The Auriga Corporation Fanfic Files

Note: This is a collective work created from an RP. I would like to thank the other Rpers Bakura Millennium Keeper, Ryastarling, Jaesai, Dunames Dark Witch, pinkdreamer, Emerald Jyoushiko, and Yami Celestea for working along side me to make this amazing story possible.

Auriga Corporation Fanfic Files
Chapter 1 – Just Another Day

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It was dark with no moon and it was perfect for her cover. Blood stained her clothes as she exited the alleyway where the bodies of two government bounty hunters lay bodies mangled in a gore fashion that would make even the most strong of all stomachs on even the hardest man among the people who would find the bodies would turn away.

She smirked wildly as she looked up at the sky and saw a constellation came from behind the clouds and she jumped up onto the nearby buildings rooftop and she stood there as her wounds closed and the blood upon her body cleared. The blood staining her clothes was quickly forgotten as she stripped her body of her garments and picking up a book bag hidden behind a pole she began to dress.

Once she was done she quickly put her long silver hair into a ponytail and jumped onto the next building until she was a block away from where the murder itself occurred.

She walked the crowded streets of the downtown distract and no one would be the wiser of what crime she the most wanted person in the government history has just committed.

”No one shall catch me,\" She whispered as she walked into a restaurant as the sun rose from the east side of the city, “And all shall remain as it is and revenge shall be mine.\"

Walking into the bathrooms she came out wearing a yellow waitress uniform and quickly tied a apron around her front then stood by the counter awaiting the restaurants first customers of the day looking as she couldn’t have been involved in anything hideous as murder in the night that had just passed them by.

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A gang of teenagers were having a furious snowball fight when David Boltra came trudging back from his excursion into the frozen tundra of Antarctica, which had culminated in a skirmish. \"Hey, watch where you\'re chucking those!\" he snapped as he threw up a hand, stopping several snowballs in their tracks, and blowing them back into individual snowflakes, amusing several of the combatants.

David slid quietly into Devlin Base. This Antarctic base was well hidden from the outside world, as it housed a large magical community, sheltering it from the rest of the world. It was also a major hub for the Auriga Corporation, which had few holds in Antarctica as it was. There was no reason to keep a tight grip on a wasteland, which saw few attacks from the darkness.

David walked purposefully through the base, taking swift, fluid steps. Many of the inhabitants of the base, mainly paladins and their families, but a few researchers and writers, hailed him as he walked by.

\"Hey David, how\'s it goin\'?\"

\"Okay. How\'s your family, Drake?\"

\"Much better, thanks. If you hadn\'t found them out there last week, they could\'ve frozen to death.\" The paladin\'s serious face broke into a broad smile, gratefully wringing David\'s hand.

\"Just doin\' my job. Listen, have you seen Vord?\" David asked, trying to pull his hand out of the strong paladin\'s grasp.

Noticing that he was crushing the mage-warrior\'s hand, Drake let go swiftly. \"Nope, I think he\'s en route from the Council\'s meeting.\"

As he spoke, Vord Slaybreaker, a handsome, smiling man of about 30 walked through an airlock. Instantly, everyone turned, murmuring in adoration as he walked smoothly through the crowd, a strained grin on his face as he waved. \"Hi. How y\'all doin\'?\"

\"Vord, the very person I was looking for,\" began David as he headed toward his friend.

\"Later, David, later. I got pressing matters that I need you to attend to,\" replied Vord, hurrying the mage-warrior to a side chamber.

\"So do I. Look, another regiment of demons broke through the barrier again, and our portal security\'s getting thin—\"

\"Oh, them,\" muttered Vord dismissively. \"Ask Tristan to fix it. Look man, I\'m in deep crud.\"

\"What happened?\" asked David, instantly alert.

\"The Council rejected another financial proposal again today—\" started Vord.

\"Was Barnaby voted down again?\" interrupted David. Australia\'s Council Member was notorious for his unpopular proposals.

\"Yeah, but the problems is, this time, his proposal could have increased money flow to Antarctica. And we\'re pretty desperate, dough-wise,\" said Vord. \"So, in order to cut down on the budget, I had to pull back almost everyone we transferred to the North Pole...\"

\"Wait, was that everyone outside?\" asked David sharply.

\"Yeah.\"

\"Hold on! But they were all troops!\"

\"So?\"

David snorted irately. \"You know what the Council could view that as. Either neglect of the Arctic region, by pulling out all of your active men, or an aggressive move, by bolstering your defences.\"

\"But—\"

\"You\'re already walking on thin ice,\" snapped David. \"Throwing your support behind Barnaby and pulling a stunt like this could easily damage your image. You know how precious few people like the idea of the Polar Treaty.\" David was referring to the treaty which had transferred jurisdiction of the Arctic region to Antarctica, saving bickering between the continents who had countries that had territory up there. The only continents who hadn\'t signed it were Asia and Europe.

\"I bow to your superior political experience, Mr. Boltra,\" said Vord sarcastically. David knew that he had gone a bit far.

\"Sorry. I\'m not the Council Member, I shouldn\'t be acting like this.\"

\"Acting Council Member,\" chuckled Vord. \"Anyways, you\'re right. I\'ll send some of the guys back to the North Pole. And I\'ll talk to Tristan about the portal security,\" he added.

\"Good,\" said David, relieved.

Vord stared curiously. \"You\'re a pretty good fighter. Why don\'t you join the Auriga Corporation? AMPFA\'s about to be approved as a clan, you know.\" He was talking about the Antarctic Mystic Paladin Fighting Association, which he was chairman of and consisted of basically everyone in Devlin Base.

\"I\'ll think about it. Where do I apply?\"

\"The nearest application post\'s in Africa. You might want to head there.\"

\"All right. I\'ve got a supply run there tomorrow anyways. What\'s it like? Being in Auriga, I mean.\"

\"It\'s cool. You get to meet people from all over. The international effort sort of overwhelms you. It\'s sort of hard to imagine a single group of people with so many connections.\" Vord got a faraway look in his eyes as he said this. It was clear to see he was proud to be part of the Corporation.

\"Yeah, okay. So long,\" said David as he headed for the unloading port, where he would take a plane to Africa for supplies.

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Elsewhere in the streets of England, there walked a lone figure with black hair and strange grey coloured eyes. The young woman, who appeared to be about 20-years-old, had her long onyx black hair tied back into a single braid and dangling by the right side of her face was a single smaller braid of silver that was where her hair had been specifically dyed. She was dressed in pretty much dark colours that hid her in the shadows every time she walked through them, and when she stepped into the light of the street lamps her whole form was over shadowed by a mysterious aura. A black pair of jeans donned her legs, whilst her torso was covered by a crimson body fitting top and a black jacket that had its sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

Frowning as a light breeze whipped her single braid into her face, the young woman tucked it neatly behind her ear and carried on walking till she walked out into a main public city area. People hustled and bustled around her going to bars and nightclubs and the like, something of which she didn\'t approve considering all the layabouts and nutcases that left them in the early morning hours. Despite this simple fact she continued to walk the streets, people like this bothered her, but she knew how to take care of herself so she wasn\'t worried if the occasional nut approached her. Of course when she was on her nightly walks one of them always did and tonight was no different; young woman walking along in impressive looking clothing was hardly a thing to miss.

That particular night it was a youth only a year or two older than herself, with short but fly away brown hair and wily brown eyes. He approached her and walked along with her for a moment, eyeing up her outfit. She could smell alcohol around him and wrinkled her nose in clear disgust.

\"What\'s a gorgeous girl like you doing out here alone?\" he asked, his voice slightly slurred. Luna sighed; she\'d heard it all before... every chat up line, every hit. She knew them all, not surprising considering she heard them repeated over and over and they got even cornier every night.

\"Well?\" he asked awaiting an answer.

\"Looking for ways to get away from your kind,\" she told him simply as her low healed boots clicked lightly on the concrete of the pavement.

\"That\'s not a nice thing to say,\" he told her.

\"It wasn\'t intended to be nice,\" she informed him matter-of-factly. \"Now would you mind going away?\"

The youth smiled lightly as he rested a hand on her arm, as he continued to follow her along. Luna could feel the heat and sweat on his hand rubbing off on her skin, and it took some of her willpower not to turn around and send this guy flying. She could do it to, she was never afraid to use her abilities to remove unwanted company.

\"Listen,\" she told him simply as she turned and narrowed her eyes at him. \"If you want your hand to remain attached to your wrist, you\'d best move it now.\" Thankfully this guy knew when to take a hint, especially if it was in the form of a threat. He took his hand off her arm and stepped away from her. Luna smiled slightly and walked away from him, making sure her pace was quicker then before. He didn\'t follow her, which was a good thing as then she would\'ve been willing to knock seven bells out of him.

She\'d only gone a few more steps when she heard a soft ringing sound. It was her cell phone. Reaching into her pocket she drew it out and pressed the respond button, placing it by her ear.
\"Luna here,\" she answered simply and went quiet as she stopped walking. \"London? Unknown creature? Very well I’ll see to it. Ok, I’ll meet him there in five.\" She closed the call and started down the street again, this time at a run.

It wasn\'t long till she met her ride, a motorbike with its rider waiting for her. He handed her a spare helmet, which she slid on and fastened, before holding onto his waist. The man revved the bike up and drove off, saying nothing as he sped down the motorways of England. Luna watched the cars flash by her, she wasn\'t far from London, but any other form of transport would\'ve taken too long. Good job the corporation knows good service, she thought to herself. Now to hope he gets me there in time.

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A helicopter landed on the top of a skyscraper in Paris, France. With his hair flying due to the gust being kicked up, a servant hurriedly opened the door and offered his hand, which was taken by a slender, manicured one. Monique Dufour stepped out of the helicopter gracefully and nodded to the servant. \"My thanks, Gaston.\"

Gaston bowed. \"The pleasure is mine, Mademoiselle Monique.\"

Monique walked into her office and sat down. Her secretary was waiting for her. \"Welcome back, Mademoiselle Dufour.\"

\"Thank you, Celine. What do you have for me?\"

\"Well, you have an appointment at 4 with the CEO of Hale Corporation, and there\'s that charity dinner at 8.\"

\"I see. Any Auriga news?\"

\"There\'s been sightings of monsters in London...and a Wyvern bat has been spotted.\"

Monique straightened at that. \"Where?\"

\"Somewhere in Africa...they\'ve already sent a team there.\"

Monique mulled over this. \"Good...the Wyvern bat is very high on our list.\" She smiled thinly. \"I dare say whoever captures that creature will get a very nice reward...\"

\"Also...one of your constituents has emailed you. A Nils Bergsvik of Norway. It\'s about Svalbard.\"

Monique raised an eyebrow. \"Svalbard is no longer in my jurisdiction.\"

\"Begging your pardon, Mademoiselle Dufour, but Norway is.\" Monique took the printout from Celine and read it. \"Apparently he\'s worried about the defence situation at the North Pole, being that it\'s so close to Svalbard...\"

Monique\'s eyes narrowed. \"Do you mean to tell me there are no troops at the North Pole?\"

Celine squirmed slightly. \"Apparently Antarctica is having financial problems...\"

Monique exhaled, slightly annoyed. \"Honestly. And now Denmark and Norway will be expecting me to do something about it. If it was just Svalbard, there wouldn\'t be a problem. But there\'s Greenland to think about... Was there no better alternative...?\" She stood. \"Celine, make an appointment with Vord Slaybreaker. And call my tailor. My old winter coat is getting flimsy.\"

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Luna removed her helmet as the bike came to a stop somewhere in London, she handed it to the rider and watched as he drove off and left her alone. He was just her ride, not her aid. Forgetting about him, she made her way through the dark streets, only occasionally walked under the light of a street lamp. Where are you, you freak? She wandered as she looked around for the creature that had been reported in that area.

She once again placed her singular braid behind her ear and her guard went up as she heard a rustling sound behind her. She turned and looked around silently, eyes narrowing and darting around, making sure she didn\'t miss a thing.

\"I know you\'re here somewhere,\" she announced out loud. \"Come out before I come and find you.\" Hearing a rustling sound again she world around to see a little ginger cat jump out of an alleyway.

\"Oh,\" she whispered feeling stupid. \"I sure hope they didn\'t call me out for a cat.\"

It was then she heard more noises and this time she looked up and saw something parked on top of a building to her side; she quickly jumped back as it flew down towards her. Claws extended towards her. Luna sidestepped the creature’s next attack as it came at her again, pulling her phone out and activating the speed dial. It rang for a few rings before an answer came, while she was dodging another claw attack.

\"It\'s Luna,\" she told the person on the other end. \"I\'m in London as ordered. The monster is a cat demon. How do I know? Because it\'s trying to kill me, that\'s how. Shall I destroy it or capture it?\" The person took a few minutes to make up their mind before answering.
\"Destroy it, very well.\"

Putting her phone away as she avoided another attack, Luna reached behind her back and drew out two three bladed daggers… her best weapons, the khatar blades. She spun them both with practised ease and flew at the monster, which blocked with its claws.

\"You\'re not getting away that easily,\" she told it and spinning round side kicked at it.

The creature only had its claws to attack with, so it used them. It lashed out at one point and gashed her jeans.

\"You little,\" she growled and her eyes narrowed even more, if that were possible. Within minutes the two were wrestling for control in the fight, and eventually Luna managed to punch forward with her daggers and gash the monsters side sharply. Another stab and the other one stabbed into the cat demons stomach.

It shrieked in agony and recoiled, before whipping out with its tail and knocking Luna off her feet. She hit the ground with a heavy thump and groaned as she banged her elbow on the tarmac road. The cat was on top of her in an instant, pinning her to the ground. She screamed as it dug its claws through her jacket and into the skin of her shoulders. Its head was close to hers and she could smell its foul breath.

\"Oh disgusting, ever heard of a breath mint?\" she asked and kicked it hard in the stomach, hitting it where she\'d stabbed it earlier.

The cat shrieked and pulled away, allowing Luna to roll aside and get up. Grabbing her one weapon, which had been tossed aside when she\'d fallen she turned and thrust it into the monsters chest. She breathed heavily and collapsed to her knees as the creature dropped to the ground and exploded before her eyes. Her weapons fell from her hands, stained in blood. She reached for her phone with trembling hands and raised it to her ear pressing the speed dial.

\"This is Luna,\" she announced simply. \"The demon is history.\"

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“I\'ll have a lemonade,\" The man said and Rya put on a bright smile, “And a piece of pie.\"

”Of course sir anything else?\" She asked.

”No that’s fine,\" The man said and Rya turned away to get the order.

Last night had been a long night, her demon was very tired, also, killing the two bounty hunters had taken a lot out of her father’s demon. Her father’s demon was up, actually, right now sitting at a table enjoying a piece of strawberry cheesecake.

The demon itself looked just like a human child with long white locks and bright blue eyes. She wore a long yellow dress that was buttoned down the front with a bright pink bow going around her waist tied in the back. However much she looked human it was all just as the saying goes ‘A wolf in sheep clothing’ or in this case a very high classed demon. She imagined it\'s demon form with bright white fur and fox body that seemed to catch all with it\'s piercing yellow eyes, all six tails waving in the air. The image itself was enough to place any normal man into madness or at least kill them.

”Starling!\" A voice said and she turned to her boss who was standing there, “Got some customers over at table 6 serve em.\"

”Of course,\" She said and walked up but was suddenly froze in her tracks.

At table 6 there were 5 men and one women sitting there, all wore black suits with red armbands on their suits. They were bounty hunters high classed bounty hunters… but not any bounty hunters mind you the symbol of red that no other hunter wore unless they belonged to the Blood Bonders. They were an elite group of bounty hunters who worked only by counsel orders and were extremely powerful.

”Can I take your order?\" She asked knowing this was a sly move and in some way they were bound to find out who she was.

”Yea a coffee and a salad,\" The women said, “and the lunch special for the rest of the men.\"

”Hey haven\'t we met?\" One man asked she recognized this one his name was Jake he was the newbie in the group. She had met in once in France but had escaped him easily. “Hey wait a second...\"

And suddenly as if by his brain kicked him in motion, he hauled out a photo and then gasped.

”It\'s you...\" He gasped, “It\'s you STARLIGHT!\"

Suddenly as Rya stood still all the blood bonders grabbed there weapons and ready to summon whatever they needed for the battle. Rya however laughed and laughed even harder and the Blood Bonders looked at her oddly.

Suddenly without warning she held out her hands and suddenly an icy clap of wind came and knocked the bounty hunters to the floor.

”Bree!\" She called, “Time to go!\"

”What!\" Her boss yelled, “Wha...what the hell are you...\"

At the sight of her hair coming out of the ponytail and her piercing eyes he stood back and slowly backed behind the counter as the blood bonders got up.

”Huh?\" The demon asked and looked at the blood bonders, “Oh...but I haven’t finished my cheesecake.\"

”Come on Bree!\" She said and grabbed the demon and ran outside as suddenly the child turned into a giant fox that had white fire for fur and it let out a howl at the blood bonders as they neared her.

Rya hopped onto the foxes back and then without a moments hesitation she and the giant daemon fox were gone.

”Contact the council and tell them Starlight is in this area,\" The leader said.

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\"There\'s a problem in Antarctica? What? Financial problems?! Very well. Send our best troops to help them. And act quickly!\" Celi Halliwell barked into her cell phone. She ended her call and pocketed the phone, she then sat down on the sofa at her house, rubbing her temples in frustration. It was very hard work, working for the Auriga Corporation, especially as a CLAN leader and Council of Seven member.

Speaking of which, things had been getting very out of hand recently. Especially in Antarctica and America. Antarctica was suffering greatly from financial problems, whilst America was suffering from an alarming increase in major crimes. Such as murders, assaults, sexual assaults and arson. For instance, just last Tuesday, an old abandoned warehouse nearby had gone up in flames for no apparent reason. There was nothing particularly incriminating found in it when investigations were carried out. It seemed to Celi, as though it had merely been an act of local terrorism, or perhaps a very childish prank. She herself had almost fallen victim to several of these \"pranks\" and had had to hire bodyguards for protection.

And although she\'d never admit it to anyone, the attempted attacks on her life left her feeling unsure and anxious. She found it hard to sleep at night, or if she did, her bodyguards, Lakura and Lorettia would inform her that she had been sleepwalking, a habit only affecting her when she was under extreme stress.

She shuddered and pulled a blanket around herself, before sleep caught up with her, she still lay on the sofa. She slept on, blissfully ignorant of the dark figure watching through the window and the gap in the curtains, smirking a malicious smirk.

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Luna was exhausted, she walked slowly now through the streets of London trying to find a place where she could rest. She wouldn\'t be able to make it back to her home tonight that was for sure.

Turning down another street she spied a small hotel and made her way to it, surprised the place was still open. She made her way in and over to the front desk, leaning casually against it.

\"Do you have a room I can use for the night?\" she asked the clerk, who eyed her up quietly.

\"Yes, on the next floor,\" he told her as he searched a key out. \"It\'s 30 pound a night mind you.\"

\"Yeah, yeah,\" she responded digging her purse out of her back pocket. \"I only need a room for tonight.\" She pulled out the amount and handed it to him without another word.

He nodded and handed her a room key, room 10.

\"Upstairs, first door on the left,\" he informed her. Luna nodded and heading towards the lift, took it to the next floor.

She turned and walked up to the room, opening the door and stepping inside. The room was classy enough, it was spacious, had a good view and a nice looking bed. Sighing she locked the door, dumped her bag and walked into the bathroom so she could wash her face. Once that was done she headed into the bedroom and lay down on the soft, comfortable bed and within minutes she was sound asleep.

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\"I. Cannot. BELIEVE THIS!!!!!\" Vord outburst of pure frustration echoed loudly through the deserted base. Everyone had been sent out on the pretext of some mission or another so Vord could work in peace. And for the last few hours, Antarctica\'s Acting Council Member had been sitting in front of his terminal, trying to figure out exactly WHY Antarctica was suffering so greatly. Apparently, not only had Antarctica\'s budget been cut drastically, affecting the plan that Vord had painstakingly worked out, but a higher-up in AMPFA had been discovered embezzling funds.

Jan Stebbins was actually pretty close to Vord. He was second-in-command of the Arctic taskforce, which had been forced to withdraw from the North Pole, and was only hours ago hurriedly redeployed on an emergency order, issued by Vord. It actually came as something of a shock when Vord narrowed it down to him, and only him. He had actually been seen as an excellent and trustworthy worker, and had an honest reputation. Vord double-checked, triple-checked and checked it a few times more, but the only possibility was Stebbins. He, of course, was now incarcerated and awaiting trial. However, Vord, for one, highly doubted that it would ever happen, since the Antarctic sector of Auriga was now in complete chaos.

The discovery of Stebbins\' treachery had opened up the fact that the people in AMPFA (which was the only seat of government in the cold hell that was the South Pole) could be corrupt, and that Stebbins may not have been the only official who was wreaking havoc on the system. As of that very moment, Antarctica was officially in anarchy. The only thing preventing fighting from breaking out was another emergency order issued by Vord demanding martial law. He knew full well that this would look extremely bad, but he needed to maintain control and figure out exactly what in the name of ice had happened before officials showed up and threw him in the pokey as well. This was such a dangerous situation that Vord would not have been surprised if the mortal world discovered this well-hidden shadow agency. And it was all his fault.

Truth be told, he wasn\'t completely to blame. If Jacob Maynor had not left the place in this state of disorder, this wouldn\'t have happened. If only the official Council Member had handled the problems that were thrown at him, rather than shuffling them into his ‘To-Do’ list; he wouldn\'t be here, worrying about the state of a giant iceberg. Of course, this wasn\'t how the Council was going to view it, and the possibility that his predecessor could even be at fault never occurred to Vord.

And now the situation had deteriorated into utter and complete irreparability. Upon arriving at the North Pole, having been shuttled by hypersonic jets, the Antarctic force found the place completely overrun by ice elementals and a massive demon force about a few million strong. The last reports Vord had received, which were sitting right in front of his face, said that the army (for that\'s what it was) \"was encountering extreme difficulties\", though they were \"battling valiantly to defeat the foe\". Vord simply blocked all calls coming from the North Pole. He didn\'t want to hear the distress calls, the panicked requests for orders. He rubbed his temples slowly, shutting his eyes tightly. He didn\'t know if he could take any more of this. He was a paladin, a holy warrior, not a man in a suit playing mind games with some other people in suits.

A small icon flashed in the corner of his screen, denoting an incoming message. Sighing tiredly, Vord pressed a button. The face of Celine, the personal secretary of Monique Dufour, the Europe Council Member, appeared on the screen. Vord groaned inwardly. Monique was likeable enough, as politicians went. Vord liked her calculating manner and expert handling of tough situations. However, if she got involved in this... well, he\'d never be able to pick himself out of the gutter.

\"Vord Slaybreaker, Acting Council Member of Antarctica speaking.\"

\"I am speaking on behalf of Monique Dufour, Council Member of Europe. She would like to arrange a meeting at your earliest convenience.\"

Vord laughed mirthlessly. \"I don\'t have any more places in my schedule labelled \'convenient\'.\"

Celine didn\'t answer the joke. \"Are you available tomorrow at nine in the morning, at the Hague?\"

Vord let out his breath in submission. \"Yeah, I can get there,\" he grunted, entering something into his PDA.

\"Excellent. Miss Dufour looks forward to the appointment.\" The screen blinked off.

Vord slammed his head into the aluminium desk. Could the day get worse?

A voice whispered to his already tired mind. \'Yes. Yes, it can.\'

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The Blood Bond member Hun the second youngest was left with the task of telling the council that they had found Starlight at last after a full years search of the World. Putting his cell phone to his ear and rubbing his head he slowly dialled the number for the youngest Council member.

”Madam?\" He asked when the phone was answered, “We found Starlight.\"

Rya however was still in the city watching the blond bonders and listening to the call with use of her magic.

”So the council ay?\" She asked. “Just like seven little birds in a tree drop a stone at one and they all fly off.\"

Bree chuckled as she heard her mistress say this.

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Monique updated her PDA as her limo snaked its way through the Parisian streets. She was to meet Vord the next morning at the Hague. She eyed her laptop. Reports were streaming in from the North Pole, which was in a state of utter chaos. Of course, the monsters choose when there are no troops to ambush it... Monique thought. And now there was that embezzlement scandal... Out loud, Monique murmured, \"This is ridiculous...\"

Just then, her cell phone rang. She actually had two, one for normal purposes and one for Auriga. It was the Auriga phone. Monique answered. \"This is Council Member Dufour.\" As she listened, her eyes widened, and then narrowed. \"You know what to do. Catch her. Do whatever you have to, but I want her captured.\" She hung up and massaged her temples. What a time for her to appear... Is all of Auriga plunging into chaos?

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Rya meanwhile was now running from the Blood Bonders on Bree who was running as fast as possible.

”Faster they\'re gaining,\" She said and suddenly a blast came from nowhere a large and knocked Rya off Bree sending her smashing into the street below.

”Urg...today is so not my day.\"

”Stay where you are,\" Janquline said as she held her wand over Rya\'s head, “You\'ve got nowhere to run Starlight.\"

”No I think you got nowhere to run,\" She chuckled and before Janquline only female member of the blood bonders could answer Bree came hauling down and pinned her to the street.

Suddenly something hit Rya in the neck and she pulled a dart from her neck. Suddenly the world became a dizzy and spin and she collapsed.

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David Boltra clung on for dear life as the supply plane whirled through the air, spiralling out of control. The sputtering of the failing fuel system was becoming deafening, then all of a sudden it stopped. The plane dropped like a stone, crashing into the African desert, flying and bouncing across the savannah, until it came to rest in a mangled heap of scrap metal, exploding in a fiery ball. When the flames had subsided somewhat, a howl of pure rage issued from somewhere inside the wreck, and a second explosion blew what was left of the plane to bits.

David walked out, doubly armed with his two swords, bloodfire raging behind his normally mellow eyes. He seemed to have decimated the wreck with little more than a flick of his finger. With a snort of rage, he slammed both swords so hard into the ground that they blasted out shockwaves, which ripped fissures in the ground.

\"Just what I need,\" he grated irately. \"Some numbskull mixes up the identification for this piece of junk and Vord\'s private jet. And it just so happens that a certain someone was about to be assassinated today. And it just so happens that a bomb was placed in the hold of the supply plane instead. And then, instead of blasting the plane to bits like a good bomb should, it tears a giant hole in the hull, and causes me to crash in the middle of nowhere. Well tonight seems to be going great, I don\'t think! Two damned wrecks in the same day! Two! This is the second time a plane has totalled itself trying to crush me!\"

He tore his weapons out of the ground, and hissed venomously. \"When I get my hands on the killer who did this, I\'m gonna—\" Not finding anything suitable as punishment, he let loose a string of swears. He was interrupted by a sobbing on the other side of the hill he had torn up in the crash. Keeping his swords out, he walked cautiously around the hill.

An African woman was trembling, with several children clinging to her and sobbing wildly. David looked on, unsure of what to do. Seeing him falter, the woman said in halting English, \"Save... village... others.\" She pointed over her shoulder, and listening carefully, David could hear screams and cries of terror. Having the gift of tongues, he reassured the woman in her native tongue. \"Don\'t worry. I will help.\" Help with what, he had no idea, but it wasn\'t as though he had anything to drastic to attend to at the moment. Running up another hill, when he breached the summit, he looked down with dismay at the sight.

A massive bat demon was surrounded by a few figures, much smaller than it was. Dancing around, they seemed to be trying to bring it down, by the looks of the threads of light they were firing at it. David had heard about this from Vord. Recently, Auriga had been trying to incorporate more magic users into its ranks, since certain creatures couldn\'t be brought down without magic. This squad apparently had a few of them. There didn\'t seem to be more than five of them in total, however. Two of them seemed to be armed with swords, and they were desperately trying to inflict some damage on the beast and stay out of range at the same times. David watched, almost fascinated, as the beast leaned forward and emitted a screech. David could actually see the sound waves washing over two of the swordsmen, and they fell to the ground, deafened and clutching their ears in pain. The beast then whipped around and snorted out a plume of poisonous fumes, asphyxiating a pair of the magicians, and even from this distance David saw their eye whites roll up as they collapsed in a heap.

David decided he had better stop that thing from simply slaughtering its opponents. Running down the slope, he paused at the sight of a horribly wounded man. Judging by his looks, David guessed he was a writer for Auriga. He looked up, in deep pain, but when David started to head toward him to offer assistance, he shook his head painfully and croaked, \"Go defeat that thing.\" He had obviously mistaken David for one of his own comrades, but that wasn\'t exactly the uppermost item on David\'s mind as he hurled himself into the melee.

He ran straight at the creature, and hurled both his swords with deadly accuracy. They both embedded themselves in the creature\'s heart. It turned around to glare at David, wheezing in pain as David’s blades punctured its lungs. Its evil yellow eyes were tinged with blood red.

\"You don\'t know how to die, huh?\" asked David quietly as he began to absorb bright yellow energy in the palm of his left hand, holding it above his head like a signal. Howling with rage, the creature charged him, all of its long deadly claws raking the air and its saw-edged fangs dripping saliva as it roared, trying to sink his claws or teeth into its adversary. David sidestepped easily, and threw up a wind barrier as the creature turned around for a charge. It did so at full speed, completely disregarding the barrier. It slammed full force into the shield, and there were several audible cracks as it broke its skull and ribs. It was, however, an impressive effort, cracking the barrier, and shattering it, causing a massive windstorm to kick up as all of the contained air erupted outwards. The creature rubbed its limbs across its face, then chased after David, who peppered it with light shots of lightning as they danced around the ruined village and its burning buildings, only enough to halt the creature in its tracks for a few seconds, moving in a jerky dance of death, all the while still absorbing energy with his left hand.

Suddenly, he came to a halt as he reached the center of the village. Throwing out his right hand, he blasted out a wave of water, which cascaded over the surprised bat demon, causing it to yowl in shock and confusion. \"You like the sun?\" he inquired, and the ball of energy in his left hand, now the size of a Ping-Pong ball, began to glow with great intensity, releasing sunlight. The creature growled in discomfort and curled up, launching a storm of stiff, irritating hairs, an instinctive defence. Wincing as the needle-like hairs ripped through him, and starting to bleed from several areas, David stood his ground. The squad, who had apparently followed him, watched him as he toyed with the beast, standing stock-still. One of the swordsmen, who had recovered sufficiently, suddenly lunged out and with a swift slash, decapitated the beast. As soon as the head hit the ground, it screeched in agony, and the body charged in a berserk rage, sweeping aside the swordsmen as though he weighed no more than a feather. It was now running headlong at David. Lowering the glowing hand until it was parallel to the ground, he said casually, \"I guess you don\'t. Have some, then.\"

He released the blast. To say that a blazing inferno that lit up the night as though it were day, completely incinerating the beast and wiping out all vestige of matter in its path would have been a grave understatement. The blast was so great that all of the Auriga operatives hurled themselves behind the hulks of huts to prevent from being blinded and vaporized. When it cleared, there was nothing left of the beast, to say naught of the row of huts behind it. All that was left was the faint smell of lightly toasted Wyvern Bat.

David walked stiffly and painfully over to the spot where the beast had stood, which was nothing but a smear of black dust on the ground. Yanking out his two swords and sheathing them, he was about to speak to the five operatives who had just pulled themselves out of the wreckage when his phone rang. Surprised that it hadn\'t been torn to bits when the needles ripped through him, he picked it up, mentally chiding himself for being careless enough to be injured. \"David Boltra speaking.\"

\"It\'s me.\"

\"Damn you, Vord. Damn you.\"

\"I should be saying that to you. Apparently, you\'ve tied up my private jet... something about a registration mix-up. And I need to be at the Hague by nine tomorrow!\" Vord\'s voice had a note of panic in it.

\"You should talk. It\'s because of that little mix-up that I had to take an assassination attempt on your behalf!\"

\"Assassination? There was a bomb?\"

\"Gee, ya think?\" replied David sarcastically.

\"You want a bomb, come back to Devlin Base. Or what\'s left of it.\"

\"What happened?\" asked David, worried now.

\"I had just walked out to get my jet. Then the guy informed me that due to a mix-up, I don\'t have clearance to launch, and thus I\'m stranded while they try to fix it. Just as I\'m about to go back and do some research, maybe come up with a plan to pull us out of this mess, BOOM! The entire base is nuked. And I mean nuked. The smoke mushroomed out over the whole base, and the place is littered with smoking rubble, which as we speak is freezing.\"

\"Sounds cheerful. How\'re the casualties?\"

\"That\'s the one good thing,\" said Vord, sighing a little. \"I sent everyone out before I started working. Only problems is, is that our little money-stealing rat was imprisoned in there, and now he\'s gone. Well, at least he doesn\'t have to worry about those charges of embezzling from government funds.\"

\"I\'ll say. Where are you headed now?\"

\"I\'m just gonna steal some plane and fly it to the Hague, and meet with Dufour.\"

\"Isn\'t she the Europe Council Member?\" asked David, surprised.

\"Yeah. Then I\'m gonna go to the Arctic Ice Cap, and fight with my comrades.\"

\"Fight?\"

\"Haven\'t you heard?\" snapped Vord, annoyed. \"A couple of million demons have infested the place. And it\'s up to us paladins to sweep \'em away.\"

\"I told you to bolster portal security.\"

\"I know, I know. They took advantage of the lack of troops and just swept in with an entire army, through a single portal. Well, I\'m off to the Hague. Any reason you think Miss Dufour would want to meet me there?\"

\"Nope. Maybe it\'s just convenient.\"

\"You know, I\'ve figured something out over the last few months. In Auriga, there\'s no such thing as convenient.\" Vord paused, then suddenly sucked in his breath sharply.

David asked urgently, \"What is it?\" He winced as some more pain shot through his body. He was also beginning to itch all over, from the irritants in that creature\'s fur.

\"The Hague. It\'s where international tribunals are held. But for Auriga, it\'s the center of judicial matters.\"

\"You mean their courts are there?\" David said, feeling a cold hand clamp around his heart.

\"Yeah. You think they want to arrest me? Are they gonna try me for war crimes or something?\"

\"Maybe. You haven\'t exactly been a saint.\" David bit his lip, and regretted it immediately as the full-body itch also covered his face.

\"What do I do?\" Vord\'s voice was definitely scared now.

\"My advice is just go and meet with her. And bring your sword. If you can fight your way out, that\'s fine and dandy, and you can head to the Pole like you were planning, but if you can\'t, well, let\'s just say it\'s better being contained somewhere safe rather than fighting for your life or dodging others out to get it.\"

\"Alright. Later. I\'m off to meet my destiny. Which might be measured to the next few hours.\" This last sarcastic comment was punctuated with a click as the call ended. David slowly and agonizingly put his phone back in his pocket. Turning to the operatives, who had been discussing the situation with the writer, and now were staring at him, he said in a tense tone,

\"Any chance you could take me with you, wherever you\'re goin\'? \'Cause this is seriously killing me.\"

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Monique was brushing her hair, her golden eyes strangely luminescent in the pale lamplight, when her cell phone rang. She picked up. \"Council Member Dufour.\" Her eyes glowed with triumph as she listened. \"Excellent. I happen to be going to the Hague tomorrow morning. I\'ll just have to meet with Starlight as well. Good work.\" She hung up. Perhaps I began to worry for nothing...she thought with a smile. Everything seems to be turning out according to plan after all...

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