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Chapter 143: A New Report

Liam faced off against Ciaran for a second bout. After observing the two fight, the watching masters had dissected their techniques by asking many questions about their respective styles. They then wished to spar amongst each other with Ciaran and Liam watching. What began as a quick sparring match to vent some pent up frustration with Nathanial had turned into a session of matches between the various masters in the kwoon. It was a drastic change from the normal afternoon sessions, and he found he rather enjoyed it. However, it was almost time for it to end.

It ended sooner than expected. His phone rang, and the sound sent a foreboding chill down his spine. Aedan, sitting on the sidelines, answered it. "Liam Smith's phone, Aedan speaking."

Liam sent extra chi to his ears to amplify his hearing. It was Dirk. "Poppy. I need to speak to Sensei immediately." Liam leapt away from his son, quickly bowed, and trotted to his eldest.

Aedan nodded. "Here he is."

Liam almost snatched the proffered phone away. "What happened?" He left the room, barely pausing to bow to the masters.

A too-long pause followed. "It'll take too long to explain properly. Nathanial and Avery are mostly unharmed, but Nathanial has been taken in by the agents and placed into isolation. I didn't see what happened, but the agents went from merely observing to direct intervention immediately. Nathanial was also extremely distraught. Hugh requests your assistance as quickly as possible."

Liam moved into the locker room. "I shall retrieve my belongings and meet them outside my office." He sniffed the air. His fur was damp but not soaked, and it did not smell over-strong, even to him. "Whose phone shall I call?"

"Ella. Jay is working on something with John Doull."

Ciaran and Aedan entered the room. Liam grabbed his bag and tossed it toward his sons. "Very well." He hung up. "Lads, I'm needed elsewhere immediately. Take my belongings and join our family. Have one of the masters call Conor and then escort you." As if summoned, Bao and Jim walked in. "Bao, call Conor and get his location. Jim, escort my boys to wherever they are."

Bao nodded. "Of course, Li. What happened?"

Liam shook his head and called back over his shoulder as he trotted by. "Avery and Nathanial have taken some injuries, it sounds like, but the trouble is that Nathanial has been, quote, 'placed into isolation,' unquote. He is under arrest or deemed too dangerous to be free."

Aedan frowned. "Conor isn't going to like either bits of that news." Those with Liam hurried to keep close enough to talk. "Avery shouldn't have been involved in _any_sort of violence."

"No, she should not. I shall ask Dirk what occurred soon enough." He hit the sidewalk outside and set out at a run. No voice called after him. Liam glanced skyward and tried to smooth out his roiling chi. The day was rather pleasant for this time of year; the sky was clear but for a single dark cloud moving toward the city from the north. His brow furrowed. The weather report on the news showed the prevailing upper winds should be blowing to the northwest.Any clouds should be moving toward the airport. No matter. He had more important things to worry about, such as why the agents felt it necessary to quarantine his sweet yet frustrating Akita.

The most likely scenario to cause this situation was that other Nathanial coming to the fore. If Avery had been injured where Nathanial could see, then it was quite likely he reared up and exacted some vengeance. His tactics could be...unpleasant, both in an objective sense and in the psychological.

Liam knew _he_doubted Nathanial's sanity and the safety of those around him after witnessing some of his escapades; Agent Hugh must have felt this current episode crossed a line. Liam feared this might happen if he were not present, though not as greatly as he feared harm to his friend. Why had Nathanial spurned his help? Surely he could provide assistance in whatever scheme Nathanial concocted.

His office stood a few blocks away from the kwoon, and the direct route lay along small residential streets, so it took him little time to rush into the waiting room. He did not stop to speak to Mei Lin but just called out, <<I am merely retrieving materials. I have an emergency to attend to.>> The Panda bowed her head and resumed her seat. Liam did not return any of the bows the patients in the room gave him.

In his office he opened a cupboard and pulled out a pre-prepared medical bag. It was identical to the one he kept in his home, and maintained for just such a reason. On a whim, he also grabbed a stock of his ofuda inks and paper. He did not even pause to see which inks he had. Liam activated his phone and reversed course.

Ella answered after two rings. "The street is too open, Sensei. I'll meet you right there." The line filled with static for a moment before the agent appeared behind him. They both disconnected the call, and after the agent cast a spell, Liam found himself in the same building Jay had taken him to when dissecting one of the Shadow Mastiffs. Indeed, this looked like the same laboratory.

Jay and John Doull stood beside a shielded table. They stared at a severed Reptile's hand as it crawled around the table; their expressions bore a mixture of fascination and disgust. Liam frowned. "Is this what you summoned me for?"

Ella nodded and spoke for the other two. "Yes, in part. It happened seconds after violence broke out in the Knights' hangar. Snow bit one of the arms off the Knight who took Avery hostage. He was bleeding out when Nathanial suddenly exclaimed about fighting his fate or something. The pup dropped to his knees and surrounded the arm with extremely bright light. It..." She looked shaken and confused. "The arm reattached itself. The bones, the muscles, everything knit back together like it was regenerating at a rate I've only seen in Trolls." She exhaled slowly. "But then..."

Jay took over. "The arm slashed open the Knight's throat, bro. It had a mind of its own -- it has a mind of its own -- and it's evil. It turned on Nathanial and tried to kill him, too. Sis here zapped it with an anti-undead spell. It should've vaped the whole thing, but it only took out a small chunk. It's still crawling around, and I can't see anything to explain why. There's no Dark energy in it at all." He frowned. "Well, other than where Snow chomped it. That doesn't explain anything, though."

Doull adjusted his jeweller's glasses by flipping several of the tiny lenses about. "The patterns I'm picking up are incomplete. I'm seeing some of those unusual connections I associate with Nathanial's...unique work, but there are gaps in this, as if another form of magic were used. I'm not picking up any Fey or Demon magic, not even Spirit energy."

Liam nodded once, curtly. "Intriguing." He turned away from the table pointedly. "Where is Nathanial?"

Ella's eyes widened in surprise. "He... He's down in one of the isolation cells in the basement. Why?" She looked at the severed arm and back at him.

Liam feigned surprise. "How am I to examine him if I do not know where he is?"

The agent shook her head, utterly baffled. "But, Sensei, we asked you--"

He did not have the patience for this. "I care not for your reasons. I_chose to come to see _Nathanial, naught else. I am a healer first and foremost, and one of my patients has been injured. I will see him before anything_else is done. _Do I make myself clear?"

The door behind him opened. Agent Hugh, in all his belligerent glory, stood there frowning in his dark suit. "The Marks pup is in isolation, Healer. You can't see him."

Liam turned from Ella, much to her relief, and glared up at the broad Mage. "I cannot? You presume much. On what authority do you deny a healer access to his patient?"

Jay hurried over to intervene. "Hey. Hey, now. Let's not get all surly. Sensei, the pup's all right, uh, kind of. He took a nasty hit, but he bounced right back and dashed off to save the missus. He had a bit of a fit, which is why he's cooling his pads, but he's fine. We just need you to help us figure out what's with the creepy-crawly here."

Dirk had mentioned nothing that would indicate 'a nasty hit,' and it did nothing to calm Liam down. He could not keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "He is fine? Oh, what a relief to hear -- from a raw amateur! Do you claim to be a healer, Jay?"

He turned back to Hugh before the wounded Jackal could find his voice, but the Badger's temper burst before he could continue. "Gods fucking damn you, pup! I don't_care_ if you're the best healer in the world! You're just some snot-nosed brat with a god complex! You're here to look at that arm, and if you want to see the mutt before Saturnalia, you'll do so!"

"I shall do nothing until I see him! I do not know whether that directive HU2011-10-01 pertains to Nathanial or me, nor its wording, but in either event I suggest you think on it, Agent. If you seek my cooperation in this or any other matter, this is not the way of going about it." The Badger quivered so mightily Liam almost swore he saw steam billowing from his ears.

Jay and Ella physically interposed themselves between Hugh and Liam. Jay almost put his paws on Liam's shoulders but stopped just short of touching him. "Sensei, bro, just chill. You'll see Nathanial, but this whole thing has the boss in a right fit. What was supposed to be a simple arrest, on camera, with no fuss or showcasing turned into...dude, a total circus. Check the crawly, then see the pup, and all this will just simmer down. No Spirit-Knight wars, no squabble with the boss, and everyone back home where they belong." Jay's voice dropped more. "Don't give him an excuse to keep Nat-man locked up. He wants the pup far away from here, but if you piss him off..." Jay had a very solid point.

Ella had both her paws on Hugh's chest as she kept him from pushing past her. "Sir, please. I know he can be a pawful, but he is the best healer around. By far._If we have more Demonic incursions -- we're almost guaranteed to until we find Gordon and the Succubus -- we'll _need_him to cleanse us from the taint. Remember Janice." Agent Hugh's chi nearly froze in place and the pressure from his energy burst like a bubble. Whoever this Janice was evoked _very painful memories, ones capable of penetrating a towering rage. Was she a loved one that had to be killed to keep her from being corrupted by Demon Taint? "You don't need to like him, or bow and scrape to him, just...don't piss him off. He's as stubborn as you are, sir." That earned her a most fierce glare.

Liam became more certain as to the subject of the directive, but he could not resist asking Jay. "So, what is directive HU2011-10-01?"

Hugh snapped, "Confidential. Directives are internal matters for the agents, and even Mages_that are the subject of a directive aren't informed of the contents. Even Mages that are _members of the Society." A most obvious point being that Liam was neither of those things. The Badger's chest puffed up, and his chi roiled as if he'd swallowed a bitter brew. "This is taking too long. Go see the pup and get back here pronto. It seems it'll be faster that way. Just swear on your honour you will take a look at that..." He gestured at the crawling hand with obvious revulsion. _"...thing_right after."

Liam knew that was as close to an apology as he'd get. "Very well." He tipped his head. "I so swear." He glanced over at it with a frown. "Jay, could you please bring up a model of the upper winds for this area? A weather map or some such telling us what to expect this afternoon?"

All those in the room, including the silent John Doull, stared at him in confusion. Jay spoke first. "Uhhhh, sure? Why?"

Liam shrugged and began trotting out of the room. "No particular reason. I merely thought agents were to keep an eye on supernatural occurrences, and I believe a glance out a north-facing window would reveal one such occurrence." All four Mages followed him out of the room and scattered in search of such a window. Up above and to his left lay a skylight, and through it Liam could see the tip of the dark cloud off to the north. It would be here far too soon, and he was certain this was its destination. There was a reason Doull found gaps in the spell patterns on the hand, for they were placed there by one not a Fey, Mage, Spirit, or Demon. They were placed there by an immortal. Liam would wager much on that.

Turning the other direction, Liam followed the exit signs to descend to the first floor. There, however, he hesitated. There were no signs leading lower, and he could only faintly smell Dirk's passage. It was insufficient to track the Spirit by with any speed. With a mental shrug, Liam cast about and found the scent of his great-grandson was stronger through a series of rooms. He moved as quickly as he could, but paused at the only exit in the third room. He could not smell Dirk there. He returned to the middle of the room to retrieve the scent and glanced about. His eyes noted only the two doors, but...a bookcase sitting against the wall to his right did not cause echoes within his chi as an object of its size should. An illusion. He walked up to it and checked for signs of traps. There was most assuredly some magic there, even accounting for the illusion. No matter.

Liam was not all that concerned about triggering alarms, but there may be less... pleasant_wards set up, so he pulled some paper and his ink out of his bag. He quickly drew a charm that would temporarily disrupt magic -- many times causing the trap to trigger -- and repacked his ink. Now ready, he threw the charm into the hidden doorway and saw a _Shield spell flicker into life before dissolving. The spells would reset in a few seconds, so he dashed through and trotted down the staircase. The basement seemed to be built off a single corridor with many doors adorning it, all of which appeared to be shielded. As he cautiously proceeded, Liam noted the last one was not, and it was from there that he could sense Dirk's energy.

Within the doorway another hall lay before him, but this had a series of open spaces and one stone wall where a door should be. Dirk sat on a chair before it but immediately sprang to his hindpaws when he saw Liam.

"Sensei. Ah, Liam, sorry." The Bone Spirit grimaced slightly. "What's the word? Can we take Nathanial home?"

Liam shook his head. "I am here to check on him and then examine an oddity partially created by my friend. I hope to convince Agent Hugh to release him thereafter. I suspect Nathanial is being held to ensure my compliance, no more." He ran his paw over the blank wall. It was solid. He was certain, having seen identical walls before, the stone was formed by a spell and would be created anew each time they opened the door. Liam sensed a large amount of magic running through the area, too much for a simple ofuda to disrupt, and it would require careful examination to determine how to proceed. "How is he?"

Dirk sighed and gestured at the wall. "I don't know. He's behind there, and Jay told me it was specifically designed to block any sort of communication. It's why they call it 'isolation.'"

Liam looked back at him wryly. "And how long was Nathanial in there? With nothing to do but study the wards?" He raised his voice. "Nathanial?"

The voice came through most quietly, and if spoken Liam knew it would have been inflicted with stutters.*Hi.*

As expected. If the pup could speak through the wards, Liam had no doubts that he could leave whenever he wished to, too. "I assume Snow is with you?" Dirk shook his head in amusement.

No new strength found its way into the mental voice. Perhaps Nathanial suffered little_physically,_ but it seemed his psyche once more suffered instead. *Yeah.*

"Is it safe for me to enter?"

There was a slight pause. *No.* Liam waited for more information, but none came.

"Why? Can you disrupt the spells so I can walk through safely?"

*It's not the spells. It's me.*

Liam sighed. Fuck it. Timeus. He touched the portion of his soul that was the priest of Hades. A surge of power flooded his being. His small, tan paw grabbed the stones and a quick prayer bent it to his will. The wall crumbled into a pile of rubble as alarms blared throughout the building. Liam ignored it all and stepped into the dim cell.

Two beautiful blue eyes squinted up in the sudden 'brightness,' tormented by some trauma and filled with fear. The sight of the sweet Akita regarding him with such an expression caused a stab of pain. The thought of being the cause of such fear... Liam squashed the emotions; he knew Faelen stared off into the distance in his direction, inflicted with worry.

"Y-You shouldn't be h-here. I-I'm not safe."

Liam smiled kindly. "Safe. Not safe. It is irrelevant." He knelt and began checking his friend for injuries. "You need me, thus I am here. I shall always do anything in my power to be beside you when I may be of help."

Those eyes brimmed with tears. "Y-You aren't mad? Not anymore?"

How could he be angry looking into the soulful eyes of such a sweet pup? How could he not be angry when he was cast aside so callously, so deliberately, when all he wished to do was protect his friend? To help?

Nathanial had been struck a most cruel blow to the side of his head, one reinforced with a bolt of chi. If Nathanial hadn't blocked the chi with his own energy -- whether consciously or subconsciously -- he might be dead, or at least placed into a coma for some time. As it was, it had obviously dealt significant damage, but it appeared to be...

Liam felt his brows snap together as worried anger filled him. Nathanial winced and pulled away, forcing Liam to moderate his reactions. "You channelled raw Light energy into your brain?! What were you thinking?!" He took a deep breath and ignored the approach of John Doull and Agent Ella. "If you'd let me be there this would not have happened! It is why I was angry! Do you know what you may suffer because of this?"

Nathanial looked down and away. "Yeah, but I'm resistant to planar energy. I-I snuck off to protect you. The Knights know you're a Monk, b-but if they see you with me fighting them, then your mom..."

Liam's heart sank deep enough to reach the Underworld. He felt like such a cad. Nathanial was willing to provoke a fight with his friend in order to save that friend some pain. Liam knew_how much such conflict hurt the Akita, even when he wasn't directly involved, and to be willing to bear the _brunt of it spoke volumes. Liam deflated. "Nathanial." He shook his head. "You should have said something."

Nathanial still stared downward. "You would've said that wasn't something I should worry about, that you'd deal with it on your own. I don't want you to be hurt because of me. So many people are already. It's my fate, and I don't want it--"

Liam's lips curled away from his teeth. He knew the cause of the last time Nathanial spouted such drivel. It was not worth hearing repeated, so he cut in. "You saw her again, did you not? I told you to ignore such vile venom! You do_not_ know what is -- or is not -- your destiny! The gods do not know! Only the Fates themselves do, and they guard their secrets jealously! Master Apollo alone can glimpse at their workings, and he cannot say with certainty what may lie in one's future." Liam hoped dropping the god's name would attract his interest enough to see what may occur. "The god of thunder caused your magic to kill Jose! It was not you."

Nathanial looked up hopefully. "Not me?"

The alarms fell silent when Ella entered the hallway. Liam shook his head emphatically. "No. Doull saw gaps in the magic around that arm, and I would wager free massages for a year that those gaps were caused by a god's powers. I saw a cloud approaching the city against the winds, and I feel it is no coincidence it comes from the direction of the airport."

The young Mage nodded slowly. "A black cloud floating all alone? I saw it there. I-I didn't_feel_ the same stuff like during the storm. There were no cries of hunting eagles, no headaches, nothing at all."

Liam found no other signs of physical trauma excepting that resulting from the stress. Nathanial's heart was in poor shape. With the circus to be expected tomorrow, Liam found it most expedient -- and satisfying -- to issue a decree. "Take Dirk with you and go home." Nathanial's heart was in poor enough shape that Liam no longer cared what Hugh thought -- not that he had cared overmuch to begin with. "You are forbidden from attending school tomorrow, and I want you to lie down and rest until I return." He peered closely at his friend, thinking. No ghost should be able to remain after a funeral and the internment of the body, not without him knowing, but if Zeus was so openly interfering, then it was possible Lily Marks remained. Quite possible if she possessed the house and hid where the god of thunder held sway whenever he was around.

Liam pulled out a vial of his inks designed to protect from electricity; Timeus had been horrified to find that Zeus's power ran right through all homes and along all streets in this era. The priest's discomfort had spilt over such that Liam had nightmares about electric lights and electrical sockets for some time, and it was not until Yoishi had roused to craft the first batch of this ink and painted some ofuda to place over the sockets in his bedroom that he had been able to sleep soundly. Liam still kept a vial of that ink on paw at all times.

He unstopped the bottle and painted a complex charm. "I want you to give these to Ciaran." He switched inks to one designed to combat undead; it was not ideally suited for spectres since he expected to encounter the corporeal sort more often, but it would do. The second charm shortly joined the first. He began the third scroll. This was written in Cantonese_hanzi_ -- a Chinese pictograph -- and told Ciaran to have Micah scan about with Fey-sight. That should force Lily to hide or risk discovery. After a few minutes of Micah scampering about, Ciaran would place the ofuda over the circuit panel. That, with all the electricity running through it, was the most likely hiding spot for a servant of Zeus, and the ofuda should_imprison her within. With Lily imprisoned and Liam exposing Zeus's interference, the god would likely be rather annoyed. "Get all of my family inside the basement. Seal the doors, and ensure you remain there until I give the all-clear. My family, _including Dad." He did not know how long it would take for Nathanial to find the Spirits wandering around downtown, but it should be sufficient time for Dad to drive over.

Ella cleared her throat. "He's still supposed to be in isolation, Sensei."

Doull looked over the rubble. "How did you do this, Nathanial? It's supposed to be impervious from magic on the inside."

Nathanial looked down. "I-I didn't. It w-wasn't me." The two Society Mages looked at Dirk.

Liam sniffed. "I did. I informed you I was seeing my patient, and the wall was in the way. I removed the obstacle." He locked eyes with Ella. "I will _always_remove any obstacle blocking me from my patient."

Doull frowned and looked at one of the pieces of rock through his glasses. "You seem to be a little testy today, Smith." Liam ignored that. Doull's frown deepened as he flicked through some of the lenses on his glasses. "How did you do this?"

It would not hurt overmuch to inform Doull that he could call on Hades' power, though he was loath to freely give any knowledge to this individual. Agent Ella already knew of it, so it would likely find its way into the Pinniped's possession before long anyway. "I stand within Lord Hades' demesne. The stones obey his commands and those of his servants." He turned to Nathanial. "Go, and hurry. The god of thunder approaches, and it would be best for us all if you were gone from here."

Dirk brushed past Doull and Ella. "Let's go, Nathanial. I don't think we want to be caught in the middle of this."

Ella wavered. Doull did not. "Smith is right. Go. I think I'm starting to see what's going on behind the scenes here, and I don't like it."

Ella's eyes widened. "Sir?"

The Walrus shook his head. "Ask Athena for guidance, Ella, not me. The gods are moving, and we'd best get out of their way. Find the Spirits visiting from Ireland and get them to safety. They're somehow tied up in the gods' schemes, and I don't want anything to spark more trouble." Ella bowed her head and dashed off. Who was this Doull to command an agent?

Nathanial opened a portal and stepped through. Dirk followed. The Mage turned back. "Liam? Are you coming?"

Liam shook his head. "No, I swore to help investigate something, so I shall. I...do not think it is safe for them for me to remain, but I will honour my word, and I have a task to complete regardless." That hand was an affront to Hades and a tool of Zeus. It must be destroyed. He reopened his anti-electricity ink and dipped his brush within. "I will take care. Make sure you do as well."

Nathanial nodded, and the portal winked shut.

Doull looked down at the rubble, occasionally glancing sidelong at Liam. "This explains some things. Hugh was upset when he read a report about the burns you had on your back. I'm guessing the thunder god zapped you during the last big storm."

That blasted server could be most vexing. "Yes. He -- or rather his agent, the late Lily Marks -- had attacked Nathanial, and then he personally attempted to smite me when I ran through the storm to reach the Markses' home. I hope Hecate can provide you some protection; I expect trouble when that cloud arrives."

Doull looked most uneasy. "I rather hope that Poseidon will notice when the cloud crosses the harbour. I'd prefer it if no god strikes at me, let alone _that_one."

Liam put his inks and papers away. "Wise. Most wise." He pulled the finished charms away when the Walrus reached for one. "These are not for you to study. They are tools of the Monks and are thus confidential."

Doull frowned. "Those are ofuda, ninja scrolls. The secret to making them had been lost long ago, or so we thought."

Liam's hackles rose. "Ah, yes, during the Japanese genocide. When the Society teamed up with the Knights to massacre every shinobi along with every Shinto or Buddhist priest with an ounce of power. How many died? How many children did you butcher?" He shook his head angrily. "Lost, no. Hidden, yes."

Doull held his flippers up in front of him. "That was centuries ago. I had nothing to do with it."

"Your organization does and would commit the same atrocities again. I despise the Arcane Society for it and many other like crimes. Do not be surprised that my cooperation is less than whole-hearted." He brushed past Hecate's priest and trotted down the hall. Doull hurried to keep pace. "Hecate and Lord Hades frequently work together, so I shall seek to maintain amicable relations with you. Just do not expect anything resembling friendship."

The long whiskers on Doull's face wobbled when the broad head shook. "You really _are_short tempered today."

"It has been vexing. Most vexing."

Doull waved his flipper and said an arcane phrase when they ascended the stairs out of the basement. "How did you get down here?"

Liam felt the muscles in his back stiffen. "That is classified. Suffice it to say I knew Nathanial was down here, and I will not--"

Doull's deep voice cut in. "'--allow anything to stand between me and my patient.' Yes, I get that. I'm just curious, that's all."

"Too curious." Liam's statement was followed by a heavy sigh behind him, and he was quite certain an eye-roll accompanied it.

They were greeted by a deafening bellow when they reached the top floor. Hugh seemed to be as short-tempered as Liam felt. "Councillor! What's the meaning of this!"

Councillor? Doull sat on the Society's council? That would explain much, though it would raise other questions, such as to why he had a bookstore and why he spent so much time in Halifax.

Doull ignored Hugh for a moment. "Councillor emeritus. The national council, too, not the global one." He raised his voice to answer Hugh. "We have some potential problems coming in, and both of us felt that Nathanial's presence would make it far worse. Smith will still check on the arm, as promised, and we know where Nathanial is. The pup is probably safer in familiar environs than your cell." Would that be 'safer' in his person or safer for others to be around? Or both?

The director stuck his head out of the door to the lab and his glower moderated slightly when he saw Liam. "Fine. It's on your head if this goes to shit, John."

Jay perked up when Liam walked in. "Oh, hey, bro. Good to see you stuck around. The creepy-crawly here is getting more worked up the closer boomer out there gets."

The severed arm was indeed 'worked up.' It scrabbled around the table like a hyperactive puppy, though its appearance was more reminiscent of some mutant scorpion the way the stump of the forearm was held in the air. Whenever it approached too closely to the shield, arcs of electricity lanced forth inaudibly behind the violet dome.

Hugh frowned -- frowned more deeply. "You're on duty, Jay. Stop making me remind you every two minutes."

Jay's ears flipped back and his eyes narrowed. "On duty how many hours after my shift ended?"

Liam turned pointedly away from the arm to faceHugh. "Before I begin, I would speak with you."

Hugh glowered back. "Talk after. I want that disgusting thing gone, and I can't get rid of it until we know _how_it happened."

Liam felt his hackles rising. "No. I will talk to you, now! Nathanial nearly died, Agent Hugh!"

Hugh crossed his arms and straightened his back to loom as large as he could. "He seemed to move about just fine. I saw nothing of concern that way. His behaviour, on the other paw, _was_concerning. Did he mention he was playing with a dozen armed grenades? Throwing them around like tennis balls? What 'nearly' killed him?" Jay nervously edged toward the two; he glanced about as if wishing Ella were nearby to assist.

Liam's lips curled back to show all his teeth. "He was struck most forcefully in the head. He had a severe concussion, which is known to result in temporary bouts of psychological imbalance. The strike was reinforced with a bolt of chi, which would have escalated it from a concussion to death. As it was, he was lucky to not receive permanent damage. I should have been called as soon as the immediate threat was dealt with! He was under your care, Agent!"

The Badger shifted a little uncomfortably, but he still snarled back. "Dirk mentioned a concussion, but the pup bounced right up and dove through a reinforced window! From the upper level! Do you know how hard that is to pass off? Fuck that, his 'dive' carried him across four lanes! Concussion? Bah! You can't do that with a concussion. He shouldn't have been able to light a fucking candle!"

Liam quivered as he sought to avoid striking the blasted fool. "He channelled raw Light energy into his brain to save himself from severe chi-induced brain damage. If he weren't so resistant to planar energy, I guarantee he would develop potentially lethal tumours -- like Jordan Davis did after Nathanial did much the same thing to save her_life. And to remind you, her life _needed saving after Agent Arrie had finished magically hacking away at her brain like some drunken lumberjack."

Hugh shifted some more. Guiltily, Liam thought. "Yeah, and how was I supposed to know that? I'm a 'raw amateur,' remember? I don't claim to be a healer. The pup was running around without puking everywhere and using magic. According to my training, that meant he was fine."

Doull waved his flippers. "I'll look at the tapes, you two. Hugh, if he was hit in the head, then you should've brought him to a healer or a hospital." The Walrus turned to Liam. "Smith, if he was running around using magic, our training does say there was no trauma done to the brain. Our training doesn't cover Nathanial Marks."

That would be most accurate. _Liam's_training and experience did not cover the frustrating feats any of the Markses performed. What an aggravating family.

Arrie staggered into the room looking exceedingly tired. "What's the emergency? The freak storm over the harbour?"

Jay drawled, "So nice to know you respond so quickly to the priority alarm."

She glared most venomously at him. "Shut the fuck up, Jules. I just fell asleep. I work tonight, you know."

Hugh barked, "Agent Arrie! Use of an agent's name is forbidden around non-agent persons! That's one of the first things you were taught!"

She looked confused for a moment before noticing Liam. "What the hells is _he_doing here?" She did not receive an answer, for the building shook to its foundations.

Liam shifted his balance to remain standing. Doull and Hugh fell heavily, while Jay and Arrie staggered over to stand within doorframes. Liam smiled tightly. "It appears Poseidon Earthshaker is less than pleased with his brother." He kept his medical bag in his left paw, with his right paw inside it close to his ofuda. He cautiously approached the shielded table.

Jay glanced at the ceiling nervously, as did Arrie. They didn't move away from the doorframes.

Hugh grumbled. "Don't tell me you're as superstitious as Ella, Smith. The gods -- if they ever existed -- abandoned us mortals millennia ago." The phrasing amused Liam; he knew he had not been abandoned, but he was also not mortal. "Everything can easily be explained through our studies into science and arcana. We don't need the gods to fill in the gaps anymore."

Liam paid him little mind. "We are similar to the gods, Hugh, and we have found many ways to simplify our tasks. Do we plough our fields by paw? Walk miles each day to fetch water? Cook our food over fires beneath the open sky, hoping not to become prey to the animals we share the world with? The gods are far more intelligent than us; it is more than reasonable to assume they would create ways to manage the world long before Prometheus first gave us fire, before we first set chipped stone to a branch as a crude weapon, before we first smeared pigment on a cave wall."

His cautious steps must have crossed an invisible line, for the hand ceased its 'pacing.' It turned to...face him, for lack of a better term, and Liam could feel its hostility just as he would with a living Fur. Blue electricity leaked out from beneath each green scale before gathering to dance between limb and table.

Timeus stirred within him. The Molossian's deep voice rumbled forth. "Drop the shields."

Jay's eyes widened in surprise. "Bro?"

_"Do--!"_He did not have time to finish. The hand leapt claw-first at the shields and it hung there for a split second. The spells capable of withstanding a barrage of ballista bolts, even the wrath of Vesuvius, failed. The shards of purple energy flung about the room before exploding concussively. It felt like he stood in the midst of a mob of Cyclopes.

The hand landed on the table, and now the crackles of harnessed lightning were audible. Pops and hisses echoed around the room before they were drowned out in a volley of magic.

Hugh punched in its direction. A coconut-sized fist comprised of pure force, like the _Shield_spell, burst forth. When Hugh opened his paw as if to grab the severed hand, so did his spell. That would be most useful in detaining something.

Jay waved his paws about and chanted in Ancient Egyptian. Pale ribbons of fabric rose from the table and spun about the hand as if mummifying it. Timeus had seen this spell when he had travelled to the land of the Pharaohs to help the priests of Anubis. He did not know the spell was still in use.

Doull's spell appeared to conjure a Fur-sized, mobile patch of black ooze into existence around the hand, but it had not fully formed before Arrie's spell struck.

Arrie, damned foolish Arrie, pointed at it, sending a bolt of lightning forth. It reached the hand just after the first bands of fabric wrapped about it, before the paw of force crossed the table's threshold, and before the ooze had become more than an ephemeral outline.

The Mage's electricity splashed over the green scales and exploded out in a scintillating sphere, deflecting all the magical energy back at the casters. Hugh and Doull rocketed backwards, crashing heavily into the concrete reinforced walls behind them. They fell unmoving and bleeding. Arrie, standing in the doorway to the hall, also shot backward, but she went through the wall behind her, breaking a wall stud and two fire blocks in the process.

Jay had obviously prepared for defence, because he managed to raise a _Shield_moments before the backlash crashed into him. The spell crackled and split around the dome, crumbling a dozen centimetres' worth of concrete all around him. That included the floor before him and the ceiling above. The Jackal skipped back from the hole in the floor.

The severed hand crouched like a pouncing cat and leapt at Liam. The Ancient One stuck a lightning resistance ofuda on the hilt of one of his knives and hurled it at the attacking appendage. A cacophonous salvo of electric bolts struck at the knife, but the charm caused them to dissipate in an aurora of charged particles. The knife caught the hand dead centre and pushed it back to the wall behind the table. It hung impaled on the drywall covering the concrete beneath.

Liam knew that it would not hold long -- the drywall was not dense enough to hold the knife firm -- and had already pulled out five anti-undead charms. He hurled them to form a circle around the hand and raised his right paw in front of him with his index and middle finger raised to the ceiling. "Return to the grave, Lord Hades commands it." Small balls of blue fire appeared before each charm, and beams of light connected each charm in an encircled five pointed star. "The realm of the living is no place for the dead. Katastrefo!" The last word was spoken in Ancient Greek, and it meant 'destroy.' The flames flared, filling the circle, and faded a second later. Fine ash fell away from his knife, leaving no sign of the hand or any of the ofuda. He lowered his paw and trotted over to retrieve his knife.

Jay whispered, "Bro..." His eyes were most large, and his jaw hung slack.

Liam glanced over. Timeus spoke once more before retreating. "No mortal may stand against my lord, not even the remains of one." Liam's knees buckled, and he had to brace himself against the wall before forcing himself upright. He stiffly staggered over to Doull. "Jay, I would be most appreciative if you could fetch my bag and some boiling water."

Arrie appeared at the doorway once more. She was even more dishevelled than the last time as her black suit was covered in fine white dust and fragments of wood. Her thin fur did not hide the cuts around her ears, nor did the distance hide the scent of far more blood than the immediately evident. "Where did it go, Jay?"

Jay's jaw clicked shut. "Gone. Vaped. I'll help provide first aid. You go send messages to Ella and Director Wiley informing them Hugh and Councillor Doull have been injured. Come back when you're done, and Healer Smith will check on you, too."

Liam looked sidelong at Jay but said nothing over his services being volunteered without his consent. He would check on Arrie, despite his feelings toward her. He could not ignore an injured individual so casually. The Doberman saluted her colleague and limped away; she looked to be in great pain. Liam sent a quick prayer to Lord Hades asking for protection for his friends and family before turning his full attention back to Doull.