Lilia sang with all her might. Right away, she felt a tidal wave crashing down on her. Her body wrenched from one direction to the next, struggling to breathe. She tried to fight against it, but soon realized….

No, don't fight it. Just change it slightly. Make it your own.

Her singing changed, boarding along with the current, but Lilia had another problem. Her exhausted body couldn't handle the strain. Feeling her skin, ripping it as light poured out, spreading, devouring her.

No, this isn't what I want. But Lilia couldn't stop singing. If she stopped now, she'd be dead either way.

Then she heard drumming. Terran. Cello. Tessa. Both were in a building of some kind together, that's good. A violin. Kay. Burned bodies surrounded him. Jule was praying nearby. Dancing,  Druid. She was in a dark tunnel somewhere close. Why so close? The image was swept away as a base strummed into play. So many instruments came in one after the other. And Lilia took them all in and shaped the song, then weaving in with the Protector's raging waterfall. Instead of crashing onto the rocks below, it transformed into a river rather than a spring. Afterward, all that remained were mere drops.

Lilia felt exhilarated. She had never experienced anything like that before. She felt so connected, so, so…. But now is not the time; I must get out of here.

Lilia took off her blindfold.

Lilia opened her eyes to find the enormous Bird too close for comfort. Did something go wrong? I wasn't expecting to kill it. Besides, I could hear its heartbeat. But at least something should have happened, anything. Did that fox woman lie to me?

Lilia almost missed how still the Protector was with all those thoughts racing through my head. Not until it began to sway. Lilia could only watch as the colossal creature tinted ever closer to her with her eyes widened. "Crap, my life." Then Vulture tumbled right on top of her.

Tunnels

 "We don't need your help," Bryson answered immediately, crossing his arms. "We can get out on our own."

 "Good luck with that. Without a guide, you could get lost for days," Jared Cranes snorted. By the way, why did you let that woman live? Wouldn't she blab your secret to anyone who would listen?"

The way Jared looked at Druid and Bryson made Druid all too aware that he knew they were Lumeye. It was not surprising; he seemed to be watching for a while.

Bryson's eyes frosted over as he stepped forward. "Listen here…"

Druid stepped between them with her hand on Bryson's chest. Staring at Jared. "Whether she does or not, it's my issue, not yours." The Headmistress may have more say about letting Brit go, but she isn't here, so I will do what I want. But, Druid thought, wincing, I have left the Headmistress to Bryson to handle. Sorry, Bryson, but I won't return to my promise no matter what. "Besides, what if she does?" Druid smiled widely. "More fun for me, then."

Statson slapped his forehead with a grown.

Bryson spoke up. "I highly doubt that a girl from the lower part of Towa would be as much of a threat than, say…." He slowly looked Jared up and down. "A decorated Police Detective, perhaps?"

Statson got up. "No use arguing," Statson walked by Jared. "Tat-man, if you're done stalling, let's get moving."

 "Statson…" Bryson protested.

 "We have no guide," Statson interrupted. "And he's offering,"

 "But he didn't even tell us what he wanted from us in return," Bryson stated, with his eyes narrowed.

Statson eyed Jared. "I got the feeling he'll tell us sooner or later."

Jared held his hands out in surrender. I'll tell you later. Right now, it's best to keep moving."

Bryson came up to Statson and whispered. "I don't like this."

 "Neither do I, but we have no choice."

 "I could find out what he's hiding," Bryson wriggling his gloved fingers.

 "No, let's wait and see." Statson denied. "Besides Tat-man's trained soldier, I don't think you'll get the drop on him again. Especially when he knows what you are."

 "I reluctantly agree. He's acting casual, but he's never let us out of his sight once," Bryson confirmed, then pondered. "Maybe…"

Statson whipped his head around with surprise. "Ice boy, you caught that? I'm kind of impressed. And what the hell happened to tripping over your big head all the time? Are you the real Ice Boy?"

Bryson's eyes narrowed, but before Bryson could lash out his outrage. Jared spoke up. "Are we going to wait all day or stay here and die of lack of oxygen?"

 "Okay, okay, hold your horses," Statson growled. "Come on, it's no use molly-gallying." He followed after Jared.

Bryson was about to follow but realized that Druid was still standing, all too quiet. "Druid, are you okay?"

Druid looked off into space, then swayed back and forth. "Can't you hear that? The Wasteland's song is so beautiful. I so want to dance right now." When she saw the confusion on Bryson's face, she smiled, grabbed his hand, and pulled him along, skipping. "It's nothing important. Come on, Statson, waiting."

Druid's smile turned into a frown. The music was beautiful, but it felt like she was going against a mountain. And it had Lilia's touch all over it. "Lilia, what are you doing?" Druid whispered. She knew that her group wasn't the only one in danger. With Lilia in that state, the twins were as well. And Druid didn't like that, not one bit.

As the group walked further into the dark, dank tunnels, a pair of boots jumped down from the shadows and followed them.

***

"Watch out," Jared quickly grabbed Statson, just as his lead foot stepped on air, and promptly pulled Statson back.

"Geeze, that was too close." Statson wheezed and gave Jared a grudging look. "Thanks."

"No problem," Jared answered gruffly. "There's a path on the edge, so watch your step."

"Yes, watch your step, old man," Bryson chuckled as he strolled past.

"Bryson, "Druid scolded before stepping onto that narrow path. Beyond that was what looked like an old train tunnel. She took a deep breath. "More air, yes."

"There's a working ventilation system installed, so no worries about air," Jared replied.

"Why," Druid inquired with a tilt of her head.

Suddenly, a truck, then another, came rolling by, and instinctively, they all flattened up against the wall.

"Because of that."

"Good to know," Statson breathed.

"Stay close to the wall, and you won't be seen." As they started to move again. Jared came up to Statson. "So, how's it like to be a glorified babysitter."

"Better than having a knife in my back," Statson growled.

"Ha, ha, just saying," Jared laughed it off.

There was silence for a time when Statson broke it. "So why, why did you do it?"

"Do what exactly?" He played along.

"Don't play with me like that," Statson replied, shaking his head. You're the last person I ever thought that would have…."

"Don't even start." Jared glared. "You won't like the answer."

Druid was fed up with the situation, and she knew that Bryson had the answer." Bryson, tell them."

Bryson looked amused at the whole situation. "Tell them what?"

Druid just stared. "We won't get anywhere like this."

"Fine," Bryson sighed and mumbled. "Take my fun away." He paused. "Colten Jared Crane, age 4, missing. Birth mother Vanessa Crane, age 37, deceased…."

Before Bryson could finish, Jared rounded on him, his face red. "You fucking Lumeye, I'll kill you."

Statson was between before Jared even got close. "Stand down." Jared kept pushing. "Stand down, or I'll throw you off. Clear!"

"Clear." Jared relented.

"Good." Statson, let go. "Ice boy, tell me now."

"That vision I got from Det. Crane about that boy, remember? Of course, it could have been nothing, but I don't like leaving things unanswered, so I looked into it. The Detective didn't have any siblings, but he did have a cousin, Vanessa, who in turn had a son." Bryson shrugged. "It was still speculation, but that reaction said it all."

Druid turned to Jared. "Colten, how long did they have him?"

After a moment of silence, Jared finally broke down. "I don't know; Vanessa Crane disappeared a long time ago, but when I found out she was dead, I…." Suddenly, a shot rang out, and blood spread on his chest.

"Tat-man," Statson shouted,  struggling to keep the man from falling over the edge. "Damn't"

Druid spotted someone with gray hair disappearing in a puff of smoke. Someone he most definitely recognized.

Bryson whispered. "Talon." And that was when all hell broke loose.  

Tunnel Base

Shadow and Andres sneakily weaved through one area to the next, trying to stay in the shadows as much as possible. Still, the further they went in, the creepy bunker turned into an even creepier dungeon. There was a lot of moaning coming from every door.

Andres asked Shadow. "Do I need to ask?"

"All dead, very! Except for…" Shadow walked down the aisle, dismissing the moaning and groaning like he was strolling through the compound. Until he stopped and turned to the left. Andres followed him and looked inside. A boy, no more than four years old, was hiding underneath a cot, his hands tightly clamped around his ears and his eyes shut so tight that tears ran down from the corners. "Alive but barely, and his emotions taste like crushed chestnuts. Broken. What are we going to do with him?"

"We need to stick to the mission?" Andres swallowed; it tasted like sour grapes, regret. "And taking him along would be nothing but a liability."

"I agree. I feared you'd have some maternal instincts, but thankfully, that isn't the case." Shadow complimented, reinforcing his opinion that he and Andres were alike. Both lived in a world where sentimentality would get someone else killed. "But the question still stands. Kill him?"

Andres looked like she had some misgivings, but… "Yes." Andres agreed and nodded to the barely lucid boy; he didn't even respond to the sound of their voices. "He won't last long, and we can't just leave him there. So it's probably the most humane thing to do."

"Phantoms." He called. His Phantoms materialized. He was about to give the order, but something was nagging at him.

 "But…" Andres, too, was hesitant.

Both knew the risk of taking an unpredictable element on a stealth mission. The best thing for the boy was a merciful death. The mission should come first.

So why was he hesitating?

Then Shadow realized that it wasn't his voice that was bothering him. "Lee won't like this."

Andres, too, stilled. "Crap…neither would  the Headmistress." They stared at each other and sighed.

"Damn. How naïve."

"Very." But a smile played across her lips.

That was when all the doors suddenly unlocked, including the boy. And the moaning sounds became frenzied.

"Phantom, grab the kid," Shadow ordered, and he turned to Andres, "Take him and go! My Phantoms will take you to Stella and Rachel."

"And you?"

"I'll stay behind." Shadow expanded his shadow, crushing the Zombies against the wall. "Go now."

Andres took off running, with the Phantoms carrying the child close behind. Shadow stood still in the middle of the chaos; his mind wasn't on the Phantoms but on what appeared to be a white-haired youth standing right on the edge of the chaos, his eyes glowing. "So you decided to show up." Shadow grinned. "Finally."

Ruined City

The only sound was the enormous turkey vulture sleeping in its nest. Until filthy Lilia finally broke through, stumbled, and fell hard onto the pavement. "Victory." Her voice was hoarse.

Her whole body hurt, and her head felt fuzzy. However, she finally was free from the nest.

That was when Lilia heard clapping. At first, she thought it was the pounding in her ear, but… "Very entertaining," a voice interrupted, and Lilia stilled. Too bad it had to end." A boot came arrowing toward her face.