"What?" Brant asked with a wrinkled brow. 

Ace narrowed his eyes. "Exactly what about that was hard to understand? We were wrong. They're alive, and I know where they're at." 

"You're kidding." 

Ace facepalmed. "Holy cow, dude! Do you want them dead?" 

"Well, no, but...I'm just—" 

"Do you wanna get them back, or not?" 

Brant nodded. "I do, but I'm still not sure if this is really—" 

"Of course it's true. I said it." 

Brant squinted. "Debatable. But where are they?" 

"Kookaburra's refurbished the old Ferangian parliament building for his own purposes. A palace of sorts. Anyway, they're being held in there." 

"Well, let's get moving." Brant said, marching toward the sliding door. 

"Woah, hold up, bud. There's no way we're gettin' in there, just the two of us." 

"I know. That's why the festivities down there have to wrap up now." 

Ace shook his head. "No sir. Dude, listen. We don't have the firepower to crack this nut open. Too dense. So instead, we'll have to opt for strategic infiltration." 

"And how do you propose we go about that?" Brant asked with crossed arms. 

The dark-skinned man sighed. "It's time to put the band back together." 

"And by that, you mean...?" 

"You know good and well what I mean." 

Brant inhaled a long and deep breath. After holding it for a second, he finally released it. "I don't even know where they are." 

"Well, good thing for us, I do. Baird went back home in Antapeño. Aaron and Wendy went somewhere in Odego." 

"I don't know, Ace." Brant said, "Facing Aaron's the last thing I wanna do. He thinks I'm responsible for his sister's death, for goodness' sake." 

"Do you hear yourself? What exactly are we setting out to do?" After a second of silence, Ace answered his own question. "We're saving his sister!" 

"I don't care!" Brant snapped, "He lost much more than just that. There's no way I'm going there." 

"Even though we need to. Really?" 

"He's gonna wring my neck, Ace!" 

Ace sighed and scratched his chin for a moment. "Then we'll get Baird first. Logistics-wise, it's less practical than making a straight shot through Odego to Antapeño, but maybe he can help calm the beast." 

"I sure hope so." Brant replied with tightened lips. 

Ace sighed and laid a hand on Brant's shoulder. "We can do this." 

The blue-eyed man nodded and led the way back inside. The duo descended a flight of stairs into the celebratory crowd of Innutukians, peppered with Kemarians for variety.  

Brant and Ace stopped behind the Innutukians' sharply-dressed general, a robust man with a well-trimmed beard lining his jaw. He stood before a semicircle of his men who guffawed constantly at his animated storytelling. He sloshed a half-finished bottle of brandy around as he punctuated his statements with wild gesticulations. 

Brant laid a hand on the general's shoulder and turned him around. A pair of jolly hazel eyes stared back at him, accompanied by a matching grin rarely seen on the man's face. 

"Excuse me, General," Brant began, "would you mind if we borrow one of your armored cars?" 

The general took a swig of his drink. His throat visibly expanded to accommodate the influx of liquid. When he finished, he belched, causing Brant to take a step back. 

"Yeah, go ahead, my man!" he shouted much louder than necessary, "An' yeah...bring me back some, okay?" 

Brant exchanged a puzzled glance with Ace. "Yeah...sure. Just give me a key, and we'll be on our way." 

"Yeah, yes, exactly, sure thing!" He fished in his pocket for a moment and flung a chain of keys out onto the floor. 

Ace stooped down and snatched one key off the chain before handing the rest back. "Thanks." 

Brant and Ace spun to make their escape. The general called something after them, but they declined to stick around and listen. They marched up to the exit, flung the door open, and stepped outside. 

A row of armored cars waited outside, basking in the sunbeams that shot through a small gap in the clouds. Ace glanced down at the number on his key, found the car with a matching number, and opened it. 

The two men slid into the front seats, Ace behind the wheel, and Brant riding shotgun, which in this case was literal. A shotgun had been attached by a pivoting stand to the side of the vehicle's door, and on the inside, a wide tray stored a ludicrous excess of extra shells. 

Ace lit a cigarette and inhaled a puff of the smoke. Then he allowed it to hang from his mouth as he put the key in the ignition, started the car, and backed out. He sped down the gravelly road as fast as was safe. 

******************** 

The next morning, Brant and Ace locked eyes and stepped up onto the porch of a cozy green house in Antapeño's capitol city. They'd spent the remainder of the previous day in driving, only arriving in town late at night. After finding affordable hotel accommodations, spending the night, and subsequently awakening, they now found themselves at Baird's doorstep. 

Brant stepped forward and knocked on the door. He inhaled a shuddering breath as his heart-rate doubled. While Ace stared impassively at the door and smoked, Brant bounced on the balls of his feet. 

Finally, the door creaked open, and Baird, a man with light brown hair who stood several inches shorter than the blue-eyed giant, stepped out. He wore a wrinkled black tank-top that displayed the sizable muscles of his arms. 

Baird glanced between the two and sighed. "Guys, whatever you're offering, the answer's no." 

Ace held up a hand. "That's premature." 

"How so?" he challenged, crossing his arms and spreading his legs to block off the open doorway behind him. 

"Well, good news, Hannah and Keira aren't dead." 

Baird's posture instantly opened. "What do you mean?" 

Ace stamped out his cigarette. "How about we talk inside?" 

The three men stepped into the house, and Baird shut the door. He motioned to a pair of chairs on either side of the entryway. Brant and Ace obliged him and sat down. 

"So, tell me more." Baird said. 

Ace shrugged. "Nothing really to it. Kookaburra's holed up in the old Ferangian parliament building, and he's got them in there with him." 

"Kookaburra?" he echoed. 

"God of laughter, yes." Brant interjected. "Remember the Overseer incident?" 

Baird sighed. "Of course." 

"Well, the deranged man who shot up that cafeteria...sure enough, he's been transformed into Kookaburra." 

"Listen, guys, I'd love to help," Baird began, glancing up as his redheaded wife appeared from around the corner, "But I've got things of my own to worry about." 

Both men eyed the slight bulge in the woman's belly and nodded. 

"Okay, I get that," Ace said, "But what we really need your help with is Aaron." 

"Aaron? What about him?" 

Brant's eyes darted between his two feet as he stared at the ground. "We need his help, but he hates my guts currently." 

Baird frowned. "Just tell him what you told me. He's perfectly reasonable—" 

"No he's not!" Brant snapped, "You saw what he did when he heard about what he thought was Keira's death! Of all people, you should know there's nothing more important to him than his sister." 

"You're right." Baird conceded. "But what's that have to do with me?" 

"If you could come with us when we tell him, maybe you could help us calm him long enough to get a sentence or two out before he kills me." 

Ace coughed. "Yeah, 'cause I don't think he respects me enough to give a rip if I say to chill out. But he thinks the world of you." 

Baird nodded. "I suppose so." He glanced at his wife, who now stood at his side. "What do you think, Abby?" 

She bit her lip. "I'm not clear. What exactly does this entail?" 

Ace huffed. "I can't believe I have to spell this out again. Step one, we go to Aaron and convince him to help. Step two, we infiltrate Kookaburra's palace, save the girls, and get out. Simple." 

"Technically, that was five steps." Abigail retorted. 

"Whatever, man." 

"Perhaps my presence would prove calming as well." a voice called from around the corner. 

Everybody looked up to see an old man with two empty eye sockets who wore a dark green cloak. He stepped through the doorway leading from the living room. Despite his lack of vision, he strolled into the adjoining room without stumbling, his hands casually folded behind his back. 

Baird frowned and hurried forward to support the old man. "Khemera, what do you mean? You can't—" 

Khemera wrestled out of Baird's grasp. "No, I can't see. But I can hear perfectly well." 

Baird clenched his jaw and eyed him skeptically. When he saw Abigail covering her giggling mouth with her hand, he raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing something?" he asked. 

Abigail sucked her bottom lip in and dropped her gaze to her feet. "I guess so." 

Khemera cleared his throat. "I have been honing my hearing for a while now, in hopes of regaining normal function. And I believe I've achieved. But that's all beside the point. Aaron doesn't know that, and I doubt he would punch a blind man." 

Baird shrugged. "I dunno, after the arm wrestle ordeal, I'm honestly not sure he has any qualms about punching you, blind or not." 

"Well, that's no matter. I'll hear it coming." 

"Let's test that theory." 

Baird swung a punch at Khemera's chest. In one lightning-fast move, the old man blocked the attack and bound his attacker in an armlock. Placing his foot on Baird's calf, he lowered him to his knees. 

"Don't think I've forgotten what I taught you." Khemera remarked with a smirk as he helped Baird back to his feet. 

He shook his head. "You never cease to amaze me." 

Brant rolled his eyes. "Okay, guys, can we get back on task? The sooner we get the girls back, the sooner their inevitable suffering ends." 

Baird met Abigail's gaze. She nodded at his unspoken question, and with that, he headed off to prepare. 

******************** 

A few hours later, the midday sun beamed down into an Odegoan canyon. Ace's hands danced across the steering wheel as he maneuvered the unpredictable windings of the rocky walls, all at a high speed he'd stubbornly retained for quite some time. In the back seat, Baird craned his neck and peered at the upper portion of the wall. 

"Here!" he shouted, darting his hand out to point at a small hole in the rocky face. 

Ace stomped down on the brake, and the armored car skidded to a stop. The wheels flung a cloud of sand into the air as the vehicle spun into a sharp boulder. 

The car made impact and jolted all its occupants, but remained completely unharmed. Brant and Baird eyed Ace with annoyance. He only gave them a shrug in response before flinging the door open and hopping out. 

Baird watched carefully as Khemera stepped out, shoes crunching in the sand as he emerged. He nodded and met Ace's eyes after the old man had walked a few steps without stumbling. 

"That probably got his attention, at least." Baird muttered. 

"Mine too." Brant remarked, stepping around the front of the vehicle and rubbing the back of his neck. 

Ace ignored them. He lit a cigarette, spun on his heel, and led the way to the opening in the cliff face. 

"Wait a minute," Brant began, "how do you plan to get in there?" 

"Through the door, preferably." 

He rolled his eyes. "No way!" he exclaimed sarcastically, "Really?" 

"I've never seen you before," Khemera remarked, "but I can only imagine you look quite foolish at the moment." 

Baird snorted. "How perceptive of you." 

Brant gave the two a sharp glance before shifting his attention to Ace once more. The dark-skinned man uncoiled a rope and tied a loop on one end. His attention was fixated on a stony projection just to the left of the opening. After he'd sufficiently prepared the rope, he hurled it up and around the ledge. 

As Ace pulled on the rope to test its strength, he and Brant eyed one another at the sound of an airy swish above. They stared up and gasped when a maroon suit of armor dove from above and kicked Brant in the face. 

Brant dropped down into the sand and clutched his bruised jaw. He ducked when the metal boot came back for a return strike. With the armored figure standing on only one leg, his hand darted out to remove that support. 

Brant succeeded in throwing his attacker off balance. But before making impact with the ground, the person flew away, with twin plumes of flame shooting from the boots. Hovering a safe distance away, the figure unclipped a blue metal bow, fitted an arrow to the string, and fired it. 

Unsheathing a sword with a curved blade, Baird sped around Brant and slashed at the projectile before it could make impact. The arrow snapped into two pieces and clattered atop a black boulder. 

"Wendy, calm down!" Baird cried, "Since when do friends automatically go into hostility mode on each other?" 

"I never said that bloody murderer was my friend." she replied, landing and marching closer. 

Meanwhile, a brawny man with sandy brown hair slid down Ace's rope. Once his feet met the ground, he charged at Brant from behind, teeth gritted and eyes aflame. 

Khemera tilted his head in the direction of the heavy footsteps. He inhaled a deep breath and waited until the perfect moment. Then he leapt into the air and landed a kick, square in the middle of the brute's chest. 

He landed on his back with a thud and stared up at the old man with disbelief. "Khemera?" 

"It's me, Aaron. And you—" 

"Have unfinished business, that's right!" he exclaimed, leaping to his feet and charging forward again. 

"Don't be a bull!" Khemera shouted, reaching out his hand just in time to yank Aaron back. 

Aaron grunted as he hit the ground again. When Khemera leapt atop him, the brute clenched his fist and moved to punch, but then relented. "Get off me!" 

"Only after I have a word with you. As I've already told you, a multitude of punches seldom prove the best way to end a conflict. Words do far better." 

"Oh yeah?" Aaron challenged, hurling the old man aside, "Well, it wasn't words that killed my bloody sister!" 

Once he leapt up again, a stream of electricity shot his way, and sparks coursed over his body. Aaron collapsed into convulsions on the ground. As his twitching muscles tightened, his eyes landed on Wendy suffering similar treatment. 

Ace stepped over to Aaron's spasming form, clicked a button on the black device in his hand, and pocketed it. He stooped down on one knee. "Ready to talk?" 

********************* 

A/N: Ah...the reunion we all waited for, am I right? Okay, maybe not, but I do hope you got some enjoyment out of that and relished in the drama a bit. If you did, don't forget to vote and comment. 

And while we're here, who's grateful for Ace? He kinda showed up outta nowhere in the previous book, and now we're certainly glad to have him. Or at least I am. 😆 

Well, I'm in a bit of a time crunch this morning, as I forgot about Daylight Savings, I've got church later, and I would like to get a little reading done here as well, so I'll just cut to the random question: What's something you probably take for granted? 

(Well, I just took my saxophone into the shop for some general maintenance, and until then, I'm playing a crappy loaner that's a student model. So I definitely realize I've taken homeboy for granted, lol.) 

Alright, have an awesome day, and I hope to see you in Saturday's update six days from now!