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Description
I put my head in my hands. Braiden was impossible to track. After Elliot had calmed Zephyr down, she'd fallen asleep on one of the couches, and Elliot and I had teleported to Braiden's house. It was cordoned off and there was police all over the place. According to the local newspapers, it'd been a definite kidnapping. Four bodies had been found, shot with military-grade weapons and sliced to ribbons. Signs of a struggle had been found throughout the house, alongside one of the bodies, a bloodied katana dropped beside him. It was like whoever had taken him had just disappeared though. No footprints off the property, no tire marks, police dogs couldn't find a scent, and there wasn't a single thing anyone could use to find him.
I looked up as I heard someone knock on the door to my room. Since Braiden had been kidnapped, Will had ordered as all stay cooped up in the safe-house. "Yeah, sure, come on in," I grumbled. Zephyr walked in quietly. She'd been a mess for the entire walk. Depressed, quiet, it was rare to see her without puffy eyes, and her body language and facial expression radiated despair. As she walked in though, I noticed her face was set with determination. "What's up?" I asked tiredly. Nobody had been sleeping particularly well, and I was starting to feel it.
"Kyle, I have an idea," Zephyr started carefully, "But you have to promise to hear me out, okay?" I raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless. "Okay, look, I know Braiden's been kidnapped, but there's a lot of different things that could have happened, right?" she asked rhetorically, rushing her words, "We know that there's those people out there that are on our side, so what if they got to him first, and the bodies were Gredean?"
I sighed, "Zephyr, there were four bodies, and nobody noticed anything wrong with them. Those bodies were probably those people who saved our asses, trying to help Braiden."
"You don't know that!" Zephyr argued angrily, "Look, I'm not asking you to believe me, but I AM asking for your help."
I grit my teeth, "Fine. What am I doing?" I asked, annoyed, trying to keep my temper under control.
"Braiden had some friends who were a bit older than him, four or five years, I don't know. What I do know, though, is that one of them is getting married, and he was invited. As a part of the wedding party, in fact," Zephyr looked at me hopefully.
"And you want to crash this party and see if he's there, or, at least, if there's any information," I finished for her. She nodded, biting her lower lip. I sighed, "Fine, but we do it secretly."
Zephyr rolled her eyes, "Jeez, you think, genius? Of course we do it secretly. Me, you and Elliot. Meet at her room tomorrow at six, and dress well."

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"Kyle, you look…good," Elliot told me with a playful expression, poking her head out of the door. I grinned. It was a plain ensemble; black pants, black shoes, blue dress-shirt, black jacket, a little snug but not quite yet uncomfortable. "I'm not quite ready yet…give me a few seconds?" she asked with a small smile.
"You know, I could always come in and help you with your clothes," I told her with a grin.
A small light danced her eyes, "You mean the problems I'm having with the dress, right?"
"Yeah, like the fact you've got it on at all."
Elliot laughed, for the first time in days I noted, "Maybe later, Kyle," she told me with a tantalizingly seductive look in her eyes, closing the door again. I felt a broad grin spread across my face.
"A little bit of restraint, Kyle," Zephyr chided, walking up behind, "At least until later tonight." She wore a midnight purple dress that seemed to shimmer when she moved. She wore two small, silver earrings, and a small, smug smirk.
"Even if we don't find him, we can at least enjoy ourselves," I told her with a shrug.
Zephyr smiled oddly at that, "I'm going to go early, see if I can catch anyone we know to see if they've heard anything," she told me quickly.
"We're just headed to the reception right, not the actual wedding?" I asked anxiously before she teleported out. She nodded, and in the next instant, she was gone. This entire thing worried the hell out of me. It just wasn't wise. However, it was, it seemed at the time, a decent way to find information about Braiden.
"I'm ready," Elliot told me as the door behind me opened up. I turned around and was, despite myself, a little shocked. Elliot didn't often wear dresses or short skirts, and could be typically described as a tom-boy. Elliot was dressed in simple, strapless, forest green dress, which fell to just above her knees. It wasn't flashy, but she looked absolutely beautiful. Her blonde hair fell in curls around her shoulders, and there was a look in her eyes, equal parts playful, cautious, anxious, curious and carefree.
"Nervous?" I asked, grinning.
"A little," she admitted, smiling back, "But eager too."

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"Lucian, it's not wise!" Terra growled.
I rolled my eyes, "Terra, you know I absolutely hate it when my full name is used."
I saw Terra grit her teeth and choke back the response I'd seen forming in her brain. "Look, Luke, it's just plain not smart. We know you're strong enough to handle pretty much anything they would conceivably throw at you, but sending us out without leaving yourself any effective backup? Way too reckless for my tastes," Adam commented, obviously annoyed.
I looked over to Cory, who just shrugged, "If you say you can do it, I believe you. Just make sure you're sure about this."
I looked around the small meeting room, "Look, how about we compromise? The newest recruit sticks around, and you three head out and raise some hell on our behalf. Sound good?"
Adam sighed and began to head out of the room, "Honestly, I'm surprised you agreed to that much, and while it's still reckless, it's slightly less so, and is probably the best we're going to get out of you."
Terra opened her mouth angrily to protest the compromise, but shut it just as quickly as she realized that Adam was right. She looked over at Cory desperately, hoping that he might be able to persuade me otherwise, but once again, he just shrugged, and followed Adam out of the room. Terra started to follow them, but she stopped and looked back, "You're sure you'll okay, Luke? I know you trust him, but he's got absolutely no real experience," Terra asked, concern and, it seemed, an overtone of legitimate fear.
I looked her straight in the eyes, "We'll be fine, Terra. Lord knows I've handled trickier enterprises than this one. To be honest, I'm more worried about you three than I am myself," I told her quietly.
Terra's face softened, "I know you are. That might be what the problem is, too," she whispered, leaving.
I sighed as the door closed shut behind her. "Luke? You okay?" a blonde-haired teen asked from beside me.
"Honestly Braiden, no, I've been better, but I've been worse too. No time to dwell on it either, even if it were a healthy exercise. We need to suit up."

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"I hate weddings so much," I complained. We were at the reception, the ceremony itself having concluded a little while before. The band had just begun to play, the dinner having been served and ingested. The room was a typical one, nothing too extravagant, but tasteful. Oak walls, wood floor, base to roof windows; overall, a fairly decent place to hold a reception. There wasn't a horde of people, but it certainly felt like it. The room was probably filled with about a hundred people: anything over fifty in any room felt like far too much for me.
Elliot looked at me curiously, "Why's that?"
"Too many people, and I'm not a huge fan of the atmosphere. I don't know…I suppose I don't mind weddings, I'm just not fond of big ones," I conceded.
Elliot nodded in agreement, "That's fair, I think."
I scanned the room for Zephyr. My eyes slid over the various occupants, all dressed in a rather fine manner; dress shirts, ties, but nothing really elegant, or subtle, nothing that really caught your attention. As I panned the room for a second time, I did notice someone who caught my attention. He was probably the most inconspicuous person in the room, leaning against a wall while guests mingled, dressed in the stereotypical clothes; all black except the white dress shirt. He had short brown hair that was worn rather unimpressively. His appearance was, overall, rather boring, but there was something about him that made him stand out, an aura, almost. He looked entirely indifferent to the entire affair, but I noticed that he was, subtly, scanning the room as I was. "Hey, Kyle, there she is," Elliot told me, poking me and drawing my attention away from the man. Zephyr was right in the thick of things, talking animatedly was a rather large man. He had dark, dyed green hair, and was rather thick, though not at all fat. As Elliot and I moved towards her, her face fell and her body language betrayed a sense of worry and near-panic. She said something to the person she was talking with, but he just shook his head and smiled, uttering a short reply as he took her hand and led her out of the room. I looked at Elliot, who nodded, and we both trailed the two of them as inconspicuously as we could manage. I looked back to take a last look at the man I'd been watching before. He'd disappeared.
Zephyr didn't go very far with her companion. He just led her away from the main hall and into one of the bathrooms. I raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think we should be following her?" I asked Elliot in a whisper.
"Yes? I mean, why wouldn't we?" she asked, confused by my question.
"Zephyr might be…being friendly, you know?" I answered with a small grin.
"Oh shut up, we both know it isn't like her to do something like that," Elliot answered peevishly. We stepped quietly into the bathroom, and my insinuation seemed slightly more justified. The lights weren't on, and though there were windows, the sun had almost set, lending the room very little light. As such, we weren't noticed, but we couldn't see much, either. Both Elliot and I bristled and readied ourselves for a fight when we heard loud protestations from Zephyr.
"Silence, Scion. You will do as I say, or you and your friends will die," a male voice growled, and both Elliot and I shivered as we realized it was a Gredean.
Zephyr's voice was icy cold as she responded, "And what exactly do you want from me, pig?"
"Ahhh, defiant like your predecessors. The General was right to hunt you, and to want you captured alive," the Gredean mused, "But what I want from you is very little: I just need you to take two bracelets and clasp them around the wrists of your friends."
"Like the one you just put on me?" Zephyr asked, stalling for time.
"Yes, precisely like that one."
"And if I refuse?" Zephyr growled.
"Then we will have to find…alternative uses, for you," the Gredean answered back threateningly.
"You know, you boys really need to learn that 'no' means no," an amused voice echoed, but there was an edge to it.
"Okrea," the Gredean whispered, "Show yourself, coward!" he yelled.
"What, and give my advantage away? You folks might play by a code of honor, but I don't really care about any of that shit. So long as you die, I don't give a damn," the amusement was gone from the invisible voice, replaced by anger.
I looked to Elliot, who leaned over towards a light switch. Flipping it on, she dropped into a fighting stance, myself following suit. The Gredean growled, "Back, Scions," he ordered, grabbing Zephyr, a knife resting on her collarbone, "Or she dies."
Elliot grit her teeth and I prepared to fry our would-be murdered, but he jerked the knife closer to Zephyr's neck, "Don't think I won't know if you try to kill me using your magic. Do you think you could kill me before I slit her throat?" he asked threateningly, the tip of the knife drawing a small drop of blood from Zephyr's throat. I hesitated. I wasn't sure whether or not he was bluffing, or whether or not he fast enough to do what he'd threatened. I thought back to my first encounter with his species, how Luke had been thrown into that pole. I shuddered, clenching and unclenching my fists as I realized the Gredean could definitely deliver on his promise of death. A tear rolled down Zephyr's face as the Gredean tensed, and she ran from him. A small gurgling sound escaped his throat and blood poured down his front. He dropped to his knees.
"He really should not have been worried about you two," mused our savior, not a speck of blood upon him. I gaped. It was the same man I'd noticed at the reception proper. He was leaning now, once again, against the bathroom wall, "Seriously though, you guys really need to learn not to wander off alone, it makes keeping you people safe rather difficult," he chided, "Especially you three."
He stood there, glaring at us as the three of us simultaneously stuttered pathetically in defense of ourselves. He waved us away, "Go have fun, I'll clean up here."

Description
I put my head in my hands. Braiden was impossible to track. After Elliot had calmed Zephyr down, she'd fallen asleep on one of the couches, and Elliot and I had teleported to Braiden's house. It was cordoned off and there was police all over the place. According to the local newspapers, it'd been a definite kidnapping. Four bodies had been found, shot with military-grade weapons and sliced to ribbons. Signs of a struggle had been found throughout the house, alongside one of the bodies, a bloodied katana dropped beside him. It was like whoever had taken him had just disappeared though. No footprints off the property, no tire marks, police dogs couldn't find a scent, and there wasn't a single thing anyone could use to find him.
I looked up as I heard someone knock on the door to my room. Since Braiden had been kidnapped, Will had ordered as all stay cooped up in the safe-house. "Yeah, sure, come on in," I grumbled. Zephyr walked in quietly. She'd been a mess for the entire walk. Depressed, quiet, it was rare to see her without puffy eyes, and her body language and facial expression radiated despair. As she walked in though, I noticed her face was set with determination. "What's up?" I asked tiredly. Nobody had been sleeping particularly well, and I was starting to feel it.
"Kyle, I have an idea," Zephyr started carefully, "But you have to promise to hear me out, okay?" I raised an eyebrow, but nodded nonetheless. "Okay, look, I know Braiden's been kidnapped, but there's a lot of different things that could have happened, right?" she asked rhetorically, rushing her words, "We know that there's those people out there that are on our side, so what if they got to him first, and the bodies were Gredean?"
I sighed, "Zephyr, there were four bodies, and nobody noticed anything wrong with them. Those bodies were probably those people who saved our asses, trying to help Braiden."
"You don't know that!" Zephyr argued angrily, "Look, I'm not asking you to believe me, but I AM asking for your help."
I grit my teeth, "Fine. What am I doing?" I asked, annoyed, trying to keep my temper under control.
"Braiden had some friends who were a bit older than him, four or five years, I don't know. What I do know, though, is that one of them is getting married, and he was invited. As a part of the wedding party, in fact," Zephyr looked at me hopefully.
"And you want to crash this party and see if he's there, or, at least, if there's any information," I finished for her. She nodded, biting her lower lip. I sighed, "Fine, but we do it secretly."
Zephyr rolled her eyes, "Jeez, you think, genius? Of course we do it secretly. Me, you and Elliot. Meet at her room tomorrow at six, and dress well."

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"Kyle, you look…good," Elliot told me with a playful expression, poking her head out of the door. I grinned. It was a plain ensemble; black pants, black shoes, blue dress-shirt, black jacket, a little snug but not quite yet uncomfortable. "I'm not quite ready yet…give me a few seconds?" she asked with a small smile.
"You know, I could always come in and help you with your clothes," I told her with a grin.
A small light danced her eyes, "You mean the problems I'm having with the dress, right?"
"Yeah, like the fact you've got it on at all."
Elliot laughed, for the first time in days I noted, "Maybe later, Kyle," she told me with a tantalizingly seductive look in her eyes, closing the door again. I felt a broad grin spread across my face.
"A little bit of restraint, Kyle," Zephyr chided, walking up behind, "At least until later tonight." She wore a midnight purple dress that seemed to shimmer when she moved. She wore two small, silver earrings, and a small, smug smirk.
"Even if we don't find him, we can at least enjoy ourselves," I told her with a shrug.
Zephyr smiled oddly at that, "I'm going to go early, see if I can catch anyone we know to see if they've heard anything," she told me quickly.
"We're just headed to the reception right, not the actual wedding?" I asked anxiously before she teleported out. She nodded, and in the next instant, she was gone. This entire thing worried the hell out of me. It just wasn't wise. However, it was, it seemed at the time, a decent way to find information about Braiden.
"I'm ready," Elliot told me as the door behind me opened up. I turned around and was, despite myself, a little shocked. Elliot didn't often wear dresses or short skirts, and could be typically described as a tom-boy. Elliot was dressed in simple, strapless, forest green dress, which fell to just above her knees. It wasn't flashy, but she looked absolutely beautiful. Her blonde hair fell in curls around her shoulders, and there was a look in her eyes, equal parts playful, cautious, anxious, curious and carefree.
"Nervous?" I asked, grinning.
"A little," she admitted, smiling back, "But eager too."

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"Lucian, it's not wise!" Terra growled.
I rolled my eyes, "Terra, you know I absolutely hate it when my full name is used."
I saw Terra grit her teeth and choke back the response I'd seen forming in her brain. "Look, Luke, it's just plain not smart. We know you're strong enough to handle pretty much anything they would conceivably throw at you, but sending us out without leaving yourself any effective backup? Way too reckless for my tastes," Adam commented, obviously annoyed.
I looked over to Cory, who just shrugged, "If you say you can do it, I believe you. Just make sure you're sure about this."
I looked around the small meeting room, "Look, how about we compromise? The newest recruit sticks around, and you three head out and raise some hell on our behalf. Sound good?"
Adam sighed and began to head out of the room, "Honestly, I'm surprised you agreed to that much, and while it's still reckless, it's slightly less so, and is probably the best we're going to get out of you."
Terra opened her mouth angrily to protest the compromise, but shut it just as quickly as she realized that Adam was right. She looked over at Cory desperately, hoping that he might be able to persuade me otherwise, but once again, he just shrugged, and followed Adam out of the room. Terra started to follow them, but she stopped and looked back, "You're sure you'll okay, Luke? I know you trust him, but he's got absolutely no real experience," Terra asked, concern and, it seemed, an overtone of legitimate fear.
I looked her straight in the eyes, "We'll be fine, Terra. Lord knows I've handled trickier enterprises than this one. To be honest, I'm more worried about you three than I am myself," I told her quietly.
Terra's face softened, "I know you are. That might be what the problem is, too," she whispered, leaving.
I sighed as the door closed shut behind her. "Luke? You okay?" a blonde-haired teen asked from beside me.
"Honestly Braiden, no, I've been better, but I've been worse too. No time to dwell on it either, even if it were a healthy exercise. We need to suit up."

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"I hate weddings so much," I complained. We were at the reception, the ceremony itself having concluded a little while before. The band had just begun to play, the dinner having been served and ingested. The room was a typical one, nothing too extravagant, but tasteful. Oak walls, wood floor, base to roof windows; overall, a fairly decent place to hold a reception. There wasn't a horde of people, but it certainly felt like it. The room was probably filled with about a hundred people: anything over fifty in any room felt like far too much for me.
Elliot looked at me curiously, "Why's that?"
"Too many people, and I'm not a huge fan of the atmosphere. I don't know…I suppose I don't mind weddings, I'm just not fond of big ones," I conceded.
Elliot nodded in agreement, "That's fair, I think."
I scanned the room for Zephyr. My eyes slid over the various occupants, all dressed in a rather fine manner; dress shirts, ties, but nothing really elegant, or subtle, nothing that really caught your attention. As I panned the room for a second time, I did notice someone who caught my attention. He was probably the most inconspicuous person in the room, leaning against a wall while guests mingled, dressed in the stereotypical clothes; all black except the white dress shirt. He had short brown hair that was worn rather unimpressively. His appearance was, overall, rather boring, but there was something about him that made him stand out, an aura, almost. He looked entirely indifferent to the entire affair, but I noticed that he was, subtly, scanning the room as I was. "Hey, Kyle, there she is," Elliot told me, poking me and drawing my attention away from the man. Zephyr was right in the thick of things, talking animatedly was a rather large man. He had dark, dyed green hair, and was rather thick, though not at all fat. As Elliot and I moved towards her, her face fell and her body language betrayed a sense of worry and near-panic. She said something to the person she was talking with, but he just shook his head and smiled, uttering a short reply as he took her hand and led her out of the room. I looked at Elliot, who nodded, and we both trailed the two of them as inconspicuously as we could manage. I looked back to take a last look at the man I'd been watching before. He'd disappeared.
Zephyr didn't go very far with her companion. He just led her away from the main hall and into one of the bathrooms. I raised an eyebrow, "Do you really think we should be following her?" I asked Elliot in a whisper.
"Yes? I mean, why wouldn't we?" she asked, confused by my question.
"Zephyr might be…being friendly, you know?" I answered with a small grin.
"Oh shut up, we both know it isn't like her to do something like that," Elliot answered peevishly. We stepped quietly into the bathroom, and my insinuation seemed slightly more justified. The lights weren't on, and though there were windows, the sun had almost set, lending the room very little light. As such, we weren't noticed, but we couldn't see much, either. Both Elliot and I bristled and readied ourselves for a fight when we heard loud protestations from Zephyr.
"Silence, Scion. You will do as I say, or you and your friends will die," a male voice growled, and both Elliot and I shivered as we realized it was a Gredean.
Zephyr's voice was icy cold as she responded, "And what exactly do you want from me, pig?"
"Ahhh, defiant like your predecessors. The General was right to hunt you, and to want you captured alive," the Gredean mused, "But what I want from you is very little: I just need you to take two bracelets and clasp them around the wrists of your friends."
"Like the one you just put on me?" Zephyr asked, stalling for time.
"Yes, precisely like that one."
"And if I refuse?" Zephyr growled.
"Then we will have to find…alternative uses, for you," the Gredean answered back threateningly.
"You know, you boys really need to learn that 'no' means no," an amused voice echoed, but there was an edge to it.
"Okrea," the Gredean whispered, "Show yourself, coward!" he yelled.
"What, and give my advantage away? You folks might play by a code of honor, but I don't really care about any of that shit. So long as you die, I don't give a damn," the amusement was gone from the invisible voice, replaced by anger.
I looked to Elliot, who leaned over towards a light switch. Flipping it on, she dropped into a fighting stance, myself following suit. The Gredean growled, "Back, Scions," he ordered, grabbing Zephyr, a knife resting on her collarbone, "Or she dies."
Elliot grit her teeth and I prepared to fry our would-be murdered, but he jerked the knife closer to Zephyr's neck, "Don't think I won't know if you try to kill me using your magic. Do you think you could kill me before I slit her throat?" he asked threateningly, the tip of the knife drawing a small drop of blood from Zephyr's throat. I hesitated. I wasn't sure whether or not he was bluffing, or whether or not he fast enough to do what he'd threatened. I thought back to my first encounter with his species, how Luke had been thrown into that pole. I shuddered, clenching and unclenching my fists as I realized the Gredean could definitely deliver on his promise of death. A tear rolled down Zephyr's face as the Gredean tensed, and she ran from him. A small gurgling sound escaped his throat and blood poured down his front. He dropped to his knees.
"He really should not have been worried about you two," mused our savior, not a speck of blood upon him. I gaped. It was the same man I'd noticed at the reception proper. He was leaning now, once again, against the bathroom wall, "Seriously though, you guys really need to learn not to wander off alone, it makes keeping you people safe rather difficult," he chided, "Especially you three."
He stood there, glaring at us as the three of us simultaneously stuttered pathetically in defense of ourselves. He waved us away, "Go have fun, I'll clean up here."