Trouble was hot on Vex’s scent. He sprinted down one street after another, Alex hot on his heels with Sin still under one arm. Trouble knew the scent of his sister better than almost any other and could track her through the crowded streets of a bustling city. Tracking her as Trouble was through empty streets was child’s play, even if the scent trail was settling from Vex’s flight path. Trouble turned down another street, ignoring the sirens that had stopped at the scene of Sin’s accident. The guards would be after Ill Omen eventually, but until then, they had a Witch to find.
Trouble sniffed the air like a hound at the mouth of one alley before scampering on all fours down several more alleys. He moved more like an insect than a normal member of a sophic species. Trouble’s motions were frantic, panicked even.
The team quickly found themselves in the warehouse district as Trouble flitted from spot to spot. Vex had a very distinct scent. Road dust, machine oil, and musk. Yet there was more than that. Vex still stank of the forest they had trudged through as well as faintly of Potato’s expelled slime. The scent grew stronger the deeper they went into the district. In the distance, a familiar figure approached, carrying a key on a chain and reading warehouse numbers as he went. Architallis looked distinctly confused. When the Alchemyst spotted Tro, he quickened his pace to a jog. As the pair approached, Architallis said, “How fortuitous that we should meet here. Are you here because Faith informed you of the warehouse I rented?”
“What?” Tro asked, his head cocking in confusion even as he swiveled a bat ear to listen for any sound of Vex. The scent was fresh enough that his sister had to be close.
“I will take that as a no,” Architallis said as he peered between the two warehouse numbers of the looming structures to Trouble’s left.
“Oh! Look! There’s our warehouse.” Architallis said as he hurried up to Unit 1318.
“What?” Trouble asked again.
“Alexander sent me to collect housing for us and requested a warehouse. I contacted Faith to request aid with this goal. She gave me a company, Rinwald Storage, and told me to request this warehouse,” he pointed to the warehouse he stood before. “This would be the one.”
Alex caught up with Trouble at this point. “Oh! Hey, Archi. You got your pocket lab? We could definitely use the hand.”
“I-No. I did not acquire a fresh Distillex device. I wanted to examine our quarters first. Why would I need my device?”
“Because Vex was kidnapped,” Alex said before turning to Tro. “Hey, buddy. You still got her scent? She close?”
“Yes,” Trouble replied as he raised his nose to the air. He tracked the scent to the front door of Warehouse Unit 1319. “Here,” Tro said, with a hand pointed at the neighboring warehouse.
Trouble heard the sound of metal hitting flesh and a muffled cry of pain from just inside. Trouble waved Alex over, stepped back as the Knyght approached, and pointed at the door. “Wait there.”
“Okay?” Alex asked. “What are you going to do?”
“Finish this,” Trouble growled before he leaped halfway up the wall with hardly a sound and climbed to the roof like a gecko. Tro was fed up with these women. They simply refused to give up and had no right to the pursuit. His kin were off-limits to everyone. He still had someone he needed to teach that rule to anyway.
Trouble skittered along the roof until he was directly above the sounds of cries of rage and panic. With quick motions, Tro slipped his kinetic gloves off and pocketed them before extending his claws. With swift motions, he dug his claws into the metal and peeled it apart as if it were plastic, creating a hole large enough for him to slither through like a serpent.
Trouble’s eyes adjusted to the dark space instantly, spotting three figures down below. Vex was tied to a chair; the Mesarra woman sat in a more opulent chair, and Fee Fee struggled as Potato clung to her face. Vex’s face was beaten and bruised with several lumps and a black eye to show for her defiance, no doubt.
Even as Trouble watched, Vex’s hat lay freshly fallen to the floor, and Potato was busy assaulting the orifices of Fee Fee’s face with his mouthful of black tentacles. Trouble fell from the roof, landing on one foot even as he drove an axe-kick into the back of Fee Fee’s head.
The force of the blow flung Potato wide as the Fury’s face was driven into the pavement floor. The stone cracked and caved in under her face. Trouble drove the same foot into Fee Fee’s ribs, launching her with brutal force. The Fury struck and dented a block of shelves. The blow was strong enough to shatter ribs, even beneath her armor; however, Fee Fee glowed with a white-gold light. A protective aura.
Trouble’s eyes snapped to the woman who calmly sat in the chair, a hand outstretched toward Fee Fee, her marrow-white ring glowing with the same power. Mesarra locked eyes with Tro, a malicious smirk on her face. Trouble lunged for Mesarra, claws extended, aiming to rend her chest wide open.
However, Mesarra was already ahead. Her body was sheathed in a glow similar to the one that enveloped Fee Fee. As Trouble closed the distance, Mesarra drove a foot into his chest as she tipped her chair backward. Trouble threw himself back, minimizing the impact of the powerfully enhanced strike. Mesarra rolled from her seat and popped to her feet with uncanny grace. She’d cast a double enhancement on herself, improving her strength and agility to a lethal degree.
Trouble would need to put Mesarra down before Fee Fee could recover. He had maybe moments at most before this turned into a two-on-one battle. Trouble pushed back in to close the distance, but Mesarra raised her hand toward him and fired a ceaseless barrage of Lumina Bolts. The shots of condensed light flew true, but Trouble was quicker. As Tro rushed in, he bobbed and weaved between each shot, inches passing between him and each bolt. As always, his calculations were perfect. Field rule number 4: Economy of motion.
Mesarra leaped back as Tro closed the distance, easily clearing ten feet. Trouble put on an extra burst of speed, closing the distance in an instant. However, just as Tro was almost within claw’s reach, a ceangar-shaped wrecking ball tackled Trouble aside, throwing him to the floor. The pair rolled several more feet. As the Fury and Adroit tumbled, the pair traded blows. Fee Fee socked Trouble in the jaw. Trouble head-butted Fee Fee in the nose with enough force to break it. Fee Fee drove a knee into Trouble’s groin, to little effect. Trouble threw an elbow at Fee Fee’s neck, but the Fury blocked it with one hand before the pair came to a stop on the floor, Fee Fee atop Trouble. The Fury’s hands burst into white-gold flames as she began driving strikes down at Trouble’s face and head. Trouble shielded his face with his arms before flexing his spine and throwing his legs up with impressive flexibility. The Neoform wrapped both legs around the Ceangar’s neck and dragged her to her back with tooth-jarring force. Trouble snatched at one of Fee Fee’s gauntlets with both hands, putting her in an iron-strong armbar. Without an instant’s hesitation, Trouble snapped her arm at the elbow. Even as the Fury screamed in pain, Trouble unwrapped one leg to kick the Fury in the jaw hard enough to knock her five feet away.
Tro rolled to his feet just in time to witness Mesarra healing the fresh wounds on Fee Fee. Trouble snarled in anger. The Fury would keep Tro off the Martyr even as the support caster healed the Fury’s wounds. Trouble was going to need help for this. “Alex!” Trouble shouted. “In here! Now!”
Alex stood patiently by the door to Warehouse 1319 as he listened to the sounds of a brawl within. “You think we should help?” Alex asked, folding his powerful arms over what passed for his chest in his present state.
“I am unsure,” Architallis said before flinching at a bloodcurdling scream of a woman. “Having witnessed the Neoform’s honed capacity for combat, I would normally suspect that he would be fine. However, those three women are powerful and well-coordinated. Wait,” Architallis cocked his head as if he heard something. “Do you hear a jet engine?”
“No. Why?” Alex asked, giving the Alchemyst a questioning look.
“Because, according to the map, there is an airfield behind these warehouses, and I think I hear one drawing near. It might be nothing. But do we want to take the chance?”
“Point made,” Alex grunted. “Let’s head to the back just to make sure.”
Just then, a shout came from inside the warehouse. “Alex!” Tro called. “In here! Now!”
“Dreck!” Alex cursed. “That’s my cue. You head to the back. Keep outta sight. I’m goin’ in.”Then, Alex acted out cracking his mechanical knuckles, took a few steps back, and lowered a shoulder. “Time to make an entrance.”
Alex charged the warehouse door, blowing through the metal like it was tissue paper. He kept up the charge, pushing through shelves and crates like they weighed nothing. Alex burst into the center of the warehouse, launching a shelf of brittle vases across the floor to strike someone, Alex didn’t know who.
Alex quickly spotted Vex tied to a chair, Fee Fee eyeing him like a serious threat, and Mesarra standing near the rear loading doors. That could only mean that the shelf hit…
Trouble let out an angry growl from beneath the mangled shelves. The Neoform dragged himself out from beneath the metal and plastic mess, covered in white porcelain dust. Trouble coughed into a fist before glaring at Alex. “Poor move.”
“I-uh-yeah. Sorry,” Alex said bashfully.
Suddenly, the rear loading bay door began rolling up to reveal Willow, standing there with a shocked look on her face. She sized up the situation in an instant, drew her sword, and encased it in a Razor Ward.
“Willow!” Mesarra called. “Get the Dove into the jet. Fee, keep the metal man and the freak occupied. I will support.”
“Great,” Alex groused. He reached a hand down to the holster holding the shovel at his hip, then paused, examining the space. Too many shelves and obstacles for the axe form of the device. While he could blow through them with his mass and strength, everything in the way of any axe swing would reduce its power. Alex cursed inwardly. It seemed he would never get the chance to field-test his toy.
Willow sprinted into the center of the room to reach Vex, spinning the chair and dragging it across the floor. “Hey! Hey!” Vex protested.
Trouble lunged, tackling Willow away from Vex. Vex’s chair fell flat on its back. Tro drove a punch down at Willow’s face, but the Warden dropped the ward on her sword, instead raising a small, thick barrier an inch above her face. Trouble’s fist struck the barrier and bounced with the sound of breaking fingers.
With a powerful move, Fee Fee tackled Trouble, pinning him down. She applied dangerous pressure to his throat with her armored forearm. Trouble choked and gagged even as he extended his claws again, sinking them into the sides of Fee Fee’s chest armor. The claws sank deep, blood seeping out around the razors as they sank into the Fury’s kidneys. However, any damage taken by Fee Fee was mitigated by Mesarra’s healing magics.
Alex stormed across the space to drive a massive right hook into the side of the Fury’s skull, launching her clear off Trouble and into yet another row of shelves. Trouble sat up, rubbing his throat gently with his undamaged hand, even as he gave as close to a thumbs-up to Alex as he could manage with three warped fingers.
Willow had already grabbed Vex again and dragged her most of the way to the rear door. Trouble and Alex rushed the Warden, but she raised a massive shield between her and them. However, Alex had cracked the woman’s ward back on the caravan while he was still in his smaller state. In his Tomb Shell, he would blow through it easily. As Alex closed the distance, he readied a punch with one monolithic fist. The moment he was within range, Alex threw the blow, confident in his theory.
The massive metal fist was repelled by the wall. Alex hit the wall and bounced back, as Trouble kicked off the energy barrier and scanned his surroundings. Alex looked from the wall to the escaping caster with bafflement. Then he noticed that the wall had a distinctly different glow from normal. Alex looked to Mesarra to see her glowing ring pointed at the barrier, infusing the normally gray-blue energy with a hint of white and gold. So the Martyr woman enhanced the spell. Damn it. That woman was going to be serious trouble if they couldn’t drop her. Luckily, the barrier didn’t cover Mesarra, so Alex rushed her.
The Knyght was only ten feet from the Martyr when he was struck in the side and propelled into the reinforced barrier. As the room spun in Alex’s vision while he lay on the floor, he was certain that if he’d still had a brain, he’d have one hell of a concussion. He idly thought he should check his skull for cracks the next time he found a mirror. Alex pulled himself to his feet with staggering motions. The Knyght looked around to spot what threw him off course, and he found a shattered wooden crate spilling out a mass of sandbags. ‘No wonder it was heavy enough to throw Alex off his feet, but who the hells crates-up sandbags?’ Alex wondered. He didn’t have time for those kinds of questions. Alex backtracked the projectile back to a standing and rage-faced Fury.
Fee Fee triggered an ability Alex had already seen once. Her body took on a blue-white glow as electricity arced over her form. Volt Step Cowl. An aura ability that can be picked up by Furys. Her speed would be massively increased, and there was no way that Alex could be able to keep pace with her. Alex’s worries were deepened when gray energy coiled up her gauntlets. Alex assumed that would be Fee Fee, enhancing her punches with raw kinetic power.
Alex moved to take a battle-ready stance, but was too slow. He hadn’t even fully raised his fists into guard when Fee Fee was beside him in a flash of motion. Alex was mid-turn when the Fury drove two lightning-fast blows into Alex’s torso. The Knyght staggered four steps to his right before righting himself and turning to throw a punch at Fee Fee. However, the Fury was already on his other side, driving another two blows into his right leg. Alex crumpled to one knee, blindly swinging a backhand toward Fee Fee, but she was already gone. A strike landed against Alex’s back, and he fell face-first to the floor.
Alex tried to rise, but found his right leg would not respond. He couldn’t look back without a neck, but he guessed the Fury had blown out his knee from behind. Damn it. He’d only just gotten his arm back into working order. If Alex wanted to stay in the fight, he only had one choice. The Soulforged ejected from his Tomb Shell, his lesser body unfurling from the back of the shell as it resumed its coffin state, malformed from the damage yet again. Alex scanned the room for his opponent to find Fee Fee coming at him from the left again. He readied to throw a punch at her, if for nothing more than to throw her off course and buy himself precious seconds. Again, Alex was too slow. Fee Fee drove a brutal punch into the side of Alex’s head, flinging him several feet to the right again. Alex attempted to correct his footing only to find his right leg failed to respond fully. The Knyght fell onto his side with a rattle of metal on stone. Alex, now having a neck, looked back at the malfunctioning limb to find damage to his knee, even in this form. That strike wrecked him, so he was out of the fight, and the Fury knew it.
Alex looked on as the Fury tackled Trouble to the floor yet again, intercepting him on his way to his sister. Willow had almost dragged Vex to the jet’s loading ramp, and there was no one to stop the woman. Things were going sideways in a nasty way. Ill Omen was about to lose its designated leader, which would likely mean Alex and Archi would be going back to Stygian Eye. Well, it was nice having freedom while it lasted. Alex watched helplessly as his key to a new life was being ripped away from him.
Then, the unexpected happened. Just as Willow was a few feet from the jet’s ramp, Architallis stepped around from behind the vehicle. Willow looked at the large Vhenari in shock just in time for him to throw a punch at her temple. The Warden dropped to the blacktop, unconscious. The Alchemyst caught Vex’s seat before it could fall again and hurried to drag it away from the jet.
Alex turned back to Trouble and Fee Fee just in time to witness the Adroit drive a right cross into the Fury’s jaw, staggering her enough for Tro to throw her off. Trouble immediately rolled from the prone position to a predator’s crouch before launching himself at Mesarra, now exposed without Willow’s ward.
Alex noticed that something was wrong with Trouble. He was acting more like an enraged beast than a tactical Adroit. He was feral, and something was happening to his body. The skin on his exposed hands and face was shifting to something harder, rougher, and more gray.
Trouble reached Mesarra with a speed faster than Alex had ever seen him use. It was almost as if he had teleported. Trouble raked both hands down the Martyr’s chest, drawing savage rending claw marks down her torso that gushed rich blood. Mesarra had attempted to escape the moment Trouble was before her, but she was too slow. A scream of agony ripped from her lungs even as she flung herself away. Yet the Martyr didn’t make it far; her enchantment shattered by something to do with Trouble. The Fury was behind Trouble in an instant, snatching his broken hand and attempting to fling the Neoform away with enhanced strength.
Instead, reality changed. A disruption in space and physics. Suddenly, Fee Fee was being flung away by Trouble. Trouble was also suddenly larger by another hundred pounds. His limbs were abnormally long with over-excoriated joints. Trouble’s hand was also completely healed. In this state, his jacket fit almost perfectly. Alex noticed that the sutures that normally held Trouble’s mouth in a more socially acceptable shape were gone. All of his savage teeth were bared in brutal rage as he flung the Fury across the warehouse like a high-speed sports ball.
Fee Fee flew straight toward the roof, bounced off the metal, denting it, and dropped to the floor halfway across the large space. Vex screamed, “Cut me free! We need to stop him!” even as she thrashed against her restraints.
Architallis dropped the chair into a sitting position before worming a claw beneath each of the four straps and severed them one at a time with sharp jerks. Vex shot to her feet, rubbing one wrist as she shouted orders to Alex. “Gear Head, get back in your shell!”
“Its leg is busted!” Alex shouted back. “My leg is busted!”
Vex spat a curse under her breath. “Crawl your ass there! Get in! Get ready to hold him tight!”
“You’re joking!” Alex shot back, “He’s as big as my frame! Plus looks like he’s got crazy effects!”
“Just do as I say!” Vex snapped, “I’ve got this handled!…. I think!” Vex let out a high-pitched whistle between two fingers.
“That does not make me feel good about this.” Alex groused under his breath even as he crawled fist over fist toward his shell.
Potato came barking from among the shelves to scurry toward Vex. Even as the creature moved, Trouble turned back to Mesarra, who had only just healed her claw wounds. She still lay on the floor, back crawling toward the rear gate and jet, but she was too slow. Trouble collected the woman in his two hands and raised her.
Potato reached Vex. She picked her pet up, whispered in whatever passed for an ear on the creature. Vex tossed Potato into Architallis’s fumbling grip. Trouble raised the Martyr to his face. Vex shouted, “Throw him!” Architallis flung the beast at Troubles' face a moment late. Trouble bit down on Mesarra’s shoulder and neck, sinking saber teeth deep. The High Elf screamed in desperate agony, thrashing in the freakish Neoform’s grip.
Potato flew through the air to strike Trouble’s face. Trouble released his toothy grip as Potato drove tentacles up the Neoform’s nose and into his ears and eyes. Trouble released his grip on Mesarra to snatch at Potato.
Fee Fee came flying from the warehouse on wings of flame to catch Mesarra under one arm before she struck the ground. Fee Fee angled her dive to snatch Willow under the other arm before she raised into the air, beyond Trouble’s reach. “We’ll be back,” Mesarra said with a cough of blood even as she healed herself. “And with greater numbers. Mark my words.”
“Tackle him!” Vex shouted to Architallis as she pointed to her brother. The Alchemyst traded a shocked look between Vex and Trouble, his jaw ajar. “Damn it! Just do it unless you want to die!” Vex snapped her voice like a cracking whip.
Architallis jumped at the verbal lashing before turning and rushing Trouble. The hulking Vhenari struck Trouble and wrapped his arms around the Neoform’s chest, pushing back as hard as he could. Trouble hadn’t gotten a grip on Potato before Architallis struck him, sending Trouble staggering a few long steps back.
“Push!” Vex shouted through cupped hands.
Architallis redoubled his efforts, knocking Trouble back another few steps. With a last burst of effort, the Alchemyst shoved the raging Neoform at Alex. Alex, for his part, had only just merged with his shell in time to catch the Neoform. If he had been a moment slower, Alex couldn’t have caught Trouble. The Knyght wrapped his arms around the Neoform and squeezed Trouble around the elbows, restraining his arms.
Architallis released his grip and took five steps back, breathing hard. Trouble struggled against Alex’s grip, but the mechanical arms proved stronger. For an instant, reality seemed to start to glitch, but Vex was faster. The Hexxen Bane sprinted, jumping to push off Architallis’s back. Vex landed with one arm wrapped around Trouble’s neck, the other hand pulling Potato off Trouble’s face. Her feet planted on her brother’s chest.
“Hey there, Tro,” Vex said in a deceptively gentle tone that also held a note of authority. “You’re a little wound-up. Remember what dad said?” Trouble stopped struggling as Vex spoke, and their eyes met. Trouble paused. Frozen and as unmoving as a statue of marble. Vex pressed her forehead to Trouble’s, resting both arms around Trouble's neck after she set Potato atop her shoulder. “Breath low and slow,” Vex said. “Remember the nice things. Remember being nice. Remember being warm inside and calm. Harmony.”
As Vex spoke, Trouble closed his eyes and breathed deep. Five deep and slow breaths. His body slowly shifted back, shrinking with each slow breath. Vex set her feet on the ground before she released her brother’s neck. Trouble was normal yet again, looking at Vex with embarrassment and a bashful grin peaking around the edges of his collar.
Alex let go of Trouble, eyeing the two siblings. “What the hells was that?!”
Trouble turned around to face Alex, looking down in shame and rubbing the back of his head as he simply said, “Defiance.”
