No one has the will to lighten up the mood or even open up a conversation because of the lingering despair everyone is feeling. On top of the fact that most of the Anomalies are missing, they're also worried about the fact that Beast claimed that he recognized his sister back there. No one knew what his talking about even Pandora. She may know some details about him but not the entire thing. He doesn't open up much about him throughout his stay in the mansion.
"Any news about the Professor and the mentors?" Glass asked.
"Nothing still." Pandora responded.
"Are we just going to ignore the fact that Beast called someone his sister back there?" Surge asked.
"Yeah. That's very disturbing." Medusa commented.
"From the looks of him earlier, it's very traumatizing on his part. I didn't see him show that much emotion before." Reaper said.
Pandora and Reaper decided to fill the rest of their team about all the information they know about Jinx Void and even Eve. The two confirmed that Jinx and Void were formerly students in the Academy just like Reaper or so they thought. They also remember that Jinx and Void already introduced Eve to them back in the Infinity Lounge as they pose her as their mother. They didn't think much of it because Eve appeared to be the typical loving mother to the both of them. The world really is small.
"Someone's in my range!" Pandora suddenly exclaimed. Everyone immediately heightened their guards just in case they'll be ambushed. "It's coming from the North."
"Do you sense who that is?" Glass asked.
"I'm still trying to. Give me a few more seconds. The energy is pretty faint." Pandora responded.
"Crap! Beast is still out cold. I don't want to carry him if we're going to bale." Surge commented.
"Wait. There's no need. It's Sprite!" Pandora confirmed.
"Sprite? I'll go fetch her!" Reaper replied then ran to where Sprite is.
"Wait. I'm coming with you!" Medusa said.
Reaper and Medusa headed towards where Sprite is with the help of Pandora. Though they're in a hurry to get to her, they're still cautious with their every step because the enemy may still show up at any time. Not too long after, they found Sprite clinging onto a tree and it surprised the both of them seeing her beaten up with her clothes drenched in blood. As soon as Sprite saw the two of them, she flashed a satisfied smile then ultimately collapsed. Reaper rushed to pick Sprite up then the three of them went back to the cave.
"We need help! Sprite is hurt." Reaper exclaimed.
"Boys, make some room." Medusa said.
"Let me check on her." Pandora responded.
"How is she? Where's the rest of her team?" Glass asked.
"She appeared to healed off her wounds herself. She just used a lot of her energy so she needs to rest." Pandora confirmed.
Pandora used the rest of her energy to get into Sprite's mind to see what happened to her and the rest of her team back in the North. At first, everything is going well with wrapping up the rescue mission even without Beast until everything went haywire once Void showed up. Void summoned a number of slim dark figures. Shiv instinctively protected Feral and Sprite as he's the most capable combatant among the three of them even though he knew that he's outnumbered.
Feral and Sprite were about to retreat and go back to the mansion until they heared Shiv's agonized screaming. The two didn't have a choice but to provide back up so they ran back to where Shiv and Void are fighting. They immediately saw a heavily injured Shiv pushing himself to fight. Feral quickly called forth the nearby wild animals using his Anomaly to ward of Void's dark figures while Sprite rushed to Shiv to heal him up as fast as she can.
However, Void's minions retaliated quickly. All the animals Feral called upon were got injured and some were even killed. Shiv continued to shooting spikes towards the enemy to do some damage but they seem to be deemed ineffective. Feral doesn't have any choice but to use his Anomaly further. Wild lions, tigers, snakes etc. came to their aid but their enemies are quick to fend them all of. The three of them knew that they won't win this fight.
"Run you two! I'll handle him and those minions of his." Shiv exclaimed.
"But you're not fully healed yet." Sprite responded.
"If we'll retreat, we'll take you with us!" Feral said.
"Don't be stupid! We'll all die if we do that. I'm older than you so follow my orders!" Shiv shrieked.
While the three are busy with their argument, Void and his minions took this chance to strike them down. They were approached by a dark figure each and they were attacked one-by-one. Feral was thrown few feet away while Shiv collapsed in place. On the other hand, Sprite attempted to grow a between her and the attacker but it wasn't fast enough. She gut kicked in the guts getting her thrown to a nearby cliff damaging her further until she reach the bottom.
Sprite's heavily injured so she instinctively healed herself using her Anomaly. She created herself a cocoon from her healing vines to heal her wounds quicker than usual. However, she assumed that the dark figure that attack will follow her still so she created the first vine cocoon on the forest ground as a decoy. She created a second vine cocoon few feet underground and that's what she got into to do her healing and to avoid the enemy.
She may closed up all her wounds but she can fully heal herself due to the lack of energy. As soon as she felt that everything is clear, she went out from her cocoon and checked her teammates. However, Feral and Shiv are nowhere to be found. Her vine cocoon on the forest ground is somehow missing as well. She then decided to go back to the mansion to seek help until Pandora sensed her and Reaper and Medusa picked her up.
"That monster!" Surge exclaimed.
"The question there is where did Feral and Shiv go? She didn't see their bodies so they're most likely aren't dead." Glass pointed.
"Maybe the other teams were attacked by the other enemies as well." Medusa commented.
"I'm hoping that they're all outside the city. That the only other reason why I can't reach them earlier." Pandora said.
"If that's the case, we must find them all." Reaper replied.
Their expressions lighten up because they got a reason to believe that the rest of them are still alive. All they need to do is find wherever they are now. If it means to comprehend Eve and her team, they believe that they're prepared to do it. Few moments later, Beast finally woke up but he appears to forgot what happened minutes before he collapsed. He doesn't remember seeing her sister in Eve's side.
"What happened? What did I miss?" Beast asked.
"What happened to you? Don't you remember what happened to you before I knock you out?" Surge asked.
"I remember Pandora sensing everyone else. Were you able to locate them now?" Beast asked.
"No. We haven't found them all yet but we have Sprite here with us." Glass responded.
"Great! We just need to find the rest, right?" Beast asked. "Why are you looking at me like that? Is there something that I need to know?"
"Nothing. That's all that's happened." Pandora was quick to respond. She then discreetly instructed everyone else to not tell Beast that he saw what he thinks is her sister earlier to keep him from the trauma.
"Do you guys have any plans on how to find them when they're all scattered in the city?" Medusa asked.
"I think the best thing to do for now is to wait and trust that they think of coming back. Let's have Pandora sense them once they're nearby." Reaper suggested.
"Pandora, we're relying on you here. Do you think can do it or you need to rest little while longer?" Glass asked.
"I think I rested enough. Thanks for the concern." Pandora responded.
"I can roam the around the perimeter so we can cover wider ground." Beast said.
"Are you sure? You just woke up, man." Surge responded.
"I'm sure. I can transform into an eagle for to get a bird's eye view of the city." Beast replied.
"Do you need company? I can search on foot." Reaper volunteered.
"That won't do, Reaper. Remember that you're one of their targets. Once they saw you, there's no telling what they'll do." Pandora pointed out.
"Pandora's right. Besides, you'll just slow me down if you tag along so it's best if I do it alone." Beast responded.
"Surge and I can go back inside the forest to scavenge something for us to eat just in case we'll stay here longer." Glass suggested.
"Great! Something to do." Glass replied cheerfully. "Let's go!"
"That settles it then. Beast sweep the area, Glass and Surge will search for food and us girls plus Reaper will stay here." Medusa said.
"Keep safe everyone. See you guys in an hour or two." Pandora commented.
The group then temporarily parted their ways to do their tasks. Everyone's still on alert because no one can tell if the Coven will once again strike but they must keep their wills together in order for them to survive. Although all of the odds are against the idea that their friends are still around, they want to believe otherwise because there's no way the Coven will dominate them when there's only five of them. In terms of combat abilities, they should be able to outpower the enemies.
"P, did you see it coming?" Medusa asked.
"What do you mean?" Pandora responded.
"You know. This situation we're currently in. Did you see it coming?"
"I expected something similar. I know you did too but not this severe. Not us knowing where the others are. Not us knowing if we're still getting through to the night. Not us being so lost and not knowing what to do."
"I just hope that everyone's safe. I don't know what I'll do if something bad happens to any of us."
"I understand your sentiments but we should face the situation headstrong. We must believe in everyone's capabilities. We must believe that the rest of them survived. They are all powerful so no one can kill them that easily." Reaper commented to lighten the mood a bit.
"You know what? You're actually right. They can take care of themselves. Let's just give them time to come back." Medusa responded proudly.
"Let's remember that Lilith is still out there. She may come off as a lone wolf but I know she cares everyone. She must've taking her time to search for the other herself." Pandora commented. Medusa and Reaper nodded in agreement.
Pandora then opened up about Blast or Nuke as what the Coven calls him. She realized that the reason why she's not able to completely read his mind before is that he is just a persona or an identity Nuke created to slither himself inside the mansion and blend in for him to leak information to those he really works for. She also told them about the limited number of facts she learned about them like what they call their group, their individual names and their Anomalies. She was quite more intrigued about the one they call Sandata because she didn't actually see she used her Anomaly and the fact she was remembered by Beast as his sister.
• Sandata = Anomalous Perk: Smith
"A Smith? Does that mean she makes weapons?" Reaper asked. "That is definitely alarming."
"I guess so. That's what I saw in her mind. They refer to her Anomaly as Smith." Pandora responded.
"She's the one Beast called his sister, right? Her Anomaly is like Beast's. She can maybe turn parts or even her entire body as a weapon." Medusa commented.
"Good idea but we can never be too sure." Reaper replied.
An hour and a half passed and the guys finally decided to go back to the cave. Glass and Surge's haul is literally fruitful and they didn't forget to fetch something to drink as they use Glass' Anomaly to make a pale to get some clean drinking water from a nearby creek. On the other hand, the only things Beast brought with him are the lifeless bodies of Pixel and Mimic while he carefully carries them in his gorilla form. The group immediately huddled around their friends corpse to mourn.
"I'm so sorry they're the only ones I found." Beast said.
"You mean you went back to the mansion?" Pandora asked.
"I went back to whatever's left of the mansion and I found them under a rubble."
"You could've been the one in danger. Did you see the Coven there?"
"I didn't. They must've fled after wrecking the whole place."
"I'm glad that you're fine."
"Pixel and Mimic are a fun duo. I can't believe they'll leave us just like this." Glass commented.
They then noticed that the two of them has a deep cut on their faces and it appears that their entire bodied rotted starting from that very scratch. They may still be recognizable but the condition they're in is very brutal. The ones who did it didn't really have even the tiniest thought of letting them survive. Sprite woke up from her rest and confirmed that they were poisoned and Pandora backed her up stating that it's most likely Eve's doing.
"We must fight back! They already killed two of us." Beast aggressively announced.
"Don't act out of anger, Beast. Let's stay calm." Pandora responded.
"Glass, I'm with Beast on this one. What's your call?" Surge asked as he's preparing himself to attack as well.
"Glass, don't be reckless. You're still the leader of this group. Think." Pandora said.
"Stop this!" Medusa unintentionally sharpened some portions of her hair and pointed them directly to Beast's, Surge's and Glass' faces.
"Medusa don't!" Reaper said as he sprung into action to nullify her Anomaly to avoid her from hurting anyone.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to." Medusa replied then run towards the corner and bawl her eyes out.
"Look. I know these are all stressing us out but please keep yourselves together. We don't need recklessness at this time!" Pandora said. "You're scaring Sprite. You're scaring everyone. You're even scaring yourselves." She added. Beast then started to walk out from the cave.
"Beast, where are you going?" Reaper asked.
"Didn't you hear what I just said, Beast?" Pandora asked with an uncommon rage in her thoughts.
"I'm sorry okay. I'm just getting some fresh air. Don't worry. I'm not dumb enough to attack on my own." Beast responded.
"I'll keep him company. I promise I won't of anything reckless." Glass said.
"Please don't. We need you to lead us still." Pandora replied.
Pandora and Beast proceeded to prepare for their meal from Glass and Surge's haul earlier while Sprite instinctively buried Pixel and Mimic using her Anomaly. Vines and branches started to emerge from the ground and slowly and safely pulled them in. Glass saw it as he and Beast went back inside. Glass then used his Anomaly to create crosses for their tombs. They all then enjoy their meal while they're all still down of what happened to their friends. All of a sudden, Pandora sensed something.
"We have company! Keep your guards up." Pandora announced.
"Where?" Beast asked.
"It's coming from the West and they're heading to the mansion fast." Pandora explained.
"How many are they?" Glass asked.
"There's three of them." Pandora responded. "Wait. It's the Professor and the mentors!" She exclaimed but she suddenly collapsed.
"P, are you alright?" Medusa asked as she rushed to Pandora's aid.
"Let's all go back to the mansion." Glass suggested.
"What about, P? We can't just leave her here." Medusa worriedly replied.
"I'll carry her. Let's go!" Beast responded.
The group eventually agreed to meet the Professor and their mentors back at the mansion's ruins. Pandora isn't wrong sensing that they were the Professor, Zythandra and Calcipher as they saw them with a devastated look in their faces after they realized what happened to the mansion and as they noticed that their students aren't around to welcome them. The three were eventually approached by the remaining Anomalies.
"What happened here? Where are the others?" The Professor asked.
"Is that Pandora? What happened to her?" Zythandra asked.
"Why do you all look beaten up so badly?" Calcipher asked.
"Professor, a lot has happened during your Summit but this isn't a good place to talk about it." Glass responded.
"What do you mean? Did you guys burn down the mansion? Why?" The Professor asked in disbelief.
"We didn't, Professor. We were attacked." Beast butted in.
"We were outplayed." Surge added.
"I can sense bloodlust. They're coming!" Pandora announced as she's fighting with her lack of energy.
"Let's just go! We're not ready to fight them all at once." Medusa shrieked as she closely holds Sprite.
"Who's coming? We'll take them on. Cal, you with me?" Zythandra claimed.
"Let's do this, Z!" Calcipher responded. They both assumed their fighting stances to prepare themselves for the fight.
"You don't understand! We're up against the Coven. I know you're strong but you're no match for them." Reaper pointed out.
"How dare you underestimate us?" Zythandra annoyingly responded.
"Anomaly or not we can take them on." Calcipher commented.
"Trust us. We need to retreat. Please!" Reaper begged.
"Mentors, let's heed their judgement. Besides, we need to know the current situation before we can effectively fight back." The Professor said.
"Fine. Weapons down, Cal." Zythandra responded.
"But where will we go?" Calcipher asked.
"Let's go back to Tabitha's orphanage. It's the safest place that I can think of as of the moment." The Professor replied. "Everyone, go inside the jet."
"How about the others? We can't leave them behind." Glass said.
"I promise we will go back and look for them but for now we need to get you to safety." The Professor responded.
"Hey! Are those people coming out of the forest the Coven?" Medusa asked. "Let's go already!"
"It's Blast! Hey, man." Calcipher greeted.
"Leave him! He's one of them." Surge said and dragged Calcipher inside the jet.
As soon as Nuke emerged from the forest and saw his former teammates, he showed a devilish smirk to probably confirm that he's not on their side. Void was the next one to emerge from forest and he immediately conjured some of his dark shadow figures to assault the Professor's jet so that they can't get away. Luckily, ANAIS is still in the jet's mainframe so she quickly started the jet and took off even before Void's dark ghoulish minions reach them.
"Destination = Gallant Africa: Ophiuchus City" ANAIS confirmed. The last ones who emerged from the forest grounds were the females of the Coven. It so happened that Beast was already in the jet before he can even notice Sandata.
Beast's expressions lit up knowing that he'll be coming back home after several years but he is still not aware of the major changes in the nation specially in his family while his gone. Before they can even relax, an outside explosion was heard and it came from the tail of the jet. Nuke happened to keep up with the jet and currently attacking them. ANAIS immediately went into it's defensive flight while Zythandra went back to the war room to fend Nuke off.
"Hold on to something! Our ride is about to get rough." Calcipher announced.
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Glass asked.
"Stay put. Z can handle him." Calcipher responded.
"Let us fight. We have a score to settle with Blast or Nuke whatever he calls himself now." Beast said angrily.
"Yeah. That fool played us all for so long." Surge added.
"Fine. Can you handle throwing your attacks at the fuselage? I'll open it for you but don't dare to fall off." Calcipher explained.
"Isn't that too dangerous?" Pandora asked.
"Let them be, P. Trust our boys." Medusa replied.
"We're on it. Let's go Beast and Surge. Reaper, stay here and keep the others safe." Glass said.
There's no time wasted as Glass, Beast and Surge headed to the fuselage and positioned themselves to attack Nuke after signaling Calcipher to open it up. Glass is mostly in charge with their defense as he put up his glass barrier in front of them but he'll attack with his sharpened glass discs when he gets the chance. Surge will do most of their attacks by throwing his shockwaves towards Nuke. Beast will be the one to give energy to Surge for him to convert it to his shockwaves. Beast will stand behind Surge and continuously punch him on his back with his gorilla arms. Due to Surge's inhumane durability, he will withstand all the damage.
"Lucky me! The big three is here." Nuke exclaimed while airborne.
"Screw you, Blast! You're a snake." Beast exclaimed.
"You are the snake! You can literally turn into one, right?" Nuke provoked. "Also, call me by my real name now. Nuke." He added.
"You'll regret crossing us!" Surge shrieked.
"Really now?" Nuke responded as he quickly propelled in front of the three and aimed his hands at them. His hands started to glow indicating that a huge explosion is coming.
"Take cover!" Glass quickly instructed Beast and Surge and they immediately hid behind the glass barrier to avoid Nuke's explosion.
Glass, Beast, Surge and Nuke's intense exchange of blows continued on for a while. Though the guys are effective in preventing Nuke from damaging with the help of Zythandra as well, they can't completely take down Nuke. The enemy appears to master his Anomaly as he effortlessly propel around while attacking. All of a sudden, Reaper showed up in the fuselage with a focused expression on his face.
"What are you doing here? Get back up there!" Beast exclaimed.
"No." Reaper firmly responded. Then, the atmosphere somewhat felt more intense.
"It's dangerous here. Find cover." Surge said.
"If you don't have a plan or even a reason for being there, I'll shoot you myself. Do you hear me, Reaper?" Zythandra said from the war room using the intercom.
"So, do you have a plan?" Glass asked calmly.
"I do." Reaper responded.
Reaper proceeded to share his plan to Glass, Beast and Surge. His goal is to nullify Nuke's Anomaly. The first part of his plan is for Surge to continue shooting his shockwaves at from the Nuke's left while Zythandra is shooting from the right. At this point, Reaper is hoping that Nuke will be forced to go to the center and for their group to have a clean view of him. This is when Beast will come in. On the second part of the plan, Beast will quickly throw Reaper towards Nuke. The closer he is from his target, the more effective his nullification can get. One that worked, Glass will catch Reaper with his glass platform and hover him back to the jet. That is his third and final part of his plan.
"Are you insane? You want to be thrown at the enemy?" Glass exclaimed in shock.
"Yes and yes." Reaper responded.
"That's too risky. Can't you just nullify his Anomaly from here?" Surge asked.
"That would be quite a challenge. I need to get closer so I can nullify his Anomaly for sure." Reaper explained.
"Decide now. We're almost at the border!" Zythandra shrieked.
"Let's do it. I'll throw you as hard as I can." Beast replied.
"That's what I want to hear. Get to your positions." Reaper instructed. "Now! We're running out of time."
As instructed, the group went to their position and prepared to execute Reapers plan. Without any more moment to waste, Surge and Zythandra started shooting so Nuke doesn't have any other choice but to propel himself in the middle of their view as expected. Beast quickly threw Reaper at him in which Reaper made sure to link himself to Nuke so he won't immediately fall. Reaper then quickly nullified Nuke's to prevent him from attacking with his explosions and making himself airborne.
"You fool. We'll both fall at this rate." Nuke said as the two of them started to fall.
"Wrong. Nice knowing you, Blast." Reaper confidently responded. He then let him go and used him as a platform to jump onto. This is Glass' cue to create his glass platform and catch Reaper then hover him back to the jet.
"Curse you, Reaper! I swear I will find you and ki-" Nuke screamed as he continue to fall hard to the ground until his words can't be heard anymore.
As soon as Reaper got back to the jet, he and the rest of his team gathered for a quick pat in the back. They didn't expect an intense turbulence the jet encountered making the four of them tipping off from the fuselage. Luckily for them that all four of them grabbed onto something before they completely fall off and follow Nuke. Panic started to be felt from the four of them specially Surge who is actually scared of heights.
"We are going to die! Tell Medusa I love her." Surge exclaimed.
"You always tell her that! Anything else?" Glass responded.
"Keep on grabbing onto something!" Reaper said.
"I will not die here." Beast muttered to himself.
"Hang on!" Medusa shrieked.
Medusa quickly saved the guys one at a time. She confirmed that Pandora sensed that the four of them are in danger so she asked her to go and help them. Zythandra then instructed Calcipher through the intercom to completely close the fuselage. After rejoicing for their success in fending off Nuke. They all went back to the rest of group to rest. The rest of their journey was awfully quiet as they remember their missing comrades and those who have fallen.
They arrived landed in Gallant Africa after sunset making it more favorable for them to travel because the evening skies make a great cover. Zythandra and Calcipher contracted another transport for them to reach Tabitha's orphanage. Their travels went peacefully as they were no unexpected hiccups along the way. As soon as they reached the orphanage, they were welcomed by Ms. Sullivan and Mr. Wazowski.
"This is quite a surprise. You came back a lot sooner than we expected." Ms. Sullivan said.
"Good evening to you all. I'll go and prepare an audience with Madame." Mr. Wazowski.
"We greatly appreciate that." The Professor responded.
"You all look like you've seen better days. Come in. Let's get you all freshen up." Ms. Sullivan commented and they all went inside the orphanage.
Other attendants helped tend their guests. Some were tasked to tend to their wounds, some were there to help with their clothes, some prepared rooms for them to spend the night in and the rest helped prepare their meal. This pampering lightens up their already beaten down souls due to their missing and lost comrades. After everything has been set up, the guests was asked to go to the dining area to eat and to meet Tabitha. Pandora doesn't have the strength to eat anymore so she went straight to her bed and call it a night.
"This visit is unexpected but I'm happy you're back." Tabitha greeted.
"It's really unexpected indeed. I apologize for bothering you and your orphanage at this time of the night." The Professor responded.
"Don't mention it. I'm glad I can help you. Besides, we're officially allies now so we should help each other the best way we can." Tabitha cheerfully replied.
"Thank you." The Professor humbly said.
"If you don't mind me asking though, what happened? Who are these promising individuals here?"
"My mansion was attacked. These are our students who survived that attack."
"What? Do you know who did it? Was it the former Grand Councilman Darius Ratcliffe?"
"It wasn't. It was another group of people who wants to gain more Anomalies. They call themselves the Coven."
"The world is very dangerous. No worries our orphanage is open for you. You can stay here as long as you like."
"Thank you very much."
"I know that you're feeling devastated and all but I just want to say that it's so nice meeting other Anomalies. I'll let you meet my kids tomorrow. I know you'll all get along well."
They continued eating their meals while letting Tabitha more aware of the details that happened to the mansion. Since most of them are too stunned to speak after everything that's happened, Glass explained to them the events occurred before they were attacked by the Coven. They shared how the strong storm hit Emerald City and how well executed their rescue mission is. Everyone agreed that its success were possible because of Reaper's impeccable strategic planning skills and Pandora Anomaly as she flawlessly relay all the information to everyone.
"I agree that Pandora's Anomaly played a huge part in our rescue mission but it's evident that it took a huge toll on her." Medusa commented.
"I'm amazed how well she effectively manage using the Mind Capsule. I remember telling her that it's just a prototype so malfunctions are inevitable but she was able to use it to amplify her Anomaly." Calcipher proudly said.
"Continuously using her Anomaly in a very long period of time and in a city-wide scale is surely taxing. Let her enjoy her well deserve rest." Zythandra said.