In Pieces

by Suzue0Shayana

A shattered story about a woman who had lost something important during every part of her life. Will she be able to collect her missing 'pieces? 'Dialogues as sharp as thongs hurting your butt and as incisive as a bitchslap. Reflections as brilliant as a Vegas neon. Cliffhangers as violent as truck drifts' - at least Zhalia says so, you'll check it yourself!

14. Chapter 14: Freedom Fighters

Hi everyone and Merry Christmas to you all!

I know that it's a bit late for wishes and gifts... but I'm sorry, I didn't manage to get the chapter done earlier, even if I really tried. It was impossible before Christmas (kanji test, yuuuk, it didn't go as well as the previous one, but I hope I will pass), and when I came back home, there was so many things to take care of after my absence... You know how it is. But I didn't forget about you, don't worry!

Also, this chapter was quite hard for me to write. It surprised me, as I liked the episode. Grier developing a complex personality was a good thing to see, as I love his attitude, design and voice (when he says 'Megataur', I feel a shiver down my spine! I have a thing for guys with deep voices). I intend to write a separate story about him someday. Or maybe include a chapter focused on him here?

I don't know, maybe this lack of inspiration was caused by the exhaustion after studying so much before the test? Or laziness? Don't know, but again, I'm really sorry and hope that the delay at least made the chapter worth reading. I promise to make up for it. You know, episode 13... (squeal!)

Rrrrreviews!

- Joey8: Yeah, I know chap. 13 lacked some of the DXZ touch... but I didn't find much opportunities to stuff their moments into it. I always try to write my own scenes involving their private talks, but sometimes it's not possible, they simply don't fit in or feel right.
Don't worry, I always overreact :D I'm not offended by your words, I know you advise me well. But I'm not going to abandon the story, no matter what. I tend to keep my duties in order and put them in the first place, but there are few things I won't leave just like that. I care for this story - and you, my Readers - more than you imagine. Even if I have a break (and one is coming soon, in January or February, as I will have to study for my exams), I will come back soon.

- Jess: Don't remind me, writing a test on 19th December is a pain T.T But the next day was our university Christmas Eve and I enjoyed it a lot! We sang Japanese carols and Christmas songs, our conversation teacher baked us some chocolate cookies, there were many sweets to eat, we also chattered a lot (I have many nice colleagues!) and laughed, and drank Japanese tea, and so on... I feel so good among those people, I didn't know there were another positive freaks just like me ^^
As for the fanfic: sorry, but I don't really read another ones... First, I'm extremely jealous of the other authors and always compare my stories to them XD It makes me feel second-rated and stop working on my chapters 'cause I feel they're not as well-written as the others, not good enough to be posted... I know it's stupid, but I can't help it. Second, I always fear being accused of copying someone else's ideas, even if it's accidental and unintentional. I would rather not get influenced by them. Maybe someday, when I finish this one, I'll check 'Always save you'...

- Kimberly: I always understand what you write, though I sometimes wondered what happened to some of the words ^^ Now the mystery is solved! How was your Chemistry test? I hope it went well!
Zhalia is a little jealous fool, but she can't help it as she gets interested in Dante more and more... Hahaha, she'll beat a living sh*t outta Scarlet when she appears XD At least mentally... But then, she'll have to deal with Ryder... I can't wait to write it, I'm so excited :D

- CindyKayla: I listened to your suggestion that having just a half of the chapter is disturbing, so here comes the whole one again. I'm not sure if I made it as awesome as you wrote the previous one was, but I tried!
I know Zhalia is silly for pushing Dante away. But she is like that in the cartoon, and that's probably the way I'd also act if I was in her shoes. After all, I find many similarities between us so often.
I've always thought Dante's eyes look similar to Solwing's. I have a soft spot for this Titan (you know, the way he protected Dante in ep. 47 was touching and heart-breaking...). That's why I thought about Titans and their relationships with the Seekers. When the bond is broken, they seem to be in pain. And that's exactly how it is when you part ways with someone you love, I guess... so that's the origin of the comparison. A bit pompous, but I couldn't help it.
I've already wrote to Jess about 'Always Save You', so... I guess I ran out of words about it ^^ Check it out above.

Before you read the chapter, there are also few things I wanted to write:

First, if you like watching DXZ videos, I'd love to invite you to my YouTube channel. I'm not sure if Fanfiction allows the users to post links, but my username is the same as here, Suzue0Shayana. So, if you want to find me, just write: /user/Suzue0Shayana. Please come and enjoy!

Second: wiki/In_Pieces_-_Huntik:_Secrets_Wiki - it's the link to the wikia. I'm sorry it's so empty and unfinished, but I hope to clean it and make some changes. If you don't see the link, just type 'In Pieces Huntik Wikia' to your browser. I guess it'll find it.

I'm sorry for making it so long. I'm not stopping you anymore. Enjoy the chapter and wait for the next way more exciting ones to come!

Sha

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9th July 2009, Thursday, 11:14

Medea Island

The Aegean Sea

Dante smacked his lips worriedly, looking into the motorboat's mechanical guts. He examined the engine cautiously, trying not to spoil any of its broken parts more. His team waited for the verdict in suspense. The observation took him fifteen minutes, after which he straightened up with his brow furrowed.

'And what?', Lok asked impatiently, stretching his neck out to see something above his shoulder.

'I'm not sure', he murmured, scratching his chin. 'It looks like the repair will take a while. Mostly because I'll probably have to resort to the on-board computer's help. It is a serious matter, I'd rather not screw anything up, consisting only on my guesswork.'

Lok sighed, disappointed. Waiting wasn't his favorite thing to do.

'What are we supposed to do there the whole time?', he spread his arms. 'There's nothing more than sand, trees and the sea.'

'Did you expect cinemas, entertainment centers and amusement parks?', Sophie scoffed at him. 'It's a desert island, not Las Vegas. Besides, you had enough fun yesterday', she added bitterly, calling back the memory of the girl Lok had spent most of the previous day with. Knowing that she had only been a hologram didn't convince her to forget about that event.

'Dante, do you have any games on your holotome?', the boy ignored her. 'I'll be fine with Mario Bros. Or even Packman. Anything, 'cause my GameBoy stopped working…', he added with the desperation of a kid of modern civilization cut off the newest technology.

'I'm taking the holotome', Zhalia cut before Vale managed to respond. 'I'll need the Internet.'

'I thought the pros don't kill time surfing in the Internet', the Casterwill mocked her.

'The pros use every available sources to crack the ancient secrets open', she shrugged. 'If we're spending here at least few extra hours, I'm going not to waste this time and take care of our finding.'

She pointed meaningfully at the stone board, thickset with signs carved in it. They discovered in the ruins of the sinister obelisk, right next to the amulet of the perverse Titan Medea, now lying safely in the locked box under the deck; its key was placed in Dante's trousers' pocket, thriftily attached to a chain with a piton, clipped to the belt loop. Just not to let it slip and get lost in the sand.

Sophie approached the board and lifted it cautiously, looking at the elaborately carved symbols.

'The linguistics is my department', she remarked not without pride. 'I'll translate it in a blink.'

'No option', Zhalia responded, catching the board from the other side. 'That's my loot.'

'We found it together…', Sophie denied, pulling the tile closer to her and preparing for the argument hanging in the air.

'I remind you that when I was discovering the secrets of this island, you were busy with some rubbish', the operative Moon accentuated, not giving up. 'And you'd be still dazed by them if I hadn't won you freedom. So better stay back, 'cause you know perfectly that I deserve that', she added in a voice that was supposed to end the discussion.

'It's not your property!', the girl protested abruptly, putting more effort into the struggle. 'Every ancient artifact we find belongs to the Huntik Foundation in the first place! It's the Foundation which protects the world heritage. You don't have a right to skim it off egoistically!'

'And who will decide about that?!', Zhalia shook her head combatively. 'A second-class newbie?!'

'Second class, ha!', the offended girl repeated. 'It's not me who's just a mere nobody! Really, I regret that yesterday I defended you against those…'

'Ladies, please, don't start over…', Cherit asked shyly, disturbed by the raising clash and worried about the board, pulled left and right, left and right every second. He almost saw it in pieces.

'In that case', Zhalia interrupted, unhanding the tile suddenly, which made Sophie falter behind, 'let the Foundation decide.'

'Alright', the girl nodded, regaining her spirit and squeezing the board to her chest, as if she had already know the verdict. 'Let's contact Guggenheim.'

'I meant that the highest-ranked member of our team decides', the operative Moon corrected. 'Guggenheim wouldn't be pleased if we fatigued him in such a trivial and obvious', she accentuated firmly, 'matter.'

'Right', Sophie admitted coldly, then turned away from Zhalia. 'Dante? What do you think about it?'

'Hm?', Vale, lost in his thoughts, raised his head from above the engine; he looked as if he had been focusing only on their mechanical problem for the last few minutes and had completely ignored the scuffle, unnecessary from his male point of view.

'Which one of us should take care of the board?', Sophie précised her question.

Vale wondered for a moment, then shrugged.

'Forgive me, Sophie, but I think that illusion magic isn't a domain to mess with. Zhalia is more experienced in that branch, as she has proved few times. I'm sure she'll deal with this spell as well.'

The Casterwill gaped; she was certain of the victory, after all, until now she had been treated like a dependable source of the bookish knowledge and an expert in powers. Taking advantage on her stupor, Zhalia took the board away from her arms unceremoniously.

'Thank you', she said with a smile too sweet to be honest.

The Casterwill only snarled and walked away, clenching her fists with anger and kicking the pebbles on her way. She jumped onto the deck and pretended that she didn't give a thing about the lose, instead, she got fascinated by the clouds sailing across the sky.

'And me?', Lok reminded about himself mournfully. 'What's with me?'

Zhalia rolled her eyes. She delved in her pocket and drew out two small, cylindrical objects.

'Here you go', she threw them to the boy, who, despite being surprised, managed to catch them. 'Remember, plus to plus, minus to minus', she added meanly, receding with the board held under her arm and her head raised proudly. Lok at first looked at her in shock, then examined two batteries lying on his hand in disbelief.

'How on earth she…?', he murmured, knitting his eyebrows.

He exchanged stares with Cherit, who only spread his paws, and Dante, who just sighed and shook his head. When it came to Zhalia, one could never be sure of anything.

10th July 2009, Friday, 13:21

Medea Island

The Aegean Sea

It turned out that fixing the motorboat engine is a serious difficulty even for such an ace like Mr. Vale. The toxic vines ravaged through the machine harder than we initially thought, and it took Dante some time first to find the source of the problem, then to deal with it with the help of the indispensable tools kit, which, luckily, was found in the boat's equipment. Eventually, our stay on the Medea Island got extended for the next day.

However, I don't think it was a wasted time. I filled most of the horribly dragging hours with the careful study of the stone board. I managed to translate (of course with the holotome's help) the spell written on it, which had been keeping the island clouded by the mists of illusions and charming visions, deluding the voyagers effectively. Before I got myself to sink into the complex instructions, I made sure I wouldn't have any annoying company. It wasn't very difficult. Sophie, irritated by the failure, went to sulk about Lok's behavior. Because, obviously, I happened to mention to her how easily a charming islander wrapped him around her finger… I know, I'm mean. But it's so funny to watch how the Casterwill at the same time tries to pretend that she doesn't care and fights with jealousy that Lok dares to admire someone else. What a dog in the manger… She's got bad luck, though, since the young Lambert fixed his GameBoy and for a long time, he had disappeared from the real world, choosing virtual journeys through the following levels and, for a change, kicking butts only on screen, not in live. As long as the platform games were active, he didn't give a shit about his peer's baseless, in his opinion, pip.

Unfortunately, though I got rid of the kids, there was still one slightly disturbing detail left. The detail who looked good even if he had been laboring in the Greek heat, his wet hair had been sticking to his forehead, and sweat was coming through his T-shirt on his back, chest and armpits… I must confess shamefully that I caught myself many times that instead of reading the lines of the text scrabbled with my own angular handwriting, I thoughtlessly gazed at Dante's muscles moving under his clothes to the rhythm of his precise and purposeful gestures, guessed when he'll brush his falling strands back again, and wondered if possibly Mr. Vale hadn't debuted in some movie yet, 'cause the whole scene indistinguishably reminded me of the intro of a random porn video about a car mechanic and a horny owner of the crashed vehicle. And he was doing good as the leading character. However, he seemed to forget that in such productions, the main character is usually way more interested in his client's needs than in the broken gearbox. I'd fix his stick more quickly…

Luckily, after many efforts and hardships, Dante managed to fill the idyllic atmosphere on the shore with the familiar murmur of the engine.

'Hurray!', Lok jerks his head up from above his toy, which he had already lost his interest in a long time ago (how many times can you complete the same levels?!). 'You did it!'

'I knew it'd be a snap for you, Dante!', Sophie compliments him warmly, lured out from the deck by the awaited sound.

Hearing the kids' joyful shouts, their hooting and clasping full of admiration, I even hold back a remark that McGyver would deal with it a lot faster, and using only some dutch tape, wire and toothpicks. After all, I'm also glad we'll leave soon. And that probably I won't have to fight myself not to look at a quite nice piece of a guy who unknowingly exposed all his advantages in front of me.

'So, are we coming back to our mission?', Lok beams, tired of boredom.

'Hey, hey, calm down', Dante soothes his enthusiasm, smiling, but a bit tired as well. 'Let me take a breath.'

'Alright', Lok accepts reluctantly; he'd say his goodbyes to Medea Island as well. 'It's just… what are we supposed to do? I've already played the whole Spider-man…'

'I have an occupation', I remind them. 'So shut up and let me work.'

Dante nods and orders the kids to clear off with a gesture. He himself comes into the water and there, he starts to wash away dirt and sweat. He swills his grease-stained hands, dries them precisely, just then he rubs his stiff neck. I've just noticed that his back, nape and forearms got bronzed because of working in the full sun. And strangely, I consider it delicious. Maybe it's due to that tasty, light brown color. I'd say: caramel, if I liked sweets, but sorry, since I don't, it reminds me only of the nicely browned fries. I love fries.

I shake my head. Remember your focus, Zhalia, and don't think about food. And about your fancy to willingly champ even Dante Vale.

I return to the sheet with the old Greek carving's translation. I almost got how it works, however… I still need some time to give it a test run and check if I really understood the instructions.

And the regularly repeating sounds aren't helping me do that. I raise my stare and knit my eyebrows, seeing Dante wriggling on the nearby rock, as if he was dancing capoeira.

'Can you tell me what the hell are you doing?', I throw wryly.

'Warming up', he responds, continuing a complex sequence of moves with an unshaken calm. 'I went a bit numb during the work.'

I shrug and try to focus on the text again. But I know perfectly it's pointless as long as Dante is here, Dante showing his strength, vitality, agility and nimbleness in the full bloom. It's impossible to take your eyes off such an impressing view. Once, next to the hefty Montehue, he seemed deft like a hunting jaguar to me… Now, though there's no one else to compare him to, that impression doesn't fade. His fluid movements, precise, full of expression, but not mock, forced, just instilled in the human nature, conglomerated with it so tightly that they became almost instinctive…

I have to turn away to end the foolishness finally. I stare like a halfwit, just wasting my time. As if Mr. Vale's training was really worth such an amazement…

'Aaaaahhhh!', Lok howls, just when I manage to bring my thoughts back onto the right track. 'What did you do that for?!'

I peek above my shoulder at the brats, hoping that they'll drop dead due to my killing stare. None of them doesn't pay attention to me, though. Lok, looking like a drowned rat, stands with his arms down, dripping wet. Next to him, Sophie lowers an emptied bucket.

'I've been trying to get your attention for ten minutes!', she explains, leaning the container on her hip. 'If that didn't work, I was going to resort to using powers!'

Very clever, really. I guess that a punch is way more effective and doesn't create a danger of killing your teammate by accident.

'I guess that tapping me on the shoulder didn't cross your mind', the discontent boy murmurs, drying his head with a towel brought attentively by Cherit.

'Taking Lindorm for a spin?', the Titan guesses, noticing an amulet in his hand, the same one which was contained in St. George's sword and which Dante in all his hopeless nobility gave to that teenage nonentity.

'Yeah, right…', the boy starts and cuts short, lolling his head.

'Why not, Lok?', the intrusive girl investigates right away. 'You've never invoked him, not even in practice!'

'I know it sounds pretty lame, but…', he hesitates, embarrassed and confused, 'I feel kinda intimidated, Sophie… If I can't control him, he might really hurt someone…', he rolls the circular item in his fingers helplessly.

'His strength in combat makes his worth the trouble', Dante remarks, leaving his exercises and approaching the youngsters. You know, Agony Aunt always has to put in his two cents worth.

'Dante, don't you think Lok should give him a test run?', Sophie seeks an ally in him.

'Your focus has improved…', Dante avoids an unambiguous answer. Maybe he's disappointed in Lok's attitude towards his gift and regrets giving that cabbage such a valuable Titan? Or he really wonders whether to summon Lindorm or not, given his rapacious personality? 'Maybe it's the sea air?'

If that was the case, Lok's inhaled so much breeze that he should be on par with Buddhist monks in concentration, meanwhile the only thing that can catch his attention for longer than five minutes are platform games. Your argument is invalid.

'Alright, I'll go for it!', the boy decides, taking Dante's words as an encouragement and appreciating Sophie's support.

I take a break in my study, judging that the view will be worth it more than that, let alone Dante's previous activities underlining his broad chest. Lok raises the amulet high; even from such a distance, the light reflected in the celadon gem dazzles me.

'Lindorm, answer me!'

The sunbeams get an emerald shade, sliver, create a thread of an intensively green energy flowing in the air… Suddenly it starts to grow completely material claws, thick, hairy paws, calloused flakes on the shaggy back, curved horns on the wolfish head with huge bat-like ears and burning eyes of a prowling lynx, goat-like beard and nostrils and tusks of an infuriated boar, everything placed on a snakelike, legless body narrowing towards the tail and covered in grayish, rough bristle.

'Looks so mean…', Sophie states, and I recognize admiration fighting with disbelief and a slight fear in her voice.

'Now then Lok, let's see some action!', Cherit encourages the boy, more astonished than frightened by his enormous cousin.

'Okay…', Lok accepts; is it only me who senses uncertainty in his voice? 'Lindorm, throw that rock into the water!', he orders to the Titan, though it sounds more like a gentle request with a possibility to refuse. That's not the way you talk with a Titan. I know something about it, I've got a comparingly uneasy time with King Basilisk, however, I didn't let him smother me. Of course, you have to pretend a bit that you see him as a who-knows-what, as a embodiment of the invincible power, that way he feels self-confident and satisfied that he can show off in front of mere mortals, but I also have my methods how to trick him and force to be obedient when I need it, without damaging his high self-esteem. It's a win-win situation.

Lok still has to learn much… Any Titan won't listen to a wimp who openly shows them his inferiority. Especially as brutal and unpredictable as Lindorm. It's not a merry pooch you can bribe with praises and scratching. On the contrary, he will take advantage on every symptom of human weakness to get as much as he can, and finally, force his will. Now he's not impressed by Lambert's gentle timbre. Though he lifts the rock and throws it high, instead of letting it fall onto the bottom, he crushes it into pieces midair; few of them barely misses the Seekers' heads.

'Careful, Lok!', Cherit starts to understand that though the Titans are one family, there are also black sheep among them; for example, a nasty cousin… panting with hatred and bloodthirsty, approaching the men and intending to bite their heads off with one snap.

Guess who'll save the day? Not Lok, who only shouts desperately:

'I can control this guy… I think!'

Straight and loose as much as it's possible given the view of the monster attacking my comrades, I concentrate and gather my power in a way described on the stony board. I pay a special attention to Lindorm's image, trying to paint him in my imagination in the most accurate way, from the tip of his tail to his snuffing nose. When I'm sure that I didn't miss any important detail, I drawl clearly, letting my power out:

'Thoughtspectre!'

The shaking circles, created on the water by the falling rocks, start to shiver even more, then a dark, phantom silhouette raises from them… just like a mirror reflection of the Titan levitating nearby. The surprised monster loses his interest in the Seekers and faces his clone, whose existence he finds more dangerous than a bunch of some pitiful human ants. He dashes at the opponent fiercely, as if he was going to tear his neck apart with his claws or fangs. I see straps of fur flying all around.

'Steady…', Dante keeps a cool head even few steps apart from the deadly beasts. 'Do it, Lok!'

'Lindorm, return now!', Lok doesn't wait for any other signal.

The Titan reluctantly leaves his equally ferocious prey and, much to everyone's relief, doesn't try to prove his superiority again, just comes back to the amulet with a roar. Then I cancel the spell. Both Lindorms disappear in a cloud of green energy.

'Oh, don't everyone thank me at once', I throw sarcastically, coming down to the others from my observation point.

'What was that?', the shocked Sophie asks.

'I finally mastered the illusion power we found', I respond lightly, bursting with pride that I managed to stun that bookworm with my new abilities.

'Great!', Lok is amazed, probably because thanks to that, he still has his balls in place. 'I'm sure that'll be a big help.'

'Yeah!', Sophie joins the enthusiasm with the whole gathered irony. 'She can use illusions now, brilliant!'

She throws me a hating look saying 'I don't know your plans, but I keep an eye on you'. I ignore her haughtily, though I regret a bit that I didn't let Lindorm bite her leg off. However, I care only about Dante's opinion. As long as he doesn't act suspicious towards me, I'm fine. Well, he doesn't. He barely acknowledges my success. I don't want his compliments, but at least 'Good job' would be nice to hear.

'You know, Lok, Lindorm is a violent Titan', I lecture the boy like an expert in taming such creatures. 'You'll have to think destructive thoughts to control him… Now, don't we have a mission to get back to?', I remind them, raising my index finger, then I place my hands akimbo in a expectant manner, waiting for monsieur captain's signal.

'We do', Dante admits, jumping onto the deck vigorously, as if he hadn't spent last hours repairing the boat in heat. 'We'll set off for the Argo today.'

'This is so cool! It's just like we're with Jason and the Astronauts, Sophie!', Lok bursts cheerfully.

'Argonauts!', the annoyed girl corrects him, angry that her fears were ignored. I grin, 'cause I was actually amused by that mistake. 'It's Jason and the Argonauts!'

'Get your gear together, Seekers…', as always, Dante tries to avoid any unnecessary argument during an important mission; what a stickler. 'We have a boat to find…'

The same day, 14:51

The Aegean Sea

Open waters

'Hey, check it out!', Lok finally stops staring at the horizon with boredom; leaning over the barrier, he points at something in the distance, which we're approaching every second.

I squint my eyes and look hard, noticing grayish shapes of twin rocks, separated by few meters of water and creating some kind of a canal limited by their walls, so smooth that they appear unnatural, as if they were polished up.

'The Argonauts must've sailed right through here', I guess and get silence at once, 'cause I call back cloudy fragments about that topic from mythology. I didn't pay as much attention to them as I did towards Medea, but… As far as I remember, none of the Argonauts' adventure wasn't exactly pleasant. And some of them demanded human sacrifices.

Dante apparently has the same feeling, 'cause he suddenly pulls the brake; the boat shakes backward and forward, and Lok almost gets choked by the drink he was going to swallow; most of the can's content spread all over his shirt, though.

'Hey!', he shouts, spitting and looking worriedly at the spilled soda. 'What did you do that for?!'

'Look up there', Sophie shows him the reason for our anxiety. 'There's a burn mark on both sides of the cliff…'

'That's some coincidence', Cherit plays it down. So old, yet still so stupid…

'Maybe not', Dante denies more sharply, rummaging through his pocket and drawing out the amulet. 'Caliban!'

'What do we need him for?...', Lok murmurs, seeing how the Aztec warrior appears above the deck. The Titan lands on the panels, so violently the stern bows; his mass outweighs the front of the boat and makes the back go up suddenly. Lok falls back, losing his balance; the cooler with our drinks flies right above him, thrown into the air as if it was catapulted. It should land in the water; however, when it reaches the space between the rocks, they suddenly tremble and lock together like two magnets, turning it into a slice of metal and plastic in a second and press it into the stone with a painful crack.

'Not the most elegant trap I've ever seen…', I comment ostentatiously, as if we hadn't almost ended up the same.

'Any boat caught in there would be crushed in an instant!', Sophie guesses. What a deduction, woooah. 'Aren't they supposed to stay still? In the myth, the Argonauts managed to trick the Symplegades, sending a dove first. The cliffs locked on its tail, ripping off only a few feathers, and then the heroes took advantage on the time when they were re-setting to sail through… From then on, the story didn't repeat anymore.'

'As you see, the Symplegades have a fancy to hug something again', I throw wryly.

'But why my soda!', Lok resents behind us.

'There are plenty of drinks in the other cooler', the irritated Dante fobs him. 'But first, let's get past these cliffs.'

'Ice green tea, boiled ginseng extract?...', Lok murmurs under his breath, rummaging through the other cooler's content. 'Man, that's like drinking a carpet!'

I barely hold back a giggle. You hit the nail on the head, kid. If you hadn't left the shopping to Sophie, we'd have enough hamburgers, coca-cola and pizza.

'Maybe we can get through while it's re-setting!', Sophie comes up with an idea.

Hey, hey… I remind you that it's not an experiment in the low-danger conditions, on the laboratory rats! It's us who'll be the guinea pigs!

'Hold tight!', Dante orders us and switch the gear on.

The motorboat rushes forward so abruptly that Lok gets his head stuck in the cooler, toppling the neatly settled cans. No one of us goes to help him, we're too focused on observing the cliffs which are still re-setting.

'We're on the move… Are we gonna make it?!', Cherit wriggles with anxiety, following our boat's moves as we sail in between the rocks.

For a moment, when only the bow crosses the dangerous border, nothing bad happens. But…

'The cliffs have almost re-set! We need to go faster!', Sophie hurries up, seeing the rocks stunned few meters apart from each other and guessing that no they'll start the journey back.

Dante doesn't have any higher gears he could use now, despite this, he still looks for some kind of a magical button as if he was in the Back to the Future Doctor's car and counted that we will be saved by some hidden device. The teleporter would be the best!

'We're not gonna make it!', I state, smelling some distinctive odor. 'The engine's burning up!', I try to outshout its agonic drone and make Dante realize that, damn it, he should know best that after the last repair, the engine won't be in its greatest condition!

'We've only got a few seconds!', he responds, not slowing down. He apparently thinks that the state of our equipment doesn't matter now, only the runaway does. Very well, but why didn't he think earlier that there's only a slight percent of chance for us to survive that?!

'Would it help if I got out and pushed?!', I yell furiously, clutching my fingers on the barrier and spitting my wildly flowing hair out of my mouth.

'Yeah!', Lok shouts suddenly. 'That's a great idea!'

Before I manage to tell that idiot that I only joked, he jumps over the balustrade and lands on the lower deck. Does he want to get caught in the rotor?! I won't clean it off his guts later!

'Nimblefire!', Sophie casts the spell on Lok. The boy starts to waggle his legs quickly, as if he was born in the water or tried to surpass Michael Phelps. Hell, I'm a genius after all… even if only accidentally.

'Not fast enough!', Dante dampens my enthusiasm. Thanks. You always know how to lift my spirit! Couldn't you let it pass just that one time, when I have a feeling that I can avoid being crushed like a tortilla! Just that one thing before we die, you moron! 'Caliban, Hyperstride!'

The Titan like an agile dolphin joins Lok, making a big difference – the boat accelerates greatly. However, what is that compared to the speed the rocks want to lock themselves with?!

'Here it comes!', I warn the others.

'More speed!', Dante yells back, but we both know we won't go any faster. He convinced me that I can write my last will now. And reveal my last wish, if I want to.

I've got many, but there's a special one I'd love to say out loud now.

I wish I could kick your ass, you damned daredevil! You could have not gamble with my life! Similarly, you're endangering those brats who look up to you! Ahhh, how could have I been so stupid to almost start to like you!? Mainly due to your nice butt?!

I twitch when I hear a thud.

'Lok!', Sophie squeals.

I told you so! He shouldn't have gone there, everyone knows he's not a born swimmer… I close my eyelids, trying not to think about how the water will turn red soon, filled with pieces of his liver, T-shirt and trainers. A second later I'll turn into fish food…

My heart comes to my throat… and then…

'WE'VE MADE IT!', Cherit yells with disbelief.

What?!

I open my eyes and stare back. That's unbelievable! We leave the Symplegades far behind! They didn't crush us like a French pastry! And that's all thanks to Caliban who stopped the rocks before they changed us into slab cakes. And sacrificed himself to save us.

'Barely…', I choke out, taking my white hands off the barrier. Luckily, defeating the Titan doesn't end with seeing his guts floating all around. But what's up with Lok?!

'Wow, thanks, Dante…', his fair-haired head emerges from under the deck. 'Nice save!'

'Thanks, Caliban', Dante responds to that, catching the Titan's returning power to the amulet. I guess who stands behind the success of that crazy operation. The Titan wiser than his master…

'Wait!', Sophie's voice stops me from an outburst of negative emotions which gathered within me during last few minutes. 'Where are we?'

I swallow a stream of curses forming in my mouth, which I was intending to throw above that idiots' heads, and remind myself that I asked for that on my own, acting like a total wimp and catching the first helping hand to get myself out of the depth of depression. I reach for the holotome and check our location.

'Sutos Island', I say, analyzing the map, 'and that bay…'

'…is the perfect place to sink the Argo so no one can find it', Dante finishes my sentence.

'Great!', Lok dreams only about some action, something that will take him closer to his father. 'Let's go check it out!'

'We must be cautious', Dante dampens his emotions. 'Sutos is in the midst of the civil war.'

'Sounds dangerous', Sophie remarks. You bet, princess. A civil war means quite a shithouse, chaos and mess all around. And any certainty who's our friend or foe. Most of the time, it turns out that in a situation like this, everyone cares only for themselves. That's why we should also be prepared to act like that. Alright. That's nothing new for me, but for the brats, always counting on him, it's gonna be a hard lesson.

'To be save, we'll dock on the far side of the island and sneak up on foot', Vale decides.

Sneak up, wooo-hooah. Finally a plan which fits my working style, not diving in the whirlpool of events head on.

The same day, 15:51

Sutos Island city

The Aegean Sea

'All citizens must be registered within the Organization!', the megaphone fulminated, sticking out above the helicopter's propeller standing right in the center of the market and surrounded by neat buildings. 'Now step up!' A guy in a full outfit which associated only with army hurried up one of the hesitating natives. The man reluctantly laid his hand on the screen of the open computer, which probably read his data from his fingerprint and saved the info on the hard drive. 'Everyone should report by sundown!', the soldier threw it to the rest of frightened locals, standing in a queue and waiting for their turn to fulfill the forced duty. 'No excuses!'

Zhalia, who had been observing the square for few minutes, leaning her head out from her hideout (a wall of the building she had stuck to), shivered from indignation.

'The audacity!', she hissed. 'They're treating them like prisoners…'

Lok's face showed that he agreed with her completely, however, he didn't say a word, just lowered his head sadly, lost in his severe thoughts which must've been aroused by that painful scene. The boy was so similar to his father, after all… Eathon had been just that kind of man – usually he had been winning the others' hearts due to his gentle, kind personality, some people had even regarded him as a bungler and a wimp, but when it had been coming to being a witness of breaking human laws, hurting the weak, breaching the moral code, the man had always proved that he hadn't lacked the determination and perseverance to fight for what had thought was right. He had instilled it in his son for sure, but the young Lambert hadn't had many occasions to use those advices. He had lived in the world ruled by constitutions, law, systems of prizes and punishments, guarantying quite a high feeling of security under the countries' wing. The boy was also taken care of by his loving family, protecting him against every danger. Now, far away from the known peace, the kid approached with a mess created by the lack of humanitarian rules and the willfulness of ambitious individuals who dreamed of authority, and he couldn't understand how anyone, even pushed by their own desires and pursuits, could have led to such a destabilization.

Dante wanted to say something comforting to him, to raise his spirit somehow, but his attention got caught by the noises in the dead end nearby. He prowled like a cat and stuck his head out from behind the corner. A man with ruffled, dirty blond hair was raising his pirate-like cutlass (some things hadn't changed over so many years on that small island, isolated from the world!) above a hunched, frightened woman; her groceries laid in a shambles all around her feet.

'You heard me!', the man yelled. 'Hand over everything you've got and you won't get hurt!'

Dante was about to rush and defend the defenseless Sutos inhabitant tempestuously, but…

'Augerfrost!'

The persecutor dropped onto the ground like a rag doll; two silhouettes casted shadows over his unconscious body.

'We said: no trouble!', a hoarse voice ordered; it belonged to a tough guy for sure.

'Anyone causing trouble gets trouble!', added another male in a warning manner, taking a step forward and finally coming into Dante's visual field.

'Thank you, sir…', the shocked woman uttered, collecting her stuff blindly and not taking her eye off the unexpected saviours, who didn't look more gently than her attacker: tall, unshaven, muscular and dogged.

'We're just doing our job', the first one said and suddenly, he seemed familiar to Dante. Vale sticked out just a little bit more when he continued: 'You should report to registration.'

Dante looked the soldier's uniforms and faces up and down again. He noticed a part of a red beard; he remembered seeing its owner few days ago, in the group of men led by a fair-haired bruiser…

'Grier again', he murmured to himself, then he backed and returned to the rest.

Lok was still staring at his feet, not wanting to witness this pitiful performance, vilipending human dignity. Zhalia, however, staked it out carefully.

'Once again, the strong have overpowered the weak', she commented bitterly, knitting her curved eyebrows.

Her narrowed eyes were burning with greater fury every moment. To subdue her raging emotions, she dig her nails into her palms and bit her lower lip; a small, bleeding scab appeared on them. She shivered out of anger, which she couldn't hide despite her tries. Dante could cope with Lok's behavior somehow, but he didn't expect Zhalia to react as emotionally, if not even stronger than Lok. Had she, just like Lambert, never seen how unfair the power apparatus acted? Her, that experienced woman who seemed not to give a damn about the whole world? Could she detest it so much without a serious reason? Dante had taken a closer look on her profile in the Foundation database. She had been in Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China, so many countries where the rulers arrogated themselves with the power to control the individuals. Had she forgotten what she had seen? Didn't she want to remember, 'cause it moved her too strongly?

He reached his hand out to put it onto her shoulder in a soothing manner, but he resigned seeing someone approaching them; the person was dressed in Sutos clothes, wrapped in the shawl like a hijab, up to her eyes.

'Any luck, Sophie?', Dante asked, knowing who was hiding under the disguise due to their rare color..

'Well', the girl started, uncovering her face, 'I was able to chat with some locals.'

'Let's talk in a place a little more private, shall we?', he silenced her.

Sophie accepted with a nod and sneaked out of the city borders. Lok stopped leaning on the wall and followed in her footsteps. After a moment, however, he stopped and looked above his shoulder at the anxious citizens.

'We must help them', he said in a nagging whisper.

'We do, and we will', Dante guaranteed him reassuringly, 'but we can't act without a plan, especially being in the minority.'

Lok wasn't very pleased by that answer, but it was enough to make him calmer due to the promise of doing something. He followed the Casterwill in a more confident pace. Dante escorted them with his stare; he stated that they shouldn't duck out of the town in a group not to raise suspicions, and was waiting for his turn, leaning on the wall and hidden in its shadow.

'What are you gonna do?'

He twitched, hearing Zhalia's emotionless, dispassionate voice. He turned to her. She continued to stand still and keep an eye on the market.

'I don't know yet', he shrugged, then crossed his arms on his chest.

'And you won't', she shook her head. 'There are no good solutions in such situations. If we fight, we will get hurt, as well as the citizens.'

'I don't want to fight', he responded shortly. 'I've got another plan.'

'Just like always', she mocked him. 'What will you propose to them? A chess match? Who wins, calls the shots? I imagine those emotions over the chessboard…'

'You can say so', he murmured. 'Maybe I'll just choose another method', he smiled only with a corner of his mouth, because he didn't really feel like laughing. 'I'm not a good cheesplayer.'

'Oh, stop it', she spitted out. 'Do you really think the Organization considers the possibility of mediation? They've already shown that they won't hesitate to use force, even towards the civilians.'

Dante opened his mouth, intending to tell her about the scene witnessed in the dead end and his doubts about the nature of Sutos takeover raised by it. However, he resigned, because he hadn't settled his thoughts in order yet. He preferred not to voice his thoughts unless he found just a shade of proof that he was right.

'Besides', she carried on, taking advantage on his silence, 'we're here not as a commando fighting evil. We've got a mission, and we should take care of it first, instead of playing Power Rangers and…'

Dante got stunned. He hadn't expected such a volte-face. Just a moment before, Zhalia had seemed as if she had been going to rush and jump between the locals and the soldiers, shield the first ones and scatter the second ones to the four winds, unmindful to the consequences. Meanwhile now… Instead of that unhampered anger, he sensed only cold, indifference and calculation.

'So you're expecting me to turn a blind eye on the whole balls-up and go about my own business instead?', he responded with a question, stuffing his hands into his pockets. 'To pretend that I don't see anything wrong? I'm not able to do so, Zhalia.'

'Unlike you', he wanted to add, but it stuck in his throat. He didn't know why; he really itched to throw that remark out his mouth. To goad her to explain. To understand why she had suddenly refused to do anything. After all, she cared as much as they did. Why did she pretend not to? Why was she trying to cover her concern with the mask of a tough woman who had seen a thing or two and now she wasn't moved or touched by anything? And why did she expect everyone to act the same, to pass over it so lightly? That they would overcome the catharsis, spit their bad feelings out in heavy words and regarding it as a proper reaction, enough as a proof of their own endurance towards the callousness, they would accept the injustice? He'd give much to lighten that spark of rebellion against the cruelty and discrimination he had seen in her eyes before. To bring back that rightful wrath which had been almost electrifying the air around her, that anger which had melted her icy pose and shown him the girl's other face. The face which sometimes, very rarely, he saw under the areola of dryness and impassivity. He wanted to believe that it was there. That it was not only a phantasm, an embodiment for his wishes, created only to justify Zhalia and her strange mood swings. That expect of the mercenary, detached and haughty woman, there's also something valuable in her. Something which, despite the fact how disturbing she was for him and how strange ways she walked, still was making him treat her as one of them.

Zhalia only smirked tartly and straightened up. When she turned away from the queue of the locals, her eyes were coated in the usual layer of ice and unconcealed derision.

'Detective Vale, sir', she said ironically, 'you are irreclaimable.'

Though it was meant to be an offence, she failed. He hadn't found any reason to deny it. He agreed with her completely in that matter.

'I know', he shrugged. 'And I'm quite proud of it.'

Zhalia only pursed her lips out of irritation.

The same day, 16:12

The outskirts

Sutos Island

The Aegean Sea

'The Organization landed this morning and took over by force. They secure the phone lines, the dogs even use Titans on the locals!', Sophie was throwing out feverishly, wanting to tell them as fast as possible what she had learnt. She had boiled from excitement since they had left the city and hidden in the nearby grove. There, sheltered from the unwanted witnesses of their meeting, could start the conference, although they hadn't forgotten about the additional precautions. The kids and Zhalia were dressed in Sutos clothes, only Dante had stayed in his usual outfit, despite their persuasions that if they had been forced to look ridiculous, they should look ridiculous together. However, Zhalia had said that a guy dressed in such a longcoat looked ridiculous nevertheless, so they had left him alone.

'I knew it!', Lok stated with a stout face, clenching his hand. 'The Huntik Foundation is all about freedom, right? We've gotta kick the Organization out of here!', he accentuated, banging his fists against his knee.

'For now, we have to worry about our mission, the Argo', Dante interrupted them, concentrated, with his brow furrowed. 'Sophie, did you learn anything?'

'Just as you thought', she admitted. 'The local fishermen there's an evidence of the big shipwreck in the bay.'

Dante nodded.

'These Suits are being led by Grier', he informed, shocking the rest of the team. 'They're most likely concentrated in the old warlord's mansion which overlooks the bay', he pointed at the map, not giving them enough time to ask how he had learnt it and what to do then. 'Lok, Sophie, Cherit, you three will keep the Organization busy', he decided quickly.

'Yeah, I'll show them a thing or two!', the boy assured him ferociously, just looking for an occasion to beat the Suits.

'If you get to fight out in the open, don't try anything fancy', Vale advised them, a bit disturbed by this assiduousness. He started to doubt if he was doing right to send those three to deal with Grier's soldiers. Lok had been making mistakes even in his best condition, and now, when the anger was clouding his thoughts… 'You should rely on straight combat Titans, like Sabriel, Freelancer or Lindorm', he added to calm himself down a bit.

'But who's going to dive down to find the Argo?', Sophie insisted, looking at him enquiringly; she didn't have any objection to the plan. Though… maybe she was actually trying to make him realize that he had placed her in the wrong team, that she was the one who should take care of the mission? Her self-confidence was becoming almost annoying. Especially because it led the girl to the wrong conclusions that she would deal with anything, to exaggerate her abilities. It made her get into unexpected troubles, often too serious to be dealt with alone, even with her mentioned skills.

He had chosen a better candidate for that task.

'Zhalia', he responded; the woman twitched and raised her head. 'With her skills, she has the best chance of sneaking past the municipal guards Grier has recruited', he continued, not revealing the true motives of his choice. Of course those he told them about were real, but… there was something more. Dante felt that Zhalia didn't approve of his plan; that though she had shown discontent towards the way the Organization agents had been treating the natives, she wasn't going to become involved in the politics and local conflicts. He knew that if he asked her, she'd do it; but without dedication. The exaggerated fanaticism wasn't right, but in such situation, just a sliver of good will came in handy. However, it had burnt out in Zhalia as fast as it had gotten lit.

The woman apparently accepted the arrangement. Sophie showed her demur with her whole body, though.

'What's with that look?', the operative Moon threw combatively. 'Think I'm gonna keep all the treasure for myself?'

'I wouldn't put it past you…', the Casterwill responded pugnaciously.

'Well, at least Dante trusts me', Zhalia cut back haughtily, holding back her irritation

Vale peeked aside, embarrassed. Did he trust Zhalia? Sometimes he was 100 percent sure, like when he had asked her to deliver DeFoe's amulet to the Foundation. But then she did something which made him preoccupied, acted so incomprehensibly that he didn't understand the ways her thoughts and emotions flowed… And then he was engulfed by doubts if Zhalia really deserved so much familiarity he treated her with. The situation was more complicated due to the fact that privately, he didn't hesitate to admit that he liked her. Even with her odd habits. And maybe even more due to them. She was different than the women he knew. More mysterious. Surprising. Unpredictable. But not in that coquettish, fake way. Every day, unknowingly, she was uncovering another face in front of him. Some of them repulsed him, the others made him amused, and another ones… fascinated.

'Nobody's perfect', Sophie commented, fitting in the flow of his thoughts.

Yeah, nobody was perfect. Zhalia had a right not to get thrilled by the Sutos fate as much as the rest. She had a right to pretend that she didn't care. Because Dante knew it wasn't true. He noticed. And that was all that mattered.

'You haven't told us what you're going to do, Dante', Cherit brought his thought back onto the right track.

'That's right', Lok joined him suspiciously.

Vale shook himself off the sidetrack wondering and responded calmly:

'Obviously, I'm going to face Grier alone.'

He heard Zhalia's snarl, which sounded exactly as if she had been trying to emphasize without words: 'I juuust kneeew it'.

'Didn't you just tell us our mission was more important than challenging the Organization?', Sophie reminded him strictly.

'I was actually hoping to reason them', he explained, observing the fortress looming in the distance; plans of getting there started to appear in his mind, 'but if I don't keep Grier out of the way, we'll lose. So if talking doesn't work, we fight… to the finish', he added more quietly.

'I don't like that plan', the girl sighed.

'It's not supposed to be liked by us', Zhalia cut. 'It's supposed to work.'

Though her expression was saying clearly: 'I don't like it too'.

The same day, 16:51

The ruler's mansion

Sutos Island

The Aegean Sea

Dante had been counting every heartbeat for half an hour. The years of experience had taught him patience, but not he couldn't wait for the signal. He was tormented by a strange feeling that in all the chaos on Sutos, the true reason of the whole mess was giving him the slip; that taking over the island by the Organization hadn't been just a next act of violence but had a hidden agenda, invisible from behind the cover which they had labeled as vandalism, mugging, breaching human laws and dignity. He still remembered how the two soldiers had come to the attacked woman's aid, and he was well aware that he hadn't seen any Organization agent acting like that until then. They always played hardball and didn't hesitate to step on people, not bothered by the victims, they were even creating new ones…What had changed since their last meeting?

He stuck his head above the battlements of the tower and noticed that the gate guardians had disappeared; there were also clouds of smoke visible on the horizon. The noises of fighting from the shore proved that the kids had taken their duties seriously; however, the soldiers also weren't going to surrender. Dante decided not to push it and don't waste any minute to make the kids need to defend themselves as short as possible.

He emerged from his hideout on the walls; Grier was already coming out of the building. If Dante stuck out far enough, he could have spitted onto his head. The bruiser looked to the distance with his eyes narrowed and gritted his teeth.

'I'll find out who's behind this', his resonant voice sounded like a whisper from up there.

Dante didn't wait any longer.

'I found you!', he announced, jumping in front of the Organization operative fearlessly.

Many people would step back, twitch, do something which would tell their fear off. But not Grier.

'Dante Vale!', he recognized him easily, furrowing his brow. 'You must be here to fight me!'

He didn't seem frightened by that, besides, Dante didn't expect that from him. Grier stood in front of him unmoved, broad-shouldered, muscular, with wide, protruding cheekbones, furrowed face and piercing eyes. He'd look dignified if not the robes enveloping him – olive green, intricately pinned with silver buckles, wrapping the strongman so tightly that the material barely handled it. The image was filled with a decorated cap crowning Grier's temples. The whole attire contrasted much with Dante's opinion about Grier. How was that possible that such a concrete, down-to-earth man let someone to dress him in a costume from a lame theater's dressing room?! And that tunic… Vale couldn't help it, a laughter bubbled in his throat.

'What?!', the muscleman growled.

'Nice outfit', Dante responded, now cackling openly.

Grier gritted his teeth.

'And who's saying that! A man in a dung-colored duster!', he cut back, infuriated, taking a swing.

Dante felt it coming. He blocked the blow, dodged the next one, the third one barely missed his temple. He used Grier's swing and a break he took to regain balance, jumped to the safe distance, not taking his eyes off the opponent, just like he'd follow the lion released from the cage.

'You were supposed to fight me, Vale!', Grier shouted. 'Instead you're sending kids against my men, and running away from me! What a leader you are?!'

As if to claim that, something exploded on the shore. The smell of something burning reached even there, the screech of fighting Titans made Dante's hair on the neck bristle.

'Do you hear that?!', Grier yelled. 'Aren't you going to try and help them?'

'They can take care of themselves', Vale responded haughtily, though he wasn't so sure about. A part of him wanted to flee and support the teenagers, screwing his reputation and the whole plan. But more than worried about Lok and Sophie, he felt shocked by Grier's behavior. Why was he so interested in Dante's comrades? Why was he trying to direct his thought to them? To disturb him with anxiety about them? No, he didn't even try to take advantage on the moment when Dante had peeked at the column of smoke, though he could have smashed him like a tomato... He just stood in front of him and eyed him up, raising his head proudly.

'I'm here to find out what you're up to', Dante added without thinking twice.

'The Organization has taken this island. Nothing more', Grier informed him shortly, looking at him with his eyes as bright as the sky above them and clear like the waters in the bay. Without a slight of insincerity which stained the Organization operatives' eyes so often. Though… sometimes that innocence was the greatest false, cleverly prepared decoy for the naïve ones.

'Subjugation?', Dante misrepresented Grier's words on purpose, wanting to discover the true nature of his invasion on Sutos through his reaction at those words. 'That's the kind of thing that I prevent… by any means necessary', he added warningly.

'So why not make a move?', the fair-haired leader responded, apparently goading him

Dante ignored that loutish bluster.

'You inspire loyalty in your men', he continued without rush. 'Though they're thugs, I've seen you ordered them to show mercy to the weak…', he said, wanting to prove that the man's actions had had their audience.

'Without order, there's no peace, no security', the strongman spoke strictly.

Dante senses that he was avoiding to make the matter clear, that he was hiding something.

'Did you get that out of the fortune cookie?', he mocked him, a bit tired of the man's evasions. He counted that the derision would touch the weakest spot, and then Grier would spill the beans, revealing the info the detective needed to complete the puzzle the Sutos case had become in his mind.

'Life showed me the need for order!', the fair-haired ruler shouted.

'So that's a thing from the past, right?', Dante guessed; the opponent had reacted just in the way he had expected him to. He started to show his hand slowly.

'I'm not seeking a confidant in you!', the Organization operative barked.

'NOOOOOO!'

The retort got stuck in Dante's throat when he heard the blood-freezing scream followed by a deafening roar from the shore. He got tongue-tied, suddenly all the clever plans of tricks and investigation had vanished from his head.

'Lok!', he shouted, realizing who the voice and the roar belonged to. Lindorm… Lindorm must've gotten out of control, maybe he turned against his summoner! It had been a bad idea to encourage Lambert to use him! He tried to see the blonde head, but the crowd on the coast had thickened, looked like a cluster of ants attacking the other insects to tear it into pieces…

He dashed towards the beach, but Grier came into his way.

'If you want to help them, you'll have to defeat me first', he announced emotionlessly, looking at him as if he had been trying to say that Dante had had his chance to retreat; he hadn't used it, so now he would take the consequences.

'I may be able to arrange that!', Vale responded coldly, angry that right when the kids needed him, he had to take care of Grier. Luckily, he had an ace up his sleeve just for such occasions.

'If you won't make the first move, I will…!', the local ruler started.

He cut short, making a stifled shout when the ground started to slide from under his feet. He spread his arms, trying to regain balance; one of his hands got caught in a strong grip.

'Grier, I've already made the first move', Dante commented lightly, observing how his opponent was struggling in the Metagolem's hands; the golden speckles were still falling down the collosus' body. 'I took a liberty on building the mansion on the sand dune!'

'You're not going easy on me this time!', Grier threatened him, hanging in the air. 'Hyperstride!'

He pulled away from Metagolem with a kick and released himself from his grip; Dante didn't let him run away, though. He lashed at him before he landed on the sand.

'Show respect for your opponent!', he growled, exchanging some quick, accurate blows. 'You must fight with everything you have!'

He didn't have to say that; Grier apparently was pushing himself to the limits. His tough fists had left some marks on Dante's forearms, pulsating with pain. During their previous meetings, Grier had been brutal, but not as ferocious as he was now. Dante noticed the change of his attitude and had an urge to discover what was the reason for that. Of course it had something to do with Sutos, but what exactly?… It didn't seem like a mere Organization mission…

'Agreed!', the man responded, landing on the sand and drawing an amulet out of his robes. 'Charge, Breaker!'

Dante wasn't pleased with the Titan's appearance; from among all the pets the Organization agents had in store, this was one of the better specimens he had fought against. And the most troublesome ones as well. He sent Metagolem against it, but when he take an aim at the bear, it ran away; the colossus' giant fist got stuck in the wall. Dante saw it as a signal to withdraw, a perfect chance to try to get to Lok and Sophie. Unfortunately, Grier wasn't going to let him free.

'Never my superiors knew enough to order me to fight with my full power!', he shouted, catching up with his rival.

Dante had known already that the runaway was pointless; Grier wouldn't resign from the challenge. Vale suddenly jumped and before the confused opponent managed to realize what was going on, he got hit in the jaw. Dante stopped running, bracing his feet against the ground, and took out an amulet.

'Good!', he commented impetuously. 'Now let's see if you can fight both Caliban and Metagolem!'

Grier, panting, lifted himself from the ground, moving his strained mandible.

'As prince Zan Grier of Sutos', he roared, 'I have been passed the royal fighting Titan, Megataur!'

Dante observed dumbstruck how a cloud of green energy arose from the amulet and quickly took shape of a large, anthropomorphic bull with an overgrown, shaggy head, big fists, curved horns and golden chains entangling its powerful wrists. However, he was more shocked by Grier's words than by the Titan.

'A prince, huh?...', he repeated in disbelief, then he shook his head, judging that it wasn't the best time to get lost in wonders. 'Well, I guess it explains the makeover!', he added, regaining confidence.

'Don't you dare to offend the Sutos royal gown one more time or I will…!', Grier threatened him.

'Not one time, Grier', Dante interrupted him sarcastically, preparing for the battle. 'Not one time.'

The same day, 17:01

The Sutos bay

The Aegean Sea

Damn it, I knew that I shouldn't have agreed on such a division of duties…

Of course, it doesn't mean that I'd send Lok or Sophie to the Argo. Lambert would drown in a mere shoal, and that sapient princess deserves to do the dirty job and get her ass kicked by the Suits. But why did Dante have to go alone? He can get hurt. It's not that I really care, but you know, he's useful sometimes. He is able fix the motorboat, has freaking strong Titans and can whack anyone's mug himself. And it'd be a pity to lose one of a few activities during the trip, I mean contemplating his ripped muscles…

Besides, hell, I don't want him to rot futilely in the sand of Sutos. I've got a fancier alternative for him. After all, Klaus doesn't lack finesse in torturing the captives. Grier is a bruiser type, he solves the problems by force. Hit 'em and dig their graves with the same spade. No imagination and creativity. Dante is such an original guy that he deserves paying some more attention to him even if you're just supposed to finish him off…

See what thoughts come to my mind during scuba diving! One could think that I'd rave over the underwater beauty, dream about the sunken Atlantis or other nonsense like that. But no, actually I'm not in the mood. My legs are aching due to moving them up and down, I start to miss normal breathing, the tight suit sticks between my buttocks (it irritates me less than those local rigs I had to wear before, but still); I just want to do my job and get back to the surface.

But here's the Argo! Oh gee, it's huge! How am I gonna find anything in a ship this big?! I always get such sucking tasks! I could've swap places with Sophie. Compared to examining every square centimeter of the Argo, kicking the Suits' butts seems like a great fun.

I swim inside cautiously, observing the perished ceiling balks. I hope that since they lasted out on their places for such a long time, they won't fall onto my back, crushing me and making me join the whole procession of floaters. I wonder if I would meet the drowned from Titanic? If Jack Dawson really existed and looked exactly like the young DiCaprio, I wouldn't even have anything against.

I swim into the corridor, the floating alga tickle my cheeks. I look around, brushing them off my face, but when I stare at them, I've got a strange feeling that they act as guide posts… I come up where the stairs lead. The captain's quarter should be this way.

'Farslip!', I hit the door with the spell; they open easily.

I get into a room with few items placed on the pedestals; some metal rubbish, there's a lot of such things on every wreck. I pass by them without a glance. There is another door behind them; I try to open them the same way as before, but the spell reflects against them, I barely dodge it. Oh-hooo, this attraction isn't allowed without the ticket? There are two options: I have to try harder to get to that chamber or… I shouldn't seek there. Some kind of a subtle allusion that I should look around me first. I take a closer look at the items. An arrow stuck in the stone; a golden apple; a gilt statue of a ram… what is that supposed to mean?! Is there any regularity in the arrangement of some collector's findings?!

Hm, let's think. It wasn't some collector, but Jason. An ancient hero…

Why do I have to deal with this?! I don't have a clue what it's supposed to mean. Alright, let's rack your brain a bit more, Zhalia… Why people surround themselves with souvenirs? Because they're symbols. What the old times decorations depicted the most often? Images of gods, heroes and their deeds, of course. So those things here… I guess they are 'bout Greek legends…

The golden apple… It reminds me of the Garden of Hesperides, but… Damn, there were so many apples in the mythology! Maybe it's rather the one from the Chairon's feast? That trinket with the inscription: 'For the most beautiful', thrown among the goddesses by the offended Eris, a deity of discord, caused a commotion leading as far as to the Trojan War… No, it's a completely different story. I'll leave it.

The arrow… Many heroes used bows. Heracles? Probably, he was like Chuck Norris of ancient times. He was present during the Argonauts' journey, but he wasn't the leading character. It's all about Jason the whole time…

And Jason was after the golden fleece! That's the key to the riddle!

I look for a way to check the right item; well, there wasn't a place destined for writing your answer in that quiz. I find a golden coin, put it next to the ram.

Bingo! The hatch which resisted my spell opens so easily as if it just waited for the opportunity.

I approach it and reach for the chest glistening to me from the inside. I'll see its content later; I don't have time to spare, I'd rather not check how long the ship is under guarantee.

And in truth, I should just take it to teach Sophie a lesson… She constantly makes biting remarks about my suspicious actions! If she continues that, the male part of the group, still tricked by my feminine charm, will notice something. Even Dante didn't close her mouth, didn't prove that I'm a fully fledged member of the team like the rest, just pushed me out of their sight. I don't know if I should consider it a testimony of trust, even despite everything that I declared to Sophie so bellicosely. Maybe I just got scored out 'cause I didn't praise his suicidal plans to fight the Organization for the freedom of Sutos and turned out to be a cold-hearted bitch in that Captain America's eyes?

If they already have such an opinion about me regardless of what I do, another misdemeanor won't change anything, just claim their beliefs. I'd just lie that I hadn't found anything. They wouldn't get what they really wanted!

Suddenly, a hunch makes me turn around; my head almost falls between snares of yawning, bloody red jaws full of teeth. I sneak out before they clench on my neck, biting my head off. A shark?! In the Aegean Sea?! I sense some kind of a magical trick…

I hit the attacker right in its oblong head. It clears off, but I have no illusions - it'll come back for sure, seeing such an easy prey to get for dinner. I don't wait for it to pulls itself together. I catch the chest, but before I get it out the hole, I've got company.

No, not another one! The pissed-off fish brought colleagues… But they won't get me that easily! Can't sneak out on a sneak!

'Raypulse!', I shout, letting the mouthpiece out from between my lips.

The same day, 17:29

Sutos Island

The Aegean Sea

'Thanks', I throw to King Basilisk, arduously making his way through the bottom overgrown with alga. 'If not you, I'd have ended up as fish food. And in vain.'

The reptile responds only by snarling. Carrying two sharks tires him a bit.

'At least we'll have sushi', I continue, sitting comfortably on his head. 'I deserve that after I nearly died to get a ramshackle scroll and a box full of trash.'

I wince, peeking at the corner-pieced chest, sending reddish and pinkish sparks in the Greek sunbeams. I am disappointed by its content and I'm not going to hide it.

We approach the shore from where sounds of battle and screams reach us. I recognize Lok's and Sophie's voices.

'Hurry up, will you?', I reel to the lizard king. 'I know that those jackasses aren't worth it, but I've already done more stupid things to keep my cover.'

King Basilisk makes faster and longer jumps, tearing the alga off the bottom, spattering pebbles and splashing water. Thanks to his efforts, we reach the destination in a right moment to let me fire some spells right at the attacking Suits' backs.

'YOU MADE IT!', Cherit, chuffed by seeing me, or by the unexpected save, squeals, while the stunned kids are observing the virile guys dropping like flies. Much to my surprise, the audience is bigger – in the people gathered on the coast, apart from Grier's soldiers, I recognize (mostly due to their clothes) also the Sutos locals. What's going on here?! We're trying to free them and out of grace, they're helping the Suits defeat us?! Did they go nuts?!

'Did you find anything good?', Lok passes over the event very lightly; I see that I rescue them too often to make them show gratefulness every time… alright, I swear it'll change in the future.

'I got the logbook', I respond carelessly, as if I hadn't fought for it against the sea monsters, just bought it in the supermarket, 'but the stupid chest has nothing but shark's teeth and some amulets in it…', I add, sifting the talismans between my fingers along with sand.

'Zhalia, those are dragon's teeth!', the excited Sophie corrects me. 'In the legend, Jason plants them in a field…'

I look aside, ashamed that someone like her had to lecture me. Of course, there was something like that in the mythology…

'… and out grow warriors', I recall, focusing on the amulet. I sense its rumbling power, as if it was shouting the Titan's name. I finally catch it and cry out: 'Hoplite!'

The amulet really doesn't turn out to be completely useless, as I thought before. When the light green, golden-pigmented energy forms in the air, it takes a shape of a half-lion, half-man in a golden breastplate, arms-pieces and helmet, with a sword and a shield incrusted with emeralds, resembling its amulet. Lok and Sophie's faces are enough to confirm the Titan's glory.

Their raptures are interrupted by a clack; it's the chest thrown by me onto the shore clattering against the pebbles.

'Don't say I never gave you anything', I throw acidly, looking at the meaningfully.

Lok has the grace to show embarrassment; he lowers his head, ashamed. It's not him who should feel guilty the most, but Sophie proves that she has no decency, 'cause she doesn't even look confused.

'Well, thanks, but…', the boy hesitates, taking the amulet, 'what can these guys do?'

'Don't worry!', Sophie calms him down. 'Hoplites are easy to invoke but powerful when they work together!'

'Just like us!', Cherit comments cheerfully; well, I'd have some objections against this statement…

'Hoplites!', Lok and Sophie doesn't need any better assurances; they make a good use of their gifts and in a blink of an eye, there's not one, but three lion warriors standing in a row and ready to serve their masters.

'Stop those guys from attacking, but don't hurt them!', Lok orders them, showing the locals.

'Lok, quick, look over there!', Cherit suddenly attracts his attention and points at the distance.

I also look this way and a cold shiver shoots through me. I recognize that silhouette wrapped in a brown duster, almost indistinguishable from the soil. Dante! He's still fighting Grier! Why?! I thought that he'd already made a minced meat out of him! Meanwhile… Vale is kneeling down as if he was barely holding on, and Grier… I feel my flesh creeps when the guy pounces at him like a wild beast, ready to crush his prey, tear him apart, rip into tiny pieces, and bury his remains in the sand or scatter them around the fortress to let the crows peck them…

And I told Dante not to fool around…!

My heart throbs madly against my ribs when I jump onto the sand, try to make a step forward, but I trip over the flippers. I try to take them off by tugging them violently, but the diving suit, wet, heavy with water, forbids me to do so, sticking to my body.

'DON'T STAND HERE LIKE FOOLS!', I yell to the brats. 'MOVE YOUR ASSES OR HE'LL SMASH HIM! WHAT'RE YOU STARING AT, DO ANYTH…'

Out of the blue, I cut short, choking; my mouth gets filled by dust. I close my lids and cover my face with my arm not to let it get into my eyes as well; the gust is pulling my hair, sand keeps sticking to my wet suit. When the blast suddenly stops, I try to get in touch with what's going on, blinking. From behind the curtain of tears, caused by the speckles which got under my lashes nevertheless, on the top of the dune, I notice a tall, blurred silhouette, with the tails of the duster flapping behind.

And you know what? Suddenly, I stop giving a shit about that freakingly tight suit, sand in my teeth, hair and ears, the nonsensical search in the depths… and I'm not sure why… but I guess that's due to the fact that he's alive. And well enough to get his butt kicked by me when we'll get out of trouble. And then, to let me carry on my secret mission… Yes, that's why. I think…

'Now it's our chance!', Lok realizes. 'Sophie, let's forget these guys and take out Grier!'

'Our leader's opponent falters!', the Sutos governor remarks, surprising me. 'Let's finish him!

And with one accord, both my team and the natives rush to the two rivals.

'Hey!', I shout to them, plodding in the uncomfortable flippers awkwardly. 'Wait for me!'

A hiss is heard from behind me; it's King Basilisk who made himself comfortable on the shore, surrounded by his underwater preys, and now observes me with a strange expression on his mug, which in the reptile world can be taken as a sign of amusement.

'At least you could not make fun of me', I growl, embarrassed by my own Lok Lambert-like clumsiness.

King Basilisk responds only by showing his teeth in a perverse, lizard grin.

The same day, 17:34

Sutos Island

The Aegean Sea

'I've waited my whole life to fight an opponent like you, Dante Vale', Grier announced, putting his hands on his sides and flexing his chest proudly, though it was flowing hardly due to his heavy breath.

'I think we finally understand each other', Dante responded, panting as well.

He had never met such a fierce rival. For so many years, he had thought that it was struggling with Montehue which had been making him do his best. It turned out, however, that compared to Grier, Montehue was just a teddy bear next to a grizzly, maybe because the old friend, despite his threats, had never tried to finish him off for good; he had been focused rather on annoying the younger colleague and proving who was better. The duel with Grier was of a different nature. Each of them fought for what was important for him. Grier defended the order which he had suddenly brought to the island, not using the methods completely approved in the Foundation; Dante opposed this vision with his own about the unrestrained freedom, without the dictatorship of anyone, even the man whom he had seen in the different light today.

As they fought, his opinion about Grier was slowly changing. Until now, he had regarded him as the Organizaion's faithful minion, a dull muscleman serving as the bodyguard and the strongman to move obstacles and whack the opponents' mouth if they resisted; as someone who didn't have his own brains and only carried out someone else's orders, finding pleasure in the physical abuse. However, he had understood quickly that he had judged the Organization operative unfairly, looking at him and taking the action movies into account; in such productions, there were always someone like that among the bad guys: a brainless muscleman acting as the cannon fodder despite all the potential hidden in his immense body.

Grier couldn't be counted among such fools. He knew perfectly how to use his strength. Though the nature didn't grudge him height nor weight, he overcame their limits somehow, moving with a speed incredible for someone of his size. His blows weren't accidental, it was hard to turn them against him. The coordination of his muscles made Dante stunned, as well the reflex he parried every Dante's sneak attack with and sensed the right moment to summon a Titan or use a spell. It wasn't a chaotic brawl of a mere meathead; Grier must've worked on his fighting style. The effects were terrifying.

Despite that, Dante didn't fear him. The only feelings he felt were: excitement that he had to rely on his every power source to survive, making use of his natural talent to improvise; and curiosity what was the reason Grier was protecting his beliefs so strongly, reach to the standbys of his might, which he had kept hidden on purpose even from the Organization superior. Strangely, Vale didn't think that it was an enemy standing in front of him, who could finish him off in every second. There wasn't a place for hatred in Grier's clear, intensively turquoise eyes; he just wanted to protect what he believed in.

However, Dante wasn't going to make it easier for him and clear off the stage. He sized him up; Grier gave the stare back and they both knew that it wasn't the end; that even if they were supposed to fall from exhaustion, any of them wouldn't retreat earlier, wouldn't satisfy the other one. Dante had to continue that fight. He had to understand finally what pushed Grier to such actions. And since the talk during sipping tea wasn't an option, only the fight left.

'Caliban!', he shouted. 'Metagolem!'

'Megataur!', Grier responded in a blink. 'Breaker!'

The Titans emerged vis-à-vis, ready for the deadly clash as much as their Seekers. They were about to close ranks again in a wrestling without holding back, but…

'What's the meaning of this?!', the island governor shouted, leading the Sutos citizens.

'Dante, have you lost it?!', Lok joined in, approaching them along with Sophie and Cherit. 'We need to free Sutos! These people have to be free no matter what it costs us!'

Dante didn't manage to answer that he was actually trying to achieve this, because…

'You have no idea', Grier said to the boy unexpectedly. 'Those were my father's last words.'

Lambert's jaw dropped. It wasn't suitable for Dante to replicate that gesture, however, he was shocked as well, even if he had felt it coming.

'Your father?', the surprised boy repeated, observing the giant approaching him.

Dante tensed, ready to rush to Lambert's aid, but Grier didn't attack him. He just stopped in front of the lad and looked at him from above.

'My father ruled all of Sutos', he explained in a deep, severe voice. 'But he gave up his own power', he added laconically. Dante knew how to read between the lines. The rulers rarely resigned from the throne; usually, they were forced to do so by poison or daggers. 'Without the strength of his leadership, we fell into a civil war. We lost everything.'

'Because you lost your father, you joined the Organization?', Lok uttered, widening his eyes; as if he had just realized that the tragedies fell on all the people, no matter what side they were on.

'I vowed to come back here someday too… bring order', Grier added, lowering his head.

'And more importantly… peace', the governor of Sutos finished the short, concise story.

Grier didn't say anything more. However, Dante could read a lot things more for his suddenly subdued, clouded eyes. The pain of a man loving his homeland deeply and forced to watch it collapse. The shame when he couldn't do anything to raise it from the ruins and make up for the last wish of a loved one. The dilemma when according to all indications, he had been supposed to leave and act outside the country, do his best to be useful for his countrymen someday. The languor when life threw him onto a different shore, soothed by hope that one day, he would be back… and see the glory of Sutos blooming again.

So he had found it. The last piece of the jigsaw fell onto its place.

'The character of an individual is more important than the group he belongs to', Cherit summed up, trying to wipe off the nostalgic mood caused by the recalled memories.

Lok looked aside.

'I was so mad…', the boy murmured, 'I didn't even think… if Sutos wanted to be saved… I… I don't know what to say…', he floundered even more.

Having the full view on the situation, Dante didn't have any doubts how he should have reacted now.

'I do', he stepped forward. 'Grier, it's time we resolve our differences without fighting', he proposed without restraint, as if they hadn't been about to beat each other a moment ago.

Grier was silent for some time, wondering about the offer. All the people – Dante's team and the Sutos citizens – waited for the answer, holding back their breaths. Grier's eyes were like a surface of the sea, in which thoughts swam like fish; too fast to catch any of them and examine it closely.

'My superiors don't know about the Argo', the man said finally. 'They never ordered me to guard it. Finish our mission… and go', he added to obviate the hopes that after nearly tearing each other into pieces, all of them would feast together like in the certain Gaulish village.

Despite that, Dante smiled lightly and reached his hand out without uneasiness. Grier looked at it suspiciously, as if he had expected some nasty trick ending his one-day rule on the island.

'The Organization is wretched', Vale admitted honestly, gazing right at the fair-haired man's face, 'but you're not, Grier. I'm sure you'll run this place fairly.'

The ruler straightened up a bit; and though his pride didn't let him smile back, he returned the handshake quite warmly, with a clemency and dignity of the greatest among all monarchs.

The same day, 20:21

The Sutos bay

The Aegean Sea

Dante handed the rudder over to Sophie a long time ago and for almost half an hour, he has been staring where the shore should be, now disappearing in the raging fire of the sun drowning on the west and in the great distance. I approach Vale slowly and lean on the barrier next to him.

'Well, well', I throw ironically, crossing my arms on my chest. 'How romantic! First an idyllic image from the beach: two long-time enemies forgiving each other on the background of the sunset, and now you looking like a longing lover, staring out for his beloved. Touching. Do you already miss whacking your mug again by Grier?', I mock him.

'Men can fight, but it doesn't mean they hate each other', he responds, lost in thoughts. 'Sometimes they get to know each other better that way.'

'Men's logic always amazes me', I sigh theatrically. 'Guys make up only after they scathe each other like troglodytes and knock some teeth out.'

'And women tend to waste their time for nonsensical sulking and never-ending scuffles', Dante parries the reproach. 'It's enough just to look at you ladies here.'

I snarl haughtily.

'Oh yeah, I should kick Sophie's ass and that way we'll become best friends. Your arguments are crap. What did it change that you played a boxer and then surrendered? Apart from fulfilling your primitive caveman-like instincts, of course.'

'Knowledge; an objective view on the situation', he responds without hesitation. 'I learnt something about my opponent. I respect him due to his abilities. And now, when I discovered his motives… I understand him. As a human.'

'Oh, so that's the mysterious reason you gave up the fight', I guess. 'Not a blow from Grier which turned your brain upside down. And not my persuasions to screw this whole shit and focus on the things we should do. Only nobility, your trademark', I shake my head, disbelieving. 'That's almost impossible. You seem to be a down-to-earth guy, however, it's enough to treat you with some soppy story and you melt immediately. Have I ever told you that you're a hopeless case?'

'Yeah, you've mentioned something like that', he murmurs, still looking at the water.

'So I won't ding about it. I can point out another flaw of yours, though.'

'I've been just waiting for this', he smirks, finally peeking at me with a corner of his eye. 'So, come on.'

'I thought you're loyal towards the Foundation', I blast out.

'And I am. Do you have any doubts?', he raises his eyebrows, showing me his surprise and encouraging me to continue.

'You didn't capture one of the Organization members, though you had an opportunity', I explain. 'Grier is a tough player. His elimination would make many things easier for Huntik.'

'He's not a danger to us', Dante shakes his head, loosening again; I guess he expected greater revelations. 'See, he didn't even interrupt our mission. We've got Hoplites, we obtained Jason's logbook, and now we're coming home without adventures.'

'Don't say so yet', I warn him. 'If the chase gets us in an hour…'

'Grier is an honored man', he interrupts me strictly. 'I'm sure of it. As well as that the Organization doesn't mean so much for him. He had a more important goal than serving the Professor, and that's a thing to praise. Although he got lost, he's trying to change it.'

'And from now on, he'll live happily ever after on his fairytale island', I finish sarcastically. 'Do you really think that the Organization would allow this to happen?'

'Possibly not', he shrugs again, but he apparently gets serious; he probably thought about it before I interrupted him. 'However, I believe that Grier is able to defend his homeland', he adds firmly.

'Against the whole Organization? Don't be ridiculous', I snarl. 'They'll crush him when they'll find him eventually.'

'So let's try not to spill the beans and keep his whereabouts a secret, shall we? We can do this much for him', he throws into space, then turns away and goes to replace Sophie.

I look at him in disbelief. What's going on here? Is Dante really going to let such a big wig like Grier slip through his fingers without the Foundation brining him to justice? It's beyond belief. After everything we've been through because of him… after all those times him and DeFoe complicated our life, almost got rid of us…

Why did you forgive him, Dante? Why do you forgive everyone around at all? Why it comes to you as naturally and easily as sneezing? Why are you able to justify anyone?

If you were a total asshole, it'd be easier for me to finish you off… But you're not.

Would you forgive me as well? Would you absolve me? Would you be able to forget about all the rancor, malice and finally, about the finely devised intrigues if I told you what I am going to do?

If I just considered the possibility to tell you…

But I'm not. 'Cause I know that I don't have even such a limited support like Grier. Well, and even if I did, it wouldn't change much. A bunch of soldiers against the whole Organization… Grier must be a freaking optimist. I am not. The Professor wouldn't have a problem to eliminate me if I deserted… It's just how it works in the Organization – if you're not with them, you don't exist at all. You don't have a right to choose.

I lean heavily on the barrier and stare at the water which reflects my pensive expression.

Yeah. One can't run away from the Organization...