"Why does this plan sound familiar?" Erin asked, following Valeria outside the CVS a block away from the school.

Grinning, Valeria placed the supplies in her book bag. "It's the same plan Han Solo used in the first Star Wars movie."

James snapped his fingers. "That's right. They pretended to be Stormtroopers escorting Chewbacca as a prisoner." Smiling, he added, "I'm surprised a girl like you thought of that."

Valeria rolled her eyes. A girl like me, huh? she thought. Even from a friend like him, the sarcastic remark came off as demeaning. Girls can come up with plans. Girls can lead, if given the chance. As tempted as she was to call him out on it, this wasn't the time.

"Shut up and listen," Valeria snapped. "You and Jon will pretend to be mercenaries I hired, okay? We will bind Erin and Roberta, and I will say the three of us are there to turn in two Celestial prisoners. Understood?"

"I still can't believe you're a real Rogue," James said, his voice ripe with excitement.

"And you're a real healer," Roberta said, her tone reflecting admiration. Staring at Erin with wide eyes she said, "This is unbelievable."

"I'm a Celestial," Erin corrected, "and unlike your dumb game, I can do more than simply heal."

"Don't call D&D dumb!" James snapped.

"Shut up! All of you!" Valeria scolded. "This isn't some game - this is for real. Instead of rescuing some princess, we're saving our friend who needs us. Okay?" Everyone cheered, but she wasn't finished yet. "Good. But listen - we're going somewhere dangerous. If anyone wants to back out, now's the time." An awkward silence hung over them until Jon broke it.

"Not a chance," he said, a goofy grin across his face. "Lead the way, hero."

Valeria paused, letting that word sink in for a moment. People like her weren't called heroes. No one like her was on the cover of a comic book or superhero movie. Heroes were supposed to be fearless, and as much as she hated to admit it - she was scared. Afraid of leading them into danger. Afraid that she wouldn't be strong or smart enough to keep her friends safe.

She was afraid, but that would not stop her.

Forcing a fake smile, she said, "Alright. But as the hero, you'll do everything I say, including ditching me. Got it?"

Everyone agreed.

"Okay, follow me!" she said, pedalling off on her bike. Erin and Jon struggled to keep up with her quick pace, while James cruised alongside with his dirt bike, Roberta desperately clinging to him.

The streets were crowded with people still on their way to work. Horns honked, construction workers drilled, and sirens could be heard in the distance. But Valeria tried to zone it all out. She focused on breathing in the crisp morning air, the sound of the breeze brushing against the leaves of a nearby tree embedded within the sidewalk. The journey was mostly uneventful, and she needed that. This was the calm before the storm, and she needed to gather her resolve before shit got real.

When they finally pulled up to the large gothic structure known as Coterel, Valeria was ready. As ready as she'd ever be anyway.

"This place looks like a church," Roberta said, hopping off the dirt bike.

Grinning, Valeria said, "things aren't always what they seem." It was ironic, regurgitating the same line Frank said to her two weeks ago. She hadn't believed him at the time, but that all changed when the old lady at the front desk threatened her with a knife. Turning to them, she said, "That reminds me. There's an old lady at the front desk here. Do not talk shit to her. You'll be sorry if you do."

"Umm," Jon said, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay."

Noticing a vacant alleyway nearby, Valeria pointed at it and said, "I'm going to change into my Aegis. You guys wait here."

"Wait," Erin said with surprise. "You guys wear an Aegis too?"

Valeria removed the black leather outfit from her bag and walked with Erin toward the alley. "Yeah. You guys wear a leather one like this?"

Erin lifted her t-shirt above the navel, revealing a thin and shiny chainmail underneath. When it caught the sunlight, it glistened with a silver and pinkish hue. "Ours is made from Avalonian Aether, an enchanted metal and –"

Valeria had removed her jeans, and was about to put the Aegis' pants on. Curious, she glanced over at Erin, whose cheeks flushed red. When their eyes met, Erin turned around.

"What are you doing?" she stuttered with her back turned.

"Changing," Valeria said, sliding into the Aegis' leather pants and shoes. "I can't just wear mine underneath like yours." She fastened the protective coat of the black and green trimmed Aegis before turning around.

Erin continued to face away from her, and Valeria couldn't help but smile. Wasn't this the same girl who teased her with a sexual innuendo earlier? Why did Erin suddenly turn prude after her pants came off? But that was doubtful. If anything, her gesture was an act of courtesy or chivalry. It was something Sai would do, and this made Erin just as irresistible as him. She crept up behind her without making a sound and whispered in her ear. "You can watch me undress any time you want."

"Holy crap!" Erin exclaimed, jumping backward. "Don't scare me like that!"

Laughing, Valeria felt her tension ease. "Couldn't resist."

Erin inspected her from head to toe. "I'll admit you look...umm... pretty cool in that."

"Thanks," she said, stepping out of the alleyway. She returned to her bike, grabbed her bookbag with supplies, and removed two cable wires from their packaging. She handed one to Jon, who stared at her wide eyed.

"What are you wearing?" he asked.

"Yeah," James added, "you look like Black Widow going to a punk rock concert."

Grinning, Roberta said, "I think she looks badass."

"That's enough," Valeria said, binding Erin's hands with one of Penny's sailor knots. Unlike her repeated failure during the training session, this time she managed to succeed on the first attempt. She looked over at James and Jon, who hadn't moved. Groaning, she grabbed the cable wire from Jon and bound Roberta's hands with the same knot. "Now remember, you two are mercenaries I hired, okay? Shut up and play along." She grabbed Erin's wrists and led her up the stairs. "I didn't tie that knot too tight, did I?" she whispered.

Erin giggled. "I'll be fine. You should try to act like a big mean Rogue."

Sighing, Valeria pushed the front doors open and led the way inside. The foyer hadn't changed over the past two weeks, but everything felt different this time. She had never entered the building without an adult before.

Goldie sat behind the reception desk. She coughed as the five of them approached. "Oh my," she said, rearranging her spectacles. "Who have you brought with you, protégé?"

Valeria cleared her throat, and puffed out her chest. "With these mercenaries, I captured two Celestials at school today."

"Hmm," Goldie said, inspecting them one by one. "That's interesting. Thirty minutes ago, Brigitte and a group of her Assassins captured another young Celestial too. This is most unusual - we're not supposed to hold Celestials hostage. If the Sovereign were here, she'd say –"

"But she's not here," Valeria interjected without thinking. Fists clenched, she was tempted to scream at her for allowing Assassins to bring Sai inside. But she refrained, remembering this woman wasn't someone to be trifled with. "I'm sorry, Goldie. That wasn't polite."

Goldie smirked. "I see you've learned some manners, protégé. Maybe if I had some incentive, I could notify Hami and he could escort you and your prisoners."

Valeria searched her pockets, but knew this was in vain. She wasn't packing any cash. Hands trembling, panic was beginning to overwhelm her. She couldn't think of a plan, but didn't have to.

Jon suddenly walked up to the desk and slammed a wad of bills onto its surface. "How about a hundred bucks?"

Goldie picked up the bills and counted them with a smile. "That'll do, dear. Take the elevator to the D-5 level - the holding cells are there. I'll call Hami and tell him to meet you there. Have a nice day, young man." She turned toward Valeria, her smile receding. "Until next time, protégé."

Valeria shoved Erin forward, and led them all to the nearby elevator. Once inside, she pushed the D5 button and untied her bindings.

"Who the hell carries around a hundred dollars nowadays? Seriously?" James asked.

"I'm a hacker," Jon fired back. "If you knew what I knew, you wouldn't trust banks either."

"Who's this Hami guy?" Erin asked. "Do you trust him?"

"He's one of my instructors," Valeria said. "He's a decent guy - but be prepared in case he won't cooperate."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, revealing a poorly lit hallway resembling a medieval jail corridor. When her innate night vision turned on, she gasped at the grisly scene; ten bodies lie motionless outside the jail cells. She ran over to the nearest Rogue and checked his pulse. He was unconscious, but alive. Noticing the hints of orange embedded within his Aegis, she realized he was a bounty hunter. They all were. Hopefully the others were hit with tranquilizers too, she thought.

"How the hell can she see anything down here?" James protested from the elevator.

"Don't worry," Jon said, "I'll use the flashlight on my phone."

Valeria tried to warn them to stop, but was too late.The light illuminating the corridor was followed by screams within the elevator - but she ignored them. Someone was whispering her name, and she crept down the corridor, searching for them. She stopped beside a familiar Rogue with curly brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. "Hami!" she cried, hands trembling as she examined his wounds. "Who did this?!"

"Brig...Brigitte..." he said, sputtering blood. "It's not safe..."

"Erin!" Valeria yelled, trying to apply pressure to the wound on his chest. "I need you over here now!"

Erin crouched beside her. "Oh my God," she said, her breath catching on every word. "What happened to him?"

"He's going to die!" Valeria screamed. "He has a six month old at home! Heal him! I know you can!"

Erin stared at her wide eyed, the color draining from her face. "I don't know if I can. I've never healed anything that bad before."

"Please," Valeria pleaded. "Please try. He's a good man. You'll see."

Exhaling, Erin placed both hands on his wound. She started chanting unfamiliar words, and he looked up, his eyes hazily focusing on her.

"Who...Who...are..."

"Shhh," Erin said, caressing his face. "I'm here to help. But you have to help me. You have to will yourself to live, so think about things worth living for."

Nodding, Hami closed his eyes. Erin did the same, keeping both hands planted on his chest. She continued chanting until her hands glowed with a yellow hue, a display similar to the one used to heal Valeria a week ago.

The light intensified until it enveloped the entire corridor, and Valeria shielded her eyes. Hami groaned nearby, but when the light dissipated, he appeared to relax. Looking down, she noticed Hami's wound was gone. He took slow, deep breaths, and sat up in a daze.

"What...What...just happened?" he asked.

"Yeah, seriously," James said, the others beside him. "That was some divine intervention right there."

Erin sat backward, heaving in deep breaths. Her pallor had worsened, her face appeared sunken. "Did it work?" she panted.

"It did," Valeria said, inspecting her face. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Erin said, a grin slowly crossing her pale lips. "Healing drains us. But don't worry, I'll recover with rest and some TLC."

Grinning, Valeria leaned close and kissed her cheek. "That can be arranged, later. Now get the hell up." Some of the color returned to her cheeks as they locked eyes. She knew Erin wanted to tell her something, but she never got the chance. Hearing the faintest of footsteps nearby, Valeria jumped to her feet and reached for a smoke bomb to throw, but refrained when she recognized the figures approaching them - Xun and Penny.

Both were dressed in their Aegis; Xun's leather robe was trimmed with purple, while Penny's was more like Valeria's, albeit trimmed with blue. Xun wielded a knife, while Penny leveled a rifle at them.

"Nobody move," Penny barked, her Australian accent sounding more authoritative than usual.

"What the hell happened here?" Xun added. "Who are these people, Valeria?"

"We're her friends," James replied, holding up his hands. "Wait a minute. Aren't you the tutors we saw at Valeria's house?"

"Shut up, moron!" Xun snapped. "Was I talking to you?"

"No, ma'am."

"Who did this?" Penny asked, aiming her rifle at them, "was it your lot?"

"No," Hami said, his breath labored. "It was Brigitte. Her group...of assassins jumped us. Brigitte tried to kill me."

Groaning, Xun sheathed her knife. "I should have known. I've never trusted that twisted tramp."

"Thank you," Hami said, smiling at Erin. "Thank you for healing me."

Xun turned toward them with an eyebrow raised. "She healed you? Are you telling me," she sputtered while turning to Valeria, "you brought a Celestial inside our Faction?!"

"She saved my life," Hami said.

"Even still," Xun snapped. "She can't be trusted!"

"We've got bigger shit to deal with!" Valeria yelled, rounding on Xun. "Brigitte knows where the Artifact is! She and Dontrell plan to steal it today." Xun, Hami, Penny, and Erin all turned toward her with disbelief, but Valeria continued before they could get a word in. "I don't have time to explain. Hami, can you walk?"

"Yeah," he said, his legs wobbling as he stood.. "It looks like your friends are unarmed?"

"Me too. Why?"

Hami pointed to the unconscious Rogues along the corridor. "Take their guns. You should grab a knife too, Valeria."

Roberta held up her hands, and said, "Whoa, I didn't sign up to kill anybody."

"They're tranquilizer guns," Hami replied. "They only put people to sleep."

Jon looked over at Penny and asked, "What about her rifle? Is that a tranquilizer gun?"

"No love," Penny said, a smirk crossing her lips as she cocked her rifle. "This baby's the real deal. I call her Widowmaker." She slid the rifle around her shoulder and supported Hami. "I got ya mate."

"Hold up," Xun said, motioning for everyone to stop. "Are you crazy, Hami? Why should we arm these normal kids? They shouldn't even be here."

"The Assassins knew our patrol times," Hami said, a frown across his face. "They must've hacked our radios. There's at least ten of them, and I'm sure they took down more of us when they left. If I radio for help, it'll ruin the one thing we've got going for us now - the element of surprise."

"Nobody knows where the vault for the Artifact is," Xun said, eyes narrowing. "So unless you know where the Assassins are going, we're crap out of luck."

"I know where they're going," Valeria said. "The vault is near the Training Hall."

"Blimey!" Penny exclaimed. "Are you telling me we've been walking by the bloody thing for years without knowing it?!"

"How do you know this?" Xun asked.

"I don't have a good answer for that," Valeria said, shrugging her shoulders. "I just know."

"Alright then," Xun said, before picking up a tranquilizer gun from a nearby guard. "Everyone grab a gun, and let's go."

"They fire one shot at a time," Hami said as he grabbed one himself. "It takes forever to reload, so make your shots count."

Xun, Hami, and Penny led the way inside the elevator, with Valeria and Erin close behind. James, Roberta and Jon brought up the rear. Erin stood next to Valeria and said, "Your Rogue friends are interesting."

Valeria offered a quick side glance as she stepped into the elevator. "Not what you expected, huh?"

Xun turned around and chastised them. "Shut up you two. Once we go up, everyone needs to be quiet. Only shoot people dressed in red." She swiped an ID card, pressed the button for the D-2 level, and turned to them. "We will exit right near the Training Hall, so I hope you're all ready."

Everyone acknowledged and held their tranquilizer guns ready. When the elevator dinged and the doors opened, Xun, Penny, Hami, and Valeria were the first ones out. They crept along the dark vacant hallway with their guns raised. She heard two sets of voices as they approached the opening ahead.

"In...Anna...In...Anna..."

Valeria shook her head, trying to ignore the whispering voice from the fake wall nearby. She kept her eyes forward, and focused on a different familiar voice echoing from the Training Hall.

"...and you all have performed exceptionally well. The Master will reward you once he's finished with a different task."

"What task?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

"When is Master Jackson getting here?" another asked.

"Are you sure he really ordered this?" another Assassin asked, his tone more skeptical.

"Of course he did," Brigitte roared over them. "And as his second in command, you have no right to question my orders!"

Valeria peeked into the room and counted thirteen assassins huddled near the training tower. Brigitte stood near the front with Sai kneeling beside her. His face was bruised, and he had a cut above his right eyebrow. With teeth clenched, she turned to Xun, who brought a finger to her lips. Their group huddled near the entrance, and Xun whispered her orders.

"Hami, Valeria and I will charge them on three. The rest of you fire at them before we reach them." She turned to Penny, and said, "Try to wound them, if you can."

Nodding, Penny removed her rifle and held it ready while Xun silently counted. Hami stood beside her, his breathing shallow.

Valeria took a slow, deep breath as she held the tranquilizer gun in her hands. She barely knew how to use a gun, the cold steel foreign to her fingertips. It trembled in her hands, the anxiety slowly beginning to take hold. But when she looked over and saw Sai's injured face, her hand steadied. His life was in her hands, and she wouldn't fail him. With this thought in mind, she followed Xun and Hami as they ran into the room.