fleets: Argh, I was supposed to update Rend (and I wrote half of it), but after procrastinating this one, I ended up finishing this one faster. Forgive!

Chapter 7: The Reversed Emperor

The Reversed Emperor:

The Reversed Emperor is the fifth card. A formidable obstacle stands in the way of The Magician. How ominous, how ominous.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So you're still not going to tell me where we're going."

Dugal barely glanced at Vaati who was looking at him critically. "No. I am not." There was a slight pause as though the man was undecided on whether or not to continue. In the face of sorcerer's scorching expression, Dugal caved. "We are going on another flight, however."

"Another flight," Vaati repeated slowly.

"Yes." There was a hint of a smile on Dugal's normally expressionless face. "You'll be privileged to ride the Gulfstream G650, one of the most exclusive private business jets available and capable of flying trans-Atlantic trips. I believe it's the most technologically advanced plane of its class." He sounded all too happy about this, as though he had secured a date with a celebrity. "It will be roughly another eight hours of flight. I was able to obtain permission to fly this without a crew: there's hardly a thing you can't do as long as you offer the right price."

Vaati made a face, and continued to scowl. One thing he'd noticed about the Talon leader ever since he'd met him during the Avilux mess was that Dugal enjoyed dropping comments implying his outrageous capital; especially those concerned with airplanes.

"Well isn't that nice," the sorcerer replied bitterly. He wasn't in a good mood to begin with, since he didn't like sitting in a chair for six hours next to someone he didn't want to get along with. Then, he began to frown after doing a few mental calculations. "Eight hours?" he asked. Vaati glanced at Dugal, and then frowned. "Wouldn't that place us… at least somewhere close to Japan?"

Dugal only grinned in response.

Vaati crossed his arms over his chest, his expression one of utter frustration. "When am I going to find out just where, exactly, we're going?"

"Patience, Mr. Engst. You will find out in due time."

"Right. You mean when we actually get there, don't you?"

Dugal turned to him with a look of mock approval. "Good work, Mr. Engst! Your deductive abilities are astounding."

"I don't know which was worse – working with Link or working with you," Vaati muttered bitterly. He grappled with the idea of teaching the snob a lesson, but came to the unfortunate conclusion that he couldn't do anything in his current state. He still didn't know anything about their mission, and upsetting the insufferable man with the purple tie would only make it harder to find out more about the mysterious temple. He had wondered if he could threaten the information out of Dugal, but considering the ex-Talon leader's personality, he didn't know if threats would even work. Worst case scenario: Dugal would end up finding a way to turn the situation against him, which Vaati suspected would be the most likely scenario.

Therefore, the sorcerer obediently followed Dugal outside of Seattle Tacoma International Airport where their jet was waiting for them. It was a sleek, white-silver plane with blue lines streaking across its bottom. With its perfect smooth curves and powerful twinjets attached by the tail, the plane just screamed "Executives Only." Dugal climbed up the stairs leading into the plane while Vaati followed him inside.

Okay, so Vaati would admit he was a little impressed. At least Dugal understood the importance of flair. The sorcerer remembered how he had once indulged in extravagancies back in the old days when he had reigned supreme. In the modern age he still felt a little out of place to be as flamboyant, not to mention money wasn't as easy to earn in this day and age. Maybe with a little more time he could live like a king again.

Vaati snickered briefly to himself. It's so much more complicated now. Power in this era no longer means how much brute force an individual has, but how great an influence he has. What key partnerships, no, alliances, one has.

"Take any seat that strikes your fancy," Dugal waved his good hand towards the various white-leather armchairs and sofas that were arranged in the interior of the plane. As the man disappeared into the cockpit, Vaati settled down in one of the armchairs. Next to it was a dark wood table with a stereo system that was hidden in a dainty pot of tiger lilies and roses.

Key alliances hmm? Vaati reclined, and then smirked to himself. Well… not a bad start then, even though I don't trust Dugal one bit.

Because when did I ever trust the Helmaroc King in the past? Never. And yet he'd turned out to be an invaluable ally.

XXXXXXXXXX

Dark took a deep breath and opened the chest that had materialized in the middle of Vaati's room. He had half expected some monsters to pop out of the chest and eat him alive for poking around the sorcerer's room, or some twisted joke of a spell would turn him into a rabbit.

It was Vaati. It was totally valid to expect nasty things to happen whenever he was involved.

When Dark peered inside the chest, no monsters or freaky spells came to punish him. Instead, he found a scroll tied together with a maroon ribbon, as well as a glimmering red stone with an engraving of an eye he had come to associate with Vaati. Dark avoided touching the stone out of caution, and instead untied the scroll to read its contents. As his eyes moved across the words, he felt himself grow increasingly infuriated.

Dearest Dark, it began, written with a cursive that made it look as though the words themselves were sneering at him, I hope you liked my little present.

Dark's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. Just fantastic," he muttered sourly. He continued to read:

If you are reading this, then I have obviously left for my trip to the West where you will not be able to find me. I know you were suspicious of what I was up to for quite some time – don't think I didn't notice. In fact, I wanted you to be suspicious so you would make it your mission to break into my room.

At this point you are probably wondering why I am going through this roundabout way of making you figure out my intentions instead of simply telling you everything. That is because, as you have no doubt guessed already, I have been asked to work with the former leader of Talon Three – Halstead Dugal. Otherwise known as "Douche-gal," but I digress…

Dugal has turned his interest to a temple located somewhere out West. The fact that he requires my help makes me believe that this temple has magical properties that he can't handle alone. You are aware that I have been searching for a clue to undo the reincarnation curse I have placed on myself, and I want to see if this temple has any of the answers I am looking for.

Now, the reason why I didn't tell you anything until after I've left is because I guessed you would have demanded to tag along if you heard I was working with someone from Talon Three. As heartwarming as that is, you would have been a nuisance. Dugal is very guarded about any information regarding the temple, and I need him to think he can trust me (in the most minimal sense possible) for things to go the way I want them to. Additionally, I recognize you have an intense grudge against Talon Three because of your past, and I couldn't trust that you wouldn't do anything foolish if you came with me. I can't risk having any hindrances like you to screw up my plan.

At this point you must be wondering why I'm bothering to tell you anything at all, after I've explained my reasons for not telling you anything. That is because this IS Talon Three we're talking about (even though they have disbanded), and I think there's a possibility that you might be at risk for being targeted. From what? I don't know. But it's better to be safe than sorry.

Dugal won't tell me anything, but I've noticed that he's incredibly… paranoid… about people following him. Maybe that's what he's like normally, but I'm not too sure about that. I'm sure you recall him mentioning how he was "keeping the government off of our tails" when we met him briefly after the Avilux incident. Considering news these days revolving around the Avilux incident, I wouldn't be surprised if someone powerful (maybe even the government) were still after him (and us for that matter).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you should be cautious. I'm not saying someone will come after you for connections with Talon Three and Avilux, but it's possible.

Scratch that, I'm almost convinced that you will encounter suspicious activity after seeing how jumpy Dugal is about keeping things secretive. He's scrambling, and when someone is scrambling, it usually means their enemy is very, very close…

Dugal may have been perfect about hiding his trail. At the same time, I've never seen him as edgy as he is now.

I wouldn't worry too much about Loze. Whoever "they" are, "they" won't be going after him. They would go after you. Watch your back, and I humbly apologize for not telling you anything up until now.

Dark took a moment to look up from the scroll to calm himself. His fingers were shaking with anger, and it took all of his self-control not to rip the paper in hundreds of tiny pieces. How dare Vaati leave without him? How dare he think he would have been a nuisance? Okay, so Vaati was right about pretty much everything – like how Dark would have given Dugal trouble – but still! It wasn't right for Vaati to just go off on his own like that without telling him anything! And to top it all off, he'd left with that unnerving message of "Oh by the way, you might be fucked," like an irresponsible afterthought.

Between his fuming, he noticed the eye-bat watching the ruby stone the size of a quarter with mild curiosity out of the corner of his eye. He'd forgotten all about it in his moment of fury. Calming himself, Dark observed the eye-bat's reflection in the mirror hanging from the wall. The thing circled the stone in the chest, occasionally poking it with its wing. To Dark's surprise, the stone in the chest moved when the invisible eye-bat touched it.

Apparently the eye-bat wasn't able to move through it like it could with nearly everything else.

Slowly, Dark looked back down at the parchment in his hands. He hadn't finished reading it. Sighing, he began to read through the second half of Vaati's letter that mentioned something about the stone in the chest:

As an extra precaution, I have decided to leave you with one of my trusted sentries. I got the idea when you noticed the sentry eyes that I had posted in front of my room. Since you are reading this now, I know you have figured out that they are visible with the help of reflective surfaces, and that they are unable to pass through mirrors. This is because they are a purely magical entity, and magical force has a tendency to be reflected by mirrors. It is a property of magic to be deflected when it encounters reflective surfaces (I suggest you keep that in mind, just in case you ever need to use this knowledge for whatever purposes).

The stone that I have included in the chest contains some of my magical signature. Normally, these special sentries will only be visible without the help of a mirror by the sorcerer who had conjured them. However, if you are in possession of the stone with my insignia, you will also have the privilege of harnessing their power.

Dark furrowed his brows after reading the sentence. Cautiously, he reached over and picked up the red stone. Immediately, he saw the previously invisible eye-bat blink into existence. When the eye noticed him staring, it flew up to his face mischievously in an attempt to startle him.

Dark flinched backwards, and then waved the thing away irritably. "Thing's got a troublesome personality," he shook his head. He watched the eye fly rapidly around him happily. "Well at least I don't have to find where you are with a mirror now."

The eye stopped in front of Dark mid-circle. It spun in place haughtily, and then settled down by the last few sentences of the letter. It looked as though it wanted Dark to finish reading. Grumbling a little to himself, Dark finished reading:

Now that you have the stone, you will be able to use the sentry as it is supposed to be used: a sentry. Give the command, "Grant me sight," and you will be able to see whatever it can see. You will also be able to instruct it telepathically regarding where you would like it to go. The magical sentry is far more sophisticated than any spying technology that currently exists.

Further more, the sentry is also capable of communicating. This is, however, rather rare. It will not speak unless it feels it is absolutely necessary. I could be wrong, however, since the sentries are capable of having an attitude. Perhaps a trace of my own character finds its way into them – who knows?

I believe that is all I have to say regarding the stone and the sentry. I hope you find good use for them.

Wish me luck.

Sincerely,

Vaati, the Sorcerer of Winds.

P.S. The sentry will not respond unless you call it by its name. This is to ensure that it will not confuse commands directed towards it with slips in conversation.

You will call your sentry by its name, "Master." Enjoy your new company.

"Master?" Dark gawked, and then looked at the eye-bat questioningly.

At the mention of its name, the eye curled so that it looked like it was smiling with approval.

Dark scoffed. "There's no way I'm going to be calling you 'Master.' You need a new name."

At this, the eye ceased smiling and its gaze hardened. There was a very audible huff from it, instead of the little puffs of air Dark had grown accustomed to notice. If the thing had a nose, Dark figured it would have snorted disdainfully by now.

"Stupid Vaati. He purposely named you Master knowing what I would have to go through, didn't he…"

The eye laughed loudly. Now that Dark was in possession of Vaati's stone, he could hear every part of the sentry's voice. The laugh was deep and almost menacing; something you might expect from an evil overlord. It was an unexpected laugh coming from something so… squeaky-looking.

Dark was not amused. He was definitely not going to be calling the stupid creepy thing "Master." Rolling his eyes, he looked at the letter again. "Hmm, so you can act as a spy for me as long as I command you."

The sentry stopped laughing and turned to Dark expectantly. It's disproportionately large eye was fixed on his face, and for a moment, the teen thought that the damned thing could be as adorable as a baby seal if it weren't for that huffy attitude.

"Want to try being my sentry?" Dark asked.

The eye blinked once in confirmation.

"Okay then. Well, go on and do your thing."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds. The eye didn't budge. Then, Dark frowned.

"So I really have to say, 'grant me sight,' huh?" he scratched his head, shrugging. "Fine. Then grant me sight."

The eye considered him coldly.

Dark threw his hands up in the air. "Oh give me a break. Do I really have to call you Master? You can't even talk."

The eye stiffened a little, but all it did was blink again as though to nod. The two sat glowering at each other for a few seconds before Dark looked away. A devious flicker passed over his face, and he rubbed his chin contemplatively.

"All right I give in. I'll call you Master, BUT," he raised a finger, stopping Master before it got too happy about it, "under the condition that I can give you a last name."

Master appeared to consider this for a few minutes, eyeing Dark with suspicion. Then, after deliberation, it settled onto the desk and wrapped its wings around itself with apparent satisfaction. Between its wings, Dark could see the eye watching him expectantly to see what it was that the teen had in mind.

Dark sneered. "Well, since we're in agreement, it's nice to meet you, Master-bates."

"DENIED!"

Dark rolled over laughing as the Master Bates entered a fit of hysteria. The eye flitted around angrily, repeating the word 'denied' with its resonating, 'evil-overlord' voice.

"What do you mean, denied? It's not like I tricked you, 'Master-bates.'" Dark snickered horribly. Master fumed in what could have been a terrifying rage, but wasn't terrifying because of its small size. It proved to be quite talkative as it entered a rant.

"You shall address me only by the name which has been given by the great Vaati himself. I will not answer to such a defiling, wretched name fit for uncouth heathens," Master rambled. It became more infuriated when it saw Dark laugh even more with its speech. "How dare you convulse with merriment at the expense of my dignity?"

"Convulse with… Hahaha! Oh goddesses, you talk so weird!"

"Perhaps a mere ancestor of apes will not understand my sagacious vocabulary."

Dark struggled to contain himself. "Does Vaati even understand what you're saying, Master Bates?" He snickered for several seconds while the eye glared in offense.

"I am not fit to speak in His presence." Master narrowed its eye. If looks could kill, Dark would have died a horrible death. "And do not address me as such, infidel."

Dark was already dying from laughter. Mid-hiccup, he grinned and managed to find enough breath to answer. "I'm willing to compromise, then."

"No."

"Okay then, Masturbates."

"… Fine. I shall indulge you."

"I'm willing to call you Bates instead."

Master opened his wings, wide. "I shall answer to no such thing."

Dark shrugged. "It's either that or your full name."

A small tremor shot through Master's tomato-sized body as it shook with suppressed frustration. The magical creature zipped back and forth across the room, trying to think of the best conclusion to the situation. Finally, after a few passes around the room, the sentry's eye flashed a fiery red. "Fine, you ingrate! From this day forth I give you permission to address me by that undesirable name, Bates!"

"Oh good," Dark grinned. His grin was short-lived, however, when he noticed the vision of his left eye was doing something strange. His vision was melding and swirling, and flashing in crazy neon colors. "What the…"

Disoriented, Dark grabbed the edge of Vaati's bedpost. Bates appeared to sneer, and flitted in front of his nose. The sentry's eye was still glowing a bright red.

Suddenly, he realized to his shock that he was staring at his own face. At least, that's what his left eye saw. And in that image he saw of himself in his left eye, he saw that his left eye was glowing, glowing, the same unnatural ruby as Bates' glowing eye. Unnerved, Dark took a step away from Bates, only to become more disoriented from seeing himself back away in his left eye.

Bates cackled. To make things worse, and probably as a payback to Dark, the sentry whirled around in place.

"Agh! Stop that, idiot!" Dark shut his eyes closed. "Useless!" he clenched his fist around the stone from the chest, and threw it against the wall where it plopped onto the ground. Bates disappeared as soon as the stone left his fingers, but he could still imagine the thing's devious laugh ringing in his ears.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Ariko, New Jersey, in a little side street less than a block away from Loze's Pizzeria, was a spiffy black Audi parked under the shade of the trees by the sidewalk. Sitting in the driver's seat was an Asian man wearing a sharp suit and blue tie. He fiddled around with a small device that was propped on his lap, and several times he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. A laptop computer was also opened next to the man with the display showing a slew of numbers and code that made perfect sense only to him. There was a window on the display screen showing some sort of satellite image of the street he was on. The Audi was visible, as well as the pizzeria.

Kestrel bit his cheek as he did a few last minute adjustments to the dials on the device, tweaked the antenna a little, and then broke into a smile when he was satisfied. He tapped the earpiece hooked onto his left ear. "All right, we're online. It's all yours, Hawk."

There was a slightly static buzz from the earpiece, and then Hawk's deceptively youthful, yet dangerously frigid voice came through. "Roger. Fifteen seconds for target clearance. Do not fail."

Kestrel grinned and began to count the seconds on his wristwatch. His dark eyes gleamed behind his sunglasses. "Talon never fails."

XXXXXXXXXX

Dark sat cross-legged on the carpet, annoyed by the little invisible creature that was now named 'Bates.' He'd picked up the stone again, and it was now placed in front of him. Bates, meanwhile, was flying around the room and cautiously observing "Lord Vaati's" possessions. Dark could occasionally see it flying in front of the mirror.

Looking back on it, Dark didn't know why he decided to pick up the stone again and direct Bates to sneak a peek downstairs where the pizzeria was. Maybe it was instinct – that unidentifiable sense of unease that something wasn't right with the world.

The feeling that everything normal in life was going to come to a sudden and abrupt end.

Whatever the reason was, Dark picked up the stone in front of him one more time. "Hey, Bates."

Bates stopped exploring around the room. It hovered over Dark's head so that it could look down on him huffily.

"Grant me sight."

Bates looked at him with surprise, and then obliged. Instantly, Dark's left eye and Bates' eye began to glow red. Dark was prepared this time and didn't freak out from being able to see through the sentry.

"Show me what's happening downstairs," he whispered.

There was a mental nudge just as Bates obliged and flew through the door. "You can simply think your commands, imbecile."

As the sentry flew between the walls of the house, Dark tried to get used to the idea of not flinching when it looked like he was going to hit a solid object. Sometimes it was all too easy to forget that Bates could float through them.

Dark held his breath when Bates reached the entrance of the pizzeria. He couldn't really make out voices with the sentry eye, but the sight was enough to make him feel increasingly uneasy. Two men in business suits were speaking with Loze over the counter, and from the looks of it they weren't there to order pizza. One of them briefly held out a card of some kind, and even though Dark couldn't see what it was from his angle of view, it was clear enough that the two men were here to inspect something.

And it wasn't to inspect pizzas…

Good old Loze tried to stop them from going upstairs, being the grouchy old man he was as always. Dark watched the scene for a few more seconds before he shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Bates, come back!

With mild panic that was steadily increasing as he heard footsteps moving up the stairs, Dark hurried to his room and locked the door shut. The mention in Vaati's letter about the possibility of people coming after him clogged his mind until that was all he could think about.

They're here for me. Already!

Dark's eyes whizzed over his belongings, judging if there was anything he absolutely had to take with him in the event he had to make an escape. Bates watched Dark pacing around the room with some puzzlement.

"It did not seem like those two gentlemen wanted to harm your person," the eye mentioned.

Dark whirled around. "I don't trus – "

The teen was interrupted by a shout. It was followed by footsteps rushing back down the stairs. Then, Dark was thrown off of his feet by a sudden, violent explosion that bent the door to his room inwards. Wood and debris splintered everywhere – some sort of bomb had gone off in the hallway of the second floor just as the two men had walked up the stairs.

"They don't want to 'harm my person,' huh?! A small bomb just blew up in my house!" Dark shouted through the din. Bates simply hovered in place, the explosion not affecting it.

"I do not believe it was those gentlemen, but – "

Dark wasn't able to hear the rest of Bates' comment, because at that moment someone snuck behind him and roughly covered his nose with a cloth. He got a whiff of chloroform, and he clawed at consciousness for the next ten seconds before he blacked out.

Bates watched the entire scene with little concern. After all, it wasn't his problem if the invalid that Lord Vaati had assigned him to got into trouble. He just had to worry if Dark died, and at the moment it didn't look like he was going to.

It appeared the man had broken in through the window of Dark's room during the confusion caused by the explosion. The small blast had been enough to push the window frames outwards just enough for him to get it to release the locks and open the windows. Bates wondered if it had been chance that the explosion had worked so much in favor for breaking in, or if it had been carefully planned from the beginning…

With Dark slung over his shoulder like a potato sack, the man brushed his blond hair away from his face and moved to the window again while pressing a button on his earpiece. "Kestrel, get ready to drive. I'll see you in exactly eight seconds."

There was a chuckle on the other end. "See you soon. Wasn't that bomb perfect? Those government fools never saw it coming."

Hawk glanced behind him for a fraction of a second. Ah yes, the government. What he and Kestrel were doing was incredibly risky – a game of professionals against… one of the best professionals in the world. Couple that with the fact that he and Kestrel weren't really professionals anymore with the disbanding of Talon Three made this entire mission close to suicidal.

Still, their honor as men was at stake. In the name of Talon Three…

Hawk shook his head sadly, looking at the face of the dark haired teen that he had worked with briefly during their confrontation with Harrier. "Sorry about having to meet you like this again, kid."

And with that, he slipped out of the window. He didn't know that the invisible sentry Bates was following and watching his every move.

XXXXXXXXXX

Vaati was sitting in one of the many luxurious couches of the spacious galley when there was a buzz from the intercom. He reached over the chocolate colored desk for the remote to mute the volume coming from the thirty-two inch plasma TV in front of him.

"Mr. Engst, would you kindly do me a favor and look out the window? Any window will do, and please tell me what you see."

The sorcerer frowned, taking a glass of wine that was sitting next to him. There was a certain tension in Dugal's voice, like a taught wire about to snap. It wasn't like the normally smooth man at all.

It creeped him out a little.

Taking a sip of Bourdeaux, Vaati slowly turned around to take a look outside the circular windows of the plane. He squinted, shielded his eyes a few times from the white glare of the sun, took another sip of wine, and took another good look. He stared at the view for five long seconds, and then downed his whole glass crudely.

He tried to convince himself that maybe he'd had one too many glasses of wine.

After all, his eyes were telling him that Air Force class fighter jets were closing in on them from both sides of the plane.

"If you would please confirm that there are fighter jets accompanying us, Mr. Engst," Dugal's voice repeated a little more insistently this time.

At the sound of his voice, Vaati jumped up from his seat and ran to the cockpit where Dugal was calmly staring in front at the blue expanse of sky. "Why are there fighter jets here?!" Vaati demanded.

"Ah. I see. So they weren't joking."

"What do you mean, 'they weren't joking?'"

Dugal sighed, and cracked the knuckles of his good hand. "The United States government would like us to be escorted to the nearest American base by these fighter jets. I received a message a few minutes ago, and I chose to ignore it."

"What?!"

"It appears they were quite serious about sending fighter jets," Dugal drawled on. "It seems a little overkill to send those powerful planes to escort a simple transportation plane, don't you think? Who knew they would be so persistent."

Vaati's mouth flattened into thin lines, but he didn't say anything and instead waited expectantly. To him, it sounded like Dugal had a few trump cards to pull through in the event of an emergency. The man appeared surprised, but not surprised to the extent of defeat.

To confirm the sorcerer's thoughts, Dugal nodded. "I'm not worried about dealing with the fighter jets. We should be more than capable of handling them." He paused when there was static from the radio.

There was a broken voice, "Shhzzzt… Do you copy?... bzzt… confirm peaceful escort to… shhhzzt…"

Dugal sighed heavily and stared at the radio critically as though it had committed a dire crime. "What I am worried about is how they managed to follow us all the way out here." He tilted his head, deep in thought about this "impossible outcome."

Vaati sneered. "Perhaps you're not as perfect as you think you are."

"Nonsense." Out of the corner of his eye, Dugal watched the grey, bullet-like jets that were now flying along side the Gulfstream. They were elegant in their deadliness. Dugal's face darkened, and he smiled contemptuously. "I believe now is the time I could use your assistance, Mr. Engst."

The sorcerer observed the fighter jets for a few more minutes. They ignored the urgent message coming through the radio. Then, Vaati stretched his arms and loosened them up. He grinned devilishly. "Hehe… What should I do with them, do you think?"

fleets: Drawing of Dark and Bates (aka Master) is up on devart :D

Midna Hytwilian: One thing's for sure, that cadet isn't a trivial nobody I just happened to stick in there. :P Bates isn't as cute as Fuu though XD. Thanks Middy!

Purplegc: I thought you'd like that 'tag team.' Part of me wondered what it would be like if Bates met Fuu (I suspect Fuu might be bullied, and then later surprise Bates with retaliation lol). He's not as cute as Fuu haha. Where oh where is Condor, right? I haven't forgotten about him... Thistle for president! Oh man, what a disaster that would be XD

SubZeroChimera: Haha yeah. He's got the attention span of an ant... though he can be deceptively clever at times (on those rare occasions). All I'll say to that is that Vaati reincarnates every time he dies, so whatever his lifespan is for that particular life. ;)

dark digidestined: Hmm, you think so? ;) Thanks!

msfcatlover: He does sound like him, doesn't he? XD lol I don't know if Bates would appreciate that very much. He's pretty arrogant (just like his master...)

jioplip: Yayy, thanks for enjoying this so far! :D I offered a few answers, but what fun would it be if I didn't include more questions in this chapter? It's going to be a long story... :)

i-wish-799: I have a lot of fun trying to find opportunities to connect the past and present events (hence why I also like including easter eggs in a lot of stories). Thanks!

Shadow R-B: Haha sorry about the cliffies. I try (so you guys'll keep coming back for more muahaha). It's implied he turned into a Twili creature. That won't be the last time that episode will be mentioned, for sure. Huh, you're right! There's a lot more stuff going on in the beginning of this story than Avilux... hmmm...