Out of the Shadows

Iri-futable

A Spin-Off

~Out of the Shadows~

*Warning: Characters May Be Completely Different*

If I remember correctly, there was someone who made a request for a story where Fang wasn’t able to go on a mission and it was up to Shadow to lead the team.

Sorry I wrote so late, I’ve only had time now. Sorry!

Shadow’s breath got caught in his throat. His hands shook as he tried to think of the most logical thing to do. The ringing in his ears made him deaf to the gunshots around him. He looked around briefly to see where the others went.

Alister crouched behind a toppled desk and loaded his gun. Their eyes met a moment before Alister resumed firing upon their current targets. He targeted the upper balcony as much as he could. Penelope was near Alister using one of her crafty inventions to stun her targets. Her glasses were broken and hung only over half of her face. She crouched down as a bullet flew at her. On the opposite end, Lumin picked off several snipers on the balcony with a water made bow and arrow. Arisa beside him, snapped her fingers causing a blaze of explosions. Her face was marked as a bullet had grazed her cheek earlier.

“Shadow?” Raven called him.

Shadow forced himself to look at Raven. She looked at him from under the cowl of her cloak. Raven’s face was still an emotionless but her eyes betrayed her fear and panic.

“What do you want us to do?” she asked.

Shadow looked down. His hands were covered in blood as he pressed against Fang’s injury to stop the bleeding. Blood continued to flow from between his fingers. He looked at Fang. Fang’s breathing was shallow and his eyes had lost their usual focus.

“Shadow, you idiot, get down!”

Shadow could still feel Fang pushing him out of the way as the bullet flew at him. A few seconds, that was all it took for the bullet to strike Fang in the chest. Shadow saw Fang collapse to the ground. He dropped to his knees by Fang’s side and started putting pressure on the wound.

Raven looked at him expecting an answer. Shadow took a deep breath and tried to think clearly.

“Give me you’re cloak,” Shadow demanded.

Raven unclipped her cloak and handed it to him. Shadow wrapped the cloak around Fang’s chest. He pulled it tight stopping most of the flow of blood. Shadow looked over his shoulder at the gunfight behind him.

“Arisa!” Shadow called, “Take care of the upper level!”

Arisa looked over her shoulder and smiled. She stood up and snapped both of her fingers. The upper balcony exploded and burst into flames throwing everyone forward away from the blast. Shadow looked at Raven.

“You can go with Penelope and get some help,” he said.

Raven turned to Penelope, “Penelope!”

The girl turned.

“Let’s go!” Raven called. “Take care,” she said before she ran off.

Shadow returned his attention to the battle, “Lumin, do you see the man we’re looking for?”

Lumin shook his head.

“Alister, would you clear a path, please,” Shadow managed a small smile.

“Well, Fang said that the landmines I wanted ta bring would weigh me down,” Alister smiled back, “but I think I could make do with these grenades.”

Shadow sighed, “How do you not blow yourself up?”

Alister grabbed a grenade from his belt, flipped the retainer pin, and pulled out the pin with his teeth, “Fire in the hole!”

The grenade tumbled and struck the ground. Sure enough people tended to run out of the way toward cover. Shadow crouched behind a metallic box and listened to the explosion. For a moment the rain of bullets stopped. Shadow looked over his cover and looked around. His shoulders fell when he didn’t see the face he was looking for. Lumin was right. Their target was no longer in the building.

“Will you guys be alright by yourselves?” Shadow asked.

“We’ll be fine,” Lumin stated.

“Hey, what are my parameters ‘ere?” Alister asked.

Shadow looked at Alister, “What?”

“I mean when Fang’s in charge he says that I can’t do this an’ I can’t do that, do I have to follow those under you?” Alister fired at a couple of people hiding behind a forklift.

Shadow thought a moment, “I think you can let loose this once. Just don’t get the rest of us killed.”

A crazed smile spread across Alister’s face, “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Keep at it,” Shadow said.

Amber saluted, “Okie-dokie!”

Shadow almost immediately regretted his decision but it was too late and he had places to be. He vanished into the floor and reappeared outside. The lot was empty except for the occasional car. Shadow narrowed his eyes looking for any sign of where their target went or even any sign of Raven or Penelope. He heard the sound of something metal dropping to the ground. A car engine started up and started to drive off.

The only entrance and exit was past where Shadow stood. He walked out a few steps and saw the black car careening down the lane. Shadow smiled and stood in place. The driver of the car continued on its path determined to run the shadowy figure over.

Shadow extended his arm out to his sides and smiled. “Come on, I know you want to,” he said to no one in particular.

The car increased its speed almost as a response to Shadow’s taunting. Shadow stared into the eyes of the driver.

“Let me give you a lift,” Shadow laughed.

The car didn’t hit him. He used his powers to sail through it unaffected. Shadow grabbed the driver and pulled him through the car. Without anyone controlling the vehicle, the car lost control, turned sharply and somersaulted into a fiery blaze. Shadow had not moved from his spot. He held their target by the back of the man’s collar. The man sat facing the burning car while Shadow really paid in no mind.

Shadow sighed with annoyance and crouched down, “You know, you shot my boss. Did you know that?”

The man, terrified and in shock, shook his head.

“If you had stuck around to see where your bullet struck you would have known. You’d better hope he pulls through because I’d gut you if he didn’t,” Shadow looked at the man and smiled, “Got it?”

The warehouse wall blew up collapsing part of the roof as well. Shadow barely flinched as he stared at the man with cold unfeeling eyes. Alister’s insane laughter echoed from the half demolished warehouse just over the riddling sound of bullets hitting the metallic walls. There was an audible hiss as a wave of water swept through the warehouse picking up several men and washing them away. There were a few more explosions but they were not as large as the one before. The wind occasionally carries Arisa’s giggles to Shadow’s ears. Several men ran out into the fresh air. Some caught sight of their leader in the hands of the enemy and raised their weapons to rescue their leader.

Shadow looked at them with annoyance in his eyes. He was already prepared to take him and their target away from there in a blink of an eye. Something stopped him and he decided to wait a moment longer. The men fired upon him but instead of striking him, the bullets were parried. Raven stood between Shadow and the assailants. She carried her sword in her hand, the blade reflected the sunlight. Surprised, they reloaded their guns. But before they could get off another shot, Penelope appeared carrying two guns. She shot stun and sleep bullets from the guns. When they were down for the count, Penelope looked back at both Raven and Shadow and smiled.

“Paramedics are right behind us,” Penelope reported.

Something shot out of the rubble narrowly missing Shadow and exploding a ways behind him. A muscular man walked out of the chaos that was the warehouse carrying, among other things, a rocket launcher, machine guns and a few shot-guns. He was ripped in every sense of the word. He could be his own arsenal with his muscles alone. Raven took a fighting stance, holding her sword in front of her. Penelope vanished temporarily and reappeared beside Raven.

A spout of fire rose from the warehouse and landed to the man’s right. Arisa stood with big and innocent looking eyes. Lumin appeared out of a pool of water near Arisa. He stayed in a transparent water state instead of taking a physical form. Alister walked out of the rubble to the man’s left. His laughter and the crazed look in his eyes persuaded Shadow that he was near or past the line of insanity.

The man yelled and that was all the others needed. Penelope raised her weapons while Raven shot forward. The man raised his guns at her. She zigzagged easily, dodging his bullets. Arisa took a step back and snapped her fingers. She had the biggest carefree smile on her face. Raven jumped into the air and attacked with her sword. The man pushed her to one side in midair. She flew into Arisa; the explosion Arisa caused blew them back further.

Lumin threw out his hand. Water rose from around him and shot towards the man. Some of Penelope’s stun bullets struck the man angering him even more. Penelope shot again but he swatted them away. The stun bullets struck Lumin instead. The electricity rippled through Lumin’s body. He dropped to one knee assuming his physical form once again.

Alister reached for his belt and grabbed a grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it. The man raised a gun and shot at the grenade. The explosion blew Alister off his feet. The man glared at Penelope who was the only one still standing. Petrified, Penelope smiled, dropped her guns and raised her hands high in the air. The man then reached for the rocket launcher that he had.

Shadow looked around for what he could do. He needed to figure out the man’s weakness. Shadow was about to sink into the ground when there was a single gunshot. The man fell to his knees crying out in pain. Shadow stood up as he saw a shadow come out of the smoke and dust of the warehouse. Fang looked annoyed beyond anything Shadow had ever witnessed in their time together. Understandably so, getting shot is enough to put anyone in a bad mood. Fang leaned against a metal bar.

“His type always have knobby knees,” Fang stated as the ambulance sirens grew louder, “They aren’t so scary when you shoot out their knees.”

“Fang!” Arisa cried out.

Fang looked around, “I’m out for a couple minutes and everything goes to hell. More importantly, who’s the idiot who got me shot?”

Shadow tried to maintain an emotionless face. If Fang had truly forgotten then all would be well for Shadow’s immediate future. Unfortunately, Fang noticed the smallest of smiled on Shadow’s face.

“Shadow! Was it you!?” Fang pushed himself off the pole and started to walk toward Shadow.

Shadow let go of their captive and raised his hands in front of his body, “What? Why would I do something stupid like that? I’m pretty sure Alister did.”

Alister got to his feet, “Hey! I’m not taking the blame for this one! It was Shadow! All him! Come on, back me up guys!”

“He’s right,” Penelope muttered.

“Shadow did it!” Arisa smiled.

Lumin looked up, “I’m sure it was an accident. He didn’t do it on purpose.”

“Apparently, his timing was off,” Raven crossed her arms.

Fang raised his gun and before Shadow could react he fired. The bullet passed through his body avoiding any vital organs. Shadow fell to the ground and gripped his gunshot wound. Fang sat down on the ground beside him.

“Ow,” Shadow muttered.

“You idiot,” Fang stated.

Shadow looked up at Fang and smiled, “I’m glad you’re okay.”

Fang looked down at Shadow, “You think I was going to let you get away with getting me shot. I would have come back from the dead to shoot you.”

Shadow listened as the ambulance pulled up nearby, “We might need to look into this at out next counseling session. You don’t just go around shooting people.”

Fang sighed, “Man, I need to retire.”

Retirement

Iri-futable

A Spin-Off

~Retirement~

*Warning: Characters May Be Completely Different*

Zara woke up in bed. Her husband’s arm came across her body pulling her close to him. She felt his breath on her neck as she lay awake looking into the darkness. Zara turned her head to the clock on her nightstand. 4:45 it read in big bold red numbers. She breathed heavily thinking of what lie ahead of her for the day. It felt like a foreboding pressure, an inevitable, unstoppable event that would change her life and she wouldn’t be able to do anything against it.

The average life expectancy for an Agent was around 24; some more, some less. As it stood, Zara and her team had been lucky. Throughout the years, they have had too many close calls to count but were all able to get out of it in one piece. If an Agent were lucky enough to survive through the rigorous training, the monthly Tower physicals and the years of actual Agent work than the next mile stone was 30: the average retirement age.

As it stood, Zara and her team were in the 33-32 range. It wasn’t that she was too old. It was more of the fact that her body just couldn’t keep up anymore. She had inevitably worn her body out. It wasn’t possible to keep going at the rate she was going.

But the thought of not going what she loved scared her to death. Today was her day. Retirement at the Tower was more of a private thing. No one knew unless you told them. There were no parties or cakes. You simply had a meeting upstairs, signed the last few documents you had to and walk out. Sometimes you wouldn’t know someone retired until several weeks later realizing they hadn’t been to work in a while.

“I can hear you thinking from over here,” Chaud whispered in her ear, “Are you alright?”

Zara looked at him, “I’m fine.”

Chaud smiled, “No, you’re not. I’ve seen that look on your face to many times before.”

“What look?” Zara scowled.

Chaud kissed her lightly on the lips, “The look you make when you’re dealing with a lot and think you can handle it without help.”

“Well, I can,” Zara narrowed her eyes.

Chaud shook his head, “No, dear. That’s why we have a team because not one person can deal with everything. So if you want to talk, we literally have all day. We don’t have to be anywhere for a while as long as we are in his office before midnight.”

The couple said nothing to each other for several hours. She loved that they could do that. Chaud always seemed to be able to go at whatever pace she was at in her life and when he was ahead, he would always wait for her to catch up even if it took years. Admittedly, she was selfish and wondered why Chaud pursued her the way he did.

“Chaud?” Zara said.

Chaud stirred, “Yeah?”

Zara took a deep breath, “I’m terrified.”

“I know,” Chaud breathed, “I am too.”

Zara turned and looked at Chaud squarely, “You too? You never act like it.”

Chaud smiled, “I’ve just been one to deal with things like this better. You know that.”

“Yeah, but it gets annoying,” Zara muttered.

Chaud cupped the side of her face in his hand, “Sorry, I’ll make sure to voice my emotions more often. I love you.”

Zara smiled, “I love you, too.”

The sun rose and stretched a hand of sunlight across the bed they shared. Chaud got up out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Zara stayed in bed. Every muscle in her body was poised to jump out of bed and get to work in which she would be several hours late. But today was different. She didn’t need to be anywhere at the moment. Galaxy had given her and her team a day and told them to come in when they were ready.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she forced back the sobs that were sitting on the back of her throat. She had just managed to get herself under control when Chaud entered the room again. He had come back up to tell her breakfast was ready but realized that wasn’t high on her priority at the moment. All he had to do was touch her shoulder and she couldn’t help herself. Zara turned and threw her arms around Chaud’s neck and cried; something she only did in his presence alone.

He held her tightly as she cried into his shoulder. Chaud comforted her, whispered to her, and soothed her.

“I’m sorry,” Zara said as she whipped the tears from her eyes.

Chaud kissed her, “You don’t need to be sorry. It’s alright. I’m your husband; it’s an honor to be here when you need me.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Zara whispered.

He smiled reassuringly at her, “I’m sure we could find you another job somewhere else and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.”

“What if I don’t enjoy it?” Zara asked.

“Then we’ll keep looking until you find something you wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of your life.”

“What if I don’t want to do anything?”

Chaud tilted her head up, “Then you don’t have to do a thing in the world if you don’t want to.”

When she felt she had composed herself, Zara loosened her grip around Chaud’s neck. Chaud picked her up in her arms and carried her down stairs. He set her down on the living room couch and went to retrieve her breakfast. They ate together on the couch. When Zara was done, she stood up and sighed.

“I guess we should meet up with the others, huh,” she said as she went to get properly dressed.

When ready the couple drove down to a Downtown café. It was within walking distance of the Tower as it loomed in the distance. Zara entered first as Chaud held the door open for her. She looked around for the rest of her team but they weren’t there. Instead she chose a booth that was big enough to fit all six of them. Chaud sat across from her.

“Where is everyone?” Zara asked.

Chaud shrugged, “I guess they still need some time to process too.”

“Chaud,” Zara started, “What if I wanted one more year? Would you still be my second?”

“I’ll always be by your side in whatever you need me to do,” Chaud looked at her, “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No,” Zara paused a moment, “I don’t know.”

“Whatever you choose to do, the team and I will back you up 100%. It’s either we carry on as a team or retire as a team,” Chaud said, “It’s just how it goes. It wouldn’t feel right if some left and some stayed. As a requirement, a team needs to be made up of six. So if anyone decided to stay, they would be with another team. Frankly, it’d be a little awkward.”

“So everyone retired because of me,” Zara thought.

Chaud shook his head, “I wouldn’t say it like that. I’d like to think if I broke my arm in a way I couldn’t be an Agent anymore, you and the rest of the team would retire too.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” Zara tried to hide a smile, “I guess it wouldn’t be the same not having you around.”

The sun had just reached its zenith when Vicky walked into the café. She looked around and saw Chaud and Zara. With an exited smile she skipped up to them. Her cheery attitude was always refreshing.

“Hey guys!” Vicky looked around, “Where is everyone?”

“They’re coming at their own speed,” Chaud stated.

“You seem happy today,” Zara noted.

Vicky hands seemed to paint a picture as she spoke, “I went for a walk this morning, you know, to clear my head when I ran into Kew! You remember how I had to let him go after he grew too large for my apartment a few years ago, right? Well, today I ran into him! It seemed like he knew today was a big day and wanted to wish me well. He had his mate with him; she’s a really pretty coral color, and a litter of neuws. They were adorable! I’m an aunt! Can you believe it?”

Chaud smiled, “Well, I’m glad Kew is doing well.”

“What do you plan to do after today?” Zara asked.

Vicky looked up at the ceiling, “I was thinking of becoming a teacher.”

“You’d be good at it,” Chaud nodded.

Vicky smiled, “You think?”

“And you don’t seem like the type to give out to much homework,” Zara added.

The three talked until another team member came. Deontay looked like he had just woke up and it was nearing 4:30 in the afternoon. He walked up to them as he yawned and sat down next to Chaud.

“Morning,” he said mid-yawn.

“Its 4:30, Deontay,” Chaud nudged his friend.

Deontay rubbed his face, “In the morning?”

“Try afternoon, D,” Chaud shook his head and smiled.

“Oh,” Deontay stretched, “Dang, all those early mornings really add up.”

“So how are you feeling?” Vicky asked.

Deontay shrugged, “About what?”

“The R word,” Vicky whispered.

Deontay gave her a blank stare. For a moment, Zara thought that he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Chaud gave him another nudge.

“Retirement,” Chaud muttered.

Deontay looked at him, “Really? That’s today? Oh.” He was always really calm and relaxed.

“Wow,” Chaud sighed, “You never cease to amaze me, you know that?”

“It was bound to happen eventually,” Deontay brushed it off, “Just glad I wasn’t the first. My knees been acting up recently.”

“How recently?” Chaud asked.

“Two or three years,” Deontay shrugged.

“And you didn’t say anything?” Vicky asked; a concerned look on her face.

Deontay sighed, “It was nothing a few pain killers couldn’t handle. Now I can finally follow the doc’s advice.”

“Which was?” Zara raised an eyebrow.

“To take it easy,” Deontay nodded, “I remember that because it was right before that one mission. You know; the one with the cannon and the helicopter?”

“With the one guy with the hair and accent?” Chaud searched his memory.

“No,” Deontay shook his head, “the red head girl with the obvious implants. Remember when we were trekking through the jungle.”

Zara sat up straight, “What girl with implants?”

Chaud looked at her, “I don’t remember any girl with implants.”

“Sure you don’t,” Zara glared at him.

“Either way,” Deontay continued, “it was right before a mission in where we did a lot of running and heavy lifting.”

“Who is the girl with the implants, Chaud?” Zara barely heard what Deontay said.

“I don’t know!” Chaud defended himself, “I swear I don’t know!”

The Sasaki siblings walked into the café just then. Naru walked slightly behind his sister. He looked solemn and thoughtful. There was a scar on his face just under his right eye from an earlier mission that hadn’t healed completely yet. His sister was the opposite. While he was more of an introvert, Hina was an all-out extrovert. She threw her arm around Vicky’s shoulder and laughed.

“Whataya guys think, huh!” she laughed, “Retiring! Honestly thought we would get blown to bits before this point but here we are!”

“Do you really need to talk so loud?” Naru asked.

“Really?” Vicky asked, “Blow to bits?”

Deontay raised his hand, “I always thought that everyone except Chaud or Naru would die in a huge explosion.”

“Why Chaud?” Zara asked.

Deontay shrugged, “I don’t know, he just seems too smart to die with the rest of us. Keep in mind I could totally see him get captured and tortured after we all blow up though.”

“Thanks man,” Chaud muttered.

“And why Naru?” Hina looked at her brother.

“Because he’s a badass,” Deontay stated, “I mean he’s a freaking ninja. Ninja’s don’t die in explosions. I did think that while we were all burning to death he’d run into like a fire ninja and they’d duke it out.”

“So I survive?” Naru asked.

“No, you get head chopped off by a katana,” Deontay barely gave any emotion.

“Oh,” Naru stated.

“So technically,” Vicky scowled in thought, “Chaud is the only one to survive?”

“Well,” Deontay stretched out the word, “Not exactly. He either dies from his torturers of like eats cyanide or something.”

“I really don’t think I’d commit suicide,” Chaud shook his head.

“At least you still have your head,” Naru muttered.

“Hey!” Hina looked at both Chaud and Naru, “At least you both make it out of the burning building alive!”

“Wait, if it’s an explosion than doesn’t Zara technically survive as well?” Vicky pointed out.

All eyes turned toward Deontay. He rested his head on folded hands as he thought. They waited for him to give a verdict on how Zara would have died. Zara secretly hoped he couldn’t think of one. Deontay sat back in his seat and crossed his arms.

“You know,” Deontay nodded slowly, “I think she’d be pretty pissed off but I think she’d try to go to save Chaud first.”

“Not my head?” Naru glared at Deontay.

“Dude,” Deontay held out his hands, “Husband vs. Ninja. You have to think from the wife’s perspective.”

“Still, I could have helped her save Chaud,” Naru wasn’t letting up.

“Okay, fine. Zara goes to try to save Naru but found that his head was already chopped off. There, happy now?” Deontay asked.

Hina laughed loudly.

Naru sighed, “No.”

“Good,” Deontay stated, “Moving on. So Zara goes to save Chaud from his captors only to find that he was already killed. Then in anguish at losing her team and her hubby that she goes all out on revenge. She dies in a blaze of glory, Borimir style replacing arrows with bullets.”

“Its kinda scary how true that rings,” Chaud stated.

“I still think I could cut the other guy’s head off a lot quicker than he could mine,” Naru muttered.

“It’s about to change to a black guy bashes your head in while sitting in a café,” Deontay gave him a look.

Zara laughed. She watched as the others at the table laughed and teased one another. They would always be the best of friends and see each other frequently enough. It wasn’t like they would be seeing each other at work every day anymore. Maybe they would get together on the weekends, birthdays, and holidays but a slight falling out was always inevitable.

They stayed until the café closed at ten in the evening. When they were finally kicked out they stood out on the sidewalk. The Tower glowed with lights. Most of the offices had their lights on and gave off silver-like glow into the night sky. Zara sighed.

Chaud wrapped an arm around her shoulders, “You ready?”

“We’ll see,” Zara smiled. She turned to the others who were still teasing one another, “Hey, come on! We’ve got one more mission to get done!”

“Aye, aye, captain,” Deontay saluted.

“Whoohoo!” Hina screamed into the air, “No more physical testing!”

They walked toward the Tower. Inside, it was and overall peaceful atmosphere. There didn’t seem to be too much going on. The team walked past the front desk and toward the back elevators. They took them to the top where Sirius’ office was located. In the small open area neither Kiri nor Kaiba were sitting at their desks. They walked up to the office door and knocked.

“Come in,” a voice said on the other side.

Sirius stood in front of his desk. The Misses stood on his left with Kiri on her left. Kaiba stood beside his father on the right. Galaxy smiled at the team in front of him. Over the years, he had seen these Agents grow up and blossom into rather decent adults. It always pained him to see Agents go. Sure it was a part of the job but it still hurt when the time came.

“Are you all ready?” he asked.

Zara nodded, “As ready as we’ll ever be.”

Sirius reached for a folder on his desk, “Then as head of the Tower, it is my privilege to thank you for your selfless service. Your heroic actions have save this planet and even this island in times of crisis. Your acts will not be forgotten nor ignored. Even as you are no longer under the service of the Tower you will always be considered family and will be cared for in any means during this difficult transition. If there is anything you need, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Sirius handed Kaiba the folder. Kaiba walked forward with the folder and opened it. Kiri walked alongside him with six pens. Zara picked one and looked down at the document. Her eyes scanned the document. It merely stated that she was signing because she was retiring and that under no circumstances was she to talk about her experiences in the Tower to anyone not affiliated with the Tower. It also stated that for the rest of her days she would receive a salary. It was a fraction of what she had been making before but it was still a substantial amount. She used the pen and sighed along the first line. Zara sighed when it was over. The next to sign was Chaud and so on down the line.

“You will receive a copy of the document in the next few days,” Sirius said, “I sincerely wish you all the best of luck in the next chapter of your lives.”

Mrs. Galaxy walked up to Zara. She gave her a blue box. Curious, Zara opened the box. Inside was a beautiful pin of a black panther surrounded by blue fire. The panther was made out of black diamonds while the fire was made out of blue. It was a beautiful piece of jewelry. It wasn’t one that you would wear but was more for decoration. Zara looked up at her mother in law. Mrs. Galaxy smiled at her. Zara couldn’t believe her gift.

“Thank you,” Zara said.

Mrs. Galaxy laughed, “Oh, thank you, my dear. Thank you!”

She gave Zara a hug and walked back to the desk where she picked up another box. She walked back and gave it to Chaud.

Zara felt a hand on her shoulder. Sirius smiled at her. He shook her hand and thanked her.

“It’s only a small gift compared to all you’ve done for us,” Sirius said.

After the signing of documents and the giving of gifts, the team of six talked freely with Sirius and the others. Around midnight the gathering broke up. Zara and her team left. Just outside the Tower doors, Zara stood out in the cool evening air. She took a deep breath. She looked up at the sky.

On either side of her was her team. She looked at each of them and smiled.

“You guys want to get a bite to eat?” she asked.

“What’s even open this late?” Naru asked.

Zara shrugged, “Let’s find out.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Hina ran ahead, “Let’s go down Welch Way!”

“Hey! Wait up!” Vicky ran after her.

Deontay sighed as he walked down the stairs, “Can we not run? I just committed to what my doctor recommended.”

Naru followed after him, “At least you still have your head.”

“You aren’t going to let that go, are you?” Deontay glared at Naru.

“I could demonstrate how fast one’s head can get cut off,” Naru volunteered.

Chaud butt in, “I don’t think we need that Naru.”

“Come on,” Zara walked past the three boys, “I’m in the mood for something really unhealthy. It’s been a while since I’ve have cheesecake.”