Disclaimer: See chapter one

AN: It's a short chapter, I know. I'm trying to lead up to the bigger scenes yet to come.

Chap. 17

Cain walked on the quiet street at night. After the battle with Elijah, he had decided to take a walk outside. His mind was currently occupied elsewhere, occasional looking down at a pad of credits that he was holding. 'Just two more payments' His eyes lifted and soon caught side of a dark figure leaning on a lamppost just up ahead. Judging by the similar black clothing, he could tell who it was.

"Bane…"

The dark figure shifted slightly, "You continue to defy fate."

Cain narrowed his eyes and began to open his coat in reach for his sword. But Bane didn't move in response to this.

"Not today. Not now."

Cain gave him a strange look, "That's not like you."

"Well, let's just say that something has some up. Something that requires more attention than I have to deal with you right now." He slowly strode out into the light, revealing that his face was now nastily scarred.

"But rest assured we will meet again. And you will not escape."

'A matching scar.' Cain simply held his glance, "I don't seek escape. If you want to come after me, you know how."

Cain moved on, but stopped next to him with his head looking onward. The dark Ravens stood near each other for a second.

"But know this Bane. One day, I will come for you."

"Really? We shall see."

Koemai was currently in the hanger, reading over some information on the known clans. More to the point, the Death Dealers. After his last meeting with them, he got a little anxious over what might happen. The Death Dealers didn't get their reputation for no reason and Koemai wanted to make sure that they didn't try anything. Or if they, he'd be ready to combat them if the time came. Which was easier said than done. And much sooner than he expected.

"Koemai!"

Koemai looked up from his reading and saw his fellow Raven, Ellie walk into the hanger.

"Hey. What's the problem?"

Ellie stopped to catch her breath, "Diana and Baron were ambushed in their mission. They're in the hospital now."

'Diana? Diana!'

Koemai didn't even wait for Ellie to finish speaking as he bolted out of his seat and out of the hanger door. Koemai ran all the way to the hospital, which was a good three to four blocks away (They were Ravens after all. Casulties were a given.) The only time he stopped was to catch his breath in front of the door. He then weakly asked the orderlies were Ravens could be found. Fortunately (or unfortunately), Diana and Baron were the only Ravens that came in that time. Koemai rushed to the door and burst into the room.

"Di..."

"Hey."

Much to his surprise, both of them weren't badly hurt. Baron had a head wrapping on and Diana an arm bandage.

"You're alright?"

"Yeah." Baron answered with a grumble. "We were ambushed, but we just managed to get out of there in one piece."

Koemai blinked, realizing that he had ran all that way there without thinking or even letting Ellie finish what she was saying.

"Oh. I thought...never mind."

Diana noticed the sweat on his face and began to put two and two together, "What a minute. What? Thought what? That we…? That I...?" A smile began to form on her face. "Was you…worried about me?"

Koemai took a step back and stammered, "Uhhh...Don't...flatter yourself. I just...just...Ah, forget it. I have to go."

Koemai quickly exited, leaving both Ravens, one of whom continued to wear a smile on her face.

-"But remember you are your own person. With that, you have to have your own persona. I'm just here to make sure that you are ready for it."-

Elijah lay in his bed as he thought about those words. It has been a day since his battle against Cain. He had been informed about the attack on his compatriots, but such things were common. Right now, he only thought about what Cain had told him after the fight.

'My own persona…'

Now that he thought about it, much of his fighting strategies have been from what he learned directly from Cain. But there were no variants in them or anything that may indicate that he had anything of his own. Before that, he had only rushed into a fight and completed his missions by simple, but direct force. Despite that, he didn't have much to work with, given his weapons at the time. When he met Cain, he was still just getting started. But now, he was trained better and he knew how to fight with skill and thought. So what could Cain be taking about?

'Could he…Is he finished with me?'

Choosing not to think about it, he arose from his bed and by the window. He was about to check on his Raven status when he saw Cain emerge from his dorm from his window. Cain locked up and pocketed a credit pad. Elijah hid back, but watched Cain walk off into the night.

'Again. Alright, it's time to find out what you really do.'

Elijah grabbed his jacket and walked out. He trailed Cain, keeping a sizable distance from him as he followed. Cain had walked a good distance to the far side of town and entered inside a building. Elijah recognized it as a hospital, high-level. 'Why would he come here?' Elijah continued inside, barely able to watch Cain walk through the corridors and entering a room. The door closed and Elijah slowly stalked up to it, careful not to make any noise. Looking through the glass, he blinked, repeatedly. There, Cain was sitting on a chair next to a bed. Various types of equipment were practically littered around him. But what surprised him the most was the person in the bed. It was a woman, with fiery red hair and lovely features. She was unconscious and it seemed that much of the equipment was attached to her body. Cain was currently holding her hand, softly massaging this thumb across the top of her hand. Elijah couldn't believe this. Cain had never shown any interest in the opposite sex. But come to mention it, he's never even seen him around women aside from fellow Ravens. This would explain why.

"Hello, dear." he spoke softly. "I'm back. I am close. I almost have enough for the operation. Just a couple more credits." Cain sat back in his seat, seemingly relaxed. "Oh, I'd like you to meet my friend, Elijah. The one I told you about."

Elijah blinked in shock as Cain slowly turned to him. He waved his hand, indicating for Elijah to come inside. Elijah shook away his shock and slowly entered inside. Cain stood up from his seat, still holding the woman's hand.

"Aria, this is my student, Elijah. Elijah, this is Aria, my wife."