Fugitive Room, Ritual House. Hubyei Settlement.
A man in orderly fashion traversed the busy hallways of the ritual house and took an elevator down a couple of levels. To some visitors of the ritual house, they wouldn't expect a settlement to have buildings with elevators. Not since the cataclysm that overtook the planet almost decades ago. However, this settlement was making progress. Surviving by the day!
Down the two levels, he took a left turn towards the hallway from the exit of the elevator and came to a large room. An observation room where he had several doctors watching people who sat opposite room in restraints. The only thing separating them was thick polycarbonate glass. Surprising how they got it though. These were fugitives and with everyone around, it was shocking to see a prime lord, the leader of a sector, in restraints. It was troubling.
"Get me a room with him please," the man said, pointing to Haka. The doctors bound the prime lord in restraints, only able to stand and watch around his seat.
"Yes sir," his company responded and shuffled into the large room. Haka seemed lifeless as if they had taken away his life from him. His son was his life. The only life left in him. The company carried Haka from his restraints and took him next door to an interrogation room, where Arlo gazed over the settlement.
"My lord, thank you for joining us!" the man spoke.
"Nusk?" his jaw dropped. Haka lingered his gaze as if he'd seen a ghost; he probably hadn't seen the man for years who apparently was the relative to the magistrate.
"Arlo Nusk to be exact, yes," he laughed. "I presume we met before."
"Yea, when we told you to quit with the shenanigans from Kerosena!" Haka almost fainted when he saw Arlo. Arlo was the rival of the Magistrate, but most of the people in the settlement cherished him. He was family to the council, and they perceived him as royalty.
"That wasn't that big of a deal," he shrugged. "We rescued a whole settlement that day,"
"Yet we lost up to half of those in the settlement," Haka scoffed, jerking around his restraints. "To me, that's not rescue, but a mission failed."
A pause stalled the moment as Arlo completely ignored what Haka had just told him. "I'm sorry about your son," Haka looked up at Arlo with a daunting look, but his mind lingered upon the restraints. If he somehow got out, Arlo would've probably died.
"Cooldown, Haka. He's not dead, he's just asleep until his abilities can develop further," Arlo explained.
"Shouldn't he then be at home, either resting or something?" Haka said while sparks flew out his body.
"That's dangerous, those abilities might cause havoc in this settlement," Arlo said. "And with whatever is outside the gates, we don't want havoc!"
"But that's my son," Haka said.
"Haka, listen. You don't want havoc in this settlement," Arlo reasoned, "surely you know what I'm talking about."
"You know who I am right?" Haka almost chuckled. "You ever heard of the Angel in Peril?"
Arlo chuckled in a pause before he continued. "My father never was as hard as you were, except it was on himself. He wanted more abilities as fast as he could get them. He didn't want to rest and oblivion took him out,"
"Oblivion?" Haka scoffed.
"Look, all we're doing is to keep people safe, but they all don't see it, the council, the magistrate, whoever!"
"The magistrate dedicated this house to training the future protectors of this settlement!" Haka argued.
"I only know what's best for this settlement," Arlo roared. "Father's delusions only made this place more vulnerable, but I'm here to change all of that."
"To change what?"
"Let's just say the magistrate isn't qualified to protect us any longer," Arlo explained, but retracted.
"This settlement has been safe this whole year,"
"Yea, because of the hibernation period!" Arlo said. "Those things, need time to correlate before they prepare a new attack, if that happens we're ready."
"How do you know that?"
"Hello! I'm smart. I've been outside, just like you," he laughed.
"You and I are never alike, Arlo!" Haka said.
"Alright, I've tried my best. Take him back to the room," he ordered his company before Haka protested.
"What? I'm a prime lord, I have duties!" Haka said.
"We have an incumbent in place, soon you'll appreciate my efforts," he approached Haka and grinned. "For the good of the people, of course,"
Haka jolted around his restraints and after an attempt to blast the entire room to ashes, his flames retracted because of the restraints. "What is this?"
"We can make sure, no havoc takes place!" Arlo explained with a heavy grin. "Take him away,"
The company took Haka back to the fugitive room and locked him back to his seat. As Arlo left the room, he gave Haka a friendly gaze and a nifty wave. Haka gritted his jaws together, waiting for the moment the restraints would leave him. He would destroy Arlo with ease if that was the case. The observation room in front of the fugitive room, the caretaker of the house, walked in to acknowledge Arlo in the room.
"My lord, very unexpected to see you here," the caretaker spoke.
"Yes, very. What have you found so far?" Arlo spoke. The two were working on some project, some would consider hypocrisy.
"We're getting very close to the research results," the caretaker replied.
"Can't we go any faster?" Arlo smiled and whispered. "Time is of the essence,"
"We can't go any faster. These skills require time and effort," the caretaker spoke. "Time that can lower if we apply meditation."
"Ugh, alright. Get things done, we can finally get this place to ourselves," Arlo spoke before he left the observation room and out to his new duties.