FIC Headquarters, Argus City

March 2500, Twenty-six Years Ago

Nibet and Satranik stood face to face in the FIC headquarters' gym. They had spent the last hour trading blows in a sparring match. They were both drenched in sweat and out of breath.

"You fight like Faldr does." Nibet said, leaning forward and placing her hands on her thighs. "Almost like a Vanguard does. Where did you learn that?"

"Faldr's been teaching me some of his dad's style, but it's not that far off from the basics my mother drilled into me when I was a kid." Satranik replied, walking over to the door and picking up a water bottle from the ground. "Before she got cancer anyway."

"Lady Iris, right?" Nibet asked as she joined Satranik by the door. She grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and began wiping down her face.

"You know her?" Satranik asked. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Knew of her, more like. She was one of the original Vanguard, along with my father. She helped him found the school where X'lish and I trained. She left the Order shortly before I was born."

"That'd be my fault." Satranik said, also grabbing a towel. "My brother Selthash and I were born minutes apart. I had always been told he died during birth, but it turns out my father gave him to the Order to be trained as a Vanguard. From what I can gather, that didn't sit right with my mother, so she took me and left. I hadn't even met my father until he came to her funeral six years ago."

"Rough…" Nibet said, nodding slightly. The two of them stood in silence for a moment. "Don't you find it weird Victor is the only one here with who has no history with the Order? I keep expecting him to secretly turn out to be Viprus's long lost brother or something."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Satranik shrugged. "I'm starting to think the only reason Faldr hired me in the first place was because our parents knew each other. Though, I don't know how he'd have known that."

"You're giving me too much credit." Faldr said as he opened the door behind Satranik and strolled in. X'lish followed closely behind him, a large duffle bag slung over her shoulder. "My dad never liked to talk about his life before he adopted me. I hired you because you were the only person who was willing to sign on."

"Somehow, I find that less comforting." Satranik said. She took another swig of her water bottle and turned to Nibet. "Want to go grab some dinner? I'm starving."

"Absolutely." Nibet nodded, throwing her towel back on the rack. She turned to X'lish as she left with Satranik. "You two have fun now."

"This is training." Faldr shot back. "It isn't supposed to be fun."

"Then you're obviously doing it wrong." Nibet said as she closed the door behind her.

"Ignore her." X'lish said, opening the duffle bag. Inside were, among other things, a pair of wooden swords. She pulled them both out and tossed one to Faldr. "We should get started."

"Right." Faldr replied, catching the blade. He swung it back and forth a few times as he and X'lish walked to the center of the room. The two of them dropped into their stances and began circling each other for a moment. Suddenly, X'lish rushed forward and attacked.

Faldr jumped back, barely avoiding her sword. She swung at him again as he came to a stop. He raised his own sword, managing to intercept the strike before it caught him in the chest. He stepped forward and to the side, swinging at her head with the back of his blade. She ducked underneath the attack and let it pass over her before springing back up and slashing at Faldr's back. He rolled to the side, the wooden blade missing its target by a hair's breadth. He sprung out of the roll and scrambled to his feet, bringing his sword above his head just in time to catch X'lish's next downward strike.

He shoved her blade upward with his own and dashed underneath her swing. He reeled his arm back to slice at her stomach, but she caught his sword with her free hand. She swung her blade at his ribcage. With the split second he had before the sword impacted him, he slipped his foot in between her legs and wrenched his body to the side, knocking them both off balance. As they teetered and fell to the ground, X'lish managed to turn the tangled mess around and land on top of Faldr. Once the two of them hit the wooden floor, X'lish brought her sword up, striking Faldr across the chest before he could parry her strike. They stayed on the ground like that for a moment before X'lish stood up. Faldr sighed as X'lish took her sword off his chest, relaxing his body and letting his sword tumble out of his hand. X'lish smirked.

"That's another loss." She said, extending a hand. He grabbed it and pulled himself up. "Though you did last longer than last time."

"I only lost because I couldn't fight hand-to-hand." He motioned to the sword on the ground nearby. "If that was a real fight, I probably would have just disarmed you."

"You would have tried." X'lish chuckled. "That's not the same thing. And besides, in a real fight, Jeleset won't give you any openings like that. She won't pull her punches either."

"Didn't I ask you to take this seriously?"

"You asked me to train you. And I have. I don't think throwing you in at the deep end would have done you any good."

"My father would say otherwise, if her were still around." Faldr crossed his arms. "But you are the expert."

"And don't you forget it." She picked up his sword and tossed it to him. "Now let's try that one more time. You've got the basic form down, but there's always more to improve on."

"If you've up for it." Faldr smiled. "I guess I could go another round." The two of them fell into their stances and prepared for another round of sparing. Right as X'lish was about to make her first move, however, the door to the room opened. Victor stood in the doorway.

"Sorry to interrupt your alone time, but Daniel's calling a team meeting." He said, leaning against the door frame. "We may have caught a break in the search."

"Finally, we can get some work done." Faldr said, relaxing his stance. He walked over to the door and slid his sword back into X'lish's bag. "And for the record, Vic, this is training. Unlike some people, I care about keeping my skills sharp."

"Hey, I'm not here to judge." Victor put his hands up in defense. "You two can do whatever you want with your free time, but a team meeting is a team meeting. Situation room, five minutes. Don't be late."

"Tell that to Jigafta." X'lish remarked as she too put up her sword. "With how many of these he's missed, I'm starting to think he doesn't care whether or not we ever take down the Order."

"Believe me, I've already spoken with him." Victor sighed. "He'll be there. For once, he thinks we actually have something worth his precious time."

"We'll be there." Faldr said. "Don't worry about it."

"Alright." Victor replied, stepping back from the doorway. "Now I've just got to go find Nibet and Satranik."

"They were training here earlier." X'lish said. "They left to go grab some dinner once we arrived, though."

"Makes sense." Victor nodded. "I'll try the cafeteria. Thanks." He left the pair and disappeared down one of the hallways. Faldr turned to X'lish and motioned out the door.

"Shall we?" He asked. X'lish nodded and the two of them began the walk to the situation room.

"What's your sister's problem with me?" Faldr asked as they walked.

"How do you mean?" X'lish replied, hefting her bag back over her shoulder.

"I'm talking about the weird, needling replies I get to everything I say, for one thing. And how she always has something better to do as soon as I enter the room."

"Oh, that? She probably thinks you're training with me as some convoluted form of flirting."

"Well…" Faldr coughed, looking straight ahead. "That was certainly the furthest thing from my mind."

"What, am I not your type? I almost feel insulted."

"No, that's not… I mean I…" His face began to turn red. "We're colleagues. I wouldn't even think about complicating our relationship. Whatever gave your sister that impression?"

"You don't have to get so embarrassed." X'lish chuckled. "You try going through puberty in a school for assassins. People express their emotions in strange ways when it's all they know. That kind of thing is just what she's used to."

"And you're different?" Faldr raised an eyebrow.

"Viprus and I were the only students who showed any interest in the outside world. Viprus wanted to know who his real parents were, and I may have had a slight problem with authority. The two of us used to sneak into my dad's office at night and browse the internet. Learning so much about the real world is probably why Viprus and I rebelled like we did. I can see why my father thought keeping kids as insulated as possible would instill loyalty, but it didn't exactly make us emotionally mature."

"Your father was really something else…" Faldr shook his head. "What kind of man strips his own children of their childhood?"

"The same kind of man who betrays his mentor for growing a conscious, apparently." X'lish shrugged as they arrived at the door of the situation room. Faldr opened the door and the two of them walked in. Daniel stood up by the large monitor in the center of the room, and Jigafta reclined in a chair off to the side, half asleep. Faldr rolled his eyes and the two of them found seats. Just as they sat down, Nibet and Satranik burst into the room, with Victor close behind.

"We're not late." Nibet said as she entered. She took a quick glance around the room. "Wow, even the big man showed up today. I'm impressed."

"Keep your smart-ass comments to yourself, kid." Jigafta replied, one of his eyes flickering open. "It isn't my fault we haven't had the most productive year."

"Easy, everybody." Daniel said as the last of the group found their seats. He leaned forward, placing his hands on the console in front of him. "Look, I know you're all restless. We haven't moved against a target in months. We're running out of leads to chase down. The Order seems to be one step ahead of us. I know. But, need I remind you all, we're moving at this glacial pace because shoving our operations into the light of day last year put both Director Freedman and myself under intense public scrutiny. The good news is, that ends today. Congress has, after much deliberation, granted us special investigative powers. We're now officially free to operate as we see fit."

"Weren't we already doing that?" Satranik asked. "I thought the President gave us free reign."

"That arrangement wasn't strictly within the president's authority to arrange." Daniel sighed. "And once Congress found out, they weren't happy he'd gone over their heads. And he wasn't happy that they had found out, and on and on and on. I've been up to my neck in red tape these past few months trying to keep as many of your activities as I can a secret just to relieve some of that pressure. But that should all be behind us now. And just in time too. Victor, if you would." Victor stood up and cleared his throat.

"The Counterintelligence Division has finally finished decrypting the last of the information we pulled from Camp Stalwart." He announced. "We were all expecting another paper trail we could chase down, but it appears we've caught a much bigger break." Daniel tapped the console in front of him and a list of names appeared on the screens around the room. Victor continued to talk. "We weren't sure what to make of this list at first. But, after careful analysis, we think it's a kind of founding charter for the Order. Notice the names. General Haenkos and his wife Iris, Patrick Holdsten, the Ryonias, Tagyr Trenya, and Virnakt Milzaek. Everyone we know was a member during their early days. But there is one other. Gaimus Betredin."

"I've heard that name somewhere before…" Satranik muttered. "Wasn't he some rich jerk who died in a car crash years ago?"

"Sort of." Daniel replied, motioning for Victor to take his seat. "He was the former CEO of a now bankrupt telecom company that used to hold majority shares in a wide variety of companies, including the Ryonais' shipping company and the Boneville Explorers' Society, both of which we know have ties to the Order. Almost twenty-five years ago, Gaimus suddenly quit his job, jumping ship with nearly all the company's assets mere weeks before it went belly-up. The media smelled a conspiracy, but nobody managed to get to the bottom of it. He perished in a car crash several days later, along with his wife Maria and son Kelkaid. I think you can see where this is going."

"He faked his death." Faldr said, furrowing his brow. "And then he changed his name and helped found the Order."

"Probably not in that exact order, but that's our best guess as to what happened." Daniel smiled. "Now this is the part where the story gets interesting. Gaimus, and by extension his successor Kelkaid, obviously used the Ryonias' company to launder the Order's revenue, but that collapsed almost two years ago with the death of Mrs. Ryonia. We knew they had to have moved their assets to after everything went south, but we didn't know where. And, we lacked the authority to audit any potential suspects and find out for sure. Reluctantly, I decided our time would be better spent elsewhere. But now that we have Congressional authority, we can revisit that line of investigation. And we have." He tapped his console again, and the screens changed to a series of legal documents. "As it turns out, several companies we've had our eyes on merged together into a conglomerate called the Tonashi Corporation in a joint merger approved, under the table and without any official hearings, by FTC chairman Aaron Findrel."

"So… what's our next move?" X'lish asked.

"At this point, it's not obvious. We could investigate the Tonashi Corporation, but we also need to know who the Order still has left in the government. Zachary Holdsten gave us a list of his father's associates, but that's incomplete, at best. Aaron Findrel, however, seems to have been keeping their business activities away from the public eye for years now. He might know more."

"I vote we go for Findrel." Jigafta said, sitting up. "The Order has no way of knowing that we know about him. If we can grab him quickly, we might be able to get more than just their government operatives. Someone who's helped them hide their activities for years should have a pretty good grasp of what those are, and where we can hit them to do the most damage."

"I was thinking the same thing." Victor said, nodding approvingly. "Though we'll need to move quickly. Kelkaid might already know about the audit. If he's smart, he'll move to silence Findrel as soon as possible. We need to get to him before that happens."

"So what are we waiting for?" Nibet asked. "Let's get a move on."

"I thought you'd say that." Daniel smiled. "Since this needs to be done fast, I've got a SWAT team on standby ready to seal off the FTC building while you all enter from the roof, find the chairman, and bring him in for questioning. We're on a schedule, so get changed, grab your gear, and catch your ride asap. That'll be all." Everyone but Faldr and Jigafta stood up and left the room, leaving the two alone with Daniel. Faldr looked between them and crossed his arms. "Are you not coming?" He asked. The two men looked at each other for a moment.

"Kid…" Jigafta began, still seated. "What would be the point? If the Order learns I'm there, they'll kill Findrel without a second thought. The only way you get him out alive is if I'm far, far away."

"They'll kill him either way." Faldr responded. "Nothing is beneath Kelkaid. You know that. You'll do more good with us than sitting around here with Daniel."

"We don't plan on sitting around." Jigafta stood up. "Daniel and I have important matters to discuss. I spent years tracking the Order down. Now you've got them running scared. But even if we take down Kelkaid, that doesn't solve the problem. No offense, but none of you're capable of killing my brother. This is something I've got to do myse-"

"What is this, a joke to you?" Faldr shouted, throwing his hands up. "What's so special about your evil twin, huh? You haven't exactly given me much to go on here. You won't even tell me who he is."

"It's better if you don't know, trust me."

"Trust you? Now I know you're joking. You won't tell me anything about your past, even though you know almost everything about mine! I don't even know your real name! And you've not exactly been the biggest help around here these past two years. Need I remind you, you decided to up and vanish right after you recruited me, running off to who knows where!"

"I was investigating. I learned things from Ryonia that I had to verify independently."

"Things so important that, a year later, you still won't tell me a thing about them."

"They don't concern you."

"Translation: your escapade had nothing to do with our fight against the Order. It was a waste of time."

"Give me some credit. I did manage to secure a pair of moles in one of the Order's branch organizations."

"Oh, and that's supposed to be some great advantage? They've had a year, and they've barely told us a thing!"

"I don't appreciate you questioning my methods." Jigafta's brow furrowed.

"You don't have methods." Faldr spat. "Not near as I can tell, in any case. You seem to just fly by the seat of your pants. You don't appear the least bit concerned with how this investigation pans out. You're just using us to get to your brother. And when we aren't moving fast enough for you, you run off on your own hoping you'll be able to accomplish something for once." The room sat in silence for a moment. "Am I wrong?" Faldr raised an eyebrow. Jigafta didn't respond.

"Alright then." Faldr said as he turned toward the door. "If you want to waste your time on your vendetta, be my guest. My team and I have a job to do." He stormed out of the room. Jigafta gave a small sigh and sat back down. Daniel began laughing. Jigafta shot him an angry glare, and he stopped.

"I'm sorry…" Daniel said in between isolated burst of laughter. "It's just I've never seen you so worked up before. It caught me off guard."

"I hope you enjoyed yourself." Jigafta replied, still glaring at Daniel. "Now can we get to the matter at hand?"

"You sure you wouldn't rather talk about how you're losing face with the team? Or about your major trust issues? Or how you seem to think this is all one big joke?"

"Not you too." Jigafta moaned. "The nature of my work requires me to distance myself from others."

"No, it doesn't." Daniel scoffed. "You're just scared of commitment, amongst other things."

"Regardless, Faldr has proven time and again that he can run this team effectively without me. Which was my goal in the first place. Now I don't have to spend all my time chasing ghosts. I can focus on the real goal. Speaking of which, have you analyzed that sample Henry sent us?"

"The crystal." Daniel reached into his pocket and produced a small, blue crystal, slightly smaller than his own thumb. He set it on the console in front of him before continuing. "The boys down in the lab say, aside from the impurities on its surface make it a relatively decent semiconductor, it's just some colored quartz. Nothing particularly special. Why did your contact send this to us in the first place?"

"It's something important, trust me." Jigafta stood up and began walking over to Daniel. "My brother used to obsess over these things years ago, after his wife died. According to legend, they have the power to capture and preserve part of a person's soul."

"Your brother really bought into this clan religion nonsense, huh?"

"He had his quirks, but that's beside the point. Henry's boss, this "Keegan" guy, nearly caught Henry stealing that from a dig site. When he gave it to me, he said the Boneville Explorers' Society has been 'asked' to find and extract as many of these as they can from dig sites across the Great Wastes. Henry was concerned enough about this to risk breaking cover, and you can bet that wherever these things are going, my brother is at the end."

"But why does he want these things in the first place?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that he's getting sloppy. Tracking these shipments is going to be slow if we don't want to expose Henry, but it should lead us straight to my brother."

"And, by extension, the Order's headquarters. Are you so sure he'd be there?"

"The Order is a cult. Every cult revolves around its founder."

"I thought the religious pretext was just that. Are you telling me they actually believe that crap?"

"You've met Nibet and X'lish. Do they act like people who grew up normally?"

"I get the feeling you've not had much of a typical experience yourself."

"What are you, my therapist?"

"You seemed to think so earlier. I'm about to start charging by the hour for these conversations."

"We're getting off topic. What do you think our next course of action should be?"

"We wait, for now." Daniel said as he scratched the back of his neck. "There's not much we can do until Henry can pinpoint the location. And if Keegan nearly blew his cover once, we can't afford any more mistakes. We'll need to give Henry some time to lay low before he can find out where these are going. It looks like you and I will be sitting around after all." Daniel and Jigafta stood silent for a moment.

"You think I should go with Faldr?" Jigafta asked.

"I thought I wasn't your therapist." Daniel replied with a smirk. Jigafta crossed his arms and scowled. Daniel shrugged. "Once the team shows up, the Order will already think you're there. If you go, you can at least do something to even the odds."

"You're right…" Jigafta sighed. "It's just… I'm no good with people."

"Finally, he admits it!" Daniel clapped. "Now, let me guess: you're afraid it'll be awkward, after Faldr shouted that much?" Daniel stared at Jigafta, half expecting a sarcastic quip. Jigafta remained silent. "Well I'll be. This certainly is a day of firsts for you."

"I suppose I'm going to have to… apologize, or something. Any advice?"

"Not for you." Daniel laughed. "You're not getting out of this one. I'm going to enjoy every uncomfortable second of this." He grabbed the crystal from the podium and began walking toward the door. Reluctantly, Jigafta got up and followed him. The two of them swiftly made their way to the roof of the building, where the rest of the group were loading their gear onto a helicopter. As they came out onto the roof, Faldr spotted them and crossed his arms.

"Come to see us off?" Faldr asked as Jigafta and Daniel walked up to him. Jigafta coughed and looked around for a moment. Daniel just stood next to him and grinned.

"Well…" Jigafta began. He shifted uncomfortably for a few moments before continuing. "The thing is, the investigation I had planned on tackling turned out to be untenable. We can't risk compromising our mole's position, so we can't act on our latest intel just yet."

"You actually got some intel for once?" Faldr asked. "Color me surprised. Is that all?"

"Well, since I've got all this time on my hands now, I figured I'd come and give you all a hand on your mission."

"Didn't you say that'd be a bad idea?"

"I did, but I figured…" He sighed. "Look, I'm not going to pretend I don't want revenge. I do. But I'm not letting that cloud my judgement. I didn't feel compelled to accompany you because I trust you to get the job done without me."

"But not enough to tell me about your past, apparently."

"I haven't told anyone about my past. It's not something I'm comfortable discussing. You, more than anyone, should know what that's like. But just because I won't tell you about it doesn't mean I don't trust you. I do. And I need you to trust me."

"Can you at least tell me his name?" Faldr asked, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"When we were younger men, he used to call himself Deyavara." Jigafta said. Faldr raised an eyebrow at Daniel, who shrugged.

"Just Deyavara? No given name?"

"Just Deyavara." Faldr shrugged. "The why of it is… not something I care to talk about now. Maybe someday, but not today. Not until I know for sure he's dead. Not until this is all behind me."

"Alright…" Faldr exhaled. The two of them stood there for a moment, not looking at each other. Daniel chuckled under his breath. "Well, you haven't given me much to go on, but that's par for the course at this point. I suppose it's enough for now. I'd like you to join us on the mission, if you're not opposed to it. We're going to need our leader out there when things inevitably go south, after all."

"Leader?" Jigafta replied. "Kid, I know I asked you to trust me, but that might be going a little far. I'm no leader."

"You started all this, didn't you? That's good enough in my book." Faldr turned around, grabbed his bag, and began climbing into the chopper with the rest of the team. "I hope you're ready to go now, though. We're not waiting around for you to gather your stuff."

"You should know me better than that." Jigafta shook his head as he too climbed into the helicopter. "I wouldn't need anything your kick your ass, and that goes double for Tagyr's Vanguard." The doors to the helicopter closed behind him and it lifted off from the roof. As Daniel watched it disappear further into the city, he heard another voice speak.

"They're off on another mission, are they?" Director Julius Freeman said, walking up behind Daniel.

"Yes sir." Daniel said, putting his hand in his pocket and idly turning the crystal. "It appears we may have finally caught a break."

"That's good to hear." Director Freeman nodded. "I'm just hoping we can all put this behind us soon. Terrorists, corruption, conspiracy. The past four years have had enough excitement to last a lifetime, wouldn't you say."

"Yes they have, sir." Daniel nodded his head slightly. "Jigafta Utenki really is something else. Just today he asked me to look into some shipments of crystal, of all things."

"Will you?"

"It's not like I have a reason not to. He hasn't let us down so far."

"You trust him now?" Director Freeman raised an eyebrow.

"Trust is a strong word, Director. But I can be fairly certain he's on our side."

"Still, it bothers me how little we know about him. Have you managed to find out anything about his past?"

"I found something, but it isn't much. The reason our background check came up short is because we were looking for the wrong person. Jigafta Utenki never existed before four years ago. But Henry, Jigafta's informant, did tell me of two men: Jigafta Clater and Norvell Utenki. They used to work for his father. It's possible they were secretly working for the Order, but we'll never know. They died of mysterious circumstances in the same accident that left Henry's father unable to walk. It's all very suspect. I just hope Jigafta is who he says he is."

"And there's the rub, Daniel." Director Freeman said, staring out at the horizon. "He hasn't said anything. He's keeping secrets. That's a problem. Until you know exactly who Jigafta Utenki is, you will give this problem your undivided attention."

"With all due respect, sir," Daniel protested, "Haven't I got enough on my plate as it is? How am I supposed to balance this with everything I need to do for the team?"

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Director Freeman smiled. He turned away from the skyline and began walking back toward the stairway entrance. "After all, if it turns out Jigafta isn't who he says he is, we need to be prepared. We may end up having to kill him."

"Alright." Faldr said, standing up inside the moving helicopter and turning to address the rest of the team. "Normally, Jigafta runs the show. But today, we're making an actual arrest, not just raiding an isolated cell. You can bring sidearms, but no swords. And nothing too military either. We need to at least appear like federal law enforcement officers, which we are as of today. The chairman should be in his office this time of day. When we land, we head straight there. I'll handle the arrest. The rest of you just keep an eye out for the Order."

"No swords?" Nibet asked. "Why don't you just cut off my hands?"

"Because normal FIC agents don't arrest people with medieval weaponry strapped to their backs. I'd be more comfortable if we could bring all our normal gear, but this is going to be highly public and we need to keep up a professional appearance. It's the price of working under the FIC."

"We won't need them." X'lish said. "It's not like the Vanguard know we're coming in the first place."

"Assuming they didn't send a Vanguard unit to guard the chairman as soon as we issued the audit." Victor replied. "They may be careless, but they aren't dumb. I doubt we'll be able to grab him without any resistance."

"No use talking about it now." Satranik said, standing up and stretching her arms as the helicopter landed on the roof of the FTC building. "We need to get going." Everyone else stood up and grabbed their sidearms as the doors of the helicopters opened. The team stepped out from the body of the sidewalk and onto the roof of the five-story building on the outskirts of Argus City.

"Eye's peeled." Faldr said, slinging a holster over his head and holstering his gun. He grabbed a suit coat and badge from his bag as well before leaving the helicopter.

"What's the occasion?" X'lish asked as Faldr adjusted his coat over his holster.

"Well, someone needs to look the part." Faldr replied, taking his place at the front of the group. "And I did used to be a detective."

"Cut the chatter." Jigafta glared between Faldr an X'lish. "Faldr, you lead." The six of them, Faldr in front, entered the stairwell and began making their way to the chairman's office. As they passed through the halls, people around them began whispering nervously to each other. Once they neared the chairman's office, they began to hear shouting.

"You can't be serious!" Aaron Findrel half shouted at, half pleaded with Jeleset, who stood by his office's window. "I agreed to help you hide your mergers, but even I can't do anything about a Congressionally authorized audit. I can try to shift the focus of the investigation, but there's only so much I can do to hide your activities."

"Secrecy is no longer our priority." Jeleset responded, staring out the window at the city streets.

"Wait, what?" Findrel asked. "Then why are you even here? I thought your boss wanted something from me."

"We don't want anything from you." Jeleset turned around. "But the FIC might. And, even if you can't lead them to our headquarters, you still know a great many things about our operations."

"So, what, you're going to silence me?" Findrel scoffed nervously and tugged at his collar. "I thought you people were smarter than that. Killing me in my own office? You must know how much attention that'll draw."

"As I said." Jeleset replied. She drew a handgun and placed it against his forehead. "Secrecy is no longer our priority." Just before she pulled the trigger, the office door opened.

"Chairman Findrel." Faldr said as he opened the door. He began reaching for his badge. "You're under are-" He stopped mid-sentence as he locked eyes with Jeleset. Immediately he rushed forward. She attempted to bring her gun around and shoot him, but he leapt over Findrel's desk and tackled her against the wall before she could pull the trigger. He knocked the gun out of her hands as they collided.

"You're with the FIC?" Findrel asked, looking between Faldr and Victor, who stood in the doorway, Victor nodded. "What are you waiting for? Get me out of here!" Findrel shouted. He ran around his desk and pushed his way through the door into his secretary's office. Before he could go any further, Selthash entered the room from the hallway and drew a sword off his back.

"Jigafta!" Faldr shouted as Jeleset managed to wrench him off herself. "Get the chairman out of here!" He jumped onto Jeleset again and slammed her head into Findrel's desk. Selthash rushed forward and attempted to slice Aaron Findrel's head off. Jigafta pulled him out of the way and Satranik punched Selthash in the temple. As he staggered, Jigafta pulled Findrel into the hallway, Victor and Nibet following closely behind. X'lish, meanwhile, rushed to Faldr's aid as he drew a gun and placed it against the back of Jeleset's head.

"This is for dad." He spat. Right as he pulled the trigger, he kicked him in the shin, knocking him back and sending the bullet through her shoulder as opposed to her brain. She whirled around with a roundhouse kick that struck him in the ribs. As he doubled over, she grabbed his head and slammed it repeatedly into the floor-to-ceiling window behind him. The impacts disoriented him, and he let the gun slip free from his grasp. Jeleset let Faldr go and bent down, picking the gun up off the ground. As Jeleset stood back up, X'lish leapt atop Aaron Findrel's desk and leveled her own sidearm at the back of Jeleset's head.

Jeleset ducked as X'lish fired off several rounds, all barely missing the top of Jeleset's head and instead imbedding themselves in the bullet proof glass window behind her. Jeleset wrenched her body around and hurled the gun in her hand at X'lish's forehead in one swift motion. X'lish caught the gun just before it impacted her nose. She aimed both at Jeleset, who was dangling a knife above Faldr's chest. The two of them stared each other down, neither doing or saying anything.

As this transpired, Selthash and Satranik continued to fight. She rushed him as he regained his balance and punched him in the jaw, knocking him back. She followed up with a strike to his chest, nearly flooring him. He attempted to swing at her with his sword as he stumbled back. She dodged his uncoordinated attacks and managed to slip her foot in between his. Twisting her leg to the side, she knocked him off-balance and he fell to the ground. She kicked his sword from his grip and crouched down next to him, looking him in the eyes. He struggled to stand, but she pulled her sidearm and placed it against his forehead, forcing him back down

"Are you done?" She asked. He glared at her for a moment before glancing quickly at his sword near her foot. She kicked it further out of his reach. He sighed and leaned his head back into the carpet.

"So…" He spat. "What exactly is it you want from me? Do you want me to break into tears like you did back at Camp Stalwart? Sorry, sis, but I frankly couldn't care less."

"You know who I am?" She replied, lowering her gun slightly. "You certainly didn't show it the last time we met."

"I didn't know then. I pieced it together after it was confirmed some of the general's personal effects had been stolen during your raid."

"The general…" Satranik muttered to herself. "I can't say I ever thought much of him as a parent, but at least I still called him dad. I can only imagine how it was for you growing up if you won't."

"I refer to my father by his title out of respect. You know nothing about what he sacrificed for the Order."

"I know he sacrificed your childhood. And his marriage. And mom's health. I know plenty about what he sacrificed. I'm just not a big fan of his choices."

"Are those your words? Or Lady Iris's?"

"What was that?"

"Our mother abandoned her duty. She left the Order and took you with her. You and I should have trained together, served together as Vanguard. She robbed you of that."

"You can't be serious. The Order ripped you, crying, from your mother's arms and left her to die a painful death in a hospital bed. I buried her in a grave next to one with your name on it and an empty casket inside it, and you think she was in the wrong? Can't you see how messed up that is?"

"She betrayed the Order. She made her choice. So did you. I don't have to feel sorry for either of you. I just have to do my job." He lunged up toward Satranik before she could react, knocking her gun aside with one hand and punching her in the nose with the other. As she reeled back, he grabbed her head and slammed it into the ground multiple times, knocking her unconscious. Selthash stood up and grabbed his sword from where it has been kicked to. He had his sword poised above Satranik's head, ready to kill her, when he saw Faldr rearing up behind Jeleset out of the corner of his eye.

Selthash ran at X'lish, sword drawn, attempting to draw her attention as Faldr raised his fist to strike Jeleset. As Selthash closed in on X'lish, she heard him and turned around to see who was approaching. In that instant, Jeleset tossed her knife straight for X'lish's head. X'lish moved out of the path of the knife at the last moment, the blade passing narrowly by her head and instead hitting Selthash in the shoulder. While both Faldr and X'lish watched Jeleset injure her own teammate, she kicked Faldr's foot out from underneath him. As he fell over, she grabbed X'lish's arm and wrenched her off the desk. Jeleset spun around, dragging X'lish with her, and tossed her against the window. The impact knocked the guns from X'lish's hands. Jeleset grabbed one as it flew, aiming the barrel at X'lish's head. The other landed at Faldr's feet as he began to stand up. Just before he could grab it, however, Jeleset interrupted him.

"Don't even think about it." She said, staring down his hunched form. "Or I blow her brains out." Faldr scowled in response, but otherwise complied and stood up slowly. Selthash got to his feet and moved to attack Faldr. Jeleset cut him off. "Leave these two to me." She ordered. "Go after the chairman. Or do you want to end up back at Ivory Crest, like Izagail?"

"Consider it done." Selthash replied, glaring at Jeleset. He turned and ran out of the room, ignoring Satranik's still unconscious body on the ground. As soon as he left, Jeleset turned back to Faldr.

"You know, Faldr, it's funny." Jeleset chuckled, shaking her head. "Virnakt tried his best to keep you out of this life, yet here you are ready to kill me without even knowing why he died. And I can't do a thing about it."

"I'd like to know what you mean by that." Faldr replied. "But we both know you won't answer."

"I wouldn't be so sure. I'm in a good mood today." Jeleset smirked. "Tagyr never wanted Virnakt dead. He respected him too much. You were who he really despised. He felt like you'd taken his place. But he also never disobeyed a direct order from Gaimus. So, when the day came that Gaimus told Tagyr to deal with Virnakt, he had no qualms about doing the deed. Only Gaimus's order came with a caveat. You weren't to be touched. You were supposed to live a long, happy life, unaware of who your father really was. To date, it's the only direct order Tagyr has ever disobeyed. But I'm not as emotional as Tagyr, and hence, I still cannot kill you."

"So Gaimus did order my father's murder after all? And what do you mean, unaware of who he really was? What was Virnakt's relationship with the Order, exactly?"

"Virnakt?" Jeleset scoffed. "I'm not talking about that old fool. I'm talking about your real father."

"The one who abandoned me in the snow and left me to die?"

"Is that what Virnakt told you? That you were abandoned? Why am I not surprised? The truth is that you were stolen."

"Forgive me for not believing the words of the girl who slaughtered her own father."

"Virnakt was not my father. He murdered my father when I was four. Six weeks before he helped steal you from yours. When Tagyr found me and asked me to keep an eye on Virnakt, I agreed on the condition that I be the one to kill him when the time came. I spent ten years feeling sorry for you. For the childhood he took from you. But you don't have to take my word for it. Ask your friend. I think he goes by Jigafta Utenki these days. He should be able to tell you everything about the day you were stolen. After all, Virnakt was the one who helped him do it."

"Bullshit." Faldr spat back. "Although I'd expect nothing less from someone who sold their soul to a cult leader's lapdog."

"If that's how you really feel, then go ahead. Pick it up." She pointed with her free hand at the gun near Faldr. "Pick it up and shoot me. Take your revenge. I can't stop you." Faldr stared at the gun for a moment before shaking his head.

"No." He said, turning his attention back to Jeleset. "You're not worth it. Tagyr's the one who's truly responsible."

"Tell yourself whatever you have to." Jeleset shook her head. "But the truth is you're too afraid to kill me. Too afraid of disappointing dear old daddy. It seems we both have our hands tied." Jeleset and Faldr stared at each other for a moment.

"You're just going to let her go then?" X'lish asked, looking at Faldr. "You're not even going to bother to take her in? Tell me you're joking."

"That reminds me, you're still here." Jeleset sighed. "Even if Faldr isn't a killer, you are. I can't get out of here in one piece while you're following me, so-"

"Don't." Faldr said, tightening his hands into fists. "Don't you dare touch her. I'm letting you leave with your life, so don't go pushing your luck."

"Or you'll do what, exactly? Kill me?" Jeleset forced a laugh. "We both know you won't." She kicked X'lish in the stomach, keeping her foot against X'lish's chest to pin her to the window. She placed her gun against X'lish's head. Before she could pull the trigger, Faldr rushed forward and punched her in the temple. As Jeleset reeled back, he grabbed her head and slammed it nose-first into the window next to them. The cracks in the window began to spread. As she staggered back, he gripped her shoulder and punched her in the jaw, sending her flying back onto the desk.

"No." Faldr growled as he pinned Jeleset's shoulder to the desk. "I'm not letting you hurt anyone I care about." He punched her in the face once more. "Ever." Another punch. "Again." Faldr gave Jeleset one last punch before letting go of her shoulder.

"I didn't know you had it in you." She half laughed, half sputered as blood began pooling in her mouth. "But it's still not enough." She raised the gun, still firmly clutched in her hand, at Faldr's stomach. X'lish, having just stood to her feet, tackled Faldr to the ground as Jeleset fired a shot at him. The bullet passed over the pair as they hit the ground, impacting the window behind them hard enough to finally shatter it. Jeleset lurched to her feet, placed her foot on X'lish's back, and aimed the gun down at her head. "Give my regards to Viprus, traitor." She spat, cocking the hammer of the pistol back. As she was about to fire, Faldr grabbed the second gun off the floor and squeezed off two rounds into Jeleset's stomach.

Jeleset staggered back, clutching at the blood flowing from the wound. She stared at Faldr, wide eyed. She continued to stagger, moving sideways several steps. Without warning, she fell to the side and tumbled straight out of the broken window. As she fell, her expression changed into a smirk, still staring at Faldr until the moment he passed from view. She hit the sidewalk a few seconds later.

Faldr dropped the gun and let his whole body go limp. X'lish rolled off him and stood up. Faldr sat up after a moment and stared at his hands. X'lish offered him her own, and he took it, pulling himself to his feet.

"Don't worry." She said. "The first kill's always the hardest. I had two decades of training to desensitize me, and my first time still wasn't easy. It's only after you understand the weight of your actions th-"

"That you can follow through with them." Faldr finished her sentence as he stared out at the setting sun against the city's skyline. "My dad drilled that into me. He may not have wanted to make me a killer, but he didn't leave me defenseless."

"I guess Tagyr got his overbearing teaching style from your dad, huh?" The two of the stood in silence for a moment. "Listen, I know it wasn't easy for you to do that, what with everything your father taught you, but I am still alive thanks to…" X'lish trailed off as Faldr turned to face her.

"The thing is…" He said, holding X'lish's gaze as he spoke. "I've never been more afraid then I was right before I pulled that trigger. But I wasn't afraid of killing her. I was afraid of losing you. Compared to that, disappointing my father seemed almost trivial. I killed her without a second thought." Faldr finished speaking, but neither of them broke their gaze.

"I think that's the most romantic thing I've ever heard." X'lish said. Faldr let out a small chuckle. X'lish crossed her arms. "Is that a problem?"

"No, no, it's not you." He said as he returned her smile. "As much as I hate to admit it, I just realized that your sister was right about me." Faldr paused briefly and sighed. "Look at me. I'm attempting to confess my feelings right after I just-" X'lish took a step forward and kissed him, cutting him off mid-sentence. They broke their embrace after a moment.

"I had to do something." X'lish said as Faldr stared at her, slightly dumbfounded. "You were about to kill the mood. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that."

"You caught me off guard, is all." Faldr replied. "Not that that's a bad thing." He leaned in and returned her kiss. As the two began to embrace again, Satranik dragged herself off the ground, her consciousness returning. As she looked around, her vision returning, she caught sight of Faldr and X'lish. Instantly she frowned.

"Really?" She asked. The couple instantly separated, their faces turning red. "You choose now, of all times, to break the tension? You two are strange, I'll give you that." She shook her head. "This had better not impact the mission."

"I make no promises." X'lish winked at Faldr. He gave a smile in response before noticing Satranik's frown and letting out a short cough.

"We should get going." He said, not looking at either woman and instead heading for the door. Satranik sighed. X'lish chuckled. The two of them followed him through the door, the sound of sirens beginning to drift through the broken window.

Sub-basement of 1400 Johnson Street, Boneville

March 2500, Twenty-six Years Ago

Kelkaid sulked behind his desk, his finders steepled in front of him to obscure his face. Tagyr stood on the other side, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. On the desk between them was a report detailing the events that had transpired the previous day at the offices of the FTC. Kelkaid stared at Tagyr. Tagyr looked at the ground. For almost a full minute, neither of them spoke.

"We've lost Aaron Findrel." Kelkaid said, breaking the silence. "You do know what this means, don't you?" Tagyr looked up and met Kelkaid's gaze.

"We didn't 'loose' him." Tagyr responded. "He betrayed us. And what's worse, the FIC managed to save him before Jeleset could kill him."

"And if you didn't make a habit of silencing anyone the FIC sets their sights on, I'm sure he wouldn't have fled like he did."

"So this is my fault now? Why am I not surprised? I'd almost forgotten how much you like to pin your shortcoming on me."

"I should think that when a student fails in their assigned task, the teacher should bear at least some of the responsibility. Jeleset did learn everything from you, after all. From who else would she learn to fail?"

"Jeleset's death was unfortunate but unavoidable. Even she didn't have the skill to take on two of my finest Vanguard at once."

"Yes, two Vanguard you trained that then betrayed us. But the way Selthash spoke about the events, it seems to me she was bested by an agent named Faldr Milzaek, an untrained amateur when compared to your Vanguard."

"He's hardly an ameture. He's had almost a year to train with X'lish and Nibet, not to mention the years of training he must have received from-" Tagyr cut himself off midsentence. Kelkaid stood up.

"Received from who, Tagyr?" He asked, taking his hands away from his face. His mouth had twisted into a wicked grin. "Surely you didn't mean to imply that he had studied under someone capable of besting your Vanguard? Like Virnakt Milzaek, perhaps? No, I'm sure their names are just a coincidence. After all, you told my father yourself that you were unable to save Virnakt's son. That he perished in his sleep as his house burnt down around him. I'm sure you, of all people, wouldn't lie to the High Justicar. Unless that's exactly what you meant to imply. If that's the case, I think it would be best for you to explain to the Grand Lord in person why you disobeyed a direct order." Tagyr averted his eyes.

"I take full responsibility for the Vanguard's failure yesterday." Tagyr said, his eyes downcast.

"Of course you do." Kelkaid said, nodding. "And I think the best course of action for you to take to repent would be fully committing yourself to training an even stronger class of Vanguard. One that will not fail me so easily."

"What?" Tagyr asked, looking up and meeting Kelkaid's gaze again. "You're confining me to Ivory Crest? Do you take me for some doddering old fool?"

"I don't have a choice." Kelkaid replied. "When my father died, I suspected you. Not of treachery, but of the same sort of political infighting that always springs up around weak-willed men like him. I never thought you could be capable of outright betrayal. Until today. This is your only chance to put my suspicions to rest. Show me that you are still loyal to the Order. To the Grand Lord's vision."

"I am loyal to the Order." Tagyr grimaced. "Not to you. But if this is how things must be, then I will do what is needed of me."

"I'm glad you could see reason." Kelkaid smirked. "Now, onto other business. We've had to move up our schedule. Finding the Successor takes top priority, so I'll be entrusting the search to the Vanguard. In this task, at least, they should see some success."

"I take it I don't have a say in the matter?"

"If you have concerns, you may voice them to the Grand Lord directly." Kelkaid began moving toward the door.

"Surely you don't mean…" Tagyr began to speak before his voice caught in his throat. "I'm not worthy to speak with his majesty."

"Don't be so wound up, Tagyr." Kelkaid said, opening the door. Outside stood a Bone, more than a decade older than either Kelkaid or Tagyr, holding a small white envelope in one hand. "If any member of the Order deserves to be present at the Grand Lord's rebirth, it's you."

"And what about him?" Tagyr asked, pointing at the new Bone as he followed Kelkaid through the door. "Don't tell me your errand boy deserves to be present too? Shall I fetch your secretary as well?"

"Keegan has more than earned this." Kelkaid motioned to the other Bone as the three of them began walking toward an elevator at the end of the hallway. "His division not only located the Successor last year, but also managed to secure the materials necessary for the Grand Lord's resurrection. Like you, he has given his utmost for the Order."

"I'm sure he's done his very best digging around in the dirt." Tagyr rolled his eyes.

"At least I haven't systematically hemorrhaged my entire division." Keegan smirked in response.

"Behave yourselves." Kelkaid admonished. "I would hate to see such a shameful display put on in front of the Grand Lord." They reached the elevator. Kelkaid spent a few moments engaging with a keypad before the door of the elevator opened and the three Bones stepped inside. They spent the entire elevator ride in silence, until finally they emerged into a natural underground cavern. It was pitch black, save for the light spewing forth from the elevator. Kelkaid walked forward into the darkness, beckoning the others to follow him.

"Master." Kelkaid began. "We have finally located the materials you require." He took the envelope from Keegan and opened it, retrieving from within a small blue crystal. "This is but the first of many. Within a few weeks, we will have enough to make you whole."

"Good." Deyavara's low, raspy voice was heard by both the ears and minds of the three Bones. Keegan and Tagyr recoiled, unaccustomed to the sensation. A cloud of gray mist billowed out from the darkness and enveloped Kelkaid's hand. It dissipated after a moment, and the crystal was gone. Deyavara continued to talk. "You have done well. And the Extinction Drives?"

"We recovered them when we dug up these crystals. They're being moved to the Norgabard for secured storage as we speak."

"And the Successor? The plan is not complete until we recover it."

"Unfortunately, we've yet to make any progress on finding it. Your brother is resourceful, and until we can get its location from him directly, I doubt we'll be able to-" A clawed hand covered in a swirling, black substance shot from the darkness and grabbed Kelkaid by the throat, lifting him into the air.

"Do not blame my brother for your failure, boy." Deyavara snarled, his voice becoming more unstable as he spoke. "Your father never made excuses. And I will not accept any." Deyavara began tightening his grip. Tagyr winced, partially to conceal a faint smile that began to form on his lips.

"If I may, my Lord." Keegan stammered. Deyavara loosened his grip. "I am the one responsible for the failure to secure the Successor. And based on everything you've told Kelkaid about your brother, I think I know where it is."

"Interesting." Deyavara mused. He dropped Kelkaid to the ground and retracted his hand. A moment later, A large cloud of mist moved out of the shadows toward Keegan. It took the vague shape of a Bone, and began to solidify into Deyavara's body. "You seek to atone for your sins." The semi-solid body enveloped Keegan. Keegan began to panic. "Show me more." Keegan and the body spoke in unison. Keegan tried to scream. No sound came out. Instead he began convulsing. Tagyr watched in horror as Deyavara sifted through Keegan's mind. After several minutes, Deyavara let Keegan go. Keegan dropped to the ground unconscious. Deyavara retreated into the darkness, speaking as he left. "If the amulet was there, then she was there, and there is a chance what your stooge says is true. He certainly believes it is. Get to work investigating this "Henry Bone", Kelkaid. I will not tolerate another failure."

Kelkaid grabbed Keegan's unconscious body and walked back into the elevator. Nervously, Tagyr followed him. Once the doors closed, Tagyr let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"You heard him, Tagyr." Kelkaid said as the elevator began to ascend. "He does not tolerate failure. You should be grateful I've not informed him of your track record as of late. I trust you will reform your ways, before I must bring you before the Grand Lord a second time." The two stood in silence after that until the elevator stopped and the doors reopened.

"I am loyal to the Order." Tagyr said, stepping out of the elevator. "To the Grand Lord. I will do what is necessary, even if it costs me my life." He walked away from Kelkaid, who still stood in the elevator smirking. Tagyr continued to mutter under his breath. "Or you yours."