, looking over a scroll he was given as he sat in the monastery's library had only one thought on his mind. 'This is boring.'
The boy, fifteen year old Tommy Himi, was the youngest of the ten individuals the Order was training to master the elemental powers, with his being the element of Ice, and, despite his younger status, he was considered one of the most gifted of the group, mastering his element quicker than many before him.
However, the young boy was finding himself wanting to see more of the world, and often found himself wondering how Takuya and Zoe were doing, the two of them he viewed as a second older brother and an older sister respectively, and was amazed by what he heard of their exploits as Fireguard and Zephyr out in the world.
'Man, I wish I could get out of here and see them again.' Tommy thought, before sighing as he looked back at the parchment he was given to look over, wishing that something exciting would happen around the monastery more often.
However, as though his wish was granted, the young man was jolted as the entire complex began to shake, before he heard yelling and screaming coming from outside, which was followed closely by the sounds of combat.
But before he could get up to check and see what was going on, the young brunette quickly ducked as the door to his study came flying open, followed by two figures, who crashed into the wall behind him and crumbled to the floor, groaning in pain.
Quickly looking, Tommy was shocked and terrified to see the broken forms of his friends, the twins Koji and Koichi, both trained in the elements of light and darkness, barely conscious and twitching in pain, before Tommy then heard footsteps coming from the door, causing him to turn and look, where his eyes widened to see the one known as the Night Queen walking in, her masked face looking around, before her eyes landed on him.
Backing in fear, but also trying to stay in control, to protect Koji and Koichi from any further pain as he encased his hands in icy blue auras, Tommy asked with a shaky voice. "You... you're the Night Queen... What... what do you want...?"
Tilting her head for a second, a light chuckle escaped the villainess' lips, scaring Tommy a little more, before his fear escalated as she began to walk towards him and replied. "You... yes, you'll do nicely..."
-The next day-
For Zoe, the school day started as normal as any, though know she tried to keep a smile on her face as her eyebrow twitched, while several of the cheerleaders were trying to convince the blonde to join the team.
"For the last time, I said no." Zoe said, trying to be nice, but found their continued enthusiasm starting to get on her nerves.
"But you'd make such an amazing cheerleader." One of the girls said in reply, before adding. "You're beautiful, you have a great body, it's as if you were built for cheerleading."
"Plus, imagine if Davis or that other guy you hang out with got a chance to check you out in one of our uniforms." Another added with a wink, causing Zoe to blush a little as imagined Takuya and Davis cheering her on as she wore one of the outfits, before quickly shaking her head of those thoughts.
"Zoe!" She then heard a familiar voice call out from behind her, turning and feeling grateful to see Takuya walking up to her, before she noticed the more serious look on his face.
"We need to talk, now." Her boyfriend whispered into her ear, where she heard a bit of shakiness in his tone, telling her it was serious, that whatever Takuya needed to say it was serious.
Nodding to Takuya's words, Zoe gave another smile to the cheerleaders, managing to excuse herself and Takuya from their presence and taking refuge within one of the empty classrooms.
"What's wrong?" Zoe asked once they were out of earshot of others, the worried look on her lover's face made her feel even more worried herself.
"The Monastery was attacked last night." Takuya stated, causing shock to fill Zoe and for her eyes to widen at such information.
"What?! How... who...?!" Zoe started to ask, finding it hard to bring her words together as she never imagined the Monastery would ever suffer such a fate.
"It was the Night Queen herself." Takuya replied with a frown, which caused Zoe to look even more concerned as she asked. "How bad?"
"A few sentries are dead, Koji and Koichi have been placed in intensive care, while the others have a few scraps and bruises." Takuya replied, which caused Zoe to shake a little, before her eyes widened even more when Takuya added. "Zoe... she took Tommy."
"What!?" The blonde all but cried out, now fearing for the safety of the young boy, not knowing what the arch villainess had in store for him, but knew Tommy was now in great danger.
"I'm calling in the others. We need to tell them everything and find and save Tommy. JP and Rachel are on their way to help us find him." Takuya then informed her, referring to their friends who were trained in the elements of Lighting and Water, though Takuya couldn't help but smile a little when he saw Zoe flinch at Rachel's name, knowing how the girl always flirted with him, making any excuses she could to show off her body and express on how good Takuya's looked in her eyes.
"Alright then. Let's make some excuses and get out of here." Zoe said, before adding with a continued concern for their friend. "The more time passes, the more that witch can do to him."
-Meanwhile-
Slowly opening his eyes with a groan, consciousness returned to Tommy, only he noticed a few things were off with his current position.
First, he was in a dark room, with a single light that seemed to be above him, illuminating the ground around him.
And second, and more concerning for the young boy, was that his arms and legs seemed to be shackled by chains, holding him in place.
Acting fast, Tommy focused as he gripped the chains holding his arms, trying to freeze them to the point that they could break, only for his eyes to widen as a dark aura surrounded them, giving off a heat that seemed to negate his elemental abilities.
"Ah you're awake, good." Tommy then heard the Night Queen say, shocking him as he looked forward and saw the villainess walk out of the shadows, before she then added. "Did you really think I would make it easy for you to escape?"
Feeling his fear return to him, Tommy tried to remain calm as he asked. "What... What do you want with me?"
"That part is simple, I plan on having you kill Fireguard and Zephyr for me." The Night Queen replied, causing Tommy's eyes to widen as she continued. "I attacked your monastery to find one of you that seemed close to them, and one that was powerful enough to take them down. And I could sense the bond you share with them and your power, which made you the perfect choice."
From what the Night Queen had told him, Tommy paled in fear as the images of Takuya and Zoe falling at his hand filled his head, causing the young boy to say with a fearful reluctance. "I would never betray them... they're my friends."
"I never said you had a choice in the matter." The villainess then said in reply, before reaching up with her left hand and placing it on Tommy's forehead, where he then let out a cry of pain as he felt something enter him, something dark and powerful, overwhelming his mind, before the Night Queen released her grip, causing Tommy to stare ahead with a blank look on his face, his eyes glazed over, and a dark purple mark glowing on his forehead, shaped like an eye, causing the Night Queen to smile darkly behind her mask.
-A short time later-
Responding to the emergency summon, Davis, Tai, TK, Mikey, Angie, Rika, Nene, Izzy, Mimi, Henry and Suzie quickly exited the elevator to the Protectors' base, looking to see Cody already on the monitoring station, Joe nearby, and both Takuya and Zoe not only having serious looks on their faces, but already in their Fireguard and Zephyr outfits.
"What's going on guys?" Davis asked, noticing the worried and concerned looks on the elemental warriors' faces, where Tai then added. "Yeah, what gives? We were supposed to take today off."
"Last night the Night Queen attacked our Order, killing a few, injuring others, and taking a friend of ours." Takuya informed, shocking the other Protectors, where he added. "Two of our other friends should be arriving soon, and we've asked StarCorps to join in as well. We need to find him and save him from whatever the Night Queen has planned for him."
"First off, slow down, I understand your concerns, but we can't just rush out on a wild goose chase with no leads." Davis said in reply, trying to calm his fellow Protectors down, understanding the fear going through them, before he added. "We still don't even know where the Night Queen or the Dark Legion are hiding out."
"Tommy has an elemental amulet like ours, we can sense it when we're near each other." Zoe said in reply, before narrowing her eyes as she then added. "And our allies have arrived."
After a few beeping sounds from the elevator, notifying the group that those inside knew the passcode to enter the base, the elevator door opened to reveal two teenage individuals.
The first was a young male around the same age as Takuya and Zoe that was set in a dark blue jumpsuit, he had short and spiked brown hair, who was a little overweight compared to the other people within the room, while beside the brunette was a female figure that had red eyes and long, turquoise hair that went down her upper back, while she was wearing little to nothing, with her chest barely covered by a light blue tank top, purposely showing off her cleavage and her C-cup sized breasts, while a pair of matching shorts just covered her thighs, leaving the rest of her long and slender legs on display.
But what the other Protectors noticed the most was the amulets similar to Takuya and Zoe's resting around their necks, with the boy's shaped like a lightning bolt, while the girl's was shaped like a wave.
However, before anybody could say or do anything, hearts filled the girl's eyes as she stared at Takuya, admiring him in his hero persona, before rushing over to him, pressing her body close to his as she asked. "So how have you been, sweetie?"
"You look so handsome in your elemental armour." The girl went on, tracing her fingers along Takuya's body, causing him to gulp a little, before leaning closer to him and asking. "So what do ya say we spend some time alone to catch up, just you and me, all alone and without any interruptions?"
"Rachel...!" Zoe seethed, fire burning in her eyes as she glared at the blue haired girl clearly flirting with her boyfriend, while most of the group sweatdropped at the sight.
"Come on Rachel, this isn't a social visit." The boy then said as he walked up and pulled the girl away from Takuya, before looking at the two and saying with a smile as he shook Takuya's hand. "It's good to see you again, Takuya. You too, Zoe."
"Likewise, JP." Takuya replied as he returned the handshake, before Zoe had to ask as she expressed a continued concern. "How are the others?"
"Koji and Koichi were in bad shape, but they're pulling through, you know how stubborn they can be? As for the rest, they are bruised up, but they'll be alright." JP replied with a comforting smile, causing Takuya to nod, before he faced the rest of the Protectors and began to introduce their friends.
"This is JP, whose element is thunder, and this is..." Takuya began to say as he introduced the two, before Rachel cut in and introduced herself as she said with a smile and a small pose. "I am Rachel, the elemental master of water. Whether it's the ocean or just a glass, water is at my command."
"It's nice to meet you..." Davis started to say, before sweat dropping once he saw Rachel close the distance between them, giving him the same starry eyed look she gave Takuya.
"Nicer to meet you, cutie." Rachel purred, not caring for the glares Rika and Nene were giving her, where the blue haired girl moved in closer, continuing to flirt with Davis as she added. "Takuya and Zoe told me about you, but they never said how handsome you are face to face."
'Oh I am so glad Kari isn't here to see this.' Tai and TK thought at the same time, having heard how... 'interesting' Kari and Rika's introduction went, and cringed of what would happen if she either met Nene as well, or ever learnt of the way Rachel acted toward Davis, certain the outcome would be nightmarish.
"Rachel, knock it off! We need to find Tommy." Zoe yelled, part of her now wanting to slap the girl for going for Davis as well, but kept her cool, especially seeing the blue haired girl's expression turn serious at the mention of Tommy's name, remembering why they were there in the first place.
"Alright, since you guys say that you can sense one another, and your friend apparently has an amulet like you guys, we'll split into teams with the StarCorps and search the city." Davis then said, getting nod from the others, not only wanting to save the young boy, but also possibly finding the Dark Legion's base at long last.
-Later-
The teams had split into multiple groups, with Rachel leading the search by the ocean, while JP helped those on the outskirts of the city.
Meanwhile, Fireguard lead Cobalt Warrior, Quickshot and HiTech as they scout one area of the city, while Zephyr leads V-Force, Vixen and Dragonheart searching the other side.
'Tommy... please be ok.' Fireguard thought with growing concern, hoping the young boy he saw as a second little brother was alright, feelings he knew Zoe shared.
"Um, guys... what element does your friend use again?" Cody then asked through their comms, causing Fireguard and Zephyr's groups to stop, to which the blonde haired heroine replied. "Ice. Why do you ask?"
"Ok. Half the city's park is apparently freezing over." The young boy said in reply, shocking the groups as they headed towards the park, with the two elemental heroes quickly sensing Tommy's presence, only it felt... off.
As the heroes and heroines arrived, the groups quickly saw people running for their lives from the park as the trees and grass seemed to freeze over, while powerful gusts of wind seemed to push the freezing effect even further.
Acting quickly, Vixen threw a protective barrier around herself and her fellow heroes, before they headed towards the center of the ice, which apparently was the lake at the center of the park, now frozen over completely, before Fireguard and Zephyr's eyes widened in shock to see Tommy standing in the center, with his head cast down.
"Tommy!" Zephyr called, wanting a reply from the wielder of ice, but found him remaining silent, before he slowly lifted his head, showing not only his glazed over eyes, but the mark glowing on his forehead, one that caused Vixen's eyes to widen in concern, as did the dark smirk that grew on the boy's face.
"Watch out, he..." Vixen started to warn, before the boy flicked his right hand up, where, quicker than any could see, all but Fireguard and Zephyr were encased up to their necks in ice, causing them to cry out from the sudden cold chill, as well as being imprisoned within the icy confines.
Even Dragonheart and V-Force were unable to use their powers, finding the ice not only restricted their movements, but it was preventing them from accessing their unique attributes.
"We need to get out of this soon, our body temperatures are dropping!" HiTech informed the others as his internal sensors showed the slow but steady drop in their body temperatures.
"Tommy, stop! They're here to help!" Fireguard yelled, but grew more unerved as the boy then let out a dark chuckle, causing Zephyr to ask with concern. "What's wrong with him?!"
"The... The Mark of Shadows..." Vixen said through chattering teeth, causing the pair of elemental warriors to look at her as she continued. "It's... It's powerful dark magic... binds the victim to the user's will... changes them to... to whatever the caster desires... it's powerful... And the longer it's on the victim... the harder it is to remove..."
Instantly, the heroes and heroines, even those trapped, remembered the events from a year ago when the city council was under the sway of the Night Queen, and realized this must have been what she used to control them back then.
The group then heard a familiar dark laugh, looking behind Tommy, where they saw a shadowy representation of the Night Queen appear behind the boy, placing her left hand on his shoulder as her eyes glowed bright red through her shadow form.
"I expected you to be this knowledgeable, Vixen, but it does little to help in the end. Yes, he is mine now, and I've given him a special task." The projection of the Night Queen said as she looked down at Tommy, whose dark smirk grew into a wicked smile as he looked at Fireguard and Zephyr.
"She wants me to get rid of you both once and for all. This is going to be awesome!" Tommy said with a dark excitement, shocking and frightening his former friends to see the change in him, while also feeling anger and rage at the villainess for what she had done to their friend.
"Let him go you bitch!" Zephyr yelled in anger at the shadow of the Night Queen, who merely laughed wickedly in reply, before her shadowy hand then lifted from Tommy's shoulder and gently caressed his cheek as she commanded. "Now, kill them, painfully."
"Yes, my Mistress." Tommy replied with a dark smile as his amulet glowed, changing his form as his elemental armour covered him, putting Fireguard and Zephyr on alert as they took in Tommy's new form.
Fireguard and Zephyr were shocked to see the changes within their friend's outfit, seeing him clad in a dark green hooded outfit that had two stubs coming out from the top, looking almost like a pair of bear-like ears, with a cape coming down his back, split in two, which stopped at the end of his waist, revealing a black belt that bore the elemental symbol of ice, only it had a faint aura of darkness around it, a symbol of Tommy's corruption.
Black pants and dark green boots covered his legs and feet respectively, while his arms were set in a pair of matching green gloves that he then brought up, casting out his ice as he prepared to destroy those he now came to despise, his mouth and nose covered by a face mask that looked like a rebreather, which had a set of orange markings crafted on the sides, showing only his darkened eyes as he glared at the two he once called friends.
And with his transformation complete, Tommy wasted no time, sensing the reluctance to fight him, which he used as his advantage and releasing the ice from his hands as a series of icy daggers shot towards the heroes.
But acting fast and bringing himself together, Fireguard quickly moved before Zephyr as he encased his being in flame, not only protecting the blonde from the sudden onslaught of ice, but the intense heat he produced caused the ice to melt before it could strike him, saving both heroes.
However, Fireguard's eyes then widened as he saw Tommy quickly close the distance between them, leaping into the air as two axes of ice began to form in his hands, ready to bring them down on the fire hero's head.
But returning the selflessness of her boyfriend and countering Tommy's attack, Zephyr acted as she quickly jumped over Fireguard, bringing her right leg around, where she planned to deliver a kick to the corrupted boy's stomach, only to find Tommy dodge her attack midair, moving his body so that Zephyr's foot barely missed him, before he landed on the ground and slammed his hands into the ground, causing several large spikes of ice to break out from the vicinity and shoot towards the heroes, who took to the air to avoid the attack.
With Fireguard and Zephyr forced to the air, their access to fighting greatly limited, Tommy laughed darkly, before he looked at his hands and said. "So much power... more than those old geezers at the monastery could ever teach me... more power than either of you! I'm done living in your shadows! Being seen as a weak child! I'll kill you both and show everyone I'm the best!"
Tommy..." Fireguard said with worry, wondering if this was Tommy's true feelings or if the mark was messing with his head like Vixen said it would, for he never viewed the young boy this way and only thought of what was best for him.
But before he could respond to Tommy's rant, both Fireguard and Zephyr watched with shock as ice quickly formed on the corrupted ice user's back, taking the form of wings, while his arms became covered in ice that took the shape of sharp blades, where he then launched himself into the air, ready to strike at the wind heroine and pierce her stomach, before Fireguard moved to defend his girlfriend, using extending his arm blades and blocking the blow as he tried to hold Tommy back.
"Predictable!" Tommy said with a dark glee, pushing back and doing a flip, where Fireguard had enough sense to look down, seeing the corrupted ice user's right foot coming up as ice quickly formed around it, taking a sharp point, where the fire hero quickly moved back, carely missing the ice blade as it passed his body.
Getting frustrated, and wanting to put an end to this quickly, not only for Tommy's sake, but for those imprisoned below, Fireguard then went on the offensive, flying back as he unleashed a barrage of fireballs from his hands, where Tommy brought his hands up to form a shield of ice before him, taking all the blasts as his protection melted, before the fire hero's eyes widened as several tendrils of ice, each with an arrowhead-like tip, shot out of the corrupt ice user's back and headed for him, only for Zephyr to act and use her claws to statter the tendrils before they could reach them.
"Stop standing there and fight me!" Tommy yelled, feeling like they were either afraid or mocking him, and he wanted the first one to be the truth.
As he remained ready to attack, Tommy stopped when he felt a familiar presence, causing him to look up, bring his arms up and form another ice shield as a huge blast of lightning came crashing down on the shield, pushing Tommy back to the ground, before the ice below him began to crack, where the water beneath it began to surge out, about to envelope the ice user, who quickly used his powers to freeze the water, leaving him almost surrounded by walls of ice.
"Geez, Tommy, chill out will ya." A familiar voice then said, causing him to glare as he saw two familiar figures land around him with Fireguard and Zephyr, while also looking to see the other Protectors and StarCorps heroes had arrived, with Red Nova using his fiery abilities to help their imprisoned friends out of their predicament.
Looking around them, Tommy, Fireguard and Zephyr saw JP and Rachel had come in to help their fellow elemental warriors in their crisis, but were surprised to see the pair had changed into their armours in the process, finding JP encased within a large dark blue suit of armour that covered his entire being.
As his hands, chest piece, kneecaps and the rims of his shoulderplates were cast in a golden colour, protruding from the top of the helmet he wore was a massive spike, similar in design to a stag beetle's, and matching with the same strength.
Likewise, his back piece opened up, revealing a pair of electric styled wings that he could use for flight.
While Rachel had changed her outfit, hers' was more revealing to say the least, with the blue haired girl now clad in a black spandex suit that clung tightly to her body, showing off her figure, while light blue armour was set above the skimpy material and covered her chest, arms and legs.
On her gloves and boots fish-like fins popped out of the side, while she had a blue helmet that had three fins sticking out of the top that covered her eyes, leaving her expressing a confident smile on her face, while out of her back were two large fins resembling blue wings.
And to complete her new form, in her right hand was a golden trident.
Narrowing his eyes, Tommy looked to JP, where he then yelled. "Don't tell me what to do, fatass!"
Both JP and Rachel were taken aback by Tommy's hostility, but having heard from Cody what Vixen said about the mark on his forehead, they knew it wasn't the real Tommy talking to them.
"Interesting. I thought I took care of the rest of you." The Night Queen mused as she looked at the two new arrivals, who gave the shadow projection of the dark villainess a glare, before focusing on Tommy, knowing, along with Fireguard and Zephyr, that if they were going to help their friend, they would need to take him down first.
"Fine. You all want to get in my way? I'll take you all down, and prove to my Mistress that I'm worthy of being her servant!" Tommy yelled in rage as the ice began to form around him, causing the elemental warriors to back up as the ice took shape, creating a construct form around Tommy's being, resembling a large, hulking two legged beast with ram horns, a dozen of the ice tendrils, and two large axes in its hands as it let out a beastial roar that deafened most nearby.
"I'm sorry, Tommy... I'm sorry we couldn't get to you sooner, but we will save you, even if we have to save you from yourself!" Fireguard declared as his body was covered in flames, taking a fighting stance alongside Zephyr, Rachel and JP, who's body crackled with electric energy, each one determined to stop their corrupted friend and save him from the dark sorceress' clutches.
Acting first, Tommy sent out his ice tendrils to try and strike at his former friends, who quickly moved out of the way, determined to keep Tommy from causing anymore harm to those around him as the four elemental warriors acted in unison.
Concentrating, Zephyr quickly gathered her elemental power and began to focus them around the ice construct, causing a tornado to start to form around it as Tommy thrashed about, trying to get free, before he felt himself getting lifted off the ground, which caused the corrupted ice user to cry out in anger and rage.
"Now's our chance!" Fireguard declared, before casting out a stream of fire from his hands, the inferno striking the ice construct, causing it to slowly melt away.
"Rachel, you know what to do!" Fireguard then called, causing the blue haired girl to nod and give a serious expression as she joined in the fight, where she used her power over the melting remains of the ice construct and began to encase Tommy in a sphere of water.
Able to hold his breath, Tommy looked around, trying to figure out what his foes were planning as he prepared to freeze the water around him, before his eyes widened as he looked up, seeing JP in the air, his fist crackling with electricity.
"Sorry to do this to you, pal, but this is for your own good!" JP yelled, slamming his electrified fist into the water sphere, causing it to spark wildly and for Tommy to cry out in great pain as the conductive waters continued to electrocute him.
And though she knew that Tommy wouldn't be put in mortal danger, that this was for his own good, Zephyr couldn't look as she turned and set herself on Fireguard's chest, feeling a dreading knot in her stomach for Tommy's suffering.
Eventually, Tommy's cries fell silent as he passed out, with Rachel releasing him from the water prison, where he collapsed on the ice covered ground unconscious, his armour glowing and dispersing, leaving him back in his original form as he remained lying in defeat.
"Pitty. But he might still have his uses." The Night Queen said to herself, before raising her right shadowy hand as a dark portal began to form beneath Tommy's body so that she could take him back to her base and train him for future battles.
However, a bright light then appeared around Tommy, dispelling the portal before it could form, causing the Night Queen to look and narrow her eyes as she saw Vixen holding her staff out as it glowed with a powerful light, showing that she was trying to prevent her from taking the ice user with her.
"Fine, take him. It doesn't matter in the end. He's mine now." The Night Queen said with a dark laugh as her shadow vanished, leaving the gathered heroes in various states of anger and worry, especially for Tommy's state of mind, wondering what was to happen to the boy, while wondering if his outbursts were his own thoughts or the influence of the Night Queen.
-Hours later-
Takuya, Zoe, JP, Rachel, Davis and TK all waited in a room that was part of an ancient complex that existed between worlds, a meeting place for many of the world's most powerful magic users, all dedicated to battling the forces of darkness and stopping otherworldly threats to the world.
A moment later, Rika opened the door to their room, where Takuya started to ask. "How is...?"
"I'll kill you all!" The rage filled scream of Tommy then cut Takuya off, before Rika closed the door behind her and replied. "It's going to take some time. The Mark of Shadows is powerful, and the Night Queen still influences his mind. They can remove it, but you need to give them some time."
Clenching his fist in anger, feeling a growing hate toward the Night Queen, as well as blaming himself for putting Tommy in such harm, Takuya was brought out of his anger when he felt a hand on his shoulder, looking to see JP and Rachel smiling at him.
"We'll stay here until they get that mark off of him. You and Zoe need to head back with the Protectors and stop that witch before she causes anymore harm." The Lightning Warrior said with a smile.
"But if you ever want to come and visit, just ask." Rachel added as she returned to her old antics, where she wrapped her arms around Takuya from behind and looked at him with a suggestive smile, which made Zoe growl at the sight, causing Davis and TK to sweatdrop.
Both then, however, gained frowns as dread filled them, fearing the power the Night Queen possessed and fearing what could happen if she were to use this Mark of Shadows on their friends and loved ones.
-Meanwhile-
Sitting on her throne, Kari smirked as she felt the mystics try to remove her Mark from Tommy, still feeling how powerful her dark hold was.
Even though it wouldn't on Tommy for much longer, as long as the Mark she placed on Sora remained, she could continue to use the orange haired girl in her plans.
'That should make them fear me more, but...' Kari thought as her smirk grew, where she then thought. 'Perhaps a more, direct message would work better, like on one of V-Force's precious teammates. Maybe then I can finally rid myself of that thorn in my side.'
Author's Note: To all my readers, sorry for the delay on this chapter, things have been rather hectic for the past week, not just for myself, but for my co-writer as well as life changes have occurred due to the Corona Virus. This story, as well as our others, are not dead, just may take longer for the chapters to come out. I ask for only patience and wish for good health and safety to all during this time.
