"Lexi, really you should not have…" Sonya said with embarrassment, taking a sizable package of food from the woman.

"Oh, please, it’s the least that you deserve for helping us out during these troubled times," Lexi smiled, producing yet another package from an automatic cart that moved behind her, "And besides, what else should I have done with all this food?"

Sonya and others were standing before the train that was supposed to take her back to the Ravaged Lands. The command allowed her to take some time to heal her wounds, but this time it was the scout who insisted on coming back as soon as possible, leaving the hospital the moment her wounds closed, excusing herself from meeting with the government official and racing to the train station. To her surprise, she was met with familiar faces who came to say her goodbye.

"And this is the gift of the matriarch," Karine pointed at a bag with clothes, "The family’s tailors finally identified the material and shape of your lost clothes, replicating them with perfect accuracy, albeit with a minor change. You will find they are much softer and sturdier than the original ones."

"I really feel like I am taking advantage of your hospitality."

"You haven’t even started, trust me. Aside from vigilantism, people became interested in you, which led to the family selling body suits to the public. That, and the general public also liked your unusual… tribal guard, so the family opened a new line of clothing for sale."

"Looking for profits, eh?" Sonya smiled to her.

"Always," Karine responded without a hint of shame, "Barjoni International would be a poor company if they didn't think of ways to enrich their investors. You will find a message on your terminal. Feel free to call us anytime, the family considers our debt to you unpaid yet. And one last thing. Surano wanted to say his thanks too, but after his erratic behavior, the matriarch is keeping him on a tighter leash, sorry about this." The woman said this with a bit of relief in her voice.

"He already called me to say thanks." Sonya nodded at her, understating her relief. The teen was way too impulsive for her liking. However, his thanks were the most unusual. Surano sent her books. The very books that she lost, with an autograph from the author that mentioned Lizzie and with a special mention for Sonya. Not only that, he also added the two latest books from the same series to her, all in limited edition covers.

Jehu and the chief also called her, saying their thanks. Jehu’s body was still being repaired, and the chief was naturally bothered. With the revelation that the Numbers were in Iterna, all police forces were put on high alert. Sonya thanked them both for their care nonetheless.

"Thank you so much for your help." Sonya bowed to the women and walked to the train, feeling dread against her best effort.

A meeting with Alpha in the Circle was still upon her.

****

The creature that wore Jasmin’s body rolled her eyes, turning off the terminal. Seven had failed in his task. It's extremely irritating. If he could only stir up the pot enough for the Elites to take notice and arrive, the numbers could slip in and she could have stirred up the pot in Iterna, producing yet another wave of hatred against the abnormals.

Forty-Two shook her head. This was the problem with single digits. They are too confident and strong for their own good. Eight ditched anyone but his own group, sneaking in, and Seven relied on his power too much. And what’s worse, Three and her group no longer responded to Forty-Two’s calls anymore, leaving the number in the dark.

"Oh well," She sighed, "it's time to start another..."

She squeaked, trying to gasp while two strong arms grabbed her by the throat, holding her in the armchair against her will. Impossible, who… Jasmin’s eyes saw the image of the woman behind her on the display. Noemi! Forty-Two tried to snarl, reaching out and grabbing the woman by the wrists. The matriarch sent Noemi here to recover after a recent terrorist attack, and the woman was timid and afraid of her own shadow all this time. Forty-Two planned to place another number in her, but now the frail woman was choking the life out of her!

Jasmin’s body was improved, both by the doctors of the Barjoni family and later by Forty-Two herself. Making sure not to overdo and to keep Jasmin’s appearance like before, the number made her new host strong enough to dent steel with her elegant fingers. But right now, it was all in vain, she could not break the hold on her lean neck, her nails, which contained poison enough to drop a bull dead instantly, pierced Noemi’s skin, producing no effect.

"Barjonis are not afraid of any poison, Jasmin," A voice said from the terminal, while it flashed back on, revealing the image of a woman sitting on a golden throne made in the form of a snake’s mouth. The throne was placed on a small hovering dais, allowing the matriarch to tower over all newcomers in her working chamber. She was dressed in a pristine white dress that covered her from head to toes, the length of her dress covered the entire platform, falling at the edge in a round circle. The fabric of the cloth formed a crown on her head, held by a platinum tiara with a single blue stone in the middle of the tiara. A white veil fell on the woman’s face, hiding her face. The golden snake’s upper jaw loomed over the woman’s, threatening to swallow her whole, "Or should I say, number?"

"How…did…you…"

"In hindsight, it was easy enough," Cointa Barjoni replied coldly, "Only someone with your level of clearance could have arranged the theft of the experimental mechanical power armor. Then a student went missing in the city in which you live. Surano," The matriarch extended her arm, calling closer a youth in a school uniform, "Actually did good in trying to get to the bottom of his missing classmate. After the first attack, you came up with a speech, almost as if it had been prepared in advance. This got me thinking. How could our power armor get across half of a country to Azgat? Then you got too pushy in your argument with Eugenia. The Jasmin I knew was never one to be so blunt. This is why I arranged Noemi’s "rest" at your manor. During the last attack, she sneaked into your chambers, gathering all the evidence we needed," The matriarch’s voice changed, becoming softer, "Don’t worry, Jasmin. The nightmare is about to be over."

"Heh…" Forty-Two forced the body to speak further, reading to shut down the heart to spite this filth, "At least… your plans… to fund the archangel program…"

"Do you take us for a fool?" In a cold voice, Cointa asked, "We never bet on one horse alone. Archangels will never disappear, but times change and so do we. The family will simply open schools to train abnormals how to control their powers, and the government will fund them. Speaking of abnormals and their powers, Noemi, now is a good time."

Forty-Two opened her mouth, wanting to mock the matriarch before killing Jasmin, and found that Jasmin’s body no longer obeyed her will. Her eyes were open, but no urge to blink came to her. All the Number could do was to look forward at the terminal, while the host body was frozen in time, the ability to think was the only thing that Noemi left to her prisoner.

Noemi let go of her cousin and dialed an intelligence number, informing the officials of the incident.

****

"Annoying," Cointa said, turning off the display before herself with a snap of her fingers. Never before have the Numbers been able to get so high in a society. She half wanted to keep this event secret, to protect their pride from Rho’s mocking, but satiation with pride makes for poor protection. Better to allow the intelligence to do their job and find how exactly Jasmin was enslaved, even if this means enduring a tingle of annoyance, "Say your piece." She beckoned Surano to step closer to the platform.

"Will Galwich be alright?" The teen fired up his question. Cointa kept her silence until the adolescent bowed, "Grandmother." He added respectfully.

"She is awake and being treated by medics in the military hospital. I saw the video feed of her questioning, the poor thing is a mess and blames herself for what the Number was doing using her body. Even going so far as asking to be hanged for her crimes," The matriarch mocked this idea with bile in her voice, "Her legal guardian refused our offer to pay for the erasing of her memory during the time that she was enslaved." Cointa tilted her head, intrigued by the possibility. The girl knew far too much about their prototype of a new generation of power armors.

The power armor proved itself to be a work of marvel, allowing a half-starved, filled with barely working implants, girl, whose organs were failing, to match a wolf hag in combat for a while. Not to mention that the power armor worked for such a long time without any need for wireless energy. Once perfected, the military will order quite a number of these from the company… If they can keep the specs secret from Argus.

Galwich may be a victim, but knowledge of the power armor specs should not be spread. Cointa fully intended to help Galwich, but if she could just remove the possibility of this knowledge leaking to public… "Say, Surano. Would you mind speaking with Galwich later and persuading her to agree to get rid of painful memories from the previous weeks; it will be fantastic for both her mental health and..."

"Not a chance, grandmother," Surano replied sternly, making the matriarch drop the subject, "Galwich is one of my classmates. Her decision stands, and we will all do anything we can to support her."

"Speaking of your class. We gave you some freedom and your insight did prove to be of great value in solving the crisis, Surano. However, the Barjoni family has standards to uphold. You will never again fail any of the future exams, you got it?" The matriarch asked him with a steely tone, making the youth nod nervously, "Good enough. Now tell me, what mistakes did you make in the previous test? And while we are at it, tell me more about this girl with whom you are meeting. Is she from a proper family?"

****

Sonya felt her body trembling, coming out of the fortress, dressed in the bodysuit that Barjonis had gifted to her. The army had already spread across the captured territory of the Ravaged Lands, leaving just a single crawler standing in front of the main gates of Dresgen fortress. Alpha has chosen a place one kilometer away from the main road leading to the fortress and away from the prying eyes of the travelers and traders.

A small circle was made by claws in the rocky ground. Zero and Hekanta were here, the medic was sitting on a small stone, and the warlord stood near a circle on a ground. When Sonya stepped closer, two amber flaming orbs were born in a shadow of the mountain, and Alpha stepped from the shadow, getting to the circle in two heavy steps. Her every step made rocks on the ground tremble, her approach was accompanied by an ever increasing sense of dread. Sonya found herself wanting to cover and ran while Alpha loomed over her. The warlord was fully naked, save for necklaces and belts made of tied-up bones around her hips. Alpha’s mighty claws pointed at the circle.

"Stop it," Janine said, coming to them from the side of the main road, holding her axe on her right shoulder, the flame caster was installed on her left wrist. The warlord was dressed in simple cargo pants and a white shirt, wearing no boots and allowing her claws to produce sparks against the stones. The warlord came before Alpha and Sonya, looking up in the burning amber eyes with a challenge, "I will be the only one to decide if a member of my pack deserves punishment and only I will enact it."

Disobey me and next time I will release the flame. Sonya remembered the words, steading herself.

"Step aside, Janine," Alpha glanced over the warlord, looking back at the scout, "I will judge this one."

Janine moved the axe from her shoulder, splitting the ground in front of Alpha’s legs faster than Sonya’s eyes could follow. Bone necklaces and belts fell from Alpha’s body, splitting in two. Alpha returned her gaze back to Janine, breathing angrily through her nostrils. The clawed arms twitched.

"Warlord!" Sonya stepped forward, knowing all too well the might of Alpha, "Please, let me do it. The fault is mine and mine a…"

"Silence." Janine cut her off.

"Janine," Zero called, and one armored warlord looked at her, "I order you to let them do it. I swear, it will be fine in the end."

Janine looked like she was about to disobey Zero, to disobey the voice of someone who had seen the birth of the Tribe and lived to this day, gaining the ultimate position among the warlords. With something akin to desperation, Janine almost forced herself to stand aside, allowing Alpha to step into the circle, looking pleadingly at Sonya.

The scout ignored her leader. Janine and Aranea have both endured enough as it is. If she must pay with blood, so be it. She walked into the circle, almost touching Alpha’s body with her nose. Two in the tight circle. It should be impossible to miss.

Let’s just end it. Sonya made a thrust with her right arm, fully expecting the warlord to disappear before her, leaving an afterimage behind. Then the pain will follow across her back. The long claws of Alpha will almost gently caress her back, leaving torn and horrible wounds that will take weeks to heal. She will feel blood running down her spine, all the way to her knees, and at this moment she will try to turn, only to face emptiness, while Alpha will dance around her, taking her apart, touch by touch.

The scout blinked, feeling her claws scratch against Alpha’s alabaster skin. She made a thrust with all her might, not really hoping to hit, but in the end, failed to pierce this otherworldly tough hide of the strongest warlord, merely pushing the flesh in.

"Well, that wasn’t so scary, right?" Alpha walked from the circle, gesturing to Hekanta to announce her loss, continuing to move to Janine. The warlord stopped, putting both arms behind her back and smiling cruelly, "Janine. If you ever step to me next time, it is final."

"I will never let anyone else push my pack around." Janine replied, raising her axe.

Once more, Alpha moved, too fast for Sonya’s eyes, grabbing the axe’s blade with her clawed left arm and pushing the axe aside. Janine bulged her muscles, the strain in her arm tore her sleeve, while the axe kept moving to the side. Alpha looked into Janine’s eyes before forcing a chuckle.

"Since when did you find the guts to stand up to me, Jani?"

"About the same time that I saved your sorry ass from Crawler."

"Cute," Alpha's leer softened into a warm smile, "I expect you to attend the council tonight because the patrols won't arrange themselves. This is the least you can do to fix what Aranea did."

"What did the wolf hag do?" Sonya asked quickly, feeling her heart racing from relief and worry for this girl.

"Forced more work on me, that’s what," Alpha shrugged her shoulders, "Off your quarters with you. I told Sly to prepare a terminal for you to speak with your family. Go congratulate the little one for me. And then you can fuck off for the rest of your leave, Sonya. If I see you in the fortress, I will kick your ass all the way to the village myself. And one last thing. Change the bloody suit, I don’t want to see this snake anywhere in the fortress."

"Sonya," Janine said quietly, "There will be someone else who will wait for you. A duty for you, one that you can’t refuse. Know that I give you my permission."

The warlord turned her back to the scout, refusing to elaborate any further.