Ark

Tyne stared at Larry for a moment, "I assume because you keep calling me 'Oracle' that you know who I am. I'm also sure you know that I'm the Seer as well. But that also tells me you know exactly why I'm here. Do you care to explain your actions Mr. Malvya."

"Well I'll get to that too, but lets start with a little history and lesson on viewing the world," grinned Larry. "Do you mind? I promise it has a purpose."

"Alright, I'm listening," Tyne said as he crossed his arms.

"Let me start with a question." said Larry. "Since you were from that time can you say that the world the Founders had created for humanity was a good one?"

"Let me see, no war, poverty, murder; yeah I'd say it was a good one," replied Tyne.

"Ahh but if all of that didn't exist then how would you know it was a good world? You see Oracle; good can not exist without evil. Good can't even be defined without evil being there to show the other side. But good and evil both existed before any of us; before the Founders and even before humanity itself. It tells us in the Bible that when God created the world, he looked over it and said that it was good, but if he called it good then it had to have a bad to go with it or the word would have had no meaning. Don't you agree?"

"Just continue..." answered Tyne with narrowed eyes.

"I'll take that as a yes then," Larry said with a smile. "Well even before our people helped set up the 'perfect world', humanity got to try perfection and they failed. But why? Was it because they were too stupid to realize what they were doing or because the snake was very convincing? I can tell you from watching this world that it wasn't either of those but rather human nature. They always want what they can't have, thus they fall short, bringing with them corruption and death. Evil was at their core from the start, they had no hope because you can't define one side of a coin without the other side still being there even if you never mention it. My theory is sound so far, isn't it?"

"What point are you trying to make?" Tyne said, sounding uncomfortable.

"I'll take that as a yes as well," replied Larry. "You see Oracle, all of this ties to what I'm doing here and why you're here in the first place. You see, the world was created 'pure' so to speak but fell because humanity fell. We tried to restore humanity to help save the world and it seemed to work...for a time. Then humanity proved once again that they would rather live in both the light and the dark rather than just in the light, giving them a balance if you will. As we've seen though, some will be more good than others as some will be more bad than others but over all they balance out. We were here to bring them into the light but they didn't want to stay there, so if you bring them into the dark instead then what will we get?"

"Humanity can't survive in its own darkness without light," said Tyne. "But a balance always has more light than dark."

"Yes well I've been working to undo that balance," Larry said with an evil grin. "I'm using the very evil we helped create, the Moroi. They brought humanity closer to complete darkness then I've ever heard of before, but I now intend to finish what they started then. The world started pure and can only end in chaos, thus completing the balance that was set to exist at the creation of this world. You're here to stop me Oracle, but I'm not the one you really want at this point; I'm just a messenger. But who I work for wants you to know that humanity is coming to an end and it will take out as many lights in the sky with it as it can." Larry then got up off his bench, "But then, I don't really expect you to leave here alive Oracle, so giving you this message seems like a waste of my time."

Tyne grinned, "It sounds like who you're working for knows more about what'll happen here today than you do, Mr. Malvya."

"Ha, that's a laugh," said Larry. "I'm the head of the Founder Committee, I have all these Moroi to do my bidding, and you've purposely walked into my trap, knowing you have no way out. It seems like I have the upper hand here Oracle."

Tyne shook his head and then held up a small device with a single button on it, "Look around, you've already lost. I pushed this button over a minute ago, all your Moroi are in holding cells. You're the only one left."

Larry looked around and grinned as he saw that his men were still standing where he had last seen them, "I think you're plan didn't work Oracle, all my men are still here."

"No, that's just what I wanted you to see," replied Tyne as he tilted his head and not only did the Moroi suddenly vanish but so did the garden. They were now standing in one of the new holding cells that Josiah had created with Larry behind the force field. "Like I said Mr. Malvya, I'm taking you into custody, and you don't have a choice in the matter. Welcome to one of our new Ark holding cells."

Larry looked around in shock, "No! No this has to be a trick! I would have felt being transported!"

"You weren't transported you were teleported," Tyne said with a smile. "In fact, I never even left the Ark compound. You've been here since you think I arrived in your garden. The men you think I arrived with, who were never here, are in fact at your compound dealing with the situation there."

"This is just an illusion, this is nothing more than a cheap trick that all of us can do," grinned Larry. "You're just more skilled at it than most, kind of like a kid that I made a Savant out of a few years back. I guess I should expect that from the Oracle."

"I'm the Seer now, actually," replied Tyne. "And if you think this is an illusion then you're not nearly as skilled as you should be. I'm good but not good enough to keep you disillusioned after I've told you I'm doing it. If you don't believe me Mr. Malvya, why don't you just try and get out of that cell."

Larry frowned and then slowly reached his hand out towards the force field. A second later he pulled his hand back, cursing to himself after getting shocked, "Curse you! How could you have planned this without me knowing! I've seen how this whole thing was going to play out!"

"Because it was thought out, not planned out. Only three people, including myself, knew of my complete plan," said Tyne, as he pulled a chair over and sat down in front of the cell. "The other two, well one is digital and the other wasn't there when I explained my plans to the rest of my team. I was counting on you looking at the wrong information and you did just that."

"You...you're trying to make me out to be a fool, but it makes no difference," Larry said, as he started to back away from the force field. "You've stopped me but you won't have such an easy time with the rest of my family or who we work for, he'll make sure you don't succeed."

The smile on Tyne's face disappeared, "So you're not it then? Who are you working for Malvya?"

"Ha! I'm nothing in the grand plan that he has laid out," Larry said with an evil grin. "Humanity is done on this planet and nothing you do can stop us now. You probably thought you were coming to squash a small problem didn't you? Well you may have the title of Seer, but you'll never be able to build up your forces enough to stop what I've helped put into motion. Axon is unstoppable at this point and you'd never be powerful enough or skilled enough to stop him."

"What did he promise you then, if he's going to destroy the world? What is Axon?" asked Tyne. "Is he a Founder?"

"Oh, he has ways of offering me safe passage from here to another place. But why should I tell you any more than that?" said Larry. "In fact, you'll get nothing more from me."

"Mr. Malvya, if I want you to tell me something, I have ways of making you do it, but I'd rather you just answer my questions," Tyne said sharply.

Larry shook his head and then grinned, "No, I think we're done. If you've caught me then I know Axon would have known this would happen and in that case, it's all part of his plan. And if that's true then he meant me to have this," Larry held up a small device and put it to his head, "to keep his secrets safe."

Tyne instantly recognized the small device as the device the Council used to use to wipe a persons memory before sending them to the Interpretation Archive on the moon, "Are you crazy! Think about what you're about to do! If you clear your memory, there's no way to recover who you are!"

"So it's that way now is it, now I have information that you want, but can't have," grinned Larry. "But then again you have no way of knowing if what I've told you to begin with is the truth or not. I could be making it all up just to make it seem like you've accomplished nothing. But that's too bad for you I guess because I'll be gone in the only sense that you need me."

"Malvya, this won't accomplish anything! I can offer you protection if you just put down the Cleanser!"

"You'd be doing this to me anyway after you get what you want," replied Larry. "Good bye Oracle, it was nice to meet you. Long live Axon." Larry Malvya then activated the device. There was a high pitched sound and then he fell to the floor with a blank expression on his face.

Tyne looked down at the man and smiled, "We thought you'd do that, Larry. So Ark, did I give you enough time to complete the neuro-scan?"

< Yes, though I must say I was worried he would feel me performing the scan. You kept him agitated enough though that I guess he did not notice. >

"Start analyzing what you got from him and let me know when you have some facts to give me," replied Tyne. "I'm going to go check on the rest of our operation."

~~~

Javyk lay underneath a mass jumble of wires that he just finished reconnecting inside the communications satellite equipment. "Okay, turn it on," Javyk shouted. Seconds later Javyk grinned as the old communication equipment came back to life, "That did it Kendall, go ahead and start the diagnostic on it once the display comes up." Javyk slid out from under the equipment, "Alright everyone, good work; I think we've got everything back up and running. Those that know how, start running checks on everything and once we've double checked that everything works then we can go."

"Don't forget you've got to fix the shuttle," Matyas said as he went to one of the old consoles and began working.

"Oh, right, okay," Javyk said as he got up. "Kendall, you're in charge then; I'll go fix the shuttle and then when you guys are finished meet me there." Javyk smiled at Kendall, who just nodded and kept working, and then left.

"Kendall, do you need me and Kyle?" Levis asked as he finished packing one of the tool kits. "I'd like to get our first lesson in now if I can."

"Go ahead, I think we can manage without you guys," replied Kendall as he smiled. "The communications network is working."

"Cool," said Syris from across the room. "If it wasn't working, we might have to put up with more Savants...and no one wants that."

Levis grinned and shook his head as he lead Kyle out into the hallway and closed the door behind them, "It should be quiet enough out here. Do you think you're ready to learn something new?"

Kyle grinned back. "I'm always ready; I think I'm finally gettin' comfortable with bein' a Founder."

"Actually, there's something about that, Kyle," said Levis. "See what I'm going to be teaching you right now is something that Founder's can't really do. The reason that everyone that you've run into here seems to know you and has something to say to you has to do with the fact that yeah, you are a Founder...but you're also more than that. You see you've got a Founder and then you've got a Ferox, with the Ferox being the extreme. You fall in the middle of both of those. You're a Founder on most accounts, but you're important in a way that only the Savants seem to have picked up on. You can do a lot more than you realize. My mother mentioned this when you spoke to her. She said I'll be teaching you things that Tyne can't teach you."

Kyle looked at Levis in shock. "So I'm a freak?"

"No, you can just do more than a Founder can," replied Levis. "Being gifted with the ability to control either more about yourself or the universe doesn't make you a freak, it just changes your position in the grand scheme of things. You're meant for great things, Kyle, but if God expects you to be able to do these great things, it helps if he gives you the gifts with which to do them; as well as the right people to help you along the way. Who's to say exactly what your role will be in the future but all the Savants seem to be telling us it'll be an important one. The better you do, the happier and more excited they seem to get. That's why we want to teach you, so that you know how to use the extra skills you have when the time comes to use them. But having these extra skills doesn't make you a freak. If it did, don't you think that'd make me one too?"

"But you're supposed to have them. How can I have them if nobody else in my family does?"

"You have them because you are meant to have them, Kyle," said Levis. "I don't have any all knowing answers. Do I know why you were born with these extra abilities? No, I haven't got a clue. I do know that if a Founder were to evolve, if that's possible, then they would start to have more of what the Ferox have. It's a path to a higher level of existence. But I don't know why it would be happening to you or how it ended up happening. It could be as simple as stress when you were younger combined with your life now and the fact that you're a Founder; that could have triggered this. I really have no answer for you, Kyle, but I do know that to not use and embrace skills that you have and to not use them to help others, now that would make you a freak. Here, think about your favorite super hero, they always end up with a power they didn't have before but instead of just considering themselves a freak, they use that power for a greater purpose and end up becoming a hero; both loved and respected by all. I'm not saying that you need to go for what they went for but my point is that why does it matter how you can do what you can do or if it makes you different. There's always a first in everything, it doesn't hurt to be the first of your species to make it to the next level."

"I get ragged on enough now, about being a 'brain leech'. I know it's in good fun, but sometimes I wish I could escape and just be like the rest of the guys." Kyle replied softly. "I know what you're sayin' though. I wanna learn what I can do so I can pay my brothers back for helpin' me. Did you know I was gonna kill myself when they put me in that home I was in? If it wasn't for Cory, I woulda done it. He told me he needed me to hang around; it's kinda like he knew I'd be needed but didn't know. You're kinda like him, when I met you somethin' inside said you're my brother and I kinda need to listen to ya to help both of us."

"Well it sounds like we all owe Cory then," Levis said softly. "Saving you has and will save more people than I bet he'll ever imagine. That and I don't think Tyler or anyone else that knows you can imagine life being as good as it has been without you in it. In the time that we have in this universe we have the ability to do both good and bad but either way we'll leave a wake in anything we do. A wake that ripples across time leaving changes both large and small. But even the smallest of ripples can make a great difference to others. Remember Kyle, you matter to all of us. So...shall we get started then? I want to teach you something really special, if you're ready."

"Okay. I get the feelin' there's somethin' your not tellin' me; can we talk about it later? I'm ready now though; what we gonna do?"

"When the time is right, I'll be telling you about that other stuff," replied Levis. "You need to know how to do a few things first, before I can tell you about that stuff. So, the first thing I'm going to be teaching you is called Multi-Realm Travel. It's the ability that I use to get from your realm to my realm but there aren't just those two realms though. There are thousands of them, some being more dangerous than others; an example of a dangerous one would be the one that Ark uses to teleport people from one place to another. The realm that it pushes you into is one that if Ark didn't work hard to hold you together, then you would cease to exist. There are even realms that you have no physical body in. But being able to travel from one realm to another is one of the most useful skills I can teach you. That's because it means that after you've developed your ability to do it without needing an anchor point, then you can instantly travel anywhere in the universe that you want, in any realm. But before we get you started on doing all that, I need to teach you how to just touch other realms first so that you know where you're going. Now normally we'd need to set up an anchor point before we start this, but we're close enough to the one that my mother has set up in her room here that we can just use that one from here. Are you with me so far?"

"Kinda; it almost sounds like when I call Mikey." Kyle replied with a nod.

"Wha..what do you mean call Mikey? Mikey who?" Levis said in a concerned voice.

"Cory's big brother, Saint Mikey. He's our guardian angel. He died just over a year ago."

"Wait, you call him? You mean you actually TOUCH the realm that he lives in?" Levis said in surprise. "...Teaching you this might be easier than I thought, if you can already do that. Hmmm, I know that realm but I'm not sure if my mom would like me trying this...why not. Okay, if you can call him do you think you can call to that realm without calling for just him?"

"I can try; I know a few guys there now. What we gonna do; visit them?" Kyle giggled.

"I'm not really sure if I can take you there yet or not," Levis said in thought. "That realm is one of the ones where you don't have any physical form. Which means you're mind would have to store your physical form for you. It ends up being very taxing on the mind. If you wanted to try and get there you'd need to do more than send a message there; you'd need to push your entire mind there. That's how you go from one realm to another anyway is to push your mind there and your body would follow. If you go to a realm where your mind has to store your body then you have to make sure you index into the past part of your mind to act on its own and pull your body into itself as you pull out of this realm. It has to be the past part of your mind because once you send your mind then only the past contains your body so it has to do the pulling for you. I don't know, maybe we should just try taking a trip to my realm instead, it might be easier. I don't know; what would you like to try?"

Kyle giggled. "I've been playin around in that past part anyways, let's try it, so I can really use it for a change."

"Okay, we can try it then," replied Levis. "I want you to close your eyes then and start doing what you would do to send a message. Don't try and find anyone in that realm though, just find the realm. Act as if you want to send a message to the entire realm."

"Okay, that's easy." Kyle replied.

"Now act like you're going to send a message, but instead of sending words or images to that realm send force, send thoughts," Levis instructed. "Act as if you're trying to force your way into what you see in your mind, while you do that, have the past try and pull an image of yourself into your mind. Keep trying at this until you hear my voice start to fade."

"Okay." Kyle said as he began to concentrate.

"Once my voice starts getting softer and softer you'll start to hear a low rumble like..." Levis continued saying as his voice seemed to get softer and washed out. "...It'll be like thunder from a storm...then you'll just be there...it might go dark fir..." Suddenly everything went dark with a low rumbling in the distance. But then seconds later everything became bright again and Kyle found himself floating in a setting that vaguely resembled what he imagined heaven to look like. Kyle looked around but he didn't see Levis anywhere at first, but as soon as he thought that, a bright light suddenly flashed next to him and there was Levis in his full energy form. Levis looked over at Kyle and smiled, "Well, it looks like you did it. Your head will start hurting in a few seconds though because it's not used to holding your body in it."

Kyle smiled. "It's not hurting yet; can we see if Mikey's home?"

"That's up to you, Kyle," replied Levis. "I've never been here before, but I know from what I've heard it'll look like what you imagine it to look like but I don't know if the people you want to talk to will always be around or not when you want them. Try calling him. Do what you always do to call him but you should find that it's a lot easier to do since you're actually here."

Kyle giggled as he signaled for Mikey. A few seconds later Mikey appeared between Kyle and Levis.

"KYLE! WHAT are you doing here? Better yet; HOW are you here? Mikey exclaimed in shock.

"Hi Mikey!" Kyle giggled. "This is my new brother Levis; he can probably explain this better 'n I can, I'm just learnin'. Levis, this is Sean and Cory's big brother Mikey; he's a Saint!"

"It's nice to meet you," said Levis. "I'm just teaching Kyle about multi-realm travel, although I'm not really sure how long we should be staying here for a first time travel. I don't really want either of us to get hurt. I'm guessing we've got about a minute here."

Mikey grinned. "I guess I'll just have to join you guys later so you can fill me in."

Kyle looked over at Mikey, who was wearing jeans, a worn tee-shirt, and a baseball cap. "Where are your wings and your robe Mikey?"

Mikey smiled. "I only need those outside the Pearly Gates; as long as I'm inside I can just be myself. Why don't you head back, munchkin? We'll catch up on the Q&A later. It's nice to meet you Levis; take care of your brother for me, will you?"

"Brother? If only I had something to better grasp that word," said Levis as he made a confused face and then shook his head. "I'll understand that some day I suppose. I'll keep him from hurting himself though, he's important to a lot of people."

"I'll explain it to you as soon as we get back." Kyle said. "I gotta go Mikey; my head's startin' to itch."

"Okay, take care munchkin." Mikey replied with a smile. "You too Levis; if you let him I think Kyle might help you understand a few things you would not learn otherwise."

"If there's time, I'm sure he will," said Levis, as he started to fade a little. "You should know just as well as I do that there isn't that much time for me to do anything else, but we'll see." Levis then turned to Kyle, "Kyle, you should be wanting to leave now. This trip is almost going too far for your first time."

Kyle smiled. "I'll be back later Mikey. Is that why my head's itching, Levis?"

"Your head should more than itch right now," Levis said with a concerned look. "We'll talk about that later I guess; but anyway, we need to get back to where we were. We used my mother's anchor point to leave, so if you just stop trying to be here or pull yourself back out of this realm, then you'll be pulled back to where we first left from. Understand?"

"Sure, let's go." Kyle said, as he adjusted his thoughts. A few seconds later, he found himself back where they started. "That was KEWL!" Kyle exclaimed, once they were both back.

"My mother warned me that you might be different," Levis mumbled in thought. "After being in a realm where you have no physical being for that long, you should have been in more pain than just an itch, Kyle. When we get back to Ark, will you let me run a few tests just to make sure you're okay?"

"Sure, I feel fine though. Actually, I kinda feel better." Kyle replied. "What do you think Mikey meant when he said I might teach you stuff? You know lots more than me."

"He probably meant something along the lines of me learning from you what I don't know about your culture," said Levis. "There are a lot of terms, actions, and relations that I don't know or understand." Levis paused, "At least that's my guess."

Just then Matyas and the others came out into the hallway carrying their tools.

"We're not interrupting are we?" asked Matyas as they stopped.

Levis shook his head, "No, we're done for now. Are you guys ready to go?"

"Yep, we're ready if you are," replied Kendall.

"Alright, let's go then," said Levis.

"We're following you," Matyas said quickly. "They stay away from you, and we don't want a repeat of what happened to Sean over here. He's supposed to fly us back, so lets not have him covered in who knows what again."

"But I wanted more stuffed animals!" Kyle giggled, earning him an evil glare from Sean.

"Watch it Munchkin, I know where you're ticklish at." Sean replied.

"Yeah, but if Tyler comes to his rescue then you'll be feeling it rather than him," grinned Matyas.

Sean grinned. "Try it little bro and I'll start concentrating on some of Cory and I's private time."

"EWWWWW!" Tyler and Kyle both groaned. "That's sick! Hurry up and get us to the shuttle before he does it!"

Levis shook his head and then started down the hallway, "This way guys."

~~~

"So how's the move going?" Tyne asked Dmitry as he appeared in the real courtyard in Chicago.

Dmitry turned to Tyne and smiled, "Everything's going well, for the most part. All of them seem to have been waiting for us to arrive and are very excited about us taking them back to the Ark Compound. What's left of their committee also accepts you as the new Seer."

"Yeah, they had an 'about time' comment that went with it," added Dominic as he joined them. "There are two hundred and thirteen of them. We do have a small problem we need to you take care of, though."

"You mean you only have one problem for me?" grinned Tyne. "You're evacuating over two hundred people, for which I'm already surprised that they're so willing to go, and you've only got one problem?"

"That's right," replied Dominic as he handed Tyne a key with a number attached to it. "He's in room 113, everyone's calling him Z from what we can gather. He's...different..."

"And cute," giggled Dmitry.

Dominic shook his head and then handed Dmitry a clipboard, "This is a list of who needs help packing."

"Awww, I make one 'cute' comment and I have to help pack?" whined Dmitry.

"One? Every single boy that we've come across in this compound you called cute," said Dominic.

Dmitry grinned, "Well I can't help it that Founders are just good looking."

Dominic just rolled his eyes, "Anyway, this boy doesn't like having more then one person in the room with him at a time. He yelled something about having done all this already when we tried to talk to him. I was hoping you could give us a hand with him."

"Dmitry, it looks like you've got work to do," Tyne smiled as he took the key from Dominic. "I'll look into it, though, Dominic. Thanks."

"It's down that hall over there," pointed Dominic as he ushered Dmitry off to work.

Tyne nodded and then headed towards the hallway that Dominic had indicated. He soon found, though, that the hallway opened up into a small garden with a small building sitting right in the middle marked 113. Tyne slowly approached the building, thinking that it looked strange and out of place, and the closer he got the more wild the plants seemed to get until at the door they were on the verge of being overgrown and taking over the pathway. Tyne unlocked the door, carefully opened it, and then stuck his head inside. What he thought was just one room was actually a stair case heading down into the ground. At the bottom was another door. Tyne slipped inside and quickly headed down the stairs.

Just as Tyne was about to open the door at the bottom of the stairs, though, suddenly he heard a small voice in his head, "Come in already, the repetition is killing me." Tyne stopped for a second and looked around. "I said you can come in," the voice said again. This time Tyne opened the door and slowly walked inside. There in the middle of what looked like a small apartment sat a twelve year old boy with blond hair and what looked like maroon colored eyes.

"It's good to finally meet you, Seer," the voice in Tyne's head said. "Please have a seat for a little while." The boy smiled and then looked over at an armchair across from where he was sitting.

Tyne nodded and then sat down, "I'd rather you actually spoke to me instead of you using telepathy. I don't like having anyone else in my head."

The boy sighed, "I already knew you would say that...it's just that I've had this conversation about eighteen times already, and I'd really like to avoid hearing it again if I can."

"What do you mean eighteen times?" Tyne said with a frown.

"I can't control my time indexing so I more or less live in the future part of my mind rather than the present," replied the boy. "As such I've seen you ask every question you're going to ask in several different ways and it's slowing me down to actually talk to you rather than to tell you in your mind. Thoughts are faster than words; I want what I'm telling you to catch up to what I'm seeing faster if I can help it. But since you insist on me talking, I'll just answer your first few questions already. My name is Zackary, everyone calls me Z. I'm twelve years old, and I have the power to reverse physical injuries through time manipulations. No I don't know everything I can do, yes I'm more than willing to move to the Ark Compound though a room away from others would be awesome."

Tyne was shocked for a second but quickly recovered, "Are you sure your a..."

"Yes I'm a Founder," replied Z. "Or at least my father is. My mother is something else, although my father won't say what."

"Have they..."

"Yes they've tried to help me control my indexing," Z interrupted. "No, they haven't found a way to help me."

"Well we'd have to know..."

"Who my mother is, yes I know that but my father doesn't see that as reason enough to break the promise that he made to my mother," said Z. "He promised the he would never tell anyone who or what she was if he got to keep me."

Tyne frowned, "So he would rather you live..."

"Like this, yes," Z interrupted again. "Although he doesn't spend much time with me because I tend to..."

"Interrupt him?" finished Tyne. "Yeah that's just a little annoying."

"It's just as annoying for you to ask me to speak my words rather than think them," replied Z.

"Would you be..."

"No I wouldn't be finishing your sentences if I was thinking my replies to you," Z said once again cutting Tyne off. "It would help if you thought your replies too."

"Fine," thought Tyne in an irritated tone. "Thoughts only though, don't go poking around."

"I can respect those boundaries," Z's voice said in Tyne's head. "Although now that you said yes you'll be getting a call to leave. That's okay though, Aidan said he'd be back to help get me packed up. He said he contacted someone named Ethan and had him set up a room for me away from where everyone else will be staying. We can talk more later."

Before Tyne could reply Ark spoke into his ear, < Tyne, I have some new information for you. I also have an update on Clan activities as well. >

Tyne smiled at Z's all knowing grin and mouthed his reply, "Go ahead Ark."

< According to the information that I was able to obtain from Larry Malvya there are a few things we can assume. The first is that four of his family members are also involved in this plot and we will have to take care of them as we come across them. >

"Alright."

< The second thing is concerning that figure named Axon. I don't have any records of that name ever being used before but from the information we gathered he is a very powerful being, able to control many elements of both time and space. The Malvya and their followers have been calling him a god after seeing what he can do. >

"Wonderful," Tyne replied sarcastically. "So do we have any idea where this 'god' is?"

< No, but we do have a location on one of the other Malvya family members; their name is Marie. They are heading up a Moroi task force in China. >

"Any idea what they're doing there?" asked Tyne.

< I am still working on possibilities for that, I will have an answer soon. In the meantime, there is an issue that has come up with the Clan. They had a few members dispatched on a mission, as it would seem, and something went wrong. They sent out a message to all divisions declaring a state of emergency a few hours ago. From what I have gathered there are quite a few injured and from the readings I am getting from the location they are teleporting out of I would say there is heavy weapons fire. >

"And you're just now telling me this?!" Tyne almost shouted.

< We had a Council member on site so I did not think it was necessary to notify you. Council Crafter Short was there. I also had Rylan sent to the AI Divisions hospital to help out in any way that he can. Shortly after he left he sent a request for Medbots, which I of course quickly dispatched. >

"Wait, you said Cory WAS there?" exclaimed Tyne.

< He was injured but not too badly. The AI Division's hospital is very busy now though. Oh, they also sent three Clan members down to our medical bay to be treated as the damage done to them is too extensive to be repaired at their hospital and... >

"Which means you're doing what to them?" Tyne interrupted. "What do we have to offer here that we can't offer there? I sure hope it's not what I'm thinking it is."

< They were brought to our medical bay to be converted to Vifer as fast as the Medbots could safely perform the procedure. The rate that they are... >

"So the procedure is being preformed without clearance?" Tyne said in a slightly agitated voice. "Who authorized the treatment?"

< Rylan did after the Medbots told him that it was the only way to save the three boy's lives. >

Tyne sat silent for a moment before replying, "Are they still in surgery?"

< They are. >

"Let me know when they're done," Tyne said softly. "I also want to have a word with Rylan later about what he can and can't authorize."

< Tyne, he did what he thought was... >

"Ark, this isn't something I'm going to discuss right now nor does he need you to defend him," Tyne said cutting Ark off. "Even if it's the right thing to do that doesn't mean he's allowed to make that kind of decision."

< But you are allowed to make that decision for yourself for a less life threatening situation? >

"I'm not arguing his decision," snapped Tyne.

< Then why would... >

"That's enough Ark!" Tyne shouted as he quickly stood up. "Just because it had to be done doesn't mean that Rylan is allowed to make that call for someone else when they're unable to! And I already told you that right now is not the time to discuss this."

< Very well, my apologies, Seer. >

Tyne looked over at Z to find him smiling back at him, "I'm sorry for shouting Z, I'll go ahead and let you continue packing now."

"I already knew you had to go, remember?" Z's voice said in Tyne's head. "Like I said, we'll talk more later."

"Okay, we'll talk later then," Tyne thought as he nodded to Z and then headed for the door. "Ark, keep me informed on the situation with Clan Short. In the meantime please take me to our other prisoners; I'd like to have a talk with them now."

Tyne suddenly disappeared leaving Z sitting by himself once again. Z sighed, closed his eyes, and then got up to finish packing.

~~~

Javyk sat up and closed his tool box just as everyone, lead by Levis, came into the shuttle bay. Javyk smiled as he noticed that they all seemed to be hiding behind Levis rather than following him.

"Did everyone make it without being assaulted?" Javyk asked with a grin.

"Shockingly enough, yes," replied Matyas.

"We did see the deer again," added Syris. "Although it kept it's distance."

"Oh, that reminds me," Javyk said as he pointed to a box sitting a few feet away. "That was delivered for you, Sean, by one of the caretakers. You asked for shampoo so there it is."

"Great!" Sean replied with a grin. "Thanks Javyk." He paused then asked, "Was it fairly easy to fix the problem they warned us about?"

"I'm not sure if easy would be the word I would use," said Javyk as he got up and handed Kendall his tool kit. "I had to rebuild the device; it was just poorly constructed the first time, like they were in a hurry."

"In a hurry with you on their back telling them to hurry? Nah..." mumbled Syris as he started to help load up the shuttle.

Javyk glared at him but continued, "We have another problem though, we only have enough seats for all of us minus one. Adding Levis pushes us over our limit."

Levis grinned, "Yeah but I don't really need a seat if I'm not in a solid form. I can just float at the back of the shuttle."

"Are you sure?" said Javyk.

"Yep, I'll be just fine," replied Levis. "Even with you guys driving."

"Oh yeah, Sean's driving us home," grinned Javyk. "Are you still up to the task Sean? I can drive if you're not."

Sean's grin spread. "I'm ready if you are!!!"

"God help us all!" Tyler muttered. "You got any Dramamine Javyk?"

"Nope! You'll just have to do without!" replied Javyk. "Alright everyone, lets load up!" Javyk then led Sean into the shuttle up to the pilot's seat, "Okay, while they're finishing getting everything loaded we're going to go over how to fly this thing. You do remember what I was telling you about the controls on the way up here, right?"

"Sure." Sean replied, as he repeated everything Javyk had said verbatim.

"That's good," said Javyk. "There are only a few more things I can add to that but I'm afraid that most of flying our shuttles comes from experience because of the way that they move. You'll quickly realize that the controls are very sensitive but if you're moving just right you'll also get the feeling that the controls are more like an extension of your own arms and legs. Just remember what I told you about the finger controls and try not to crash into anything. I'll be your co-pilot so I'll watch the sensors and teleporters along with communications for this trip until you're more comfortable with the controls. Eventually you'll be able to handle everything and can fly without a co-pilot. But let's just get you flying first. Any questions?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure I'll have some as we're going." Sean replied seriously.

"Can we wait for the next bus?" Tyler muttered under his breath with a grin.

"We're on the moon, there is no next bus," Syris replied softly as he loaded the last box. "That's the last of it."

"Awesome, everyone aboard then," said Javyk as he buckled his seat beat. "Sean's going to take us home!"

~~~

"Hey, kid!" one of the Moroi in the holding cells yelled. "I demand to speak to your superior!"

Josiah looked up from where he sat at the desk in Security Control, "Why, is there something you need?"

"This doesn't concern you kid," replied the Moroi. "I want to speak to whoever is in charge here, and I mean now or we're going to have a problem."

Josiah set down the report he was reading and smiled, "Regardless of whether I do what you want or not, we're not going to have a problem Mr...I'm afraid I don't know your name; I don't believe we've been introduced actually." Josiah got up and walked over to the holding cells force field, "My name is Josiah, I'm currently the acting Security Lieutenant here for the moment. And you are?"

"Crilock," grunted the Moroi.

"Well Mr. Crilock, I've been told to hold you here until the Council Seer can come and see you," replied Josiah. "So until that time, I'm the only one you'll be talking to I'm afraid."

"Look kid, I don't plan on sitting here until your boss can 'get around to us'," sneered the Moroi as he got closer to the force field. "I can break my way out of here and kill you right now if I wanted to, but I'm being generous enough to allow you to take the easy route here. So get me your 'Seer' or I'll make good on my threat."

Josiah grinned, "I don't think you threatening me is going to get you very far, Mr. Crilock."

"It's just Crilock! Drop the damn mister part!"

Josiah shook his head and walked back over to the desk. After sitting back down he continued, "Right, whatever. But my point is that you'll not be going anywhere and threatening me might not be good for your health."

"Ignoring me might not be good for yours!" shouted Crilock.

Josiah picked up the report he had been reading and proceeded to ignore the Moroi again.

"HEY!" Crilock shouted. "Fine! I'll get you to do what I say one way or another!" Crilock then screamed and walked right through the force field. He made it through looking very burnt but alive and walking; walking in fact right towards Josiah.

Josiah looked over the top of his report and shook his head, "I'm not supposed to kill you Mr. Crilock but I can certainly show you what life is like not being able to move. Either turn yourself around and go back into the holding cell or you'll find you've got a bigger problem."

"Small words, you've got nothing kid. Pull a gun if you'd like," Crilock said as he got closer. Crilock pulled a knife from his belt, "I'd like to see you stop me."

"You'll have to forgive Crilock, he's always itching for a fight," shouted one of the other Moroi from the cell.

Josiah tilted his head a little and grinned, "Thanks for the warning. That's far enough Mr. Crilock." As Josiah spoke Crilock suddenly stopped moving. Josiah got up again and walked towards Crilock but as he did Crilock let out a gasp as suddenly not only did his knife turn to dust but his hands started to break up as well. "The Seer wants you alive but he didn't say you needed limbs. I'll just take the arms for now but if you do this again or make a fuss, then I'll take your legs too." Crilock screamed and shouted as he watched his arms disappear. Josiah just shook his head again and sat back down, "Ark please teleport Mr. Crilock back into his cell."

The other Moroi watched silently as Crilock disappeared and then reappeared back in the cell again. The Moroi that had spoken up before looked over at Josiah and frowned, "Was that really necessary?"

"Would he have shut up otherwise?" replied Josiah as he started to read his report again.

"There are more civil ways to silence someone other than cutting their arms off," said the man.

Josiah once again set down his report, "You're right, there are but last I checked all of you were planning on killing our men when we went to confront Larry Malvya. So I'm not really inclined to treat any of you civilly. He was also coming at me with a knife if you remember."

"Which you clearly could have stopped without hurting him," replied the man.

"If he still needs his arms later we'll find a way to put them back on," said Josiah.

"Put them back on?! There's nothing left of them to PUT back on," said one of the other Moroi.

"Yeah, that happens when you take away the energy," grinned Josiah. "But fixing it isn't my job."

"Fixing what?" asked Tyne as he came into the room while rubbing his head.

"Arms," replied Josiah.

Tyne looked over at the Moroi, noticed Crilock, and then looked back at Josiah, "I'll just assume that the situation called for him losing his arms, I won't ask exactly what happened."

Josiah grinned, "Yes sir."

"I need to talk to our guests now," continued Tyne. "Javyk's shuttle is on its way back though, so I was wondering if you'd be willing to go meet them and fill them in on the basics of what's happening."

"I'd have to know what's happening first. I'll check in with CIC before heading for the shuttle bay," Josiah said with a smile as he left the room. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," replied Tyne as he looked around at the Moroi in the holding cells. About half of them looked extremely tired but unable to fall asleep while the rest of them were alert and watching Tyne's every move. "I suppose I'll start with introductions; my name is Tyne Oraculum, I'm the Council Seer of the Founder Council. Do any of you have a leader of sorts that would like to answer any of the questions I ask?"

"I don't know about answer your questions but I more or less lead these men," said the man that had objected to Josiah's treatment of Crilock. "My name is Joshua Mink, although I just go by Mink."

Tyne nodded, "Alright Mink, I'll ask questions then and if you feel inclined to answer them please feel free to."

"You're probably not going to give me much of a choice," Mink said with narrowed eyes.

"How about this, first I'll tell you why all of you feel like your systems are messed up," said Tyne. "And in return you can tell me how you're able to be out in sun light."

Mink gave Tyne a strange look, "So you want to trade useless information for more useless information? What's your interest in what you want to know?"

"It means something to me on a personal level," replied Tyne.

"Oh?"

"We're not talking about my personal views," Tyne said quickly.

"Alright, I'm sure we'll get to them at some point then," Mink said with a grin. "Let's go ahead with the exchange you suggested, so why are half of us exhausted but unable to actually 'sleep'?"

"You're at the south pole, so the way that the earth affects your systems is almost non-existent," said Tyne.

"Ah, an easy and simple answer," replied Mink. "Okay, well to answer your question it has to do with the device each of us is wearing on our arm. Malvya gave them to us, he didn't say where he got them only that they will allow us to be in sunlight and sleep at night; the only catch was that we had to always wear them."

"Is that the reason that you agreed to work for him?"

Mink grinned, "Do I get anything for answering this one?"

"Do I need to offer an incentive for every question I ask?" Tyne said with a frown.

"I suppose not, you have the upper hand...for the moment," Mink said softly. "But no, that wasn't the only reason we were working for Malvya. Think of it this way if you can, Founder; imagine that you used to have all these options available to you but then you choose what you thought was a better path for your life. You were right for the most part but then find it harder to live. Then some guy comes along with an offer that's hard to refuse. He offers a house in your name, the ability to live in the light again, and even promises a food supplement that tastes like the real thing but won't upset our systems when we eat it. All he asked for in return was our loyalty and obedience. After years of living without those things wouldn't you take the offer?"

"Not, if in being obedient, I was required to kill and torture others," Tyne replied coldly.

"Ah but see that's the difference between you and me then," smiled Mink. "I've had to kill for every meal I've ever had as a Vampire, it doesn't really bother me anymore. Especially if I'm given all that Malvya promised me."

"I can see that the Moroi of this cycle think the same way that they've always thought," sneered Tyne. "Always thinking about themselves first. You were monsters then and you're still monsters now."

"Wait a minute, its self preservation," protested Mink. "It doesn't have to do with whether I'm a...what did you call me? A Moroi? Whatever, it doesn't have to do with what I am it just has to do with whether or not I want to live. You may see me as a monster, but I kill to live. It's just one less human in the world and we all know there are plenty of them to go around. Heck, we're faster, smarter, and better all around than they are, so what does it really matter anyway? Come to think of it, you're not even human, so why do you care?"

Tyne opened his mouth but then closed it and frowned.

"You don't know, do you?" Mink said with a grin. "Ready to save the world but you haven't the faintest idea why you want to save it. Ha! What a laugh!"

"That's not a fair question though," replied Tyne. "I mean, all the reasons that I used to have, don't apply anymore; not really anyway. But the reasons I have now are more personal than anything else; I care because those that I love care. I can't say that I care for the same reasons that my father did, but I can say that I care because without it my family can't survive."

"Ha, that's just it isn't it," chuckled Mink. "You care as much about humanity as the rest of humanity does about itself. Every human cares more about what happens to them than they do about what happens to their neighbor. But that's just the way the world is. You only care because your 'family' cares but why do they care? Do you have an answer?"

Tyne frowned, "You're missing something in that though. Humans can't survive together without caring about each other to some degree. Even if it's as small as needing others just to earn a living. Everyone needs everyone else whether they realize it or not. Society functions as one unit but you can affect how well that society does by improving life for those that make up it's structure."

"Ah, the sound and safe way to answer my question," said Mink. "Do you really believe that?"

"Yes," Tyne said quickly. "I do believe that and I don't see why you wouldn't. You live off of that very society. If they don't live then neither do you, they're your food source and if they don't make it then you'll quickly realize just how much you did care about them. You may see them as inferior beings but everything about your own humanity that you still value comes from your life as a human. You may be better now but you started as one of them."

This time Mink frowned, "Okay, you have a point."

"Do you even know what Malvya was planning to do?" asked Tyne. "Did you know that he wanted to bring about the end of the world?"

"If that's true then why would he bother to hire us?" said Mink.

"Because you're fast, dirty, and you get the job done," replied Tyne. "You're a force that's easily used for both good and evil, you're no more than a tool."

"That's not fair..."

"Why, because it's true?" continued Tyne. "Was what Malvya gave you really that hard for him to get considering his resources? He was offering you something he knew you'd take and all he asked for in return was that you do his dirty work."

"Yeah, well then what are you?" commented Mink. "You're just as much a tool as I am. You're doing exactly what you were told to do by your father aren't you?"

Tyne grinned, "Actually, I'm not. You have no idea what was expected of me. My father expected humanity to be at peace when I was brought back into this world."

"Well I'm sure you'll do just as good a job as Malvya did at ending the world then," Mink said having nothing else to say. "What can a kid do for a world that seems to like the way it is."

"Oh, it's not like I'm alone," said Tyne. "But I can do more than you'd think. Including pass judgment on you and your friends."

"What do you mean pass judgment? What gives you the right to judge us?" spat Mink.

"I already told you who I was," replied Tyne. "And as such, as the Seer of the Founder Council, I sentence you to termination by sunlight for the murders you have committed as well as the murders that you were going to commit."

"Wait! Maybe we can make a deal!" shouted one of the other Moroi.

"Yeah! What if we fight for you instead!" shouted another.

"I don't make deals with animals," replied Tyne. "Ark teleport them to the surface."

Suddenly all the Moroi disappeared.

< Would you like me to recover their arm bands? >

"Yes please," said Tyne as he sat on the corner of the desk and sighed.

"That's not like you to make that kind of judgment without someone else," said Cyna as he appeared next to Tyne.

"I don't like Moroi."

"Well yeah, I know that, but you were really quick to get rid of them," replied Cyna. "Was it something they said?"

Tyne was quiet for a moment, "No." He paused before saying, "I need some time to think before I head to the assembly Nyo is holding. I'll be in the Council Chambers if you need me."

Cyna watched Tyne get up and walked towards the door, "Tyne, what's wrong."

Tyne shook his head, "I just need to sort out some things, I'll be fine."

Tyne walked out of the room and Cyna sighed, "What am I going to do with him?"

< He would make a very nice lawyer. >

Cyna chuckled, "No, I don't think so. He'd want to be the judge AND the lawyer."

< What do you want me to do with the arm bands? >

"When Javyk gets back give them to him and let him know what they are," replied Cyna. "I have a feeling we might need them at some point."

< Very well. What about Tyne? >

"I'll find Rusty and send him after him," said Cyna. "I think Tyne is a little confused and stressed."

< Is he going into one of those 'Founder Meditations'? >

Cyna sighed, "Probably."

< Oh fun. >

~~~

Josiah watched as the Founder Shuttle slowly brought itself about and finally landed in the Ark Compound's shuttle area. He looked down at his handheld, which contained a list of what had happened over the last few days, and sighed to himself before heading over to the shuttle.

"Don't look so grim," said Cyna as his digital image appeared next to Josiah, walking with him.

"Yeah, well you wanna tell them what's happened over the last few hours?" replied Josiah as he watched the shuttle door open.

Cyna sighed, "Okay, well you've got a point I suppose. Why didn't you ask Gavin to help you then?"

"I didn't want to pull him away from the Medical bay," Josiah said as he put on a fake smile and waved at Javyk and the others as they came off of the shuttle. "Adam's one of his brothers."

Cyna nodded, "Then why aren't you there with him instead of being here?"

Josiah looked over at Cyna, "Because Tyne asked me to meet them and I don't pawn off bad news jobs on others."

Cyna glanced at Josiah briefly before looking back over at the group coming from the shuttle, "It looks like they brought back a few extras."

"They're Clan, you knew that had a high chance of happening," replied Josiah.

"Hey, I heard that!" grinned Javyk as his group got close enough. "And I entirely blame Kyle for all of it."

"Hey now, I'm not..." Kyle started to say before coming to a halt. "Josiah, please tell me you're messing with me bro."

Josiah quickly lost his fake smile as he realized that Kyle was probably looking ahead, "Founders, always keeping one step ahead. Some...things have happened while you guys have been gone so...do you want the damages sugar coated or raw?"

Kyle straightened his back as he replied. "Just go ahead and give us the facts bro; sugar coating don't help none."

"Okay...well there's a list," said Josiah as he looked down at his handheld. "Pretty much war was declared on a group called the FCC. As of early this afternoon there's been a battle being fought in Montana; Ark was only watching the activity about a minute before there was a Clan wide red alert called followed by an influx of injured. Most of them were sent to the AI Division hospital, although a few had to be sent down here for more advanced care. The injured included Clan members, as well as cadets, and even FCC members. Those that were sent down here are either still in surgery or are in recovery, those at the hospital haven't been heard from in a few hours although Ark tells me that it's chaotic but working out. After Cory was injured he passed command of the battle to a Captain Adam Casey, of a group calling themselves the U.N.I.T. Ark didn't give me anything on them but Cory apparently trusts them. But after he transferred command he was teleported to the hospital for treatment. That's the most of the damage but the list goes on if you'd like to read it."

"Who is in the medical bay here, and what is being done?" Sean asked, his face beginning to glow red.

"Dean, Kelly, and Adam," replied Josiah. "The Medbots that Ark sent to the hospital said that with the injuries they had that they wouldn't survive unless they could heal faster, so they're going through the process of being made Vifer."

Kyle growled in anger as he watched Ty collapse against Sean in tears. "Josiah, please take care of our brothers and keep us updated. Levis, would you like to join us? We're going to South Carolina."

"If you'd like me to come then I will," said Levis softly.

"Did you want us to look after Colin for you?" Kendall asked Kyle.

"I think I need you there Levis." Kyle responded. "I'd really like for you to come with us Colin, but it's your choice."

"I...I'd rather not get in your way Kyle," Colin said carefully. "I've never really been anywhere outside of the Interpretation Archive, well that I know about anyway. I'm not sure I'd be any help to you."

Kyle nodded. "Stick with one of these guys; you wouldn't be in the way but I'm not going to make you uncomfortable. Thanks for offering to look out for my brother Kendall. Javyk, I'm assuming you need to test things on this end so I'm not going to ask. Keep us updated please."

"Yes Nitor," replied Javyk. "I'll make sure you get hourly reports."

"I'll head to the Medical bay where I left Gavin," added Josiah. "He was watching the Medbots like a hawk when I left him there."

Kyle nodded, noticing Sean and Tyler were both still out of it. "Ark; take the rest of us and whatever we brought back with us to the hospital in South Carolina."

< Very well Nitor. > said Ark as Kyle and his party vanished.

Syris looked over at Josiah and sighed, "Out of the far-field and into the high-field, huh?"

"What?" replied Josiah.

"Yeah, Syris is full of them," said Javyk.

"Its a Founder saying, he means out of the ice box and into the fire," said Cyna. "But yeah, something like that Syris. You guys have missed an awful lot."

Javyk and Kendall led Colin out of the shuttle bay with Josiah right behind them. As Josiah headed for the door he shook his head, "That's an understatement. I'm going to head down to the Medical bay to be with Gavin, I'll catch you guys later."

"Okay Josiah," replied Syris. "So any idea where Rylan is?"

"Ark sent him to help out at the AI hospital a few hours ago," Cyna said as he watched Josiah leave. "He was the only one not extremely busy. Dmitry, Dominic, and Aidan are helping with the relocation of the other Founders."

"Other Founders?" Syris said in a confused voice.

"The other Founders of this time period," replied Cyna. "We found a little over two hundred of them living in North America, they're assembling in the Tech Construction Area for room assignments."

"So we're still around?" grinned Syris. "Maybe this won't be so bad after all."

"Well, Nyo and Stepan should be getting things going in a few minutes with all of that," said Cyna. "Nyo will be giving the opening welcome since he's the Archivist but after that it's going to take them a few hours to get everyone sorted out. They could use your help."

Syris nodded, "Okay, I can do that. So what else did I miss?"

Cyna walked with Syris as he started towards the door, "Well..."

~~~

Z watched from the second level of Tech Construction Area as the rest of the Founders gathered on the first level before a make-shift stage that was set up against the far wall. Z grinned as he saw a silver skinned boy get up on stage and start to thumb through note cards that he had in his hand. Z watched him for a few seconds but then looked up as three boys came up onto the second level. The two younger ones were wearing Founder uniforms while the other older one was dressed in white.

"Can we join you?" asked one of the younger boys.

"Yes Javyk, you may join me," replied Z. "It's nice to meet you too."

"That's just a little creepy," said Javyk.

"The same goes to you Kendall and Coli...Colin," Z said with a little hesitation. "Colin! How...you were cleansed..."

"Wait how do you know who we are?" asked Kendall.

"Yeah, we didn't even introduce ourselves," added Javyk. "And who are..."

"My name is Zackary Valirsa but you can call me Z," said Z. "Lets just say I have some unique gifts...which kinda make this conversation verrrry long."

"Is there a way you can be not so...um rude about answering for us?" said Javyk.

"Sure, but I want to fix something first," replied Z as he turned to Colin. "I knew you Colin Fervidus; I used to call you Cif for short. You were a good person." Z then reached his hand out towards Colin and grinned, "Come back to us Cif."

Colin suddenly got a blank look and closed his eyes. A second later he opened his eyes and looked lost, "Where am I?"

Z smiled, "Welcome back Cif."