"So what's the Statue of liberty?" Nichole asked, subconsciously tugging at her mechanical arm as they followed Janet through the hallways. The staff parted ways with wary, uncertain eyes as the Legion entourage strolled by. Nichole felt certain they were all staring at her, and felt embarrassed and angry, trying to hide her mechanical limbs fruitlessly.
"It's about an hour or so north by jet." Janet said, swiping her card across a small machine next to a door. Nichole felt someone take her hand, his massive paw encompassing hers. She looked up at Micheal and couldn't help but grin as he winked at her.

"Don't pull on them, you'll irritate the seams." Chip said as the doors opened to reveal a massive area filled with large flying machines.
"Everyone's staring at me." Nichole whispered as they walked in. Her confidence had been torn from her. She felt like she was missing pieces of herself; and in some way, she was.
"They're staring at us, Nichole. Not you." Micheal began as Janet guided them through the area.
"I'm a six foot tall tiger wilderfolk, Chip is a four foot tall-"
"Four foot eight." Chip interrupted him curtly.
"Whatever. Raccoon wilderfolk, you're a rabbit wilderfolk. And these people have never seen a wilderfolk before. Just look at them." Micheal said, keeping his voice low. Nichole looked around and saw their faces filled with fear and suspicion, their beady eyes picking every member of her group apart piece by piece.
"I can't help but feel they're staring at me." Nichole said, suddenly becoming aware of the subtle clink of her foot against the floor.
"None of these people even know what a wilderfolk is." Prism said from the back of their group.
"Trust me, they're not staring at you." Chip said, holding out his hand as a massive machine burst out of the air above his palm, the pieces welding together with a shower of sparks as the room fell silent. He strode in front with the cannon on his shoulder, next to Janet as everyone in the room stared at him.
"So these machines, these jets, how do they work?" Chip asked loudly, nodding back at Nichole.
"See, they're staring at him, showing off." Micheal said softly, letting Nichole's hand go and patting her back gently. Nichole allowed herself a small smile. At least she had Micheal here.
"I'm glad you're here with me, Micheal." She said softly, brushing her hair away from her mechanical eye as it clicked softly.
"Someone's gotta watch you." Micheal said as they stopped near a large winged machine.
"You don't use any form of magic?" Chip asked, surprised.
"No, we use physics." Janet said flatly as she looked over a tablet she held.
"How do psychics fly a machine?" Micheal asked.
"Physics. Not psychics." Janet corrected him.

Five minutes later, they were aboard the jet, and headed north. They rode in silence, until Chip's ears perked up, his mechanical eye flying wide open.
"Zoe!" He said, grinning wide.
"Put this thing down! We've got to get her!" Chip shouted to the pilot.
"We can't just set it down, it's a jet!" The pilot shouted back.
"Then open the back!" Chip said.
"Get ready for a jump then!" The pilot said as the back of the jet began to open, filling the bay with high-speed winds as Chip unbuckled and leapt out of the back.
"Well that looks like fun!" Micheal shouted, unbuckling and following Chip. Prism and Nichole followed suit shortly after.
"Hey! Is it just me, or did only one of them grab a parachute!?" One of the pilots yelled to the other.

Chip created a smaller version of the jet and skidded to a stop on a roof as Micheal landed in a field nearby with a violent explosion. Prism was the only one who grabbed a parachute, and descended into a field near Micheal while Nichole focused her power and ran down the side of a large building. Chip's machine unfolded and reassembled itself into a copy of the machines these guards used, but his was more of a cannon than a rifle. He created a scope and looked towards where Zoe's tracker was pinging from to see Matilda holding a white leopard wilderfolk by the throat. He saw Zoe hurtle towards her as the wilderfolk created a pulse that sent Matilda slamming into Zoe's fist. Matilda leapt back to her feet as Chip saw Zoe take a small step back. He aimed and fired, the round slamming into Matilda as she lunged towards Zoe. He aimed again and saw Zoe grin. He fired, and Matilda held out her hand and caught the projectile.

Prism ran across the field alongside Nichole, and felt a deep bass pulse. Her eyes filled with tears as she pushed herself faster.
"PULSE!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, rushing towards the noise as a sudden bang rang across the field. She turned herself invisible and dashed past the black furred wolf as it lunged towards Zoe. She skidded next to Pulse as another bang rang out. She turned them both invisible and pulled him to his feet and away from the battle. A horrible wail made cold sweat roll down her forehead as shivers shook her entire body, making her stop running and fall over.

"Wait, we have to help her!" Pulse said as Zoe shot into the sky, followed closely by Matilda. Prism held out her hands and created a massive illusion of their jet between the two of them. But using that much power drained her completely, and she passed out into Pulse's arms.

Nichole reached the top of a small hill and saw who Zoe was fighting. Her legs gave out and she slid to a stop, crawling backwards as her nightmare replayed in her mind. She began sobbing as she turned and ran, straight into Micheal's waiting arms as a second bang rang out.
"I can't!" She screamed, holding onto Micheal's arms.
"It's okay." Micheal said, sitting down on the field and holding her as she sobbed. Suddenly a horrible roar filled the air around them, making Nichole's good ear bleed as she and Micheal screamed in pain. An explosion sounded out, and Nichole looked up to see Zoe shoot into the sky, followed by Matilda on black wings.
"We have to save her." Micheal said, his ears still ringing.
"I can't." Nichole sobbed.
"Stay here, I'll be back." Micheal said, setting her down and rushing towards the city.
"NO! She'll kill you!" Nichole screamed as he ran.

Chip covered his ears as the horrible scream filled the air, and heard a spine-chilling wail echo back from behind him, far below the streets of the city. He ran to the other side of the building and looked down to see what had made it. He'd heard tales of a sound like that from the borders of Ak-Dovurak, but he never thought he'd live to hear it, or live much longer after hearing it. He saw Wilderfolk burst through the streets and begin slaughtering everything in their path. He took careful aim at one of them, but someone burst out of a building next to it, and slammed into it. He watched as these two figures beat the wilderfolk down as they charged them. He heard wicked, maniacal laughter, and knew at once who it was.
"Shit." He said, taking careful aim. He saw a massive wind pull Zoe into the middle of the battle just as tendrils of black energy slammed the wilderfolk into the street and suffocated them.

Michael rounded a corner just in time to hear a sudden clang sound, and saw Matilda go flying into the distance, a shockwave fit to level a forest following her. He ducked as a bus flew by his head, and saw Zoe scampering over the ruins. He ran after her, taking the alleyways, and heard a powerful man's voice calling him. He felt compelled to follow, but before he reached the source, the voice was gone.
"What the hell?" He muttered, shaking his head. It was almost like his body had obeyed before his mind. He didn't like that. He ran through the alleys to find Chip and Zoe rushing towards him.
"Micheal! Thank fuck!" Zoe said, hugging him.
"Boy do I have some news for you guys, lets get the hell out of here!" Zoe said, running down the alleys. They regrouped in the field, picking Pulse, Prism and Nichole up as the jet flew low overhead. Zoe, Chip and Micheal leapt up to it, each of them carrying someone. A short time later, they landed on a vacant stone lot, a massive green statue in the distance.

"So that's the statue? Where's King?" Zoe asked, looking around.
"Ahem." King said from behind them.
"King! Thank fuck! Boy do I have some news for you!" Zoe said loudly, her heart still racing.
"I know." King said, tapping his temple.
"Oh yeah. But they don't know it, so spill." Zoe said, nodding towards Micheal and Nichole.
"The Horde of Ak-Dovurak is here." King said plainly. Everyone aside from Pulse, Prism and Zoe felt the blood drain from their face.
"Holy shit." Micheal said, sitting down on a conveniently placed box.
"So if they're here, does that mean...?" Chip asked, rubbing his chin.
"That presence I detected, it could be Zavoyevatel himself." King said.
"There's more." Zoe said.
"More?" Nichole asked, exasperated.
"Matilda has a daughter who's hanging out with a devotee of SwitchBlade." Zoe said, grinning as their jaws dropped.
"She's got a what?" King asked.
"Hanging out with who?" Pulse said.
"You read minds, my dude. And you're surprised?" Zoe asked.
"I thought you were joking, or mistaken, or anything other than serious." King said.

"Well, you guys seem to have your hands full, so if you'll excuse us." Pulse said, taking Prism's hand and walking off.
"Where are you going?" Nichole asked.
"Anywhere but here, for a few hours, at least." Prism responded.
"We've got some catching up to do." Pulse said as they walked off.

"So this complicates things." King muttered, rubbing his temples as he sat down.
"No shit." Micheal said as Nichole sat next to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes as the reality of their situation set in.
"She's got a daughter." Micheal said finally.
"We have to take them both down." King said.
"What? Kill her, just like that?" Zoe said accusingly.
"We don't know whose side she's on! I saw her bean Matilda in the face with a lightpole!" Zoe said.
"So you're suggesting we try to get her to join us?" Micheal said.
"Better than just killing her outright." Zoe said.
"What about the devotee?" Micheal said.
"I don't know. He seemed... uncharacteristically lucid." Zoe said.
"Do you think he would help us? He could take Matilda down." Nichole said.
"I think we're missing the best option here." Chip said, adjusting his seat and sitting forwards.
"Which is?" Zoe asked.
"Easy. Zavoyevatel." Chip said.
"You think he's here?" Micheal asked.
"I feel an ancient presence, for certain. I don't know what it is." King said, closing his eyes.
"If he's here, he's the mother-loving God-King of Ak-Dovurak. If anyone could help us, it's him." Chip said.
"I can start looking for him, and once I get a location- Nichole, do you think you could go for us, and report back?" King asked. Nichole saw a brief flash of those wicked, black eyes and felt shivers crawl up her spine.
"I- I don't know. I'm not sure I would be able to stand against her again." Nichole said softly as a tear flowed down he cheek. She felt useless and vulnerable. She felt Micheal's hand on hers, and felt a warmth fill her chest as she looked over at him.
"What about Pulse and Prism? Pulse can move it, and Prism can turn invisible." Chip said.
"We can ask them, when they're done doing... whatever it is they're doing." King said.
"You don't know?" Zoe asked.
"I'm trying hard not to." King said, grinning slightly and keeping his eyes tightly closed.

"She's got a daughter." Micheal said softly.
"Janet said she'd been here for more than seventeen years, right? What was she doing for all that time?" Zoe asked.

"AUGH!! DAMNIT!!" Zavoyevatel roared, ripping his desk out of the floor and hurtling it into the wall, blasting it into millions of splinters. He stood there and watched the splinters fall as he took several deep breaths. He slowly walked back to his seat and got comfortable, adjusting his suit and taking a drink of his scotch before setting the glass down calmly on his arm rest. He cleared his throat and looked over at his aide, a terrified middle aged lady of Asian descent, who was standing there, shaking in and fear holding a small computer tablet. Standing next to her were two of his children, both of them wolves, in solid carbon-fiber armor, towering over the woman, one of them tossing aside the leg of the desk that had almost hit her.
"Apologies, my dear. One more time." Zavoyevatel said, softly, rubbing his head.
"The Irkutsk facility is gone, Sir." She said meekly.
"Speak up, my dear. Define 'Gone'." He said, knowing full well what she was about to say.
"Sir, if I may." A man said from the doorway. He was a business man, a legal aide. Zavoyevatel hated legal aides. This world's laws were nothing but an irritation. He growled and rolled his eyes. But at least they had no problem telling him bad news.

"Enter, and speak." Zavoyevatel said as the man walked in.
"I'll take this from here, Lucy." The man said, taking the tablet from her.
"It's Lacy." She said meekly, walking out as fast as she could.
"Define. Gone." Zavoyevatel said, sitting forwards.
"Well, the facility's walls are intact." The man said, grinning. Zavoyevatel was not amused. His dark grey brows furrowed as he stared at the man intensely. The man cleared his throat and continued.
"Every scientist, is dead. All research, is destroyed. Every specimen, every cell of every specimen, is gone. Destroyed. The entire facility is nothing but empty hallways and bloodstains. Whoever this is was beyond thorough." The man said. Zavoyevatel sighed and buried his face in his hands.
"How many have we lost this month." He muttered, running his hands through his long white hair.
"How many what?" The man asked. Zavoyevatel stopped moving for a second, before sitting up straight and staring the man in the eyes, his own eyes glowing subtly red as a deep rumble filled the room. The man heard the wilderfolk beside him unsheathe their claws. Zavoyevatel held up his hand, calming them.
"How. Many. Facilities. Have. I. Lost. This. Month." He dictated clearly. The man cleared his throat and swallowed before answering hesitatingly.
"Six." He began. Zavoyevatel was relieved, which was amusing to him.
"Six, that's... not as bad as I-" He began.
"-ty-three." The man managed to say, cutting The God-King off.
"Sixt-..." Zavoyevatel stood up out of his seat suddenly and yanked his seat out out of the floor and embedded it in the concrete wall with a sudden thud. He kept his back turned to avoid scaring the poor man to death.
"Find. Her." He growled, his voice shaking the entire forty story building.

For the past seventeen years, Matilda had been systematically hunting down Zavoyevatel's men. She wanted answers. She wanted the God-King. She was missing pieces, and she wanted to know why. But as she continued on her crusade, she realized that Zavoyevatel had not invaded this world. He was stuck here, like her. With his children in tow, he had been sent through the void by Reaper. And he was trying to leave. She seduced and murdered her way through his ranks, and discovered that this whole world was nothing but a grand construct. A great chessboard upon which the God-King played his pawns. He had guided this world, until they could do what he needed to do. He had massive genetic research and manipulation facilities spread all across the world, where he was trying to breed a specific type of wilderfolk, one that would be able to provide him with the power he needed to open and sustain a portal. She couldn't let him leave here without giving her the answers she wanted, so she dedicated her time to finding his facilities, and erasing them from existence, utterly and entirely. She had, according to her knowledge, erased at least nine out of ten of all his known facilities. And she was on the fast track to finding the last facilities. At least she had been, until King broke something inside of her, and her daughter hit her in the face with a light pole.

Matilda finally slid to a stop in the woods far from the city where she'd been beaned, but not before slamming into at least a dozen trees and skipping across two different lakes. She slid into a rock and passed out. She dreamed of nothing. No images, no insane eyes, nothing. And that was more disturbing, if she was honest with herself. She awoke to the sunlight making her skin crackle and smoke. She growled and crawled into the shade, leaning against a tree. She felt powerless and empty, even more so than before. She heard voices nearby and scampered up a tree. She looked down and saw a mother and her children walking through the forest. She felt her heart sink, as tears filled her eyes. She sobbed silently in the branches until the sun set. Why was she like this? What happened to that love she should feel? Was anything she had ever felt real? She needed those instincts back.

"That man." She whispered, feeling his cold blue eyes on her even now. He could help her. At least he could tell her what was wrong with her. But would he even want to? She had killed his daughter. She didn't understand why he hated her so, but she knew he wanted her dead. Many people did. She felt so weak, so alone. She could feel those damned voices in her head, chanting kill, kill. She wanted this torn from her. She wanted to start over. She made up her mind, after hours of sobbing hopelessly. She was going to find Zavoyevatel, and he was going to give her some answers. Whatever it took.

"God I missed you." Pulse said softly, holding Prism against his chest as she cried. Her scent was familiar, if tainted with ash, blood and fear. He ran his hands through her long blonde hair and hugged her tightly.
"I thought you were dead." She cried, soaking his tattered shirt with her tears.
"I thought I was dead too." He said, hugging her tighter.
"Where's Siren?" Prism asked, once she finally calmed down enough to speak without sobbing.
"I have no idea. I've looked everywhere. There's Sanctuaries all over this planet, and luckily it's not even one tenth the size of Theresia. I could cross the whole thing in a day or less." Pulse said.
"We have to find her." Prism said softly, sniffling.
"I know. These guys are gonna get us all home. So if we help them, we find Siren. I hope." Pulse said.
"We will find her." Prism said, kissing him gently.
"I hope so baby." Pulse said, holding her against him. Someone cleared their throat behind them.
"Can I help you?" Prism asked.
"Actually, yes." King said.