PART ONE: Fate's Prophecy

  18 years later

  Ordinary should not be a word to describe Kashi Altair. There was nothing ordinary about him, despite his seemingly normal appearance. Even if he were to believe otherwise, he knows the truth. The city of Amshire is not ordinary either; it has adapted and survived all the brutal years in war, seeing the rise and fall of power. Heroes and villains were viewed the same in Amshire, feared or revered, it didn't matter. Hybrids, however, had it the worst. The result of which would be a haunting reminder of what Amshire wanted to bury. Nothing would change the minds of the people living within the city. The government, in an attempt to rebuild the broken city, tried easing people's minds with the false promises of peace in a new upcoming world; including the formation of an organization called The Elemental Forces. Amshire is the start and end of stories, trying to cover up a heinous truth. Yet, there are always painful reminders: Kashi Altair being one of them.

  Electronic billboards flashed in the distance and the muffled voice of the mayor spewing his nonsense filled the silence. A cool breeze drifted by as Kashi gazed at the city lights, their neon hues bold and vivid, cutting through the darkness and lighting up the night sky. The night sky above was empty, no stars to be seen, their brilliance drowned out by the haze of light pollution and a thick veil of smog. From where he was perched on one of the towers, the bridge seemed to sway and so he gripped the metal pole to stabilize himself.

  He looked down the long bridge and finally saw the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. He crouched in position hoping his team members were in place. As far as he could tell no one was following, so that was a good sign, as there wasn’t much distance left to go for this shipment, he hoped at least. Kashi touched the cold obsidian pendant that hung down from his neck in a silent prayer that everything goes well. It usually didn’t.

  I’m a terrible leader, Kashi thought as he jumped from the tower of the bridge to hopefully land on top of the incoming truck. The wind whipped past him and time seemed to slow, there were rare moments he felt peace, this was one. Where nothing mattered and one day, he might give in to the temptation to not land on his feet. He tried to focus on the tattoo on his back that refused to respond to him anymore. He was just a flightless bird, his cape dancing in the wind to mimic what he lost. He wished someone would save him.

  Time snapped back to reality and he rotated mid–air, feet first and prayed his new body suit could take the impact and not break his legs. He’d enhanced it with more carbon fibers and fabricated metals while he made sure he wasn’t that high up, it would still hurt enough. He slammed onto the truck and his legs nearly gave out, but he held strong. His foot traction activated to keep a grip on the metal. This was either his most genius plan or the stupidest or both.

  There could have been a better way to do this. He had received an anonymous tip that the Phantoms would be attacking tonight. It was rare for trucks to make it to Amshire, but a shipment had come from the port that had survived, it was how they got supplies. The Chaoshold had cut off their connection to the rest of the cities. No one was allowed to enter as it had been warded off years ago by the last mage and if any did somehow get through, well, unholy creatures would end them. That's at least what history said, created from the Divine War.

  The Elemental Forces failed to stop the last shipment from being stolen from some other villain group. Now it was the Outlanders turn. It wouldn’t be simple, as the mayor didn’t send out teams to help even if they had plenty to protect the shipment. Kashi shook his head, it didn’t make any sense because resources in Amshire were valuable even if they had become a very established city far more advanced than its neighboring ones. It was like they were setting Amshire back up for failure, they were low on food and turned to modified food, or the government tried too.

  The familiar roar of a motorcycle shook him from his thoughts. Right on time, he thought watching it slide up with the two riders, keeping to the side of the truck. Aaron, otherwise known as Wild, was the driver and Kashi signaled to the back rider, Ryan, codename Warden, who signaled back that everything was all clear. They were here to make sure things run smoothly if there was trouble. Where was…his thoughts trailed off as the familiar voice of Sam spoke through the comm, safely monitoring from up top one the buildings.

  “The Phantoms have arrived.”

  “Copy that,” Kashi said, looking around. A figure came gliding in, on ragged translucent wings. Zahra, otherwise known as Storm; a correlation to her powers.

  She landed much more gracefully, but it held the deadly nature of what she was capable of. The wings disappeared as she scowled at him, taking him in before unclipping the ax from her back. He tried to loosen his body, although it was hard when it felt like he might fall off. His foot traction could only do so much.

  “Zahra, such a pleasure seeing you here,” Kashi said, crossing his arms.

  She took a step forward immediately swinging her ax. “Shut up, you heroes are so annoying.” She gritted out. Kashi wouldn’t call himself a hero, and he’d let her figure that out on her own, but was a bit hurt that she didn’t recognize him. He supposed he never really faced off against her, someone else from the team would take her on. She wasn’t a priority to him but was still dangerous.

  Kashi nodded before shrugging. “Maybe, but we at least give you guys a real fight.” He knew more members of the Phantoms would be positioned somewhere, so he signaled to Aaron to move up. HIs focus shifted to a tattoo marking his thigh, touching it, a sword, which was the perfect weight in his hands, came to life from the magic infused ink he’d found. A rare treat. Magic or Mytherion was even rarer. Storm tilted her head in curiosity, but he wouldn’t let her dwell on it as he lunged forward. The blade sliced through the air missing as she stumbled back but regained her footing. A smile spread across her face.

  “Well hero, show me what you got.” Kashi knew he needed to stall so he took to being more on the defense in the beginning. The Phantoms are a group made and built on terror, every villain group fears them. They are ruthless to get what they want and almost always succeed. It's what makes them dangerous, Kashi knows it personally.

  Kashi summoned his shield by flicking his right wrist. Storm charged, swinging her ax down as Kashi blocked it. They pulled back and Kashi swept his leg under her, knocking her down before he pinned her. The problem was that he wasn’t very heavy so he was kicked off when Storm got her foot under him. He slid away but got a grip on the edge of the truck. Storm glared down at him, her foot poised to strike. He waited until the last second, then sidestepped the blow, narrowly avoiding the kick to his face. In one swift motion, he caught her leg, gripping it tightly before she could pull away.

  “What!?” she shrieked, trying to pull away. He hoisted himself up before letting go and watched her fall but though her weapon was still positioned to strike. “Hey, upcoming is uh, another member of the Phantoms placing bombs in the tunnel,” Sam spoke over the comm.

  “Wild.” Kashi said in the common.

  “On it.” He heard them speed off.

  Kashi raised his sword to Storm who was still watching him with wild eyes. “What are you planning on doing?”

  She sneered at him instead. She seemed to think he would do anything as the hero code stated it but he was not a part of the Elemental Forces; not anymore. He threw a dagger at her hand, missing by a hair. A warning. “Warden, give me an update.” Storm’s eyes widened as it dawned on her, they were not the Elemental Forces.

  “Approaching the tunnel entrance now,” Ryan said. “We may have a bigger problem than intended.”

  Kashi cursed, moving forward, the blade almost touching her throat. “What do you want with this truck? What is your plan?” He saw her start to lift her weapon and he kicked it out of her hands, the ax disappearing off the truck. “Answer me.”

  “Sora, are they ready?” Zahra asked in her comm. Kashi tensed, was she gonna let it blow and ruin the cargo? He looked up seeing the tunnel coming into view. They needed to stop the truck. “Wild. get back here, you gotta stop it from reaching that tunnel.”

  “Roger that, Wardens working on stopping Sora.” Aaron replied. Kashi jumped back as Draco slammed down. His mismatched color eyes bore into Kashi, the unordinary colors, red and blue. They had not been that way when they last saw each other. meaning he had gotten enhanced and he wondered what types of powers he got. Carnage must have been responsible.

  Kashi understood the deep, unspoken truth of Amshire—hybrids were more than just outcasts or anomalies. They were vessels of something ancient, something powerful. Most hybrids carried the dormant essence of the Divine, a power thought to have vanished with the fall of The Age of the Divine. Yet, it had not disappeared completely. Instead, it lived on, passed down through bloodlines and reborn with each generation. When a hybrid died, their divine essence did not simply fade—it was transferred, seeking a new host, ensuring that the legacy of the gods would never be truly lost but it would grow weaker with each generation.

  This was what set them apart from the Elementals. While Elementals wielded the remnants of Catur, the Elemental God, their magic was tied to the natural forces of the world, allowing them to manipulate primary elements—fire, water, earth, and air—along with the creation of rare and powerful sub-elements. Their abilities were predictable, structured, and bound to the physical realm.

  Hybrids, however, were different. They bore the mark of one of the Twelve Divine, celestial beings who had once ruled over existence itself. These marks were not chosen but bestowed, a sign of the god who had claimed them. Their powers were unpredictable, shaped by the will of the Divine they were bound to. Some wielded abilities that bent time and space, others commanded the forces of healing or dreams.

  Kashi on the other hand had the power to manipulate metal but he wasn’t an Elemental, he was something else. He knew the truth and couldn’t admit it. Hybrids were feared. And it was why so many sought to control them. Kashi had seen firsthand what happened to hybrids who were discovered by the wrong hands—enslaved, experimented on, hunted for the power they carried.

  “Long time no see, Kashi.” He bit out. The mask hid the lower part of his face but Kashi knew he was scowling at him. A crossbow was aimed at him, and the blue-gray cape whipped in the wind, like phantom wings. Dirty blonde hair half shaved with the lightning marks etched in that blew around, untamed and wild. The uniform of the Phantoms, it all felt so unreal but here Draco stood in all his glory, on the opposite side.

  Kashi needed to say something, he would not look weak in front of them. It was only Draco, no one else, a villain. “Surprised to see you here, thought you were still running around doing errands for others,” Kashi quipped.

  Draco tightened his grip on the crossbow. The truck braked slightly, sending them both tumbling down, causing the arrow to be fired into the night sky. He knew it must have been Aaron’s doing except that he felt the truck start driving again. Great. He looked over to see Storm getting up while Draco fumbled with getting another arrow loaded.

  “Wild, what's your status?”

  “Not working, Ryan’s trying to distract Sora. The driver seems very annoyed with me.” Kashi sighed, people here never seemed to understand the extent of why heroes existed. Or if they did, they didn’t care.

  He sidestepped as Zahra tried punching him and he kicked her off the truck but she stabbed her daggers into the side, clinging on. He noticed how the sky was starting to be covered with clouds, a clear sign of her power. He couldn’t dwell on it now and instead turned his attention to the driver, he had to warn them, only to get tackled by Draco. His chin smacked the metal plates and he hissed in pain. He shoved Draco off, but a sword was shoved to his throat. The anger was evident in Draco’s eyes.

  “You're not going anywhere.” Draco snapped. Kashi knew the only way out of this was to fight him, but he wasn’t sure he could do that. A weakness; one that Draco seemed to exploit because it was all Kashi’s fault. Everything seemed to be. Sorry wouldn’t fix anything. Draco made his choice and chose his path, but Kashi couldn’t help but feel guilt over it. Draco was trying to make himself known and appreciated by the Phantoms. Do anything for power and revenge after all those years.

  “Sorry,” Kashi muttered.

  Draco seemed confused as to why he would apologize. “What?” Kashi hit him hard with his prosthetic arm with enough force to send him over the edge but he hung on the edge scrambling to get up. Kashi looked up, seeing them closer to the tunnel. “Warden.”

  “I pulled the bombs off but now she’s focused on the truck, I’d be careful.” Kashi squinted and then realized what Ryan meant. He watched Sora chuck one of the bombs that seemed in slow motion, heading straight for the truck's wheels.

  “Kashi, get out of there!” Sam yelled in the comm. Kashi made eye contact with the two villains who had hauled themselves up, shock on each of their faces. A thunderous roar filled Kashi’s ear, heat scorching, and then he was in the air. He forced his eyes open as he felt the world spinning and realized he was falling to the dark water below. His mind was panicking and he couldn’t calm down enough to think properly. His heart was racing more than usual, he knew he wouldn’t die from the water but his fear made it a big possibility.

  “Calm down.” The voice in his head started up again but it was weird how his body listened as he felt his heart rate slow. It usually showed up to somewhat help out if he was close to losing his mind. He was used to falling but he had no faith in the tattoo granted to him years ago. The water was coming closer to him. He pulled out a disk and chucked it with all his might back on the bridge just as he hit the water.

  He stumbled onto the pavement blinking away, the dizziness and took in the damage done. The truck was lying on its side, debris scattered all over and a fire started on the wheel where the bomb had hit. That wasn’t good. He didn’t see Storm or Draco anywhere but noticed Sora making her way over and prying the door open. “Warden, Wild, are you alright?”

  He heard Ryan’s voice over the comm, he seemed panicked which made Kashi feel worse. “I’m fine. but Aaron got hit pretty badly, we’re near the tunnel, and Sam’s on his way.” Hopefully Sam would avoid any danger but being in this type of work never guarantees anything.

  Kashi stared at the sky, the dark clouds swirling signaling he needed to move. “Stay low for now, I’ll deal with this.” He wouldn’t be able to get close to Storm. He pulled out his throwing dagger from his belt. The hairs on his neck stood up as thunder rumbled closer. He could practically feel the static and dove to the side as lightning struck down to where he had just been standing.

  Storm appeared, a few feet away from him, challenging him to make a move. He looked over to the truck, trying to ignore the pain, and saw that Draco was helping Sora unload the cargo. They seemed to be crates and they were just opening them taking over what looked to be food and supplies.

  He needed just a moment of distraction to take out Storm with one of his throwing daggers although he could manipulate the railing to take out Storm too. He reached up for his comm. “Pathfinder, where are you at?”

  “I’m almost there, give me five.” Kashi forced himself to move and kept his eyes on Storm who was watching him, her hand ready to strike him back down. The sound of a door opening made him look over seeing the driver stumble out. It was a younger man, who fumbled with his phone in his shaking hands caused by the whole ordeal. They stopped short of seeing Kashi. Kashi raised his hands to make it known he wasn’t a threat.

  He looked back to Storm who was watching them, her hand lowered just a bit and he took his chance. He pulled on the metal railing with his force, and bended it to keep her arms pinned. He shot the dagger into her shoulder and she screamed in rage, thrashing. He hoped it would hold her.

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  “Hello? Yes, hi, my name's James Adam, uhm, I need help over here fast. Please…I uh need you to send some Elementals for this situation. Near the East Coast bridge, yes thank you. Yes, there are villains.” James glanced nervously at Kashi.

  Kashi tensed, his group wasn’t very well known but they weren’t villains. They were hybrids, but he supposed it didn’t matter, people would stick to the stereotypes that were being in today's world. They were dangerous. He heard the sound of Sam’s motorcycle approaching, the green stripes gleamed in the dark whipping past.

  “You need to get out of here,” Kashi said to the man. James flinched away. He was glad he wore his contacts, there wasn’t any more reason to scare the poor civilian. “Warden, are you free to help me for a moment?”

  “Coming.” That was all he got in response. A few moments later Ryan appeared, there was anger in his eyes, clearly itching for a fight, and Kashi would have preferred someone else to take him but he didn’t have much of a choice. The Elementals were probably on their way. “Take him out of here,” Kashi said as he focused on the remaining villains.

  Ryan looked past him and Kashi shook his head. “Don’t even think of it.” Ryan grabbed the man and began leading him away to somewhere safe. Ryan had been blessed by the Divine, Kyrant, the God of War. Kashi wasn’t sure if that was why he was always angry but it wasn’t good for the team as he made rash decisions.

  Kashi wasn’t sure if he was willing to let the Phantoms get away because it would be twice now, but he did notice how they were still digging in the truck and tossing out crates—there was something else they wanted. Maybe they did have a chance after all. He took one last glance back at Storm who was still secure and took off towards villains. They needed to be stopped, this time they would win this round.

  He charged Draco, who had been shocked before his eyes narrowed, pulling his sword out. The sound of metal echoed across the bridge. Kashi pulled back and Draco shoved forward, swinging in an arch. Kashi blocked before keeping pace. Swing. Block. Stab. Draco grew sick of the dance they played and pulled a dirty move. He pulled out his crossbow, firing it into Kashi's leg before closing the distance and kicking him down.

  Draco crouched to meet his gaze. “You're so pathetic, it pisses me off. Why won’t you give me everything you got?”

  “You don’t deserve it.” Kashi said. He wondered if Draco would listen to him about what happened in the past.

  “And they did!?” Draco snarled, eyes glowing brighter.

  “No, they didn’t. It should’ve been me.” Kashi whispered.

  The answer didn’t satisfy Draco because he just pressed a dagger to Kashi’s throat. Kashi knew Draco wouldn’t go through with it because he needed to suffer. Draco got kicked away by Ryan who barrel over, green eyes blazing. “Ryan!” Kashi snapped. He had it under control. Ryan looked at him. “I’m doing this for a successful mission.” Draco scrambled away and then a bomb came soaring through the air, it bounced rolling to a stop at Ryan’s feet. Ryan forgot about Sora. “Oh shit.”

  Kashi’s eyes widened in fear as it clicked, setting off an explosion. He’d thrown up his shield to protect his face as he got thrown back. The ringing in his ears was deafening. He coughed as the smoke spread out. He vaguely made out a figure unsure of who it was but swore they had red eyes but he blinked and they were gone. The pain started making itself known and glanced down seeing debris sticking out of his leg. Where was Ryan? He called out for him but everything was muffled. He began to drag himself forward unsure where he was going.

  Ryan appeared in his vision seemingly unharmed which was good, but Kashi was unsure how. He helped him up but Kashi winced, unable to put pressure on his left leg.

  “What were you thinking?” Kashi said.

  Ryan just shook his head leading him over to the truck and let him rest against it before going back to digging through the crates. Where were the villains? Ryan got his attention, showing him a box of food and then pulled out a case. Unlocking it, it held neon blue vials, three to be exact. Kashi frowned, he's never seen anything like it and it had the government logo on it Making him even more confused.

  “Kashi we need to move,” Sam called through the comm half startling him. Ryan looked at him and he pocketed the vial before putting away the case.

  “What’s going on?” he called out.

  He noticed five emptied cases thrown against the wall and cursed silently. “Another villain showed up and we need to leave.” Kashi looked at Ryan challenging him to defy his orders again. Ryan simply lowered his eyes to the floor which was good enough for Kashi. “Let's go.” Kashi stopped seeing who was waiting with Zahra, farther away. He watched Sora dragging Draco away who must have gotten hit with the blast. Nautilus stood there, an unholy creature made for killing. A nightmare to Kashi and his breath caught seeing that thing again.

  The creature was made of bones fused with armor. Its skull face showed no emotion with blue flames that appeared like hair. Its body was a tube with a liquid that glowed blue and it creeped Kashi out sending a shiver through him.

  “Leave before I destroy you, this is your only chance because, in the next few moments, I won’t be so generous,” it hissed out in a crackling voice. Kashi took a step back because he knew from experience to take it seriously. His breath quickened as he stared at it, memories surfaced that threatened to send him into a panic. Someone called his name. The sirens snapped him out of his fear as they all knew the parade of Elements would be coming.

  Ryan helped Kashi to the motorcycle that was left on the ground. His heart was hammering while his hands shook. “What was that about?” Ryan said, still upset at him.

  “Nothing,” Kashi said, as Ryan started up the motorcycle.

  Kashi wasn’t going to risk getting his team targeted and knew this mission had been a lost cause. “Sam, move out.”

  He looked in the side mirrors seeing the Phantoms scramble to the truck, to get what they could before the ‘heroes of the city’ were on them. Nautilus stayed watching them leave. Kashi didn’t want to get caught up with the Elemental because they hated him with a passion and it was better to leave when they had the chance. They’d gotten the driver away but failed with the villains, although they found something interesting. “So much for a successful mission,” Kashi muttered to no one.

  There were many things he needed to address now though. The first thing for him was to get back and check on the team. He was glad the base was hidden more in the woods and away from the crowded city. Although the base was closer to the Chaoshold than he would have liked, it gave him a chance to check on it if something were to happen. They moved through a small path almost hidden, from most people’s eyes. If they look hard enough, there was a path leading into the dark forest that hasn’t been overrun with buildings and technology yet.

  The sky cracked with lightning but Kashi noted it wasn’t white, it had been a bright electric blue. Ryan took the key out and swung off but helped Kashi. He put a hand out to the wall to keep himself up waiting for Sam to come back with Aaron, he needed to make sure they were okay. He cast a look at Ryan who was walking away, disappearing inside the base before Sam pulled up. Kashi knew he was pissed off if he wasn’t going to stay and check on Aaron.

  Kashi watched Sam rip his helmet off, dirty blonde hair frazzled as he turned off the vehicle. Sam’s brown eyes did a quick scan over Kashi, as their team medic it was his duty to make sure no injury slipped past him. Sam’s left mechanical eye whirred softly but he didn’t say anything.

  “Help me with Aaron, I’ll have Vixen take a look at you,” Sam stated, his brown eyes challenging him to leave without inspection. Aaron yanked his helmet off, tossing it to the ground, and gripped his side.

  “Sorry to interrupt but I think I’m bleeding through the bandages,” Aaron said half-heartedly. Kashi limped over, taking one arm as Sam took the other. Kashi noted how Aaron’s body shook despite him claiming he was fine and his normally poofy black hair was slick with sweat. The door of the base slid open as Kashi watched the security system scan his wrist for his leader mark. They escorted Aaron through the base before Sam kicked open a door calling out to their other medic.

  “Vixen! We need some help here.” They moved Aaron to the bed and Kashi stood back letting Sam work. Stella was Vixen’s real name but she never went by that since she started working with him. He grabbed one of the rolling chairs by the desk and forced himself to sit as Aaron withered in pain. Their enhanced healing could only do so much.

  Kashi saw him grip the bed sheets. “Ow! Sam, please give me a moment.” Aaron hissed trying to gently move Sam away from his injured side. Sam sighed, pulling back to let Aaron recover. Vixen entered the room with her medkit and gasped upon seeing them all.

  Some of her long black bangs fell in her face which she wiped away as she hurried over. “What happened?” She asked, shaking off her sweater. She tied her blonde streaked hair back while giving Kashi a look but he didn’t know how Aaron’s injury came to be. He would have asked Ryan but that didn’t happen. Sam picked up a needle and thread. “Some debris from the explosion hit Aaron off the motorcycle and when I found him, there had been some embedded into his side which I removed and did a poor job of patching him up.”

  Kashi watched as Vixen pulled out a disinfectant, apologizing to Aaron as she cleaned the gash. Kashi looked away when she pulled out a syringe with some liquid and did his best to ignore his teammates' cries. Kashi shut his eyes and focused on trying to calm himself.

  “He’ll be fine,” Sam finally said, putting down the needle and thread, “He won’t be training for at least a day.” Kashi stared at Aaron who had settled back finally, his icy blue eyes glazed from whatever drugs they gave him. Aaron was strong although Kashi couldn’t shake the feeling he was partially responsible for what happened.

  It did not go as planned, but every mission they did seemed to deviate and go wrong. He didn’t want to blame it on Ryan but it didn’t help he went off from their original plan every time. Every time it resulted in injury that could have been preventable. Kashi’s past experiences were not helping him either when he saw the familiar faces of people who destroyed his life. Every time, it hurts just a little worse.

  Vixen stood next to Kashi surveying the damage done to his leg. “Let me check you out.” She picked up the thin holographic pad typing something. Kashi wanted to argue he was fine but this time everything hurt more than was willing to tolerate. Sam tapped his arm before shining a light in his eyes and Kashi resisted the urge to jerk away. “How’s your head?

  “Hurts, mostly just my hearing.” Kashi muttered.

  Vixen muttered something about him being stupid. Kashi was no leader at the moment. Just a patient considering how young Sam was, he was very strict when it came to injuries.

  Vixen shook her head as she scanned his body with one of the tools. Whatever it said on the tablet she just shook her head. “Brace yourself.”

  “Noted.” Kashi said through gritted teeth as she began removing the debris. Kashi let his head fall back against the chair breathing through the pain. He heard the tin pan clink every time something was removed. Sam watched him before attempting to distract Kashi. “Are we going to have a training session tomorrow?” Kashi blinked trying to get his thoughts in order. “We should, but I don’t know how well I’ll feel up for it.” Sam grabbed a roll of bandages handing them to Vixen. He didn’t want to take a break but Vixen wouldn’t let him.

  “You're in no condition to be moving around so fast. Give yourself some rest,” Vixen pipped in giving them both a stern look. “I’m done trying not to pull your stitches.” She got up to go searching for something in the medicine drawer. Sam looked over his right arm but Kashi moved it away showing Sam it wasn’t damaged.

  “Whatever you say doc,” Kashi said, sitting up more but failed to hide his wince and unfortunately began coughing, still from the smoke. He was probably gonna be bruised too. He saw Sam thinking, the eyebrow scrunch he always does when he has something on his mind. “What is it, Sam?”

  “Let me take over for tomorrow.” Sam blurted out before slapping a hand over his mouth. Kashi raised an eyebrow. “What?”

  Sam cleared his throat as he fidgeted with his hands. “I was just thinking that it could give you some time off to recover and the rest of the team could practice some more on their powers. You always say we need to be prepared.” Kashi sighed, unsure what to think.

  He would have had Ryan take over but his performance with the mission made Kashi rethink it. He looked at Aaron whose eyes were closed and looked rather peaceful at the moment. Aaron was in no condition to move and Kashi didn’t have a plan after him. Kashi unconsciously ran a hand through his short tangled hair and he tugged at the neon green stripes that marred his charcoal hair.

  They had no official second in command as Kashi hoped deep down someone he once loved would return to claim that spot again. He looked to Sam, his brown eyes pleading and he knew Sam could theoretically take on the responsibility for one day. He was their medic but was also a fighter and Vixen could help him out. Kashi knew most of the team would listen, the only worry he had was Ryan but he would talk to him tonight.

  “I suppose so,” Kashi started as he watched Sam start to smile. “On the condition that anything happens, you come talk to me immediately. I doubt any attacks would happen but still, it can be hard to tell. I’m sure Vixen can help out too if needed.” Sam nodded eagerly and took a breath to be serious the best he could. “I understand.” Kashi smiled.

  Vixen came over and handed Kashi some pills. “What are these?” He asked skeptically. She picked up a cup of water. “They’re painkillers or I could give you an IV of it, so it’s your choice. Your body language gives you away and how stiff you had been moving well, very little these past moments.” He sighed, grabbed the cup and threw the pills back into his mouth. Swallowing, he set the cup down staring at the two medics. “What?”

  Sam shrugged. Kashi supposed he should talk to Ryan before the meds set in. His body reacted to the drugs so much more strongly than a normal human. It's why Vixen had made a different batch for him. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Kashi said, getting up ignoring the flaring pain and was handed a cane by Vixen who just pointed at his leg. He took it, ignoring the look they gave each other and limped out. The door slid shut behind him, he looked to the left seeing the dimly lit hallway to their rooms. White metal encased the walls. He took a moment to breathe and ground himself once more.

  He heard no commotion to the right where their lounge room was so he assumed everyone was in their rooms for the night. He passed his room making his way down to pause at Ryan’s but looked down the hall, seeing the basement door. He knew Azara and Felix resided down there as well as the unoccupied room that was off-limits to the team. Sadness gnawed at him as memories resurfaced but Kashi shook them away. He knocked sharply on the door.

  “Come in.” Ryan called, voice muffled by the door. Kashi expected some remorse from him or even an apology but no. Kashi stopped short seeing Ryan sprawled on his bed with less care in the world, he didn’t even check in on his best friend which ticked Kashi off more than he would have liked. “We need to talk.” Kashi said, closing the door behind him. Ryan sat up sighing unbothered and just making a show of how bored he was.

  Kashi shook his head and crossed his arms. “What were you thinking? I had everything handled.”

  “It didn’t look like that.” Ryan said, pulling up a leg.

  “You should’ve gone after Sora, none of this,” Kashi gestured to himself. “Would have happened.”

  “Ok, so maybe I forgot about her.” Ryan said, sitting up now. “But I’m fine.”

  Kashi took a breath to remind himself he would not raise his voice. “Not everyone was fine, you went off plan again and look at the cost.” Ryan recently had been starting to test him. Ryan didn’t seem to see anything wrong with what he did and Kashi wasn’t sure how to get through to him that they were a team. They needed to work together. That still meant there were rules in place for their safety and nevertheless, rules Ryan had broken. “This was your last chance.” Ryan narrowed his eyes.

  “Are you kicking me out?”

  “No, your privileges of being the unofficial second in command have been revoked.” Kash stated grimly. “Sam’s taking over tomorrow for me and you're going to listen to him.”

  Ryan shot up with the look of shock. “What!? You can’t do that. He doesn’t deserve it.”

  Kashi kept his face neutral. “He may not, but he’ll treat it better than what you did. I’m your leader, it's in my power to do so. Maybe in the future, you can earn it back but right now I can’t trust you. You let power get to your head and that's something I can’t have because it can put the team at risk.” Ryan looked away with fury written all over his face.

  “Aaron is in the medbay if you want to visit him.” Kashi said, turning to leave. “Have a good night, Ryan.” Every member of the team had endured a harsh life, each one a hybrid, outcast, and unwanted by the world. They all deserved a place to belong—a home. And Kashi had given them that.

  He hadn't just found them; he’d been led to them, drawn by something unexplainable, an invisible thread pulling him toward each of them. One by one, he had taken them in, offering them shelter, purpose, and the acceptance they had never known. Now, they weren’t just a team. They were family. He wanted to help Ryan and just wished he would open up and talk about why he was so angry. It wasn’t helping the team either. Life is not fair.

  Kashi made it a few steps before putting his hand out to the wall and leaning against it. His body shuddered and he felt strange, his eyes wouldn’t focus properly. A numbing sensation started spreading. Oh, the drugs must have been more fast-acting than I realized, Kashi thought and just had to give himself a moment to recover. Felix stepped out of the shadows, his small paws making no sound as he made his way over. Felix draped on Kashi’s arm over his neck as they made their way to his room. Felix must have seemed to have sensed Kashi’s distress.

  Felix’s big black eyes stared at him as helped Kashi sit on the edge of the bed. No lights were turned on thankfully. Felix’s large feathered ears twitched before he disappeared to Kashi’s bathroom. Kashi just wanted to collapse, it's why he hated taking the pills because he had no control over the effects. The only good thing that came out of them was having no dreams to haunt him. He looked at his bodysuit and figured he really should change but wasn’t sure if he had the energy to do so.

  Felix reappeared with a cloth and began to wipe away the grim and ash on his face. He probably looked like shit. Felix pointed at his bodysuit and he let Felix take the top off. Kashi got a shirt chucked at his face and he examined the bruising forming on his ribcage before pulling the shirt on. Kashi managed to get his boots off as sweatpants were thrown at him and Felix disappeared once more letting him change in privacy. He was grateful for the help because Felix has seen him in many different scenarios and never once judged him. No questions asked. He rarely spoke anyway.

  “I’m done.” Kashi called out and Felix reappeared at his side purring. He held out a makeup wipe and his contact case in his ashen hands.

  “Thank you,” Kashi said, wiping his face and hesitantly removing his contact lenses. Felix took them away. Kashi sighed, rubbing his face. He was such a pretender. He didn’t know who he was but yet played the part of someone else. No one else besides Felix knew the real him. He wished he knew what he was doing because he was terrified of losing his team again and he couldn’t even bring himself to open the box under his bed. It was painful. He really was a terrible leader.

  He tugged on his hair but then Felix’s lanky body appeared in his arms purring more and Kashi just held him. Felix’s long feathered tail thumped against the bed. He really was like a support animal. “I know, my thoughts are spiraling.” Kashi muttered moving his hands to Felix’s hair instead. They stayed like that for a few moments before Felix pointed at the blankets, his way of saying bedtime. Kashi nodded, letting him go and moving back to lay on the stiff mattress. His sound machine turned on.

  He let Felix tuck himself in his side and pulled a blanket over them. They spent many nights like this before the team and it was comforting. Kashi hoped Sam could handle the team tomorrow as the darkness dragged him. Although he could have sworn before he closed his eyes, the shadows in his room swirled into a figure, but that could have been his imagination.