Now that they've finally found Chatana, Verago stands perplexed. Somehow, he doesn't allow himself to believe that the winged sorceress is really there. This makes him unsure whether his mind, his imagination, is playing tricks on him. After all, they've been actively hunting this wicked sorceress for so long. So many attempts were made that all proved fruitless, during which lives were put at risk. Yet now there she stands…

However, something's not right about Chatana. Not only is she bearing the same shaken expression as Verago does, but her hairstyle is also slightly different from her portrait etching within the Palace. If she were to be but a figment of his mind, then she'd look exactly like the sorceress in that depiction.

This makes Verago realise that she's real. The black-and-green jaquin shakes his head violently to pull himself out of the trance-like moment. He lifts his head to face the orange sky and lets out a powerful roar. It carries across the region for miles. Both of the Skyguard standing behind him do the same. However, their roar isn't serving as a call but as a cry, meant to intimidate their adversaries.

Chatana startles from the sudden burst of sound and Pili almost falls off her shoulders. She finally found the despicable jaquin she wanted to face first. The winged sorceress feels threatened by his roar which makes her start murmuring some indistinct words while quickly performing short but calculated movements with her hands. As both members of the Skyguard start growling at her conjuring, she thrusts both arms forward. From her fingertips, small green globs appear which she fires at the jaquins. The globs travel fast across the small water body. Before any of the jaquins can react to this attack, Verago is blasted by her magic. He gets flung back and falls to the ground with a thud. He groans, albeit more of being disoriented than in pain.

"General!" one of the Skyguard calls out in shock.

Verago recovers and quickly gets up. He sighs and shrugs, wincing at the slightly increased pain in his chest where he was hit. "This is more than I bargained for…" he murmurs.

He tries looking at the point of impact but all he can see is the front part of the green crest. He notices a chip in it: a small piece is missing, apparently obliterated by the blast. However, he decides to show no weakness. "¡Estoy bien!" he growls discontentedly.

Even with all the rigorous training the Skyguard had received and combat experience they'd gained, seeing a fellow member of theirs, especially a general, taking such a hit is rare to them. Both members of the Skyguard are taken by surprise as they're simply not used to this. "What do we do now?" the other asks her general in horror.

Verago doesn't allow his eyes to draw away from Chatana. The black-and-green jaquin is completely fixated on her. He's realising that the winged sorceress is now finally within his grasp. He'd rather wait for the backup from the rest of his battalion. Yet, at the same time, he's worried that she'll conjure more harmful spells or creatures that'll undermine their current position. He needs to act fast…

"Attack Chatana. Now!" Verago bellows with hatred.

Both of the Skyguard get airborne and start skimming the water line. Verago lifts himself into the air also, ready to go after them. Chatana grins malevolently at the approaching jaquins. She raises her hands and starts mumbling some words. While doing so, Pili shoots a couple of fireballs at both Skyguard members who are coming in fast. It's impressive how far he manages to shoot them, given the distance both jaquins still need to cover. Though, his attack isn't holding much sway since, at such distance from them, both jaquins easily anticipate the incoming balls of fire and move out of their way without any loss of momentum.

By now, Chatana has finished her conjuring. A cloud of grey blobs with bat-like wings appears above her. She orders it to move toward the approaching jaquins, who eye each other and nod; through determination and excellence, an attack plan against this new threat is forged in mere seconds.

Then, with a loud splash, the nguruvili suddenly swings its hindquarters out of the water. It manages to grab one of the two Skyguard tightly and pulls it into the water. "¡Ay, no!" Verago shouts and he speeds towards the centre of the water body.

The female Skyguard looks back in shock. Her partner is in danger of drowning. She stops midair and turns around to go back to him. However, she's caught by the cloud of blobs. They surround her and obscure her sight. They disorient her as she tries to strike at them, making her unable to do anything else.

Verago realises that this situation has turned dire. It's three against two, yet Chatana and the nguruvili seemed to have gained the upper hand in this fight… The black-and-green jaquin speeds towards the middle of the water body. There, he notices how the odds of winning this encounter have turned against him. Especially now that the nguruvili has dragged someone underwater… This triggers flashbacks in Verago, back to when he himself was submerged in the water by that very same monster. He was fighting for his life. If it wasn't for his young son and his new flaringo friend, he would likely have drowned. It was bravery and mere stubbornness that saved him that day. And these weren't his qualities… He'll have to show his own now; Verago must be like little Skylar was on that fateful day.

The black-and-green jaquin looks at the water line below but there's no sight of the nguruvili nor the drowning Skyguard. His attack plan has turned into a search and rescue mission, instead. "Damn it!" he roars in frustration at both losing control and possibly a member of his squad.

He frantically scans the water line once again. He's hoping to spot anything that may hint at the whereabouts of the nguruvili. There must be something… Suddenly, he spots bubbles in the water. "That must be from his breath. He is running out of air soon… Argh! What must I do?' Verago thinks out loud but needs to come up with a plan to save him, 'Should I dive after him alone? That is risky. What if that monster catches me as well… Maybe I should free his mate first and go after him together… That sounds like the better plan but will we have enough time to save him?"

Hesitantly, the black-and-green jaquin weighs both options as he looks back and forth between the female and the water beneath him. He then finds himself glancing at the grey blobs surrounding the female. "That is what I must do first…" he mumbles.

Verago darts over to her and starts striking at the grey blobs in midair. With his claws extended, he slashes one after the other flying critter. Shrieks are heard each time he lands a hit. One by one, the blobs fall down and into the water. The female Skyguard is slowly regaining sight of her surroundings. Inspired by her general she starts slashing at the blobs as well. It takes them but a few seconds to eliminate all of the blobs.

"¡Sigame!" Verago commands sternly.

He swoops towards the water. He dives into it fast and after the other Skyguard member. The female follows suit, both driven by Verago's determination and the urge to save her mate. The water obscures most of Verago's sight and moving around in the liquid body is getting harder with each passing second. Jaquins aren't made for the aquatic world but Verago hasn't a choice. He needs to persevere.

Then, he sees bubbles passing him on their way up. He can follow them! It doesn't take him long to reach the bottom of the water body. But, no sight of the nguruvili nor the Skyguard. *They must be struggling. There is so much dirt floating about right now; I cannot see!* he thinks in agony.

Then, he feels something twitching underneath him. He looks down and notices a slender and elongated body, together with feathered wings right beneath him. Purely by touch, Verago manages to grab a part of the slender body, hoping that it belongs to the nguruvili. As he pulls himself up towards the surface, he spots the female Skyguard next to him and doing the same.

Both start swimming back up. The refracted light above them becomes brighter, indicating that they're nearing the surface. It's hard for them to hold their breath at this point. But, they don't have a choice; it's either pressing on or perish in these waters.

With a forceful push, both Verago and the female Skyguard resurface. Their fur is soaked, which weighs them down. On top of that, the weight of the nguruvili and the male Skyguard is immense as well. Luckily, the other members of Verago's battalion now arrive at the scene. Winded from the physical strain on their wings of flying fast, they immediately grab whatever they can get hold of. Groaning to the ongoing strain on their wings, the other Skyguard members pull their general and the female's mate out of the water and with him also the nguruvili. As the water drips down from it, the monster hisses at Verago and the other jaquins. "My prey… Find your own." it hisses through gritted teeth.

"You are our prey now, beast!" the female Skyguard retorts.

Verago gestures toward the water's edge where they came from. There, they lower both the trapped jaquin and its capturer onto solid ground. Verago realises that he'd forgotten about Chatana all the while. He glances at the other end of the water body, only to notice that she's no longer there…

Verago snorts violently. Nothing went as he'd intended. The plan has failed now that Chatana has escaped their clutches. On top of that, he almost lost one of his members. The Skyguard salute him now they have the opportunity. "What happened, general Verago?" one of them asks eagerly between the panting.

"We were ambushed – by Chatana. We almost had her…' Verago growled and he looks at the nguruvili, 'But we have something of hers right here. It is going to tell us everything."

"How do we get this abomination to tell us what it knows?" another Skyguard member asks curiously.

"Pin it to the ground. I have a trick that will work…" Verago states unmoved.

With the nguruvili held tightly to the ground, Verago extends the claws of one of his paws. He holds it against the creature's face. "Tell me where I can find Chatana, beast. Do this and I will let you go. If you do not tell me then I will slowly sink my nails in your flesh."

The nguruvili hisses at Verago. Droplets of water hit him in the face. "I know you…" the elongated fox-like creature says slowly.

"That is not the answer! Tell me what I want to hear."

All the nguruvili does is look Verago in the eyes. Then, it starts twitching, trying to wiggle itself free. Verago puts pressure on its face and his nails make short nicks on its skin. The nguruvili hisses loudly. "Stop squirming and tell me!" Verago yells at the creature.

However, the creature has no intention of letting loose any information. Verago realises this now and he says: "So be it. Let me make these nicks deeper."

"General!" one of the Skyguard utters with worry in his voice.

"What?"

"You are not considering torture, are you? We cannot accept this. We have learned never to resort to using such methods."

"Indeed. You taught us this, general." a second adds.

"We will rather let this beast go than obtain the information through such means." a third one states.

Verago snorts. As always, it's a clear indication of frustration and anger. He wants to acquire the necessary information, whether this beast has it or not. It's vital in tracking down Chatana. To him, obtaining this knowledge is of utmost importance and he'll do so with whatever means necessary. He'd never thought that the burden of protecting the Palace would lead him to perform trivial practices like torture; the stress and strain of his duty make him go further than he'd ever imagined. It's something he'd rather not do, but the situation leaves him no choice.

But so do the Skyguard. Their call for an ethical approach has him reconsider. He looks at them. Serious looks emanate from their faces, warily gazing at their leader. Rarely do they contradict their superior. But, as Verago knows well, their hearts are in the right place. This, too, is part of their training. Deep down he knows their call for reconsideration is just and would Verago turn it down, then he'd undermine his teachings and with that his own core values.

Verago turns to the nguruvili again. "You are lucky. Your end is swift." he says sternly to the elongated fox-like creature.

He lifts his paw and strikes quickly at the creature, his nails extended still. A gash in the nguruvili results from it, leaving the monster lifeless as its hissing dies down…

The black-and-green jaquin takes a deep breath. With this monster eliminated, so is the threat to this region but also the possibility to acquire leads on Chatana. However, he'll have to obtain them through different means. "Come on. We head home." he says benevolently to the Skyguard and he takes to the skies.