Eary opened his eyes. A blurry world, filled with irritating, humming light, surrounded him. He gathered himself as things came into focus. "Another cell." He whispered to himself as he climbed to his feet.

"Good morning." A thick Russian voice emerged from the darkness like a panthers growl. Stepping up to the clear glass door, Sasha continued, "I see I got your attention, Claris." He opened the cell door and slowly walked inside.

Eary extended his hand to eject his white fire, but nothing. He quickly examined himself for a power blocker but found no trace of one.

Sasha took another step. He said, "Interesting new device I've come up with, yeah? Prevents the use of your powers."

Eary continued to back away, his heart pounding in fear. His legs felt weaker and weaker with each step taken. Sasha followed suit and continued in in Eary. As the young man looked up at the ever imposing figure.

Sasha said, "Look at you." He grabbed Eary and threw him to the floor of the cell.

The impact knocked the wind from Eary as he tried to helplessly crawl away.

Sasha began to laugh. He said, "I thought you were supposed to be this big-time warrior. The Claris, come to stop us." He picked Eary up by the hair. "You can't even stop me from doing, whatever, to you." He threw the boy to the ground with a painful thud. Sasha announced loudly to others nearby, "Have him taken to the medical lab. I have plans for him." As he mockingly exited the cell.

Eary's head rang like a bell, a sharp sting radiated from his right eye. The sting was a reminder of his sealed powers, as were the two men who grabbed him and carried him off. The lights of the facility created a probing effect as Eary could not seem to regain his equilibrium. The clanking of the metal being stepped upon echoed mysteriously, as did the voice of the two men.

As Eary felt himself being placed down on a cot, he lifted his now free arm to touch the warm sensation that had been dripping down his face. 'Blood.' he thought to himself as fear began to bubble inside of him. He scanned his surroundings. He was alone.

As he tried to rise from the cot, a familiar voice whispered, "Kid, you're in pretty rough shape. Let me see what I can do about it before you stand up." A swirl of blue light cascaded around Eary. Mote exclaimed, "I'm no you, but I think I managed to patch you up pretty good. How do ya feel?"

Eary's heart pounded as he examined his surroundings. "I feel like I'm in deep shit!" He trembled in panic.

Mote replied, "I would second the motion. But now, we's gotta hide you!"

The two searched around, finding a small cabinet that Eary managed to squeeze into. As the door clicked shut, Eary heard the voices of Sasha and his two men entering the room.

Eary held his hand to his mouth as tears welled in his eyes. His heart thumped so hard he feared they could hear. Eary prayed in his head not to be discovered. A prayer he felt was answered as Sasha and his men left to look for him.

Eary sighed as he exited his hide away. Rising to his feet, he exclaimed, "Do you have any plans at all on what to do?"

Mote turned to the teen, his face ominous. He replied, "Kid, I was gonna ask you the same thing."

Eary knew what had to be done. He clenched his teeth. Resisting the urge to cry, he summoned the courage. He said, "Mote, you need to turn invisible and go find whatever it is that is blocking my powers."

Mote shook his head aggressively, "And leave you alone? Now? With that Russian lunatic on the loose? Not a chance!"

Eary fought back the fear as he said, "Please. I appreciate it, I do. But you are the only one of us who can do anything now. And I need you to find whatever it is that's doing this to me and shut it off."

Mote sighed, "What about you? What will you be doin' while I'm gone? You can't stay here, kid."

Eary nodded, the tears finally giving way, streaked down his face. "I'll look for a way out and hide when I have to."

Mote placed his paw on Eary's shoulder, "I love you, pal."

Eary whimpered back, "Don't say that. You never say stuff like that."

Mote nodded, "Well I do. Good luck." The small moteling shimmered away before Eary, leaving him in silence. He took a deep breath, turned to the door that Sasha did not leave from, and headed out into the unknown.

He crept along the catwalks, careful not to make a sound, as he navigated the labyrinth of Sasha's base. As he turned a corner,  a large room filled with monitors and a large command station lay before him. He examined the monitors desperately, searching each for one of his friends, of Luke, of anyone that could be here to save him.  He shook his head in sinking fear and disappointment. The sound of footsteps made his body run cold as he quickly ducked under the command station.

The two men stood before the monitors, searching for his location. Eary held his breath as he heard one state to the other to stay at the post.

Eary could only see one set of boots as he made the decision to crawl away from the guard. He eased gently beside the man's legs, careful not to make a sound. A moment later, he was free. A feeling that gave no comfort as he continued to crawl to the next corridor.

He held low and close to the walls. Eary noticed that the poor lighting made them a good bet to avoid detection. He seemed to crawl along the wall for eternity. 'Mote, where are you?' He thought as the corridor shifted brightly to the left.

Inside Eary found a collosal titan of a robot. 'If Sasha wasn't such a dangerous psychopath, that would be pretty cool' he thought as he looked for a shadowy corner.

The sound of sirens and the flashing of red lights sent chills down Eary's spine as he heard, what sounded like, large doors slamming shut. Eary looked back at the huge war bot. Behind the monstrosity was a large room now illuminated. Inside Eary saw his tormentor.

Sasha announced over the intercom, "So you want to leave my facility. That's funny, since you don't have any problem breaking into them on your own time." The war bot, looking like a torso on wheels, began to emit to glow an ominous red. Sasha continued, "Met R.O.D., Claris. The first in my new line of war bots."

Eary searched his surroundings for anything to help him. The room was large and filled with multiple expensive looking machines. Six pillars of concrete held the ceiling up, while crates of rifles and other weaponry lay about.

Sasha continued his rant, "Since you enjoy my facilities so much, why not take part in a test for R.O.D.!" The Robots wheels began to spin as Eary faintly heard Sasha say, "You can work off some of the money you cost me."

The war bot charged Eary as the boy jumped quickly out of the way. He ran and hid behind a pillar, trying hard to compose himself. The moment was shattered as gunfire mercilessly cascaded Eary's pillar. Tears streamed down his face as he braved the courage to run to the next pillar. Again, the gunfire sent shards of the pillar flying. He quickly crawled to the next pillar. Spotting a strange egg shaped item, he decided to grab it in the confusion.

As the pillars shards danced around him, he switched a little lever that illuminated the end. The tip glowed a feirce red, and the base was hollow, with buttons inside. He quickly inserted his hand. Pointing at the sealed hangar door, he wildly pushed buttons. The device lit up and quickly fired a shot that decimated the door.

Dodging the bullet fire, Eary bolted through the open path. The sound of a collapsing ceiling filled the hall as he ran. Reaching an open zone, Eary looked up to his suprise. A large tower, which was in Eary's grasp, rose up like a beacon of hope.

He treged up the tower, gripping his blaster the whole way. Eary was exhausted, his tired legs seemed to drag as he pressed on.

Reaching the top, he hurried across the hangar. His pace was steady until he heard it. The clanging of metal, encroaching closer, felt Eary’s legs give out as R.O.D. lept up from the tower and landed with a metallic thud. It charged its wheels, armed its arm blaster, and peeled straight at Eary.

The young man ran through a set of double doors. He ran as fast as he could until he smashed into a railing. He quickly turned his head and saw R.O.D. in hot pursuit. Instinctively, he leaned over the rails and fell. Watching the machine fly ahead above him. A wind breaking thud and a bright flash announced Eary's arrival to the ground.

He crawled behind an odd looking device the size of a bookcase. He lay there, awaiting the end. He was too weak to move, too powerless to fight back. His blaster lay meters away, and R.O.D. began to scan the area for him. He took a deep breath and awaited his fate. As the war bot scans detected him, he could barely muster the courage to lift his hand. As the mech launched its attack, Eary clasped his eyes shut and prepared himself. But nothing.

He opened his eyes to find R.O.D. standing tall behind a shimmering amber field. "Mote!" He shouted gleefully as he shimmered in blue light, healing his injuries. Rising to his feet, Eary summoned his scythe. Taking a deep breath and with renewed confidence, he readied himself for battle.

The mech launched a barrage of bullets at Eary. Only to be reflected back by his blue force field. The machine attempted to flank him, but Eary quickly moved to the center of the room, force field always held between the two. Once in position, he erected a series of walls around himself and used his circle of protection, hoping the professor was right about it protecting from all harm.

The Mech quickly made its way to the support structures of the room. One by one it smashed through until the ceiling and the floor of the next level collapsed on the two.

Eary erupted from the ruble unscathed. A loud eruption gave birth to a new form for R.O.D. . He now sported spidery legs that gripped the walls. It lunged at the boy as he flew to safety. As quickly as he turned the mech launched a series of missiles, that homed in on the boy as he flew in circles, drawing more and more missiles to him.

Eary quickly dove towards the mech, prompting the bot to lunge towards him. Before the two collided, Eary quickly pulled up. R.O.D. ate a face full of missiles, as Eary called down powerful bolts of lightning upon the devastated mech.

With a loud crash, Eary sighed a breath of relief. He lowered slowly to the ground, only to slowly lose his blue hue, and drop half a meter. "Shit, not again." He whispered to himself as he gazed at his powerless hands. A familiar voice called out to him. "Kid, I got the power zapper thingy down. But I think they turned it back on."

Eary nodded, "You did great Mote." He gestured towards the ruined bot. "Couldn't have done it without you."

Mote replied, "Would ya look at that. Years of research and development, and for what? Somethin' you all use to kill each other better."

Eary scoffed, "Excuse me!"

Mote quickly corrected himself. "Not you, kid, obviously. You's kids are some of the good ones." He flew towards the ruble and scrap of the ruined bot. "How much you suppose this killer cost to make? Hmm? I'll bet you could feed a whole bunch of people over having sir murders-a-lot over here." He flew threw the wreckage of the droid and began to pull out various wires.

Eary squinted in confusion at the moteling's behavior. "What are you doing, Mote?" He inquired perplexed.

Mote snarked back, "What does it look like I'm doin' here? I'm strippin' the copper wire outta this hunk of junk!" He pulled out several large thick wires to Eary. He proudly said, "You know how much we can get for these? About about five bucks a pound, that's what!"

Eary replied angrily, "Mote, people are hunting me. They just gave us five million, in U.S. money too. Aren't I more important than five dollars?"

Mote scoffed, "Eh, you mean they gave you five million. What did you're ol' pal Mote get? Nada." He continued to throw pieces of tech.

Eary was about to interrupt again, when Mote made an announcement, "Would ya look at that!" Mote levitate over to Eary, holding a large green orb. "It's a super gem! Maybe you can use it to get out of this mess." He stated as he tossed the orb to Eary.

Nothing. No lights, no Ilia or Mika. He examined the stone closely, hoping for some evidence to his failure.

Mote cascaded to his shoulder. In an urgent tone, he said, "It's probably just the blocker. Let's get the fuck outta here and stop wasting all this time! Damn Eary, do you got a death wish or somethin'?

Eary snarked back as the two fled to a corridor clear of debris. "What? You were the one who wanted to stay behind!"

Mote chuckled, "Exactly. I found it. I'm the one who did all the hard work."

Eary grimaced with annoyance as he replied, "I defeated the war bot. Alone!"

Mote dismissively stated from the boys shoulder as they continued there way through the maze of catwalks. "Tsk! Alone? I don't remember you shuttin' off any power blocker doodads or nothin'."

Eary was about to respond when the two froze at the sound of clanging boots, running in their direction. Mote continued, "Shhh, Eary! You're attracting too much attention to us."

Eary's face twisted in silent anger asbhe scanned for anything helpful. In the distance, he saw three nato soldiers, accompanying them appeared to be Alice. He searched himself for anything that might help get their attention. One pocket contained a few coins and a receipt from the club. "I should really change these." He thought to himself. Until he checked the other pocket.

"The rape whistle from Josh!" He elated as he put it to his mouth. He hesitated. The thought of being rescued was one thing, but by Josh's rape whistle was another. The encroaching sound of the guards left him little choice as he let put a deafening screech.

Moments later Alice manifested next to him, and then manifested them to the soliders. Removing their helmets, Luke, Sakile and Denby were revealed.

Luke inquired, "Are you hurt?"

Eary shook his head and replied, "No, we were doing okay. And we found a super gem!"

Luke grabbed his brother and scurried him in with the others. He said, "What were you thinking leaving the house at night again. At a time like this."

Eary was left speechless as Alice interrupted, "Hey, can we save the scolding for when we are all not seriously in danger?"

The group agreed and with Alice's assistance, teleported back to safety.