LES MUSICIENS DU MONDE ARC III 2011 TO 2016

by DanteVirgil09

This is the final arc of this particular saga where it is reaching closer and closer to its climax. When transcending choice for others and making them for some, where every emotion and motive for all characters will have to face and handle to the best of their abilities. Will everyone rise and pave their destinies or fall from grace? But all roads lead to the stars in the end.

7. JUNE 2012

LES MUSICIENS DU MONDE

A CROSSOVER STORY

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

This chapter will be difficult, more so than I would care to admit. More or less, considering the country this chapter will set place in. To cut to the chase, the country is Israel. Yes, Israel, a country where the claims or names of ordinary things are ferociously disputed. Where the embrace of two nations in one land is so tight and close, it has become since the country's founding, deadly. So whatever criticism I may get regarding any sort of bias between the Israelis and the Palestinians, I just have one thing to say; here goes nothing and everything.

The music chosen for the orchestra to perform will be shown, to display the unity of their unit, as well as the importance of cooperation. Meanwhile the esoteric matter now enters deeper waters, with tribalism and effects of conflicts from a century ago still echo in the present. Bear with me, this will be a challenge to get right; and one surprise for the pilots to experience as it was hinted in Morocco, London, and Poland.

~Music bit: 'Needle' from Game of Thrones Season Six OST~

CHAPTER SIX

JUNE 2012, WEEK FOUR

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

[Monday, 6:23AM]

A helicopter was hovering above the business district, panning over the skyline as the cameraman inside records it for the news cycle later around 8am. Meanwhile below, as the morning dawned the city below was waking up and it did wake up, as F-15 jets flew off the coast as part of routine military exercises. Cars slowly began to fill the streets and noise of daily city life began to take hold on the edge of the Mediterranean. Les Musiciens du Monde is at the city's concert hall; well, most them due to foreseen circumstances. As the orchestra is waking up and doing morning routines, Dante is elsewhere and doing his routine as of this moment, checking their network as well as readying himself to cross the desert with Fatma and someone Max sent, mysteriously enough.

MEANWHILE,

IZMIR, TURKEY

[Konak Square, 6:23AM]

Dante was busy typing on his laptop with the clock tower across the way in the middle of the public space. Using his encrypted hotspot, he was able to communicate with Scarlett:

Private chat room activated

Encryption key on, privacy assured

DanKing to scarCat90- must wait for contact of a third party member to be able to transport Fatma across the country head for Israel through a embattled country.

scarCat90 to DanKing- Understood. Will transport our team to Tel Aviv by tomorrow morning with funds we have gathered from one of the fifteen.

DanKing to scarCat90- Very well. We only have 96 hours. Let's stop the big guns here and no mistakes.

scarCat90 to DanKing- You got it chief.

scarCatt90 logged out.

Upon reading this, Dante then too logged out of the private chat room and then switched to another job he's doing on his laptop. Then he got a flag about an unknown outside party looking into his network. Luckily his firewall stopped the hack and continued his private work. He then heard footsteps approaching him and he looked up, "I understand you are Albedo of the Galvin, correct," he asked the albino young man.

Albedo, still looking like Ben's doppelganger but with white hair, pale skin, and red eyes but with black jeans, classic Converse shoes, and a red with white polo shirt from Ralph Lauren, "You must be Dante Akihiro Yamato according to our Plumber files, or Dante Lascano now, correct," Albedo greeted in return.

Shortly after brief introductions, they are then off in Dante's rented car, in this case, a dependable 1982 Mercedes 280E, colored grey, and along he way they picked up Fatma who was waiting at Alsancak Train Station who was waiting patiently with her luggage, "You got this clunker," she chuckled as she spoke to him from Albedo's passenger window.

"It will get us through your country, then Syria and a stop in Jordan before Israel," Dante commented, "Now, let's get moving. It's a nonstop drive for the next 23 and a half hours," he told her and she nodded, as she puts her luggage in the back.

Then they headed off for the expressway E96 and headed east on their long journey into interior and soon, a war zone. Albedo as he sat in the passenger seat and Fatma in the back, looking over her books written in a language he can't read, he recalls what Max told him before he left. Albedo then took out a handheld device to look into the data from what Wilfredo was looking into earlier before making contact. He logged in and his eyes widened, 'what the…?'

The more he looked the more surprised he became as well as shocked by the paranoia in the Italian/Argentine and just thought of one thing, 'I may not know you fully, but based on this data, I know not to underestimate you. For a human, no, as an intelligent person, he's outright dangerous!'

He looked at Fatma who was talking to Dante and switching back from Italian to Turkish, which Dante was communicating fairly fluently at least for the latter, but an expert in the former. He kicked himself for not packing along a universal translator, but it was only programmed to translate in real time alien languages into English due to the main American headquarters in Texas. However, he doesn't have one to translate other Earth languages in real time, which was a mistake on Max's part to not give him. But he brushed it off for now and continued to look into the data as to what they're doing now, and as he looked into the data regarding the rogue situation he nearly stopped breathing, 'No…we're about to stop a war? No! I'm not prepared for this! Not again!'

Now at highway speed, no way he can leave now. Not since the operation he accompanied Ernesto and Kevin with operatives from D-20 to thwart another imbalance of power, he felt nervous and scared.

MEANWHILE

[MARS ORBIT]

A Plumber issued transport cruiser was passing the red planet as it was now in contact with Plumber HQ on Earth, "This is transport cruiser 56-891. Come in, we request access to Earth entry," the pilot said, and in an instant due to warp space telecommunications technology of the Plumbers, Max responded, "Request granted. Is Magister Hulka with you?"

"Confirmed. Magister Hulka is aboard this ship and will take over your position for two of your Earth weeks while you are on assignment. As it is in protocol, your duties are transferred to him and all present operations will go on standby as he makes the transfer for the next 48 of your Earth hours."

Flashback:

[Plumber HQ, Bellwood, 8:01AM]

"What do you mean I must accompany two people across a violent part on your planet? Just to aid in a cause we have no part in," Albedo asked as he was dragged from his own work in HQ to speak with the magister of Plumbers for this quadrant of space.

Max sighed and folded his hands on his desk, "For one thing, Gwen and Kevin have already gone on ahead to Israel, but I need you to tag along with Dante and Fatma. As far as I am concerned, and their good intentions, I need to be kept in the loop regarding those three pilots and orchestra while I'm away. Magister Hulka will suspect all present activity for 48 hours during the transfer. Do you understand?"

Albedo nodded, but still didn't like this development. On one hand, he's going to be traveling with people he hardly knows, but at the time, feels like a repeat performance he's had with Ernesto and others two years ago. Once done thinking he looks at Max, "Where am I to be going?"

"According to his activity, he'll land in Izmir, Turkey in about seven hours. So I suggest you start packing, desert wear would be good," Max said as he returned to his work on his computer, and Albedo walked out of the room and headed for his living quarters.

End flashback

HOUSTON, TX, USA

[Bellwood, Plumber HQ, Sunday, 10:25PM]

The Plumber craft arrived and its cloaking technology masked it from local eyes and surveillance technology. He lowered down into the base as the doors on the ground. It descended for half a minute until the doors closed, and once it landed it was still active to transport Max to his location. The doors of the craft opened and a squad of four exited, in formation and the last out is Magister Hulka, a burly pink-skinned alien with a metal plate on the left side of his head. Max greeted him and at the moment, in Plumber uniform as his esteemed colleague/superior, "Nice of you to come, Magister Hulka."

The burly alien nodded and once shaking each other's hands, he motioned his squad to gather their equipment from the ship while Max and his squad were waiting to board, "As according to protocol, all of your present activity will be on standby for 4800 hours as soon as you leave this solar system. Once you do, I'll review all active agents on this planet before they resume their work. Understood?"

Max nodded, "Understood," he then nodded to his squad to move their equipment aboard the ship, "And, don't be surprised by what you may or may not experience here, things aren't always what they seem," he told him, "Just a heads up."

Magister Hulka listened and nodded, "Very well. Have a safe journey," he saluted to Max and he returned the gesture. Magister Hulka then headed for the main office to set up his station for his two-week stint here. Once there he logged in to the headquarters computer system and once he did, he sent out a signal to call all agents to report here in 0500 hours once Max is outside the solar system.

~End music bit~

MEANWHILE

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

[6:34AM]

Kevin groaned as he groggily woke up due to his cellphone alarm. He pressed snooze to try to get more sleep. He was with Gwen in a cheap motel, akin to a Motel 6 and can hear some mopeds driving outside. He also heard the shower flowing, realizing Gwen was showering. He also looked at his Plumber badge, blinking in red light. He shifted on the bed to grab it; he pressed the top and it shown a holographic image of details in the past half hour.

He yawned and got out of bed and puts on his black boxers and headed for the bathroom. He started to urinate when Gwen called out over the shower, "Morning," she said, "Morning. We got news from HQ. Your grandpa will be gone for two weeks and Magister Hulka will take charge in his absence," he greeted and gave her the news.

She turned off the shower and grabbed her towel from above the shower door and wrapped it around her body. She opened the door and steppe out just as Kevin flushed the toilet. She wiped the steam from the window with the bathroom's spare towel opened the door to let the rest out, "We have 48 hours as you mentioned," she asked and noticed his nodding in the mirror, confirming a yes.

She sighed and looked at him who nodded and stepped out for her to dry up and brush her teeth. She closed the door and he sat on the bed, "We have to report in. Otherwise they would send Alpha Squad and take us back by force," he spoke out loud so she can hear.

"And would we be able to come back here or is this a week's process," she called out and asked, "Not sure, but even if we do, we would lose a window of opportunity here to really kick those rogues' asses. From what I heard and what we missed in Poland and that tense calm in France, they need this from us."

Gwen said nothing, knowing he's right, and as she dried her hair and put her hair in a ponytail and the puts on a fresh pair of underwear and then a bra, "I agree," she called out after a few moments, "So this trip we have to do our part and kind of stretch our position until they do come and take us," she said.

Kevin was putting on a fresh black t-shirt and puts on his dark blue jeans, and then it hit him and smirked, "You're betting on whether or not the magi or mystics will ensure we stay and make the Plumbers back off a bit. Hmm?"

Gwen's eyes widened, "What? No! That's not…" she turned her head to him who just smirked at her, not buying her objections, so she sighed and relented, "Okay…as far as I can tell, esoteric peoples protect their own and their allies to the teeth. So if Magister Hulka wanted to take us back to Bellwood and putting our operation in jeopardy, he and a squad he sends, would find that a problem."

As she explained, she stepped out and took the towel from her neck, and puts on a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt, and proceeded to dry her feet to put on her socks, just as Kevin was putting on his boots. Kevin walked up to her and stood beside her, "So, we're aiming for anarchy then. Here in the most powder keg of countries. That's hot," he said and smirked at the end.

Gwen returned the expression and lightly smacked his arm, "Come on, we're going to see LMM rehearse and from there during lunch, reconnaissance," she said and he sighed, "And I thought this will lead to something else. But that'll work too," he replied and heard her chuckling.

"That will be for later. Now come on," she said as she headed for the door and he followed with his car keys and sunglasses for outside.

MEANWHILE

Across the street, a man was looking through the blinds of the safe house and seeing Gwen and Kevin entering their car, "The targets are on the move. Where are LMM at this moment," he relayed and asked to his superior.

The man he was relaying the information to, replied to his surveyor, "They are rehearsing at this moment. We will not attack them at the moment or pursue the two across the street. That will disrupt our plans to attack them on two fronts," he told his subordinate.

The surveyor nodded and sees the car leaving, "The two left," he relayed and his superior sent a message on his encrypted phone to their forces in the country and outside its borders to then proceed with their operation: attacking LMM and their allies when on the move and away from urban centers. This game has gone on long enough for the rogues, but now it is the eleventh hour; one group will triumph and they are confident it will be them.

Then more news came in, "Our search for the second portion of our key for complete success has bore fruit," a tech relayed information, "The clue to where it can be found is in Jerusalem."

The leader of the small group present listened and then spoke, "Send out the order to the others to head there immediately," and his men began to relay the information, "But also to make sure not to rile up the local populace. Even we will be torn apart by the esoterics here. And if LMM already know of this, then they would be wise to follow a similar protocol."

"Battle plan No. 1825," one of the men asked, and the leader nodded, "Precisely. Keep to the shadows and strike to cause terror and confusion, but also to lure LMM to a trap to our main allies; Slawomir and Roland," he relayed and his men put forth this order across their network via radio and digital means. The board was now set…

[9:12AM]

In the concert hall, LMM were rehearsing material for concerts in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and if possible, and Bethlehem; however if not possible they will live stream it from Jerusalem so those in Christ's birthplace can still view their performance. Their first piece on the program is by Sergei Rachmaninov, 'Isle of the Dead' a brooding piece said to be inspired by a black and white negative of a colored painting. A fitting piece for them to perform first in Tel Aviv and while most were rehearsing, the rest who actively take part on the frontline were somewhat limping from a month of training with the Chinese warrior monk, Tong…

~Flashback

Wilfredo and William were apart from each other, in their fighting stances, both are bruised, cuts on their bodies, sweating profusely, and feeling the strain of the training for the past two weeks. The warrior monk Tong was silently observing, pacing around the ring in the spacious room. The room had the air of a temple, somewhere in a valley in China, but something was off about the room, as if it was filled with fresh air, but also stagnant in terms of the flow of time.

Then the two young men moved and now in a tight form where they are trying to subdue one another in wrestling form, with William's grip under Wilfredo's arms and the latter trying to maneuver out of it so William won't pin him to the ground. The two struggled and then Tong said stop, "Wilfredo your stance is weakening and William, your grip is on the verge of loosening," he told them.

The two nodded and resumed. Afterwards, others had their turn and the magi proved to be quite quick students in learning as well as their dexterity in wand dueling to learn submission techniques as well as grappling. Wilfredo's friends also got the treatment in refining their already established skills from Tong himself, as if this were a master class for them. The rest however, including Cecilia, Fatma, Delilah, Anan, Mahbeeb, and Hakeem, were doing exercises to refine their techniques as well as learning new ones to enhance them and cover their weaknesses. As they all are finding out, WWAEI are like them to the point of reaching a stalemate in the end, in other words, a stalemate with no clear winner in this game and will continue even after their final confrontation in two months time.

And aside from the mystics, magi and the familiars, Gwen and Kevin were here as well with an elven woman who is familiar to Gwen as she gotten to know here in Brown University. Merrill as she is named, a history professor was actually teaching Gwen this whole time the magical arts and refining her self-taught style. Sure she was an Anodite, but her power output was vulnerable to technique to neutralize it or even seal it away. Plus she was vulnerable already to energy parasites and those with mana signatures opposite her own. Kevin meanwhile was improving his brawling style of fighting and incorporating some wrestling and boxing moves so he was practicing with Bernhard as well as Alberto. The only trio not present were the EVA pilots themselves…

Shinji, Asuka, and Dante were doing their exercises in their home country, pushing themselves to out pace the rogues. Despite their paramilitary expertise, guerilla tactics, hand to hand combat, weapons training, and programming skills (Dante's field), they know still, they are on par with the rogues. During their months previously, they operated with the mentality of the rogues are operating along the veins of Islamic extremists, Mexican cartels, or political terrorist organizations. On the surface they do, but there is something below that, something very familiar to them…like a drive to meet the inevitable end of life…that alone scared them. The similar drive to meet death but not rushing for it, taking their time and play this dangerous game…

[10:31AM]

"Okay everyone, break," he clapped and the orchestra relaxed in their seats and some rubbed or stretched their joints while others just sat there, internally begging for relief from a month of intensive training. Those who took part that is and that Chinese warrior monk really pushed them after losing to him a month before back in Queens.

The rest of the orchestra looked at them and were grateful they're not that exhausted, but didn't ball bust them too hard. However, they did give them water and Mohammad and his family and future son-in-law Liam, looked on at the young men and women on stage and cameramen. They are feeling their fatigue, but despite that, still got up early to rehearse and Liam made a comment, "Your crew are tough sons of bitches, in all due respect," he told Mohammad.

The head of the Moradi family just looked up at him from his seat and smiled, "I know. Cut from the same cloth as those I once knew in the past. Lebanon or my time in France and the UK," he said as he arranged the sheets of music on his lap, "Puts other youth or more established orchestras to shame. At least in terms of hours and stamina," he added.

Liam nodded and smiled, then turned a bit serious in his face, "Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and maybe the West Bank…if not, we live stream for the latter," he asked and Mohammad nodded, "I'm not going to let a simple thing like a security policy complicate matters," he said cryptically and Liam felt a bit of a chill on his skin.

The look he saw in Mohammad's eyes was similar to when Yasmin is drive by a story, or Mazhar when asked about his new documentary, or his future mother-in-law when arranging the concerts through organizers and not taking 'no' for an answer. He nodded and went to the audience seats and sat down. He then felt Yasmin sitting next to him, "Everything all right?"

She asked and he looked at her, "Well…I'm wondering if this trip of yours will become a maelstrom of intensity," he asked back and she sighed before answering with a definite, "Yes."

Liam blinked and Yasmin continued, "Look at the orchestra," she told him and he did and saw something in their facial expressions and he heard her explanation, "Those who have their mission which they shared, the reason why Dante and Fatma are not here at the moment, as well as their fatigued postures and expressions. They're preparing for war."

"Fuck me," Liam cursed under his breath and Yasmin puts her hand on his right shoulder, "Are you scared," she asked out of genuine concern, which he chuckled nervously, "Yes, for them. Can we just sit back and allow them to continue on? I'm worried they are way over their heads over this."

Yasmin nodded, she and her family know this very well, "True, but we are allowing them this freedom. As we've talked about before, they can do things we can't. We're guiding them and assured them we are behind them 100 percent."

"You have a lot of faith in them," he said, to which she replied with, "I must, we must," and the two were silent afterwards, with her leaning on his shoulder and he putting his arm around her. Unbeknownst to the two adults, at the back of the concert hall were the magi who were watching silently not saying a word and at the other side of the hall, were Aurors also watching silently, but not the type from London or Paris. No, these are straight from the home front and their views on this mess was more layered.

HOUSTON, TX, USA

[Bellwood Plumber HQ, 3:00PM]

With news of Max now safely out of the solar system to warp speed to his assigned destination, Magister Hulka approached the main computer hub of headquarters where various aliens were working and the supervisor of the team approached him, "Magister Hulka sir. Everything is set for your shift for the next two Earth weeks."

"Good, now send my final notification for the current active agents to report to headquarters and review their activities before reinstating them to active duty," he gave his order and the supervising director of tech operations nodded and ordered his tech crew to send out the order.

Hulka in the meanwhile looked at the holographic projection of the planet, colored green and seeing the red spots across the globe for the number of active missions. The brightest spots were in Southeast Asia, the Middle East in the Levantine region, North Africa, Central Africa, Australia, the Andes in South America, Mexico and the bright red region from Bellwood to the Yukon Territory in Canada. He looked on he Levantine region more closely as he zoomed in with his fingers and zoomed in on Israel, the pictures and profiles of Gwen and Kevin came up with the mission they're on, sanctioned by Max Tennyson. He clicked on their pictures and what came were synopses of their current operation: 'Currently undertaking an assignment regarding a potential problem in the near future. Are in league with the anomalies.'

The last word raised a red flag in Magister's mind as he ushered the techs, "What are the anomalies Magister Tennyson referred to in his assignment for Plumber officers Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin," he asked and the tech immediately pulled up the file on LMM.

What was said on screen before opening it was not to his liking: 'Restricted Access- Level 12 clearance needed.'

Magister puts in his clearance code and all of the files regarding LMM over the past four to five years and all of them regarding GBCC, the Forever Knights, the High Breed Invasion, and now an esoteric matter which he made out to me 'magi', 'mystic', and 'occultist matters of anomalous natures'. Whatever this was, he needs to have the two come back to headquarters, "Any word from Officers Tennyson and Levin in Israel yet?"

"Not a word since we first send out the order five hours and thirty-five minutes ago. Either this operation is of a delicate intelligence reconnaissance, or," the tech was about to finish his thought but Magister Hulka finished it for him, "Or they're deliberately ignoring my orders."

Magister Hulka checked his badge and stats came in, "All right, if those two do not report in by midnight tonight, I'm sending in Alpha Squad to retrieve them. No questions, understood," he spoke and the tech nodded and relayed this order to other officers to not interfere.

As the orders were carried out Hulka looked at the profiles for Gwen and Kevin for a moment and wondered what could be so important to ignore a direct order and push their luck like this. Nevertheless, protocol must be carried out and no exceptions given.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

[8:34PM]

Asuka was walking down the street and headed inside a bar where music was playing. She got to the counter and sat on one of the stools available, "A beer please," she asked and the bartender gave her a bottle and she paid for it.

She popped the top and drank a bit, "Okay…" she sighed and was preparing to relax after a long day and took a look to her right and saw a man down the counter who already drank five pints of beer and looked completely sober as he tried to talk to one of the women. She blinked and then from the shadow, Alastair appeared and walked up to the big man.

Asuka got up and walked towards the two men, "Looks like you're making friends," she spoke up and Alastair looked at her and smiled, "An old friend of mine actually. This is Fynn," the big tall and muscular man turned to look at her and she immediately thought 'Viking'.

Fynn has a big beard but groomed somewhat as opposed to a wild beard, but also wore some sort of leather around him and his furs were on the counter. On his brow she noticed beads of sweat, "Pleasure to meet you Fynn. You're hot," she greeted and asked.

"Aye! I'm wondering why my friend here would bring me to a godforsaken desert," he nodded and looked to Alastair, wondering about his new situation, "And you promised I would see some action to take part in!"

Alastair smiled and laughed a bit, "You will, but we need you on standby until the cowardly rogues show their faces," he told him and Asuka just looked as she drank her beer, "So you promised a guy who may or may not see action who comes from an area where its normally cold to a desert. Smart," she stated dryly.

The Viking looking man looked down at her and looked at her eyes, "He's always like this. But he means well," he said and she nodded, "As I and my friends are learning as well," she replied as she clinked her glass with his big glass mug.

Alastair glared at her, "Shouldn't you go and clean your rifles," he asked and she nodded as she swallowed her lager, "I did and loaded for the assignment. If things go right of course," she replied and then remembered something, "I almost forgot. Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin messaged us and she has a request," she relayed to him.

He motioned her to continue and the noise of the bar and music drowned out some of their conversation while Fynn was looking around for any sign of eavesdroppers or these rogues his friend has described. When she was done she read a peculiar expression on his face that was a mixture of curiosity, and mischievousness, "So…she requests this," he asked again.

Asuka nodded, "Yes. I can't say when she would but she said, she'll send you a message in a day or so," she added and he nodded, "I have something in mind. Thank you, you were really useful right now," he said and added a dry quip to her, from which she rolled her eyes.

"You're welcome and shut up and drink," she said and added her own quip as well and Fynn just let out a hearty laugh that got the attention of the bar, "I like this woman already Al," he bellowed and Asuka just looked at him and raised her glass bottle to him and he raised his mug to her.

Alastair looked at the both of them and blinked in a bemused way. Then he checked his palantir to check up on Ellessar and then checked on Eda before putting it back in his pocket. He looked around and then at the two and wished them a goodnight, him thinking on approaching Eda tomorrow about their talk back in Poland, Ellessar then tails him in silence along the roofs of the surrounding buildings.

DAMASCUS, SYRIA

[Al Pasha Hotel, Tuesday, 5:23AM]

Albedo was waking up in a hotel room and sees an unfamiliar ceiling, recalling a stop here nearly five hours ago as driving at night would have been too dangerous. He also recalled the toll stops at various checkpoints from Turkey into Syria. The news on the ground wasn't a confidence builder, as government troops battled the Free Syrian Army and the sound of tank shells and bullets was the soundtrack for the night. Only by luck their area was relatively safe from the fighting. As he gets up, he puts on his jeans and t-shirt; both clean from his bag and quickly brushed his teeth and rinsed his face. In a few minutes he grabbed his things and headed downstairs where there was an open sitting area with the rest of the hotel around it. He sees Fatma and Dante sitting at a table drinking some coffee and eating a piece of bread.

The Iranian/Turkish girl noticed him, "Morning. Did you sleep well," she asked and he nodded, "Not really, I'm just thinking how lucky we've been so far," he replied in a deadpan tone and she nodded.

Dante sets down his cup on the coaster, "So, we're in Damascus, which is lucky for us. But we won't stay long. Fatma said we would have an escort team here where we will leave the city and enter Israel further south. Correct," he said and asked his girlfriend who nodded with a slight smile.

She gets up and puts on her hijab that complimented her blue tank-top and black jeans with boots, "Now let's move," she said and the two young men followed her to their car in the parking lot.

Albedo knew directly west was Lebanon, relatively safe based on the travel logs LMM has on the country, but he's not sure what will happen next, "Ms. Hasgari, why don't we head into the nation state to the west of here. Would we not enter Israel easier that way," he asked just to see as they enter their car and she started it up.

"No. The situation between Lebanon and Israel is just as sour as the rest of the Middle East, with exceptions like Jordan and Egypt not withstanding. We have to enter the country in the south via Jordan. Now, how are you doing with learning Arabic," she said and asked Albedo, who nodded in response.

He however, was a bit perplexed on the variations of the same language from Syria to Jordan to Lebanon to Palestinian in the region. So he opted for the more standard format since it can be understood regardless, not worrying about loan words in local variations for now. But he stuck to a Jordanian accent for security purposes to pass through borders easily when they get there. As they drove on in the city, horns blared around as bombing started from government forces, "Fatma, if you know where your escort team is, now is the time," Dante said as he drove down the street, now cautious of what may fall from the sky.

She looked at her phone's Google Maps app and found the spot, "Three more miles to the right! Step on it," and so he did by shifting into third and floored it. Albedo in the back was having a rough time with the trek and realized now they were heading for the heard of the conflict. He was now terrified as he read his English to Arabic dictionary and the morning's paper.

The fast trek took about fifteen minutes due to evading the people, cars, and soldiers from both sides at various points as well as protests. They then arrived at a derelict four-story apartment building and he killed the engine, "Our security team is here," Albedo asked, less than impressed.

Fatma said nothing as she looked around for a sign of them, she did in the form of a emblem of a blue eye, a nazar, apotropaic magic to ward off evil forces, and on top of the eye was a hawk emblem, "This way," she led the two around the building through an alley to a door located at the side of the building. She knocked four times and then the side above her opened, "Who is it?"

"The girl the Greek sent," she responded and the voice asked, "And what did the Greek say," and she responded with, "Jesus would speak Greek over Latin," she responded and the door opened.

The three were ushered inside and the light lit up the basement and Albedo can see a squad of twenty armed men and women to the teeth, eleven men and nine women whose uniforms were different from the rebels or from the neighboring countries, "Order of the White Lotus I presume," she asked.

The leader was a 40 year old man whose hair was cropped short, a scar on his upper left arm, a bullet wound on his right upper arm, muscular and a five o'clock shadow and spoke with a Cyprus accent, "His eminence Kazim of Turkey has relayed your plight to us and we will escort you and provide protection as best we can. We do have a common enemy after all," he responded.

Fatma nodded, smiling with fortune on their side now and Dante checked his watch, "We have about eleven minutes before we are bombed out of here," he said out loud and a tough looking woman with a dark blue hijab on with a toned form and carrying a modified M-16 assault rifle responded, "Nine minutes but you're right. Introductions are over captain. We need to move, now."

The older man nodded and motioned his squad out in formation and headed for their two vans and he motioned the three to get back to their car. Albedo scrambled into the backseat when a mortar was heard in the distance. Dante started it up and waited for the vans to come to their direction and once they did, they then headed out of the area, Dante then puts up his AT field around his car, as a precaution and was in between the two vans. After some tense moments, they found a route out of the city and Albedo can see smoke plumes at scattered points in the city. But the rest of the city, in particular the city center, relatively untouched. Then once on the highway, they headed south for Jordan and from there to Israel.

JORDAN

[10:00AM]

Four hours have passed and they are now heading into the desert of Syria's southern neighbor, Jordan. The atmosphere of the country could not be more different, at least politically. The climate was the same, dry, hot, the beginning of summer and just passing the city of Irbid. But they will not stop here; they will make their way to the capital city of Amman. Politically, the country is passing reforms to quell the anger that followed the Arab Spring of last year. Dante was relaxed now as he drove down the highway and Fatma making new details in her map, "We head for the capital and rest for a bit. Then we gather supplies to head for the Dead Sea to the west."

"And from there head southwest for Masada. It's too bad we didn't come here last month, SOFEX was here and we could've supplied ourselves with better weapons against the rogues," Dante said as he looked ahead down the road where the first van was, and the second was behind them.

Albedo looked up at Dante and arched his eyebrow as he read his dictionary and newspaper simultaneously and spoke, "Are you humans always enamored in diverse ways of killing each other," he asked dryly.

Dante looked at the rearview mirror to observe Albedo and responded, "Are beings from other planets so smug with the scent of their own odor," he asked and Albedo looked at him, "Only us Galvin."

"Ah but you're not a Galvin anymore. You're a human, at least by appearance anyway," Dante pointed out and Albedo growled at his obvious physical state, "And you are so eager to show your cleverness by pointing out he obvious," he replied, just as dryly as his question.

Dante chuckled, "Well, at least you've adapted. Otherwise, you would still have a hard-on for Ben Tennyson," he added and Albedo closed his dictionary and sets it down beside him and replied back, "I am no longer interested in exacting my revenge against him. And on another note, please do refrain from vulgar language. Like Ernesto, you are above such common speech as Ben Tennyson and his allies."

The Italian/Argentine young man nodded as he listened to the Galvin turned human as he kept on driving and now heading for the capital of the country. Fatma was not listening as she looked eastward, across the desert, Iraq, and further east was her true family home, Iran. She mostly thought on her father who she not heard from since she was sixteen years old and worried for his safety. Her mom said she knew he is all right, and as the years go by, her faith in that statement has wavered somewhat.

[Jabal Amman, Amman, 10:32AM]

In no time they arrived at the capital and the beat up Mercedes-Benz along with the two black vans got to downtown, which unlike most cities on their travels, the oldest part of the city. In fact, alongside Damascus, one of the oldest cities they've been too. But aside from that, they arrived across the street from an apartment building on one of the hills in the city. The three came out along side with half of the squad from one van. The second van stayed put and guarded the perimeter, forming a circle around the building. The three and the other half entered the building and headed upstairs.

When they got to the fifth floor Dante knocked on the door and the door opened and to his lack of surprise, it was the man the computer shop owner back in Greece recommended, "Hasan, good morning," he greeted.

The thin but toned 23 year old opened the door and was only in black sweats and a white t-shirt and sandals and greeted him, "The one who started and attempting to clean up the mess, welcome. And you brought the lovely Fatma and…" he looked at Albedo and ten men and women in polo shirts and khaki pants, "Strangers."

"We're on a bit of a schedule. This is a pit stop before we head to Israel to fight off the rogues. So, you got what I need," Dante asked and Hasan allowed them entry and the apartment was as he and Dante would call, 'ordered chaos'.

The apartment had two full shelves of books, comics, movies, and stuffed animals, "What's with them," Fatma asked and Hasan answered as he picked up trash and put it in the bin, "Goods for transport. Each one containing flash drives for fellow hackers in neighboring nations. Why else Arab Spring was good for business on my behalf?"

She nodded and she took a glimpse to a room down the hall where Dante was and even from where she stood, that bit of cash went into good use. From Dante's position, it was a closet-sized room that was converted into a hacker's wet dream; three computers each with two custom-built hard drive towers and the humming of them permeated it. He was impressed and Hasan patted him on the shoulder, "Even you would be impressed by this operation."

Dante quipped, "I'm more impressed how you evaded the authorities from here, Egypt, Syria and beyond. Considering a lot of people are still rightly pissed off," and Hasan laughed a bit as he sat down and began typing in his password to show what he worked on and found out.

Meanwhile Albedo was in the living room with Fatma as they waited and were with the portion of the squad in question, "So, how dangerous is Palestine for us to travel into. I thought we were to head into Israel in the north and travel south," Albedo asked Fatma.

She looked at him, "Palestine, also known as the West Bank is the result of policy that dated back to before 1947 and what came of out it since. Many present day Israelis feel they have come home due to politics and a heritage to find the homeland of their faith. Now, not every Israeli feel this way, many feel disgusted that their faith is exploited to this degree. Now for those in the West Bank, the Palestinians feel occupied in their own country and like prisoners where even resisting policies unfair to them, they are silenced brutally. Now do I agree with some of their tactics or those who supposedly represent them, hell no. But, you understand their struggle and why they fight back."

Albedo nodded and was silent for a moment, "It's something I've seen across the galaxy and I've also seen the pattern of how many of these conflicts result in, planetary destruction. And I will be frank here, your species at first glance is well on your way there. But being here for four Earth years, to be honest, your chances of evolving your civilization are around…47%. Not good odds, but I'm being fair," he expressed his views and Fatma nodded.

The two then stood or sat in silence while awaiting Dante to finish up his business with Hasan. Dante meanwhile was typing on an extra keyboard alongside the Jordanian, accessing Dante's network and synching it up with Hasan's and Scarlett's in London. As they worked in silence and finding code to locate the rogues more quickly and moments of mouse clicking and looking up videos in silence to see the feed of protestors, rebels, and government forces in the Levantine region of the Middle East, as well as looking into the system used by rogues and when Dante gave him the key, they were found.

Dante looked over the data and their activity was posted live and Hasan looked it over as well, "This is their network huh…not bad," he commented, "Ingenious. Time to wreck them," Dante added and with a quip no less.

Hasan typed to further peel back the layers of encryption and see if they can do some damage to their system, but then thought about it, "If we do anything nefarious, they would know. Like you, all I can do is peek inside," the Jordanian commented which caused Dante to groan in frustration.

Then he had an idea and then logged onto his private chat room to speak with the third hacker in this endeavor:

Private chat room activated

Encryption key on, privacy assured

DanKing to scarCat90: I am sending you a look at a map of our troubles.

scarCat90 logged on

scarCat90 to DanKing: Is it a map to our own destruction?

DanKing to scarCat90: See for yourself…

Dante then was sending the information in zip files and it was uploading to Scarlett and in three minutes, it was done and for a few moments he was waiting for a response from the British hacker. Tucker and his crew are already closely monitored for their actions as it is from their months of accessing networks and supercomputers just to keep up with the rogues. Then a response came:

scarCat90 to DanKing: Okay we're still in the green. But they are looking for something. Talk to your allies.

DanKing to scarCat90: You know I don't want to. Especially to the likes of him.

scarCat90 to DanKing: Put aside your pride and buck up. A lot is at stake, more than our reputations.

DanKing to scarCat90: … Fine I will. But I won't like it.

scarCat90 to DanKing: See? Not so bad handsome

scarCat90 logged out

Dante was frustrated, but now knew what to do, "Hasan, send a message to this number," he handed him his phone where it showed Eda's number and he looked at it, "What message," Hasan asked which Dante relayed to him and Hasan typed it and once done sent immediately.

Dante then thought of something else, "Can you finish a viral program by nightfall," he asked and Hasan looked at him incredulously, "Why do you ask," and Dante whispered to him and Hasan then form a mischievous smirk, "How…devious," he commented.

"Indeed," Dante said and then inserted a flash drive and opened up a file and showed him the layout of a virus he designed specifically for the rogues, "Now, what can you add to my little draft," Dante asked and Hasan took a look at it, marveling it and replied with only, "Remind me to never make you an enemy."

The Italian/Argentine smiled and the two set out to work on it for the rest of the morning. Fatma overheard this from the doorway and told everyone that it's best to order take out for lunch.

~Music bit: "Three Eyed Raven" from Game of Thrones Season 4 OST~

SINAI PENINSULA, EGYPT

[Mount Sinai (הַר סִינַי ) (جَبَل مُوسَىٰ ) (Mons Sinai) (Όρος Σινάι), 10:45AM]

A middle-aged rabbi was walking up the path that leads up the cliff. A bit of wind was felt around him at this time for the past two hours in a steady pace. He held beads as he prayed for his daughter who was still back in Israel. He came here by esoteric means and as he sees the summit, an eagle was flying above, circling where he was. An omen he pondered.

He found a path closed off to tourists and he crossed the barrier. He walked for a minute until he saw a hidden entrance and uttered these words in Hebrew, "אני משרת את אלוהים שפעם דיבר עם הנביאים אברהם ומשה, כמו גם את הנביאים ישו ומוחמד. תן לי לעבור כי אני אבל צנוע של מתפלל של אלוהים. (I serve the Lord who once spoken to Prophets Abraham and Moses, as well as the Prophets Jesus and Muhammad. Grant me passage for I am but a humble worshipper of the Lord.)," and a door was revealed and he pushed the stone doors open.

Stairs were revealed and led him up a few flights and then to a left and then a right. He then found himself in a hollowed out chamber where daylight light was admitted through few vents and on some nights, can see the alignment of stars and the moon on the summer and winter equinoxes. Inside were tablets of text for the three major faiths inspired by what happened here nearly 2500 years ago; but with them, an older set of tablets predating what Moses supposedly got from the Almighty. Zoroastrian texts that somehow found themselves here as well as obscure texts from old gods of the desert, predating the monotheistic beliefs by thousands of years. The rabbi then sees a stranger in robes, but not denoting to any particular faith, just simple robes that reflect the person's standing in his sacred mountain.

The robbed person lowered the hood and revealed to be a woman near his age, to his relief, it was his former wife, "שירה. (Shira.)," he muttered, "אהרון. (Aharon.)," she greeted in equal quiet tone, "מה מביא אותך לכאן? (What brings you here?)"

He asked and she smiled, "הבת שלנו נמצאת בסכנה. היא עם קבוצה אשר למרות כוונות אצילות, הביאו את כוחם של השופטים עליהם. (Our daughter is in danger. She is with a group who despite noble intentions, have brought the power of Aurors upon them.)," he started to explain but she held up her hand, "אני כבר יודע. (I know already.)"

He blinked, "אֵיך? (How?)," he asked, which she smiled, "הבת שלנו עשתה וראתה דברים שניסינו לגונן עליה, אבל זה לא היה המקרה. היא רוצה צדק; היא משתוקקת למסור אותו והחלה לעשות זאת. עם זאת, אנחנו צריכים להגן עליה ויש כוחות נעים כדי לוודא שהיא לא תסבול את התוצאות הקשות ביותר. (Our daughter has done and seen things we have tried to shield her from, but that was not the case. She wants justice; she longs to deliver it and has begun to do so. However, we need to protect her and there are forces moving to make sure she will not suffer the harshest of consequences.)"

Shira explained and Aharon thought on this and smiled himself, "המועצה בירושלים שתתכנס ביום אחד לשוחח עם נציג המג'יה של מערב אירופה. (The council in Jerusalem that will convene in a day's time to speak with a representative of the Western European magi.)," he said and then also recalled the Order of the White Lotus are already moving in escorting a trio from Turkey into Israel via the Judean Desert, the pieces are gathering now in his homeland.

"בבקשה, בוא איתי הביתה. (Please, come with me back home.)," he held out his hand but she did not take it, "בבקשה, למען הבת שלנו. (Please, for our daughter's sake.)," he pleaded somewhat but still, she refused, "למה אתה מסרב לי? (Why do you refuse my hand?)"

She smiled and stepped forward and closed her former husband's hand, "אל תבין אותי לא נכון. אני משתוקק לחזור הביתה איתך, אבל עכשיו זה לא הזמן. תפקידי הם לאלה המחפשים את האמת כאן, שם קיבל משה את כתבי הקודש האלה מה '. רק אני יודע מתי יבוא היום ההוא, וכאשר כן, אשוב אלייך ואל בתנו. בבקשה, לא להחזיק את האהבה הישנה שלנו. זה לא יהיה בהיר כמו האהבה להיות. מבין? (Do not misunderstand. I long to return home with you, but now is not the time. My duties are to those who search for truth here, where Moses received those sacred texts from the Lord. Only I know when that day comes, and when it does, I shall return to you and our daughter. Please, do not hold onto our old love. It will not be as bright as the love to be. Understand?)"

Aharon was conflicted and looked around the lowly lit chamber, seeing the carved sacred texts on stone tablets, as well as the texts and few statues of even older Canaanite polytheistic gods and goddesses, the old gods of the desert before Abraham, possibly before the heroic deeds of Gilgamesh and the Babylonian faiths of Mesopotamia. He then returned his gaze upon his former wife who stared into his eyes and he was a bit unnerved by her focus, but also filled with hope, "עידו. (I do.)," he replied with some certainty.

She bowed her head slightly and then leaned up a bit to kiss his forehead, "במאי האלים הישנים יהוה לשמור עליך. (May the old gods and Yahweh watch over you.)," she said and he replied with, "שלום לך. (Peace unto you.)"

With that, the two separated and he began to walk out of the chamber. He turned back to see her and she waved a goodbye with a smile on her face and he smiled as well, leaving the ancient chamber and headed out into the sunlit desert outside. As he stepped out of the cave, he sees the same eagle again, leaving the mountain and flying northward. He pondered for a second as he looked up and smiled, before beginning his trek once more, to now head home.

His slow trek down the mountain was laced with thought and longing, but also hope. He hoped for a lot of things and ideas and as the heat of the day slowly rose, he kept steadfast in his decision and sees his car in the distance and further out, a dust devil was forming.

~End music bit~

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

[Citadel of David, 2:23PM]

Delilah was standing over the stone railing of the citadel, looking up at the Ottoman style minaret as well as the western city walls, which at the bottom go back to the time of King David to as recent as Ottoman rule. She was in the city and not in Tel Aviv for most of the morning, but will return as soon as she can so she can meet her main contact, Alon, whom she met last year in Tel Aviv. She looked around and no one present, but then as she wonder, she sensed something, "אלון, היית מאחורי כל הזמן הזה? (Alon, were you behind me all this time?)," she asked with an amused expression on her face.

Alon came out from behind the minaret and wore his white polo shirt, blue trousers, sneakers and his kippah (yamurlke). He has some curled dreads from his sideburns but walked to her casually, "ובכן, זה מגיע עם השטח כמו מוכר. בכל אופן, קיבלתי מידע. WWAEI נעים. הם יבואו בשתי תצורות; אחד מדרום במדבר יהודה, והשני מצפון-מזרח מכיוון הגבול הסורי / ישראלי. (Well, it comes with the territory as a familiar. Anyway, I got information. WWAEI are moving. They will come in two formations; one from the south in the Judean desert, and the other from the northeast coming from the Syrian/Israeli border.)"

She nodded, "כפי שאנו יודעים כבר. מה עוד לא ידוע? (As we know already. What else that is not known?)," she pressed and he walked up to her but then leaned on the stone railing to her left, "המועצה של כוהנים אזוטריים מקומיים כוהנים תתכנס לדון וליצור תוכנית להתמודד עם נוכלים אחרי הצוות שלך עשו את חובתך. (A council of local esoteric priests and priestesses will convene to discuss and form a plan to tackle the rogues after your team have done your duty.)," he relayed and she was silent for a moment.

She leaned on the railing again and looked out at the western gate of the ancient city. The gentle warm breeze brushed against them, "האם אתה חושב שהם יעבדו יחד? (Do you think they will work together?)," she asked and Alon responded, "הם לא ממשלת ישראל, הם הממשלה שלנו. (They're not the Israeli government, they're our government.)"

Delilah nodded, "תודה. זה היה קצת מחוץ לדרכי לבוא לכאן, אני צריך לחזור לתל אביב ולהופיע הערב. אבל אנחנו נבוא לכאן כקבוצה; לשמור אותי פורסם כאשר שאר LMM לבוא לכאן. (Thank you. It was a bit out of my way to come here, I have to head back to Tel Aviv and perform tonight. But we will come here as a group; keep me posted when the rest of LMM come here.)," she said and he nodded and she, along with Alon left the citadel and once on street level, he told her something else that was just as intriguing. It was about the theft she caught wind of and what it entailed and it made her stop to look at him.

"קבל את האנשים שלך לפקוח עין על כל דבר. אל תעסוק ישירות בסתר, אבל אם אתה יכול להסיח אותם ממרחק, תמשיך. (Get your people and keep an eye out for anything and everything. Don't engage the rogues directly, but if you can misdirect them from a distance, go ahead.)," she instructed him and he nodded and the two went their separate ways, disappearing into the crowd.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

[6:43PM]

LMM were in their concert hall on schedule and with Dante and Fatma still not present. Mohammad was not worried about the quality of music, but in the safety in two of the founding members. But he can do nothing about it and must continue onward with their selected repertoire tonight. Then to get him out of his head, the doors opened and Delilah came in, "Sorry, had something to take care of in Jerusalem. Arrangements for your rooms and board and all that," she said.

"It's so kind of you to help us with that, thank you. Now are you ready to perform," he asked and Delilah nodded a yes and he responded with a nod as well, indicating things were about to start. Delilah then went to a changing room to dress up in her concert outfit, a simple black knee length dress and her hair in a bun.

As she was changing, there was a knock on the door, "I'm nearly done," she called out as she was putting on her shoes and a voice rang out to her, "It's me," it was Anan, the Indian mystic. She opened the door and sees her in her dark blue sari, "What's wrong?"

"They're on the move. Heading to Jerusalem as we speak, plus will intercept Dante's party coming in from Jordan. They'll reach Masada later tonight," Anan told her and Delilah nodded, "And we are bound to the city after tonight's concert and no doubt…we have to be armed for the trip. Are the other two with you," she asked and Anan nodded a yes.

Delilah then stepped out of the dressing room and walked with her to the edge of the curtain, "Tell Hakeem and Mahbeeb to be ready once tonight is done," she instructed and Anan nodded and headed back to the audience seats while Delilah brushed the wrinkles of her dress so she can come out.

The rest of the orchestra was there, Zane, Zach and Mike made sure their streaming service was working but no worries since the city has some of the best Wi-Fi they ever worked with. The cameras and microphones were set up to capture their performances, but the orchestra was silent, tuning their instruments and Bernhard was tuning both the harpsichord and organ for tonight, Mohammad was helping him with it and also said he will conduct from the harpsichord tonight. He breathed in and was calm again; the concert was to start in just seven minutes.

JORDAN/ISRAEL BORDER

[Judean Desert, 9:51PM]

After the afternoon has passed, Dante with Fatma and Albedo and the rest of the escorting convoy were leaving Jordan and now entering the desert that encompasses the West Bank and Israel, a desert that is legendary and challenging. To the west was the famed fortress of Masada where the Israelites made a last stand against the Roman army before committing suicide, to avoid being captured and lose face. Dante as he was driving was having a bad feeling about tonight, and in the days to come. His idea carried additional risk, not sure how the magical authorities will respond to his latest stunt. But he breathed in and calmed down; he was the unofficial field officer and must remain steadfast for what lied ahead.

Fatma noticed his silence and slowly clasped hers onto his. She looks out to the desert, wondered how the rest of the orchestra is doing, the convoy tailing them and shielding them at the front. She also sensed his worry, about tonight in particular. She felt it too, something was not right in the darkness and the lacking of moonlight didn't help either. Only stars were present and see can see a faint dust devil in the distance and she swore she saw lights as well.

Albedo was on the verge of sleeping, with his Jordanian newspaper folded, English/Arabic dictionary closed, pen capped, and his red jacket folded and forgotten. He hadn't any need of it since coming to the Levantine region, the heat rivaling what he normally experiences in Bellwood, Texas. At night it was nippy and he was too tired to complain. As he was dozing off and sound asleep, he felt something wrong as he tried to rest, something familiar when on a planet observing native populations for Azmuth just before something bad happened.

He opened his eyes and sees Fatma clasping Dante's hand and looked outside. He noticed the lack of moonlight and the abundance of stars. For a second he wonder on which star or constellation pointed to his home world of Galvin Prime but also, that bit of light in the distant mountains. Two possibilities came to mind; either the military doing patrols, on the lookout for paramilitary groups, Hamas, the like who may try to sneak in from the West Bank, or something worse.

[Masada Ruins, 10:09PM]

The convoy was now a quarter mile from the famed ruins of Masada and know they are near the point of safety. But then out of the darkened night, a rocket was flying right for one of the black vans and made contact. The van was blown off the road. The metal was smoking and the smell acrid, but a shield of magic and mystical energies protected them from the blast, even the driver was saved. But no mistake, the impact shocked them and now they armed their rifles and ready for work.

Ahead of the black van the others stopped and got out, with Dante and the two with him hunkered low to the ground so they can avoid any fire from the opposing side or their own. Dante opened the trunk and got out the sniper rifle, the L115A3 and cocked it while also putting on the telescopic lens to look out into the distance. He lined up the rifle and lied still for a moment and found a target. He fired and took out one. But then bullets came his way and put up his AT Field to shield himself and his two passengers as bullets went through the metal of the car. He looked at Fatma who nodded in return and he grabbed Albedo's arm as he was a bit scared, "We got to get to those ruins and hold out until we can finish them off."

"But that will take half an hour to traverse and we will exposed for attack," Albedo pointed out and Dante had no time for this, "Either that or shot at here by a car! Now come on," so he had to drag Albedo from his spot by the arm and the two made a run, Fatma covering their backsides.

The captain of the convoy noticed them and ushered his men and women to fall back, "Everyone! The ruins," he shouted and they followed him, tailing the trio ahead of them. For the next half hour, fire was exchanged on both sides, a few from the convoy were shot killed while Fatma and some held them off with mystical and magical blasts, and summoning manticores and djinns. The rogues were prepared for that so for the standoff, they were equal and with Dante and the rest of the convoy up on the ruins, they waited them out.

MEANWHILE, IN TEL AVIV

Gwen was rushing Kevin to get in the car from their inn and with bags in tow; he just stuffed them in the trunk and got in the driver's seat. He started the car, shifted into first and hightailed it out of there, rushing down the street, "Okay what did you see," he asked Gwen, panting a bit.

Gwen was rummaging through her things in her bag and then responded, "Like I said, gun fire, killed soldiers, and…something coming for us. We need to move and go south immediately," she told him but he stopped, "What's up?"

Kevin pointed and she saw four Alpha Squad Plumber Deputy Officers and their leader was Captain Branagan, a green skinned alien male with green hair, in humanoid form but stood eight feet tall, with a crew cut, muscular and his weapon facing downward, "Officers Gwen Tennyson and Kevin Levin, we hereby detain you and transport you Plumber HQ in Bellwood! You two will come with us now! Turn off your vehicle and bring your belongings!"

Kevin turned off his car and whispered, "When," he asked and she shushed him, signaling things will change shortly if he didn't make a scene. Alpha Squad put the two in energy cuffs where Kevin can't absorb matter to free; even Gwen felt her powers dampened by this new model. Branagan made the call to HQ and said he will be there in the hour, Gwen looking around for any sign her message went through.

As soon as they boarded the craft, which was holographically shielded from the eyes of citizens, it levitated and slowly made its way across the city and headed north and in no time, well outside the city and over the desert. One of the members of the squad radioed HQ, "On route to the upper atmosphere in order to use hyper speed velocity. One hour before arrival. Over."

"Roger. Proceed and report in once in local airspace, over," said the voice on the radio, revealed to be Magister Hulka and radio communication ceased. Kevin looked at Gwen who closed her eyes and a second later, a booming sound was heard outside the craft.

Captain Branagan was visibly upset and ordered to see what was going on, but before long, there was a big boom sound and then they feel their craft falling from the sky rapidly and Gwen used whatever was available to her mana wise and ripped the energy cuffs apart and then she was free. She did the same for Kevin and he rushed for the controls to help the squadron and Branagan opened the hatch for manual override to make a safe landing. Well safe is a relative state of things when they were basically about to make a crash landing. In less than a minute, they arrived in just that, a crash and Gwen used her mana to protect those inside from the brunt of the impact, reinforced with five protective seals. Once they checked one another for injuries they carefully made their way out of the craft and come face to face with Alastair, his magi and the local esoteric authorities.

"What took ya," Kevin yelled and James responded, "We weren't sure what to make of this and…what are they," he asked and Jane commented with, "They resemble those weird looking creatures from those science fiction comic books my dad collects."

"Bloody hell you're right," William also spoke and they lowered their wands and slowly approached them but Branagan brandished his weapon, as did his squad, "Stay where you are! Or we fire!"

Gwen then used her mana to take the weapons out of their hands, launched them in the air and had them detonate in the air above them. The blasts startled them and Gwen slapped Branagan across the face, "With all due respect, you can tell Hulka to fuck off. We are on a mission and we will carry it out under the permission of Magister Tennyson of Earth."

She laid it down and he was about to tell her off on the lack of jurisdiction due to his absence from the solar system and Hulka, but Alastair stepped forward and spoke calmly, "Miss Tennyson, if you don't mind," he said and she stepped aside.

Branagan and Alastair were facing each other and although the green-skinned alien towered over the mage, Alastair was internally bemused and made no outward expression. He then spoke, "It seems you four are now in a game you had no business in. Yes I know this goes against your lawful jurisdiction, but miss Tennyson did approach my people via another. But that is irrelevant. What is relevant now is whether or not you will cooperate."

Alastair stated this and Branagan was more than annoyed, he was pissed, "Cooperate? I wasn't the one who ordered my craft to be shot out of the sky by locals," he eyed Gwen furiously and then returned to face Alastair, "Nor am I obligated to work with those who shot said craft out of the sky!"

"Oh but you are. As an officer of the law, you should provide support for your officers who have decided to aid a local cause and report back to their commanding officer, something I suspect, you're not it," Alastair quipped and Branagan was now angry and wanted to beat the living shit out of the Brit.

Then Kevin's phone rang and he answered, "Hello? Hello?...You're what…Shit…Okay okay. Gwen and I are on our way now…don't worry, we'll try to get you and Shinji south very soon…see ya," the chat was brief but urgent and as he hung up he faced the people, alien and esoteric, and one Anodite girlfriend.

"LMM was ambushed on their way to Jerusalem and Dante's team and the escorting convoy are held up in Masada," he told them and elsewhere, his delivery of the news bemoans the urgency for both groups…

MEANWHILE, ON ROUTE TO JERUSALEM

LMM were beside themselves as they were on route to the city now flooring it with Eda at the wheel of their van and Asuka, Shinji, Anan, Delilah, and Hakeem were on the roof of the van and staring down four black SUV's screaming after them, "They're reloading," Shinji shouted."

"Yeah thanks for the observation," Asuka growled as she puts on a new clip for her M-16 she swiped from the rogues and starts to shoot, "Any plans before we're ran off the road," she yelled over the noise of wind rushing past them and the roars of the rushing vehicles.

Eda swerved left and right to evade being boxed in by the SUVs and with the big van where most of the principal members were inside as well as the others ahead of them, not easy for her. Those on top were struggling to hang on, even with them using mystical powers or AT Fields to aid them. Asuka was struggling to aim and Shinji got a shot in when shooting a left front wheel on one of the cars and it caused it to tumble off the road. This however probably wouldn't have killed the rogues inside the said car and Asuka got some shots in but was then deflected by their magic shields, "Shit!"

Hakeem then concentrated on the earth around them and then, raised his hands so the earth around them started to tremble and then he clenched his fists to them pound the earth and a tremor was felt. In this, the rogues had their SUVs crashing against the raised pieces of hard earth and the sounds of metal and glass were everywhere. Hakeem really did the orchestra and powered up members a good lead so they can drive and head for the ancient city. They got back inside the van and Eda eased up on the throttle slightly so they can get their bearings, "I hope the others are doing well," Shinji said as he looked out the window, to keep an eye out for more distractions.

Asuka took apart the assault rifle and puts it in a bag in numerous pieces, "Don't jinx it, none of us can jinx anything. They're in the south alone and unless they get reinforcements quickly, they're stuck," she said and then her phone rang.

"Hello…Oh hi…yeah, we took care of it…where are you…oh yeah…Yeah? Well all right, mow them down…sure…bye," Asuka talked for a bit and then hung up and everyone in the van looked at her, "Kevin and Gwen took care of Plumber officers and rung them to get the officers to help them and the magi to head south."

Eda looked at the rearview mirror to Asuka then focused on the road, "Apparation," she asked and Asuka nodded a yes, "Well that's good. Hope they're not too late," Eda added and hoped things won't turn too dire tonight.

[Masada Ruins, 10:43PM]

Fatma, Dante, and Albedo were holding out in the ruins and the convoy, what's left of them after the rogues shot five down. But the convoy got seven to their name, so the advantage was still on their side and a barrier down the cliff face so they can ward them off. Dante was with a sniper rifle while Fatma was armed with two knives for close quarters, "It's too quiet," Albedo, who was anxious on what will happen next, whispered to them.

Fatma and Dante nodded in agreement, but said nothing as they waited for anything to happen. Only the sound of the wind was heard and due to the rocky features around the ruins, it sounded like the wind was singing. This posed a problem, if they spoke, even at normal levels; the risk was the rogues down the rock face would hear everything they're discussing. Fatma made finger gestures to Dante, who understood to head for the pillar of stone overlooking the cliff face and below, the rogues hiding behind boulders and due to the angle, he couldn't get a clear shot on the leader.

The convoy looked on and one of the soldiers asked the captain, "What are we to do now," she asked as she held her assault rifle close, as the captain was silent. He breathed in through his nostrils and then felt something coming, "Wait for allies," he replied simply.

The female soldier nodded and remained silent as everyone else. For everyone in the convoy, being in the ruins of Masada was eerily quiet, stories of lost souls remaining here and the voices that sing here, partly attributed to the winds and other energies sent goose bumps along their skins. Then they heard commotion, down from the edge of the cliff face. They stuck low to the ground, the captain motioned to Dante, Fatma, and Albedo to hunker low to the ground as well so they can investigate what is going on. To their surprise, reinforcements arrived and see Kevin with Gwen fighting off rogues with mana bolts and him armored by steel. Alastair and his magi allies fighting off with magic attacks and using runes to defend and attack with wands and he with his staff.

The convoy saw this as an opportunity, "All right! We got cover fire down there! Let's hustle and move," the captain told his soldiers and they then began the descent down the cliff face while the trio in question followed behind them, Dante using his skills to snipe some rogues from a distance while the convoy provided the defensive fire.

Fatma used her mystical powers to defend herself, the back of the convoy, as well as Dante and Albedo. The energies took on a fiery quality where the glow of orange red whipping around like a chaotic whip and Albedo observed around at the intense moments of chaos. He saw several rogues dying or apparating away in bright instant bursts or flying off leaving a smoke trail before disappearing. He now felt completely out of his element, not able to explain what has transpired. As he saw everyone calming down, he saw Alpha Squad and approached them, "This isn't part of your usual protocol," he spoke plainly.

Captain Branagan scowled a bit before responding, "Nothing about this is usual protocol. Magister Hulka won't be happy about this," he responded to him and Albedo nodded, acknowledging that Magister Max Tennyson is no longer in charge and the situation has changed.

"Indeed, but we have no choice but to complete our assignments. The situation here is sensitive and potentially dire. Dire enough to affect us in the long run if we do not rectify this at once," Albedo said and then sees a mage approaching him, it was Alastair, "You are correct. And we need to head back to the others as soon as possible."

Dante was putting his team's sniper rifle into a suitcase and clipped it closed, "Off to Jerusalem then," he called out and everyone nodded, including the escorting convoy. He approached Alastair, "How are you," he greeted, which the British/Sairgothian mage nodded, "I'm well. Let's escort you all to the ancient city."

"Lead the way," Dante replied and Fatma, Albedo and the convoy followed him and Alastair to a spot at the bottom of the cliff, a wind came and again, sounded like singing in the area, the night was cool and calm and in moments, everyone Apparated away to Jerusalem with the aide of the magi and with the rogues, they looked on and one of them radioed someone, "They're on their way. Everyone now is present on the board."

"You've done your part. Good work. Let us proceed with the next portion of the plan. Half of your team goes west while the rest come here to Jerusalem," and as the message was heard, the rogues assumed their duties and Apparated away, inching pieces along towards a check.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

[Armenian Quarter, Wednesday, 1:12AM]

LMM and the magi were held up in a modest hotel for the night, they were licking their wounds and very, very angry. LMM in particular, felt boxed in and felt that if the rogues were as rash to attack them separately but effectively, then the end game really has begun and no quarter will be given now. More concerned now than ever to finish what was started, and for the magi, the feeling was mutual. The magi now felt too much time has passed to handle a group whose message was unclear except to start a war to prove an ideological point as well as presenting a piece of esoteric evidence to show the separation of magi and mystics was pragmatic and must be cemented.

One of the LMM musicians, in this case, Eda, was alone at the balcony of her room while Asuka was dead asleep. She was drinking from a small bottle of alcohol as a nightcap for her to sleep, but her mind still raced. To her surprise, when she blinked, Alastair was standing above her on the balcony's railing. She stepped back and he landed on his feet in front of her, "Alastair…Asuka is asleep," she whispered and he moved his hand in the air.

"Muflatto," he uttered a spell where the room is quieted and the two stood across from each other and Eda decided to sit on her bed as he took a chair and sat across from her, "There is so much I'm feeling right now and…it was just from being ambushed by the rogues. It's by what I discovered."

Alastair listened intently before asking, "And what of this situation did you come to terms with," but she responded with something he hoped she would bring up, but also didn't expect it at this time, "A recording you've made."

He was silent and let her continued, "About you leaving, and why you had to. Certain secrets as to why you have to leave for this place called 'Sairgoth', your father and mother had this planned since the very start and you had no idea when or if you would return…but I was always in your mind and heart to keep going," she said and held her emotions in check.

Eda looked at him, "You meant every word as you stressed and…" she paused for a moment before continuing, "I wish we had those seven years back," she said in a whispered tone, despite acknowledging the spell Alastair conjured to ensure their conversation was private.

"So do I…however, we cannot turn back the clock once we set forth on our paths," he said and moved his chair closer to her and took her hands, "I've done things I've regretted and things that were necessary for my survival and prosperity. Making alliances and breaking them up all out of necessity."

She nodded as he was beginning to share more from the tent, "I'm not the boy I was, I am the man of the now. Eda, my dear," he looked into her eyes and she looked into his, "Your part in this is near at an end. Whether you fail or succeed next month against our common foe is of little importance. I will help you and in extension, your friends and colleagues. Understand?"

She nodded silently, not daring to say a word. This silent acknowledgement worked however and in the end, he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Eda was surprised but in that brief moment, she returned the gesture with an equally brief gentle kiss. Once it ended, the two looked into each other's eyes for a moment and just sat in silence, hearing the ruffling of the curtains with a gentle breeze coming in from the northwest. He gets up, but she still held his hand, "Can you stay for a moment longer," she asked.

He looked at her and his face softened, and she saw the boy she knew, the eyes twinkled and a smile that showed compassion, "I have to make my rounds and so do the others tomorrow. I fear a final confrontation before this week is up. But rest assured," he knelt down and squatted so they were at eye level.

"Once this is over, once we all move on from this, you and I will pick things up where we left off after we parted ways. Trust me, you all will be spared the guillotine," he urged her to trust him, even if the situation at hand was complicated and unnerving to her. Every fiber of her being wanted to shout she didn't, but two places inside told her she should; her brain and heart.

She nodded and muttered, "Okay, I will," this brought on a smile for him and he stood up again, her hand loosening and he stepped back from her, "Adieu my fair lady," he bowed with a smile, a mischievous smile and he headed for the railing and jumped. She ran and saw him jumping on the rooftops away and she sighed, and smiled a bit.

[Jerusalem Theatre, 9:25AM]

LMM were doing the final rehearsals and as of this moment, some medieval music from the 13th century. Another foray into the musical past and here with a drum, castanets, tambourines, flutes, lute, various woodwinds and Cecilia dancing to a routine she made, on stage the concert organizers were thoroughly impressed for this short piece; titled Ductia written by an anonymous composer. The magi were in the back, as a silent agreement from now on, they all stick together and in this city, they all go in groups of five to six. After the short piece was done, they rehearsed another longer piece in old French and with help from the local conservatory, another anonymous piece entitled 'Chanson de Guillaume' from crusading troubadours with two tenors, a baritone, a lute and a rebec.

Music plays

Later that day, after lunch the orchestra and magi tried to enjoy their day in and about the city. The outdoor markets, the bazaars, and the mystics and magi finding some common ground for the first time in so long; and in addition, the rest were finding peace for the moment. The former pilots were with Jane and James as they toured the old city walls with Delilah there as their tour guide. William was with Wilfredo, Basilio, and Hanford as they walked down the Via Dolorosa to feel the path of the Christ. Eda was with Rachel, Angelina, Cecilia, and Anan. Prince Mahbeeb and the priest Hakeem were together along with the prince's uncle guardian, Christine, Jang, and Gilberto. Zane, Zach, Mike, and Alberto were together with Yasmin, Liam, and Mazhar.

All of this to make sure many of the top players in this were together in groups; no one to be alone. And with everything considered, Alastair was nowhere near the group activities. In fact, he was setting up a meeting with elders, representatives, and local magistrates for the esoteric communities of not only Israel but also the entire Levantine region. Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco; everyone will come and decide on a conflict that will sure to last beyond the European theatre. But this was also to provide some insurance to ensure that LMM, his British magi and their endeavors as on the side of good and to battle the tide of extremism that has leaked from the rest of the region into their secret visible world.

Meanwhile, the WWAEI are silently observing LMM and the magi from the dark corners of the ancient city. The chessboard for this where one group to be in check while the other is in complete in the advantageous position is becoming more than likely. Across the way in London, Scarlett and her team were working with Tucker and his team in real time across the ocean to map out the rogues and keeping sure no third party hackers find out what they were doing. The last thing they need is to make this mess even more complicated and unable to dig themselves out of it. In the meantime, the Plumbers in Bellwood were in disarray with Alpha Squad haven't reported in for half a day and Magister Hulka was preparing a team and himself and a craft to head to Israel to get them back and apprehend Gwen and Kevin for violating protocol. He was beyond annoyed and the intelligence gathered on magi and mystics really did not comfort him in the least. So for his team, they have anti-mana equipment, and tactics when facing Anodites across the galaxy on hand in case the worst comes to pass. With all of these movements coming across, everyone will find out what they are truly made of in the coming day or so.

LMM stops performing the music

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

[Jerusalem Theatre, Thursday, 2:17PM]

Mohammad excused himself to make a phone call while the musicians were on stage relaxing a bit and checking their sheet music, their notes and re-tuning their instruments a bit. The local musicians were on break and went outside to get some air. The magi then approached the stage and the core members of the orchestra looked at them, the air more relaxed since yesterday's group activities, "Enjoying yourselves so far," Asuka asked with a grin.

"More or less," Fynn answered as he was stationed here by Alastair to be the main bouncer, with the explanation satisfying the surprised concert organizers and local musicians earlier, and he moved aside so Angelina can speak, "And according to Alastair's intelligence, the meeting with the elders and esoteric representatives is underway but also Ellessar has observed movements regarding the rogues across the city since yesterday morning."

Asuka nodded and Dante spoke, "No doubt they observed us while in groups all day at various locations. And considering our own position from the day before, attacked in a two prong assault, more than likely they'll separate us tonight or tomorrow," he said.

James spoke, "You really think they will do something so brash? We don't know why they attacked us," but then William spoke, "Think about it, when we were all in Poland and in a cold freeze of inactivity in Marseilles, we were fighting them off in Poland and even Dante got injured in the process in holding off Alastair's enemy. That shows they were after something and why the police were attacked."

"That box in your possession," Eda said and the magi collectively nodded at her, "So what were Alastair and Ellessar doing in France then," she asked to which Angelina spoke candidly; relating to establishing trade routes and searching for the missing component to the chest acquired from the Krakow police.

"So a key is missing in this equation," Gilberto asked, "And documents were stolen in Prague two months ago," Basilio said with his arms crossed, "We are on the defensive and haven't overtook them any capacity."

"Then let's do it," Shinji spoke and that statement got him stares, "Think about it. These guys are after a key connected to this chest that is now in your custody," he gets up and walks up to the magi, "If we are able to fight them off and make sure we manipulate the atmosphere of the fight with them, we make sure their leave from this country won't come cleanly."

"You want to make them bleed and put yourselves in the line of fire," Jane asked and pointing out the insanity of LMM's dark side, "Is this your way of legitimizing yourselves," she added, but Shinji nodded a definite, no, "What then? To show the Aurors you mean business? Or us you are a legitimate threat?"

Shinji then spoke, "A two prong attack. What they did to us, we both return the favor. You cast your spells, hexes, and curses, we separate them and attack them in the dark corners. But we avoid the settlement areas in Muslim neighborhoods. The situation here is already tense, we don't need a fire," he stopped and then continued, "Tonight is the night."

The magi listened and just digested the pragmatic approach of LMM to basically go off the record outside of the supervision of Alastair. A dangerous gamble, but at this point with their backs against the wall, they're going to have to fight like hell tonight….

MEANWHILE

Outside of the city limits in the surrounding suburbs but outside of the West Bank wall, Kevin and Gwen with their arms crossed across Alpha Squad who took to find clothing that were close to fit them. Once they did that, Gwen manipulated the clothes to make them fit the members of the squadron and with ID masks, they look more like tourists with khaki trousers, polo shirts, and dress shoes, "Looks like we can do this tonight," Kevin remarked.

"So you want us to run interference with you guys and run these rogues into the wall," the tall and big alien now looking like a well muscled military type man asked and Kevin nodded, "That and we will come with you with Hulka who will no doubt arrive in the middle of the party," he confirmed and the muscled one grinned at this.

Branagan was looking also like a young captain of an American infantry unit, sporting a beret as well spoke, "Since we're not in protocol mode, this is the likely outcome. Okay, we'll do this to a point," he said and Gwen nodded, "Great, now let's get into positions. It's going to be a rocky night," she walked past Alpha Squad and Kevin along with the four looked on.

Kevin smiled, "She's really getting into this," he chuckled, "Come on you fuckos let's go for a ride," he smacked Branagan's arm and walked past him, causing him to frown but went along with this insane plan.

[Armenian Quarter, 9:02PM]

The sun had set and hour ago and LMM along with the magi set out from their hotel and went in three massive groups. Dante got the latest movements from Scarlett who told him where they were and in doing so, their insane plan is going into effect. Minutes later, Alastair and Ellessar were returning from the meeting with good news and with the hotel in sight Ellessar stopped in her tracks, "Wait," she shouted and Alastair stopped as well, "What's wrong?"

Ellessar sniffed as well as sensed the energies of the surrounding area, "Our friends and LMM are not here, they're gone. The rest are back at the hotel to relay police radio noise," she explained and Alastair just sighed and groaned, "Those idiots! Don't they know we got support now to get out of here in one piece?"

"Perhaps but," they then heard explosions in the distance and Alastair groaned, "Why did they jump the gun and brought danger upon themselves," he yelled as he ran for the sight as in the distance, the rogues fired upon LMM, the magi and the Israeli police.

The mystics and magi were protecting and providing aid to the police force against the bullets and energy blasts from the rogues. The convoy provided cover fire to keep the rogues at bay and ducking from the bullets and as before, both sides wore masks this time, an air of Venetian Carnival but less theatrical and more somber, "Guys we can't stay here, we gotta move," Eda shouted with her ducking behind the car she 'borrowed'.

"Hey Rachel, distract them," Asuka shouted as she fired her 1911 Colt so Rachel nodded and she fired a bright flash and shouted, "Avis!" From this, small birds appeared, looking to me made of paper and then shouted, "Repugno!" Then as the birds flew and chirped towards the rogues they fired upon them and Rachel finished it off with, "Reducto!" An explosion was heard and seen, Rachel smirked but it faded quickly.

The rogues shielded themselves in the knick of time and were angry, "Wherever you hid the key and chest you will reveal the location to us or else," one shouted and aimed that wand to them, and took off the mask, revealing to be the third in command of the Dark Lord who escaped.

The pilots stepped forward, "Why," Dante asked the crazed looking woman and unknown to them, the Dark Lord Slawomir was up on the building looking downward, watching what will happen and what he expected to happen, "A Muggle like you will not understand!"

"Oh then why we have prolonged this battle of our with no indication of a winner," Asuka shouted but then a flash of green light was seen and she fell down, seemingly dead, "ASUKA," Eda was about to rush forward and in a blink of an eye, Alastair restrained her, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO," she shouted and cried hysterically.

Dante and Shinji stood their ground, "To kill like this shows us your true colours, the fear of a united front and accepting this outcome to prevent another Philadelphia," Dante pointed out and the crazed witch shouted, "Silence!"

Another green light was seen and Dante fell down dead as well, "NO," Fatma screamed but Cecilia and Angelina restrained her, leaving Shinji alone and stepped forward, "I knew it. That chest has a secret. The secret to your first war of the esoterics and from that, you'll destroy it and lie to start another war. Us as the catalyst to cement your cause."

The crazed witch was angry but now more concerned as to why he was not running off so she did the same thing, she fired one more time and he fell to the ground dead, "SHINJI!"

Emiko's voice was heard on the radio that Wilfredo had and it took everyone in LMM and the mystic allies to not jump in and kill her and the rogues. The Dark Lord above did not move a muscle, but maintained a gaze on the pilots. As the crazed witch was about to do a monologue, three shots were fired and she noticed three shots in her chest before, falling down as a dead weight. Three groans were heard and the pilots slowly got up, "Well…that worked," Shinji said with labored breathing.

"Yep, and I don't wanna do that again," Asuka said and Dante finished with this, "Agreed. Now, mow them down," so Asuka used her powers to get an M-16 from the rogues to then spray them with bullets, and Dante with Shinji used their Colts to fire their rounds. The rogues scattered from both fear and astonishment and then a firework happened which caused the rogues to scatter in three groups.

Delilah looked at an alley across the way and Alon waved with a smile, "Take the pilots to safety and we roll on and skewer them like kabob," she declared and the magi and mystics got into groups of three with LMM members rushing them help the three pilots.

Once out of the way, the pilots were settled in the car and Eda started it up and drove back to the hotel. Meanwhile, Alastair senses Roland on the roof, he jumped up and unsheathed his sword and blades clashed, "A dance perhaps," Alastair, quipped as Ellessar was ready to pounce on their enemy.

"More like enjoying an unusual show. And it seems your allies are indeed far more interesting than I gave them credit for," blades clanged and clashed and both ducked and dodged, "New York next month should be an interesting ball."

"Oh no you won't," he shouted but Alastair wasn't quick enough to slash his enemy and Roland jumped up on the flagpole and then vanished in a second. He looked around and then looked below and decided to check up on his magi allies, "I'll go to my friends while you go and see LMM's safety," he ordered Ellessar, she nodded and both went off.

The battle was now a three prong assault where the rogues faced the magi, mystics of LMM, Alastair, the Israeli police, the esoteric convoy, and near the walled area of the West Bank; Gwen, Kevin and Alpha Squad let loose plasma blasts, a brawl from Kevin and Gwen in a magical battle. From this the rogues knew they were out numbered and were in check. In fear, they retreated, with a loss of ten men and Apparated away in crackling sounds in mid air.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Israeli police were with LMM to check up on the pilots who were getting their strength and senses back to normal. The night was spent on observing while everyone else was fighting off the rogues in the nooks and crannies of the city. Blasts and gunshots were heard and police cars were sent off to deal with an unusual situation. The police at the hotel were stunned as they saw the three dying and coming back. This indeed was a situation they can't really explain to their superiors nor can the others in the city. Ellessar looked at the three and uttered, "You are indeed blessed and cursed by a strange power."

Shinji heard her and replied, "Yes…we are," he stated simply and with that the night rolled on until everyone came back to the hotel.

For the rest of the night, no one got any sleep and decided to not reveal this to Mohammad and his family. The news of the three dying for a few seconds and coming back to life would have been too much. At the same time, everyone else was silent in winning but also felt that the pilots took this too far but silently acknowledged as to why. The magi were really surprised; three Muggles surviving the killing curse and now see them and LMM in a changed light.

Alastair silently observed them with James and William approaching him, "Listen, LMM have shown today that they are not the villains like the rogues, not since they put their lives on the line and risking it all like this. Can we have them walk away with a clean slate," James asked, "Especially with what you're working on the side," William pointed out as well.

Rathbone sighed and looked at them and spoke, "They won't, they got a concert later today, it's already Saturday and they are too far deep in this. The meeting went ahead and as for tonight…let them digest on what happened," he then walked past them politely and the magi looked on the orchestra, he also left letters for the orchestra on what will happen next month, the trial for their crimes is scheduled and a verdict will be reached in esoteric courts….

Music bit: "You're no son of mine" from Game of Thrones Season 4 OST~

JULY 2012, WEEK ONE

ARGENTINA

[Sierras de Córdoba, Córdoba Province, Wednesday, 2:23AM]

A chill was in the air as Dante was sitting at his room's balcony in a hotel in the town of Villas Carlos Paz, as winter was starting. Funny for him after coming home from a desert, but minor joking aside, he was now feeling he and the rest of his friends and colleagues will soon face the firing squad. Three weeks time that was all was left in facing the WWAEI, but now in an area LMM should have the advantage. However, the despair really sets in with their inevitable fate after New York, their arrest and trial in the hands of the magi. With all of his technical knowledge, his skills in intelligence, and strategy, this was the one thing he knew there was no real way out. They had to answer for what they have done all those months ago.

He sipped his yerba mate from his gourd and looked out at the mountains in the distance, wishing they hadn't done something so desperate in getting an advantage over the WWAEI by being as bad as them and perhaps had a better footing with their magi allies now… "I can't think on that right now," he spoke to himself.

He sighed and took out a locket from his pocket and opened it, in it a picture of Fatma smiling, "I'm sorry…. I'm sorry," he said quietly now setting his gourd down on the coffee table.

He looked up and saw an eagle flying overhead, and feeling calm for some reason, as if it was watching over him. He desperately wanted faith in a higher power, but couldn't bring himself to do it; God wasn't going to save them.

FRANCE

[Grand Est, Ardennes, Wednesday, 4:25PM]

Eda was driving and now in the hilly region of eastern France, where two major battles of WWII took place; Battle of France and Battle of the Bulge. What felt like her own week to start the summer and prepare mentally and spiritually for what's to come for her and her friends, she needed to come where her grandmother was at in the darkness of the last great war. She stopped and killed the engine and looked over the valley below her. A gentle wind blew past her, 'So…she relayed intelligence to the Allied forces and once discovered was arrested by the SS. I'm surprised she wasn't killed. What prevented that,' she thought.

She walked down the road to take in the scenery and wondered how the last Great War took place in a picturesque setting, the irony of life she supposed but also, important for her. After seeing Asuka, Dante and Shinji dying in front of her and coming back to life, she really felt that whatever happened in the past all led up to this moment. A moment she knew would have an easy ending, but also wondered about her grandmother, her strength in doing what needed to be done in comparison with her own strength. She felt sadder now than angry, but then heard some noise in the trees, swearing she saw a familiar figure, but nothing.

She sighed and looked out at the valley and hearing song birds singing in the trees around her, and the wind blowing on the leaves and branches…

UNITED KINGDOM

[Kent, 3:31PM]

Alastair was in his family estate and Rajesh brought some tea for him as he stood in front of the window overlooking the gardens. He was in thought over the events of the past trip, thinking over if trust in LMM is broken or just shaken on their behalf, fearful of their own mortality. He knew they were aware of it, but with the deaths and resurrections of the three pilots, it left him thinking on his own exploits over the past seven years. His study was a testament to that, swords, shields, banners, suits of armor, an assassin's garb, a cane, and trinkets from different lands in the north and south in Sairgoth.

NEW YORK, USA

[Catskill Park, Catskill Mountains, 12:26PM]

Wilfredo was hiking for a while and then decided to rest on the banks of Esopus Creek, a mile down from Shandaken Tunnel. He breathed in the fresh air and the smell of water was soothing as he took off his boots and socks to soak them in the water. Once he was done with that he took off his shirt to cool off with the breeze blowing about, as it was a warm day and he alone while his family and friends are back in the city. He listened to the sounds of nature and felt completely at peace, as if the whole WWAEI mess is not happening, but not even the geographical distance can help hide the fact things will only change from here on out.

Mentally and physically, he was ready, but his soul was aching for reconciliation; forgiveness for the crime in the name of doing well. Now, he wasn't so sure and seeing his pilot friends die like that, it was too close to home and when they came back, it didn't soothe him in the slightest. As he rubbed the back of his head, he sees a man for a brief moment across the creek that looked similar to the man he met back in Poland. As he got up and blinked, the man was gone…confusion and sadness crept in.

~Another music bit: "Mother of Dragons" from Game of Thrones Season 2 OST~

PENNSYLVANIA, USA

[Amity Park Neighborhood, Philadelphia, 12:29PM]

Tucker was in his room; going over a checkered world map so far between North America and Western Europe, as well as the locations of the servers across the planet his team utilize to help out LMM and their allies. He sighed, as he closes is laptop, frustrated and worried. He then took out his Android phone and texted Sam:

{Tucker: Hey, our old buddies will bring the party here soon. One month in New York}

He waited for a response from Sam who at the moment was with Danny on a lunch date. He waited for a few moments before she texted back with this:

{Sam: I'm in. Danny is as well}

Tucker smiled and texted back:

{Tucker: Perfect. Let's show the bastards a good time}

He then locked his phone and sets it down on the desk as he looked at the map. He puts a tack on the spot for New York and takes a bit of string, colored red that is the same that connected all of the locations in Europe and the Mediterranean, aka Greece and Israel and connecting all of it now to America. The first pins, Philadelphia and Stockholm, "You think whatever you did scares us? Well, we're crazy enough to take you on and win," he muttered under his breath.

BRAZIL

[Salvador]

Cecilia was doing some capoeira moves on the top of her home's roof, in the middle of a circle she drew with salt and black powder. The spins and kicks were contained in the circle, which was already big enough for two people to spar with one another. But here, she felt her energy swirling around her, dark, light, water, air, fire, and earth energies swirling, all associated with the orixas of her faith, Candomble. A wind came from the east, the ocean and felt her movements become more fluid. Spirits revolving around her, she felt at peace and ready.

JAPAN

[Kyoto]

Shinji was with his older brother Haruki in their backyard with the two doing some karate sparring for their reasons; for Haruki to keep shape for his job on the police force and for Shinji to further train for the battle to come. He was panting so was Haruki, "Are you sure for this?"

"I am," he unwrapped his hands of the wraps for training and held them before looking up at Haruki, "You got my back," he asked and Haruki nodded, confirming a yes. The two ten headed inside to clean up and Shinji saw a crow on the roof and then felt something in the backyard, a boy sitting there.

He nodded and the boy was gone, so was the crow. He took off his shirt and grabbed his towel and headed upstairs to wait for his brother to finish.

~End music bit~

TO BE CONTINUED

The theme I posted for the very last of this chapter was with some thought in mind I promise. I wrote the ending a month in advance due to the hectic schedule I had recently due to class, work, and volunteer work. So my mind was a bit scattered and I hope this chapter didn't come off as such and if it does, I will rectify this in the next chapter. Hardly any music this time but mentioning of it still exists so to add something aside from the drama and action.

Read, review, critique and I'll see you next time.