"Master Dark, would you mind doing the initiation speech?"

A "yes" immediately rose to Dark's lips, but he caught himself. He had already spent twice the time at Malias's base than he did with the other elites, and the next elite was no doubt growing impatient. Staying any longer, even if it was to help Malias, would not be taken well. He paused from his packing. "Depends. When is it?"

Malias, at the other end of the cabin, had a stack of bent papers clutched in his hands. "This evening. Did nobody tell you, Master Dark?"

"I was planning to leave today, so I wasn't particularly concerned," said Dark. "Anyway, Malias, I want you to do the speech."

The papers in Malias's hands wrinkled loudly as he tightened his grip. "Wh-why?"

"Because it's good practice," explained Dark, rising from his packing to face Malias. "You can't always have me or a sub-elite do it for you. Establishing your dominance as the elite of this base to the new initiates is vital. They need to learn to respect you. It will send a good message to your current subordinates as well."

"I--I know that," stammered Malias, practically strangling the papers, "but...I mean...I..."

"I can stay to help you give the speech," assured Dark, "But you need to do most of it on your own. I'm assuming those papers in your hands is your speech?"

"Um, yes."

"I can look over it for you."

"Thank you," said Malias, relief clear on his face as he loosened his grip on the papers. "My sub-elite and her team are just about to head to the testing site."

Dark frowned. "One of your sub-elites is overseeing the testing?"

"Yes..." replied Malias uncertainly. "Is...is something wrong?"

"Nothing," dismissed Dark. "Does she usually oversee testing?"

"Yes, always." Malias, unexpectedly perceptive, added pointedly, "I trust her, Master Dark."

"I can see that." Dark had talked with the sub-elites a few days prior to make sure they didn't have any plans to betray Malias; it was a talk they had every time he visited, and, as always, they were loyal. Perhaps he was being unfairly suspicious. Perhaps he needed to give Malias more credit. "Very well. Why don't we get started on your speech?"

Malias's face lit up. "Of course, Master Dark! Thank you so much!"

"It's no problem, Malias."

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Malias's speech, as it turned out, was remarkably similar to the previous initiation speeches Dark had delivered. The paper was riddled with eraser marks and swathes of words scribbled out--it was clear Malias had put hours of effort into his speech. In the end, the speech itself was fine; Dark knew the real issue lay in Malias's fear of delivering the speech, so he spent most of his time helping Malias perform it.

The hours slid by, and morning turned into afternoon, replacing the early day cool with stuffy heat as the sun beat down on the earth. Dark had to prop open several windows in the cabin to bring in the wind. Malias made substantial improvement, though his starting point had been quite low.

Dark was making Malias recite his speech for the fifth time in a row when a frantic pounding at the door interrupted them. Dark opened the door to reveal frantic a man gasping for breath on the porch.

"There's...there's an issue, Mas...Master Dark!" wheezed the man, struggling to speak between desperate gasps for air. "The...the testing site...under attack...l-law enforcement....found us...need backup...they've...they got guns..."

Still trembling, the man leaned against the wall. "Ran...all the way here...it's not far..."

Dark grabbed his sword from his pile of belongings. "Have you informed anyone else..."

"The sub-elite..." panted the man. "He's...gathering...the others."

"Malias, let's go!" Dark started out the door.

"Y-yes, Master Dark!" Malias hurried after.

Out in the plaza a large crowd was gathered, heading by the second sub-elite. Wasting no time, Dark shouldered his way through the crowd and demanded, "Where is the site?!"

"I--I'll lead you, Master Dark!" exclaimed the sub-elite. "Everybody, let's go!" He set off, and the crowd rushed after him.

They raced through the forest, not faltering even as the terrain grew rough and uneven. Malias soon tired and lagged behind the crowd, but, though it pained him, Dark and the crowd rushed on. Soon the sound of shouts and gunshots could be heard, growing louder and louder, and harsh orange light glared through the trees in sporadic bursts.

They exploded out of the forest into a clearing torn into battle.

Bleeding, scorched bodies from both sides lay littered among the undergrowth. Piles of burning forest life scattered the clearing, and the air was choked with the acrid stench of smoke. Uniformed officers kneeled behind trees on the opposite end of the clearing, occasionally poking their heads out from behind the trees to fire their weapons.

Dark's side wielded weapons enchanted with his own magic and Malias's fire magic; Dark's magic, or, at least, the weakened version the weapons possessed would do not good against normal humans. Malias's magic was near useless as well, since those wielding the weapons were too fearful to utilize its full power, lest they burn down the forest.

As the others poured into the clearing, ready to battle, Dark lingered at the edge of the clearing, summoning his magic energy and concentrating it.

He became aware of the small life energies of the officer, so much more difficult to locate than a magical power. One by one, he locked on to their signatures until he had a grasp on them all. Then, he snuffed them.

All the officers fell limp onto the ground.

It took the subordinates a moment to process what happened. Gradually, weapons were lowered, and they looked about, confused by the abrupt end to the action. A sudden silence fell over the clearing, interrupted only by the subordinates confused murmuring.

The sub-elite stared up at Dark with wide eyes. "What...what did you do?"

"They're not dead, just unconscious," said Dark. "Don't kill them. They were merely doing what they thought was right."

"Master Dark!"

The second sub-elite emerged from the forest, face twisted into an expression of rage as she dragged behind her a cowering man. "This scumbag," she snarled, throwing the man, hands and legs tied, at Dark's feet, "is our snitch. He tipped off the police where our next initiate testing site would be. Showed up with a whole bunch of officers." Her gaze swept the ravaged clearing. "I see you've taken care of them, Master Dark."

"What happened to the new initiates?" asked Dark, eyeing the man at his feet. It was a subordinate; his face, plastered with pure fear, was unfamiliar.

"Most either ran or were shot," replied the sub-elite nonchalantly. "What do you want to do with this guy, Master Dark?" She kicked the man.

"Bring him back to base," ordered Dark. "There we can talk about what he's done."