Angelo opened his fist slowly, orange light spilling between his fingers. The last surveillance marble sat in his palm, pulsing with forged energy. He sent it flying toward the town's edge, watching through its perspective as it stuck to a house corner. Every angle covered now. Anyone approaching MountShade would trip his net.

He found Sol and Neiva on a bench near the town square, their conversation drifting through the quiet night.

"...that's the dream, you know?" Neiva's voice carried a wistful edge. "I think about it sometimes. The 'what if.'"

Sol leaned back, arms crossed. "Yeah. What if things went different. What if you got to be normal."

"Right." A soft laugh escaped her—sad around the edges. "Tennis courts instead of battlefields. I could've been good at it."

Sol stayed quiet for a moment, then turned to face her directly. "You know it's not too late for that."

"What?" Neiva's whisper barely made it past her lips.

"Nobody's got a gun to your head, Neiv." His blue eyes held hers without blinking. "You've learned plenty from Red and Blue. You could actually have that life—tennis tournaments, normal problems. All of it."

She looked away fast, like his gaze burned. "I can't just..."

"It's him, isn't it?" Sol pressed. "Angelo."

"You know—" Angelo's voice cut through the moment. "Gossiping's pretty rude."

Both of them spun around. Angelo stood there with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, expression flat—somewhere between bored and annoyed, impossible to tell which.

Sol's easy grin slid back into place. "Come on. With all your remote manipulation tricks, you're basically everywhere at once. Figured you'd hear us anyways."

"Ha! Don't worry about it, pretty boy!" Red materialized beside Angelo in a swirl of crimson smoke. "We're not wasting energy spying on your little heart-to-heart!"

"Really?" Sol raised an eyebrow. "So you can't hear us through her swords right now? Or that creepy doll you gave her?"

Angelo and Red both froze mid-breath.

Blue appeared between them, posture immaculate as always. "You raise a valid point, Solomon. We do possess that capability."

Sol spread his hands. "See?"

"However—" Blue lifted one finger with scholarly precision. "Consider the security guard who sits before a wall of monitors yet cannot watch them all simultaneously. We do not constantly monitor every anchor point available to us."

"Anchor point?" Neiva jumped on the unfamiliar term. "What's that mean?"

Angelo waved a hand dismissively. "Just his fancy way of saying places we can see through."

"Precisely." Blue's tone carried the faintest edge of annoyance. "Following Red's breakthrough with remote manipulation, we determined that our energy functions as an anchor point, much as we three serve as anchor points for one another. A network of perspectives we can access at will."

"So you're not constantly watching everything." Sol rubbed his hair. "Makes sense. Sounds like a headache to manage, honestly."

"Nah, super easy! Barely an inconvenience!" Red's grin was all teeth.

"For you, maybe." Angelo shot back flatly. Blue nodded in agreement.

"So what happens now?" Neiva asked, breaking the moment.

"Now?" Angelo moved toward the bench. "We wait."

They shifted to make room. He dropped down between them and stretched his arms across the back of the bench. "That's all there is to it. We keep checking the surveillance marbles. When those bandits show up, we move."

Sol stood and stretched—joints popping audibly in the quiet. "Yeah, I'm out. Vigilante work's not my thing." He shoved his hands in his pockets and waved without turning around. "Call me if you need backup. But you won't."

"Guess it's just you and us, sugar-tits!" Red's leer was audible.

"A-Actually..." Neiva stood quickly, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I'm not feeling that great. Think I'll crash in the CampShip for a bit."

Angelo blinked. "Oh. Alright."

She took a few steps, then paused. "Stay safe, okay?" Her blue aura flickered to life and she launched skyward.

Red cackled. "Just the three of us then! Just like old times!"

Blue adjusted glasses that weren't there. "I believe I shall follow Solomon's example and abstain from this particular endeavor." He dissolved back into smoke without ceremony.

"Of course you will." Red's sneer carried no real heat.

Angelo didn't react to everyone bailing. He just closed his eyes and breathed in the cold mountain air. Every few moments he'd check the marbles—quick flashes of empty streets and dark corners. Nothing yet.

Even with bandits coming and violence on the horizon, something about this moment felt peaceful. The bench beneath him. Darkness all around. That massive mountain looming overhead with the moon peeking from behind it. Red actually shutting the hell up for once.

His phone shattered the moment with an aggressive buzz.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" Angelo fished for it lazily. "If it's that prosecutor again at this hour, I'm gonna—" He froze. "Albert? This late?"

Blue materialized and smoothly plucked the phone from Angelo's fingers. "He's most likely calling for me."

Click.

"Good evening, Professor. This is Blue."

"Ah, Blue my boy! Excellent! Tell me, is Angelo available?"

Blue paused. Red's cackle cut through the night as Blue wordlessly handed the phone back to Angelo, then dissolved into azure smoke.

"Hey, Albert." Angelo kept his voice even. "Something wrong? You don't usually call this late. Or call at all, really."

"Mm. I'm pleased you're in good spirits." Albert's words carried a subtle bite. "I'll be direct—after our conversation when trial ended, I hesitated to make this call."

The trial. Angelo's jaw tightened. "Albert, I—"

"Don't apologize now. It would ring hollow." Albert's firmness left no room for argument. "If you wish to make amends, take time to reflect. Gather your thoughts. Make it genuine when you do."

Angelo's throat felt tight. "That's easier said than done when these two are always listening to my thoughts."

"I suspect if you asked them respectfully, even Red would give you privacy."

Angelo glanced at his grinning counterpart.

Red's voice dripped mock-sweetness. "That's right, Angie! Ask real nice and I might throw you a bone!" He dissolved into snickers.

"Right." Angelo let the word hang there. "I'll think about it."

"Be that as it may..." Albert cleared his throat. "When you returned from your last expedition—battered, bleeding—I realized the true nature of these journeys. Even Blue refused to explain your objectives."

A long pause stretched across the line.

"Regardless of how you've treated me recently, you boys..." Albert's voice wavered slightly. "I've known you since childhood. You're not test subjects. Not volunteers. You're more than that. At least to me."

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

"Old man..." Red's whisper was barely audible.

Blue materialized again, apparently unable to help himself.

"Which brings me to why I called." Albert's resolve solidified. "I want to share a breakthrough with you. But I must stress—it carries significant risks. If you can master it, though... I believe it could save your lives when death comes knocking."

Blue straightened impossibly further. "A breakthrough, Professor? What's the nature of this discovery? Does it relate to remote energy manipulation?"

"No. Let me explain from the beginning." Albert took a breath. "It all started after Brian joined our research team..."

- Over a Month Ago -

The lab's fluorescent lights hummed overhead as Albert and Steven leaned over a workbench, their argument about calibration methods heating up by the second. Then the door banged open.

"Professor Albert!"

Brian practically stumbled through the doorway, his tablet clutched to his chest and his face lit up like he'd just solved the universe's greatest mystery.

Albert raised both hands in a calming gesture. "Easy there, Brian. What's got you so worked up?"

"Sorry, Professor." Brian ran his fingers through his hair, grin refusing to fade. "I couldn't help it. I finished reading your paper on the components of pure energy theory last night, and something's been eating at me all day. It just clicked about five minutes ago!"

Steven perked up immediately, adjusting his designer glasses. "Well don't keep us in suspense! What'd you figure out?"

Brian's fingers flew across his tablet screen, hunting for the right notes. "Here—found it. You described how these components make up pure energy. How everything's built from them, basically." He looked up, eyes bright with discovery. "But then you wrote something that stuck with me. You found it strange that when these components separate, they push each other away. How can pieces that naturally belong together reject each other once they're split apart?"

Albert's hand moved to his glasses, adjusting them with deliberate slowness. The overhead light reflected off the lenses, hiding his eyes completely. Something about the way he stood—shoulders tense, movements careful—made him look years older.

"Where exactly are you going with this, Brian?"

The edge in Albert's voice was subtle, but Brian caught it anyway. He pressed forward. "Right. I'll cut to it. These components—they don't exist separately in nature, do they? Which means even when they're divided, there has to be a way to bring them back together. To reunify them."

The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees.

Albert's expression darkened like storm clouds rolling in. "Brian, please don't take this the wrong way, but..." He paused, choosing his words with painful care. "I'm asking you—begging you, really—not to pursue this line of research."

Brian stepped back like he'd been slapped. "What?" He looked to Steven for support, but the younger scientist was suddenly fascinated by the floor. "What's going on? You two are acting like I just suggested we commit murder or something."

Steven shook his head slowly. "Brian, trust me, the same thought occurred to us. But—"

"But what?"

"The implications." Albert finished the sentence like pronouncing a death sentence. "Think about it this way. Let's say we figure it out. We manage to merge the components back together. Then what? What do we do with that knowledge?"

Brian's brow furrowed. "I don't understand."

"Do we tell them?" Steven's voice went quiet. "Do we walk up to Angelo, Red, and Blue and say 'hey, we figured out how to merge you back into one person'? How do you think they'd react to that?"

Understanding crashed over Brian like cold water. "You think... you think they'd want it? The reunification?"

Albert shook his head, shoulders sagging. "We don't know. That's the problem. But just knowing it's possible could destroy them. Throw them into crisis. And then what happens?"

"None of them are the original person," Steven continued, his usual enthusiasm completely absent. "Not even Angelo. If we merged them back together, the result might be someone completely different. A stranger. Someone who doesn't even recognize themselves."

"But that's..." Brian started, then stopped. His mouth opened and closed a few times. Finally, he straightened up, jaw set. "What are you two even saying right now? We're scientists. If we're not pursuing scientific discovery, what's the point of any of this?"

Steven and Albert exchanged a look—guilty, conflicted, heavy with unspoken weight.

"Besides!" Brian gestured with his tablet. "We don't have to tell them anything yet. We just need to prove the concept. See where the research leads. That's how science works!"

Albert stared at the workbench, his internal war playing out across his weathered face.

"He's right."

Albert's head snapped up. Steven stood straighter now, one hand adjusting his designer glasses with sharp precision.

"Brian's absolutely right, Professor." Steven's voice carried new steel. "Doctors swear an oath—'do no harm.' Well, we've got our own oath. Pursuing the truth wherever it leads, no matter what. That's what scientists do!"

He stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with Brian.

"I'm with Brian on this one. We should start running experiments immediately."

Both younger scientists stared at Albert with determination burning in their eyes—the kind of fire that refused to be extinguished by caution or fear.

Albert's hands balled into fists at his sides. His jaw worked silently for a moment.

"Oh, damn it all." The words came out like he was ripping them from his chest. "Fine. We'll do it. Wherever this leads us."

He looked up at the high windows above the lab, where evening light filtered through. His thoughts drifted to three young men who had no idea what their mentors were about to attempt.

"My boys. I'm so sorry."

The thought stayed trapped in his mind, unspoken.

"So over the next two weeks, we built miniature versions of something that resembles particle accelerators to test Brian's theory." Albert's voice carried through the phone speaker into the quiet night.

Silence hung in the air. None of them spoke, maybe afraid Albert would regret telling them.

Finally, Red broke it. "Isn't that a bit dramatic?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, why would we lose our minds over this?" Red leaned back on the bench. "You think we'd fall apart just knowing reunification's possible?"

"Yeah." Angelo shifted his weight. "Compared to everything else we've been through? This is nothing."

"I share their sentiment," Blue added.

"I... I don't..." Albert stammered on the other end, clearly thrown.

"Anyway." Blue smoothly redirected, one finger raised. "What did your experiments reveal?"

Albert cleared his throat—the sound of a man pulling himself together. "Right. As I was explaining. Initially, we attempted to merge all three components back into their unified form." A pause, probably Albert shaking his head. "Complete failure. So we decided to start simple. Level one, so to speak."

Blue's posture straightened with understanding. "The weakest repulsion. Angelo's neutral energy combined with either mine or Red's."

"Exactly right! Top marks!"

The faintest smirk touched Blue's lips—quickly shattered by Red's "Nerd."

Angelo cut through their usual dynamic. "So what happened?"

"We succeeded."

All three heads turned toward the phone.

"Succeeded at... what?" Angelo's eyes narrowed at the device.

"We finally achieved it. Energy Fusion."

"Energy Fusion?" Blue echoed, testing the words.

"Precisely. Consider it similar to your Trinergy." Albert's enthusiasm was building. "Blue and I tested its properties extensively, if you remember."

"Yeah, and?" Angelo and Red said in perfect unison, patience wearing thin.

"The concept is straightforward—use the natural repulsion between components to create unstable stability. The result is increased potency." Albert was warming up now, sliding into lecture mode. "We discovered that neutral energy plus one other component—what you call Sub-Trinergy—yields one hundred twenty-five percent potency."

"Hold on." Red held up a hand. "I'm not exactly a sciency guy, but doesn't that mean—"

"Exactly!" Albert couldn't contain himself. "Two components that should only give you seventy-five percent of the original's power actually create more power than the unified Angelo ever had when forced together!"

"What about the others?" Red leaned forward, actually interested for once.

"Your negative and positive Sub-Trinergy? One hundred seventy-five percent. Not a massive leap, but remember—both components are only at twenty-five percent each!"

"Whoa!" Red's excitement was completely genuine. Even Angelo and Blue found themselves smiling at the rare sight. "What about full Trinergy? How much stronger does that get?"

"Are you ready for this?" Albert paused for dramatic effect. "A whopping five hundred percent!"

"Get outta here! No way! Five hun—wait," Red spun toward Blue. "How much is that?"

Blue actually smirked. "Five times stronger than the original Angelo at full power. Ten times stronger than our Angelo at fifty percent." His smirk widened. "And twenty times stronger than whatever you could manage alone."

"Daaaaaaamn." Red stretched the word out, clearly impressed rather than insulted—the exact opposite of Blue's intention.

Angelo cut through the excitement like a knife. "Alright. But you didn't call to talk about Trinergy. So give it to us straight—how strong is Energy Fusion?"

The night air seemed to hold its breath.

"First, you need to understand its nature." Albert's voice turned serious. "We started with yours and Red's energies. You have to grasp this—energy made from only two components shouldn't exist in nature. It must be forced into existence."

"Come on, Albert." Angelo's impatience bled through. "Just tell us."

Albert refused to rush. "What you create is like... think of compressed files on a computer. It reads as a certain amount, but in reality, it's far more potent. And far more unstable."

"You're killing me here, old man!" Red practically bounced on the bench.

"After we fused neutral and negative energies together, we created this crimson energy." Albert paused. They could hear him breathing on the other end. "When we tested it, the results showed..."

All three leaned toward the phone.

"One thousand percent potency."

The words hit them like a physical blow.

"O-One thousand?" Angelo's whisper barely made it past his lips.

"From just negative and neutral?" Blue's composure cracked.

"That's... that's way stronger than even Trinergy!" Red jumped to his feet, unable to contain himself.

"Correct. In theory, neutral and positive should yield the same results." Albert's voice carried weight now—the gravity of what he was revealing. "If this follows the Trinergy pattern, then negative and positive fused should be even stronger. And completely fused energy, all three components together... well, we can only speculate."

Angelo felt his world tilt. Bill's final words echoed in his mind like they'd been waiting for this moment.

"You're not bound by your limits."

And now—now those words actually felt possible. Real.

"However—" Albert's voice crashed down like a hammer. "As I mentioned, fused energy is extremely unstable. It doesn't want to exist for prolonged periods."

"You're saying it's dangerous to use?" Blue's caution returned full force.

"Yes. And potentially dangerous to create as well." Albert's hesitation came through clearly. "To be completely honest, I'm not certain how you would create it yourselves without specialized equipment. But you three discovered Trinergy. You figured out remote manipulation and creation. Your division is a gift wrapped in thorns—if anyone can pull this off, it's you."

The three of them exchanged glances. Something shifted between them in that moment—new understanding, maybe even appreciation.

"I never told you this before, my boys." Albert's voice turned soft, almost fatherly. "You may be divided, but there's strength in division when used properly. I've shared everything I can. The rest is up to you now." He paused. "Just promise me you'll be careful. Energy Fusion isn't something to experiment with lightly."

The three nodded to each other in the darkness—silent agreement passing between them.

"We promise," Angelo said quietly.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.