Volcan could not get out of bed that day…

He did not feel well… He hadn't for some time now. Every day, his head ached. His body felt weak, his muscles ached, and he felt queasy. It had been carrying on for days, and today was when it had hit its worst.

Before the snake had left for the day, he'd commented that Volcan had felt colder than he normally did; still warm to the touch, but not as warm as he should have been. Volcan tried to assure his lover that this was normal for a sick phoenix, but Ordagova of course knew he was trying to lie for his sake; one could not lie to a telepath after all.

Eventually, Ordagova headed downstairs to open his business, promising to check up on Volcan later that day. He'd offered Volcan some medicine before he'd left, but even the phoenix didn't know what would help. He didn't know of any pharmaceuticals that worked on one of his kind; they were designed for the biology of ordinary people, not for elementals. So, all Volcan could do was try to sleep… But that was proving impossible.

Every throb of his head made him want to throw up, but there was nothing in his stomach to lose. He could barely move enough to hang his head over the side of the bed, ensuring that if he should start heaving, he didn't make a mess on the sheets. His breaths came in ragged gasps, and he had to keep his eyes closed as his vision was swimming and made his nausea worse.

'I can't remember the last time I was ever sick like this,' he said, 'Usually only the cold makes me feel this way… What is happening to me?'

Had he picked up something from their attack at P.A.C.E's headquarters? No, surely, Avory would've picked up on that by now when he analyzed Volcan's blood… Or, would he? Did the same kind of blood tests work on Phoenixes the way they did on mortals? 'Should have asked my mom,' he thought, absently. How could it be that he was a Phoenix, and yet knew so little about his own biology, he scolded himself…

He let out a groan as he shifted on the bed, trying to find a comfortable position, trying to relax to no avail. 'By the ancestors, it feels like I'm dying…' he thought, and then tensed as he feared Ordagova might've heard his thoughts… He hoped not. The last thing he wanted to do was make his boyfriend worry about him more than he already-

Volcan's body spasmed suddenly, sharply raising himself from the bed before falling back on the mattress again. His eyes shot open, alarmed by the sudden, involuntary motion… Then, he felt it; a sensation, deep in his core, like something expanding inside his body. He pushed himself up on his hands, breathing harder, wanting to demand aloud what was happening but his heavy breathing stole his words.

'What… What's happening?!' he demanded in his mind, 'It feels like something's… Clawing its way out of me!'

He felt the psychic touch of Ordagova then, but he could not hear his lover's mental voice… Something else was talking in his mind. The voice sounded distant, yet at the same time reverberated through his head with a deafening report, drowning out Ordagova's voice. The feeling of pressure in his core continued to grow, and when he exhaled… Flames erupted from his beak.

He threw his hands over his beak, trying to hold his mouth closed. But it was futile; the pressure grew until it threatened to cause him to erupt like a plugged geyser. The flames gushed out between his fingers as he exhaled, and he could no longer take a breath.

His hands were forced away as fire erupted from within him, exploding from his open mouth as he screamed in pain. The flames began to catch, igniting Ordagova's furniture as the phoenix screamed. The smoke detector began beeping immediately, and the fire continued to pour forth…

Then, suddenly, he felt a jolt of electricity surge through him; he didn't know where it came from, but it was powerful enough to make his body go rigid and send him collapsing back onto the mattress. All the while, the upper floor apartment continued to burn…

~~~~~

“Get out! Leave everything and get out!" The snake man shouted as he ushered as many people as possible out of the door, making them leave their belongings behind; some still ignored this and collected what goods they brought with them before hurrying out of the door, but they left regardless. Once it seemed everyone was moving towards the exit, the snake-man hurried up the stairs behind the bar, trying to reach out to Volcan in his mind but the thoughts suddenly went dark.

Ordagova felt the warmth of fire radiating from around the corner as he dashed up the stairs and buzzed with electricity which eventually died. Turning the corner, he could see the red-hot devastation unfolding before him.

He had planned for this; he reached over to the sink beside the door, grabbed the faucet and ripped it off, letting water pour out like a fountain in the room, attempting to douse what it could.

A wall of fire still surrounded the bird, but this did not stop the snake as he hurried across the apartment, shielding his face from the fire with his arms, and scooped up his fallen phoenix from the bed; he winced as he felt a short shock course through him, but it was not enough that it could bring him down.

Cradling his lover in his arms, he held him close as he continued over the burning mattresses and into the back of the flat, finding the tiled bathroom behind. There was a small window to the back alley; small enough for someone to climb through but impossible for two bulky men to escape through at the same time. The snake smashed it with his tail; the glass going everywhere. His tail then grew; redoubling in size as to become a naga; ripping the seams at the back of his trousers and using the additional length and girth to destroy the frame of the window and the wall around it; the wood and glass splintering into his scalies.

The hole was now big enough for him to carry Volcan through, carrying him forth into the alley behind; he slammed his tail against the toilet and sink as he left, smashing them and letting the water spray everywhere before throwing himself around Volcan to protect him from the water.

They tumbled out of the building; with the naga coiled around the phoenix, he was safe from the fall. The two hit the pavement hard, with Ordagova grunting in pain as the jolt. Fortunately, he was unharmed and hurriedly unwound himself from Volcan to check him.

That was when he felt a cold hand on his shoulder. “Leave him to me!" A robotic voice stated; even with the electronic distortion, he knew the voice. “Put yourself out!"

Ordagova followed Avelyn's instructions, reluctantly moving away from Volcan and leaving him in Avelyn's hands before reverting to his anthropic form. He ran into a clear and open space on the concrete to stop, drop and roll to put out the fire that had caught his clothes, previously unnoticed due to his adrenaline until Avelyn had mentioned it.

At the front of the building the Red Lighting had smashed a fire hydrant on the corner of the street and was deflecting water at the building, trying to douse the flames through the broken windows above after confirming Volcan had been extracted and wouldn't be harmed by the water; he had seen in the feed of his sentinel device that the phoenix had been taken out of the burning building by Ordagova. Avelyn also confirmed both were out and alive; all Avory could do was continue to deflect the water until the firemen appeared to take over.

Unfortunately, Red Lightning was not equipped for firefighting, even when he tried to plan and prepare for an accidental outbreak by Volcan's hand. The Temple of Tikal shone brightly that night. But the fire department was on their game, and soon he heard the sound of approaching sirens, getting louder by the second.

Another car pulled up first, brakes screeching as the car passed the bar and swerved to block incoming traffic from coming toward the bar while leaving an opening for the fire trucks. The vehicle was a police cruiser, with all lights flashing and sending red and blue dancing across the nearby buildings.

Out of the car hastily emerged a familiar purple dragoness, who diligently stayed focused on her job to report her arrival to the scene and relay information even as she sent Avory a telepathic message that only he could hear.

'Avory! What happened?' she asked.

'Volcan coughed up a fireball!' Avory projected back to her, 'He, Ordagova and Avelyn escaped behind the building. There's a lot of energy in Volcan building up. I could not see it until now!'

'Is anyone hurt? We have paramedics on the way,' she added.

'Ordagova was on fire. Volcan has been tazed to stop him from doing more damage. Avelyn is tending to both'

'...I should ask how Volcan got tazed, but that can wait; here comes the truck," she said.

A horn blared as, up the street, a fire truck raced across the intersection, cars parting to make room for it. It slowed to a stop by the fire hydrant Avory was using, and the crews hastily climbed out to begin setting up their hoses. Due to having damaged the hydrant he was using, two firefighters dragged the feed hose to another hydrant across the street, hooking it up there before two more began to spray water over the burning building.

More vehicles, one after the other, arrived on the scene. Police blocked both sides of the road, and an ambulance parked by the curb, the paramedics aboard ready to assist when they were needed. With the situation on its way to being under control, Obsidian reached out to Ordagova, feeling for his mind until she located him, and established a telepathic link with him as she had for Avory.

'Ordagova. Are you okay? Avory said you were on fire,' she asked.

Ordagova's mind was incoherent and unresponsive, the same thoughts ran through it to focus on the telepathic chatter around him, 'Volcan! Volcan! My phoenix… are you alright? Please be ok. Please, pull through! Come back to us.'

Behind the bar, Avelyn and Ordagova kneeled over the phoenix, lying prone in the alley, a good distance away from the burning building in the backdrop. Avelyn had climbed out of her suit to get closer to her friend, reading a pulse from his neck and feeling a beat from his heart.

Ordagova, clothes entirely singed, cupped his lover's cheek, gazing down at him pleading with tears filling his ducts, waiting. But Volcan remained unconscious and didn't respond to his lover's touch. The phoenix's mind was also an incoherent mess… It was like he was having a nightmare, even unconscious. His breathing was hard and ragged, and occasionally his limbs spasmed, but he remained unconscious, and his body was colder than it should've been…

But suddenly, while Ordagova touched him, he had to pull his hand away as Volcan's cheek became very hot spontaneously. At the same time, Avelyn felt a similar heat from where she touched the phoenix on his neck, and she had to pull away hastily.

“Owww!" Avelyn squawked as she flicked her hand in the air to cool it off, “I know he's a phoenix, but he's never burned me before…"

“He'sss not well… he'sss not well at all…" Ordagova moped helplessly beside him, before looking down at the phoenix's hand beside him, reaching down and grasping it. It was hot, but he ignored the pain. He wanted to hold him, make sure that Volcan knew he was there for him.

'Guys… What's happening over there?' Obsidian asked, still occupied with what was happening out front, but checking in with Avelyn and Ordagova.

'His body temperature is dropping, but he's now hot to the touch.' Avelyn replied to Obsidian, 'He's never felt hot to touch before.' she clarified.

There was a sense of alarm from the dragoness before she spoke again. 'Wait… He burned you?' she asked.

'He is unconscious, but yes; His body just burned us.' Avelyn confirmed.

There was a brief silence from Obsidian before she spoke again. 'Volcan told me once that's a defense mechanism,' she said, 'But it shouldn't burn someone unless he sees them as a threat or just doesn't like them… There's no way he should burn either of you.' Another moment of silence before she spoke again. 'Damn it… I can't step away from this, but I need to see him as soon as possible; something's very wrong. Avelyn, don't touch him again unless you're in your armour.'

She then directed her thoughts to Ordagova, and the naga sensed that her next words were for him alone. 'Orda… I know it's hard to ask this of you; I know how you feel about Volcan. But whatever you do, you have to stay away from him until we figure out what's happening, for your own safety. I promise, I will do everything I can for him as soon as I'm able.'

“You don't underssstand… I need to be here…" the snake hissed, wincing as he gripped that hot iron of a hand, even as it sizzled.

'I do understand… But something is happening to him right now that we don't know. Until we understand more… He's dangerous,' she then expanded her telepathic message to include Avelyn and Avory. 'For the time being, take him to my house. Watch him closely, and maybe call Lighris; he deserves to know what's happening with his brother… Maybe he'll know something we don't.'

'Mine is better. Out of the way of civilians. More resources there to look after him.' Avory replied as he left the firefighters to do their job and flew over the burning building to the alleyway behind, finding his sister climbing back into her Blue Lightning suit.

The Red Lightning reached down to the snake-man, pulling on his arm in an attempt to pull it away from Volcan's hand, “You need to let go of him; he's burning you!"

“No! I will not let go!" Ordagova hissed, fighting back.

“LET GO!" The mech shouted again, continuing to tug.

The two fought against each other before the Lightning delivered a small shock to Ordagova, making him go numb and lose his grip. Avory did not feel good for doing so, but he knew it was necessary; they needed to help Volcan however they could, and they couldn't do so there. With Ordagova no longer stopping them from taking Volcan, Avelyn quickly took Volcan, lifting him against the front of her armour, before blasting off into the air and towards the direction of the mountains.

Avory watched the pair escape before turning back around to the snake on the floor, holding his hand; palm smoking and blackened. “We need to get him to safety… You can come with us when you are able, but I think you need to wait here with the police, and then join us when you're done," Avory spoke calmly. “You know where to find us."

Ordagova remained silent. Simply staring at his smoking hand, collapsed on his knees, deaf to the sound of the inferno behind him. He sensed Obsidian calling out to him multiple times, until eventually - as the fire lessened, the dragoness came around to the alleyway where she found him.

“Ordagova?" she asked, approaching the broken man. She saw his suit vest and shirt, singed, and blackened, with patches of it burning away to expose the sooty black scales that covered his body. His tail was bloodied and limp; shattered glass and wooden splinters peppering it from when he had used it as a brace to break through the window. His shoulders slouched. His head hung low. Tears fell into his scorched palm, but they were not tears of pain…

Obsidian knelt before him, putting her hands on his shoulders and holding him gently. “It will be okay," she promised, speaking in a whisper so that only he could hear her as a few other officers came into the alley. “We're going to help him. We'll find out what's happening, and we will fix it."

Gently, she brought Ordagova to his feet and assured her coworkers that she would take care of him. With that, she started leading him out of the alley, followed by the other officers who inspected the area as they went along. “We better get you to the medic… You'll have to answer some questions too, but those can wait until after we get you checked. Okay?"

The snake still did not vocalize a word, but his mind began to clear, sensing a reluctant agreement, but still overwhelmed with thoughts of his lover…

~~~~~

After the night's events, Korban didn't feel like doing much of anything that evening. His fight with Avory was still fresh in his mind, and the argument that followed with Tsumé still hung over him like a dark cloud. He still felt betrayed by Brent and abandoned by Kieran - who had yet to report in and thus far refused to answer the text he'd sent.

All in all, the husky felt horrid… He sat in a chair in the RV, fuming… mulling over the events of the days leading up to this moment, and eventually that anger started to turn into depression as he leaned back in his chair, looking up at the ceiling absently.

“…Back at square one…" He muttered in a solemn tone, sighing heavily as he realized that once again, he was alone. He was used to it by now, having been alone for most of his life, but with this loneliness also came the sting of being backstabbed by those he tried to place his trust in.

He frowned heavily as that thought entered his mind. “Screw them." He said with a growl, sitting upright and looking at his wrist terminal sitting on the workbench. “Who needs 'em anyway? I've managed on my own up till this point, I can do it again." He further went on, standing up and approaching the workbench.

“If the kid won't help me, then I'll just reprogram this thing from scratch… Can't be that hard if a college egghead can pull it off…"

Just as Korban reached for a screwdriver to get to work… His hand shuddered. A creeping chill coursed through his body like electricity, making his fur stand on end in multiple places, as well as an overwhelming sense of dread. Something within him was reacting to something; he'd felt it happen before, and he knew what it meant…

Something very evil, and very powerful, was nearby… Something that made his blood react, like a primordial instinct warning him of potential danger.

“That's…. A feeling I haven't felt in a long time." Korban muttered with a shaky breath. His gaze drifted toward the back of his RV, getting a sense that the feeling of dread and danger was coming from that specific direction.

“Whatever that is, it's close." He muttered, steeling his nerves and grabbing his terminal, sliding it onto his forearm. “Tech can wait. This is an urgent matter."

Korban then hit the switch to open the back door, grabbing his guns and sword before mounting his motorcycle and powering it on. After a few revs, he zoomed out of the RV and onto the open road, riding at close to top speed toward the source of that dreadful feeling…

~~~~~

Avory had called ahead to the mansion to let Tsumé and Kyle know that he and Avelyn were coming back, and Volcan was with them. Kyle was by the garage door, having opened it for them and waiting for their return when they came down. The fire phoenixes' defensive powers were still trying to burn the armoured Avelyn as he carried him, but her suit was insulated enough that the heat did not creep through to the armour's pilot.

Tsumé was in the garage as well, having prepared a table with a fire-retardant blanket draped over it where they could lay Volcan down. But she couldn't keep the shock off her face when she saw the fire phoenix being carried in by Avory. Her hands rested on either side of her beak as she stifled a gasp, her brown eyes wide with alarm.

“Mon dieu… What happened?" Tsumé asked Avelyn as she followed her brother in.

“He caused a fire at Ordagova's. We knocked him out so he doesn't accidentally do it again…"

“Am I crazy, or do his feathers look darker than usual?" Kyle asked, studying Volcan closely, but wisely not touching him - Avory had already warned him that the phoenix was burning anyone who touched him.

“They are, and I don't know what's causing it," Avory replied, laying the big bird down on the table Tsumé had prepared. “His M.A.N.A levels are still increasing…" he replied, looking down at Volcan briefly again before heading over to his workshop, “A.V.I. pause all subroutines non-essential to your function and scan Volcan for all data you can gather."

“Should I call his brother?" Tsumé asked.

“He's already on his way over. We called him on the flight back," Avelyn assured her, reaching out to Volcan to feel his heart rate again through the metallic palm of her suit, “Heart rate is higher than normal…"

Aside from occasional spasms, Volcan had not moved a muscle since they had retrieved him at Ordagova's. He remained comatose, breathing heavily, and despite burning anyone who touched him - without protection, his body remained colder than normal. Aside from the reactive nature of his body's natural defences, he was showing all the signs of fighting a terrible fever, as far as anyone could tell…

“Tsumé, you ever seen anything like this before?" Kyle asked as the earth phoenix.

“No… I mean, I saw my sisters get sick a few times, but all that did was make them tire quickly, and at worst maybe a little catatonic. But they never suffered anything like this," she replied with a shake of her head.

Avory returned from the workshop, still suited in his armour but holding a syringe. He walked over to the burning bird and held his arm down on the table, keeping it still just in case he spasmed; and pressed the tip in. It melted upon contact.

“Fuck… I've got nothing to extract any blood from him," Avory cursed, pulling away the molten heap of surgical metal before having another thought, “Maybe there's some sort of moisture in his mouth I can collect for DNA…"

“Like a swab?" Kyle asked. “How will you do that without it burning?"

“I have some tricarbotanium around that I make the suits out of… I should have something small enough just to use as a dipping stick or something," he announced, heading back to the workshop to find his composites.

Only seconds after Avory left, Volcan suddenly jerked, gasping sharply as his eyes shot open. He sat up, and then swooned as his vision swam, about to fall over again. Reflexively, Tsumé ran over to him and caught him before he fell before Avelyn had a chance to stop her.

“Whoa! Volcan, easy! You-" she trailed off, realizing that her hands were on the phoenix… He was shirtless, and her hand was making contact with the bare feathers on his back as she supported him. But something was missing.

Tsumé pulled back her hands to look at them once Volcan was sitting upright on his own, a puzzled expression on her face. “Hey… He didn't burn me," she said and then turned to look at Avelyn, questioningly.

“His temperature levels are dropping… M.A.N.A still rising," Avelyn commented, seeming surprised, looking between the two phoenixes. “But he didn't burn you? Why is that when even Ordagova could not touch him?"

“Burn? Dropping?" Volcan repeated, his voice raspy. “Wha… What're you talking about?" His eyes widened as he realized he was in unfamiliar surroundings, turning his head to take in the garage around him. “Wha-... Where are we?" he asked, confused.

“You're in my garage," Avory called over, still in his suit as he walked back from the workshop, “we had to incapacitate you…"

“Incapac-" Volcan began to say, but suddenly trailed off, his eyes growing wide with realization as his memories came back to him in a flash. “The bar… Ordagova's home… I… Oh no, is he okay?! Did I-?!"

“Volcan, don't panic," Kyle cut in, his authoritative voice cutting across Volcan's frantic questions before they could continue. “Ordagova's okay. But you need to explain what happened," he urged in a more level tone.

“I… I don't know how to explain it," the phoenix began. “I was lying in bed… I've been sick all day, but out of nowhere, it felt like something was trying to claw its way out of me. I felt my powers… They went out of control; I couldn't stop myself…"

Then, he lifted his head, looking around the room puzzled. “Orda? Is that you?" he asked. “Wh-Where are you?"

“Uh…" Tsumé started, looking confused at Avelyn. “What's he talking about?"

“Is he reaching out to you telepathically?" Avelyn looks at Volcan curiously, “What has he said?"

“I… I can't understand him. His voice… Sounds so far away…" replied Volcan, putting a hand on his head. “But… There's something else wrong… It's like-" he suddenly tensed, and before their eyes, his feathers darkened again, becoming nearly the colour of blood before reverting to what they were before.

Then, the phoenix began shaking uncontrollably, crossing his arms over his chest and holding himself as he stared off into space. “Th-That's… That's not Ordagova…" he said, turning slowly to look at his friends. “Guys… There's someone else, talking in my head!"

“What do you mean by 'in your head'? Not another psychic?" Avory asked, growing more concerned by the second.

“No, this isn't like that… It's like there's another mind inside my head, speaking to me," replied Volcan, grasping his head again in horror. “They're… Saying what they intend to do to you all… That they mean to make me suffer…" he looked slowly at Avory. “What's happening to me?!" he asked, frantic.

No one offered him an immediate answer. No one knew what to tell him… The room became silent for a long, uncomfortable moment.

“That's it; I'm calling 'Sid," Tsumé stated, pulling her phone out of her pocket and dialling.

Avelyn reached around the scared phoenix, hugging him close against her metallic body, trying to comfort him as best as she could like a mother to her nightmare-ridden child.

The Red Lightning suit stood up sharply, and through the speaker, they heard the occupant let out a groan of disbelief as an alert came up; “Fucking hell, Korban! Not now!"

“What's the matter?" Kyle asked, looking at Avory.

“Korban is coming back!" Avory explained as he walked back up to the open garage entrance, “This is not the time for more bloody threats!"

“Why would he return now? That doesn't make any sense," stated Kyle, before shaking his head. “Shit - we don't need this right now."

At that moment, the roar of an approaching engine was heard. But it wasn't Korban's motorcycle; the husky was still too far away. Peering out the garage door, the group saw an old pickup truck racing up the lane toward the house. The truck swerved into the driveway, before coming to a screeching halt in front of the garage door, filling the air with the acrid smell of burning rubber.

With the truck in park, Lighris threw open the door and scrambled out, running through the garage door to the others. “Bro!" he called out.

Volcan looked up at the sound of his brother's voice. “Lighris? How did you know where to find me?"

“Avelyn called me," Lighris replied, “She told me about Ordagova's place and… What the fuck happened to you?" he asked, looking closely at Volcan: “Why do your eyes look like that?"

“My eyes?" Volcan asked.

Curious, Avelyn turned Volcan's face toward her, and she could see into his eyes, knowing immediately what was wrong. Volcan's eyes had changed colour… They had become heterochromatic, with the left eye having turned completely purple, and the other - still blue, but darker, not the usual sky blue they normally were. His eyes were also bloodshot, as if to show signs of irritation but he had not mentioned anything about it.

“What the…" Avelyn muttered in her suit, letting go of Volcan to get a closer look, reaching up with two fingers to pull open his eyelid to get a closer look. “Can you see all right? Anything different with your sight?"

“N-No, I can see fine," he replied. “What's going on?"

“Your eyes are changing colour," Lighris replied. “One of them's purple."

“How's that possible?" Volcan asked. “Is it… Because of what's happening to me?"

Tsumé put down her phone then. “Obsidian said she's still at work; she's trying to get in touch with her captain to leave for a family emergency but they're still dealing with the fire downtown. She did say she called Rikyuu; he should be here soon."

“Why would she call Rik?" Lighris asked, warily.

“Probably because if Volcan loses control again, Rikyuu's the only one who could survive getting near him," replied Tsumé. “He copied Volcan's powers, after all."

“He's not going crazy!" Lighris shouted defensively, his irritation growing as the fear for his brother's safety continued to grow.

Kyle stepped in then, moving between Lighris and the table where Avelyn examined Volcan, not wanting to let him interrupt her with his growing fury. “Lighris. No one's accusing Volcan of going crazy," he offered in the most reassuring tone he could manage. “But something is wrong. That's why we're all here. We're trying to help him, not hurt him, but we're playing it safe for all our own sakes too. As Tsumé said, Rikyuu's just coming as a precaution. Nothing else. No one is going to hurt your brother. Alright?"

When Lighris didn't answer, Kyle continued. “Now, let's get back to figuring out how to help your little brother."

Lighris took in a calming breath, before nodding. “Right…"

It became increasingly clear to Korban where his senses were leading him, as he ventured into a familiar neighbourhood with expensive, widespread homes, and the road was taking him toward one in particular that was set apart from the rest.

He wanted to not believe it, that he was being taken back to the house he had visited earlier that very day… But it was undeniable, as he arrived at the driveway leading to the Lo'Raven manor, and the feeling became stronger than ever. Whatever he was sensing, it was here…

“What kinda crazy shit are you cooking up now, Stark…?" He muttered to himself as he skidded to a stop just outside the garage, shutting his bike off and flipping the kickstand down before dismounting his vehicle.

“What do you want now, Korban?!" The Red Lightning called out to the husky as he approached, “This is not the time for more of your delusions!"

“Relax. I'm not here to start up any more shit with you." Korban hastily replied, trying to push past Avory. “What I wanna know is why the fuck am I getting a sense of dread coming from your place? What the fuck are you hiding now, eh?"

Avory was caught off guard; he had never seen this concern from the husky before. “Dread? What do you mean?" he asked, turning his body to follow Korban as he pushed past him.

“'Bout twenty minutes ago, I started getting a bad vibe coming from this direction," Korban said as he entered the garage, glancing over his shoulder to glare at Avory. “The same kinda bad vibe I got when I told Flame Brain to torch the corpse of that crazed guard we found at P.A.C.E.'s base… So I'm gonna ask you again, Stark," he turned to fully face the Red Lightning, poking his metal chest with his finger. “What. The Fuck. Are you hiding here?"

“The hell's he doing here?"

The demanded question had come from Lighris, standing over by a hunched-over Volcan, still being examined by Avelyn. The phoenix's back was to Korban, and he was shaking. It did not skip Korban's attention either, that Volcan looked… Wrong… His feathers were the wrong shade of red, and the feeling of dread Korban sensed was-

His eyes widened in shock as he realized where the source of that dread was coming from. “...Oh, fuck all kinds of duck…" he whispered softly, then glanced at everyone around him. “All of you, get away from him. Now."

“Why? What's going on?" the Red Lightning squawked; no one seemingly moved away from their posts.

“Get the FUCK away from him!" Korban shouted, going so far as to reach for his sword as he practically rushed toward them aggressively.

The first to react was Kyle, immediately drawing his pistol and rounding on Korban, firing a shot at the ground in front of him to bring the husky instinctively to a stop. “You better back off, bounty hunter!" he shouted, his gun now levelled at Korban's head.

Lighris too put himself between Korban and Volcan, electricity surging up his arms and eyes glowing a bright white as he glared at the husky. “Take one more step, and I'll reduce you to a pile of ashes," he warned.

“You fucking idiots! Get away from him; he's possessed!!" Korban screamed at the two of them, sword now drawn and held at his side. The crazed yet concerned look in his eyes told the two in front of him he wasn't bullshitting them.

He felt a vice-like grip on his shoulder and another grappling the paw that gripped his blade, holding him back. “If that is the case, then what do we do about it?" The husky heard the Lightning's voice right by him.

Korban instinctively struggled as he was grappled from behind, glaring back at the Red Lightning holding him at bay. “Get the fuck off me, Stark! Restrain him, not me!" He barked while jerking his head toward Volcan. “He gets fully possessed by whatever's haunting him, he's gonna torch this place sky-high with you all in it!"

While the argument between Korban and the others continued, Volcan could feel the voices in his head getting louder. Eventually, they grew to a cacophony so loud that he could no longer hear the people around him. He grabbed his head again, covering his ear canals in an effort to silence them, but to no avail; he could not even hear Avelyn speaking to him, or hear her calling out to her brother as Volcan's other eye changed colour…

Suddenly, his expression shifted from terror to agony…

The phoenix shot to his feet so suddenly, that he bumped into Avelyn, and the armoured raven was sent careening into the wall behind her as Volcan threw back his head and screamed… All while his feathers began changing colour again.

The arguments ceased immediately, as all eyes turned to the phoenix letting out a bloodcurdling scream, drowning out their voices as he cried out. Before their very eyes, they saw his red feathers getting darker, becoming a deep-hued red akin to blood, and as he turned and tripped over the table, they saw his eyes. Both had changed to a bright, amethyst purple now…

“Volcan!" Lighris cried out, running to his brother's side only to be backhanded away and sent crashing into Kyle, the two tumbling to the floor in a heap.

Seeing his chance, Korban managed to wrench free from Avory's grasp while he was distracted, kicking off his armoured body and flying toward Volcan with his sword reared back to take a swing at him with the flat of the blade. The enraged phoenix saw the attack coming and picked up the table in front of him to block the oncoming attack, before ramming into Korban with it, slamming the narrow edge of it into his chest.

He wheezed as the table struck him, sending him off to the side in a heap and dropping his blade in the process. The husky then quickly got to his feet and drew both his guns and took aim at Volcan, hesitating for a split second before firing two rounds from each firearm. His hesitation though proved costly, for as he prepared to shoot, Volcan threw the table at him, and only one bullet reached the phoenix before Korban was slammed by the flying furniture, opening a wound in his shoulder, but it was ignored.

Tsumé jumped in then, leaping onto Volcan's back and throwing her arms around his neck, trying to put him into a sleeper hold. But she let out a scream and fell off him as his flaming body burned her, searing her skin and igniting her clothes, forcing her to roll to put out the fire. Volcan turned toward the last one standing, which was Avory, and charged at him.

Arcs of electricity burst from the metal man towards the phoenix as he stood his ground, panting his feet into the floor of the driveway. The bolts served only to slow Volcan down, but didn't stop him; still, it bought Avory enough time to react and rocket into the air before contact, flipping over and sonic booming back down into the enraged Volcan's back. The phoenix could not react quickly enough and was sent hurtling down the driveway, tumbling into the yard before coming to a stop and glaring up at Avory again.

The possessed phoenix brought up his hands, and cast two fireballs at Avory, standing his ground on the grass lawn.

Alarms rung inside the Red Lightning suit, “Warning; temperature levels rising."

“Fuck… He's never had flames this hot before!" Avory cursed inside as he leaped forward, sonic booming once more to grapple the phoenix with the intent of driving him down into the dirt.

This time though, Volcan had braced himself; his talons dug into the ground, tearing deep gouges into the dirt as he caught the incoming Red Lightning. As Avory's momentum lessened, Volcan brought up his hands and slammed two clenched fists down on his back, sending him slamming into the dirt. Stunned, he had no time to react as Volcan picked him up and threw him across the yard; he landed with a clamour as he tumbled over the grass.

Korban then burst out from the table pinning him down, snapping his fingers and calling his sword back to his hand. He then channelled his cryomancy into his sword, coating it in a sharp layer of ice before rushing toward Volcan, darting back and forth to make himself harder to hit as he closed in.

At the last second though, he weaved around Volcan as the phoenix took a swing at him, rounding on him from behind and slamming his ice-covered sword right into the phoenix's back as hard as he could. The ice sizzled on contact with him, and the possessed phoenix cried out in pain as he was thrown off his feet, hitting the ground hard. But as Korban moved to attack again, he rolled on his side and threw another fireball at him; this one, he threw from a clenched fist - it was smaller than the ones he'd thrown at Avory, and upon contact with Korban, it didn't ignite him.

It detonated, like a miniature, incendiary grenade.

Korban howled in pain as he was blasted toward the road in a smouldering heap, grasping his chest with his offhand and enduring the internal damage he suffered even as he started healing from the attack. “Son of a-!" he growled in pain. “That's… new! Since fucking when could he do that?!"

Looking up, he saw Volcan running at him again, hands raised like he was bearing claws to tear into the husky. But this time, it was Lighris who intervened; the lightning phoenix came down from above and slammed into Volcan with his outstretched elbow, catching him by surprise and sending him stumbling. He tripped over the prone Korban and landed unceremoniously on the ground behind him.

At that moment, Avory rejoined the fight, coming to stand beside Lighris as Korban stood up. “I've always known my brother tended to hold back," Lighris stated. “This thing in his body has no such reservations, but even with that, he's crazy tough!"

“His M.A.N.A levels are off the charts… I've not seen power like this… it's mostly negative pyrrum, but all other attributes are syncing too!" the Red Lightning exclaimed as he charged for another electric blast, “It's slowing down but it's not stopping!"

“Fuck…! The demon's tryin' to take him over too quickly. At this rate, he's gonna be so far gone that killing him's gonna have to be the only option," Korban remarked, gritting his teeth. “Damnit Kitty, why'd you have to go off on your own now of all times?"

“Here he comes again!" Lighris shouted in warning, pointing out that Volcan was rushing at them once more.

They braced themselves for the attack…

But it never came.

'No!' Volcan cried defiantly, seizing control of his body again and forcing it to stop.

'You cannot stop me,' the strange voice, finally eligible to him, spoke in his mind.

'I won't let you… I won't let you hurt them!' he roared in his mind as his eyes began to revert to their regular colour again.

“...He stopped," Lighris said, blankly. Volcan was standing, mid-step, seemingly frozen in place, his face contorted in pain and head shifting side-to-side as if saying 'No' to something they didn't hear.

“Why'd he stop?" Lighris asked.

Korban squinted his eyes as he looked closer at Volcan, particularly at his eyes. “...His eyes are blue again," He stated. “Looks like he's still fighting whatever's trying to take hold of him. If we're gonna subdue him, now's the time boys and girls."

The Red Lightning released its charged energy to stun the phoenix before them, and Volcan staggered back, but he didn't fall. Rather, he grabbed his head again, still fighting to retain control.

Lighris turned to Avory. “Did you forget he's my brother?" he asked. “We shared a father; he's resistant to electricity! We need to try something el-!"

But before he could finish, Volcan let out another scream, and then jumped into the air, wings opening wide as he took flight and left the three staring after him. He flew haphazardly over the property before adjusting his course northwards, leaving them behind despite Lighris calling after him.

“Where's he going?!" Lighris demanded.

“Hell if I know or care," Korban growled, putting his sword on his back. “If that thing manages to fully possess Flamie's body, then not even an exorcism will bring him back. Worst case scenario, we put him out of his misery and purge the demon as it leaves his carcass."

“Leaves his-?" Lighris started to say before stopping. “Oh no… Back at P.A.C.E's headquarters - that crazed prisoner who attacked him… That really was a demon? And it's inside my brother now?!"

“Why do you think I told him to burn the body?" Korban asked pointedly, then rubbed his head in annoyance. “...That's the scary thing about demonic possession. It can happen so fast that ya don't even know yer possessed until it's too late, and even then, symptoms start out as normal, everyday problems. Headache, fever, chills, all that lovely shit."

“Hold on, Korban," The Red Lightning interjected, planting his metallic hand on the husky's shoulder, “His M.A.N.A readings are in the negative; I've only ever seen one other life form with that, and that is you. What are you not telling us?"

At that, Korban turned to Red Lightning and sneered. “How about I answer that question with another question," Korban answered, quickly shrugging the metallic hand off of his shoulder. “What matters more? The secrets I'm keeping, or the fact that Flamebrain's in danger and you'd rather waste time asking stupid questions rather than coming up with a means to restrain him at best, kill him at worst?" He countered before scoffing. “Man, for a billion IQ genius, you have ZERO priority management skills…"

“You coming clean may help us figure the hell out what's going on here!" the bird squawked.

“Unlike you, I'm more focused on the here and now rather than the what-ifs," Korban shot back as he went to mount his motorcycle. “You wanna stay behind and hypothesize rather than take action, fine. I'm gonna go do what you won't; maybe even manage to save his ass before it's too late." He shot back, then revved his engine a few times before accelerating his bike onto the street and following the trail of smoke still lingering in the sky.

As he zoomed off, he accessed his bike's onboard phone and quickly dialled his partner, praying he would pick up. “C'mon c'mon, pick up… Really need yer help right now, Kitty…"

“We need to stop him before he kills him… There must be a way to stop him. Get that demon out of him if that's true," the Red Lightning turned back toward Lighris as he walked towards the garage, “Avelyn, what's their condition?"

“Tsumé is going to be ok… She has minor burns all over her front, but nothing too serious," his sister reported, “Lighris' impact on Kyle has… Injured him…"

At that moment, Lighris and Avory heard the sound of wings flapping; thinking it was Volcan returning, they turned toward the sound, alert. But as the winged form came down, they found it was not Volcan; the bat-like winged form was Rikyuu, who upon landing ran over to the two avians.

“What happened?" he asked. “I saw Volcan flying away and Korban peeling off after him."

“I'll tell you on the way; get in the truck!" Lighris commanded, turning and running over to his vehicle. “Volcan's got a head start on us; we'll move faster on wheels and try to catch up to him! And get 'Sid on the phone too!"

“Uh… Okay, right with you!" Rikyuu replied, following Lighris over to his truck.

“Avelyn," Kyle spoke up, clapping the armoured bird's shoulder to get her attention. “I'll be fine, and I'll take care of Tsumé too. You and your brother get after Volcan; do whatever you have to."

“Don't do anything stupid," Avelyn nodded back to him as she parted them both, leaving the garage to join her brother, both then blasting off into the air together, in hot pursuit of the hot phoenix.

Volcan flew fast across the sky, beating his wings harder than he ever had before to generate lift and leaving the city of Unity Falls behind him, desperate to put as much distance between the city and himself while he still had control. All the while, that horrible voice continued to whisper in his head, calling his efforts futile and that he would soon take this body - his body, for himself.

“I won't let you destroy me!" he said aloud, fighting the corrupting influence and refusing to let it take him over again. A momentary lapse in concentration caused him to dip mid-flight, losing some altitude before regaining control again, only to be grappled mid-flight at speed, smashing through the trees and impacting into the ground in a crater of dirt.

Volcan struggled against his captor. He knew of only three people who could have caught him mid-flight like this - and certainly this was not Pavan who had just wrestled him to the ground. “Avory! Let me go!" he shouted, assuming it was the male of the twins but not looking to see. “I don't know how much longer I can hold him back; I don't want to hurt you!"

“You won't if you're incapacitated" The Red Lightning replied as Volcan felt a surge of electricity through him once again.

Volcan spasmed as he was shocked again, but it didn't put him out this time; he turned over and threw Avory off him, sending him crashing into a nearby tree from the force of the throw. “Sorry!" Volcan called, scrambling to get back to his feet and keep moving, but was immediately tazed again.

“Don't run! We can help you!" Avelyn called out beyond the visor of the Blue Lightning, hovering just above him.

“You can't help me!" Volcan replied. “Whatever this thing is, it can't be killed, and I'm not going to let it hurt you guys!"

“You running away will make no difference if whatever it is comes back!" Avelyn cried out, readying another blast before her brother reappeared and landed beside Volcan.

“I didn't want to have to use this…" The Red Lightning exclaimed before a numbing aura came over Volcan; a feeling he had long thought he would never feel again with the fall of the P.A.C.E Directive… The unmistakable touch of a Distruptor.

“What… That's a-" Volcan said, groaning as sickness came over him again. “You… Kept one?" he asked.

With a bitter sigh and pain in his voice, as he watched the phoenix keel over, he uttered, “For emergencies…"

Volcan fell to his knees, panting heavily and supporting himself on his hands. But as Avory approached, his feathers suddenly changed colour again, turning black once more, and his head raised as he looked at Avory…

He was grinning.

The surprise of that moment made Avory hesitate, and the black-feathered Volcan shot to his feet and seized him by his neck, hearing the articulated plates of his armour groaning as the possessed Volcan squeezed.

“You're going to need more than that to stop me," the thing spoke… It had Volcan's voice, but that tone carried a degree of malice that did not belong to the phoenix. Before Avory could do anything else, the thing turned and threw him, launching him in Avelyn's direction.

The Blue Lightning dodged in the air as her brother flew past her; shocked at the sight before her. Before another moment she charged down in a sonic boom toward the phoenix bracing for impact.

But as her brother flew away; so did the disruptor's aura, and Volcan exhaled a cone of flames at her. She flew directly into the fire, and almost immediately her armour's systems warned her that it was overheating, and she couldn't see where she was going, and found a crater of dirt once more on impact.

As she tried to push herself up, she felt someone step on her back, pressing her into the ground. “Maybe before I end you, I should tear off that armour and have myself some fun," the malicious demon said sadistically.

No sooner did he say that did Avory rush in again, tackling the dark phoenix off his sister and sending him crashing hard into a nearby tree. “Don't you dare say that about my sister!" The raven-hoopoe squawked as they broke through the trunk of the old tree and into the next, before receiving an arc of electricity from the Red Lightning.

The possessed Volcan screamed in pain as he was electrocuted once again; even with his natural resistance to electricity, he was not immune to it, and a high enough voltage still did damage… But it still wasn't enough to stop him, as he drew back his hands into clenched fists and brought them down hard on Avory's shoulders, striking him with the force of two sledgehammers.

Avory buckled a bit from the hit and pulled himself back from Volcan briefly, still cornering him against the indented tree, raising his fists like a boxer, “You want to play it that way, do you?" he goaded.

“You have no idea how outmatched you are if you want to go fisticuffs with this body," the creature stated, grinning widely. “No matter how powerful that armour is, it's still nothing more than a tool made by mortal hands."

“You forget that I'm Bri'ish too…" The Red Lightning stated before throwing the first punch, assisted by the boosters on his arm causing a mini sonic boom before making contact and nearly sending the phoenix whirling off his feet.

The phoenix blinked and rubbed where Avory had punched him, before turning to look at him again. “Maybe I've underestimated you after all," he said before he lunged at Avory and delivered a left hook to his armoured cheek; even if Avory didn't feel the punch inside the armour, he definitely felt the impact.

He rolled his head on his shoulder and shrugged before repeating his first punch to the phoenix's chest followed in quick succession with his other to the possessed bird's jaw.

As the two traded blows, the light of Korban's motorcycle shone through the trees as he arrived on the scene, seeing the ongoing boxing match between Red Lightning, and a black-feathered avian who it took him a moment to realize was Volcan… The possession had progressed further, and now whatever monster was inside of him had taken control again.

They didn't seem to be acting out of instinct or fury anymore… They were cognitive, gauging Red Lightning's moves and responding in kind.

“Shit… He's already that far along…" the husky muttered, grimacing for a second before he frowned, skidding his bike to a halt and jumping off of it as it came to a complete stop. He then drew his sword and grunted as he hurled it as hard as he could toward the possessed Volcan, the blade slicing through the air as it spun toward its intended target.

But as soon as Korban approached, he felt an all-too-familiar, queasy sensation and weakness come over him, causing him to fall to his knees upon landing and gagging a little from the supposed sickness he was feeling. The moment of weakness also altered his aim just before he threw his sword, causing it to land flat on the ground harmlessly next to the corrupted Volcan.

“The… hell??" Korban demanded, staggering to his feet and looking at Volcan first, then at the Red Lightning. “Did you bring a fucking disruptor with you?!"

“Nothing else will bring him down!" the armoured avian stated as he blocked two punches from the phoenix; causing him to still stagger back before delivering another; this one electrified and shocking his opponent.

“Turn it the fuck off! We need every advantage we can get if we wanna take him down!" Korban demanded as he snapped his fingers and recalled his sword back to his hand, then rushed in to take a swing at Volcan with his blade.

The possessed phoenix felt the ill feeling over him lift as he saw Korban coming and jumped as he approached, letting the sword whisk below him where he had been standing only a second earlier. He then lunged at Korban and punched him before he could bring his weapon back around, sending stars dancing across his eyes from the heavy-handed blow.

He spun with the momentum of the punch, dazed, but still conscious as he blinked the stars out of his vision and glared back at Volcan. The husky then wound his sword back as far as he could before spinning it once and throwing it like a large boomerang at Volcan. As it flew through the air, Korban quickly drew his guns and aimed, firing shots at Volcan's wings in an attempt to ground him enough for his sword to hit its mark.

Volcan hastily ran behind the tree when he saw Korban's guns, one of the shots grazing across his wing and making him shout with pain. In retaliation, he came around the tree and hurled another fireball at Korban, this time making a sweeping motion with his hand to make the flame wider as it arced toward the husky. Korban quickly rolled under the flames as they raced toward him, taking a few more shots at Volcan before holstering his guns and calling his sword back to his hand.

“You wanted it off; right?!" the Red Lightning called out as he watched the fire blanket the husky; taking the opportunity to blast the pyromaniac with more electricity at his flank. Soon joined by another mechanized avian; expelling her stored up charge at her previous offender.

“Yes! Thank you!!" Korban shouted back angrily, feeling his ice powers returning to him. He then used his cryomancy to coat his sword in a sheet of ice before he rushed in again, swinging at the deranged Phoenix a few times before landing a kick on his chest to stumble him, then discharged the accumulated ice on his blade toward Volcan with a wide swing.

The ice struck home, creating sizzling marks across the possessed Volcan's body as they made contact. The onslaught of attacks had pushed the possessed phoenix on the defensive, forced to be limited to just keeping them at bay with few opportunities to strike back. Behind them, he saw the headlights of two vehicles approaching, racing down a nearby service road, and knew that his chances were only about to decrease…

Knowing he had to end the fight now, the being possessing Volcan threw his wings around himself, both of them igniting with flames before he threw them out wide and sent a wide wall of red-hot fire at them, igniting several trees as it passed on the way to its targets.

“Fuck me sideways!!" Korban hollered as he ran from the flames at first, throwing his sword into the ground and jumping on it, using it as a springboard to leap high over the flames before they consumed him, joined by the two Lightnings in the air.

The phoenix watched as the wall of fire continued through the forest, but the fire inside him went out once again as the two mechs flew towards him together; delivering two simultaneous sonic punches and sending him into another thick tree; decapitating it again and embedding him in another. The two lightnings circled back around for the red one to deliver another punch to his jaw, and the blue one struck his crotch with a sonic kick.

“Have some fun with that!" Avelyn squawked.

The possessed Volcan groaned, crossing his legs and falling to his knees as he gripped between them. For a moment, the feathers on his body flickered between Volcan's normal colours, and those caused by the possessing spirit, at the shared agony between the two.

Behind the three of them, Lighris, Rikyuu, and Obsidian - still in her police uniform, as she hadn't had time to run home, came running over. Rikyuu visibly cringed at the sight of the collapsed dark phoenix, having seen what had brought him low.

“Memo… Never make Avelyn mad - especially if she's in that suit," the blue dragon commented.

“Volcan!" Lighris called as he ran over, only to be stopped by Korban's outstretched arm.

“That ain't yer bro anymore, Sparks," Korban said in a disheartened tone, still gazing on at the fallen phoenix. “Whatever's possessing him has taken full control now… There's only one way to stop him in this state."

“Maybe not," Obsidian commented as she came over. “Whatever that thing is, maybe I can force it into dormancy with my telepathy until we can find a way to get it out of him."

“Yeah, what she said!" Lighris shot back, pushing Korban's arm aside. “I'm not giving up on my little brother, no matter what fuck has hitched a ride in his head!"

“Then you're a fucking idiot thinking with his heart rather than his head." Korban shot back spitefully, resting his sword along his shoulders as he started to pace toward Volcan once more. “I've hunted demons a lot longer than any of you put together, and this demon… It's somethin' else if it can overpower this juggernaut. We don't have the means to exorcise it, so we're only left with one option…"

Lighris turned on Korban then, once more his eyes glowing as electricity coursed up his arms. “You even try it, and I'll-!"

The Lightning Phoenix's words died in his throat as a green glow suddenly lit up the night around them. Lighris and Korban both had to raise their arms to cover their eyes as they were the closest to the flash of light and behind them Obsidian and Rikyuu had to do likewise. The Lightnings flinched at the flash, protected from the worst of it but still momentarily surprised by it.

Only the possessed Volcan was unaffected because the flash had come from behind him. He turned to look over his shoulder and could barely make out the silhouette of the figure as it approached him, cast in shadow by the glow radiating from behind them. But he did see the hand as it reached for him; he put up his arm to stop it, but was too slow; the hand, wrapped in another glow, grasped the top of his head, and immediately he felt the strength leave his body, his arms falling limp to his sides as an unknown ailment came over him at the beings touch.

Effortlessly, the being lifted Volcan from the ground. The flames from Volcan's feathers danced around the hand that grasped him, but the figure never let go, nor did any burns appear on his hand. A pair of glowing red eyes met his, and suddenly - within the possessed phoenix, the real Volcan felt the grip of terror, and disbelief, at what he saw.

As everyone else's eyes adjusted to the glow, they saw the figure, standing taller even than Volcan, and effortlessly holding him off the ground. A being with a canid face, tall, thin ears, and glowing red eyes. They had a lithe, but strong figure, easily discernible as their torso was almost completely bare, with a golden mantle worn over their neck and shoulders, of a sort akin to those worn by Egyptian pharaohs. Around their waist, they wore a white cotton kilt - also of Egyptian style, secured by a belt also inlaid with gold, but their legs and feet were otherwise bare.

“...Avory, are you seeing this?!" the Blue Lightning called out in shock over their closed comms.

“I've learned not to be surprised anymore…" the Red Lightning remarked as he readied his stance, just in case. “But is he on our side?"

As if in answer to his question, the figure turned, and started walking back toward the source of the green glow, which appeared to be a swirling oval hanging in midair - a portal of some sort. Beside them, they dragged Volcan along, the young phoenix seemingly paralyzed in the grasp of the stranger.

“Hey, let him go!" Lighris shouted, protective instinct spurring him to action as he ran at the figure, fist drawn back.

“Does that answer your question?" Avelyn asked.

“Perfectly," replied Avory in a flat tone.

The figure didn't respond until Lighris reached them and drove his fist directly into the being's back. But they barely flinched when Lighris struck them; they turned their head to look over their shoulder, glaring at him before they unceremoniously backhanded the Lightning Phoenix. Despite the seemingly light tap, Lighris went hurtling several feet back, nearly as far as he'd run, with an impression visible on his face.

“What the heck?!" Rikyuu demanded, barely able to believe that they had just seen Lighris laid low with a single hit. “Who or what is that thing?!"

“I have no idea!" Obsidian replied.

“Dunno, don't care!" Korban replied, charging forward and taking a swing at the being, only to feint and switch to attacking him from the other side instead.

It would have worked… It should have worked… But to Korban's utter astonishment, the being, nonchalant, brought their arm up, covered in a white glow, and the sword struck them only to be stopped dead in its tracks. Korban's arms were left quaking as if he'd just tried to cut through solid steel. The figure's red eyes - which, as close as he was, he could now see, had pale, white pupils barely visible within them, looked briefly at the sword, and then back to Korban.

“Your father might have posed a threat to me," he said, his voice so deep it seemed to come from his core as he spoke. “But while you carry half his blood," he continued as he opened the palm of his hand, “You are not half the monster he was."

A green beam of energy shot from the being's hand and struck Korban. Immediately, he felt a death-like cold washing over him, but his body spasmed like he was being electrocuted, and pain arced across his body - it was as though he were being chilled, burned and electrocuted all at the same time. He was completely rigid as he was assailed by the being, dropping his sword and falling to his knees once the onslaught had ended, gasping and panting for air as he struggled to fight through the pain.

“Hey! Anubis!" the Red Lightning called over as loud as he could, to get the powerful being's attention, “What do you plan to do with our friend?"

The being, in response, looked in Avory's direction, and spoke slowly as he answered. “What becomes of the phoenix is irrelevant," he said, “but the essence he carries is an evil older than mortal history. It must be cleansed, while it is still in this vulnerable state."

With that, he turned and started toward the portal again, uncaring of the rest of the group even as they voiced their protests.

“...This guy's also going to try and kill him," Avory muttered; before he and Avelyn blasted up and over the Egyptian in a swift rocket jump, landing between himself and the portal.

Obsidian ran over to Korban and shook him. “Wake up, will you?!" she demanded, and even delivered a slap to his cheek when he didn't respond. Instinctively, Korban took a swing back at Obsidian, but stopped when he saw it was her and pulled his arm back and rubbed his face.

“Next time, I ain't stopping," Korban warned her as he got back to his feet again, taking his sword in his grasp once more and staring back at the Anubian creature with narrowed eyes.

The Anubian easily passed the Lightnings; with a flash of light from his eyes, a pulse of unseen energy erupted between them, sending them both stumbling out of his way as he continued on his way. Before anyone else could reach him, the being stepped into the portal, and vanished, with Volcan in tow.

“Why didn't you use the disruptor?!" Avelyn cried out as she caught her fall.

“Are you seeing his readings!? They can't be explained; this isn't M.A.N.A!" Avory responded, using his thrusters to catch his stumble and blast off high into the air above the portal, “It's now or never!" he explained as he dove in behind the interloper.

“Everyone, get through before it closes!" Obsidian called, already seeing the portal begin to shrink as she broke into a run toward the swirling green gateway. “We have to stop him before he kills Volcan!"

“Yes, ma'am," Korban responded, his tone sounding disrespectful despite the seriousness of it, and chased after Obsidian and passed through it just after she jumped into it.

“Come on, Lighris!" Rikyuu added as he and the Lightning Phoenix rushed in, and were the last ones through - along with Avelyn, before the portal shut completely, returning the dark, stillness of night to the woods again… Save for a few trees that still burned.