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Try as he might, Korban could not get it out of his mind…

Sash… His half-brother, the first son of Kleetra, here in Unity Falls.

The chill that gripped Korban's spine spread like ice through his veins. He should have seen this coming—should have prepared for it. But how could he have?

Volcan... Whatever had happened to him back then, whatever demon had clawed its way out of his friend that night had been something beyond anything Korban had ever imagined. He’d felt the ripples of that power echo through the world even before it emerged. Even that strange, jackal-like demigod from across the world had sensed it, crossing the globe to meet it.

And now Sash was here, drawn by that same ripple.

Korban’s breath hitched. If that demon’s strength had been so great that even a distant god could feel it, then of course... of course Sash would feel it too. They shared the same blood. The same cursed, damning blood.

Stupid, thought Korban… Why hadn’t he considered it? Why hadn’t he thought that Sash would be drawn to the emergence of that demon as well? His failure to think ahead had nearly cost Kyle and Tsumé their lives; he may have had a rocky relationship with Kyle, but he respected the man enough that he didn’t want to see him butchered. Tsumé … Well, for her, it was different; he wanted more than just her respect, even if he'd squandered that chance for now...

Then there was Volcan – surely the target of Sash’s investigation into the demonic phenomenon. Korban had seen Volcan fight enough times to know that the phoenix could take care of himself against an ordinary opponent, or even an abnormal one – like P.A.C.E and their cybernetic soldiers. But Sash was far beyond anything that Volcan could’ve ever faced… Against him, Korban was sure he wouldn’t have a chance.

He practically raced through the uneven terrain leading to Volcan’s tower, skidding to a halt and kicking up dirt against the side of the tower before he dismounted his bike, racing up the stairs as fast as he could. He prayed deep down that Volcan hadn’t decided to move out of the tower with the money he gave him during their last visit but was relieved to see the phoenix still inside once he made it to the top, reading a newspaper that was spread out over his table, circling something he saw on the ad with a pen.

“Thank fuck…” He whispered breathlessly, catching his breath before trotting around and practically shouldering the door wide open, practically breaking the door down.

Volcan looked over with a start as the husky rushed in, alarmed by the brusque entrance and to see Korban there well before they usually met up. “Korban?” he asked. Then, his face hardened as he looked at Korban, seeing something in the husky’s expression that alerted him to the trouble. “What’s going on; is someone chasing you?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” Korban said as he entered the cabin, kicking the door shut behind him. “Long story short, a relic of my past decided to rear its ugly head, and my guess is that he’s comin’ fer you too.”

“For me? Why?” the phoenix asked, puzzled. But realization quickly dawned on his face once he put the pieces together. “Wait… Because of that demon - the one that came out of me?” he inquired.

“Exactly,” Korban confirmed, nodding quickly. “He sensed that Demon takin’ over yer body – the same way I did and decided to pop over and investigate fer himself… Almost damn near killed Sarge and Tsumé when he showed up at Stark’s place earlier.”

That brought Volcan full to alert, his eyes widening and his crown flicking up. “Tsumé and Kyle? Are they okay? And where are the twins; did he go after them too?” he demanded, his voice carrying his alarm.

“They’re fine, relax,” Korban answered, holding his paws up to calm Volcan down. “Tsumé and Sarge managed to get away because of the former’s quick thinkin’, but I have no fuckin’ clue where Stark is… Tsumé said somethin’ about a business trip somewhere, and same with his sister. I don’t remember, but the fact of the matter is that yer in danger, man… We both are, and we need to come up with a plan for when this guy shows up again.”

Volcan took a steadying breath. “Okay… Right, sorry,” he said. “What do you suggest? It sounded like from what you said earlier that you know this… Guy.”

At that, Korban sighed and turned away from Volcan for a moment, thinking on how to best approach the subject, but came up with nothing. “That’s the thing…” He said before turning back to look at Volcan. “You once asked about my family and if I had any other surviving members left… When I told you I didn’t, that… miiiiight have been a lie.”

Volcan’s beak fell open as his eyes widened again. “This guy is related to you?” he asked. “What is he… Cousin? Brother?” Then his expression soured. “...It’s not your dad, is it?”

“No, you… Were actually right the second time,” Korban answered. “His name’s Sash… And he’s my older half-brother. Same father, different mother.”

“Oh…” the phoenix said, sadly. “Sorry… That…” he grimaced, reaching a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I don’t even have the words for that.”

“Don’t worry about that. We gotta focus on the here and now.” Korban shot back firmly. “We need to come up with a plan, STAT, or else you’ll end up getting turned into mincemeat. Not saying I don’t doubt yer strength, but I’m tellin’ you from experience that it won’t be enough to put a dent in him.”

“He’s really that powerful?” Volcan asked, wary.

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” Korban answered. “You think I have some busted hacks? He’s got even more shit goin’ for him than I do,” he explained. “For one, he’s wicked fast; faster than you can even blink. One second ya see him, the next he’s right behind you with his sword through yer chest.”

Volcan scowled at that. “Dammit… No sooner we get rid of P.A.C.E, now we got demons and half-demon killers on the loose… What next?”

No sooner did he ask that Korban’s wrist terminal started to beep repeatedly, making the husky flinch before he looked down at it for a second. “...Ya had to jinx it, didn’t ya?” he asked, flatly, and turned away from Volcan. “One sec, I gotta take this.” He remarked before answering what was apparently a call and produced an earbud from the terminal to place in his ear and listen to the caller.

“What?” he asked in an annoyed tone, tapping his foot a few times as he listened to the response. “Service hours are between nine to five. Check back to-” He paused mid-sentence, his ears pricking up before he spoke again. “...Alright, you have my attention. What’s the job?”

After a few moments of conversing with the caller, discussing terms and prices for the job, Korban eventually hung up and sighed heavily, running his paw through his hair before turning back to Volcan. “...Soooo, I just got an… interesting contract.”

“What sort of contract?” Volcan asked. “I hope you’re not being hired to kill someone I know?” he added with a faint smile, to show he was kidding.

“If that was the case, I woulda turned them down. You know that,” Korban said in mock offense, flashing a smirk and a wink back at Volcan. “But uh… well… How familiar are you with werewolves?”

Volcan expression flattened, his smile disappearing as he stared incredulously at Korban. “... I’m sorry. What?”

“Dude, I’m just as flabbergasted as you, but yea. Apparently the contact stated that there are werewolves being seen up North; sightings of them have gone up like gold stocks in just a few weeks, and he’s hired me to take them out.” Korban explained. “Trust me, I wish I was making this up.”

“North… You mean up in the territories?” Volcan asked. “That is a long way to go…”

“Which leads me to the next point.” Korban said, stepping closer to Volcan. “...I think it’d be a good idea if ya came with me.”

Again, Volcan looked stricken dumb. “With you? Why?” he asked. “Wouldn’t I just get in your way?”

“Hardly,” Korban answered with a scoff. “You’ve proven you can pull yer own weight with how we handled P.A.C.E. together… Plus I’m kinda down a partner right now and… I’ll be honest, I don’t think I can handle the job on my own. I’ve hunted supernatural beings before, but from what the contact informed me about… This is a whole pack of ‘em.”

“Well, don’t werewolves usually travel in packs, like feral wolves?” Volcan asked. “Groups of three, or four, usually, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Usually, but this pack is larger than most, hence why they called upon my services,” Korban answered. “So whaddya say? Wanna come hunt some werewolves down and bring some semblance of peace up North? It’ll be a good way to stay outta trouble from you-know-who for a while at least; can’t come after you guys if he doesn’t know where you are, ya get me?”

Volcan rolled his eyes as he considered it. “Well… If you think I can help out. I suppose it would get us away from him. But we better ask some of the others too; he might go back after Tsumé and Kyle again, and if he figures out who you’ve been spending time with, Pavan and my brother could also be in trouble.”

“Good call. Don’t want any of ‘em to end up in the crossfire either. Like I said, the guy’s ruthless to the core… He’ll go through anything and anyone in order to get what he wants…” Korban remarked, biting his bottom lip nervously as he spoke. “...Heh… can’t believe I’m actually fucking terrified for once. Who woulda thought, right?”

Volcan shrugged at that. “We all have something that keeps us looking over our shoulders or makes us a little anxious.”

“Oh yea? What’s your thing?” Korban asked suddenly.

“Well… I’m a little claustrophobic,” Volcan replied, “and, I have a natural fear of getting caught in heavy rain - though that’s more self-preservation than anything. And, when P.A.C.E was running around, it made me anxious whenever I was alone, knowing they were out there… Still getting past that one, even though I know they’re gone.”

Korban stared at Volcan for a moment before he raised his arm and clapped his paw on Volcan’s shoulder. “I know it’s rich comin’ from me right now… but you really need to lighten up a little. Yer so fuckin’ paranoid you would make a board look flimsy.”

“You know, Lighris said something like that to me at Ayane’s workshop when they were offloading one of those fuel cells from a VTOL we captured and I freaked out a bit,” the phoenix recounted. Seeing the smug look on Korban’s face, he scowled. “Hey, don’t look at me like that; those fuel cells were filled with hydrogen. You want to be standing near me if one of those things had ruptured? You can send Tsumé a postcard from the moon. Besides, getting blown up hurts me as much as it hurts anyone else.”

Korban started laughing at Volcan’s expense, leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees as he struggled to collect himself. “Ahhhh… yer a fuckin riot, ya know that?” he said, straightening and looking at the Phoenix with fondness. What would I do without you, I wonder..”

At that, Volcan smiled. “Let’s hope I don’t have to find out anytime soon,” he said, with a light shake of his head. “Okay, let’s go contact the others, and figure out how we’re all getting there.”

“Yea… No doubt they’ll wanna get as far away from here as possible fer the time being.” Korban concurred. “Just… promise me something, okay?”

Volcan tilted his head slightly, raising one eyebrow. “Promise what?” he asked.

Korban's expression grew serious as he stood face to face with Volcan, placing both paws on his chest. “If and when we eventually run into my brother again… Promise me you’ll let me worry about him, alright? I don’t want you or anyone else close to you gettin’ caught up in the chaos he’ll bring along with him, because lemme tell you now… none of you would stand a chance against him.”

Volcan grimaced at that. “I believe you,” he said. “But let’s be real here, Korban… If you are afraid of him, I don’t need much more incentive than that to steer clear of him. That, I can promise.”

“Glad we’re on the same page then,” Korban replied, nodding a few times and looking up at Volcan in silence before patting his chest once. “Right. Let’s contact the gang and fill ‘em in on the job.”

~~~~~

That evening, the phoenixes gathered at Volcan’s call. Lacking their usual meeting place at the Temple of Tikal, they opted instead to meet at the Lo’Raven mansion, but at Kyle’s insistence, they relocated to a park up the street, reminding them that he had been appointed the mansion’s house sitter, and Avory had left a ‘no visitors’ instruction before he’d left.

Reluctantly, they did so, and were grateful that the park had a few picnic tables where they could sit and talk. Pavan, despite being the furthest away, managed to be the first one there, arriving just a moment before Volcan and Korban. Tsumé arrived shortly after, and Lighris came last, parking his truck on the street and walking the rest of the way.

“When you asked us to meet in the park here, I was hoping for a barbeque,” the lightning phoenix commented, hands in his pockets.

“If anyone brought some hot dogs or burgers, I could arrange that,” Volcan offered.

“First dibs on the marshmallows~” Pavan sang.

“I kind of thought Rikyuu would be here too,” said Lighris.

“He’s up in Edmonton right now; been there for a little while,” replied Volcan. “Something about looking for more of his kind…”

Tsumé cleared her throat to get their attention. “Okay, Volcan, we’re all here,” she stated. “Is this about that sergal that came to the mansion?”

“Not exactly,” Volcan replied, and stepped back to let Korban take point on the discussion.

“By now I’m assumin’ yer all caught up with what happened at Stark’s place, so I’ll cut right to the chase.” He began. “The gist of it is that while I was warning Flamie here about the hack n’ slash maniac, I got a call fer a job… and I think it’d be in everyone’s best interest if we all took part in it.”

“You want our help with a job?” Pavan asked, puzzled.

“Why in the heck would we want to help you hunt down some poor soul whose only crime is probably just borrowing money from the wrong douchebag?” Lighris asked, crossing his arms.

“Bro, hear him out,” Volcan chided Lighris, and nodded to Korban to continue.

“Because the bounty I’ve been tasked to hunt leans more toward a… supernatural target, or tar_gets_, I should say.” He said, pausing for a second before just saying it. “We’re hunting werewolves.”

That earned him the attention of the other phoenixes. “I’m sorry, what?” Tsumé asked. “Actual werewolves? Where?”

“In the Northwest Territories, apparently,” Volcan replied.

“The contact was insistent that I be the guy fer the job, seeing that I’ve dealt with supernatural targets before… But here’s the thing. From what I’ve been told, there’s more than one pack, and while I am pretty fucking amazing at what I do… even I can admit I can’t take on that many on my own… which brings us to right now.” Korban explained. “The last time I worked with you, it was because we had a common enemy. Now… ugh, can’t believe I’m saying this, but… this time, I’m asking fer yer help..”

The other three phoenixes shared looks, a moment of silence stretching over the group until Lighris spoke up while Tsumé pulled out her phone and began tapping at the screen with her thumbs.

“I have to ask… why is this our problem?” the lightning phoenix inquired. “Werewolves don’t usually operate in plain sight. So, there’s been a few sightings; it’s hardly-”

“More than a few,” Tsumé interjected, holding up her phone. “I just looked it up. There have been a total of six sightings. In the last two weeks.”

All eyes fell on her. “That many?” Pavan practically exploded the question.

“And quite a few disappearances; authorities are saying the two aren’t connected, but I think we all know that is bullshit,” the earth phoenix added. “Probably just trying not to cause a panic, but that’s not going to last.”

“Where have these sightings been happening?” Volcan asked.

“I’m not really sure; I don’t know these areas,” Tsumé replied, going over each of the articles. “Let’s see… Where’s Great Slave Lake?”

“It’s right by Yellowknife, the territorial capital,” Lighris answered. “It’s the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories, with Great Bear being the biggest.”

“There have been at least two sightings around there,” Tsumé reported. “And all these other places… Can someone look up some of these as I mention them?”

“Coal Mine Park, Fred Henne Park, and the Yellowknife River Territorial Park.” Korban cited without so much as looking at a reference. “Contact filled me in on the locations during the call.”

“Those coincide with the sightings, yes,” Tsumé agreed. “Mostly campers, canoers, and general sight-see-ers, but there have been at least six sightings, and twelve disappearances. Authorities in Yellowknife are currently blaming it on rogue wildlife around the lake, though that wouldn’t explain the one near Cameron Falls, as that’s pretty far away.”

Suddenly, Volcan spoke up, and by the look on his face, they could tell that he had just thought of something.. “Korban, can you pull up some of the dates of those sightings, and a map of the locations where they happened?” he asked.

Korban nodded, lifting his left arm and tapping on his wrist terminal a few times. A projection of a map of Yellowknife suddenly shot up from the terminal, along with the locations of the sightings and timestamps for each one.

Volcan held up his hand, eyeing the map closely as he began to slowly draw an imaginary line with an outstretched finger, until it came to Great Slave Lake, where he stopped. Then, everyone could see what he thought of, and they all felt their blood going cold.

“The disappearances have been moving…” said Tsumé, “toward the city… Every single one is closer than the last.”

“They’re gettin’ brave, I’ll give ‘em that much,” Korban remarked, narrowing his eyes before glancing at Lighris. “Still think it ain’t of our business, lightning bolt?” He asked in a snarky tone.

“Well…” the lightning hawk began hesitantly. “No! Hang on a minute; so, we figured it out. How, still, is this our problem?”

“…Wow, yer dense,” Korban muttered, slapping his face with his paw before replying. “Let’s look at the situation from the people’s perspective, shall we? People have this little thing they like to call ‘superstition,’ which makes them think that there are things out there that are actually real; things like, oh I dunno… werewolves, wendigos, the fucking boogeyman for fuck’s sake.”

He turned to Lighris as he went on. “Now we have a situation where one of those things exists, therefore proving that werewolves are living things… which means that they’ll start believing that other kinds of cryptids exist as well. Things like vampires or demons… or even…” He paused, looking at each of the phoenixes squarely.

Lighris groaned at that. “Okay, I get that, but why the hell do we have to do anything about it?”

“Because right now, we’re the only ones who know about it,” said Volcan.

“And, considering a few of these articles we’ve been going over were actually published by news media in Yellowknife itself…” Tsumé let her comment trail off there.

Lighris looked between each of them, eventually settling his gaze on Korban. “...I officially hate it when you make sense,” he grumbled.

“Give it time, you’ll come to love it,” Korban returned, grinning smugly at Lighris. “Of course, with you lot coming along to help in this job means you’ll each get a fair cut of the payout, so take that however you want.” He added, then his ears perked up. “...That reminds me. After I bring the trailer over to pick you guys up, I got some stuff to hand off to you, so look forward to that as well.”

“Handoff to us?” Pavan asked. “Like what? A souvenir?”

“Not like any you’ve ever had before, bud,” Volcan remarked with a wide smile.

Lighris let out a groan and ran a hand down his face. “Fine… Well, we’re talking about a drive that is going to take us twenty hours… So, what, we’re renting an RV or are we going to rough it all the way there?”

At that, Volcan smiled again. “That’s not a bad idea,” he said, “and a good time to show what I’ve been shopping for recently.”

~~~~~

“I'm sorry, say that again?” Lighris stared at his brother, disbelief etched on his face as they stood inside their newly purchased Class A motorhome. “Korban gave you how much?!”

“Like, two million or something?” Volcan shrugged, but his nonchalance didn’t hide the faint blush creeping up his cheeks.

“But why?” Lighris pressed, his curiosity piqued. “What on earth did you do to earn that? Actually, do I even want to know? Wait—why are you blushing?!” He pointed at Volcan, his brother’s warmth radiating in the cool air, a telltale sign that something deeper was going on.

Lighris’s eyes narrowed, suspicion blooming. “Seriously, what’s going on between you two?”

Volcan shrugged. “Sorry, bro, that’s… Gonna stay private.”

Lighris scowled, and opened his beak to speak again, but Tsumé chose that moment to step in between the brothers, coming to Volcan’s rescue. “Okay, time out!” she cut in, “Lighris, chill will you? We have a way to get to the Yukon Territory now… At least once we have insurance and registration on this thing.”

“Dare I say it, this is the way to travel!” Pavan crowed as he made his third tour though the Class A motorhome. “This thing’s got everything! A big sofa that folds out into a bed, a small kitchen, a king-sized bed in the main bedroom, and all the utilities you need - you could live in one of these!”

“That… Just might be the idea,” Volcan commented. “Lighris and my mom have both been telling me I needed to get my own place for years, and yeah I could have stayed with them; they invited me too on multiple occasions. But I just wanted something that was my own, and so I stayed in that tower. So… Here we are. My new home, and our ticket to heading north in relative comfort.”

“But… what about you and Ordagova?” Tsumé asked, her brow furrowing. “I thought you were moving in with him until… well, you know.”

Volcan sighed, a hint of sadness in his eyes. “We… called it off. But don’t worry; it ended on good terms. With everything happening, I just felt it was time to move on, and he agreed.”

Tsumé winced, her hand instinctively going to the back of her neck. “Yikes… that must have been hard… Well, that ship sailed rather quickly, didn’t it?”

“Ah, we’re all still young. We’ll find our special someone at some point in our lives.” Korban called out as he strolled in to rejoin the group, holding some slips of paper in his hand – and casting a discreet wink at Volcan. “As fer the rest of you, fan out. I got those handouts I mentioned earlier to pass over.”

“You’re giving all of us money?” Pavan asked, dashing over almost cartoonishly to stand in front of Korban, his face lighting up.

“Call it my way of sayin’ thanks fer getting back what was mine from P.A.C.E. Figured it was the least I could do after you all stuck yer necks out for me,” he explained as he handed each of them a cheque amounting to the same that he initially gave Volcan.

When he came to Lighris however, he pulled the cheque back when he went to reach for it, looking at him square in the eye for a moment. “...I don’t wanna see you spending this on frivolous shit that you don’t need or want… You understand me?” He warned the Lightning Phoenix in a stern tone.

Lighris scowled and looked at his brother. “What did you tell him?”

“The hard truth, bro,” Volcan said, arms crossed. “You’re a compulsive spender, and we all know it. Mom, Dad—hell, even you know it, however much you try to justify it. That’s why they stopped lending you money, because it was never coming back. And half the time, you blew it on crap you didn’t even need.”

“And trust me, I’ll know if you have or not… I have ways of finding out,” Korban further warned Lighris before he lowered the cheque for Lighris to take from him.

Slowly, Lighris took the cheque, letting out a grunt. “Since it seems Volcan will rat me out anyway, I guess I have no choice… I’ll pay off my shop’s mortgage, get my own place here in the city so I don’t have to rent in the countryside anymore, and then I’ll bank the rest. How does that sound?”

“Probably the smartest thing you’ve said since I first met you,” Korban remarked with a smirk. “Helpful advice from a professional. I didn’t get to where I am now by spending money like it was goin’ outta style. Always have a fallback plan fer yer fallback plan.”

“Thanks, dad,” Lighris grumbled. “Alright, so who’s going to insure this thing then? I could do it.”

“I could do that,” Tsumé offered. “We can put the insurance in my name. As long as Volcan spots me for the monthly payments, I’ll make sure everything’s taken care of. Plus, my clean driving record should keep the insurance pretty low.”

Lighris raised an eyebrow. “What about the registration?”

“Can’t we register it under Volcan?” Tsumé asked.

Volcan shifted, looking sheepish. “I… Don’t have a license.”

A silence settled over the group, and Tsumé sighed. “Right… I guess I’ll have to handle that too, once we get proof of insurance. But we really need to get you a license, Volcan; especially if you intend to live in a mobile home. You have to be able to move it you know.”

Pavan chimed in, “You know, I forgot you had a license, Tsumé. Whatever happened to that Lotus you used to drive to school?”

“Technically, it was my dad’s car, not mine,” Tsumé replied. “It stayed behind when I left home. Not that I wanted to keep it; it was a nice car but not exactly practical.”

“Stickin’ it to the man. I dig it,” Korban said, grinning at her, his admiration evident. “Guess we have more in common than I thought.”

Tsumé shot him a look. “Don’t push your luck, Korban,” she warned, but the corner of her mouth twitched, betraying a hint of amusement.

Due to the lateness of the day, even when they managed to insure the motorhome, the group was unable to set out until the next morning on account of the registry being closed before they could reach it. They rented a space overnight where they could park the motorhome and set out early in the morning once the vehicle was registered.

With all of, as Lighris put it, the usual bullshit out of the way, he was the first to take the wheel and start their long drive to the faraway north…

~~~~~

To call Yellowknife a city was admittedly generous by most standards. While certainly larger than the countless remote towns they had passed since entering the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife barely boasted a third of Unity Falls’ population and sprawled over far less ground than its southern counterpart. Yet, it had a quiet resilience about it, nestled on the edge of Great Slave Lake, where the wilderness crept in at the fringes.

The temperature was cooler here, but the northern summer sun still warmed the air, giving the day an unusual sense of calm. The sky was a vast, cloudless expanse, the kind that stretched endlessly above them, far more open than anything they’d seen down south. As they drove through the streets, taking in the modest but sturdy buildings, the city’s mix of old and new caught their eye—one moment passing sleek, modern structures, the next, homes that seemed like they’d weathered decades of winter storms.

Eventually, they found a place to park at the YK Shopping Centre, choosing a quiet spot at the edge of the lot, the motorhome standing in contrast to the local vehicles. They hoped to avoid drawing too much attention and already worked on a variety of cover stories between them if anyone came asking about why they were there.

Pavan raced out the RV before Lighris had even cut the engine, taking in a deep breath before calling out to the sky above, “FINALLY!” so loudly that his voice echoed through the air. “I swear if I had played one more round of that game I was going to hate Nintendo for the rest of my life!”

“Only because you were losing to me,” Tsumé teased him as she stepped out, taking the opportunity to stretch. “But, yeah, that was one hell of a long trip.”

“Personally, I enjoyed the trip up here,” Korban remarked as he stepped out after her, looking over his shoulder at Volcan as he stepped out after him. “Helluva investment ya made, man.”

“Certainly cozy. Especially that king-sized bed,” Volcan replied. “I can’t remember the last time I slept so comfortably.”

Korban cast Volcan a sidelong glance and grinned at him momentarily, shooting him a sly wink before turning his attention forward. “Right. Well now that we’re here, no time like the present. Let’s find the closest location and start our hunt, shall we?”

“Right. Let’s start with where those two most recent sightings happened,” said Volcan.

“Actually, I can narrow that down even further,” Tsumé chimed in, holding up her phone. “I’ve been keeping the local news open in case of any changes, and I just found there’s been another sighting, down near the historic site, Dettah. Someone heard howling down there and claimed they saw a werewolf running back into the woods from the main road, just last night.”

“Sounds like a good place to start, then,” said Volcan.

“Good find, Tsumé,” Korban said with a nod. “To Dettah it is then. Allons-y!”

The use of the signature catchphrase earned Korban odd looks from the phoenixes. “What the heck was that?” Lighris asked. “You of all people watch Doctor Who?”

Korban looked back at Lighris and shrugged. “I mean, I’ve dabbled here and there. Not a fan, but I know enough to understand what it is. Besides, you should know that I’m just full of surprises.”

“Or a bunch of random bullshit,” Lighris muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

“So, which way to Dettah?” Pavan asked.

“There’s usually an ice road that goes straight to it, but that’s only in the winter. We’ll have to take the long way around,” explained Tsumé. “Do we take the RV or just rent a car?”

“We’ll fly over,” said Volcan. “Save money and diesel. Korban, you want to dismount your motorbike from the back?”

“You read my mind.” Korban said with a grin, already moving to the back of the RV to get his motorbike down from the mount, followed by Volcan who offered to help him.

“Uh… Question,” Tsumé piped up. “Am I staying here or something? I can’t fly.”

“Go with Korb,” Pavan suggested.

“Say what?” she asked.

“I’m sure that bike can seat two,” Pavan replied, cluelessly.

“It’s got a backseat, yea!” Korban said with a grunt as he wheeled the bike around from the back, then patted the slightly elevated seat behind the main one. “Might be a bit uncomfortable, but it’s better than missing out on all the fun.”

Tsumé scowled, looking between Pavan and Korban before letting out a groan. “You try anything…” she let the threat hang as she walked over to the bike.

“Kinda hard to when you’re sitting behind me,” Korban stated matter of factly, still grinning at her, then gestured to his sword on his back to add emphasis.

At the mention of the sword, Tsumé pointed to it. “On that note, how am I even going to sit with that hunk of iron in the way?” she asked, eyeing the sword with a raised eyebrow.

At that, Korban mounted the bike and flicked a small switch next to the ignition. The right flank of the bike flared out, revealing a specially designed sheath that extended parallel to the bike's body. With a practiced motion, Korban took his massive sword in hand and slid it into the opening, ensuring it nestled securely within the sheath. The design allowed the blade to rest alongside the bike without obstructing his legs, leaving enough space for a passenger behind him.

“Like I said… I’m full of surprises~”

“I’ll lock up the RV and be right behind you guys,” said Volcan, getting the key to his motorhome from Lighris.

“We’ll meet you over there Korb, Tsumé,” added Pavan, relishing the opportunity to stretch his wings and taking off into the air before anyone had the chance to say anything.

Lighris stared, eyebrow raised, up at the sky in the direction Pavan had taken off. “...And you said I had impulse control issues, bro?”

Volcan shrugged. “You have impulsive spending issues. Pavan is… Hyperactive, I think is the word? Whatever it is for someone who can’t sit still.”

“Sounds like he’s got a severe case of ADHD…” Korban stated, revving his bike a few times before glancing over his shoulder. “Hold on tight, baby girl. The first acceleration’s always the scariest.”

“Call me that again and I’ll-EEP!” Tsumé cried out as the motorcycle suddenly accelerated forward, catching her off guard as the two of them raced ahead.

With that, Volcan and Lighris followed Pavan’s example, spreading their wings and taking to the air as they followed the wind phoenix’s course, heading south-east from the city and passing over the vast Great Slave Lake…

~~~~~

Upon reaching the other side of the shimmering lake, Korban was taken aback by the sight before him. The historic site emerged from the landscape, its rustic buildings nestled against the backdrop of rolling hills and the expansive sky, where the sun hung low, casting golden hues across the terrain. As he approached, he spotted the three phoenixes—brightly feathered and strikingly vibrant—waiting for him outside the property, their eyes glinting with anticipation.

To his dismay, and that of his passenger, they found Volcan, Lighris and Pavan standing by the road, staring into the tourist attraction with a shared, bewildered expression between the three of them. ‘The hell they doing?’ Korban wondered as he approached them.

The bike was brought to a halt, gravel crunching beneath the tires, and Korban flipped down the kickstand with a practiced motion. He called out to the other phoenixes ahead, the sound of his voice mingling with the gentle rustle of the wind and crisp air cutting through the trees.

“The hell’s the hold-up?? You find a werewolf already or something?” he asked.

Volcan looked over his shoulder at him. “Not exactly,” he said. “But, something just as unexpected,” he pointed down into the historic site.

Following Volcan’s outstretched arm, Korban saw what he was pointing to… And his jaw nearly fell when he saw who he was pointing to. Ahead of them, walking through the historic site… Was an all-too-familiar avian with white feathers, and beside him, a gray-furred feline in a long, black coat.

“Yer fuckin’ kidding me…” Korban breathed as he blinked several times to ensure he wasn’t hallucinating. “This is where you’ve been hiding…? Up in the Northern Tundra with Vinge of all people??”

Tsumé came up to stand beside Korban, seeing the pair for herself, and at each of the others. “Well… Should we… Go talk to them?” she asked.

Korban hesitated to answer, narrowing his eyes before averting his gaze to the left, unsure of whether or not that was the right thing to do after their falling out several weeks ago… Behind him, Volcan saw the hesitance in Korban’s body language, and took it upon himself to give the husky a reassuring pat on the back, cocking his head toward the pair when Korban looked back at him.

The phoenix never spoke… But he didn’t have to. Korban got the message clear as day and let out a heavy sigh before rolling his head along his shoulders before stepping toward the two ahead. The phoenixes followed close behind, but they let Korban speak first out of all of them.

“What do you make of it?” Vinge asked Kieran after they spoke with the ‘supposed’ witness, who had declared to the news that they had seen a real, live werewolf.

“Seems a little far-fetched if you ask me, but anything's possible in my line of work,” Kieran answered, keeping his arms crossed. “I’ve never actually seen a werewolf in the flesh before. Only heard stories that Korban used to tell when he used to hunt them himself.”

“Likewise. I’ve never actually seen one either,” said Vinge, rubbing his chin in thought. “Still… For so many sightings to take place over so short a time… It’s unprecedented. I have an uneasy feeling that this is just the precursor to something far more terrible.”

“We better start investigating that lead, then. If there really are werewolves out there, we may be the only ones that can handle it,” Kieran stated.

“Not exactly the only ones.”

Kieran’s ears pricked up and he turned almost a full one-eighty to find Korban standing before them, with the other phoenixes behind him. “K-Korban??”

“Sup, Kitty?” Korban remarked, offering a light smirk and placing a paw on his hip, then nodded over to Vinge. “Sup, Vinge?”

Vinge, for his part, was at a loss for words, looking first from Korban, and then to each of the phoenixes standing with him. When he finally found his voice and managed not to let his surprise carry into his words, he asked the obvious question.

“What in the world are you doing all the way out here?” Vinge asked.

“I would imagine the same thing as you, Vinge,” replied Volcan. “We’re both a long way from home and practically in the middle of nowhere, looking for supernatural creatures, eh?”

Vinge allowed himself a small smile. “I suppose so,” he said. “Kieran received a job offering and asked me to come along.”

“Same deal for us,” Tsumé put in.

Kieran looked at Korban with a slight frown. “Here to rain on my parade and steal the spotlight, then?” He asked with a bit of venom in his tone.

“If I was, you think I’d have even bothered to stop and say hi?” Korban countered.

“Knowing how much you love to show off and how trigger-happy you are, yeah. I’d say that’s within your character,” Kieran retorted, turning his gaze away and frowning harder.

Korban sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair, knowing he had to do this but still feeling uncomfortable in doing so. After a long, awkward silence the husky finally spoke up again.

“Look, I…” Korban began, his voice wavering as he fought to find the right words. “A lot’s happened since you were gone. These past few weeks have been chaotic, and… not having you around only made everything harder to bear.” He paused, waiting for Kieran to meet his gaze. “You were right, okay? About me, about my vendetta… about everything. I took you for granted, and…” He clenched his jaw, looking away. “I’m… sorry…”

Kieran slowly turned to face him fully, his expression softening as he sensed the genuine regret in Korban’s voice. “Okay, who are you and what have you done with Korban?” he asked, astonished. “The husky I knew never apologized for anything, even when he was wrong…”

“Yeah, well… maybe I had a change in perspective.” Korban glanced back at Volcan, the moment's weight settling between them, but the air between them felt lighter as if a burden had been lifted.

Kieran stared at Korban for another long moment before he stepped forward and looked him dead in the eyes. “...I’m not sure I can forgive you right at this moment,” he began, making the husky’s ears wilt noticeably. “...But we got a job to do, and I can’t let personal issues get in the way of that,” he added, then lifted his paw toward Korban. “So, let’s settle the issue after we get our pay, a’ight?”

“I can do that,” Korban agreed, lifting his paw and grasping Kieran’s firmly, shaking it a couple of times before they let each other go.

Volcan smiled and nodded approvingly at the two, and even Lighris allowed himself a smile as well. “Something up there after all,” he muttered.

When the two were finished, Pavan stepped forward and cleared his throat. “So… Since we’re all on the same case here, should we… I dunno, compare notes?” he asked.

“That’ll be a good start,” Kieran replied with a nod. “What’cha got on your end?”

“My contact pretty much gave me a rundown on where these disappearances have been taking place,” Korban answered, lifting his arm and powering on his wrist terminal, once again bringing up the map projection of Yellowknife and the surrounding area, along with the sightings and timestamps of each. “There’s multiple packs of these werewolves goin’ around and either abducting or killing random strangers, getting closer and closer to the city with each attempt.”

Kieran took note of Korban’s arm terminal, studying to sleek new device and arched an eyebrow. “...New upgrade?”

“Courtesy of Stark of all people. Shocker, I know,” Korban answered, earning him a stunned look from the cat, though he didn’t meet his eyes, focused on the terminal.

“We started doing some comparisons of the sightings, and we’ve deduced that they appear to be moving east, based on the times of each one,” Volcan added his piece. “They seemed to have originated from the north and east, with one of the earliest sightings near Yellowknife being at the Reids Lake Territorial Park…” He trailed off, mostly looking to Vinge to see if he was caught up.

To his delight, the ice phoenix picked up promptly. “And the most recent one being here,” Vinge finished for him, nodding. “That makes sense… But, that introduces a more troubling question. Why does it seem like the sightings are getting closer to the city? Everything I have read about typical werewolf behaviour says they stay away from municipalities, and the bigger the town the farther away they will remain.”

“That’s what we were wondering too,” agreed Tsumé.

“It sounds to me that these werewolves are getting bolder, and… dare I say, more organized,” Korban remarked, shutting off the projection. “...Almost as though someone is directing them where to go.”

“Then we must find their alpha,” stated Vinge. “If the leader of these packs is that dangerous, and that bold as to approach Yellowknife, that is a very, very large problem.”

“Right. Werewolves have the potential to become living epidemics if they can reach somewhere with enough susceptible victims to turn,” added Volcan. “And at least half of Canada’s entire population is susceptible, right?’

“More than that, I fear,” replied Vinge, shaking his head. “Every canid, lupine or human is vulnerable to the curse, and that makes up more than sixty percent of Canada’s population. If it could spread beyond the territories… It could mean Armageddon for North America - not to mention, it would expose the existence of supernatural creatures like werewolves.”

“Sounds to me like we’re gonna need to really gear up fer this job… Good thing I brought my silver round mags…” Korban remarked.

“All well and good for you,” said Lighris, “but other than our powers, we got nothing, and I doubt the weapons you leant us before will do any good even if we had them.”

Kieran rubbed his chin for a moment. “...I may have an idea on how we can be better prepared for this job,” he offered, earning him the eyes of everyone in the group. “There’s a market that I know of. It’s where I got all my spell books from. If I can find where its entrance is, I could lead us there and we can stock up on supplies specifically to fight werewolves.”

The phoenixes all cast him odd looks, except for Vinge, who seemed to have heard this before. “I’m sorry, a market?” Lighris asked. “You’re kidding, right? In a world that’s not even supposed to know werewolves exist, where the hell could you find a shop that actually sells. Werewolf hunting gear?”

“Yeah, especially out here!” Pavan added, waving his arms around. “This place is so remote the clientele couldn’t be that good.”

“It would seem that I was not the only one who did not know,” said Vinge, looking at Kieran.

“...Exactly how long have you known about this and when were you gonna share this with me?” Korban asked.

“It’s a pretty secretive market. I only found it by accident way back when I was younger,” Kieran answered. “If I can search out any sort of magical trace that’s even remotely similar to the market’s essence, I can take us there. It has access points all across the country.”

Lighris blinked in confusion, looking between Kieran, Korban, and Vinge. “...You’re being serious right now,” he said. “There is actually a market that sells shit we can use, to hunt these things down?”

“From what Kieran told me, this ‘market’ is a secretive place built for and by supernatural beings such as us,” explained Vinge, “He even discovered that there was an access point located near Whitehorse and showed me the market itself. From what I learned, there are branches in every large country in the world, including North America. Canada, the United States, and Mexico - they each have their own.”

Volcan, dumbfounded, shook his head in disbelief. “How… Could we not know about this?” he asked. “How could my mother not know about this? Or my grandfather - surely he’d have told her if he knew. Or, fuck, our uncle - Boswell’s walked this world for three thousand years! You’d think he’d mention something about it.”

“That’s neither here nor there,” Korban spoke up firmly. “Look, if he’s got a means to get us to this place, then all the better.” He said before nodding to Kieran. “Do what’cha gotta do; we’ll follow yer lead.”

“...Again, who are you and what have you done with Korban?” Kieran asked, still shocked to see this side of his employer. Regardless, he pulled out a tome from his coat and flipped it open, quickly browsing the page he was on before closing his eyes and focusing as hard as he could, uttering a small chant under his breath as he did.

Only Kieran could feel what came next… A sensation, like a pull, tugging at him. It was not a pull on his fur, or his coat or clothes, but a deeper pull. Like his very spirit was being gently grasped by something invisible and drawing him toward something.

Opening his eyes, he lifted his gaze to look in the direction of the pull. His gaze turned almost directly south, over the cold waters of Great Slave Lake, toward a single, large island… The sensation was directing him there.

“...There,” he said while pointing toward the island. “Where we need to go, is right on that island.”

“...Well, that’s convenient,” Korban remarked.

“If you’re a trout, maybe,” said Tsumé, gesturing to their winged comrades. “These guys will have no issue but how are you, me and Kieran getting there?”

“Maybe we can rent a boat from somewhere,” Volcan offered, turning to look further across the historic site. “People go out on the lake all the time, right? There’s probably-”

“By the-!” Vinge suddenly snapped with alarm, startling everyone by how suddenly his voice raised - more out of surprise that it was him than anything else.

Both Korban and Kieran drew their respective firearms and took aim at where Vinge was gawking. But to their dismay, he was looking at Volcan, prompting them both to hastily lower their guns, but never looking away from his shocked expression – something they had never seen on the face of the stoic ice phoenix before…

“What? What’s wrong?” Tsumé asked.

“Volcan… Turn around,” the ice phoenix said. “And lift your shirt, if you please…”

The phoenix, knowing where this was going, let out a defeated sigh and did as he was asked, moving his hands down to the hem of his short-sleeve shirt and lifting it to expose what lay beneath. Both Vinge and Kieran, seeing it for the first time, gaped at the sight of the grotesque scar on Volcan’s back; Vinge had only caught a glimpse of it, through the opening in the back for Volcan’s wings, and that had been enough to surprise him.

But to see the twisted, deformed, pale flesh in full… Kieran held his free paw over his mouth as he saw the scar in full, almost gagging a few times before he managed to recollect himself.

“Bro… what the hell happened to you?” he asked softly.

Volcan, lowering his shirt once more, turned to cast his gaze at Vinge and Kieran again, eyeing the two of them sadly. “We… Have a lot to catch up on,” he said, softly. “I’ll fill you in as we go.”

~~~~~

When the group arrived at the island Kieran had indicated before - known as Horseshoe Island by the locals, they continued on foot to allow Volcan to tell the story of what had transpired while Vinge and Kieran were away. He started at the beginning, reminding them of the crazed P.A.C.E trooper that had attacked him, and revealing that the trooper had not been mentally unhinged, but rather, possessed, by a demon…

He explained everything that had happened up to that point. Falling sick, spontaneously losing control of his powers until he had set fire to the Temple of Tikal, losing control to the demon which attacked everyone else, all the way to his abduction by the jackal-like entity who resembled the Egyptian God, Anubis, and the failed exorcism that left the scar on Volcan’s back after the possessing spirit had ripped its way out of him.

Vinge, for the first time since Volcan had met him, looked truly at a loss as Volcan recounted the story, and Lighris and Korban both vouched for its accuracy - they had been present, but it was the first time that Pavan and Tsumé had heard everything that they had missed; Tsumé had been present when the demon had first took hold of course, but Pavan had been absent from the start. He had, of course, noticed the scar, but only now knew what caused it.

“So, lemme get this straight…” Kieran began, looking squarely at Volcan. “You’re tellin’ me that you got infected by a demonic miasma back at P.A.C.E.’s headquarters that only reared its ugly head a week or so after we shut their operation down, and you went completely bat shit insane until some… Anubis wannabe took you all the way to Egypt to purge it out of your body…?”

“And that’s where everything went really wrong, yeah,” said Volcan. “I didn’t get to see what went on; I was too out of it. But Lighris… You guys tried to fight him, right?”

“Emphasis on tried,” the lightning phoenix admitted reluctantly. “The fucking jackal mopped the floor with all of us. Me, Obsidian, Rikyuu, Korban, even the twins in their suits; we couldn’t even touch him. It’s like we were actually fighting a God, for all the effort it seemed to take for him to thrash us.”

“And then after you guys take him to see his uncle to get him all patched up…” Kieran then turned to Korban. “Said uncle reveals to everyone that you’re not only a half-demon, but a fucking demon PRINCE??” He exclaimed. “I knew you had some kinda crazy ass powers, but I never once suspected you were one with the Satanic!!”

“Believe me, Kitty, I’m not proud of my heritage either… for more than one reason…” Korban remarked.

“And now! You’re all being hunted by his… lemme see if I heard this right… his half- brother?” Kieran finally concluded.

“That part was news to us too,” Tsumé remarked. “I even saw the guy myself; Kyle and I, that is. He showed up at the mansion.”

Kieran clasped his head with both paws and began pacing back and forth. “...If my mind gets blown any further, I’m gonna end up in a vegetative state…”

“And now we’re up here hunting fucking werewolves,” said Lighris. “After seeing that vampire at P.A.C.E’s base before, all we’re missing is Frankenstein’s monster, a living mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and we get the whole classic horror movie scorecard all filled out.”

“Let’s not forget Baba Yaega while we’re at it.” Korban joked, earning him a few looks. “Hey, just tryin’ to lighten the mood. We’re all pretty on edge right now as it is.”

“...What the heck is a Baba Yaega?” Pavan asked.

“A creature of Slavic folklore resembling a fierce old woman that devours children, not unlike the witch in Hansel & Gretel,” replied Vinge.

“Of course, you would know that detail,” Kieran remarked with a heavy sigh. “Alright, well… Glad we cleared the air and got all caught up on that. I’m gonna need several nights to fully process what’s been happening, but right now… We got a shopping spree to go on.”

“Right… How much farther?” Volcan asked.

Kieran focused on that tugging sensation once more, slowly turning toward where it was strongest. “We’re really close… My guess, maybe in the middle of the island.” He informed Volcan.

“Everyone, eyes open,” Volcan instructed. “Tsumé, do you sense anything?”

“Not really. This island is pretty quiet,” the earth phoenix replied. “Other than a few small animals - rodents, mostly, there doesn’t seem like much here.”

“All the better as a hiding place,” Vinge remarked.

“Let’s keep moving then,” Kieran said as he began stepping toward the pull he felt, keeping his revolver in hand on the off chance they ran into any trouble despite being so close to their goal.

“How come you guys won’t say much about this market anyway?” Lighris asked. “You haven’t even said what it’s called.”

“That is because we can’t,” replied Vinge. “The market has a security measure. When you visit it, you are placed under an enchantment that-” he trailed off, his words slurring as though he were suddenly highly intoxicated, earning curious looks from his friends. He put a hand over his beak, embarrassed. “Does that, when you try to talk about it.”

“What the hell was that; did you just have a stroke or something?” Pavan asked.

“It’s a spell,” he replied. “It was placed upon me when Kieran showed me the market before. It acts when anyone who knows about the market attempts to talk about it to outside sources, preventing the release of any information. I’m afraid I can’t say more until we get there, and even Kieran cannot beat the spell, so don’t ask him either.”

The phoenixes exchanged curious looks, but they could do little more than shrug and move on.

The pull brought them to a small clearing on the heavily forested island. They started passing through the clearing, before Kieran felt the pull directing him to turn back around again, and so he did, following it until the exact moment he felt the pull shift again and ignoring questions from the others, until he stopped on a single spot in the clearing, in front of a single, lone tree at the very edge of the clearing.

Everything about the tree seemed completely normal… It was the same species as the other trees around them, and it didn’t look so out of place to make it seem out of the ordinary. All that stood out about it was the sensation that this was where Kieran was supposed to go… And, on closer inspection, there was a very small engraving in the bark, resembling a Y that had been turned on its side, and the three points - the two at the top, curved inward, and the outstretched one on the bottom was longer than needed and ended in a fine point.

“This is the place,” Kieran stated, pointing to the engraving along the bark. “I recognize that insignia anywhere.”

“Okay so… if this is the entrance, then how do we get in?” Korban asked.

“Like so,” Kieran answered, smirking as he held his arm out and concentrated. The same engraving slowly started to materialize in front of the cat, surrounded in other runic hieroglyphs, then he slowly turned his arm so that the engraving was now vertical, then the rune flashed before suddenly expanding to coat the face of the tree…

Then, before their eyes, a segment of the tree - as tall as the average person, lifted away like a hatch and revealed an opening inside the tree trunk itself.

“...Why do I suddenly have the urge to sing a song from a Tim Burton movie?” Pavan remarked.

“‘What’s this? What’s this? There’s colour everywhere~’” Tsumé sang, adding to the quote, and earning a chuckle from the others, except for Vinge - though he did smile to show he understood the reference.

“Not the one I had in mind, but, correct movie,” Pavan said with a snicker.

Tsumé allowed herself a slight laugh, and cleared her throat before asking, “References aside, I’m guessing it’s not Christmas Town waiting through there?”

“Nope, and now that you’ve seen the door, I can finally say its name,” Kieran replied, turning and grinning at the others as he stepped backward toward the entrance. “Welcome to the Undermarket,” he added as he vanished into the tree.

“Wha- Kieran?” asked Tsumé, leaning into the tree. “Where’d he - whoops!”

She tripped over the high bottom of the entrance, and vanished into the blackness right behind Kieran before Volcan could grab her, the other phoenix calling after her. They stared blankly at the opening for a long, drawn-out moment, until Tsume’s head poked back through the opening again, seemingly disembodied as the darkness within covered her body.

“You coming or what?” she asked before disappearing into the dark of the tree again.

“...If that were anyone else seeing that, they’d be screaming and running fer the hills,” Korban remarked, shrugging as he stepped forward. “This whole trip better be worth it,” he added before he too disappeared into the tree.

“You know, this should be freaking me out,” said Volcan, “but honestly? Nothing surprises me anymore,” he said with a shake of his head before he followed Korban into the tree, with Vinge close behind.

Lighris started to move to enter as well, before noticing that Pavan had not moved. He looked over his shoulder at the wind phoenix, seeing him staring warily at the entrance. “Well?” Lighris asked sternly.

“Uh… Maybe one of us should stay out here?” he asked.

Lighris reached over and grabbed Pavan by the collar of his shirt. “Move, dingbat,” he said before pushing Pavan toward the entrance, sending him hurtling through before he followed him.

When Lighris disappeared into the darkness, the tree - seemingly aware that no one else was entering, closed the hatch-like opening once again without any assistance, and every trace of the door - even the seams, vanished in an instant, with only the rune left as any sign of what it really concealed within…