Ray walked back into the apartment to find Claire sitting on the couch staring out into sky from her new window. It was easily the best view from her home now.

He stopped at the door leaning on it gently when it closed. She hadn't yet acknowledged his presence. Ray feared the worse for her reaction to it all. He just didn't want her to be afraid of him.

"Are you alright? Did she hurt you?"

He looked up from the shatter glass on the floor. She started walking over to him.

"I'm fine. But...all this. I had no idea she was following me Claire. I would have never brought this to your doorstep. I'm really sorry she...we did all this damage to your home. I'll pay for everything."

She reached up and gently touched his cheek and smiled.

"I'm just glad you didn't get hurt Ray."

He could feel his skin getting warmer from her touch.

"We should go. I'll put you up somewhere while this is taken care of. Wherever is good for you."

"Are you going to stay with me?" She asked hopefully.

Ray stared into her ice blue eyes. They took him to familiar places. Parts of his mind he hadn't seen in years. How could he refuse?

"Of course. I have to make sure your safe."

She beamed. "I'll grab my things then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sloane rested her head on her hand as she stared out the window of her airship at Jupiter's rings through her newly acquired sunglasses. Thebe, the furthest of the Amalthea Group, was passing by her window when her PPC began to ring in front of her. "Jayzmyne Novela" flashed on the screen. She pressed a few buttons and transferred the call to the screen. Jayzmyne wasn't tall, only 5'1, this was clear even when she was sitting. Her eyes were a deep crimson while her hair was a much brighter shade of the same color.

"What the hell did you do to your hair?" Sloane asked confused.

"I don't talk to you for almost a month and that's how you greet me?" She said incredulously.

She always kept her hair in a short, high ponytail with bangs on either side of her face. Now said bangs were cut to different lengths; one much shorter than the other.

"I'm sorry but it's the first thing I noticed."

Jayzmyne rolled her eyes. "Right. I've done this before. Where are you?"

"Currently making my way around Jupiter. I'm on my way to Phrost. I'm assuming you heard the news..."

"Yeah I talked to that paranoid bitch. I told him I'm not going. And you aren't either. Your way closer to me on Mars than you are to him. Come here. Julius is coming here too. He's being ridiculous. I'm not dropping everything just because Hikari has shown up. Besides he's still on Earth isn't he? Why are we running? I'm certainly not afraid of him."

Sloane scoffed. "I don't think anyone is besides him."

"Exactly! Just come here and we'll take it from there. Are you alright though? I won't lie I was worried about you."

She thought for a moment before she answered. "He wanted to talk Jayz...he wouldn't fight me. I don't think he made a single offensive move. He wouldn't even draw his sword until it was absolutely necessary."

Jayzmyne gaze a puzzled expression. "I saw the footage. I thought you just had him on his heels."

"No. He's not out of practice. If anything he's gotten stronger."

Jayzmyne laughed. "That's fine. So have we. That's not what I meant though. I know you wouldn't let him touch you. I meant with...you know. How are you feeling?"

Sloane went silent again for moment. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a cigarette.

"I don't know Jaymyne. I'm still trying to figure it out."

"Well I see you saw Bruno. Did he make you feel any better?" She teased.

"I'll see you when I get there Jayz."

She heard Jaymyne erupt into laughter as she hang up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Maria was standing in the kitchen cutting up vegetables when Julius found her; following the familiar sound of steel on wood. Cooking became one of Maria's favorite ways to pass time. She would often spend whole days preparing meals, taking her time to perfect every detail. It was something she had absolutely no talent for at the beginning, but she gradually became quite good. The state of the art kitchen and high quality ingredients that were provided certainly helped. Julius often compared her cooking to chefs, but for her it was something she only wanted to be good at so she could cook for Ray. That's how it started.

He took a bottle of water out of the fridge and paced the kitchen for a moment before silence filled the room; Maria sat her knife down on the cutting board.

"You know if you want to say something Julius..." She said finally.

He stopped and stared at her from across the counter.

"Something has come up." He said with a moments hesitation.

"What exactly?"

"I...can't go into detail yet, I'm still not completely clear on the specifics myself, but I have to go Mars to meet with everyone."

"Okay so are we leaving now? Is that why your acting like that?"

"No. I'm not taking you with me Maria. Not this time."

Julius watched her face closely. He had no idea how she was going to respond. Her eyes widened and quickly narrowed in suspicion. Julius noticed. Maria chose her next words wisely.

"Is something wrong? Is everyone okay?" She tried to sound genuine.

"Actually Sloane was attacked. And I've been unable to get in touch with anyone besides Jayzmyne; who's on Mars. The person who attacked Sloane could be hunting us."

Maria looked at him with skepticism written across her face. She couldn't really help it at this point; Julius' behavior seemed off. Something was really bothering him, and nothing seemed to ever bothered Julius.

"What makes you think your being "hunted"? That's quite the jump don't you think?"

"Not when you take into account who we are. We're some of the strongest individuals in the universe. If one of us gets attacked, I have to take that very seriously. And that's why I'm going alone. I have a really bad feeling about this. I don't want to put you in danger since I don't know what's going on."

Silence descended on the kitchen. Maria knew he was lying. Julius watched hoping she believed it. He started to walk around the counter towards her. When she noticed he first reaction was to grab the knife in front of her; he stopped in his tracks. Maria quickly dismissed those thoughts, they would get her nowhere. She picked up a tomato and went back to cutting. Julius continued his approach until he was standing next to her.

"I'm sorry...Maria I feel terrible. I know you want to leave Phrost. And you will. Once I figure out what exactly is going on I'll send for you. By then things should be settled and we can go to Mercury as planned; or anywhere else your heart desires. I want to make this up to you." He said as put his hand on her shoulder.

Her body went tense immediately. She stopped cutting and walked to the fridge and looked for ingredients that were already on the counter. Julius still wouldn't leave; which was all she wanted.

"So when are you leaving?"

"Now. I want to get to Mars as soon as possible."

"Well, I'll be here waiting for your word then." She said indifferently.

He walked to the doorway and stopped as she walked back to her work space.

"I'm sorry about this Maria. I love you..."

"Give everyone my best." She said in her coldest voice.

Soon after Julius left music, EDM as usual, blaring from the kitchen. Even though it was as loud as it could go, he could still hear the unmistakable sound of Maria screaming.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Helio City was the second largest city on Mars, slightly smaller than it's first city Volcanica. Helio City started out as a place where businesses and the like could grow and thrive since Volcanica was 80% residential; being one of the first colonized cities after migrating from Earth. Helio City served it's intended purpose well, and because of it grew and started to house it's own residents. An unintended consequence of this was that it drew the attention of Lumiere because of all of it's resources. Helio City served of a battleground for decades between the HUC and Lumiere. Now, like the majority of the galaxy, the HUC has primary control over the city while Lumiere operates within the confines of their limits. However with 3 Sanctuaries, more and any other city in the galaxy, Helio City had an unwavering reputation for being full of assassins and conversely, a very dangerous place.

Jayzmyne Novela, the smallest member of 5 Diamonds, returned to her homeland after the squad began it's hiatus. After their Master's sudden passing, all of them had a freedom they had never experienced before in their lives. Free to pursue and interest they wanted without prosecution, Jayzmyne took it upon herself to solve the mystery of her dreams.

For as long as she could remember, a child with evergreen hair haunted her memory. Finally, she was able to look into the little girl. After a long search she discovered the girl was her little sister, Robyn Arc. It took her until after the assault on Ray to find her. Robyn, who by that time was 17, was living in Helio City. She attended the city's university and had become famous. She was the champion blind archer of Helio City.

Robyn was apprehensive at first. She lost her sight by the time she was 4, and didn't remember much before that. Adopted at age 5, she let her past go and embraced her family. Robyn moved to Mars after turning 16 to continue school. Archery was something she had picked up along the way after hearing a story about a man of legend on Mars who apparently made it rain arrows in Helio City. She was sure it was exaggerated, but she couldn't help but be fascinated by the lore. The bow and arrow almost chose her. Like everything else in her life, she refused to let her lack of sight stop her from doing anything, now she was the best Mars had ever seen. Jayzmyne couldn't be more proud of her sister.

It took Jayzmyne a week to convince Robyn that they were kin. It wasn't until she finally conceded her recurring dream about the girl with forest green hair that Robyn came around. She too had been haunted by a little girl in her mind. One who was obviously a little older, had eyes like rubies, hair the same hue as perfect rose, and promised to find her one day. That girl, Jayzmyne, was the only face Robyn could remember clearly for a long time.

After their reunion Robyn left school and Jayzmyne taught her how to be an assassin. The work was halfway done, Jayzmyne had never seen anyone better with a bow and arrow. All she needed was technique and to learn how to move. Jayzmyne would eventually commission Julius to fix her vision. He recommended new eyes, Robyn refused, stating her teal-colored eyes are what made her who she is. So he instead made her a blindfold. A simple black strip of cloth wrapped around her head (and eyes of course) allowed her to see perfectly. It also allowed her to see different spectrums if she chose, like heat and in the dark.

Now they lived together in Helio City, Robyn continuing her training and Jayzmyne taking care of targets, assassins and bounties alike, to keep rust from accumulating or her own skills.

Sloane arrived in Helio City a day and a half after speaking to her squad member and closest friend. Jayzmyne lived in the epicenter of the city, which she always hated. There were always too many people. She almost went to a Sanctuary she detested it so. However, the last time Sloane tired to do that Jayzmyne nearly destroyed the tower trying to find her.

As the elevator rose to the top of the building where Jayzmyne's condo was located she glanced at her PPC. Several messages from Julius. She sighed, crushed it in her palm, and dropped it on the floor as she exited the elevator.

Jayzmyne was sitting in her living room when Sloane entered. BNN was on her tv and a bottle of whisky sat on the table in front of her covered in frost.

"It sure took you long enough I thought you would get here last night."

"I had to go back through the asteroid belt. You know that."

Sloane walked over and they embraced. It has been at least three months since they had spent time together even though the at least talked every few days. Sloane often felt like she would go crazy if she didn't have Jayzmyne to confide in. Robyn and Jayzmyne were her only female friends and they were two of the only people she trusted completely. They sat down across from each other and Jayzmyne poured shots. After knocking back three consecutively without a word, Jayzmyne watched Sloane and a grin crept across her face.

"What is it?" Sloane asked, confused.

"It's just everytime I see you, a different pair of sunglasses. It's cute."

Sloane groaned and rolled her eyes. Jayz was still able to tell.

"I'm just saying. I've seen you two together. I just think your looking past something right in front of you. I mean he's obviously-"

"Shut up. Don't say it." Sloane snapped. This time Jayzmyne rolled her eyes.

"Well what do you want to talk about? Hikari? I don't. We'll talk about him more than enough when Silver get's here."

"Where's Robyn?"

"At the Sanctuary training where she always is. I couldn't keep her away even I wanted to. That girl is determined be one of us." Jayzmyne started pouring more shots. "I'm extremely proud of her. She's grown so much since she started. From what I hear, no one can stand up to her at the Sanctuary. Any of them for that matter."

"Then why does she go? Why don't you let her go after Contracts? If she's that good she'll get ranked. Start making her own money."

"That's exactly what I don't want. She already gets all the attention she needs. The entire planet knows she's my sister. And she's already grown tired of that stigma." She downed her shot and pointed at Sloane's. She drank it before Jayzmyne could; because she would.

"That's exactly my point. If I was her, I would be trying to get out of your shadow. Especially if all I heard were comparisons to my famous sister."

Jayzmyne scoffed and took another drink. "Come on we're going to the roof. I'm waiting for someone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For the next two days Ray and Claire spent their days together on the south side of the city laying low. Surely word had gotten out that the phantom on 5 Diamonds was out for revenge and he began to worry about a plethora of bounty hunters and assassins coming out of the woodwork to collect his bounty. Of course, there were only four he was really concerned with, but he couldn't risk Claire getting hurting in an senseless violence.

The morning of the third day Claire woke up hours after Ray, who rarely slept through the entire night; if at all. She walked out into the sun-filled living room to find food already made for her and the TV tuned to BBN playing quietly. Ray leaned on the wall near the window staring out at the city, more specifically, the Sanctuary near the Spaceport.

"Good morning Ray. How long have you been up?"

"It's 1pm. So, awhile now." He said in a monotone voice.

"1pm?!" She exclaimed with a mouth full of half chewed biscuit. "Why didn't you wake me up?! I feel like such a slob..."

"You've slept until at least noon everyday. Who am I to disturb your routines? You are a bartender after all."

"I'm not doing it on purpose! I still never sleep that long." She was blushing now. "It's only because I've been up so late with you every night."

"Well, it's not like I do anything exciting. You can sleep when you want. I assure you nothing worthwhile will be missed."

Claire scoffed and sat down on the couch with her back towards him and continued to eat her breakfast; sausages, eggs, and two biscuits. Ray continued to stare out the window listening closely to the TV. He waited until she finished with her food to give her the news.

"Claire...I'm leaving today."

"Hm? What do you mean?"

"I have to find Sloane and the others. I need to rescue Maria. This has to end. And I as long as your with me you will be in danger. There no sense to it. We need to part ways. My sins are not yours."

The room fell silent. Ray was surprisingly anxious for her reply. Her heart raced. Being with him these past few days felt like a dream. One that was ending far too soon. She wasn't ready to wake up yet.

"What if...I said I wanted to go with you?"

He paused before he answered. Such a thing had never crossed his mind. Claire could almost tell. She was surprised. His face went totally blank.

"Why would you want to do that? You were almost killed by simply being in the same place as me. Sloane is about as strong they come. Keep in mind I'm looking for her. I can't guarantee your safety; from her or anyone else I may come across."

She stared at him absorbing his words. He was right. And she knew all of that when she said it. None of that mattered.

"You won't protect me?"

"It's not that simple. A situation could present itself where I can't. Or I just may be already dead."

"I understand that Ray. I do. But...I don't care. Would you really rather go through all this by yourself? I can tell...this is eating you alive and your killing yourself. And it will continue to do exactly that as long as you keep all that shit inside. I'll stay out of your way and I'll leave if your fighting. But I really think that you need someone to talk to, to confide in, to lean on. I can be that person. If you keep you going on like this your just going to make it easier for the them to kill you when you do find them."

Ray turned to the T.V. playing quietly on the wall. The news was on, covering the opening of a new Sanctuary in Helio City; bringing it's total to 4. Citizens of the metropolis were beginning to worry. Mars already had a reputation for it's assassin related activity.

She made sense. Not until spending this short amount of time with her did Ray realize how it felt to hold a normal conversation with someone. He felt relaxed in her presence. Having her around wouldn't be bad, but she would be putting herself in a considerable amount of danger. If she were to die because of him...And..

"When I kill them all, and rescue Maria...what will you do then?"

Claire felt her stomach turn, her thoughts hadn't gone that far. Ray was spoken for. She was his reason. Still, when Claire looked at him, she felt her very existence catch fire.

Claire finally smiled at him.

"I'll figure that out when you get her back. I hardly see the point in worrying about it now. I want to help you. And honestly, I'm looking forward to meeting her. She must be one hell of a woman."

Even she didn't know if there was any truth to the words she just said.

His gray went back to the television. Staring into her eyes like he was, she would surely win. Claire began to speak, and things went silent.

Passing elegantly through the sea of Helio Cities' inhabitants behind the reporter, was the silver hair of the devil. Ray could hear nothing but his heartbeat as Julius Silver walked past in broad daylight. As he neared the edge of the screen his head turned slightly. His blood turned to ice as their eyes met from across the galaxy.

"Pack only what you absolutely need. We're leaving. Right now."

"Wha-Where are we going?"

"To Helio City. To Mars."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was well into the night when Jayzmyne started to wonder where her sister was. Robyn usually kept her updated on her whereabouts. Unless she was still training, which, wasn't entirely unbelievable. Still, she had been standing on the roof observing the cities' nightlife for a few hours now. She was almost certain she was drunk. Her eyes turned to Sloane. The injection gun was being loaded for it's fifth time.

"Robyn hasn't tried to contact you has she?"

Sloane glanced at her watch. The neon glow of her eyes went brilliantly with the night lights of Helio city.

"No she hasn't. Was she supposed to be here by now?"

"Not exactly. I was just expecting her to be..."

"Robyn can handle herself right? I wouldn't worry. That's what she's-"

In one fluid motion Sloane jumped from her chair and landed about 30 feet from the door, the only entrance to the roof, with her pistol cocked.

"If you turn that doorknob without announcing yourself I will blow your fucking head off!" she screamed.

Then the suave, deep, voice they both knew all too well came from the other side of the door.

"Have you relaxed now Sloane? Or must you insist on shooting at us?"

Her stance relaxed. Jayzmyne joined her.

"Us? Who are you with?"

The door swung open and out stepped Julius and Robyn. She beamed when she saw Sloane standing across from her. It had been some time since they saw each other last. Robyn was almost 21 now and Sloane (as well as Jayzmyne) was pleased with the woman she was becoming.

When she ran over and gave her a hug Sloane noticed that they are about the same height now. And her curly, evergreen hair reached her lower back. Robyn looked as if she had just returned from a Contract; clad in all black. Boots, leggings, and her top covered by her cloak. Sloane glared at Julius over her shoulder; why did they arrive together? He returned her skeptical gaze with a poker face.

While Sloane and Robyn exchanged pleasantries, Julius walked over to Jayzmyne.

"Has she been like that since she got here?" He inquired.

"No. We were actually relaxing. A bit too much it seems. I think you genuinely surprised her."

He looked around and quickly assessed the scene, taking in the two empty bottles of liquor and the injection gun on the chair.

"Right. Well I'm here now. All we're missing now is Gabriel."

"Have you talked to him?"

"No...He didn't return any if my calls. I'm pretty sure you have though. So I wasn't worried about it."

She turned to meet Julius' pale, silver eyes already looking down at her. Jayzmyne felt like he was peering straight through her; a comment often uttered about Julius.

"And...what makes you so sure about that?"

"Well you two are so close and all." He said matter-of-factly.

Suddenly, it was cold. Before words could form her sister joined them with Sloane on her arm. Robyn, oblivious to the tension in the air between them, suggested they go inside. Julius agreed quickly and went inside saying someone should try to contact Gabriel. It wasn't until he was gone that Robyn noticed the distressed look etched across her sister's face.

"Jayz, what's wrong? You look...anxious."

"Robyn go inside. Jayzmyne and I will be down in a moment. We need to clean up." Sloane ordered.

She knew this wasn't true, but obeyed all the same. It gave her a very bad feeling. Jayzmyne contemplated her words before speaking. Her thoughts were scattered. Sloane watched and waited.

"I need you to be completely honest with me with now." She said in almost a frantic tone.

"Always. You know that."

"Did you tell Julius and me and Gabriel? "

She raised an eyebrow.

"No. Of course not. I honestly avoid him as much as possible. Maria is ever by his side. You know that."

"Well, he knows. And I have no idea how he would know. You and Robyn are literally the only people that should. And Robyn is always under my watch. She wouldn't have an opportunity."

"She trains pretty much alone at the Sanctuaries right? She's had plenty of oppurtunity."

The possibilities began to settle in on Jayzmyne as she found herself on Sloane's page.

"You don't really think she would fall into one of his schemes do you? I've told her so much about Julius. She has to know that would be a mistake."

"I guess there's only one way to find out."

The two of them arrived in the living room to find Robyn sitting across from the suspect; drinks between them. Little sister trying to catch up to her elder. Jayzmyne stood in the kitchen while Sloane started to reload her injection gun. Julius was grinning; the tension they brought with them amused him.

"So, Jayzmyne, have you spoken to Gabriel?"

"No. He hasn't responded to anything from me."

"That's fine. While you two were away Robyn her managed to get ahold of him." Julius said as he knocked back a shot. "All will be well soon."

Jayz quickly exchanged glances with Sloane before she glared at her sister. She was immediately taken aback.

"What? Julius said he should have been here by now. I wanted to make sure he was alright."

"Either way, Jayzmyne, he was supposedly already en route. He should be here any moment."

Julius sat up and poured another drink. Sloane injected the 6th ounce of the night into her veins; afterwards quickly retreating behind her large black sunglasses. Jayzmyne was sick to her stomach. She knew Gabriel was going to be upset with her. Robyn got up to get more whisky and before she could sit back down she heard the door close.

The air went still when he entered the room. Tall and muscular, unlike his other male comrades, Gabriel looked almost like a Greek statue. His blood originating from Neptune his eyes were a deep, navy blue while his short, always disheveled hair was a bright royal blue. His face was calm as he took in the room. Jayzmyne was almost holding her breath. Julius sat with his back to him, a grin on his face. Robyn could even feel the tension in the air. Sloane watched closely from behind her glasses. She hadn't seen Gabriel in some time.

"Looks like I missed the party..." He almost sounded disappointed.

Julius scoffed.

"Now now. We could hardly begin without you. Now we can talk business."

"Business huh? I hardly think that's what we're going to talk about." He said through a sigh.

"Come now Gabriel..."

Julius' words were covered in malcontent. Gabriel's focus shifted to Jayzmyne; who's eyes hadn't left him since he appeared. Her expression showed a 1000 words only he could read.

"Are you alright Jayzmyne?"

"Yes...Always." She said quietly.

"And the lovely Miss Solera. It's been too long. How's Ray?" Gabriel always loved pressing Sloane's buttons. It was too easy.

"Ha. Your a funny bastard. Robyn. Leave."

"Why do I have to leave?" She demanded.

Her guardian intervened.

"None of this has anything to do with you. Go. I'll call you when we're finished." Jayzmyne's were final.

Robyn turned to Julius giving him an anxious look. He was still wearing his smug grin. His eyes only met hers for a moment before moving on. She felt instantly rejected.

"Fine. And you don't have to call me either. I'll be back later."

"Don't leave the city Robyn." She ordered.

She muttered several obscenities on her way out the door. One by one they all gathered around the table as Julius poured Gabriel a drink. After a moment of quiet between them their leader sat up to address them.

"Now, I think you all know we are all here. Ray Hikari has surfaced. There's no doubt that he will be hunting us all."

His eyes shifted to Sloane across from him, leaning on her hand. If he couldn't see the faint glow of her eyes behind her sunglasses Julius would be sure she was sleeping. Gabriel scoffed.

"You can't that surprised. This is Ray Hikari we're talking about."

"Even so, his wounds were substantial. I fully expected him to bleed out in minutes. Could he have had some assistance?" Julius said slyly.

His taunt was clearly aimed at Sloane, who, rolled her eyes behind her black glasses and ignored him.

"That's ridiculous. We were on our own compound. And after that we all left together. Ray just...isn't human." Gabriel almost couldn't believe his own words.

Jayzmyne slammed her hand on the table. She had reached her limit.

"Bullshit! That's exactly what he is! A fucking human like the rest of us! I'll kill him myself tonight. All this, this meeting, for HIM?! Someone we all thought was dead until only a day or two ago? Seriously? Julius. Are you afraid of him? Because that's exactly what this looks like!"

Sloane shifted her position in her seat, her first movement in a while. Julius stared at Jayzmyne in silence before giving a smug grin accompanied by a chuckle.

"Scared? That's what you think this is about?"

"It makes sense to me." Sloane said finally.

Julius gave Sloane an amused look.

"Is that so? Gabriel. Are you of the same mindset?"

He sighed.

"I think it would be wise of us all to get on the same page. He is coming for our lives. I know all of you are aware of that." Gabriel was already tired of the bickering. He had always been the mediator of the squad.

"Really? Well if that's the case, then how is it that Sloane is still here?"

Gabriel's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"Oh you haven't heard? Sloane fought him. She is the one that saw him."

Gabriel glanced at Jayzmyne before turning to Sloane.

"I was told he had been seen...Not that someone had made contact. Let alone one of us. When were you going to say that?"

"You're the only one that doesn't know. I assumed you did. Blame your intel." Julius said in his most smug tone.

Jayzmyne sighed in annoyance.

"I didn't know she fought him until after I sent you that message. By then it didn't matter you were on your way."

"So what happened?"

Sloane was silent. Julius grinned and answered for her.

"Apparently Ray has taken refuge with some bartender on Earth. Sloane attacked them at her apartment. They crossed swords, so to speak, but from I understand no blood was shed. Not even a connecting blow."

Sloane lifted her sunglasses and placed them atop her head. The glow had finally faded and her piercing yellow eyes were glaring at Julius.

"That last detail was something I didn't tell you." Her voice was acid.

"Well your obviously unscathed. I think if he had gotten to you we'd be able to tell still."

"But how do you know he is?" Sloane demanded.

Julius flashed his smug grin. And sat up and leaned across the table to stare back into her eyes.

"The person who designed your glasses told me."

Sloane's eyes widened. The room fell silent. Gabriel got a better look. They were obviously very expensive. Gold trimmed the sides of the lenses and most of the arms. It was an intricate design, and he could make out a "B" worked into its features. He couldn't help but feel like he'd seen them before; or something like it at least. After a moment of thought. . .

"I'll tell you this Julius, Ray hasn't lost a step. If anything, he's gained one. You have a very good reason to be scared. Right now, he'll probably kill you." She taunted.

"Well, dear Sloane, if he couldn't kill you then maybe he isn't as resolved as Gabriel seems to think. That being said though, I'm certainly not naive enough to think that he's not going to surface again anytime soon. So, as usual, I wanted to consult my team before making an important decision."

Sloane scoffed.

"Because you can't just go deal with it yourself. You need us to take him out because you can't do it alone. And you know he wants you more than he wants us. Where is your hostage anyway?"

Sloane and Julius couldn't be in the same place for too long without arguing. It had been that way since Ray's departure. Julius laughed.

"She didn't need to make this trip. Besides there's a lot of troublesome people in Helio City. A lot of thugs. Like Bruno Krona and the like..."

Gabriel's eyes widened and he once again got a look at the sunglasses. Sloane stood up and put the glasses back over her eyes.

"Julius you're a fucking coward. And if you ever talk to me like that again I'll kill you my fucking self before Ray has a chance to. I promise you that."

With that Sloane left the apartment. It was probably for the best. If allowed to go any further, a brawl would have surely ensued; which wasn't out of the norm. One that Gabriel and Jayzmyne would have been able to nothing about. Julius sat up and poured a round of drinks. He and Gabriel took thiers down and sat in the silence for awhile.

"So Julius, what exactly were you planning to do about Ray? You spoke as if you had something in mind." Gabriel said finally with a sigh.

"Well, Gabriel, obviously Ray's appearance circulated quickly. I've already been contacted by several people interested in the contract."

"You put a contract on him already?"

"No. But no one in their right mind would go after him without knowing the situation. A lot of them are actually pretty capable. That's what this meeting was for. I wanted to know if you all wanted to handle this internally, so to speak, or not."

"Julius, that's not a bad idea, but I don't think anyone besides one of us is going to be able to pull it off. Even if they can fight on Ray's level, our level, Ray has an ace. You know that."

"But no one else does. I certainly don't care what happens to those people. And even with his ace, they are still some pretty worthy candidates. At the very least they'll slow him down for us. Either way, Sloane left. And whatever I decide affects us all. I'd like her to be here when we decide when and how we're going to kill him. You know, so there's no surprises. You know like I know his death will affect her the most of us all." He sighed. "Now I have to stay in this wretched city longer."

"Hey! This is my home asshole." Jayzmyne growled.

Julius rolled his eyes and walked towards the door.

"I'll be in touch."

He left and it was once again silent. Jayzmyne got up and walked over to Gabriel and sat on his lap.

"You've been gone for almost a month."

"Yeah and I had to come back to this. I was really hoping I could find him before he found one of us."

"That's why you were gone so long?"

"No. The King of the Stars is up to something. And I want to know what it is."