"I think that went well." Seren, Devin's mother, joked as she watched Roratha cut off communications with Devin and immediately teleport the Chasers far away. The Chasers in the room were all in shock as they had just learned that not only Dragons were real, but that Zac was one.

There were just as many Persequion who were just as surprised. The reality of Dragons existence was a well kept secret among the top, for good reason. As much as Devin would like to explore this new information, there was something more important to him.

"Mother, your life's on the line; could you please take this a little more seriously?" Devin groaned.

"And what exactly is that going to do? If we fail, that beast kills me. If we succeed, I live long enough for the beast's mother to maybe kill me. I might as well enjoy myself." Seren started to laugh. Everyone else in the room had complicated expressions.

They had all gathered into a rather large dining hall to have this meeting. The dining hall was cathedral-like in scale—hundreds of feet long. It had a high, arching ceiling with organic curves, reminiscent of ancient caverns but clearly polished by an earthen ability.

The walls and tables were sculpted directly from natural stone, preserving the raw beauty of the earth. Streaks of quartz and shimmering mineral veins run through the surfaces, subtly catching the ambient light. The walls curve into ceilings, and floors slope gently into large and small alcoves along the perimeter, making large and small dining areas. The surfaces of each table were embedded with smart interfaces—holographic menus, ambient sound controls, and custom lighting for each person.

In the center was a quartz stand that could display a screen used to relay data or for entertainment. It was this screen that previously displayed Roratha and now showed a vast ocean.

Soft, bioluminescent panels embedded in the stone provide an ethereal glow, shifting in hue to mimic natural light cycles—cool blues and purples in the evening, warm golds at meal times.

At the back wall was a massive dining table made from polished obsidian and petrified wood that stretched across the back wall; this is where Devin and his parents, along with the elders and some of the Theronites, sat.

All of the Tiny Tots found themselves sitting at one of the larger alcoves, with some of their mentors present. No doubt to keep an eye on their movements.

"I almost feel sorry for her… almost…" Siren was the first to speak on the situation.

"I understand you all cherish Zac, but surely you can understand their position? There is no simple solution here." Siren's mentor, a dark-haired Asian woman, said,.

"Nope…"

"Nah…"

"Hell no…"

"Fucking… What is she on about?" Several of the Tiny Tots blurted out their responses to Siren's mentor, who just sighed and shook her head.

"It seems rather straightforward. They encountered Mrs. Zym, they became aggressive first, knowing full well she was protecting a newborn and was a Dragon no less. They suffered for their stupidity and hubris. And instead of learning from that mistake and taking the grace granted to them, they tried to put a leash on that very newborn, and in the process was responsible for the death of a Dragon! Why feel sorry for someone suffering from their own incompetence?" The conductor laid down the facts as he fiddled with the interface in front of him, seeing what he could eat.

The entire hall went silent as they looked in the Tiny Tots direction. There was a certain echo in the hall, and the conductor did not go out of his way to lower his voice. Everyone currently in the hall was superhuman in one way or another. The longer he spoke, the more people listened, and the quieter the hall became.

There were several who looked infuriated, while there were more than a few Persequion who nodded their heads in agreement.

"From my understanding, those mistakes are not entirely hers, so…" Another mentor sitting with the Tiny Tots tried to intervene.

"So what? She's a leader, right? I get you're not one, so maybe you don't understand. Leaders have to clean up the mess left behind by their team and those who came before them. It's part of the job, mate. So sorry, she gets no sympathy from me, love." Shango chuckled as he leaned over and started to whisper something to the conductor.

"They're right," Seren said with a smile on her face as she held Aron's, her partner's, hand to calm him down. He was clearly incensed by those boys' callous remarks.

She understood them; they were dragged into this against their will more than anyone else. Their families were all but held hostage, however, as they said, she was a leader and would not back down.

"As a leader, I must take responsibility. The same applies to you… Conductor. Two of your teammates have gone rogue; it is incumbent on you to clean up their mistakes."

"That only applies if I believe a mistake was made." The Conductor snapped back.

"I saw no error in their judgment then, nor do I see one now."

"Then why did you not join them?" Seren asked.

"I simply can't bring myself to take a vacation. I'm a workaholic." The conductor joked as the tiny tots began to giggle in response.

Their mentors shook their heads, and many of the other Persequions were in shock by the unruly nature of these Tiny Tots. It was easy to forget that many of them hadn't even reached the age of 20 yet; they were still immature and rebellious, and all of them had been influenced by Zac… for better or worse.

To everyone's surprise, Seren started to chuckle as well.

"Fair enough… But the moment Zac kills a Persequion in cold blood and those two remain at his side, there will be no room for debate, will there?"

The Conductor and the Tiny Tot's laughter halted. They knew that it was eventually going to happen, and they were still not sure how they would handle that situation. The conductor went silent and continued to look at the interface in front of him.

"Impressive children are still just children," Seren muttered to herself.

"What the young man said is correct. Aron and I are your leaders, and it is now on us to clean up the mess left behind by our predecessors, and today we have cleaned up the biggest mess in our history." Seren said with a smile. Aron then stood up from his seat and then continued,

"The Fracture, all of our issues, one way or another, could be traced back to that day when we, the Persequion, were divided, carried away by our selfish desires. Thanks to the works done by Selistar and his Renegades, today we celebrate finally becoming whole once again." Aron motioned towards the back of the hall, and the large doors began to open.

Stefan Müller walked toward the doors, trailed by some of his top Chasers. As always, he was in a fine-tailored suit with his hair slicked back. Next to him walked Léonie Laurent and her best Chasers. Many of the Persequions there had already met Léonie, and a lot of them had mixed opinions of her. Many of them believed that if not for her existence, Selistar would have seduced Dr. Varma, as many of them had wanted. Others felt she was a fine mate for their future leader, as her poise, grace, and competence could hardly be questioned.

"Let us welcome our brethren back into the fold," Aron commanded, and then cheers roared through the dining hall as the two groups made their way toward the middle of the room. Stefan had a concerned look on his face.

He always knew that this day would come, ever since he took control of the Adders. However, he didn't think it would happen so soon and so fast. He shook his head in defeat; there was nothing he could have done to resist. He looked over at Léonie and scoffed. If she hadn't rolled over for Devin so easily, maybe they could have had a chance; at least that was what he thought before he came here.

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There were thousands of persecutions just on their way here. He knew there was a large number of them, but he had no idea how deep their numbers went. He closed his eyes in acceptance. This was the right decision, but he would not just simply sit idly by and let everything they had built be handed over. As the cheering went on, Stefen dismissively raised his hand to get the ones cheering to quiet down.

The room became quiet as Aron raised his hand in response.

"Do you have something you would like to say?" Aron asked.

"Yes. In exchange for a peaceful integration, your son, Devin…Selistar made certain promises. But from what I've been hearing, the words exchanged between the two of you can not always be trusted… I want to make sure those promises are kept." Stefan stared at Aron.

He had no fear of death; if what he was promised was not honored, he was ready to throw it all away. He and his Adder may fall here today, but he could at least tear this place down and take a handful of them with him.

Aron narrowed his eyes on Stefan.

"I hear they call you Fenrir. How apt… Those eyes were staring daggers at me as if they could devour a god."

"Well, I'm not sure about a god, but certainly a few persecutions are doable, I'm sure. Do the promises your son made stand?" Fenrir, or Stefan, said as he adjusted his cuffs, preparing himself for the worst. Aron glared at Stefan for a moment before he scoffed. He'd like to take his uppity head right now, but based on what the data said, his abilities were too unique to waste. Once he got those upgrades, he would be on par with some of their very best and would be an invaluable aid for Selistar's reign.

"Yes, you have already received the upgrades as promised and you will be kept in the know about the progress made with upcoming projects."

"Wonderful, but what really concerns me is…"

"Do not worry. We were going to inform you of this later, but it seems you're rather on edge, understandably. So we might as well announce it now so that we can move on." Seren said with a smile.

"We would like you and Léonie to act as our bridge to the normal humans of the world. To be our face, along with Selistar. So you three will continue to act in the same capacity you always have." Seren explained.

"But I will be answering you?" Stefan asked.

"Everyone answers to someone. However, you and Ms. Léonie there will have the authority and privileges equal to that of elders. Meaning you answer only to the two of us, and you have the right to your own forces. I can only assume you would want to keep your…Chasers under you." Aron detailed.

Stefan contemplated the offer. All things considered, nothing would really change, only the implication that he was no longer working towards his own goals but towards the goals of Heka. He didn't know how long he could stomach that, but at least for the moment, it was good enough.

"Very well, I accept your terms. I don't have to kiss your ring or something, do I?"

"Nothing so dramatic. We can go over the exact details later. For now, you and Léonie can come and take your seats here." Seren smiled as she motioned to the two open spots next to Selistar, reserved for the two of them.

"The rest of you, please take your seats there; we have reserved several alcoves for you to use." Aron motioned his hand towards the open alcoves.

"Now that the main dishes are on our tables, we'll have a special presentation for all of you. So enjoy yourselves until then."

"What do you think they'll be talking about next?" Genkei asked as he stuffed his face full of meat. It had been about half an hour since Stefan and Léonie had taken their seats.

"It's going to be something about the nanites… or Nevilara Mystara," Akiko said as she fiddled with the food on her plate. She couldn't bring herself to touch anything on her plate.

"How do you know, bonnie lass?" Patrick asked.

"Have any of you seen Dr. Hamilton… at all?" Akiko asked the table.

The Tiny Tots and the mentors all went silent. The good doctor had slipped their minds in all of this chaos. She was the only "normal" one among them at the moment, so all these must have taken an even bigger toll on her.

"Ah, hell. What do you think they have her doing?" Shango wondered.

"Whatever they want. Not like she can't do anything to resist." The conductor laid out the current grim reality.

"Shit…" It was Mawu this time that let out a low grumble. She had been one of the few mentors who outwardly showed her distaste for the way everything had happened. She was fiercely loyal, not to the Renegades, but to the ideals of what it meant to be a Chaser. At first, she was quite excited to work with the original Chasers, to be a Persecution. But she was becoming more disillusioned as time went on.

"There she is…" One of the Tiny Tots spoke as Dr. Hamilton walked into the dining hall and made her way toward the center of the room.

"She looked awful; what the hell did they put her through?" Akiko asked as she became visibly upset.

Dr. Hamilton's hair was wild and unkempt, she had visible bags under her eyes, and she seemed to be extremely jittery. She was very clearly not comfortable being here and was not here by her own volition.

"Devin!!! What is the meaning of this?!" Akiko shouted out through the hall. That went silent again at her shout. Stefan raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the table full of Tiny Tots.

"Those are the kids nurtured by the Anomaly?" He asked.

"Yes, and that monster seemed to have left a rather deep impression on those children," Aron answered. If those damn children weren't so promising, he'd have killed them already. But their skill was worth the time it would take to rein them in.

"That's enough, Father… It's understandable why they are so upset. I told you Dr. Hamilton is a normal human; she can't work the hours you have demanded of her." Selistar frowned.

"Well, she was the one who said she wanted to go see her father. I simply told her she was free to visit her father when she gave me satisfactory results. None of this would be a problem if she'd just taken Nanites or the Nevilara Mystara." Aron said it loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I have no intention of taking anything that would further tie me to you monsters!!" Dr. Hamilton all but shouted in frustration. Outside of Zac and Trigger, her life was the one that had been turned on its head the hardest.

She went from enjoying her research progress to being forced into a world of monsters and superpowered humans. Just when she was starting to get used to things, the person she trusted the most was killed. She believed that it was indeed Zac who killed Dr.Varma by mistake. But now, as more things unfolded, the words Ume and Trigger left them with were becoming more and more likely.

"I suppose from your point of view, we are no different than monsters. But I assure you we are far more civil." Seren said with a smile.

"Civil… right. I was all but kidnapped and threatened, but this is civil."

"You're too smart for your own good, dear. Even without Nanites or Nevilara Mystara, you are one of the most brilliant minds to ever grace mankind. We simply can't let any harm fall upon you. Everything we do is…"

"For my own good. I've heard that a lot since you forced me here. Whatever, I'm here to show you the results." Dr. Hamilton cut off Seren as she pulled a data pad from under her lab coat and started to fiddle with the stand in the middle of the room. She looked around the room and then scoffed at all of the Chasers there.

The naive and somewhat cheerful visage that the Renegades had known from here was now nowhere to be seen. If Mawu was slowly becoming disillusioned, Dr. Hamilton was already well past that point.

"I guess I'll be your dinner entertainment. I hope you have strong stomachs." She mocked as a 3D image was displayed above the stand; a horrific scene began to play out.

Dr. Hamilton stood in a silent lab, save for the rhythmic hum of the containment chamber's core reactor. Lights flickered overhead, casting pale, sterile light on the surgical platform. Strapped to the chrome table was Subject 07—a man in his late twenties, unconscious but breathing shallowly, veins pulsing with a translucent blue serum fed through the IV.

He was a Persequion hopeful who was rather unimpressive. So much so that he had failed to become one. It wasn't the first this happened and would not be the last. Most had committed suicide after failing to gain the right to become a Persequion. However, now he was given the chance to make something of his failure and become a test subject.

Dr. Hamilton stood at a console, hands trembling slightly as she initiated the Nevilara Mystara injection.

There was no change for a moment, and just when Dr. Hamilton started to relax, the man let out a wail of pain. The subject's body arched violently, convulsing as the chamber filled with his distorted, high-pitched wails. His skin began to ripple—like boiling water beneath a membrane—then tore open in long, wet gashes as muscle fibers thickened, twisted, and snapped like cables under tension.

His screams started human, then pitched into something no longer recognizable. Fingers fused and split again, forming grotesque claws before liquefying into amorphous stumps. His rib cage expanded unnaturally, puncturing through his chest. The serum inside him glowed bright blue, leaking from his eyes, nose, and mouth as his jaw dislocated and split down the middle.

The ghastly scene lasted only 15 seconds, but it felt like an eternity. It finally…mercifully ended. Inside, what was once Subject 07 now twitched and gurgled—a half-human, half-mass of malformed tissue. One eye remained intact, locked on Dr. Hamilton. It blinked. Slowly.

There were loud gasps and the sound of some people dry heaving as they saw the scene play out before them. Aron frowned at Dr. Hamilton as he stood up in disgust at what she had just displayed.

"What in God's name was that?!" Someone called out from the dining hall. Dr. Hamilton then smiled. A smile devoid of hope or remorse. A smile that teetered on the edge of madness and realization.

"That is what happens when you mix Nanites and Nevilara Mystara." Dr. Hamilton then started to giggle softly to herself; that laugh was not one of a sound mind.

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