Vargas secured the cuffs around Giolio's wrists, the metallic clicks echoing in the small docking bay. He kept a firm grip on the chain, guiding his prisoner onto the vessel where Beirut was already seated, cradling his injured arm with a tense smile.
"How were the scientists?", Vargas asked.
"They are fine now that we caught the perpetrator. I ordered them to evacuate the station and report to the capitol for questioning."
Vargas nodded, complimenting Beirut on his swift handling of the aftermath. He dragged Giolio into an empty seat of the vessel.
As they settled into the seats, Vargas couldn't help but notice Beirut flexing his arm, testing its movement even through the makeshift bandages.
"You should really get that checked before it gets infected," Vargas said, his tone sharp but underpinned with genuine concern.
Beirut chuckled, dismissing it with a wave of his uninjured hand. "Relax, Vargas. I'll be fine—it's nothing I haven't dealt with before. Still maybe an x-ray should be fine."
They landed at the main station where the medvac units were stationed. Beirut gave a final wave, heading toward the medical unit, leaving Vargas alone with Giolio once more. Watching Beirut disappear into the crowd, Vargas's suspicions lingered. He couldn't shake the feeling that something about his colleague's injury didn't add up.
Once the medvac doors closed behind Beirut, Vargas pulled out his data tablet, glancing at the dimming sky. He texted Ajani's number, bringing up his coordinates and sending them to him. "Meet me at my place when you can," he wrote. "Got something I want to go over."
The line buzzed for a moment before Ajani's voice crackled through, relaxed as always. "Always got somethin' goin' on, huh, Vargas? Be there soon, mi bruddah."
With that assurance, Vargas nodded, his gaze shifting to the darkening cityscape outside. He tugged on the chain, signaling Giolio to follow him back to the secured vehicle.
Vargas led Giolio into his apartment, the Randir's eyes widening as he took in the spacious interior, sleek furnishings, and panoramic views of the city skyline. The alien let out a wistful sigh. "Man, if I was human, I'd sign up for your job in a heartbeat. Never havin' to worry about credits, livin' in a place like this..."
Vargas gave him a sidelong look, unimpressed. "You think this job is easy? Try dodging death every day and handling creatures who'd rather see you in pieces." He gestured to a nearby chair, a firm command lacing his voice. "Sit."
Giolio slumped into the seat, his eyes darting around the room as he tugged at the cuffs on his wrists. "You know, these cuffs are really doing a number on my skin—could've gone with a softer material," he muttered, squirming. "What if I get a rash?"
Ignoring Giolio's grumbling, Vargas crossed his arms, keeping his gaze steady as he waited for Ajani to arrive.
The doorbell rang, a deep, resonant chime that made Giolio flinch. Vargas rose, a hint of satisfaction glinting in his eyes, and crossed the room to answer it. Giolio watched, shifting nervously, his cuffs clinking softly as he fidgeted.
Vargas opened the door to reveal Ajani Gordon, who stood there with his signature grin and a rugged charm that radiated strength. The two men clasped hands firmly, exchanging a look of camaraderie built on years of shared history.
"Ajani," Vargas greeted, stepping aside to let him in. "Good to see you. I've got an Awakened guest today and could use your expertise to... extract a few details."
Ajani's eyebrows rose, his gaze flickering to Giolio, who was trying to look nonchalant. "Ah, so this is the troublemaker, eh?" Ajani chuckled.
Ajani strode forward, looking Giolio over as if appraising his worth in a fight. "You know, they told me I'd be helping out with information extraction, but no one mentioned that I'd be workin' with such a small fry," he teased, his grin wide and friendly—but his eyes glinted with something sharper.
Giolio's face shifted from anxious to downright terrified the moment his gaze met Ajani's. Recognition flooded his eyes, and he all but fell back in his chair, babbling in awe.
"Y-you're Ajani Gordon, aren't you?" Giolio stammered, his voice high and reverent. "The Ajani Gordon who escaped a Federation prison without a scratch? The one they say could flatten entire planets if he wanted to! Oh, this is a real honor, sir. A real honor!"
Ajani chuckled, crossing his arms and giving Giolio a bemused look. "Well, aren't you just the smoothest talker in the galaxy? You could sweet-talk the teeth off a crocodile, couldn't ya?"
Giolio nodded eagerly, a sheepish grin spreading across his face. "I'm just giving respect where it's due, sir! I mean, with a legend like you in the room, I'd be stupid not to try and stay on your good side."
Vargas snorted, shaking his head. "Yeah, if only you'd been half as diplomatic before breaking into secure facilities and getting a few dozen people killed, maybe you wouldn't be in this mess." He leaned forward, his voice dropping to a serious tone. "So Giolio I got some questions for you".
Giolio gulped, his bravado faltering as he looked back and forth between Vargas and Ajani. "R-right. Well, since we're all friends here… maybe I can share a little." He threw a glance at Ajani, clearly hoping for some leniency from his new hero.
Vargas crossed his arms, giving Giolio a measuring look. "So, how strong are you, really? You put up a fight back there, but I'm not buying that you're anything close to dangerous."
Ajani, raising an eyebrow, stepped forward. "Alright, let's take a look." He focused, a faint glow tracing his eyes as his vision shifted, tuning into Giolio's aura. Purple and blue wisps flickered faintly around Giolio, telling Ajani a lot with very little.
Ajani shook his head with a smirk. "His aera capacity is decent, but nothing special. If he's hiding anything, it's deep down. I can't say much more since he's still in a hide state." He turned his gaze back to Vargas, chuckling. "But trust me, this guy's not exactly a galaxy-class threat."
Giolio shrank a little under their scrutinizing stares, glancing up nervously. "Hey, hey! Give me some credit. I'm still an Awakened, you know!" he protested, but it lacked the usual bravado.
"Sure," Vargas said dryly, "an Awakened who can barely hold his own against a bullet." He leveled his stare at Giolio, whose gaze immediately dropped.
Vargas pulled his pistol from its holster with a deliberate slowness, watching Giolio's eyes widen in fear. The sound of the gun being drawn made Giolio flinch, his body instinctively trying to shrink away from the weapon.
"Activate your aura, Giolio," Vargas said calmly, his voice steady. "Now."
Giolio hesitated for a moment, but the barrel of the gun was enough to make him obey. He flared his aura, his body briefly glowing as his protective shield went up.
Vargas fired without a second thought.
The bullet slammed into Giolio's forehead, flattening against his aera-enhanced skin. Giolio's head jerked back violently, and for a split second, Vargas thought the blow had done more damage than it appeared. But the moment passed, and the bullet fell to the floor with a metallic clang.
Giolio staggered slightly, blinking rapidly.
Tears welled in his eyes, a mixture of pain and disbelief. "It hurts... damn, it hurts!" he gasped, his voice trembling.
Ajani, watching the entire scene unfold, took a moment to process. After a long pause, he grinned and shook his head. "You're a total amateur." he said, his tone both bemused and slightly mocking.
Giolio's face turned red, a mix of frustration and embarrassment. "Hey! That was— I was just—!" He stammered, but his words faltered as he realized it was pointless. Ajani wasn't wrong.
Vargas couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh, though it was laced with a touch of annoyance. "If you're going to act like an assassin, you might want to learn how to handle a simple bullet." He gave a short, cold laugh. "That was barely a scratch."
Vargas turned his attention to Ajani, curiosity etched across his face. "So? How did he perform?" he asked, his tone low and measured, as he looked over the crumpled form of Giolio. The Awakened had clearly been rattled by the test, but Vargas still wanted to know what Ajani's expert eyes had to say about his potential.
Ajani leaned back in his chair, folding his arms as he observed Giolio for a moment longer. "He's got decent aera capacity," Ajani said thoughtfully, "but his output? It's incredibly low." He shook his head slightly as if to emphasize his point. "That's not something you just fix overnight. It takes serious training to improve that, and from the looks of it, he hasn't done any."
Giolio stared at Ajani, his face showing a sign of confusion.
Ajani gave him a brief, patient look. "Capacity is how much aera someone has in their body to begin with. It's like your energy reservoir—how much you can hold. The bigger your capacity, the more aera you can store." He paused and looked at Giolio, who was still nervously rubbing his wrists. "But output? That's how much of that aera you can release at once, and how fast. It's the difference between being able to hold a gallon of water versus being able to shoot it out in a firehose stream."
Vargas nodded, understanding beginning to dawn on him. "So, Giolio's got the potential, but he can barely use it?"
"Exactly," Ajani said, his tone a little more serious now. "Most Awakened develop their output alongside their capacity, but Giolio didn't bother to train his. He most likely awakened with that aera capacity, and slacked off. It is quite high when you first awaken, and you could easily get drunk on power".
Vargas gave Giolio a pointed look. The Awakened was sitting with his hands still cuffed, his face flushed with embarrassment and nervousness, but his eyes were shifting between the two like a caged animal, clearly afraid of what might come next.
"So, this means he's just a low-tier Awakened," Vargas mused aloud, crossing his arms. "With that much capacity, he could have been something more, but he's just... wasting it."
"Yep," Ajani said with a half-smile. "Just another case of someone with potential, but no discipline. Could've been a real threat if he had any drive or focus." He shook his head. "Not that it matters now. He's more of a nuisance than anything else."
"Well this nuisance managed to apparently injure Sebastian Beirut", Vargas said, a hint of disbelief in his voice.
Ajani, who had been about to take a swig of a drink he had grabbed from Vargas' fridge, froze mid-motion. His eyes widened slightly, and for a brief moment, he looked at Vargas as though he hadn't heard him correctly. "Wait. What?" Ajani's voice was sharp, laced with surprise. "Sebastian Beirut? Injured by this clown?"
Vargas nodded slowly, still processing the strange situation. "Yeah, Beirut got hit pretty hard by some enchantment trap Giolio set up. His arm was pretty banged up. Not sure how, but it happened."
Ajani sat back, staring at Giolio for a long moment, as if re-evaluating the entire situation.
Suddenly, he burst out laughing clutching his stomach as this whole situation was big joke.
"Vargas,man, you have sum great jokes there. Beirut a tough man. I met him a few times, and he a bit stronger than you, Vargas. No way this fassy would've done anything to him."
Giolio, who had been sitting in silence, visibly shrank at the mention of Beirut's name, but also seemed a little more relieved. He mumbled, "Well, you see, it wasn't exactly me who did it. It was more like a trap. I didn't think it'd work, but—"
Ajani laughed even harder at Giolio's comment, tears streaming down his face.
"'Im wouldve injured imself more dan by yu", Ajani croaked out, his accent spilling out as he could barely contain his laughter.
Vargas mulled over Ajani's words, nodding slightly. It made sense. Beirut was no slouch. The idea that Giolio, a low-tier Awakened, could manage to injure someone like him seemed far-fetched at best.
There were no other Awakened in the facility, Vargas had already confirmed it. The idea that Beirut hurt himself seemed the most plausible, but why?
"Thanks for your help, Ajani. I got some answers I needed."
"No-heh- problem, my friend. Is that all you needed?", Ajani asked, recovering his composure.
"Yea, my magic vision is not that good compared to yours. I just needed some confirmations", Vargas answered, reaching out his hand.
"Looks like you too need some training, my friend", Ajani chuckled, shaking Vargas' hand.
"Hmph, I'll definitely take care of that".
"See ya, my friend. Come visit me some time, I gotta place here", Ajani waved goodbye heading to the door. "Thanks for the laugh".
As Ajani left, closing the door behind him, Vargas stared back at Giolio a serious expression written across his face.
"Now what shall we do with you?"
Giolio's eyes widened in fear as he realized the gravity of Vargas's words. "Wait—wait, you're gonna make me help you?" His voice cracked as he began pleading, his hands still bound by the handcuffs. "Please, man! I've already been through enough! I—I didn't mean for things to go this far! I'll do anything, just don't—don't hurt me!"
Vargas stood in front of him, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. He let the silence hang in the air for a long moment, watching Giolio squirm with increasing desperation.
Finally, Vargas spoke, his voice calm but firm. "You'll help me track down a Null. There's a girl—Emilie, I believe. You'll tell me everything you know about her and whatever information you gathered during your little... infiltration."
Giolio's eyes darted nervously as he processed the situation. His face paled, and for a moment, it seemed like he might try to back out. But the weight of Vargas's gaze—unwavering and intense—made him realize that there was no escaping this.
"Okay! Okay! I'll talk! Just please, don't... don't hurt me!" Giolio gasped, his voice shaking as he lowered his head, a nervous bead of sweat rolling down his forehead.