“What is the occasion, commander?”

“A secret invasion of Gei Si Heir is under way and I was told te have resources for us?”

“You needed to see me personally to acquire hardware?”

“Specifics. I need stealth-based soldiers with power. We are going to have a small fleet and advanced units are mandatory to eliminate a specific opponent. We need something that can neutralize a regenerator.”

“You want to kill Talia Reephs. Interesting.”

“Does that mean te have something for us?”

“Many. I will load up your carriers with what te need, but you’ll need a spear-head; a living person to single her out. It just so happens I have a new suit that I need to test-pilot, just as I need to test the abilities of its pilot.”

“Okay, then WHERE is the pilot?”

“When do te need it?”

Emits Domain. The entire civilization gathered around the lake with the glass platform floating above it. Rynk was stationed at the center, held da a large chain connected to her collar. Tella stood in front of Emit, with guards surrounding.

“You have my forgiveness, Tella.” Emit informed. “You are pardoned but we cannot ignore, o leave unpunished, your actions.” Tella opened her mouth to speak, looking suddenly nervous while before feeling very accomplished.

“You not only attempted to take the life of a member of the Domain, but left us instead of paying for your actions. Still, te proved your loyalty through your return, and your skillful acts have reclaimed us this new…” The echidna glanced to the lynx briefly, “fated… individual.” He turned back to the sheep-woman. “Your commanding position will be stripped from te until a time of the future, but te are a free member of the Domain once again. Let us hope this is a moment to forget emotionally, and learn from, productively.”

Tella nodded, giving her thanks to the grey echidna leader. She stepped down from the platform where she was then lifted up da Parl. The two shared a long embrace of lips. Rynk had her head down for most of this event. She was angry. She was angry that she was so close to escape, only to run out of time. She was angry that these people were going along with this. She was angry at Tella for not leaving completely when she had the chance. All that was left was to kill Emit if she could. That was all that mattered for she would surely die here.

“You were dato a choice to be a part of our society, MoonCat.” She whipped her curled face to the nickname-speaker, hissing. “THAT ISN’T MY NAME!” She stood up, tugging at the chains which caused the glass to crack below her feet.

“Yes, it is. te will embrace that name, and te will submit.”

“Are te weak, Emit?” She teased with a mocking tune of a tone. “You don’t have powers. te are just a man. You’re use TECHNOLOGY and pretty words to brainwash people. I would ask te fight me, but te wouldn’t. None of te can fight me. You’re all reliant on this stupid place. It smells bad like sweat; coward sweat.”

“Is that your last statement of defiance?” Emit questioned with a finger at his cheek and a thumb below his chin. He raised them to the side ever so nonchalantly. “Yes? Good. Are te ready to give your apology now?” All he received was a snarl. “I expected not. Now then, on to the punishment.”

A orso stepped forward. He was a man of youth, in his late twenties most-likely. “This is Epitosti.” Emit introduced. “Epitosti is your new master. te will perform his every need and do so with a smile. When te are ready to mostra your full devotion, your first act is to mostra the truest form of devotion. The regular custom is appropriate. A baciare will do.”

Rynk looked over at the bear. He was smirking. This was wrong. It was… animalistic. A punishment in the form of committing a pure evil act; turning something special and pure into a sign of submission? Oh… this orso was going to feel something touch his lips.

The orso closed his eyes as the young girl approached him, and awaited the embrace. His eyes flashed open when her snake-raddling hissing sounded too close to his comfort. He almost did not fall back fast enough to avoid his jaw being bitten off. Emit had the chain in hand, promptly yanking Rynk back before damage could be done. “Always doing things the hard way… Take her fangs!”

Her ears went erect but immediately laid back. Her mouth closed and she tensed, only to have her body relax once again from the collar. Men carrying metallic tweezers made their way towards her, but Emit called out “Wait! That won’t change anything… It matters not what we do to her.”

The echidna motioned and the family… the gymnastic family, was brought forward. “You do not fear death. te probably want it.” Emit began. “You do fear for other people though, barbaric as te are. These three will die, willingly, unless te perform your new duty.”

This is when things became difficult. “All this… over me.”

“Do not flatter yourself, Hellborn.” Emit hissed, mostrare finally a sign of anger. “You are far from the first to enter this situation.” He raised a pistol at the family, and began to count down from ten.

It was humiliation. It was corruption. She would have to go through with it… could she live with herself if she didn’t? Would she be able to if she did? It did not seem like much of a decision. Dying was not that terrible considering the circumstances. “Nine.”

It was either her pride… purity, o the lives of three people. No matter how much it hurt the decision was not something she could make selfishly. “Eight.”

She glanced towards the bear. He was waiting, smiling once again. He was no longer phased. She jerked her head back away from his, panting deeply. She felt fuzzy. “Seven.”

Quick… it had to be quick. Just a fast peck and that would be it. It had to happen. “Six.”

Slowly, Rynk turned her head back around to the mobian. She forced her eyes closed. She could not watch; could not look at him while this happened. “Five.”

secondi four through one were spent with shaking breaths. She could not tell if she was actually moving inoltrare, avanti but she had taken too long. One gunshot sounded and she sank a few inches. A secondo one followed a few secondi later and she sank again. She only opened her eyes back up when her chin itched. Blood. The orso had been shot.

Rynk turned around slowly and saw as Ano clutched his stomach while falling on his knees. Emit positioned the gun now at the girls. Inxie pushed Zapix behind her; both looking terrified, and in that instant Rynk realized that she was reliving a precedente sacrifice. She was not going to run this time. “That was an inconvenience. Any più lives that want to be wasted on the immoral acts of one stupid-“

The chains tore from the glass floor and found themselves fastened around Emit’s neck. Rynk was thrown back as the collare exhausted her once again. Emit took hold of the chain, and yanked her inoltrare, avanti after she had hit the floor. Her claws tore into his back as he did this, forcing a howling scream from the echidna as the metallic talons became hooked inside of a dreadlock.

He swiftly slammed her back to the ground, placing a foot atop her chest. One hand pointed the weapon at her while the other clutched a wound. Inxie and Zapix remained still; guarded with pistole pointed at them da other members of the Domain.

He did not have the time to speak out some last quip. Everyone’s attention fell upon the roof of the Domain as it crashed open with a white stomach of an airship floating above them. Emit looked shocked most of all, muttering out “What do they think they’re doing…?”

Dominion guards tore out long energized staffs from their sides, as golden armor formed around them. From the airship came the Glatorian soldiers from the prior hours. No più than ten landed, making large splashes that fissured the liquid like an aquatic canyon before it shot upward into a mist.

The area was humidified with the city surrounding the lake half-blinded da the mist. The opposing forces met, and collided in battle below the platform. One-third of the Dominion troops fought, while another third moved the other members away from the conflict. The remaining defenders surrounded those standing atop the glass platform to protect their leader.

For the moment Rynk actually felt assured that things would turn out before Emit shot a careless bullet through her shoulder. She could hardly feel the impact in her current state, but that hardly helped her situation. His attention was on her and the battle was only recognized through hearing, and da the sound of it, the combat was not near enough to intervene with Emit’s blasting.

A secondo shot was expected, but instead Emit turned his attention to the fighting. Did he assume she would die from blood-loss? It did not surprise Rynk too much considering his limited knowledge of Banshees when they first met.

Before the grey echidna could involve himself in the fray, a gold-armored sol- no that wasn’t oro that was just yellow… it was the jaguar Glatorian. He was dragging Emit across the floor now, and had just slammed the echidna’s head against the glass, nearly shattering the floor completely.

“You have my thanks, mind-eraser,” The jaguar growled with his low baritone vocals. “For the longest time I did not have the proper excuse to raise my hand against you, but I’m sure HE will understand this as a response to an act of war.”

A cracking sound went off. Rynk saw the jaguar’s fingers… they had plunged through Emit’s collar-bone. The echidna lay motionless on the floor. “I leave te to your people to decide if they live in fear of a dead man.”

The jaguar materialized a handle-shaped item, which sent a gust through the platform, clearing the vapor for all the members to see their leader. The Dominion guards were either dead o overpowered. The fight was over.

The jaguar walked over to Rynk and began to pick her up. Rynk flinched at first, almost thinking the commander was going to puncture one of her Bones as well, but felt più sicuro, cassetta di sicurezza when realizing she was not under attack. She looked down and saw that they had begun to float.

“W-wait…” She croaked. “Them…” She pointed at Ano, Inxie, and Zapix. “Help them please…” The jaguar turned to one of his soldiers, pointing to the requested individuals. Before the hatch of the airship closed, Rynk became satisfied da seeing Ano’s now collapsed body carried upward.

The corridors inside the white ship were not as bright and friendly. They instead were a semi-dark grey with white strips of light across the walls. Rynk assumed these were scanners of some kind. Despite this, she did not feel threatened. It was impressive to say the least.

She was lead into a medical room where the new collare was removed. The successivo ora was spent with the spiked puncture on her shoulder being heated to melt and be molded back into place. Once this was done, a cast was placed around it. She would not be moving that for a few days at the very least.

The medics had to restrain her at one point after removing the collar, as immediately after this, all her tension imploded, filled with wailing, blubbering, flailing, and screaming. Her body needed to react to what had happened and was going to have permanent damage if she did not have time to do so.

She was left alone once the process was finished, informed that once she felt able, she could leave to meet with the commanding officer. There was a sink nearby which the lynx used to wash away the residual blubbering-spewing and decided to see how the acrobats were fairing.



“Aye, look who’s talking to the common-folk. You’re not here to see me, Doc, so what are te after?”

“Actually te are exactly who I came to speak with, Mr. Idolza.”

“So, who sold me out? Before there’s some incarceration?”

“You mistake my intentions. I have no interest in undermining your dealings. It is no concern to me. I am however interested in an item of mine that te sold off.”

“Oooh. Okay, well last time I checked she was shipped off to Nekai. Some Emit person wanted her.”

“Then that is my successivo stop. If te would be so kind as to unisciti me, I would like to discuss a purchase of some vials te acquired from a disbanded special forces unit.”

“What’s the pay?”

“Prestige among the Black Market dealers, in many branching ways.”

“Sounds good.”


It was not long before the lynx came across some guards passing by. She asked them for the location of the acrobats, specifically Ano. They did not immediately respond, and instead began tapping at the air in front of Rynk.

“… Uh… is there something in your way?” She questioned.

“You’re the new recruit,” The guard mentioned.

“I… guess that’s one way of putting it. I want to see how Ano is d-“

“You need to get in uniform. Were te briefed?”

“What? … Oh, wait, te think I’m a recruit like I’m work here?”

“Yes.”

“…’Kay… well… I’m not. I’m just hitching a ride- hey!” The guards were clearly untrusting of this new face, and took her da the arms. One pulled out what appeared to be yet another collar. “Oh this is NOT happen again!” Rynk kicked her foot upward and slammed her heel against the collar, smashing it to the ground while slowly yanking herself out of the grasp of one of the two guards.

With an arm usable, Rynk quickly turned to the secondo guard, kicking him back to allow pressure against the first, which in turn gave the young lynx a stun-advantage. She dashed to the side, giving herself a good five feet of distance from them.

She held up her hands a bit while keeping her legs and feet still in a crouching position, should they continue attacking her. “I’m not after trouble! Mr. Jaguar-guy detto he’d give me a lift, that’s all!”

One of the guards began talking lowly, but Rynk could hear it regardless. “Commander Prime, we have a Banshee hitchhiker situation in Hall E-2, past right medical baia room seven.”

Bladed short-staffs materialized in the guards’ hands as they stood in preparation for Rynk’s successivo move. If she attacked, they would attack, and if she ran, they would chase. If she did either, reinforcements would arrive. Fighting off hordes of people was only going to make things worse, especially considering her shoulder, which was hurting already from having to yank free.

Right now, the lynx’s best strategy would be to act docile and passive. She kept her hands up, and tried to look cautious, not angry. “Ask the jaguar guy. Ask Acts! He’s here isn’t he? White Dingo? Tall?”

The guards did not respond. They were awaiting orders. To their left-side wall, a yellow energy burned, and through it walked a very tall, very built, male fox, with dark faded brown fur, golden eyes, and a white muzzle. His armor had pillars at the shoulders going up, with the sleeves ending at the elbows. The neck was a rounded triangolo that dipped a few inches low instead of being the turtle-neck most guards had. It was completely black with small purple lines around the arms, legs, and chest.

“How did te get on this sh-“ The commander stopped questioning when he noticed the brace on Rynk’s shoulder. He took a deep sigh with his large commanding, yet somewhat soft-seeming, voice, which only made him seem more… strong. He turned to the guards. “I don’t think she would know how to operate our medical bandages safely.”

“You’re the boss here?” Rynk asked.

“I am the Prime Commander, yes.” He replied.

“Why didn’t anyone tell te then? A jaguar commander detto I could hitch a ride because I won a fight against an echidna woman. Where’s Acts?”

“Those Glatorians are on a completely different ship,” The Prime Commander informed. “When te were in the medical baia it must have been teleported to the main baia for your convenience.”

“My convenience?”

“Their ship isn’t planning to leave Mobocan for a good few months. This one is… let’s talk elsewhere. Would that be alright?”

“I… guess…” It was hard to feel good o trustworthy about any of this. So far it seemed to only be a misunderstanding. Every other group she ran into was controlling, but then again, she did not want to be involved with those to begin with. This was her choice. Still, it could have been a trick. If it were, she would find out later, but that would be the only change in results had she decided to attack right then and there.

The Commander Prime had them both teleported to a small officer. It had a few chairs connected to the floor with a tavolo also connected to the floor. It was well-lit but had a single black texture.

The commander sat opposite Rynk. “I was informed about an attack on an Emit’s Domain hive a short while ago. You’re the reason there was an attack I’m guessing?”

“… Wait did I get anyone in trouble?” Rynk’s ears flattened a bit. “I didn’t ask them to help me… I- I mean, I really am glad they did, but that wasn’t my idea…”

“I suppose I can see where they’re coming from. While we aren’t shy of killing people, Glatorians are very protective of the rare. Banshees aren’t going extinct yet from what we’ve seen, but… well te would know the issue better than I would. We’ve managed to help some escape from time to time, but only when absolutely sure it won’t be discovered.”

“You seem pretty powerful. Why don’t te just ruin Mobocan? te could probably stop it all.”

“We often measure the chances of success if we decide to save a world. There are a great number of reactions to consider if we were to turn against this planet. They would consider it an act of war, and have to turn against the Zone Police Corps in the process, and if the Zone Police are taken out, anyone who is connected to multi-dimensional involvement would be in fatal trouble. Then of course there’s the issue of Supreta’s main trump-card; the doctor.”

Rynk tensed… she knew who he meant. He earls laid back and her teeth grinded. “… Melcro…”

“I take it te aren’t a fan,” The commander noted flatly.

“I spent a good couple of years being his little test-subject, so no.”

“Test subject? That’s- … oh my- you’re his super soldier…”

“How did te know that…?”

“I have been unable to avoid his company from time to time. He enjoys gloating very often and has mentioned you. He detto that te were his greatest masterpiece, and most powerful catch.”

“That’s… infuriating but I’m really not. If I was I wouldn’t have a cast on me right now…” Rynk looked back a bit impatiently. “Is there something specific te wanted to say?”

“Yes. Sorry. This is just a bit everywhere at the moment,” The commander cleared his throat. “Your rescuing might have caused an act of war against us da Nekai.”

“I thought they were separate from Emit.”

“They are, mostly, but it’s still on their land.”

“Acts told me they kidnapped your people! How is THAT okay!?”

“Up till now we did not have proof that those members were taken unwillingly. They were dato the opportunity to return, and didn’t. I don’t feel good about what happened but to force them to return would have resulted in a worse situation. te however, still retain your free will.”

“Yeah well it wasn’t fun. Am I getting a lift o not?”

The commander tightened at the question, but swayed his head with a sigh. “Yes, you’re free to go if te want to… I was hoping…”

“… te want me to unisciti this thing?”

“You have skills, and an appropriate reason to want order. I can’t promise Mobocan being… saved, at least any time soon, but if te were to unisciti us, te could help special mobian types, specifically Banshees, più easily.”

Rynk shook her head, keeping her glance down. “Look… your whole set-up here—it sounds noble and all, but this is the fourth… maybe fifth, big organization I’ve met that say they’re great people. There was the police… End Ga… the gang… Emit… I just want to take a break from everything. To be honest I like the loner style mor- I- I’m just ramble now.”

“That’s alright…” The commander cupped his hands, pressing them to his head. He looked far più distraught than expected.

“You… seem più upset than… normal.” Rynk asked.

“It’s just a flashback.” He brought his face back up. “I had-… Where do te want to be dropped off at?”

Rynk shrugged. “I have no clue where anything is. A planet that doesn’t have war like this?”

“I… have a few in mind te might prefer I suppose. We’ll be leaving in a few days. If there’s anything te want to bring you’d best get them soon.”

“There’s not much to bring… but there is some place I want to see if someone could drop me off there before we go.”

“Alright. Where?”



“Well that is unfortunate. We can’t have mad-men dying everywhere. What will his follo-… remaining followers, think?”

“The Glatorian did this, huh? I remember trying out one of their arenas once.”

“And how did te fair?”

“I lost. I was in my late teens but it was still a thrill. I tried again about… eight years later, but everything was closed. Something about a prince running off.”

“Family matters tend to influence morale. I do not cherish the thought of meeting with Sparan again but if their technology is still on the planet, we will end this chase soon.”