Bo, Kenzi, Emilia, Savina, Bas Kadine and Bas Yeager emerged from the transvortex about a quarter mile from Zandri Research Facility labs. They all quickly checked themselves and their gearpacks and Kenzi couldn't help but admire the fashion moment.

"Look at us! Decked out in our super-secret black spy wear!" Kenzi said.

"I know, right? Think it fits really well." Bo replied. Savina rolled her eyes then leaned over to Emilia.

"This is why you don't allow them to play together too often." Savina commented then looked to Bo and Kenzi. "Focus! Shall we?"

"Right!" Kenzi replied. "So we need to head thatta way!" Kenzi pointed in the direction of Zandri Labs and stepped off, followed by everyone else. They soon came upon a hill that looked down at the main entrance of Zandri.

"That's the main entrance, of course, but we're going to go in this way." Kenzi pointed to a back entrance. "It's the dock area. We can enter through the dock entrance and make our way to the main security office." Kenzi said. Everyone nodded.

Kenzi then lifted her hoodie over her head which then overtook her entire head. She then donned a face-fitting gas mask that blended in with the hood that overtook her face and then tapped her left arm as a signal. Everyone else followed suit. Kenzi then depressed a small metal button on her forearm and suddenly she had become invisible with the night. Everyone followed her lead.

"This suit is impressive! I can see you, but no else can see us?" Savina said.

"That's the beauty of it." Kenzi replied.

They approached the outer electronic security barrier and Kenzi disabled a section for them to get through it and quickly reestablished it. When they arrived at the dock entrance Kenzi swiped the door with a small metal-card and the door opened. They entered the building and navigated their way down several halls towards the main Security Control Room and saw several guards posted. Kenzi looked at Savina.

"Ready?" Kenzi mouthed to wit Savina nodded. Kenzi stepped back and Savina came up with a small Psylax canister and placed the tip of the nozzle under the door and opened it. After a few seconds the guards inside the room all fell unconscious. They waited a few moments and then decloaked and removed their masks.

"That was easy." Savina noted.

"Let's hope our luck holds until we can deploy the rest of it." Bo said as they dropped their gearpacks.

But their luck did not hold out. A few minutes later about ten Guards suddenly walked through as if headed for a shift change. The group ducked for cover but one of the straggling guards caught sight of something in the room and stopped to investigate. When he entered the room, his eyes met Savina's and quickly called out for the others. The remaining nine guards rushed in and the group stood up and took up a collective defensive-wide stance.

Two guards positioned themselves in front of Savina and Kenzi quickly jumped in front of her.

Two guards stepped in front of Bo which caused Bas Kadine to step forward but two more guards beat him to the punch and stepped in front of him, cutting him off from Bo.

One guard positioned himself in front of Emilia and Emilia simply smiled.

"It must be my height." Emilia said. The guard smiled but his smile quickly dissipated when Bas Yeager stepped in front of her which caused three more guards to step in front of him.

One of the guards who faced Bas Kadine lunged for him which kicked off the milieu fight. Bo and Bas Kadine split off, just as Emilia did with Bas Yeager while Kenzi pushed Savina behind her deeper into a corner.

"You got any of that stuff on you?" Kenzi asked.

"No! It's all in my pack over there!" Savina replied.

"Get to it!" Kenzi quickly leaped up on a table and then used the pillars to spider her way up. Both Savina and the Guards looked at her shocked as she made her way up the pillar, but then Savina used the momentary shock to drop on the floor and crawl for her pack in the backdrop of in the milieu.

Bo had quickly circled around and came up stand side by side with Bas Kadine.

"It's best you stay behind me." Bas Kadine said.

"I haven't been training with you, Ari and Elena for my health." Then Bo thought for a second. "Well, maybe I have."

The four guards spread out in front of them and two decided to lunge for Bas Kadine which caused him to step back while the other two went for Bo.

As they lunged for Bo, she ducked which caused them to propel past her. Then as she turned around the two guards had regained their footing and turned around. Bo quickly pulled out a Seracon weapon, depressed a button and it expanded into a four-foot long pike. Bo grabbed the center of the pike and detached it into two batons. Both guards came at her. Bo used the batons and alternately hit each guard from their head to their abdomen. Both guards bowled over. Bo stepped past both guards and then turned around. The guards quickly recovered then turned and faced Bo and charged for her. She lowered the two batons and pointed them both in the direction of the guards. As they charged, she depressed a button on each of the batons which electrified the points of the batons and thrusted forward, hitting the guards into their respective stomachs. The guards went down in agony. She then raised both batons at the same time and brought them down on the back of their heads, knocking them out. Bo surveyed the room. She saw Kenzi and Bas Kadine finishing off their attackers and looked over to Bas Yeager and Emilia.

One of the four guards had got past Bas Yeager and went straight for Emilia. Emilia pivoted left and as the guard chased her she scaled up the wall, flipped over, and by the time he turned around she rushed forward and kicked him square in the stomach. He bounced back up against the wall, quickly recovered and then charged again. Emilia rushed forward, leapt on top of his shoulders, crossed her legs around his neck, and then used her body weight to roll him down to the ground. She recovered on top of him and used the base of her hand and punched him in the chin, causing his head to smash against the floor knocking him out.

Emilia stood up to the open mouths of Bo and Kenzi.

"Didn't know you had all that in you, Doc." Kenzi said.

"I trust we are supposed to keep them alive?" Emilia asked.

"That would be a good thing." Kenzi replied.

"How long should we knock out the facility out for?" Savina asked as she came up with a canister of Psylax. Bo looked at the time.

"Set it for eight hours, and while you and Emilia do that Bas Kadine and Bas Yeager can secure these guards somewhere. Kenzi and I will keep a look out as we go along." Bo replied.

About 15 minutes later, Savina and Emilia signaled they were in place to let out the gas. Bo, Kenzi, Bas Yeager, and Bas Kadine donned their masks then signaled back that they were ready. A few moments later the gas snaked its way throughout the ventilation systems and they watched on the monitors as the guards throughout the compound fell down everywhere. About ten minutes later, Savina and Emilia returned to the Security Control Room.

"Did we get everyone?" Kenzi asked.

"Looks like it. Okay, Bas Kadine, you and Bas Yeager stay here in the Control Room. Watch our backs." Bo replied.

"Again, Your Royal Highness…" Bas Kadine started.

"We can hold our own." Bo replied.

"Speak for yourself." Savina commented.

"Besides, if we really get into trouble we have Doctor UFC fighter here." Bo added.

"Who can shift into a Saber Tooth if need be." Kenzi added.

"A what?" Savina asked.

"A Saber Tooth. And a really big one, like 100-foot tall one!" Kenzi replied.

"You?" Savina asked Emilia shocked.

"Are we good, Kadine?" Bo asked.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." Bas Kadine replied.

"Let's go guys." Bo said to Kenzi, Savina and Emilia.

"What's a UFC fighter?" Emilia asked as they left.

"I'll explain along the way." Kenzi replied.

Bo, Kenzi, Emilia and Savina navigated back outside and followed a path that led to the Environmental Testing Lab Emilia wanted to investigate.

"That's it." Emilia said.

"That lab is huge. Is that normal?" Kenzi asked.

"There are facilities where this entire compound would be a greenhouse lab." Savina replied.

As they approached they saw two guards collapsed outside the front entrance.

"Are you sure that Psylax will hold?" Bo asked again.

"That stuff could knock out a dinosaur until the next ice age." Kenzi replied.

The Environmental Testing Lab was a one-level facility comprised of two parts: A lab facility that was about 20,000 square feet attached to a greenhouse lab. They all went inside the lab part of the facility, and the front entrance area immediately lit up. They all looked around before they settled on the door in front of them. Kenzi went up to the door and swiped the door with the same metal card and the doors opened.

"We really needed one of those back in our investigative days." Bo said.

"What do you mean 'back in your investigative days?' They've never left you." Savina replied. Bo and Kenzi smiled.

When the doors opened the light behind them illuminated enough of the lab to see it was very large, but the lights did not automatically turn on when they stepped inside. Abruptly, the doors closed behind them, darkening the room again. They all flicked on their flashlights attached to their wrists, and then both Emilia and Savina dropped their gear packs at two nearby desks, and immediately went into investigation mode. Savina went to a file cabinet and searched through the files while Emilia went straight to a nearby desk, sat down, booted up a computer, and found it password protected.

"I can break into it." Kenzi offered.

"I can do it." Emilia replied as she worked the keyboard as if she was born to it. Bo suddenly recalled the Presidium used dashboard interfaces like something out of science fiction rather than a standard QWERTY keyboard. However, one would not have been able to tell the difference watching Emilia work the keyboard. Another minute passed by and not only had Emilia broken into the files onto the computer but also booted up all the computers in the room and the lights in the lab which turned on in sequence.

"That's better." Emilia said.

"Impressive!" Kenzi complimented.

"Is there anything you cannot do?" Bo asked in awe. Emilia smiled.

At the opposite end of the lab they all saw glass wall with doors that led out to the greenhouse. Bo looked up at one of the cameras and waved.

"Can you see us?" Bo called into her comms.

"Yes, we can." Bas Kadine answered.

"Good. Let us know if you see or hear anything." Bo said.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." Bas Kadine answered.

Everyone scattered to search different parts of the office. An hour and a half later Savina walked over to Emilia with a file in her hand.

"Doctor Prescotti. This looks interesting." Savina said as she laid out several papers in front of Emilia.

Emilia read over each of them until one caught her eye. She read it intently for a couple minutes then looked up as if deep in thought.

"Doctor?" Savina prompted. Emilia kept her focus for another few moments then her expression changed from one lost in thought to one where a thought finally dawned on her.

"What is it?" Kenzi asked as she came up with Bo.

Emilia stood up, rounded the desk and headed for the doors that led out to the greenhouse. Bo, Kenzi and Savina followed her. Emilia went to a nearby chart that hung on a pole that mapped out the greenhouse.

"Emilia, what is it?" Bo asked.

Emilia scanned the map chart, found what she was looking for and then headed in that direction. Bo, Kenzi and Savina looked at one another. Savina shrugged her shoulders, and they all followed Emilia.

Emilia searched several aisles until she recognized something and stopped in her tracks. Bo, Kenzi and Savina came up behind her and saw Emilia was staring at a plant that sat isolated encased in a glass enclosure with holes with a sunlamp beaming over it.

"What is it?" Bo asked. Emilia looked around, found a pair of gloves, put them on, and then went and opened the glass enclosure, and carefully picked up the plant.

"Emilia, what's going on?" Kenzi asked. Emilia turned and faced them all.

"This plant is not of this plane." Emilia replied.

"What?" Bo, Kenzi and Savina all said in unison.

"Where's it from?" Bo asked.

"The Aecridore Desolate." Emilia replied.

"Not tracking, Doc." Kenzi said.

"The Aecridore Desolate was a plane where Fae lived in a symbiotic state with plane itself. In short, it was a living plane." Emilia replied.

"Wow!" Savina said.

"That name doesn't ring a bell." Bo said.

"Yeah, not even during any of my trainings have I've ever heard of that one." Kenzi added.

"That's because the Aecridore Desolate was banished by Mummy after the War of the Five Ranas." Emilia replied.

"So what's the story on this plant?" Kenzi asked.

"It's called Penstongue. It's a natural-aggressing plant that produces an extremely poisonous chemical when introduced into an incompatible ecosystem. It's extremely poisonous even to the touch. The testing results in the scientific notes Dr. Yordanka showed me struck me as familiar. I remembered seeing similar test results from some of the old medical records back at the Presidium." Emilia replied.

"Back in Mongolia we use to have such plants, but not as nearly as aggressive as this one sounds." Savina commented.

"Well, now we know for sure there's Fae involvement here." Bo said then turned to Emilia. "So, what about this plant, Doc? Could it be the cause as to what's happening in Nassoria and Ashal?"

"I would need to do some comparative tests." Emilia replied.

"You have less than six hours." Bo said.

"Then Dr. Yordanka and I better get to work, then." Emilia replied.

"Here! Let me grab that cart over there so you don't have to carry that plant all the way back." Savina said.

"I didn't know you knew so much about plants." Bo said to Emilia while they waited for Savina.

"Aside from farming, the botanical gardens at Presidium Medical also serve as an Instructional Laboratory." Emilia replied. Bo smiled.

"What is it?" Emilia asked.

"You and Lauren." Bo replied.

Once they arrived back at lab offices and Emilia and Savina were set up Bo turned to them all.

"While you two work here, Kenzi and I need to do some investigating of our own." Bo said.

"Information on Lauren's Dad? Whether he's connected?" Savina queried.

"Yeah." Bo replied.

"I hope you don't find anything." Emilia said.

"Thanks. Me too." Bo replied.

"Dr. Beattie's offices, then?" Kenzi prompted.


Bo and Kenzi made their way to Dr. Beattie's office, stepping over passed out Guards and a few staff who seemed to be burning the midnight oil along the way.

Kenzi led Bo into the inner sanctum of Dr. Beattie's office and stood back and leaned up against a wall while Bo looked around slowly the office.

"Big. Dark. Artsy." Bo said commented.

Bo approached Dr. Beattie's desk, walked around it and saw an array of family photos.

"The family I take it?" Bo prompted.

"Yep." Kenzi replied.

There was one of Lauren's mom, her brother, and then Lauren herself. Bo picked up the framed photo that held Lauren's picture.

"Short hair here too." Bo said then put down Lauren's picture and then picked up the picture of her brother.

"So this is her brother?" Bo commented.

"Yep. Calvin." Kenzi confirmed.

"He's attractive." Bo set the picture back down. She then picked up the framed photo of Lauren's mother, studied it briefly then put it down. Bo glanced around his desk and saw a family photo that included Dr. Beattie.

"And this is Lauren's father?" Bo said.

"Yep." Kenzi confirmed again.

It was a formal photo of the family, taken inside a dark blue room, all of them in a very aristocratic pose. She put the frame down in frustration.

"You know, I have so many questions." Bo said.

"I know you do, but right now, we need to focus on the task at hand. We're on a time clock too." Kenzi replied.

"Right. Is there anywhere else we should look?" Bo asked.

"Yeah, in the VP's office, which is on the other side of this floor. I was going to go look around in there. But you should stay here. Keep looking around."

"Sounds good."

"You gonna be okay?"

"Eventually." Bo replied.

"Well, don't get lost in wallow land." Kenzi said then walked out the door.

Bo collapsed back down Dr. Beattie's chair and checked every drawer and cabinet around for anything and came up with nothing. Dr. Beattie had several opened books and other various artifacts in glass cases on top of tall boxstands. So Bo got up and gently felt around the sides of each encasement and found one had a small loose panel. Bo opened it, found a button and pushed it. Behind Dr. Beattie's chair a portrait lifted, and a wall slid off to the right and revealed a steel door protected by a retinal scan security. Bo shoulders dropped then she stepped back, thought for several moments, and then smiled to herself. Bo pulled off her gearpack, dug into it, and pulled out a thin, black bandstrip. The bandstrip was Agency tech that could scan residual imprints and make digital copies of it.

"I hope this works." Bo said to herself.

Bo sat down again at Dr. Beattie's desk and faced his computer. She realized she needed something to prop herself up a bit and so grabbed a couple of books off the shelf, put them on the chair and then sat down again. She then placed the black bandstrip around her eyes and it activated. Bo had the wild idea to see if the bandstrip could pick up a residual imprint of Dr. Beattie's retina off his computer screen. To Bo's amazement it did just that. Once the bandstrip confirmed it had picked up a clear scan Bo got up, put back the two books she had sat on, and turned to the door. She leaned into the retina scan and it scanned the bandstrip across her eyes. After a couple passes, the scanner signaled a match and the door opened to a short corridor. Bo took off the bandstrip and put it back into her gearpack.

Bo stepped through the 15-foot long corridor and when she emerged on the other side the lights illuminated all around her. She emerged to see a spacious, sparsely-adorned office, decorated in shades of various browns with 20-foot ceilings, She saw massive desk in the front of her that had just a few items on it, a large conference table on her right, and short one on her left. Also on her left was what looked like a cozy step-up, private library with a small seating area. Bo walked up to the seating area and saw a book was open. She leaned down to see that it was not a book, but a journal.

"Kenzi!" Bo called into her comms.

"What's up?" Kenzi replied.

"I found a secret office. A big one too. Should have known. That one out there was way too compact, showy."

"Be careful!" Kenzi warned.

"How are thing coming along on your end?"

"I found a few things here too, but still wanting to take a deeper look."

"Stay on the comms."

"Will do!"

Bo picked up the open journal and began to read it. It was an entry from several days ago, an accounting of a meeting Dr. Beattie had had with investors. Bo put the opened journal back down and perused the shelves that were full of journals. Kenzi had said Dr. Taft was part of the staff at Zandri so Bo looked for any journals that dated back to when Lauren had first met Taft. She found them, pulled them off the shelf and then grabbed several journals dated a few months before Lauren had met Dr. Taft.

Bo went and sat down at one of the conference tables and started to skim through each journal. She found the majority of Dr. Beattie's entries were, more or less, a recollection of his thoughts and views on the progression of his projects. There were some entries about the Plato Foundation, about the Beattie family in general, and then one entry caught Bo's eye.

A meeting between Dr. Beattie, Dr. Taft and a Dr. Michael Snoode whom Lauren had said was a fraud. As Bo read on her eyes grew wider.

"Lauren is not going to like this." Bo said to herself.

Bo read on, immersed in the thoughts of Dr. Beattie, so much so she nearly jumped out of her chair when a hand touched her shoulder.

"Sorry." Kenzi replied.

"Couldn't warn a girl?" Bo said as she gripped her chest.

"Sorry." Kenzi replied. "You seem enthralled. What did you find?"

"Journals. Lots and lots of journals." Bo replied.

"Great! Maybe we can compare notes."

"Why? What did you find?" Bo asked.

"Check this out." Kenzi replied as she dropped two sets of files in front of Bo and sat down next to her.

"What's this?"

"Files from the office Vice President Vespasien Patxi Lavoie, and they contain some very interesting information." Kenzi replied.

"Okay?"

"So, we know that Zandri and the Plato Foundation are connected, right? Well, apparently, this Lavoie is not only VP around here, but he also serves as the Director of the Plato Foundation's Advancement of Humanity Committee."

"Nothing hidden in that title."

"No, and from what I can gather, each committee of the Plato Foundation is supported by a subgroup of organizations that have a vested interest. Like big-time money support."

"Okay?"

"This committee has a lot of subgroup organizations, and there are a couple I recognize from the DRM."

"How do you remember all of those company names?"

"Dude! I'm the one who did all of our books!" Kenzi replied.

"So these connections are from our DRM? Our Human connections?"

"No. Our Fae ones." Kenzi replied.

"Savina said both her father, Grisha and Elder Sasaki had dealings with the Plato Foundation. Are those the ones you are seeing?"

"Grisha's, no. But Sasaki's, yes. Seems Elder Reliford is Sasaki's rep on the Committee. Wanna know what other organization is on that Committee?"

"Yeah."

"Read this." Kenzi pointed.

"Vio Fin Immobiliere." Bo read aloud.

"That's the Human way of saying the Viofynne Conglomerate."

"The Viofynne Conglomerate. Wait, isn't that…?"

"It's a Presidium Conglomerate, headed by Kallias Vauquelin. I did some checking, and guess whose part of that group?"

"Who?"

"Rein Marquis."

"Evony's brother?"

"The one and the same."

"Is he specifically listed anywhere in these files?"

"Nowhere I could see."

"How the heck does this track?"

"It seems that VP Lavoie is Fae."

"What? How do you know that?"

"Here." Kenzi pointed on a piece of paper. "He references a meeting he had with Viofynne Conglomerate. In the late 1800's. In France. I dug into his background. He hails from the northwest part of France. A lot of woodland Fae in that area."

"What kind of Fae is he?"

"Don't know. Here's another kicker. Guess who was his deputy on this Advancement of Humanity Committee?"

"Who?"

"Dr. Isaac Taft."

"So, this Lavoie is Head of this Advancement of Humanity Committee. He's Fae. His Deputy is Dr. Taft who was human. Given what we know about Taft already, do you think he would have known Lavoie was Fae?" Bo asked. Kenzi made a face. Bo exhaled.

"Kenzi, we have to know what's going on here!"

"I know."

"This is too close!"

"I know." Kenzi replied softly. Bo exhaled again.

"So, we have a Fae on the Human plane with ties back to the Presidium, and then we a have a poisonous plant that comes from a plane banished by the Presidium. Between Rumlar and this news, there is some serious conspiracy crap going on here."

"No doubt." Kenzi replied.

"Trick started that sign-in book of all of us Fae who have ever passed through the County."

"Yeah, those he could catch. Bruce still has it." Kenzi replied.

"I wonder if has a book or list of all those Fae that came with him when he left the Presidium. See if this Lavoie is part of that group."

"Doesn't hurt to ask. I take it you haven't found anything yet?"

"Nothing along the lines you've found, but I did find some other information that Lauren is not going to like, and it relates to Taft as well."

"That's the name that just keeps on giving, doesn't it?" Kenzi asked.

"And these journals as only go as far back as 15 years ago." Bo replied.

"Hmp. Kenzi said.

"What's up?" Bo asked.

"There was also another organization that jumped out at me."

"Which one was that?"

"The Vanes Progression Institute, or VPI as it's commonly known."

"What bothers you about that one?" Bo asked.

"It's probably nothing. There was an Intern group touring Zandri at the same time I was, and one of them was from VPI. Maybe it's just a coincidence." Kenzi replied.

"Maybe. By the way, how long have we've been gone from the others?" Bo asked.

"A little over two hours."

"We should check in with the rest. They're probably wondering where we are." Bo said.

"Their Scientists, remember? They're probably too engrossed in what they're doing to notice anything or anyone."

"Oh. Yeah. C'mon. Let's pack up here, and join the others. I can tell you what I've found in relation to Taft along the way."


An hour later, Bo and Kenzi rejoined Emilia and Savina back at the Environmental Testing labs, and as Kenzi pointed out, found them thoroughly engrossed in their work.

"How's it going?" Bo asked.

"We should ask you the same thing." Emilia replied as she looked up from some lab results.

"You first." Bo replied.

"We now know how this plant went undetected in our soil tests back at the Presidium. Its base properties were broken down, separated and masked. That's why we couldn't detect it in testing. Whomever introduced this into our ecosystem they did so in parts, so that, over time they would come together to form its poisonous whole." Emilia explained.

"And when she says 'over time' that's what she means." Savina added.

"What are you trying to say?" Bo asked.

"Remember the test results I found when we first got here?" Savina said as she went and grabbed a file and opened it before Bo and Kenzi. "See the date here? That's the maturation date? Wanna know when the inception date was?" Savina said as she flipped a few more pages, and showed Bo and Kenzi. Their eyes went wide.

"1894? Am I reading that right?" Bo asked.

"Yep."

"Who signed off on the test results? Kenzi queried.

"Which doctor, you mean?" Savina countered.

"Which head cheese of this place?" Kenzi clarified. Savina sifted through a second set of papers.

"A Dr. Vespasien Lavoie." Savina read.

"This entire place is Fae." Bo declared.

"What?" Savina prompted.

"Dr. Lavoie is the VP of this place and we found evidence that not only is he Fae but has been colluding with Fae back at the Presidium in..." Kenzi explained.

"… in a conspiracy to systematically poison the Prescotti Homelands." Emilia finished.

"Lauren's father? Is he caught up in all of this?" Savina asked cautiously.

"We can't quite precisely determine what he knows versus what he doesn't know. He had journals but they only went back about 15 years. From what we could gather nothing in those journals revealed that he had any knowledge of the existence of the Fae. Just Lauren." Bo replied.

"We need more time." Savina replied.

"We do, but we don't have that luxury, so we need to focus on the immediate: the soil contamination. If this was introduced into the soils of the Prescotti Homelands some 125 years ago, and it just now revealing it itself how can we stop it?" Bo said.

"We determined the poison wasn't put directly in the soil itself. It was placed in the crop plantings as seedlings at the beginning of the planting season." Emilia explained.

"In 1894? Pardon my farming stupidity, Doc, but aren't harvests conducted yearly?" Kenzi asked.

"You're thinking in human terms, applying human agricultural practices to feed humans. The Prescotti Homelands supplies food for billions of diverse types of Fae. Our farming operations are both continuous and long-standing. This poison was injected into the Homelands ecosystem, and genetically programmed to systematically release itself in stages."

Emilia replied.

"But doesn't that mean not only would it kill the soil, but also the cattle and those Fae who have eaten from both the cattle and crops?" Kenzi asked.

"If that were the case, we would have seen both Fae and cattle deaths by now." Emilia replied.

"Then what is the purpose of all this havoc?" Savina asked.

"Terror." Bo replied. Everyone looked at her.

"I remember when I was a kid back on our farm when Mad Cow disease struck. The disease caused a lot of hardships, farms to go out of business, but the worse part of it all was the loss in confidence that beef was no longer safe to eat. If those did this can strike that kind of terror in the Homelands of Her Majesty, then that tells all Fae the Realm is no longer safe." Bo added.

"That means these same sinister forces have a wider agenda. Use this attack upon my family's own Homelands to call for more direct authority to ensure the safety and security of the Realm." Emilia replied.

"Or wider authority." Bo said.

"Divestment." Emilia replied.

"Supremacy." Bo said.

Everyone was quiet for several minutes.

"So, what do we do now?" Kenzi asked.

"What these so-called terrorists had hoped. Eradicate the Homelands food supply. Billions of Fae placed on a food rationing system until the Homelands are healthy again, and regain the confidence, as Bo pointed, of the Fae who rely on our harvests." Emilia replied. At that, Kenzi collapsed into a nearby chair.

"Your Serene Highness, I am so sorry." Kenzi offered. Emilia stood straight up and looked straight at Kenzi.

"We are not finished yet, Agent Malikov." Emilia began then everything around them shook. Everyone gripped onto something. After a few moments, the shaking stopped.

"What was that?" Bo asked.

"Felt like an earthquake." Kenzi replied.

Then the place shook again, and they all gripped onto something, and then it stopped.

"Is this place on earthquake territory?" Emilia asked.

"Italy is prone to quakes. Just hope it's not a Cherufe having a bad hair day." Kenzi said.

"Yeah, that's all we need a repeat of Pompei." Savina added.

"We need to hurry this along." Bo said.

Five minutes later Bo's comms chimed.

"Yes?" Bo answered.

"Your Royal Highness, we've been contacted by the Seneschal. There's been an incident back at the Presidium." Bas Kadine reported.

"What happened?" Emilia asked.

"Quakes." Bas Kadine replied.

"Yeah, how coincidental is that?" Kenzi commented.

"It appears the quakes we felt here, the quakes felt back at the Presidium were also felt across the planes." Bas Yeager replied.

"What?" Bo let out.

"It was a mind quake. From a single source." Bas Kadine added.

"A mind quake caused all that?" Bo asked.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." Bas Yeager replied.

"How is my mother?" Emilia asked. Bo, Kenzi and Savina looked at her shocked.

"It wasn't Her Majesty this time, Your Serene Highness. It was your sister, Her Serene Highness Atia." Bas Yeager replied. They all looked back at Bas Yeager and was Emilia's turn to be shocked.

"What?" Emilia asked.

"The Realm is just as shocked as you are, Your Serene Highness." Bas Yeager replied.

"Your mother and sister are that powerful?" Savina asked incredulous.

"My mother, yes. It's Atia that's shocking. She has never exhibited abilities like that before." Emilia replied then turned to Bas Yeager. "Is she okay?"

"Yes, Your Serene Highness. Their Majesties are with her now." Bas Yeager replied.

"What kind of Fae are you?" Savina asked still astounded.

"Lauren? Our children?" Bo asked.

"Are all fine, Your Royal Highness. The Seneschal wanted me to convey the children slept right through it, but Dr. Lewis called and would like to speak with you." Bas Kadine replied.

"Your Serene Highness. Their Majesties are also looking for you." Bas Yeager informed.

"Understood." Emilia replied.

"Shall we inform them of your whereabouts? They will become increasingly concerned?" Bas Yeager asked.

"Let us hope we can close the gap before my parents send out the Guards." Emilia replied.

"It sounds like everyone is okay, but in any case, we need to go. Those quakes would have woken up others outside of this facility, and inquiring minds may want to come and check on things." Bo said.

"Good thinking." Kenzi replied.

"Do you and Savina have what you need to take back to the Presidium?" Bo asked.

"Yes we do." Emilia replied.

"Wait! I'm really going to the Presidium?" Savina asked incredulous.

"Unless you want to stay here." Bo replied.

"I'm going to the Presidium!" Savina said excited.

"Then let's tidy up. We can wake the guards back up on our way out." Bo said.

"What about this plant? We need to take it back with us." Emilia asked.

"I agree. It's evidence, but we have to leave it for now. We can't have people think others were here." Bo replied.

"Bo, this plant is alive." Emilia said.

"All plants are living, Emilia." Bo replied.

"You don't understand. This plant is Fae. A living Fae." Emilia revealed.

"You're kidding?" Kenzi blurted as she stepped closer to the plant. "Way cool!"

"It is most likely being held against its will, and is being used for ill will." Emilia said.

"Are you sure it's not willingly doing what it's doing? After all, Ari banished their plane." Bo challenged. Emilia reared back a bit then let loose a small smile.

"That's the first time I've ever heard you speak like you were from the Presidium." Emilia challenged.

"I know this all sounds shitty, but I promise you we will come back for it." Bo said.

"When the time is right we can send an Agent to retrieve it." Kenzi added.

"What about the quakes? That will not be in guards' memories when they wake up." Savina reminded.

"Leave that to me." Bas Yeager replied.

"Bas Kadine, Bas Yeager. We'll meet you back at the Security Control Room." Bo said.

"Yes, Your Royal Highness." Both Kadine and Yeager said in unison and then dropped off the comms.

"Let's move!" Bo said.

Emilia and Savina packed up their work, while Bo and Kenzi put the plant back into its place, and quickly returned to lab to help Emilia and Savina tidy up.

"Got everything?" Bo asked.

"Yes, we think so." Emilia replied.

"Let's get out of here!" Bo said. Together, they all ran out of the Environmental Testing Lab and soon met up with Bas Kadine and Bas Yeager back at the Security Control Room.

"Are we good?" Bo asked Bas Yeager and Bas Kadine.

"Everything is arranged, Your Royal Highness." Bas Kadine replied.

"Good." Bo replied.

They all ran outside from where they entered, ran another quarter mile then stopped. Bo nodded at Bas Kadine who took out a small device, depressed it and a transvortex opened up and they all stepped inside.