Status: Book 1 of 4+
Alpha X
Band of Three
Having just packed her bags, Kara was ready to leave her life behind here in Domino. She was instructed that, as soon as a war started, her mission was over, and any information she had she would need to bring back. Kara had only spent about a half hour packing when she looked out the window and saw the enemies retreating, and a young man with white hair with a sword through his leg being carried to the hospital. Kara looked at the rose Sirus had given her on the table. Kara tied the rose into her hair, so she could bring it home with her. Kara looked back out her window and saw tons of dead bodies on the ground, more of them that she recognized from around the village than those from outside the village.
“Why did the enemy retreat? Domino was clearly overrun, and according to these documents from Sirus, most of the Lino Shi army is down south. About a six hour walk to get back to Domino.” Kara asked herself. Kara opens her door and looked out, pointing at the bodies with two fingers, calculating where the army must have come from. The army came from the Northeast. If she left now, Kara would likely encounter them on her way back to Hisakata. Kara returned inside her home and walked upstairs, deciding to take a hot bath before leaving for Hisakata.
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“Mikoto-Ousama, Kobura-Ousama’s armies are retreating.” One of the scouts reported.
“What can you report?” Mikoto inquired.
“Kobura-Ousama’s armies were advancing heavily. We have reports of two members of the Band of Three inside their army’s ranks. They could have probably brought down Domino if they hadn’t retreated.”
“Is that all you have to report?”
“Some of our scouts claim to have seen young Sirus Kumori leaving the city limits. We have also found evidence that Kobura-Ousama was outside the city. Scouts believe he may have killed Sirus.” Mikoto bit his lip at this news. “Sir…? I know you and Sirus never saw eye-to-eye, you seem more upset than I would have imagined.”
“Kobura brought his armies here to find something, and I believe he found it.”
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“Ahhhhh!” The scream echoed through the house as Jinsoku and Raviel jumped up and ran into Akura’s room, from which they heard Hina’s scream. Standing in front of Hina was Sirus, Akura’s father and Hina’s lover. Sirus was charging a bolt of lighting, pointed at Hina.
“Sirus! Stop this!” Jinsoku demanded. Sirus turned and shot Jinsoku quickly, piercing his body and knocking him through the wall.
“Hina! Run! I’ll hold Sirus off as long as I can!” Raviel instructed. Hina, full of terror, confusion, and depression, took Akura and ran. Raviel attacked Sirus quickly and relentlessly, but Sirus quickly took him down with a strong kick to Raviel’s injured leg. Despite being healed, the leg was still a huge weak point, as Raviel learned first hand. What also surprised Raviel is that Sirus knew to kick out Raviel’s leg, which set Raviel up to take a strong round-house kick across the side of his head, sending him into the wall.
Sirus stepped up to Raviel, whom is on the floor, seemingly out cold. Sirus charged a lightning bolt, preparing to kill his foe. A cry was heard, however, that caught Sirus’s attention. The cry of his son distracted Sirus, forcing him to look over his right shoulder and out the door. Sirus closed his fist, disabling the lightning bolt. Sirus opened a wormhole in front of him, leaving the house.
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Kara reached down into the tub and pulled the drain out. She had lost track of time, but she assumed she had been in the bath for about an hour. Kara looked at her fingers, they were pruned. However, Kara didn’t care, she didn’t expect to have this opportunity again for a long time. Kara stepped out and soon realized in her quick packing earlier, she packed her towels already. Kara splashed her hands over the tub to air-dry them, grabbed her clothes, and opened the bathroom door. On her way out, Kara stopped, turned around, and returns to the sink. Kara grabbed the rose she nearly forgot, and tied her hair around it.
Feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, Kara walked down the stairs of her two floor home, humming a bit. She entered her living room and crossed to the kitchen when she heard a voice. “Kara, I need your help.”
“Sirus?!” Kara shrieked, seeing Sirus sitting at her table, reviewing the notes he had given her about Kyoukei. “What… are you doing here?”
“The attack here today, I need your help. I fought Kobura-Ousama and I went toe-to-toe with him. His armies fled today, and I believe they may have stolen some key documents.” Sirus explained, turning to Kara. Sirus noticed that Kara was naked, and to his surprise, not covering herself. Sirus quickly turned away, in respect. “You… should have warned me you were naked. Why are you naked?”
“I was taking a bath. I wasn’t expecting you to break into my house while I was bathing.” Kara explained, cross the kitchen and leaning across the table to get her towel from the bag. “Now explain why you’re here.”
“Well I…” Sirus began, turning back to Kara, whom was still drying off from her bath. “How about you get dressed then we talk?”
“Or you can start explaining why you broke into my house.”
“Technically I didn’t break in, I teleported in. But fair enough. I’m here because I need the best. Kobura thinks I’m dead, and for all intents and purposes, I am. However, today’s attack was too large to retreat while they were winning. The armies just got here from southern Lino Shi; Domino would have been annihilated by now had they not run. They weren’t here to take over, or they would have. They weren’t here to slaughter, or we’d all be dead. They were looking for something, Kobura was looking for something. The most destroyed building is the record keepings building, so whatever they were looking for, they found. I need you to help me get it back.”
Kara crossed the kitchen, still without any clothing, which surprised Sirus. She hung her towel over the sink before sitting down in the chair across the table from Sirus. “Invading Slieza is a suicide mission. Slieza is known to have a powerful army, especially in times of war. Even if we get into the country, what do we do next? Breaking into Kobura’s palace is completely impossible.”
“I’m going, whether you are or not. I was hoping to bring in reinforcements, but if you don’t think your good enough…” Sirus started, trying to ignore Kara‘s lack of clothing. Kara jumped up and smacked her hands on the table.
“I am good enough! Fine! I’m in!”
“Just one question, Kara. Are you planning on putting anything on?”
“When we get ready to leave, yes. Until then, no.”
“Why… would you want to be naked while a man was in your home?”
“Why should I change who I am because a guest is in my home?”
“Fair enough. Just get dressed so we can go.” Sirus instructed, standing up. Sirus opened a wormhole, connecting to an abandoned building in Slieza.
“After you.” Sirus said, allowing Kara to go first. Kara seemed a bit worried. “I’ve been into Slieza before, and I always use this building. It’s completely abandoned.”
“You’ve broken into Slieza before?” Kara asked, now semi-confused why he needed her
.
“I was sent by Mikoto-Ousama to collect things a few times. However I never broke into the palace, which is why I need your help.” Kara still seems a little uneasy, so Sirus stepped through first, offering Kara his hand. Kara smiled, grasped Sirus’ hand, and entered the wormhole.
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Kara walked around the abandoned warehouse, running her hand across the walls of it while she explored. “So, what’s the plan?” Kara questioned as Sirus peered out the door. She saw Sirus bobbing his head, and assumed he was counting. Sirus returned to Kara, pulling out a folded map from his back pocket. Sirus unfolded the map and laid it across the floor.
“From this point, here…” Sirus pointed to a building on top of a high cliff above Slieza palace. “…I can see six patrolling guards. As I guessed, the guard numbers are high tonight. Considering the attack ended about an hour and a half ago, give or take a bit, Kobura-Ousama is probably back in his palace by now. Here is what you will need to know before anything else.”
Kara nodded as Sirus got up and grabbed a few folders laying against the wall. “What are those?” Kara asked as Sirus returned.
“I’ve kept these here for a while, fearing a Slieza invasion for months. Here they wouldn’t be able to get ahold of our intelligence on them if they tried.” Sirus opened a folder and pulled out a photo. “Kobura has a small ‘army’, The Band of Three. This is Hitsugaya, our records say that he controls ice, but there is evidence that shows he seems to have some other control than just ice. One of these, for example, is that he can redirect fire. Aside from his powers, Hitsugaya is extremely quick and skilled, always knowing where his allies and opponents are on the battlefield.”
Sirus grabbed another envelope and opened it. “This is Fairdaku, the leader of The Band of Three. Fairdaku, like me, can conjure wormholes. Fairdaku can also create matter, making him extremely dangerous. Subsequently, Fairdaku can also dissolve the matter he creates. Be prepared for anything, should we meet him.” Sirus closed the file, returning to the map.
“Wait, you said there were three. Who is the third member of the Band of Three?” Kara asked.
“We don’t have any documentary on the third member. All we know is he is new, as the original member was killed by Kobura himself when he failed a mission.” Sirus explained. Sirus returned to the doorway and watched the guards through the door. As he calculated, they were exactly where they should be.
“Okay, we need to be extremely precise on this.” Sirus says returning to the map. Sirus drew six circles in different sections near them on the map. “Each of these guards are patrolling. By my calculations, at the speed they are walking, the best time is to move in about three and a half minutes. At that point only this guard…” Sirus pointed to one of the circles. “…and this one…” Sirus points to one right in front of the palace. “Will be in the way. We will need to kill both of them without attracting the attention of the other four. If Kobura learns that we are here, we will be in the fight of our life.”
Kara nodded as Sirus folded up the map and placed the folders and the map in a dark corner of the abandoned warehouse. Kara looked out the door and watched the guards. She was impressed at how big the palace was and how complex the town was. “Sirus, how do you know where they will be in about three minutes?” Kara questioned.
“I’ve watched their patrol routes for about two months now, I have it pretty well memorized.” Sirus said, walking to Kara and watching out the door. “Watch, that one will turn left in about two blocks, thereby getting out of our way.” Sirus pointed at the one closest to them. As predicted, the guard turned left and into an alleyway.
“If we kill the two in our way, wouldn’t the other four find their bodies and alert Kobura?” Kara questioned, thinking Sirus hadn’t thought about that. “Wouldn’t it just be easier and safer to kill each one individually?”
“All we need to do is drag their bodies into two distinct alleyways, it will give us about 25 minutes before anyone would notice they are gone. They don’t pass any of the other patrol officers until then, and even then it may not be too much of a problem since they will likely assume the others are just behind. However I have considered a more stealthy approach to try to dodge the patrol completely, if your up for that.” Sirus explained, examining the guards.
“It may be harder to get in, but I think that will pay off more in the long run, it won’t give us a small amount of time to find out what they stole. After this though, you owe me. Come with me to Hisakata, tell the high-council about Slieza’s invasion. Hisakata and Slieza have been enemies for years.” Kara mentioned. Sirus nodded as he started to go through the doorway. Kara followed, noticing that it hasn’t quite been three and a half minutes since the original plan. Kara concluded Sirus had a new plan.
The two cut through a back alley, then another, then another. Sirus stopped and turned to Kara. “Jump onto the fire escape above and be quiet, no one can see or hear us.” Sirus explained as he kneels down to give Kara a step. Kara jumps onto the ladder, and climbed up. Sirus jumped up, grabbing the ladder and climbing up himself as a guard turned the corner.
“How far are we from the palace?” Kara whispered. Sirus pointed at the corner the guard just turned from, moved his finger to signify the street, turns, and turns again. Kara nods, only 3 turns and they will be at the palace.
The guard turned the corner and Kara attempted hop over the railing. Sirus grabbed her arm, pulling her back, telling her to wait. Sirus pointed down the alley in the opposite direction, where Kara saw a guard about to turn a corner off the street. Kara sighed in relief before jumping over the railing and back to the ground. Sirus jumped down with her.
“We shouldn’t have any more guards to worry about from here into the palace.” Sirus said as they followed the alleyways down into the palace garden. Sirus looked at the palace garden and saw a faction of guards.
“This is the part where the mission turns impossible, got a plan?” Kara asked.
“Yea, a wormhole. We just need somewhere that I can visualize to make one. Like… there!” Sirus creates a wormhole behind them connecting to a dark corner of the palace garden. Stepping through, Sirus and Kara crept around the garden and to the door. In front of the door is another guard.
“Now what? Do we fight?” Kara asked.
“Watch this.” Sirus smirked as a wormhole opened under the guard. The guard fell through the wormhole too fast to make a sound. The wormhole closed as Sirus and Kara ran up the stairs and into the palace. Sirus looked around before they moved through the hallways. Kara noticed that the hallways seem vacant, it is almost too easy.
“Sirus, I have a bad feeling. This is almost too easy.” Kara said as they enter a large room. Across the room, Kara saw Hitsugaya, whom she recognized from the picture, and a man sitting on a throne, whom she assumed to be Kobura. Behind them, Kara heard the door shut, causing her to turn and seeing Fairdaku, whom she also recognized from his picture. “Sirus… now what?” No answer. “Sirus…?”
“Kara… do you remember when I told you I didn’t know who the third member of the Band of Three was?” Kara turned her head to see Sirus’s arm extended toward her, a lightning bolt charged in his palm. “I lied.”
“Why did the enemy retreat? Domino was clearly overrun, and according to these documents from Sirus, most of the Lino Shi army is down south. About a six hour walk to get back to Domino.” Kara asked herself. Kara opens her door and looked out, pointing at the bodies with two fingers, calculating where the army must have come from. The army came from the Northeast. If she left now, Kara would likely encounter them on her way back to Hisakata. Kara returned inside her home and walked upstairs, deciding to take a hot bath before leaving for Hisakata.
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“Mikoto-Ousama, Kobura-Ousama’s armies are retreating.” One of the scouts reported.
“What can you report?” Mikoto inquired.
“Kobura-Ousama’s armies were advancing heavily. We have reports of two members of the Band of Three inside their army’s ranks. They could have probably brought down Domino if they hadn’t retreated.”
“Is that all you have to report?”
“Some of our scouts claim to have seen young Sirus Kumori leaving the city limits. We have also found evidence that Kobura-Ousama was outside the city. Scouts believe he may have killed Sirus.” Mikoto bit his lip at this news. “Sir…? I know you and Sirus never saw eye-to-eye, you seem more upset than I would have imagined.”
“Kobura brought his armies here to find something, and I believe he found it.”
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“Ahhhhh!” The scream echoed through the house as Jinsoku and Raviel jumped up and ran into Akura’s room, from which they heard Hina’s scream. Standing in front of Hina was Sirus, Akura’s father and Hina’s lover. Sirus was charging a bolt of lighting, pointed at Hina.
“Sirus! Stop this!” Jinsoku demanded. Sirus turned and shot Jinsoku quickly, piercing his body and knocking him through the wall.
“Hina! Run! I’ll hold Sirus off as long as I can!” Raviel instructed. Hina, full of terror, confusion, and depression, took Akura and ran. Raviel attacked Sirus quickly and relentlessly, but Sirus quickly took him down with a strong kick to Raviel’s injured leg. Despite being healed, the leg was still a huge weak point, as Raviel learned first hand. What also surprised Raviel is that Sirus knew to kick out Raviel’s leg, which set Raviel up to take a strong round-house kick across the side of his head, sending him into the wall.
Sirus stepped up to Raviel, whom is on the floor, seemingly out cold. Sirus charged a lightning bolt, preparing to kill his foe. A cry was heard, however, that caught Sirus’s attention. The cry of his son distracted Sirus, forcing him to look over his right shoulder and out the door. Sirus closed his fist, disabling the lightning bolt. Sirus opened a wormhole in front of him, leaving the house.
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Kara reached down into the tub and pulled the drain out. She had lost track of time, but she assumed she had been in the bath for about an hour. Kara looked at her fingers, they were pruned. However, Kara didn’t care, she didn’t expect to have this opportunity again for a long time. Kara stepped out and soon realized in her quick packing earlier, she packed her towels already. Kara splashed her hands over the tub to air-dry them, grabbed her clothes, and opened the bathroom door. On her way out, Kara stopped, turned around, and returns to the sink. Kara grabbed the rose she nearly forgot, and tied her hair around it.
Feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, Kara walked down the stairs of her two floor home, humming a bit. She entered her living room and crossed to the kitchen when she heard a voice. “Kara, I need your help.”
“Sirus?!” Kara shrieked, seeing Sirus sitting at her table, reviewing the notes he had given her about Kyoukei. “What… are you doing here?”
“The attack here today, I need your help. I fought Kobura-Ousama and I went toe-to-toe with him. His armies fled today, and I believe they may have stolen some key documents.” Sirus explained, turning to Kara. Sirus noticed that Kara was naked, and to his surprise, not covering herself. Sirus quickly turned away, in respect. “You… should have warned me you were naked. Why are you naked?”
“I was taking a bath. I wasn’t expecting you to break into my house while I was bathing.” Kara explained, cross the kitchen and leaning across the table to get her towel from the bag. “Now explain why you’re here.”
“Well I…” Sirus began, turning back to Kara, whom was still drying off from her bath. “How about you get dressed then we talk?”
“Or you can start explaining why you broke into my house.”
“Technically I didn’t break in, I teleported in. But fair enough. I’m here because I need the best. Kobura thinks I’m dead, and for all intents and purposes, I am. However, today’s attack was too large to retreat while they were winning. The armies just got here from southern Lino Shi; Domino would have been annihilated by now had they not run. They weren’t here to take over, or they would have. They weren’t here to slaughter, or we’d all be dead. They were looking for something, Kobura was looking for something. The most destroyed building is the record keepings building, so whatever they were looking for, they found. I need you to help me get it back.”
Kara crossed the kitchen, still without any clothing, which surprised Sirus. She hung her towel over the sink before sitting down in the chair across the table from Sirus. “Invading Slieza is a suicide mission. Slieza is known to have a powerful army, especially in times of war. Even if we get into the country, what do we do next? Breaking into Kobura’s palace is completely impossible.”
“I’m going, whether you are or not. I was hoping to bring in reinforcements, but if you don’t think your good enough…” Sirus started, trying to ignore Kara‘s lack of clothing. Kara jumped up and smacked her hands on the table.
“I am good enough! Fine! I’m in!”
“Just one question, Kara. Are you planning on putting anything on?”
“When we get ready to leave, yes. Until then, no.”
“Why… would you want to be naked while a man was in your home?”
“Why should I change who I am because a guest is in my home?”
“Fair enough. Just get dressed so we can go.” Sirus instructed, standing up. Sirus opened a wormhole, connecting to an abandoned building in Slieza.
“After you.” Sirus said, allowing Kara to go first. Kara seemed a bit worried. “I’ve been into Slieza before, and I always use this building. It’s completely abandoned.”
“You’ve broken into Slieza before?” Kara asked, now semi-confused why he needed her
.
“I was sent by Mikoto-Ousama to collect things a few times. However I never broke into the palace, which is why I need your help.” Kara still seems a little uneasy, so Sirus stepped through first, offering Kara his hand. Kara smiled, grasped Sirus’ hand, and entered the wormhole.
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Kara walked around the abandoned warehouse, running her hand across the walls of it while she explored. “So, what’s the plan?” Kara questioned as Sirus peered out the door. She saw Sirus bobbing his head, and assumed he was counting. Sirus returned to Kara, pulling out a folded map from his back pocket. Sirus unfolded the map and laid it across the floor.
“From this point, here…” Sirus pointed to a building on top of a high cliff above Slieza palace. “…I can see six patrolling guards. As I guessed, the guard numbers are high tonight. Considering the attack ended about an hour and a half ago, give or take a bit, Kobura-Ousama is probably back in his palace by now. Here is what you will need to know before anything else.”
Kara nodded as Sirus got up and grabbed a few folders laying against the wall. “What are those?” Kara asked as Sirus returned.
“I’ve kept these here for a while, fearing a Slieza invasion for months. Here they wouldn’t be able to get ahold of our intelligence on them if they tried.” Sirus opened a folder and pulled out a photo. “Kobura has a small ‘army’, The Band of Three. This is Hitsugaya, our records say that he controls ice, but there is evidence that shows he seems to have some other control than just ice. One of these, for example, is that he can redirect fire. Aside from his powers, Hitsugaya is extremely quick and skilled, always knowing where his allies and opponents are on the battlefield.”
Sirus grabbed another envelope and opened it. “This is Fairdaku, the leader of The Band of Three. Fairdaku, like me, can conjure wormholes. Fairdaku can also create matter, making him extremely dangerous. Subsequently, Fairdaku can also dissolve the matter he creates. Be prepared for anything, should we meet him.” Sirus closed the file, returning to the map.
“Wait, you said there were three. Who is the third member of the Band of Three?” Kara asked.
“We don’t have any documentary on the third member. All we know is he is new, as the original member was killed by Kobura himself when he failed a mission.” Sirus explained. Sirus returned to the doorway and watched the guards through the door. As he calculated, they were exactly where they should be.
“Okay, we need to be extremely precise on this.” Sirus says returning to the map. Sirus drew six circles in different sections near them on the map. “Each of these guards are patrolling. By my calculations, at the speed they are walking, the best time is to move in about three and a half minutes. At that point only this guard…” Sirus pointed to one of the circles. “…and this one…” Sirus points to one right in front of the palace. “Will be in the way. We will need to kill both of them without attracting the attention of the other four. If Kobura learns that we are here, we will be in the fight of our life.”
Kara nodded as Sirus folded up the map and placed the folders and the map in a dark corner of the abandoned warehouse. Kara looked out the door and watched the guards. She was impressed at how big the palace was and how complex the town was. “Sirus, how do you know where they will be in about three minutes?” Kara questioned.
“I’ve watched their patrol routes for about two months now, I have it pretty well memorized.” Sirus said, walking to Kara and watching out the door. “Watch, that one will turn left in about two blocks, thereby getting out of our way.” Sirus pointed at the one closest to them. As predicted, the guard turned left and into an alleyway.
“If we kill the two in our way, wouldn’t the other four find their bodies and alert Kobura?” Kara questioned, thinking Sirus hadn’t thought about that. “Wouldn’t it just be easier and safer to kill each one individually?”
“All we need to do is drag their bodies into two distinct alleyways, it will give us about 25 minutes before anyone would notice they are gone. They don’t pass any of the other patrol officers until then, and even then it may not be too much of a problem since they will likely assume the others are just behind. However I have considered a more stealthy approach to try to dodge the patrol completely, if your up for that.” Sirus explained, examining the guards.
“It may be harder to get in, but I think that will pay off more in the long run, it won’t give us a small amount of time to find out what they stole. After this though, you owe me. Come with me to Hisakata, tell the high-council about Slieza’s invasion. Hisakata and Slieza have been enemies for years.” Kara mentioned. Sirus nodded as he started to go through the doorway. Kara followed, noticing that it hasn’t quite been three and a half minutes since the original plan. Kara concluded Sirus had a new plan.
The two cut through a back alley, then another, then another. Sirus stopped and turned to Kara. “Jump onto the fire escape above and be quiet, no one can see or hear us.” Sirus explained as he kneels down to give Kara a step. Kara jumps onto the ladder, and climbed up. Sirus jumped up, grabbing the ladder and climbing up himself as a guard turned the corner.
“How far are we from the palace?” Kara whispered. Sirus pointed at the corner the guard just turned from, moved his finger to signify the street, turns, and turns again. Kara nods, only 3 turns and they will be at the palace.
The guard turned the corner and Kara attempted hop over the railing. Sirus grabbed her arm, pulling her back, telling her to wait. Sirus pointed down the alley in the opposite direction, where Kara saw a guard about to turn a corner off the street. Kara sighed in relief before jumping over the railing and back to the ground. Sirus jumped down with her.
“We shouldn’t have any more guards to worry about from here into the palace.” Sirus said as they followed the alleyways down into the palace garden. Sirus looked at the palace garden and saw a faction of guards.
“This is the part where the mission turns impossible, got a plan?” Kara asked.
“Yea, a wormhole. We just need somewhere that I can visualize to make one. Like… there!” Sirus creates a wormhole behind them connecting to a dark corner of the palace garden. Stepping through, Sirus and Kara crept around the garden and to the door. In front of the door is another guard.
“Now what? Do we fight?” Kara asked.
“Watch this.” Sirus smirked as a wormhole opened under the guard. The guard fell through the wormhole too fast to make a sound. The wormhole closed as Sirus and Kara ran up the stairs and into the palace. Sirus looked around before they moved through the hallways. Kara noticed that the hallways seem vacant, it is almost too easy.
“Sirus, I have a bad feeling. This is almost too easy.” Kara said as they enter a large room. Across the room, Kara saw Hitsugaya, whom she recognized from the picture, and a man sitting on a throne, whom she assumed to be Kobura. Behind them, Kara heard the door shut, causing her to turn and seeing Fairdaku, whom she also recognized from his picture. “Sirus… now what?” No answer. “Sirus…?”
“Kara… do you remember when I told you I didn’t know who the third member of the Band of Three was?” Kara turned her head to see Sirus’s arm extended toward her, a lightning bolt charged in his palm. “I lied.”