***NEED WORK

Ava sighed, her mind buzzing in deep thought.
Was it right for her to give that mission to Mivian? Maybe it was too soon; it had only been fifteen years since the incident... perhaps not even that much.
She had been so sure that Mivian will be fine.

But then, she heard her talking about the Scandal and she watched her as she revealed the tale of that dark night to Darvien. Her face had been blank, and her eyes unfocused. It was obvious that she still remembered the event with vivid detail.
It was as if time hadn't done her justice in her memory and let her heal.

Ava shook her head, trying to keep herself busy.
What more can she do for her?
Mivian is strong and determined; she knew that. Besides, it was too late for her to take back the mission; that would only hurt Mivian. She would have to trust her to stay strong.

Ava looked up to the glowing monitors. She skimmed through the coming information, making sure everything was as secure as it could be.
"Info filtered, readings; all clear. Connection secured, no visible problems." Thya said beside her, reading through the data.
She nodded, satisfied at what she saw. She pulled out a small silver earpiece and clipped it over her ear.
"Okay, boys. You're ready to go through. Good luck!" she spoke into the extended speaker.
"Go through the North Gate. Sylersland shouldn't be that far off." she added.
"Roger that." Sarvwen answered from his speaker.

There was a slight pause while he started to Summon the First Gate.
"North, Guardian of the First Gate, Creature of Earth. I call upon thee with serenity, stand beside me through the raging storms and shield the Ancient secrets beyond." Sarvwen's Voice hummed hypnotically.

Then there was a beep, and a new file popped up on the monitors. Sarvwen and Darvien were in the Living.
"Successful breach," Sarvwen reported.
Thya clicked her tongue and started to type in new orders.
"Nice! Hey Newbie!" she called as her fingers flew over the keyboard.
"Darvien here." he responded, sounding weary at his nickname.
Thya leaned back in her seat, grinning widely.
"So, how was your first time?" she asked jokingly.
A few chuckles ran through the room and Ava rolled her eyes. Darvien's voice came through from the speaker in a short laugh.
"Very exhilarating" he replied.
Thya laughed in her bell-like voice.
"Great! Don't give me any details," she said.
She shifted her position in her chair, leaning forward.
"Sylersland is just 3 miles west from where you are. When you get there, I want you to report what you see back." she said, getting back to business.
"Will do," he said, and tuned off. Thya then turned her attention to Sarvwen.
"Sarvwen, you know what to do," she added.
"Yup," he said, and he too tuned off.

Ava got up from where she was sitting, satisfied. Zavius looked over to her with a questioning gaze.
"I have a mission too; I have to get ready," she reminded him.
She turned away from the monitors and walked out the room. She swiftly made her way through the halls, brushing past white-robed technicians and assistants. It wasn't too long before she reached where she was heading towards.
Ava stood in front of the door to one of the prep rooms. She turned to the keypad next to the door and quickly pressed in the assigned number she was given. The light flickered from red to green, accepting the code. The steel plate door slid open with a hushed hiss. She stepped into the brightly lit room. The prep room was fully drawn up with different mission gear, weapons and tools, and even with its own stock of necessary antidotes and tonics of all sorts. Ava strode across the room to the equipment table. With the mission she had ahead, she was going to need to update her supplies and prep well.

She undid the clasp to the front of her uniform trench coat and shrugged out of her long sleeves. The muscle on her right shoulder tightened painfully as she moved it. With slight exasperation, she looked down at her shoulder.
The swelling was mostly gone, but it was still in different shades of color. The fractures and most of the tears in the muscles were all healed by Sarvwen, but the rest was out of his hands.
"The rest would have to be healed the old fashion way. No way around it; it was left too long," he had told her.
Ava gave it one last wistful look before reaching for her empty equipment pack.

"Ooooh, ouch. Isn't that a painful looking number," a sly velvet voice spoke from behind her.

Ava froze, irritation groing inside of her as she recognized the icy voice.
"What do you want, Varsalo?"

She looked over her shoulder and Varsalo leaning coolly against the opposite wall with a sick smirk on his lips.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just complimenting that nice work of art," he said smoothly.
He pulled himself off the wall and took a few steps closer. He eyed Ava's bruised shoulder with amused curiosity.
"Manual healing, huh? Must have been a very nasty one." he said nastily. "Can't imagine how a highly trained and skilled Slayer like youself can achieve such sloppy mistakes."

Ava said nothing, giving Varsalo nothing but a dark gaze. It would be greatly satisfying if she could knock the smirk permanently off his face.
"I don't need to repeat what I've asked once before." she said coldly.

Varsalo chuckled, shaking his head amusedly.
"There's nothing that you have I could possibly want. What's so wrong with showing concern for a fellow comrade?" he laughed, not sounding concerned at all.
Ava scoffed, turning back to the prep table.
"Hmm...Well, if you don't mind, I'm busy right at the moment. Could I ignore you some other time? I have things to do." she said, challenging his false concerns.
Varsalo's smirk froze and his eyes grew dangerously hard. But then he relaxed, the anger melting away as fast as it came.
"Oh, am I wasting your time? Because it's funny; from where I stand, it seems like Mivian's the one wasting all the time in the world."

Ava's hand froze as she reached for another belt pack. She heard him laugh at her back quietly.
"I mean, what was the point of telling that kid the edited version of the Grisavaille Scandal; it doesn't change the fact that she's a murderer."

Ava breathed out slowly, growing tired and quite short of patience with this Slayer. He wasn't worth her time or energy. But he went on, his voice light and amused.
"Poor kid; hanging onto every single word pouring out of her mouth. He must have fallen for her story. When in truth, she killed off all two humans and was going for her third---"
"She admitted to killing the father, finding the mother dying and the boy nearly dead. Her story was confirmed in the thorough investigation Thya and her crew ran." she said brusquely. "And her dagger didn't match the weapon used to kill the other two."
Varsalo let out a short laugh.
"Don’t be so naïve, Ava. You know better. There are more than one way in killing a human, those fragile beings” he sneered. "On brush of our Energy can practically drive them off the wall."
He came even closer, almost an arm length away from Ava.
"Come to think of it, wasn't she a bit worn down on Energy when you brought her back? What if---"
"Don't make me repeat myself, Varsalo. We both know what happened that night." she returned icily.
This time, she twisted around and took a step forward, coming only a foot apart from Varsalo. She leveled an even stare up into his face.
"Just because that incident caused you a title as an active field captain, it doesn't allow you to hold a childish grudge against Mivian."

Varsalo's smart expression disappeared and in its place was dark anger.
"That murderer acted out on her own accord. I couldn't have stopped her," he spat back.
A small smile parted Ava's lips.
"I can't agree more. A spineless coward like you couldn't possibly go up against a true Angel Guard Slayer like Mivian," she breathed tauntingly.

Varsalo's face fell blank as if in shock. Then, he glared, gritting his teeth. His hand pulled back and snapped forward right at Ava's injured shoulder with great speed.

Suddenly, the dark heavy air surrounding the two lifted some. The blow Ava had anticipated never came. Her eyes flickered to the figure now standing before of her, blocking her from Varsalo.

Zavius stood with his right side facing her with on hand in his pocket and his other hand catching Varsalo's fist. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"You should really keep your emotions in check, Varsalo. It's unprofessional to act out." he said calmly.
Varsalo gave Zavius a sly sneer, and roughly pulled his arms out from Zavius's grasp. He turned on his heel and strode out swiftly without another word. Zavius ran a hand through his already mess black hair. He turned back to Ava, looking down at her with a curious look. Then, his face broke into a crooked grin.
"'Ignore you some other time'? Nice, Ava. I actually like that one."
Ava growled quietly, scowling.
"You were here the whole time!!" she said accusingly.
Zavius laughed and shrugged.
"I had a bad feeling something was going to happen. So I followed." he said.

He looked down at her and his gaze almost immediately turned to her bruised shoulder. He went quiet and his expression turned somewhat clouded. Ava caught his worried gaze and quickly pulled her uniform over her shoulders again.
"When I'm done here, I'll go get my Keeper wired before heading out, okay?" she said, changing the subject.

Zavius looked up to her face and just nodded. He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Ava alone once again. Ava sighed and returned her attention back to the prep table. She pulled out a small belt pack and started to pack whatever she needed for the mission.

Mivian would do fine; she could trust her.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"The target you are after is named Viper, a Soul Predator. He's been responsible for the increasing rate of missing people in five different regions and over two hundred cities and towns."
Ava nodded as Thya briefed her on the specifics of her mission.
"I think it would be best to lay low for a while and try to catch some sort of pattern in his movement of his Hunts." Thya said, flicking through the mission profile.

Ava was a bit startled and puzzled at this order.
"There hasn't been a specific pattern that has been found?" Ava asked.
How did they know where to find him?

Thya didn't answer and looked up to the monitors, her eyes troubled.
"No...we haven't found anything. But there is one thing that may help you in the search." she said quietly.

She turned back to her, her expression guarded and grave.
"It involves his diet." she said and turned the profile to her.

Ava walked over to take the profile. She took one glance at the given information, and returned it back to Thya.
"346 girls, all between the ages of 14 to 20. Found either 'empty' or torn apart." Ava said, her tone emotionless and cold.
Thya nodded and opened a map on her screen.
"And we found him active in a town going north out of the East Gate,"
She shifted in her seat, leaning forward towards Ava.
"It's almost his hunting night," she added.

Ava looked back at Thya for a split second, and then wheeled around.
"Zavius," she called.
Zavius turned and tossed her Keeper her way.
She caught it swiftly and hung the charm around her neck all in one sweeping move.
"Mission initiated," Ava called.

This was the real deal, she thought. For Darvien, Mivian, and Viper.