Prism awoke to the hum of the tele-circle's activation. Feeling the emanations of the spells he so meticulously crafted made him rise from his cot with a smile on his face. He stretched his arms up high above his head, noting how heavy they were compared to the arms he'd had for well over a century. The musculature felt good as it bulged and lengthened.

  "I thought you might be hibernating for the rest of the season." Qisyit turned around and placed her calloused hands on the hips of her orange overalls. "After he heard that you got sick two nights ago, Ursun figured you needed the sleep. He told us not to wake you up."

  "Two nights ago!?" Prism jerked himself forward and placed his feet on the ground beside his cot.

  "Yeah, you've been asleep for two days." Qisyit shook her head and pointed to a large calendar clock that hung on a wall of the cave room.

  Prism rubbed his face and furrowed his brow at the lieutenant commander. "I got left behind, didn't I?" He asked as he held his forehead and looked down at the black rubbery ground.

  "RED-1 said that you'd catch up with them. RED-2 tried to wake you up before RED-1 got here, but you were completely unresponsive." Qisyit shrugged. With both of her hands, she stroked the braided bang that covered her left eye. The gesture made her seem a bit bored with the conversation. “Leanna said that you’d be dazed and confused when you finally woke up.”

  "She’s got me figured out. I didn't think I'd be this out of it..." Prism said too quietly for Qisyit to hear him.

  She ignored his murmuring and walked over to a large, orange mechanical device that sat near the edge of the tele-circle. Prism recognized the machine as a mobile heavy lifting arm. It was folded up into the size of a large van. "RED-4 went back to Pack HQ to rest. They've been working double shifts to finish the work we all started when you were last awake." Qisyit said.

  "I see...so they used the printers to make those machines." Prism said loud enough for Qisyit to hear him.

  "They're manual and EM-shielded. Couldn't risk the caves messing with any electronic or smart bio-components on such powerful tools. It was hard work, but we did it." Qisyit rubbed the side of the equipment while she talked. "Kitra left with RED-2, by the way. They're headed directly east, to the Adagadis."

  "Any idea where my team went?" Prism stood up and stretched his arms again.

  "They're headed northeast, towards the coast up there. I believe Wadaw said something about a "cozy little town full of lovely little people" that they would be staying in tonight." Qisyit smiled while she remembered meeting the eccentric masked man. "Can't you just track them with your telepathy or something?"

  "Not while I'm in this cave." Prism looked at the exit tunnel behind him where two True Twins stood guard. "Why'd you stay behind? You need rest too, right?"

  Qisyit chuckled. She leaned back against the lifting machine and smirked like a gangster. "I'm built different than the gals of RED-4. I'll be fine." She saw Prism smirk back at her before she continued speaking. "Don't forget; we need your help catching a plasma beast. We can't do it now, but we want it done when all this is over."

  "You're talking like the civil war will be done soon. I don't see how that's probable, even if the True Twins are gearing up for a big offensive in Sguvi's capital. Getting all those forces there won't be easy, and it definitely won't be quick." Prism rubbed the coarse hair on the back of his head and raised an eyebrow at Qisyit.

  "These guerillas are a lot more organized than we thought. I never thought a leaderless group could be so coordinated." Qisyit looked around the cave like she was marveling at a beautiful piece of architecture. "They've got a True Twin in Gusa's broadcasting crew. They send secret messages encoded in that fanatic's speeches to each other. They're that integrated into Gusa's inner circle."

  "That explains why the fighters were paying such close attention to the speech the other day..." Prism rubbed his chin and said. "One of them was even writing something down on a notepad."

  "They'll storm Zazi in a week; maybe sooner." Qisyit said, nodding to herself. "You'll be the weapon they need to stand up against Gusa and all that Kingdom tech he's got."

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  “That’s all I am to you, and to everyone else; a weapon.” He thought to himself.

  Prism regarded Qisyit for a moment. He silently gauged her demeanor as he gained a greater awareness of her body language. In just two days, she'd become completely enamored with the True Twins Gospel and their odds of beating the techno-theocracy that had oppressed them for centuries. He could barely believe that such a tough person like Qisyit could be swayed so quickly and so easily.

  "I'll be off, then. Here's hoping I gain the same confidence in their odds that you have."

  With a curt nod, Prism turned away from Qisyit and made his way towards the exit tunnel. He expected her to shout some parting words to him, but she didn't. They'd said all they needed to each other. At least, Prism hoped they had.

  ****

  Prism dashed through the jungle at a speed that would break the necks of most humans. He would merely be a blur to any creatures that managed to catch a glimpse of him. Nevertheless, he’d used his magic to make himself invisible.

  He kept to the treetops, concerned that the sensitive machines used by the Sguvan military would detect any strange movement along the ground. He feared being ambushed by the androids that could match his speed again. They could pin him down faster than he could fight them off, so he knew that he needed to be cautious. He couldn't be sure if they could locate him moving through the trees or not, but he figured that he'd have a better chance of outrunning them up there if they did.

  Prism was shirtless, wearing only the red leatherine pants of his casual Red Wolves uniform. He'd even eschewed his durable black leatherine boots, finding them just as cumbersome as the combat armor he'd left in the caves. For the first time in a long time, Prism felt at ease out in the field. He’d at least kept a small pistol on his belt, just in case his magic was adversely affected by the strange properties of the mysterious jungle.

  BRTBRTBRTBRTBRTBRTBRTBRTBRT!

  Prism stopped on a large, thick branch several meters above the ground. He heard the sound of gunfire a few dozen meters to the north. It wasn’t far out of his way, and he wasn’t the sort to let potential allies or innocents be fired upon.

  “Let’s see…” Prism thought as he expanded his perception to scout the area ahead.

  Through magicked eyes, Prism saw a group of five Sguvan soldiers in green combat armor prowling through a dense patch of jungle. The soldiers encircled a small area as though they were cornering someone. They held up their bulky dark-green autorifles close to their chests, releasing a burst of bullets when they caught a glimpse of movement in the foliage.

  Prism narrowed his eyes and made his sight attune more closely to the mana of the humans he watched. He still strained to peer through the thick background mana of the stange jungle, but the two days of rest made it a bit easier to acclimate to the unique conditions than when he'd first arrived. With a slight pain in his optic nerves, Prism finally saw the mana signature of the person the soldiers were pursuing.

  The signature, high up in a tree that the soldiers had surrounded, pulsed a feverish and angry red, with hints of gold that indicated euphoria. The signature was strong and bright, showing that the man was healthy and uninjured.

  "Strange..." Prism thought as his eyes shifted back to more traditional sight.

  He saw that the person was a man who wore nothing but a belted brown loincloth, a colorful beaded necklace, and a headband affixed with the iridescent feathers of the Miti bird. The portions of the man's reddish-brown skin that weren't painted or covered in clay were slick with sweat. His long, silky black hair hung down from his sharp-featured face.

  In both of his hands he gripped the same sort of silenced assault rifle that the True Twins wielded. The man squatted on a wide tree branch as he took aim at the soldiers below him, knowing that he'd only get one shot before they zeroed in on his location. To Prism's amazement, the man smiled like a madman while he stared down menacingly at his enemies.

  "He's going to get himself killed." Prism thought.

  The man shot one of the soldiers through their helmeted head, killing them instantly. The other soldiers immediately raised their guns up at the treetop and started firing. In spite of the soldiers’ augmented biology and enhanced reflexes, the man continued to evade them.

  "Kill the Ewasha! Don't let him get away!" One of the soldiers shouted.

  The man that they called the Ewasha took a small black ball off his belt and threw it down at them while he leapt to another tree branch in the opposite direction. The ball exploded, sending poisoned shrapnel around at two of the soldiers. The fast-acting neuro-toxin brought the soldiers a swift but painful death.

  The man swung the strap of his rifle along his shoulder to free up his hands, allowing him to swing from branch to branch like the apes Prism had seen on other worlds. The man was fast, but the augmented Sguvan soldiers were faster. They shot at him with deadly aim, nearly striking the fingers he used to grasp a thin branch. The branch was struck instead, causing it to break and send the man falling towards the ground.

  "Oh no, you don't." Prism said aloud before grabbing the falling man in midair. Prism then kicked off from a nearby tree trunk, sending the two of them flying back up into the treetops while the two remaining soldiers continued firing at them. The man squirmed in Prism's arms and tried to free himself, but Prism was far stronger. "Calm down, I'm here to help." Prism said in the man's ear before landing on another sizable branch.

  "What kind of soldier are you, dressed like that!?" The man whispered harshly as he held his gun up Prism.

  The two of them squatted on the tree branch, staring each other down. Prism could see that the man's deep-set brown eyes burned with a vicious rage. The man's high cheekbones and long, thin nose made him handsome despite the grime that had accumulated on his face.

  "I'm Prism. Like I said, I'm here to help you." Prism remained calm despite the gunfire whizzing around them.

  The man looked down at the two soldiers. His lips curled back up into the same crazed smile that he'd had earlier. "So, you're the Fairy Prince." The man said without looking away from the soldiers. "Explains why those skurakshyuh's bullets are veering away from us. That’s your fairy magic, yeah?”

  Before Prism could speak again, the man shot both of the soldiers in the head, executing them in seconds. The man then raised his weapon, let out a satisfied sigh, and sat down on the branch beside Prism. "I'm Jimah." The man offered his hand to Prism, who shook it without hesitation. "Thanks for saving me. I'm not sure I would've gotten out of that one alive."

  “It’s what I do.” Prism immediately regretted making the cocky reply. “I take it you’re a Viga Ranger?”

  Jimah laughed, revealing deep dimples that made Prism smile. Jimah raised his weapon up to Prism, showing it off to the elementeitan. “Rangers of these lands don’t carry guns. They walk in the footsteps of Ewa, so they’re non-violent.” Jimah said in a boyish yet raspy voice.

  “If you’re not a Ranger, then what are you doing out here dressed like one?” Prism asked without holding his tongue.

  “I’m here to kill as many soldiers as I can.” Jimah said with a sinister expression. “I’m here to avenge all the Rangers that have been murdered by these skurakshyuh.”