Once again, the Tiny Tots found themselves at the underground arena in the Heka main hideout. This time in front of them stood Devin, their mentor, and the elders of Heka. The Conductor and Shango stood at the front of the group. The conductor was furious.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

"It's the only way to solve things without unneeded bloodshed." Devin or Selistar responded, folding his arms.

"Marrying us off to randoms we know nothing about? That's your solution?" Shango responded as he folded his arms.

It had become apparent that they would never be able to control the Tiny Tots, and the threat to their families would only stop them from rebelling; it did not promise obedience. Killing them was completely out of the question. They were some of the best and brightest that humanity had to offer.

"I thought you were against the creation of Taboo children?" Akiko frowned.

"Technically they wouldn't be Taboo children. You all are fully capable of producing offspring. We consider it a gift…" One of the elders responded.

"A gift or a curse when convenient." The Conductor rationed.

"I promise we took the time to pick the Clans most suited for your personalities and abilities. You will be treated with honor and…" As Selistar began to speak before he was cut off by The Hoarder,

"Cut the shit." He waved Selistar off.

"It's obvious you have given up on controlling us and intend to tie us down, and when that ultimately fails, you'll just kill us. But you'll have our offspring to look forward to." Bloody Mary added as she slyly linked her arm around Hoarder's, who inadvertently stiffened.

"We're young; we're not stupid," Manic said, much to everyone's surprise. He wasn't dumb, but no one believed he paid enough attention to their current situation to form an opinion.

"Is that so? From my point of view, a bunch of dumb kids is exactly what you are. Do you not understand the position that you're in? You have one of two choices. Either marry into one of the clans or…" Selistar began to say.

"Or what? You'll kill us? Do it!" Akiko said.

She had long reached her limit. She was tired of all these vague threats and the leering glares of these old fools, salivating to give her away to one of their young studs.

"What are you waiting for? DO IT! See how many of you survive!" Akiko raged.

"Amaterasu, calm down." Hachiman pleaded with his mentee.

"Shut up, pitiful old man. You'll be the first one I'll cut down." Amaterasu glared at her mentor, who could not bring himself to meet her eyes. She then focused her attention back on Devin and commanded,

"DO IT! Just say those little numbers! DO IT!" The rest of the Tiny Tots stood there in silence. None wanted to stop Amaterasu; they were all of one mind. It wasn't hard for them to support her outburst because there was one thing that they were all sure of.

"You're not in a position of power to force us to do anything… are you?" The Conductor smirked.

"We are your last line of defense. If you kill us, Zac sensei won't just stop with your mother. You'll be lucky if any of your bases remain."

"And I bet you're bringing all of this on now, and why everyone seemed to be in such a scramble in the past couple of days is because he's coming. And he's coming with something bigger than you were expecting." Shango added on.

Selistar's jaw clenched. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted to kill all of them, but he needed to look towards the bigger picture. He closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath, and then looked over at his mother. Seren nodded her head.

"Your second option was being the test subjects for Dr. Hamilton's experiments." Selistar's eyes narrowed.

"What? Are you crazy?" Miko raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Are you?" Selistar responded.

"You don't want to comply with my commands; I don't want to kill you, yet. You don't want to integrate into our society. What else do you expect from me!" Selistar shouted at the Tiny Tots. His yell shook space, causing the Tiny Tots' demeanor to shrink.

"We expect you to follow your own rules, and to tell us the truth. Is it that difficult to understand?" The Conductor responded.

"What I was taught, by you… is that we do what we must for the betterment of humankind. That no one person is more important than our cause. That we are not superior to any human, we are just another cog in humanity's survival—it seems that does not apply to you and your family." Selistar closed his eyes as he listened to the Conductor's words.

Some of the elders began to raise their voices, but Selistar raised his hand to silence them. He locked eyes with the Conductor.

"Would you have me condemn my mother for the mistakes of my father?" Selistar asked.

"I would have killed my father a long time ago. Incompetence isn't hard to spot." The Conductor responded without missing a beat. Seren started to chuckle at the Conductor's ruthless response.

"You are correct, but I will not ask my mother to sacrifice herself," Selistar responded.

"No, you'll just ask the rest of us."

"She's my mother…"

"So what?" The Conductor responded.

"You say it like it's so easy. What about you? Will you sacrifice your family for our, oh-so-great cause?" Selistar asked.

"We are talking to you like this, knowing full well that our family's lives are at risk. What do you think?" The Conductor answered.

Selistar looked at the resolve in the eyes of every Tiny Tot there. They had all resolved to let their families die if it gave them the freedom to fully act on what they believed to be right. Selistar sighed.

"I don't think I instilled such a strong fervor for our cause in you or the others."

"No, you didn't…"

"What did HE tell you?" Selistar asked.

"He told us that we don't owe anyone anything. We were brought into this world and given these incredible abilities because of the selfish desires of others." The Conductor started.

"Do not let the self-righteous grandstanding of others dictate what you should care about," Shango added.

"Train your body, train your mind. Learn anything and everything from anyone who offers, and use that to decide what this world is worth." Akiko chimed in.

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"Once you have determined the world's worth, decide whether it's worth saving and what you are willing to give to save it." Several of the other Tiny Tots joined in.

"We are willing to risk our families for the sake of humanity. But it appears you believe yours to be worth more." Bloody Mary finished.

Selistar shook his head as he let all of this sink in. Stefan, the leader of the Adders, and Léonie stood there in silence. They both were a bit ashamed of themselves that these children had more dedication to the cause than they did, and that drive was engraved in them by the teaching of a monster. However, their ideals were just that. Neither of them truly believed that they could maintain that stance if their families were truly faced with death.

"I see… Then I suspect you wouldn't mind dedicating your bodies to science… for the good of humanity." Selistar's dead eyes stared at the Tiny Tots. As he made a hand motion, the Tiny Tots were surrounded by Theronites.

"You son of a bitch!!" The Hoarder shouted. He was going to charge into the Theronites that surrounded them, but the Conductor raised his hand to stop him. The Conductor then raised his other hand in defeat.

"No need to be so hostile, mate. We'll comply." Shango chuckled.

"We will?" Manic, asked with a confused expression.

"Yes, you git… We'll comply." Bumi said as he slapped Manic on the back.

"Why, though?" Manic still didn't understand.

"Do you want to be on the frontlines when Zac Sensei gets here, with an army of monsters?" Mirage answered Manic, shaking his head.

"Oh, shit, right… Yeah, lock us up." Manic responded as the Tiny Tots chuckled. As the Tiny Tots disappeared from sight, the elders all turned their attention towards Selistar.

"Is it wise to let them undergo the test? It seemed the Doctor had made tremendous strides with Subject Alpha; this may come back to bite us." One of the elders responded.

"The Doctor has made great strides, but the wall she hit with subject Alpha is a large one. She went through nearly 2 dozen to make the progress that she did." Seren commented.

"Two dozen in less than a month is crazy." One of the elders added,.

"She did not care for our people, and rightfully so. There was no need for her to be gentle or ethical with them. However, you saw how she was at the dinner; she cared for those children quite a bit. We can expect better results with them as the subjects." Seren continued.

"But how will we control them?" Léonie was the one to ask. She remembered that Alpha became a Zero user after the successful integration of Nevilara Mystara. Zero's, for better or worse, could not be controlled.

"The good doctor seemed to have developed a way to control Zeroes. I assume it only applies to those she has worked directly on. We'll just have to get that information out of her." Selistar smirked as he started to walk away.

"We have a lot to do. They'll be here tomorrow, and preparations are still not complete. I also need to speak with Father." Selistar groaned.

"What do you need to speak with your father for?" Seren asked.

"To make sure he doesn't fuck anything up." Selistar almost spat as his mother smiled.

"Then I'll check on Roratha again." Seren separated herself from the group once more.

Meanwhile, in the heart of Firmtha Sanguar, Kenji walked through the doors of the Veridahn office. He scanned the forest-like lobby, still not used to how crazy this place was. As he walked in, Glow, the AI manager appeared.

"Where's Zac?" Kenji asked.

"Greetings, Lord Mythara. Lord Cefketa is in the back training room, testing out a weapon on the new recruits." The AI answered.

"On the new recruits, not with?" Kenji asked for clarification.

"Yes, that's correct," Glow confirmed.

"Ok…" Kenji chuckled as he made his way towards the back. As he got closer to the back, he heard the pained grunts of the new members of Veridahn that Sage had chosen the day before. Behind the forest-like lobby, there was a near-invisible biometric door carved into a living plant wall.

The space opens into a large, high-ceiling chamber that maintains the forest aesthetic. The ground had a responsive surface, adjusting firmness and texture for running, sparring, or balance drills—one-moment soft moss, the next firm stone.

At the center is a clearing-like area, used for tactical and movement training. Overhead, projectors and holographic emitters cast shifting terrain, enemy simulations, or team formations into 3D space. It's a place where augmented reality combat drills feel fully immersive—mist, wind, and even scent simulate the field.

Walls are lined with modular equipment pods disguised as natural rock formations. With a voice command, they open to reveal gear, resistance bands, drones, smart weapons, or meditation tech.

In the opening was a litter of creatures scattered around the floor moaning in pain, struggling to get up. Towards the edge of a large rock sat Zac, with a vicious-looking scythe resting across his shoulder. On the scythe were intricate systems, and Kenji noticed that the blade didn't have a physical form but was composed of some kind of energy. Kenji stood amid the down recruits,

"I see the Twins figured out how to deal with the weight distribution issue."

"And I see you've been busy with a similar idea," Zac responded with a smile, as his eyes glowed.

"What? How can you tell?" Kenji asked as he looked at himself. His body was completely covered in his Chaser cloak.

"You'll figure it out sooner or later yourself. Let me get a good look at them." Zac smiled.

"Are they ok?" Kenji asked as he gingerly walked over the downed monsters around them.

"Don't worry about them; they'll live. Isn't that right?!" Zac called out to the down Veridahns.

"Yes, Lord Cefketa." They all shouted before they started to moan in pain, still struggling to their feet. Kenji stood in front of Zac and then began to take off his top. Once he revealed his bare chest, his body was covered in systems that were tattooed on his body. Zac nodded his head and said,

"These systems strengthen your body, to help you correct? You understand that this is just a temporary fix?"

"Yes! I'll quadruple my physical regimen going forward. And these tattoos will disappear with my first shedding." Kenji reassured Zac, who nodded his head in approval.

"You want to test them out, don't you?" Zac smiled.

Kenji didn't respond; he only returned the smile. Zac's laughter filled the room.

"Glow, get these kids out of the way."

"At your order, Lord Cefketa." The ground lit up as it began to shift, moving all of the incapacitated Veridahns out of the way. As they began to come to their feet, a young Titan Orc asked,

"Are we dismissed for the day, Lord Cefketa?"

"No, you little shit. Sit your asses there and watch what comes next. You might learn something." Zac said as he jumped down from his boulder. The scythe on his hand shrunk in size as he tucked it away.

"You're not going to use your new toy?" Kenji asked.

"The Dragon Claw is for having fun. I need to take you at least a little bit seriously." Zac chuckled as his Dragon Scale Nano-armor began to cover his body, and two daggers appeared in his hands.

"Dragon Claw, huh? Guess I can't hold back either, then. Initiating Overclock." Kenji smiled as the system on his body began to glow before he covered himself in nano-armor. Two pistols formed in his hand.

As they were about to engage, Sage and Twins walked into the room, followed by the Numbers of Veridahn. They looked at the recruits slumped over, leaning against trees, as they all stared at the center. Before they could completely process what was happening, they heard the sounds of thunder clapping. Sage could make out faint outlines of Zac and Kenji moving through the area.

"How the hell are we supposed to learn anything from that?" One of the Veridahn recruits asked. Barely being able to follow the two of them with their eyes.

"Don't use your eyes to follow them. Feel their movements. Vaylora is everywhere; feel how it moves when they move. Let it show you what you want to see." Number 1 The leader of the Numbers, the young male Elf, spoke. He was not only speaking to the recruits but also to Sage and the Twins, who were just beginning their journey down this road.

Both Sage and the Twins were about to overclock to try to track their movements but instead, they calmed their nerves to feel the Vaylora, as Number 1 had instructed. Moments later the three of them found themselves tracking the movements of both of the dragons. It still wasn't perfect, but it was better than adding the strain on the bodies by using overclocking.

"Humans are truly a marvel, aren't they?" Number 1 stared at the 3 humans put into practice what he said, almost instantly, while there were recruits still struggling with the concept itself.

There was a crash as Kenji rolled across the ground, sliding to a stop with his head at Sage's feet. He placed his hands over his chest as his mask melted away.

"What's up?" Kenji smiled.

"Having fun getting your ass kicked?" Sage asked.

"Don't tease him too much. He still needs a little time to adjust to his new physical abilities. As such, I suggest you use your remaining time until the operation does just that. You guys follow me. We need to do a final run-through of the plan. Glow, tell Puppy to meet us in my office." Zac began to leave the room and then stopped in his tracks.

"Also get me in contact with the other Seats. It wouldn't be bad to have more contingencies." Glow disappeared to handle their tasks as one of the recruits on the ground asked,

"Lord Cefketa, you said we weren't done for today; what would you have us do?"

"Didn't you just hear what I said? Mythara needs to get adjusted to his systems. So help him adjust. Kid… pick out the 20 best ones. They'll be coming with us tomorrow. Be sure to keep the formations in mind when picking."

"Ok…" Kenji responded without trying to argue as he picked himself off the ground. And began to stretch. Most of the recruits looked on in horror. While several of the Titan Orcs smiled with anticipation.

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