Re: MISSION: The End of Father

[Reila Tsukino]

Together with Xan and Dai's joint attack Father was now subdued. But...but there was clearly something wrong. As the room filled with a red glow, Reila watched Dai slide towards Father in slow motion. Nonononono!! A stream of thoughts rushed to her head, but the adrenaline was not quick enough. Her heart pounded and her feet felt clumsy as she struggled to pull herself to them. Faster faster! On quivering legs, she sprinted after where Dai had fell back. Without even registering his lack of arm, her fierce, dead-set eyes were focused on Father who now stood over her Dai. The man was a mess of joints--his shape no longer appearing human in any respect. Without shifting her golden gaze, she swiped the philosopher's stone from Dai and held it out to him in the palm of her hand. A cruel smirk formed on her face. "You want this, doncha?"

A moan ensued and a crumbling hand reached out to take it. "Unnnnm!"

Reila clenched her hand around the cold stone and laughed slightly at how pathetic the man who wanted to be god now appeared. Long hair flew out in her wind as she ran her fingers along the air. Her skirt billowed around her and the wind enforced with icicles drove through the homunculus, turning his wailing existence into dust. As it blew away, Reila wondered if he was finally dead now. Was he truly gone? Glancing around herself in every direction, the Lieutenant General determined that Father was no longer in this world. Slipping the stone into her bra, exhaustion took her and she collapsed onto her knees. The pain was unbearable...when there wasn't anything distracting her from it. Inquiring eyes set on Dai and she crawled over to where he was nearby.

"BAKA!" She slammed her fist into the ground near his knee. "You could have gotten yourself killed!" The pressure from her punch shot through her shattered ribcage and she gasped, tears gathering in her eyes. "Do you have any idea how scary that was?!" She cried, falling onto her back with her hands wrapped around her sides. "It was too much! What if I hadn't killed him right then!?" She rolled in anger. "And then you go and blow off your arm!" She sat up with extreme effort and crawled so close to him that their noses were almost touching. In a soft voice, she whispered, "I told you not to get so close to him...idiot." Then she let her head fall limply against his shoulder as she sobbed.

[Guest]

As she intently watched the pair of Homunculi and "Father", a loud explosion caused Hild to jump a good, I don't know... Five feet into the air? She looked around at the source of the sound, and watched a red-haired man suddenly fly away from the "Dead" Father, and another girl attack him with Alchemy... and a Stone. She blinked, and tilted her head to the side, before sighing softly.

It's time. She slowly walked out of the shadows, and towards the remote that Aurel had cast away. She pressed the button, reopening the gate, then she walked through the wreckage and soldiers until she reached Reila and Dai, looked them over and smiled softly, before speaking out over the room, voice reaching the far corners.

"I thank you all, Briggs, for ridding us of this menace. I couldn't have done it without you all." Then she turned to Xanthus. "And to you, Xanthus Icarus, Famine. Your part in this was imperative - you made the trip to Briggs to tell them this news, and that makes you an extremely large part of this." She smiled briefly, and then, instead of waiting for anything, she spoke, loudly and clearly.

"My name is Hild Schwartz. I am now your Fuhrer, from this point in time. You will listen to me, and you will take my orders as they come. Understand? I lead this country, and until the next election." She nodded, waiting for a reaction.

[Dai]

Everything seemed to slow down for the redheaded Alchemist. Time was slowing, things were moving at a rate of which he'd never imagined possible. And he couldn't see anything - just Reila. He couldn't hear anything - just the words the Reila spoke. Reila's scent attacked his nostrils, and he looked down at the crying girl, a look of worry on his face.

"I... thought that I was about to die. I had given up all hope of living, and I decided that taking Father with me might've been the best option." He smiled briefly. Looks like he was wrong.

"I guess that... My thoughts throughout this amounted to nothing - and I ended up making you sad. I don't want to see you sad, I don't want to see you cry." His face turned bright red, and he smiled softly, putting his remaining hand onto the girl's cheek. He hadn't really thought it through, how he was going to do it. He had written in his mind, he had tried to think of every way he could say it. But the words never seemed to escape his lips.

But his mind was set. His mind was made up. He could only think of Reila. The words of Hild didn't penetrate his mind, and yet... No, they didn't have any effect. He could be briefed later, if need came.

"All that we've been through, everything that's happened. I guess that... you've saved my life now. Call it... call it payment for Zaska." He couldn't think anymore. He just had to say it. There was no way he couldn't.

Lifting the girl's face to his, he looked directly into her eyes, red meeting gold. He blushed brighter, and closed his eyes tightly. No backing out now. He smiled, and leant in towards her, kissing her on the lips. After about 2 or three seconds, he broke away, face even redder.

"I... I love you."

[Guest]

Menoitos was about to attack the other "Wrath" again, when an explosion rocked the room. He blinked, and turned towards the noise, watching a strange young girl run out of the room lifting up the gate. He grimaced, and decided to abandon these men, and follow the sound. He made it to the Briggs forces, just in time to see a strange shadow destroyed by Reila Tsukino. He blinked. And blinked again. And once more.

"So... that's the real Father." His eyes narrowed, and he stomped back to the two, going straight to "Father", and reaching out a hand, trying to pull some sort of mask off of his face. No, nothing. It was an illusion of light. He stepped back and held a sword up to the man in the throne's throat.

"Tell me who the fuck you are! I'm not playing games - I just saw Father die, so that means you're not the real one. WHO THE FUCK!" He shouted, before re-sheathing his sword. He sighed, and looked at the other 'Wrath'.

"That wasn't Father. And no innocent blood needs to be spilled. So let's leave - I have things that need to be done - and you have a human to find and protect. So let us leave, and part ways." He smiled softly, and walked out of the giant room, past the new-found lovers, past the soldiers of Briggs, out the door and away from the sewers.

He had some money to make. Because he was the last of the Wraths. He hoped.

[Topic LEFT]

[Reila Tsukino]

The voice of the new fuhrer resounded faintly in her subconscious because now, her attention only had one destination. If anything else were to disrupt her now...Reila would be unable to handle it. Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her cheek and it made her shudder for her whole body felt like it had become ice. She seemed to come back to herself then, and tear-rimmed gold breached the darkness around them. Flickering like a candle, they stared directly into red, which soon disappeared. Reila was confused and went to pull away so she could focus better, but she was dragged back. Her parted lips were pressed together, and her heavy breathing was pushed through her nose. Her head spun and the world closed in. Before she realized it, her eyes were shut tight and her heart was fluttering like a trapped moth. When her mouth was exposed to the air once more, Reila pulled in a deep breath of humidity. As she released it, Dai's words plummeted through her ears. She lost all direction then as if the rare occurrence of being struck by lightning was actually happening. But was it? Her veins jolted with the shock and it spiraled through her uncontrolled. Clutching at it, Reila struggled to reach the meaning. She pulled away completely and fell back onto her ruble-filled hair. Staring dumbfounded at Dai, she couldn't find words to cease his inquiring stare. Abruptly, almost automatically, Reila rose to her feet. Brushing herself off with an important air, she placed her hands on her hips and glowered down at him. "Idiot. Took you long enough." She turned around to hide her red cheeks and sighed quietly to herself. "Now hurry up and gather yourself together. There's work to do."

She almost ran square into Hild in her flurry, but managed to stop herself just in time. Turning her head back to Dai, she motioned at the new girl. "Who exactly is this, huh?" Dai didn't seem to have any idea so Reila frowned, looking back at her. "Look, we're in the middle of escaping from our crimes so if you wouldn't mind getting in our way later...I'd appreciate it." The girl didn't appear to be getting out of her way anytime soon. No matter, really. Reila turned on her heel back to Dai and yanked him to his feet by his available hand. She grabbed a piece of his long, red hair and pulled his ear to her lips and whispered with hot breath. "Ditto."

Reila dropped Dai's hair, hand, and feelings and removed herself from the situation entirely. She now approached Xan who had been behind them the entire time, observing Father's demise. She glanced around, but did not locate Mura. That was when she saw that a few of her men were attending to him on the ground. Shit! Reila almost ran to him, but decided she was being too emotional in every respect and composed herself into a mask befit to the lieutenant general of Fort Briggs. Quickly and quietly, she stalked out of the lair, out of the door, and into the waiting helicopter, leaving everything behind. Over her radio, in a cold, demanding voice, she gave her orders:

"All forces return to the helicopters at once. We are to return to Fort Briggs to regroup and then proceed to South City." Then Reila turned her attention to her special white-haired man whom she held in high respect as one of her closest friends. "Xan, thank you... I hope we will meet again, right? Take care of Mura..." She smiled to herself and shut the speaker off, listening in case for a reply. She leaned back in the helicopter seat and let her eyes close to the pain.

[EXIT TOPIC]

[Aurelius Schwartz]

"Tell me who the fuck you are! I'm not playing games - I just saw Father die, so that means you're not the real one. WHO THE FUCK!" That was Wrath for you. Aurel remained where he was, eyeing the sword as if were a child's toy. He kufufu-ed slightly before folding his hands across his legs with a wry look.

"You were duped, foul cretin...by merely an illusion and a recording device. Homunculi cannot kill their creator. Fortunately for you, I was here to ensure you do not ruin the plan I constructed so dearly." He leaned forward, eyes hooded and gleaming dangerously. "Be off."

Endavi and Meno vacated the premises, a sound alerting Aurel that Hild was fiddling with something. Father was dead, therefore nothing else mattered today. Freeing them was no matter. He could...always catch them again if he so desired. Staring after Hild, he watched as she all too easily opened the gate and wrecked a part of his plan he already established that he didn't particularly care for. Never the less, Aurel sighed angrily to himself and made a note to make the device Hildproof next time--or maybe just not throw it away to begin with... Embracing the air of royalty, he rose to his holy feet and flowed after his lovely sister with all the grace bestowed upon him by the gods. He bent down beside the sifting ash of Father's dead body and retrieved his trident just as the Aerugese princess, Reila Tsukino, excused herself from the premises. Luckily, she was going to miss the fun part. Frowning, Aurel moved into Hild's shadow and placed himself there for the time being, waiting for her too to leave. Xanthus was all that was on his mind now: a man he wanted to obtain--an essential being to unite with in order to rule the world and finally create peace. He had to go about this with precision...

[Guest]

Hild watched the goings-on carefully, with an unnatural precision. Her eyes went from one person to the other, not noticing the man falling over into a coma. She had more important issues than a Mercenary falling faint. She sighed, and blinked when the girl ran up at her, shouted at her and then turned back to the now half-armed redhead. She looked around again, and now taht she was satisfied with her work, she shouted out.

"Aurelius, we're leaving. I have paperwork to fill out." She nodded twice, and turned around, keeping the trident that she usually carried close. She stopped suddenly, and turned back to the crowd, eye narrowing briefly.

"I am Hild Schwartz - do not forget my name, for I am the new Fuhrer!" She nodded again, turned on her heel and walked out of the room, hoping that her brother would follow.

[Topic LEFT]

[Guest]

After he realized that 'father' was indeed a fake, everything seemed to spin as he had fallen to the ground, clutching his raven locks in a tight grip, while Wrath began to slowly take over his mind as he had unintentionally let him released when he expected father to take the homunculus away from him.

He had ironically hoped that the man he wanted to murder would save him, how ironic.

Ne, it's been a while, Davi-chan~~

Blue eyes suddenly opened wide as the body went limp against the ground, no longer having the strength to fight for some reason, but somehow in his mind he did. His human eye suddenly twitched, it still felt pain from that day.

'Get out of my head, leave me!' Endavi strongly demanded within himself as as the homunculus simply chuckled, before a strong, yet well-taken-care-of hand suddenly gripped his throat, and in his gasps for air, he suddenly realised it was his own.

His body began to spasm lightly as he fought the homunculus' hold, before his free hand suddenly went over to his homunculus eye, and he smirked as he felt a sharp gasp from within. It was confirmed when the offending hand suddenly gripped his wrist, making the man smile sadistically.

"S- So, get rid of the core and you're gone, e- eh?" He choked out as he slowly inched his hand in his revealed eye's direction, while the other hand tried to pull him away.

Don't! Get away from that! I'm not going back just yet!

A sadistic smile appeared on the man's face as he stabbed his fingers into his eye and tore out the small, gushy ball, throwing it aside before yelling out to releave some of the pain as his vision was now completely black. He shakily removed his eyepatch to see his surroundings, and the last thing he ever saw as 'Wrath' was the blood pooling around his head from his eye and some blurred commotion in the background.

'I... love you... Tsune...'

[LEFT TOPIC - Though Davi didn't leave the scene, he passed out from bloodloss and exhaustion, so it counts because he wouldn't wake up for a while]

[Xan]

Xanthus Icarus had watched with a furious horror as Father had climbed out of the pit, which quickly became an even greater rage as he saw Dai being pulled toward the now shadow of a man's form. Before he could even work out a proper alchemical solution, the metal king had begun to snap his fingers. Xanthus had remembered what the philosopher's stone could do to Dai's alchemy, but thought that surely he couldn't have had time to perform another Zaska? The horrible answer had arrived in Xan's skull a moment too late for him to prevent Dai from blowing his arm off to save himself and the Stone from Father. Resolving to end Father for good this time, Xanthus had stepped forward to use a special trick he'd been saving up, but Reila had beaten him to it, taunting Father before destroying him herself as vengeance for his part in Daigoro's sacrifice.

Seeing that Father was dead, possibly forever this time, Xanthus sat down heavily. After all, there was no such thing as maintaining composure after saving the world from a demonic force trying to become a second God was there? Vaguely, he noted that a new girl appeared proclaiming herself Fuhrer and thanking him for his part in Father's demise. The Infinity Alchemist smiled at her before looking at Dai and snapping himself up. While he had been on the ground, undoubtedly both Dai and Reila were in serious pain. However, before he could make any sort of motion to heal them both, he bore witness to Dai reaching up and kissing Reila...and not on the cheek either. He stopped dead in his tracks and let them have their moment before looking around and noticing that Mura was on the ground in a comatose state...again. Sighing, Xanthus turned the spear in his hand to dust and put his hands on the ground. Using continuous transmutations, the alchemist made one of his golems pick Mura up. He looked at Mura for several moments, then turned to speak to Reila, only to discover that she was gone, and so was Dai and that the rest of Briggs was leaving the throne room. He then heard his radio go off and heard Reila's voice thanking him and telling him to take care of Mura. He replied that he would do his best, then turned off the radio himself. He hoped that Briggs would do well in the days to come. They may have defeated Father, but there were other things more disturbing and more threatening to man than evil beings bent on destroying Amestris for the power of a Philosopher's Stone...

Hoping to protect his body, Xanthus created a casket for Mura (featuring holes so that the man would stay breathing, then constructed wheels and a handle for it so that he could push it himself. Seeing that his work was decent, the alchemist then reduced his golems to dust like the spear before them. Then, Famine looked around the room. Apparently, the new girl...the new Fuhrer, had already taken her leave, leaving him alone with...someone who looked like a man working out the finer points of a strategy. Xan looked at the man whom he recognized as being the fake Father, wondering who exactly he was and what was on his mind.

(This isn't my best work, but I needed to post something and get onto my homework. Sorry!)

[Aurelius Schwartz]

Aurel did not follow his sister out of the room for she was playing her own game now, disregarding the guidelines he had set forth previously. Regardless, her actions did not impede his larger plan and he now stood alone facing Xanthus Icarus--the very man he wanted to consult. With a trail of long raven hair, he approached the man of short white, reminding him of fresh fallen snow. A smirk curled onto his satisfied lips and he bowed elegantly before him with an arm over his chest. Soon after, he raised a pair of mismatched eyes to meet those of crimson. "My name is Aurelius Carston Schwartz. I have arranged for this ordeal to succeed with Father's demise." He straightened his black tie beneath his military coat of the same shade to buy himself a moment's time. Speaking to another human (a stranger no less) who wasn't his sister was like pulling out his eyelashes. He had to prepare himself thoroughly before even attempting it. "As it seems you are out of work, I have an offer I would like to make to you." He leaned his long, silver trident against the wall beside the comatose man's carrier and turned back to Xan with an vicious gleam in his eyes, daring the other man to deny the proposal he was about to make. Through the dim lighting of the retreating soldiers, Aurelius barely looked human at all. He stood tall, his form so black he was darker than the shadows themselves and he flowed menacingly like one straight towards Xanthus. "Humans...are rotten. They go about their lives obvious to others—strangled by their greed and own definitions of justice. We seek peace, but wage unending wars to accomplish it. The cycle continues unabated..." He stared directly at Xan, both eyes a balance between fire and water. "I will obtain the world by all means. And once Amestris has each strand in its grasp..." He held out a black-gloved hand and closed it carefully into a clenching fist. "only then will true peace prevail."

Silence filled the room, building up by the lack of footsteps from the soldiers. It was darker now--lit only by the torches in the far corners of the room. The flames licked at the air, shaking the images seen around them, and building more darkness. Aurel licked his lips, unable to wipe the devious smirk from him. He hated confronting people--despised communicating useless words, but somehow...he wanted to. To Xan, he wanted to share his sister's dream in which he would make reality regardless of how much blood he had to paint it with. Only peace tainted with blood could be everlasting. And for this task, Xan's power--Xan's ideals were what Aurel wanted also to acquire.

[No...it is definitely an excellent work! I don't think I can compare with this one XD]

[Dai]

Xanthus and Aurelius had assumed the building to be empty of listening ears, that there was in fact, nobody left in the building except for the soldiers that were rapidly clearing out. It could've been safe to assume that there was nobody in the place that could've compromised the ideals that Aurel had wanted to come clean to Xan with, and it could've also been safe to assume that there was somebody there, watching, listening to their every move.

Well, there would've been, except for the fact that Dai had racticlly been dragged away by the small Medic Team that had been brought back from Briggs - just in time for the two to begin talking to each other. He saw Auel approach Xan and the pair begin to speak, but couldn't catch a word of it. He tried to struggle, tried to get close enough to hear, but the fact that he was one arm short made it too difficult for him to pull himself out of the grip of the Medics, and he was slowly dragged to the helicopters, resigned to his own fate.

As he reached Reila and climbed into the Helicopter next to her, he looked at the ground slightly, looked up and her, then looked down again - he couldn't find anything to say... He was out of ideas, he was completely shutdown. He looked down at the stump which had been his arm - and gasped. He'd thought that it would be a quick fix, but no. There was a big problem, one that'd leave him bedridden for weeks. Running a finger over the wrecked joint, Dai sighed softly, knowing full well the consequences of this. They were not only going to have to rebuild an arm for him, but they'd have to build the whole fucking joint! He sighed again, and then knew exactly what to say to the General.

"I won't be coming to South City with you. guys, Reila. I don't even know if I can do my job for a while..." His head hung in shame as the helicopters made their way back to Briggs. Oh, what an awkward trip this was turning out to be...

{Thread LEFT}

[Xan]

Xanthus Icarus was preparing to leave the lair of Father the Homunculus with Mura safely contained in his carrier, when the man that he had been keeping an eye on began to approach him with a self satisfied smile playing on his lips. Xanthus, not knowing what to be prepared for, tensed a little bit and began to run tactics through his mind in case of a battle scenario. Apparently, he need not have bothered, for the man simply bowed and began to introduce himself. Xan absently noticed that the man had mismatched eyes, one being blue and the other being red, almost as red as Xanthus' own eyes, which had been described by many people as being pure crimson. Aurel introduced himself and claimed to be the arranger of the event that occurred, to which Xan would have protested if he had gotten the chance to before hearing that Aurel had a job that he wished to offer. This piqued the Ishvalan's curiosity. Now what could such a man as Aurel want with an alchemist like him?

The Infinity Alchemist listened to Aurel's words with a face that betrayed no emotion. No sudden smirks, no frowns, not even so much as a mistimed blink. His face was pure stone as Aurel explained his goals. Then, perhaps surprising even to Xan himself, he began to chuckle. The chuckle itself was not a mocking one, but perhaps could be considered the sound of one who had been searching for something for a long time only to discover it in the last place that he would have thought to look. For that was exactly how Xan was feeling right now. He had joined Briggs, then RIOTE, and ultimately the Four Horsemen searching for just such a man as Aurel: A manipulative, powerful, deadly, and ultimately genius personage whom could possibly change this world for the better and perhaps keep it that way. Xanthus could discern that the man was all four things on his list just from listening to the way that he spoke, and the way that he moved...in short, he could tell just by being near him for a few moments that Aurel stood a strong chance of being his kind of leader. Of course, Xan would have to be sure before he offered his complete loyalty, because when he did, that would seal many fates, not the least of which would be his.

Xanthus looked at Aurel with an analytical look in his eyes. He was judging the other man from this point until he decided to stop.

So, you want me to join you in your quest to conquer the countries surrounding Amestris to create an eternal peace? Tell me, why do you want my assistance? What could I possibly have that you want? And on that note, if I were to accept your offer, what would you have me do?

[Aurelius Schwartz]

Aurel had stopped in front of the Ishballan, watching him incredulously through slitted eyes of odd colors. But it seemed at least one of his eyes had found a match...and it so happened to be the one he had stabbed with a shard of his own reflection. He couldn't hold back the snicker forming in his throat or the sly smirk that never seemed misplaced upon his lips. "Not exactly." Aurel kicked a stone with his expensive black boot and watched it scurry across the ruined cobblestone floor beneath their feet. "Not conquer. Control." He motioned at the stone. "It's simple: we direct their rage and then destroy it. Aerugo has already invaded the South, a coup is forming in Creta, Xing's eyes are burning with jealousy, and Drachma has always desired the North. Yes, I am saying..." he flashed white teeth in a maniacal smile, "to create a world war."

A sudden wind from the open door rushed in down the tunnel system. It blew through the long strands of his raven hair like feathers and whipped bangs into his face. The fresh snow now appeared to be flurrying in invisible air, unmelted by the current. "Lend me your power, Xanthus, and join me on the battlefield," he said in a calm monotone, "Using Hild, everlasting world peace is no longer impossible."

[Xan]

Xanthus listened to Aurel's words, his plan to create a better world by the direction and destruction of rage, and while he listened to the man, he was judging him as one might judge a man accused of a crime. He was judging him to make sure that Aurel was the one that Xanthus had truly been waiting for, and it was no mistake to say that the alchemist had been waiting for someone who could be considered worthy to lead him. But was Aurel the One?

An interesting fact to note would be that there had been at least five major offers to Xan in the course of less than a year. There had been Reila Tsukino of Briggs, Sashura Kir of Drachma, The Tzar of Drachma, The Emperor of Xing, The Fuhrer of Amestris, and The Zero Alchemist of RIOTE just to name a few.

Xan almost allowed himself a smile; it amused him to know that he had acquired that kind of importance and value in the world, amused him to know that he had been considered a hero, a villain, and back again, and it amused him to know that throughout everything, he had always come out of every negative situation more powerful than ever.

And now, that power was being called on once again, this time by a man who promised peace through a massive world war. Hmm...had Xan himself not considered that very idea? Had he not tried to accomplish the very same concept at least twice over? But here was a man who could make that happen, and he was offering Xan a position on his side.

And he did have a point earlier when he said that Xan was now out of work, for without the Fuhrer, what would become of the Horsemen? Would they cease to exist right along with him? Would Famine become no more, just like Leviathan before him? Of course, would it really matter? Because Leviathan and Famine had just been the supporting roles for a much greater power...

Xanthus found himself shrugging involuntarily. He had reached a final decision; after a few seconds of mental debate, he nodded then looked at Aurelius. He was smiling even as the wind blew around them, causing his black military uniform flow a little, and whipping his hair around his face a little.

"Very well Aurelius, I believe that you and I will be able to be allies, and I will aid you in your goal of creating an eternal world peace. Where you lead, I will follow, and where you point, I will go. I am Xanthus Icarus, Famine, and Leviathan, but more importantly...I am once again the Infinity Alchemist of Amestris."

After his semi dramatic presentation, Xan looked at the coffin-carrier that contained Murazar Dauthi with an expressionless look on his face. Wordlessly, he transmuted it again so that it stood straight up and was held up by a rock hand on top of it holding it down. Then, Xan drew a circle around it and pressed a kunai into the dirt circle. Breathing deeply, he sent a tendril of Alkahestric power through the kunai, which caused the circle to glow blue. The inside of the coffin began to shine a bright blue color as well after about three seconds.

"Can you send someone to pick him up and take him to a hospital after we leave this place? I would do it myself, but it would probably be better for him if he's left in the circle to heal for a moment before being taken anywhere. And while we're at it, we might want to follow everyone else's example and leave this place sir."

Looking around for one last time, Xan prepared to follow Aurel out whenever he chose to leave.

[Topic Exit] {He's still there, but he'll leave with Aurel when he leaves. Just didn't want to delay the ending by having to post again, you understand.}

[Aurelius Schwartz]

Aurel's eyes did not waver as Xanthus evaluated his resolve. Time passed slowly and soon the Ishballan spoke. Aurelius smirked at the answer which reached his ears. With this, the first step of his plan was over. The next...was soon to come.

"I take it he is with you," He said as he typed a few things on his phone and hit send. Motioning to the door, he exited with Xanthus behind him. "Let us continue this conversation in my office." Father's lair would be destroyed by his orders shortly and certainly having their discussion there would delay the process.

"I hope you don't mind. I don't do paperwork."

[Indeed!]

[EXIT TOPIC]

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