“Welcome to Heka.” A deep-voiced man said to the Tiny Tots, as they all had sensory deprivation helmets removed from their heads and had their hands and feet unbound. They all had furious faces as they looked at their would-be guides. Over the past few days, they had all been treated like criminals by people they looked up to.

  They and their families were stalked, and their every move was monitored. Now, they were all but blackmailed, with the potential harm of their families coming in, only to be bound and dragged away to parts unknown. All because they had the nerve not to instantly fall in line with Devin’s fairy tales.

  “You are some rude recruits, aren’t you?” The same deep-voiced man spoke again. He had tanned skin, dark wavy locks that stopped at his shoulder, and messy bangs that covered his left eye. Overall he was unnecessarily handsome, much to the annoyance of Patrick, who had a distaste for pretty boys.

  “I’m sure you can understand we aren’t too thrilled by how we have been treated.” Akiko snared as she rubbed her wrists.

  “Well, if you guys were more obedient, things wouldn’t have to be this way. You should be thankful. If you weren't so talented, you and your families would be dead…what was your name again?” The man leered at Akiko.

  “Amaterasu…” Akiko scoffed as she turned away.

  “Vaelgorith,” The man responded,

  “I didn’t ask.” Amaterasu snapped back. Vaelgorith opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by Watabe.

  “Obedient?” Watabe chimed in with an annoyed tinge.

  “We are not dogs to be tamed. We are Chasers and we have followed every protocol set forth by the Renegade directive.”

  “That may be the case for the Renegades, but you have broken quite a few rules of Heka,” Vaelgorith smirked.

  “We aren’t Heka, mate.” Micheal chimed in.

  “Not yet.” Vaelgorith chuckled and turned around. He motioned for the Tiny Tots to follow him.

  “Or ever.” Amaterasu folded her arms and planted her feet. The others didn’t move from their spot as well. Instead, they all turned their attention toward Watabe and Micheal, who looked at each other. Vaelgorith glared over his shoulder at the Tiny Tots.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Waiting for a reason to follow you? You aren’t Devin, you aren’t Zac. We don’t know you. Why should we follow?” Watabe asked sternly.

  “Have you forgotten your situation?” Vaelgorith all but growled.

  “No… we know exactly our situation. That’s why we have no incentive to follow you. For all we know, our families could have been killed as soon as you brought us here. And you’ve already made it clear that you have no intention of killing us. So… why should we follow you?” Watabe walked forward, almost bumping his chest into Vaelgorith. His eyes filled with condescension as he stared Vaelgorith down.

  “You have no idea where you are, and you have no way to navigate the maze that is these walls. I’m sure you have much to ask ‘Devin’, but this isn’t Renegade Technologies. You kids are far too low on the totem pole to speak to someone on his level. So, learn your place, follow, and make yourselves useful.”

  “Hard pass! This guy talks too much. What are we going to do Mike, Wata?” Travis blurted out as he let out a yawn.

  “It’s Watabe, you miserable little… anyway.” Watabe focused his attention back on Vaelgorith.

  “I know exactly where we are. 39 degrees North, 25 degrees East. I assume it is on an uninhabited island in the Mediterranean Sea, somewhere near Greece. From the look of things…” Watabe turned his attention to the stone walls around him. There were what looked to be ancient carvings and statues all around them, but they looked far too new and well-kept.

  “We are at least a mile underground in a man-made cave system. I assume it was completed within the past decade or so.”

  “About 15 years, lad.” Patrick chimed in to give a more solid time frame as he folded his burly arms.

  “I’m guessing something forced you to move around that time. And navigating this maze won't be too difficult. I just need to search for Devin. So I ask again… why should we follow you?”

  "Who the hell are you?” Vaelgorith glared at Watabe.

  “The Conductor. Your services will no longer be needed. You and your friends can leave.” The Conductor waved off Vaelgorith and the five others that were with them. Vaelgorith seemed like he was about to pop, but a black-haired beauty gracefully appeared next to him and held his arm,

  “Vael, we have done what we came here for. If they want to be left to their own devices, it’s fine.” Her light brown eyes stared at the Tiny Tots.

  “They can deal with the consequences of their own actions.”

  “Auriviel, we didn’t even get to explain what…”

  “It’s not our concern like they said. They aren’t Heka, they aren’t Persequion, they aren’t our problem..” She pulled Vaelgorith and motioned for the others there to follow her. They all followed behind the two of them as Vaelgorith looked back at them pensively.

  “Bye Gory…” Miko or Siren waved sarcastically at their would-be guides.

  “How’d you do that mate?” Micheal turned to ask The Conductor.

  “Did what? Tracking where we are? Electromagnetic waves. They talk a lot. You just gotta know what to ask and how to listen. It’s really easy.”

  “Electromagnetic waves? Really? And you said we were 39 degrees north, 25 east.” Micheal thought out loud as he stared up at the ceiling.

  “Oh, I get it now. Huh, ah yeah, that is pretty easy, good to know.” Micheal smirked.

  “Alright mate, lead us to Devin,” Micheal said as he waited for The Conductor to lead.

  “Yeah, can’t wait to give that son of bitch a piece of my mind, aye? And a piece of my foot up his arse.” Patrick cursed as The Conductor started his track down the halls that Vaelgorith's group just disappeared down.

  “Stay on your toes there is more going on here than they are letting on.” The Conductor commented,

  “Then maybe I should take point then?” Hoarder offered.

  “There’s no need for that… yet. Let’s see exactly what they have planned for us.”

  “Seems pretty obvious to me.” Mirage chimed in.

  “It does? What’s going on?” Travis said as all but jumped onto Micheal’s shoulders. Micheal simply placed his finger over his lips and motioned with his eyes.

  “OOOOOOOOHHHHH, I get it! Tsk, who do they think they are?” Travis snickered.

  “They think they’re the ones in control. ” The Conductor smirked as he looked directly at a corner of the hallway. As he walked, small sparks of electricity flared off the walls.

  In a room deep within the hall of this underground Heka base, Devin or Selistar sat at a table filled with other members of Heka. Behind Selistar were the remaining members of Team Renegade, along with several other Mentors of the Tiny Tots. Leonie was sat next to Selistar, much to the apparent annoyance of Selistar's mother.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

  Everyone was facing a static screen floating in the middle of the room. Selistar’s father grunted in annoyance, as he tapped the table with his finger. With every tap, the image of the screen changed, and with every change, they caught a glimpse of the Tiny Tots for only an instant, more specifically they saw The Conductor smiling into the camera before the screen was filled with static once more.

  “Hells, take him!! How can we accurately judge them if they continue like this?” One of the Elders at the table spoke.

  “Tsk, we’ve seen your trainees. If those are the best you got, they don’t compare to our kids. This test is worthless for them.” Duendes chimed in.

  The Elders' face turned beet red, but before he could let out a word, Selistar’s father, Aron, lifted his hand to shut the man up. He then spoke,

  “Yes, those children are quite impressive. However, our children go through this trial without their powers. They must pass this to gain Nevilara Mystara. They already have obtained their abilities, but they must go through the proper right of passage, regardless.”

  “Why? It’s just a waste of time.” Franky asked.

  “Those halls are filled with surprises. This trial will test their mental fortitude and intelligence. It will take them hours, maybe days, to reach here. Even the group led by Selistar took 4 hours to complete this task. And that was one of the fastest times in recent memory.” One of the elders said proudly.

  “Yeah, I’m sure that WAS very impressive.” Helena rolled her eyes, bored by the whole prospect.

  The past few days had been a whirlwind for all of them. Not only finding out about the existence of Heka but also the fact that Devin… Selistar had been a part of them from the beginning. Many of them had been thinking about the words Sage had spoken before she took her leave of absence. However, regardless of their feelings, they were bound to Selistar by a greater cause. At least that’s what they told themselves, unwilling to admit they were leashed by the nanomachines running through their veins. They could only hope Devin maintained the principles they dedicated their lives to.

  The older Chasers were not forced to undergo what they believed to be a useless ritual. Heka had been keeping a closer eye on them than they had thought; that shouldn’t be a surprise considering Selistar’s position among them. They had thoroughly examined their abilities and deemed them “worthy” of being Persequion. Although they were more or less regulated to Selistar’s personal division within Heka.

  “Unlike the rest of you, those children are unproven. This test will help evaluate them. However…” One of the Elders began to speak.

  “Pfft, yeah, this is a great evaluation,” Mawu said mockingly.

  “Yes, I must say, your… Tiny Tots are a handful aren’t they?” Serene, Selistar’s mother, spoke.

  “Simple solution. Selistar, create a spatial vision portal for us to observe them.” Aron commanded.

  “No need, they're already here.” Selistar folded his arms.

  “What?! It hasn’t even been an hour!” The Elder’s shock was understandable.

  Once the mechanism was enacted, the Halls would constantly change and rearrange themselves. Unless one figured out the pattern and had a general understanding of the hall's layout, it would take days to make any headway. Normally, Persequion hopefuls had plenty of time to familiarize themselves with the layout, as they lived here. This was an acceptable handicap for the Tots, as Persequion hopefuls did not have their abilities when undergoing said test.

  Also, the Tiny Tots drove off their guides before they even had the chance to tell them their goal. On top of that, the halls would be flooded with deadly traps and enraged monsters to test the children's will and adaptability. Given the circumstances, everyone assumed they’d be here for at least half the day. Everyone expects,

  “It took you longer than I expected,” Selistar said as he eyed the door to the hall opening. This came as a shock to the elders there. Those doors weighed several tons and were controlled by a mechanism that would make it even harder to forcefully open. Opening them manually was a heavy feat for even some of their more physically impressive Persequions. Yet there was Hoarder, with a golden glow pushing the doors open with little effort.

  “Well, Manic kept getting distracted by the architecture.” The Conductor's voice answered as he walked out from behind Hoarder with his hands in his pocket. The rest of the Tiny Tots followed behind, with bored expressions.

  "Can you blame me? This stuff looks cool." Manic gushed as he ran over to a corner of the room to touch a statue. He was dragged back to the group by Siren.

  “That was supposed to be a test? Training with Zac is harder than that shit.” One of the Tiny Tots said from within the crowd.

  “We shouldn’t be too hard on them. I mean, look at this place. It’s so old school. Can’t expect them to be up to snuff with modern standards.” Another spoke.

  “Hmmm, so true, probably why Devin ran away from home or whatever.”

  “Oh, you’re so right! I’d kill myself being stuck in a place like this.”

  “ENOUGH!!!” Aron shouted to interrupt the callous chatter of the unruly children. Contrary to what he thought would happen, the Tiny Tots all looked at him like he was an idiot before Manic responded.

  “ENOUGH!!! See, I can do it too!” Manic shouted in return, mimicking Aron's voice almost perfectly.

  “Who was that geezer?” Patrick added on. The Tiny Tots went back to having their own conversations, like the table of elders didn’t exist.

  The Renegade mentors chuckled. They were all just a troupe of miniature Zacs. They knew full well the importance of controlling the flow of any situation to play things to your advantage this was no different. Aron clenched his jaw, but before he could let out a word Selistar spoke.

  “Conductor, Shango…” Selistar gave the two of them a pleading look. Shango and The Conductor looked at each other before Shango raised his hand and spoke,

  “Alright mates, that’s enough.” At his word, the Tiny Tots stopped their conversations dead. Eerily, they all turned their heads to face the table of Elders.

  Several of the Elders wanted to say something, but the eerily actions of the children made them uncomfortable.

  “We shouldn’t have expected anything less from children trained by that beast.” One of the Elders mumbled. In unison, all the Tiny Tots heads turned to face that Elder. He cleared his throat, trying his hardest not to show his discomfort.

  Selistar ignored all that and got straight to the point,

  “How long did you know it was a test?”

  “Since the moment you took us from home.” The Conductor smiled.

  “If so, why did you go out of your way to disable the viewing devices?” Aron asked.

  “We have no obligation to prove ourselves to you, let alone show you what we're capable of.” Amaterasu was the one to speak.

  The Elders were in an uproar at the defiance of these children. Selistar let out a labored sigh as Aron motioned for the Elders to calm down.

  “Like it or not, you are part of us now. If we are going to properly work together, we need to know what you can do; so we can make the best use of your abilities.” Serene, Selistar’s mother, spoke gently to the Tiny Tots.

  “You are Sensei’s mother, correct? And you are his father?” The Conductor inquired as he looked at Aron and Serene. They both nodded affirmatively.

  The Conductor gave the two of them a deep bow, much to their delight, but the smile on their faces faded once he began to speak.

  “My apologies for the late greeting to my Sensei’s Parents. While I respect you as his parents, I have neither the will nor the desire to work with you or Heka. I am a Chaser not a Persequion.” The Conductor then rose from his bow, and the Tiny Tots smirked at his declaration.

  “I’ve been far too soft with you kids. Your displeasure and preferences have been noted. However…” Selistar began to speak, and the space around the Tiny Tots bared down on them. Their cocky smiles were replaced with panic, as space folded around them, forcing them to their knees.

  “You are still bound to me, whether you like it or not, and I am bound to Heka. For cohesion, they need to see you in action. To establish a baseline trust. We have too much to do. We have no time to be distracted by your childish, rebellious antics.” Selistar's cold voice echoed through the hall.

  He had a rough couple of encounters, and they all saw him as a joke. There was a reason he single-handedly balanced the power between the Oleander and Adders. There was a reason why even the Theronites looked at him with reverence. It seemed he would have to remind them. Space continued to press in on them as they all felt the pain of their bones being on the verge of snapping.

  “I don’t need a kill code to make you all pop like balloons. It’s just more convenient. Remember that.”

  “Devin…” Leonie touched Selistar on the shoulder. He sighed and then released the Tiny Tots.

  “Not like it matters at this point. We already passed this stupid bloody test. You want us to take it again?!” Shango shouted in anger as he looked over at his mentor Duendes, who dared not meet Shango’s eyes. The shame, easy to see.

  “That won’t be necessary. This actually works out great for us, doesn’t it?” Aron said as he began to chuckle.

  Selistar grunted as he sat back down and rested his head on his right hand. He was hoping to avoid this but ultimately knew things would come to this.

  “Once our hopefuls complete their ritual, they are rewarded with Nevilara Mystara. They are then given 3 months to adjust to their abilities. After their adjustment period, we hold Battle Rites.” Aron explained.

  “Battle Rites?” Mirage asked.

  “Yes, it’s where new Persequion can settle any long-standing grudges or fully establish themselves among their peers. This guarantees full cohesion moving forward. And how lucky for you all, the last batch of new Persequion just finished their 3-month adjustment period. I’m sure they are all eager to meet you.” Aron had a sinister smile on his face.

  But to his surprise, he was met with the excited snickering of the Tiny Tots. They all knew they were stuck in this situation no matter what they did. So until they could find a way to free themselves from the control of Devin and these nanites, they would have to make the best of their situation. How generous of Heka, to offer a fresh batch of punching bags to help them relieve their frustration. Shango’s deep chuckle cut through the snickering,

  “Then let’s scrap, yeah?”