Disclaimer: I don't own the BLoSC series or the movie. Enjoy!


Chapter 13

Lion's Den

The occasional howls of faraway wolves broke the silence of the night as two figures exit from the rundown bar. They could feel eyes on them the moment they left the place unscathed from the territory of the known fierce gang.

Some thought it might be a fluke, some thought that the cloaked duo could be easy pickings but none made a move to crowd or ambush them.

Most were frozen in place from Desmond's air of intense aura as he flashes his sword at them to see if anyone would dare. The hoodlums from West Killerville who were lurking around swiftly retreat back to their dwellings in fear.

As much as she likes this side of Desmond, it would be better if he tone down the murderous intent…just a little bit. She can lecture him later about being subtle, there are more pressing matters to take care of.

Zyra tried to recall each and every Crime Lord's operation if they have a similar pattern with the use of recruited biker gang members. It wasn't easy to get most of the files about them, you know…they are Crime Lords for a reason.

That is…if you have someone who knows the ins and outs of the underworld.

And that came in a form of a present right in front of her bedroom door one night a couple years back. Zyra was reading a few outdated documents about Capital Planet that night when she heard a knock and a not-so-silent footsteps faded from the door.

Zyra gaze at the small screen monitor beside the door and a metal box was shown.

The Hornet guard made no response as to who is the mysterious person and Zyra just shrug it off while bringing in the box, thinking that if it's someone the Hornet acknowledges then its fine with her. After all, they are program to stop or fight against any intruders or unauthorized fools in her personal wing.

Whatever was inside the box is heavy. Lifting up the lid once she sat on her bed, all she could see are small tablets and each one labelled with names who are unfamiliar to her.

This confuses her but there was a note among the pile and she read it with a surprise expression. The box comes from her father. The note states that the tablets contains known Crime Lords in the universe, with details of their standard operations in their territory.

At the end of the note, was a poorly drawn Zurg's helmet with a smile. It was sweet of him to lend her a helping hand with research for her journey.

Looking back at the tablets gave her a moment to think. She thought there would be no problem if she didn't learn it as none of these names came up from the series. They all could be taken down by Buzz in the next few years but she disagree.

There is no telling what they might do if she encounters any of them and so Zyra dove into the data base. Needless to say, it was worth it.

But as of now, she is stuck in the mud, none of the data links to any fronts that this Lord Vexon uses. The only way to get to the bottom of it is by infiltrating their main base of operations.

Zyra and Desmond got to where they hid their hover bike and wait for any response from Gibbles regarding Lord Vexon and the Skullcap crew. All she needs is the exact location of their hideout and bust in to get information.

If only the blasted dust storms nearby would stop interfering with her communication line as her wrist guard displayed:

SIGNAL JAM

From afar, waves of dust storms were brewing up strong winds with dust particles scattered around the skies. Storms like these are common events in Trade World but never in this magnitude.

"Man, what's up with that." Zyra said, looking at it tensely. She tried again with the wrist guard but the monitor still display the same message.

"Tsk," Zyra groaned, "It's no use. We'll have to head back to Gibbles' place and start investigating from there."

They climbed aboard on their hover bike and drove off as the winds pick up speed. It was an unusual phenomenon and Zyra observe the hazard with great interest.

She had never seen one this close. Not even her past life. Yes, she has heard of desert regions or places on the sandy regions have these reoccurring storms but to actually see one up close in personal was something astounding.

As she watches the storm, Desmond is calculating a fast and safe route back to the city. If not, he recalled that there were some hidden shelters within some rock formations in case of emergencies. Through the data he got from Gibbles' place, he could pinpoint which shelter is nearest to them.

While doing so, he saw something caught his attention from the side view mirror.

Zooming in on the object to get a better view behind them, Desmond could discern a large silhouette riding on a hover bike in the cover of their smoke trails.

Desmond shifted the speed at a higher pace to distance farther from the pursuer.

"We are being followed."

That got Zyra out from mesmerizing the storm and turn her helm slightly behind. Her helm automatically scanned through the smoke and in shock on who she saw.

Torque?

From the looks of it, he is just tailing them and there's no clear sign of him wanting to take revenge on ruining his chances on getting in the Skullcap crew. If that were the case, there would be a showcase of lasers by now.

One can't be too sure on what is the other's motive. She was thinking that they could lose him in the middle of the dust storm but it would be too risky. The hover bike was designed to handle terrain rides but never one facing off natural disasters.

She glance back again to see Torque still on their hides.

Sigh. Just when we're getting the fun part of looking into Vexon and his organization, now I have to deal with…whatever this is. Zyra was about to shout at the four-limbed alien but something click in her mind.

The more she thought, the more she knew that it was useful. Very useful. A plan began to form in her mind.

Zyra tightened her hold on Desmond as she relays her scheme.

"I got a plan."


Torque never knew much about life beyond the smell of changing oil and tools tinkering with a hover bike when he was a kid.

But now as a young adult, he didn't expect his days to be filled with frustrations.

Being berated by clients of how slow he works on their vehicles was one thing but trying to flatter him to meet his old man was another.

Torque would never dare step foot into one of those high socialite groupies who spend their time thinking about getting more money or what luxury trips they went on. Playing kiss up and talking about businesses of how rich they are than others were never his style.

He would rather have a blast with his pals near the slums. Petty thievery for better loots, roughhousing and pulling pranks were their daily fun. But that too gets old overtime.

The city's usual chaos became the same old routine and nothing knew change whatsoever. With the brawls between Space Rangers and a few low lives were short lived and rare that he only witness the end of it and its back to work.

His life was nothing more than just a routine.

So much so that he tried to make up excuses to dupe the bike shop and explore further out of the city with his modified hover. He wonders if he could even find something worthwhile, rather than stay in his own home.

He's tired of what his fixed future set him up to do, what they tried to do to him along with all the nagging about taking over the business and have a family of his own.

Torque wants something new! A chance to live a life without the mental constraints of overbearing parents and mundane lifestyle. Yeah, he got the money. But they were never his to begin with. It belongs to his father's, obviously. He was lucky enough to get a quick cash from the side line thievery but it won't be enough to fund his own future plans.

He got his wish when he accidentally eavesdrop on a couple of bikers talking about an invitation. He slunk through the alley one day, walking through crumbled papers and tossed bottles, when he overheard someone echoed from the end of the path he's taking.

They were mean looking fellows who you don't want to be messing with and yet Torque noted the place of the biker crew they mentioned and headed there anyways with haste.

Usually, he was not the sort to do this kind of thing without a plan in mind but something tells him that it will be worth it and surely the universe would understand his desperation for some excitement in his life.

Not long after, he was able impress one of the Skullcap crew's sub-leaders and they immediately signed him up. Torque thought that they must have make the process quick because of who his father is but they frankly say that they want to recruit more muscular members.

They don't care of what status you held in Trade World, as long as you have the strength and do the tasks successfully that were assigned to them.

Which was expected Lord Vexon from them.

Torque never heard about this Lord but he kept his mouth shut from asking as he was given an invitation card to the outskirts of West Killerville.

The place he was told to go to held an initiation rite for future crew members. But the truth is…it was all a hoax. The whole rite thing was only made as entertainment for the senior members. He recognize some of the newbies and the others…he could care less about them.

Among the initiates, there are a couple of guys who were with him in meeting with a sub-leader and were promised a spot in the formidable biker gang, especially him because of his mechanic skills. So those who held hope to join in here in this makeshift stadium…they didn't have a chance to begin with.

But enough about them.

The most important thing for him now is to play along with the show and give the crowd what they want. A good round of street racing.

He could barely hear the sound of his own engines by how loud the cheers and applause coming from the above, once their reptilian leader signal the start of the race. Torque was so ready to get into this new life.

Finally. It was all going in his way…

Until…they crashed it.

When Boss Croc shouted and glare up in the stands, Torque gaze indifferently at two unfamiliar cloaked figures. One with a small body frame and the big blue metal bot, already dash out a sword and blaster while the other was having a stare down. He didn't think much about those two but they will be crushed soon with the whole stadium locked on them fiercely.

But he didn't expect the outcome when all hell broke loose.

The bunch of fellow wannabes beside him rush out of the stadium while Torque stayed to watch the brawl despite his hands shook from the battle inducing atmosphere. He could only thought of those who ran away as wimps before focusing his eyes on the party crashers with the other crew members.

He realize one thing.

This whole tussle…was one-sided.

No!

It was a total massacre!

Especially the chick with the horned helmet who face Boss Croc on a one on one face off and she won it so viciously, that would leave any man in pain for days to come as shivers crawled up his spine just thinking about it.

He had seen how Space Rangers fight in a large group like this for hours but these two handle them in minutes!

It was thrilling until the end!

A blessed wave of clarity washed over him. He felt focused, alive and he knew exactly what he was looking for. He wants to be badass just like them!

So he decided to follow and ask them to let him in to their group. Stealth was never his forte, but he makes use of the surrounding groans of pain from the fallen bikers as he hurriedly walk behind the two.

He was far away from where they stopped and revealed their hidden hover bike hidden behind the tall rock.

Torque whistled in awe at the specs of the ride. Checking out the state of the art generator voltage regulator and the cutting edge chassis, he had only seen those parts from merchants who came to trade in Trade World. They were hard to come by and always out of stock, despite his old man's connections.

Torque wonder if these two are part of bigger organization than the Skullcap crew and he's never one to pass up a chance to join in one. They have to be Elites to pull this off and if he could impress them with his skills, he can be a sure-in to whatever group they belong to.

Once he saw them up and drove off, he got to his own bike among the sea of hover bikes and went after them.

With a huge gap in between them, he doubts that they'll know that they are being followed. But suddenly they made a sharp right turn, heading straight and maneuvering around the huge mounds of rocks.

He was baffled at the sudden change of course but Torque turned up his speed and gave chase.

He got to hand it to them. The rider has some mad skills to pull off a skid around the rock formations with ease, but he can do that too!

Cruising through the spires, his stomach roiling and his heart racing as he tries to keep up with them. Until he saw the front rider swerved to the left, right in between two rock walls. Torque followed through but one of his foot-back engines almost slammed near the rock walls.

Torque saw a laser zoomed above him, hitting the rocks as the debris falls on him. He manage to dodge every fallen rocks and escape to the other side.

Okay. He's positive that they were being tailed.

Coming out of the dusty mist with a laser weapon, preparing himself for a showdown until he noticed that they were nowhere in sight. Torque skidded to the side, searching for the highly advance hover bike, his laser gun powering up.

"What the…?!", Torque exclaimed, "Where did they go?"

Then he felt a great shock.

Torque rapidly blink his eyes and was confused on what had happen. At first he was standing near his ride and suddenly his face was slammed to the flat surface of rustic sand. His blaster was few yards away from him, it must have flew out of his hand when he fall.

He felt a metallic foot stomp on his back, making it difficult for him to get back up. He looked back and saw the blue robot with its claw hand sizzling static bits.

His eyes widen in panic at the design of the cloaked robot now that he can see its face up close.

All he could think of is that he is a dead man now.

This is something that is way over his new ideal life. He had heard so many stories from the news about the biggest baddie in the entire universe and if one of Zurg's hornet here in Trade World, there will be a disaster waiting to happen.

Never in many years did the evil emperor Zurg conquered Trade World. Which is all due to the Corrupted mayor of Trade World appeasing the evil emperor with stolen goods and luxurious stuff he overheard from his father's conversations on phone and seeing one of his armies here…made him thought that it is probably time for the big man Z to do what he did with other planets he laid chaos on.

Although he was sure that Hornets are yellow in color before he was grabbed and slammed to the rock wall, held up by the blue Hornet.

Thinking quickly of a way to not get on their bad side and make a better deal out of this after feeling the pain from his back is numbed, he immediately spoke, hoping that this works.

"Whoah whoah there!" Torque said while all his hands are up, "I don't want no trouble with any plans of big evil Z guy! And! I could be of use to you both!"


Torque's statement got the duo stiff surprised. Zyra exchanged doubtful and wondering looks with Desmond while he still kept his hold on the four limbed alien.

Initially, she had planned to take Torque hostage and make the guy guide them to Vexon's lair. It was a long shot if Torque knew nothing about the guy. But looking at the situation right now, this is a better alternative.

Letting Torque think that they were part of Zurg's army was a little…frustrating…but what choice does she have.

It got Torque to submit quite easily that it made her bewildered at the idea.

To think the Torque she know from the show was so different when he was younger. A trouble teen, a bit skittish no doubt about it. Luckily enough, Torque has only one blaster with him when Desmond scanned for any other weapons hidden before telling her that there are none.

It might take some time for Torque to be in his notorious self is in the cartoon series. So taking advantage of this version of Torque, she took the lead to question.

"How so?" Zyra asked.

"I got the skills for motor repairs and trick out customs. Most of my expertise lies in any vehicles."

"Hmm that's too bad. My guy here is already well verse with mechanical engineering," Zyra seeing Torque's deflated face quickly said, "But there is something that you can help us out."

That got Torque intrigue, "What is it?"

"We need the location on where Vexon's base is."

Torque was genuinely confused but answered, "Wait, that's it?"

"Oh? What do you mean by that?" Zyra asked.

"It's just…I thought you guys are all in on invasion and conquer it for big man Z."

"Isn't raiding a big boss place much more entertaining? Who knows what treasures the Vexon guy holds since you are clearly not interested anymore in joining his biker crew." Zyra was very well familiar with the art of manipulation. Let them like what they hear and they'll tell you anything.

Zyra had anticipated this. Knowing Torque would do anything to get his hands on anything of value or sell it to the highest bidder. His love for money holds no bounds. Just the term raiding and treasures already got the four limbed alien hooked, line and sinker.

Her response made Torque visibly relaxed, "That does sound more exciting now that you mentioned it. Well you're in luck, baby. Boss croc already told us chosen ones beforehand to head to a certain location to pledge or whatever."

"Don't call my master "baby" and what are the coordinates?" Desmond demanded darkly.

"Chill out, bot man. I always call everyone baby and the base? It's all right here," Torque said while using his free hand to point at his head.

"But there's a catch, isn't?" Zyra smirked behind the helm when Torque quirk a toothy smile.

"You're smart. And yes…you gotta let me join in on the fun."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Desmond growled as he push Torque hard up on the wall, making Torque gasp from the sudden brute force.

"…Des."

Just one word out from her and Desmond quickly dropped Torque to the ground, leaving the alien merely on all fours and breathing out for air to ease the tension from his chest.

Torque cough a few times then utter, "You are definitely a kill joy, bot man."

"I will accept your request," Zyra said, much to Desmond's dismay, as she offered a hand, "But only this one time. Do we have a deal?"

Torque look at her hand and with no hesitation he grab hold on it and was surprised that she easily lifted him up from the ground. The power on her grip made him sweat a little.

"I do hope there will be no…backstabbing shenanigans in this temporary partnership?" Zyra spoke with a deep low tone.

Despite being two heads taller than the female, Torque could feel the weight of the threat from her words, his hands shook from anxiousness before closing his fists to stop them from shaking before he nodded in fear.

He felt he had just signed a deal with a devil.

"The name is Zyra by the way," then she pointed behind her, "The one you just called kill joy is Desmond."

"Torque"

"Then, Torque, lead us the way."

While Torque hurriedly heads back to fix up his hover bike, Zyra leaned on Desmond and whispered, "Keep an eye on him once we depart. You can deal with him if he goes back on his word."

Desmond's robotic eye glint dangerously red, "As you command."


The cityscape of Trade World was upon them, the busy streets are still packed full past eleven o'clock. Zyra couldn't help but still be impressed by the rising towers, the strange catwalks and by-walks.

They are driving behind Torque to head over to the base location of the Crime Lord. Right through the colourful and clean part of the city's sleek towers to a now less pleasant territory.

The place called the Slums.

Zyra made sure to activate her GPS signal on from her wrist guard to Gibbles in case for emergencies before they proceed further down the streets. They took their cruisers down, sliding it into the narrow road, the jets coming from their exhaust pipes blew up trash as they stopped at the corner.

All around them, buildings were old and cracked, an unpleasant air of garbage and decay filled up the entire area. For a place that is hard to live by, for some reason there are still aliens living happily despite the poor environment they reside in.

"That's the place," said Torque

Up so close to the apartment structure, not only it appeared to be on the verge of collapse but it was heavily guarded seeing that there are only two watchers from on top of it. Assuming that the news from WestKillerville had already reach to their base, Zyra thought of another way to get in without notice.

"We head around back. Keep your weapons on stand-by."

They drove on the other side of the Crime Lord's main building.

Curious eyes from the residents of the slums still followed them up to the point where they arrive to an unusual alleyway, black thinned veils decorated the entrance and the walls. Driving through the alleyway was tricky but they made it through without any trouble.

The sight before them at the end of the alleyway was what she'd expected. A large field like garden in the middle of all the empty premises. From the looks of it, the place was once an open market of activity.

Children had played here, and people had numerous social interactions with one another.

But now, it was barren. The playground lay wrecked and twisted, the benches near the area were upturned and spray painted on.

The trio stopped and got off from their vehicles and crossed the crooked path leading up to a grey, rusted steel door in one of the abandoned apartments. Desmond approached it carefully, looking left and right for any signs of watch guards.

He detect no one within his radius as he nudged Torque roughly with his arm, signalling him to open the hatch.

Torque grumbled at the gesture while using all his limbs on the handle. It took some force and he was able to pried open the steel door.

For a moment, all was silence, being careful in each step as they all went inside with weapons out. Torque heading in first, then Desmond in the middle and Zyra on the rear, forming a tactical column formation. The hallways reminds her of the haunted house tour she once had gone with her family during Halloween times.

"This place gives me the creeps," Torque mumbled.

Desmond lightly touch the side of the wall, "…For a building to be the base of a Crime Lord, this should be highly secured yet I do not see any single security cameras."

Then he looked up to Torque menacingly, "…unless if this is a trap," and he transformed his claw hand to a blade and closing in on Torque's neck in a flash.

Torque swiftly turned around and took a step back at the offending weapon, glaring at Desmond.

"You think I set you guys up? I gave my word that I will guide you two. Honest."

Desmond scoffed, "Yeah, right. Like I would believe from a bipedal troubled teen who look like he would cry home to his mommy."

"Oi! Don't bring my ma into this, you scrap of –."

"Both of you be quiet!" Zyra said in a hushed tone, "you can argue about petty and trivial matters later."

Even if this was a trap, we should be ambushed by now, like any other comical scenes in a cartoon.

But Desmond was right in this situation. There should be a defence systems all around the whole base. Aside from the two watchers they saw earlier, there are no other sensors around.

Then…distantly…something. A shushing sound, whispers of deep voices from the right side of the hallway beside her.

Zyra shivered with anticipation, straining all her senses. She catch her companions with a snap and signal the two that they are taking this path to where she heard voices from. Quiet and on guard, they continue to venture further into the Lion's den with caution.

It didn't take them long to find the source. The door was slightly opened and slow, bending light streamed through from it. Discreetly, she stick to the wall as she walked closer by the door frame and paid attention peripherally to the occupants in the room.

Two men clad in biker outfits were in the room but across the wide table was a tall, dark, sinister looking robot dressed in what it appears to be a black metallic robe with bat winged like edges. Its white helmet was circular in shape with a huge cybertech yellow eye, glaring at the two thugs.

"To think that Mawnch and his underlings got taken down this easily!" one yelled with a deep, commanding baritone voice grumpily, "I am quite disappointed with you fools."

"It won't happen again, Your Lordship." One of the thugs said.

"See to it that you do and bring me the relevant data on those two intruders!"

The Crime Lord was visibly rattling, scaring the two thugs who thought that their Lord and master was shaking in rage.

"I still have to deal with nosy Space Rangers in a few hours," the Lord said promptly, "so you lot get rid of them! Report to me in my office once the deed is done!"

"Yes, Lord Vexon!"

The sounds of retreating footsteps in a mad dash and the sound of the door slammed hard. They waited a few more minutes while the thugs were busy in the room. As soon as the two occupants turned their back at them, Desmond wasted no time and threw two low effective Electro-paralyzer marbles at the unsuspecting duo.

With both thugs stunned and fell to the floor, Desmond made a quick work on tying them up with a wire hidden from his own compartment. Checking the hallway before entering the room, Zyra and Torque went in to what it appears to be a messy map room.

Torque looked around in curiosity while Desmond checked on the other door adjacent from where they just entered, which he presumed might be the door where the Crime Lord exited.

Seeing the mess around made Zyra cringed at the sight.

It looked like someone had literally dumped the files on the floor in a frenzy and Zyra doesn't like it…not one bit. At least she cleaned up her research once she's done with it.

She knelt down on one knee and scrape all files together into some semblance of order, carefully reading each paper in hand, until her eyes caught something big. There, hanging on the wall on the dim lit corner was a huge map screen of Trade World with red laser lines across each point of different zones.

Zyra stood up and walk closer to get a better look at it.

She look at it carefully, then a second, then a third time. There is nothing special about it, there is nothing that those marked areas warrant a point of interest. None of the points were near to any treasured locked vaults, high advance workshops or the banks.

This doesn't add up. Why stationed members in areas that doesn't make sense?

No. Zyra thought. Don't overthink yourself. It might not be what I think it is unless I got to the bottom of it.

She had a profound feeling that if this Crime Lord were capable of these plans and hidden agendas – then what he must be trying to accomplish behind the scenes could spell disaster.

Obviously, there was some connection between the Crime Lord and the Skullcap crew but she didn't know.

There was only one way she could hope to find out. She will have to have a chat with the Lord himself. After taking a quick picture of the map with her helm device, she stood beside Desmond and ready to barge in.

"We need to find Vexon and interrogate him…silently without alerting his lackeys."

"Affirmative."

Having a built in sensor in his unit, Desmond activates his retinal scan for any foreign beyond the door. His sensors indicate two corridors. Either of the two could lead to where they wanted to be. He relayed his findings to Zyra and she look thoughtfully at the information before she responded.

"We need to split up. You go with Torque to the other side while I take the other."

"Finally!," Torque said while tossing a bunch of papers behind him, "Some action around here."

"Master," Desmond asked worriedly, "splitting up in the enemy territory is unwise."

"I know. But we need to cover more grounds if we can catch him before he leaves the place. I will contact you as soon as I can find him or not and keep Torque out of line"

Desmond hesitated for a moment but nodded gravely.

"Hey, sweetheart! I don't need this guy to babysit me – OUCH!"

Desmond poked him on the side with his sharp claw, "We move. Now."

"Okay! Okay! Easy, pal!" Torque grunted, "Keep your talons to yourself."

They all headed to their assigned corridor and venture in a fast pace. Warily, Zyra looked around and could barely see anything. She maneuvered around the perimeter until saw another path leading to another. The whole place is like a damn annoying maze. She took a quick look back to see if anyone was behind her.

She approached around the corner and come upon a hallway far cleaner and well decorated than the rest of the paths she took. This could mean that she is on the right track.

Then she heard something close by, it was a raspy, dryly cough and several dubious sounds. Heading towards the carpeted floor, she saw a huge door with a bit of gap in between. The small part of the carpet near the doorway was scrunched up, meaning someone went inside in a hurry.

Zyra scanned up and down before peeking in and there, at the far end of the room, was Vexon. He was alone, with his back to her.

He was just standing there…eerily and quiet while staring at the wall that displays surveillance footages. So that's where all those sounds are coming from. Those videos could be vital information as she contemplates her next move.

She silently sent a message to Desmond as Zyra stepped further into the shadowed area of the room, never leaving her sight on the immobile form of the Crime Lord.

Fortunately, the Crime Lord didn't seem to notice her.

Zyra felt her heart beating hard. Moving closer to the man behind this whole affair. This could be her only chance. She expected a counter attack while trying to knock him out…but…

When she grabbed his shoulder, thinking of using her tranquilizer dart from her belt, he fell to the side and only to realise that it was a mannequin stand with wheels. This made her panic a bit while looking around for activated bobby traps as she ducked down.

She paused a breathless moment, listening…yet nothing happened.

Taking a long deep breath, she inspect the dummy on the floor. The lower part of it has a handle, a remote control that controls the robotic arms, a long periscope that reaches the helmet head and a hollow area fit for a small person.

"…the heck is this…"

Then a familiar sound of a toilet flushed cause Zyra to look where it came from and the small door opened, whistling sounds were heard.

Slowly her eyes widen at the approaching shadow figure and assumes her fighting stance. Zyra didn't blink or look away but faced the small stature man in the shadows. The figure before her suddenly stop in his tracks, startled at seeing her in the room.

Zyra regarded him with fierce, brilliant digital red eyes.


Author's Note: Thank you for reading the latest chapter! I'm sorry that updates are slow but it takes time to write out the things I want to be put in a chapter.

So some of you might see me posting arts in Deviantart, but only one art per week. Mental health is important after all.

There are rumors going around that this site will shut down. So I plan to open an account in Archives Of Our Own (A03) to post my chapters there.

Until then, your support for this fanfic is highly appreciated and I'll see you on the next chapter!