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Episode 3: Calm Waters

"Many people say that destiny and fate is a road, something that we can walk freely or not at all. Contrary to this, it is actually a river. It continuously moves, taking us with it. We can try to swim against the tide, try to change the paths we've taken and sometimes, with enough strength, we can do it. But other times, we are just swept away and forced to make a decision that we have to live with."

_ _

Penelope Warsmith

Fate, Destiny and Free Will

Joanna's penetrating, accusing glare was almost enough to cause Jacob to withdraw his statement.

Almost.

It was, however, more than enough to keep him from spouting another insult. Knowing full well that Sierra was horrified to find her 'little pup' in a compromising situation with a Branded - let alone Max - was enough to give Jacob pause. The last thing he wanted was a fight with the Elemental Lord after she had effectively saved him.

Sierra just stared wide-eyed at the two who stood at the top of the stairs. Both Max and James Canis stared back with absolute horror. The silence was stifling. There was little way to worm out of the situation. It was clear as the waters of Angelsea what they had been up to.

"You're growing up."

Jacob flicked his gaze away from the embarrassed Alsatian and dragon, focusing on Sierra who regarded the two with a soft, motherly gaze. Her nutty-brown eyes were filled with a flicker of disappointment and perhaps a tinge of surprise but more than anything, she seemed quite... accepting.

"You're... You're not mad?" Canis asked, his voice shaking softly.

"How could I be?" Sierra answered hobbling forward, her cane clicking on the floor lightly. "To be honest, I'm rather relieved that you decided to use that thing for something!" She let out a soft, gentle laugh, pointing at Canis' semi-erect cock. "Every time you told me about a 'girlfriend', you always sounded like you were just saying that to appease me. As time went by, I began wondering if you were even sexually active!"

She threw her head back with a laugh. "I actually began thinking you would die out on the field alone!"

Canis seemed relieved though Max still looked horrified. His gaze said everything. It was like he was trying to telepathically scream to everyone that he wasn't gay. The evidence was against him and considering how he was covered in most of the semen, he was effectively damned. Jacob felt a dozen accusations and insults bubbling in his throat but...

... he held them.

Spectre gave him a startled look.

"Wait... You're not going to say anything? You're not going to make some silly innuendo like... 'Looks like Canis branded you'? Or how about 'Would you like some pie with your cream'? Maybe even 'Where can I get a pearl necklace like that'?"

I was going to say, 'My turn'...

"But...?"

Jacob had to frown slightly.

I'm just wondering if my parents would have reacted the same as Sierra if I told them I was into cock and I actually loved getting penetrated...

Spectre looked both shocked and horrified. "Wait... Really...?"

Is it so hard to believe that I'm starting to think of more than sex and fighting?

"Actually, I was asking about the fact that you prefer to be a bottom..."

Jacob swatted at his Animus with a faint growl and turned back to the two caught naked on top of the stairs. By now, Max and Canis had found it in themselves to cover up their exposed parts though with Canis it was a little more difficult considering his size. Sierra told them both to get cleaned up before the children emerged from hiding and they hurried away.

The two slipped away, heads bowed and paws covering their privates.

Sierra watched them go, tilting her head to the side slightly curiously. Perhaps it was her motherly gaze that made them hurry out of sight. They returned a moment later, muttering something about clean clothes being downstairs, both blushing deeply as they strode down the stairs. Jacob likened the scene to a couple being presented on a walkway. He was half-tempted to make some sort of wolf-call but decided against it.

He'd make them suffer later.

When both were out of sight, Sierra let out a deep sigh and turned to the Branded. "Before you ask, I knew."

"Knew that your little pup was sticking his 'little pup' in other men?" Kerry asked with a hint of revulsion.

"I am not without my resources," the Elemental Lord responded with a curt nod. "Every child that leaves this city I watch carefully. They are my children."

"Are you barren as well as old?" Jacob responded.

He got a sound whack to his shoulder for that. Joanna stared daggers at him but he just rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Sierra.

The hunched squirrel merely shook her head sadly. "I am sure I can still have children. If you want to watch me have my period, you're welcome to it." Jacob cringed but before he could reply, she continued. "But the only man I have ever held hope for bearing my children is the very man we seek to depose and murder."

Spectre perched on his shoulder again. "I think this is the point in time that you cleverly shut your muzzle."

No way.

"That's something I still don't quite understand," Jacob said. "You loved Balthazar. He dumped you because you're old, wrinkled and grey." His paw snapped out behind him, catching Joanna's wrist before her paw could slap the back of his head again. The vixen's eyes showed her surprise but he ignored them for the moment. "Or maybe he has some weird epiphany when that accident occurred back when my dad was alive. Either way, he threw you out on your sorry, wrinkly ass."

Sierra just offered a gentle smile. She was expecting his next blow and bracing herself. Probably readying her own counterattack.

Bring it.

"So are you in this for the revenge?" he accused. "You're planning to get back at him using us? With all your resources, I'm sure you couldn't invited him to your place long ago and slid a knife between his ribs while he was busy turning his nose away from you. Why are you acting now of all times?"

"Because her own time is limited," Joanna snapped, prising her wrist away from him. "I doubt she has much time left in this world."

Jacob returned her outburst with a sharp stare. "And yet she knew her time was shorter than most." His sapphire-blue eyes flicked back towards Sierra. "What I want to know is why act now when Balthazar is at his strongest. Yeah, he's down two Elemental Lords but he's building a space station that runs along the planet's equator. He's got MODD's full support and probably more Seals in his back pocket than I have sperm in my balls."

Kerry blushed and softly, she muttered, "Couldn't you have picked a less sexual simile...?"

He ignored her, keeping his eyes fixated on Sierra. "So why now? Why us?"

The Elemental Lord nodded sagely, still keeping her gentle slime to the point that it was starting to set Jacob's fangs on edge, making them rub against each other nervously. Sierra Seasinger turned her back to them, regarding the flight of stairs where James and Max had occupied a moment ago. "Not many people can stop a Purge. I sent one of my Purge machines against to answer a distress call from Graesham. It was destroyed. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the very same people who destroyed it stand in front of me right now."

Her gentle eyes turned back towards them. It seemed to take an eternity for her to shuffle around to face them once more. "I don't understand the power you all possess but it clearly rivals that of the Seals. Do I want revenge on Balthazar for breaking my heart? No. I still love him to some degree. Do I want him dead? Yes. Why? Because he is a threat to Mortaelis."

She held up her paw, halting Jacob's next question. "Before I answer more of your questions, answer mine." Their gazes locked. Jacob found it difficult to maintain the eye contact. There was wisdom and power beneath those watery, brown eyes. "Why do you wish to see Balthazar dead?"

"Revenge," Jacob answered without hesitation. "He ruined my life. Took my family away from me and all for some grab for power."

Sierra shook her head sadly. Her eyes went to Joanna. "Tell me, my dear, why do you seek Balthazar dead?"

Joanna hesitated, her eyes flicking towards Jacob for a few moments. The instant their eyes met, he knew that their paths just diverged and they would never see eye to eye on this particular subject ever again.

"Because I believe MODD is destroying Mortaelis. Knowing where Seals come from and their wanton use of the planet's resources... It makes me sick. I don't just want Balthazar stopped. I want all of MODD brought down."

"An admirable goal but the world has become too reliant on MODD," Sierra responded. "MODD holds the majority of the world's economy in its grip ever since the Seal War. If it were to topple, Mortaelis would be plunged into anarchy. Governments would never be able to recover financially and without the power of the Seals MODD provides, the world would suddenly be blind, deaf, mute and lame."

"If everyone is crippled, it gives them a chance to learn to walk again together," Jacob grumbled. "The only threat they'd have to worry about at that point were if aliens were to invade. And at least I've already had my ass probed so I've done my preparation."

He was ignored. Joanna seemed unwavering in her conviction. Her eyes were firm, steely and cold. While she couldn't lift them to meet Sierra's gaze, they were unmoving. Her paws were clenched tightly but her long, red tail was wrapped around her leg like she was trying to hide something.

Maybe she's ashamed...?

Sierra's eyes left the vixen, turning to Kerry who jumped a little upon meeting her gaze. "And you, my dear? What is your objective? Why do you seek Balthazar's death?"

The doe seemed to fight exceptionally hard to keep her gaze from dropping and for the most part she won. Her voice, however, wavers and shook as she said, "Balthazar is a threat. The damage he has done all in his search for power is proof that he has to be stopped."

Sierra's eyebrows tilted slightly, showing worry on her features and disappointment in her eyes. "That is not the truth. I can hear it in your words. Balthazar is not your goal, is it?"

I always suspected... I always wondered why she was coming with us. She really had no stake in this except that her friends are coming for the ride and that she's Branded.

Is that enough, though?

"It's a goal," Kerry answered curtly. "But not my highest priority..."

I wonder what she wants...

... for that matter... I wonder what the rest of the Branded want...

"I see you finally understand, Jacob."

His eyes switched back to the squirrel, a venomous glare in his sapphire orbs. "It's nothing I didn't already suspect."

"Don't act so confident," she replied, tapping her walking stick against his leg sharply. He pulled back his leg one step. "You were so focused on your own goal that you failed to see if the goals and objectives of your team are even inline with your own."

"They aren't my team."

Spectre sucked in air between his fangs. Jacob instantly knew he had said the wrong thing. He felt Kerry's gaze on him, impassive but with venom hiding behind the blank stare. Joanna was watching him, waiting for that corrective remark telling Sierra that the Branded were his friends. But he couldn't bring himself to make that claim.

Sierra was right. He barely knew those he was travelling with.

Why was Taylor following him?

Max hated him, so why was he coming along?

Rex was his half-brother for a few weeks but had been an Elemental Lord for years. Why turn in favour of half-diluted blood now?

How could he call them 'friends' let alone a 'team' when he didn't know them at all?

"Explain why they fought alongside you all this time then," Spectre challenged.

Responsibility... he thought, the answer coming to him as easily as predicting his next breath. They're bound by a thin thread... Something goes wrong and they respond because they have the power to set it right.

"If you wish to work together," Sierra said, lifting her walking stick. She pointed to them each in turn. "You must know each other. I, as your instructor, will tell you now, if you cannot trust others with you, you will surely fail." Lowering her cane, she grasped it with both hands and looked down sullenly. "Just as I trust you all. I am not as capable as I was years ago before my... affliction."

Her eyes rose, meeting Jacob's. "You ask why I decided to act now instead of ten years ago when I was still youthful and strong? Because I was still in love with Balthazar. He pushed me away but you must know that we mortals desire what we cannot have and Balthazar broke my heart, leaving a hole that only he could fill.

"Why trust you?" She let out a soft, bitter laugh. "Because look at me!" Her arms spread and for the first time, Jacob really saw her for what she was. A frail woman with the vigour and ambition of someone her age but trapped in the aging, frail body of someone twice her age. "My heart weighed me down and now it is too late for me to act on my own. I need the help of others to just lift my wrinkly ass off the toilet seat!"

Despite her words, she was laughing. It wasn't a dry or cynical laughter but one of pure amusement.

"I think she's crazy."

Yeah? Well I'm having a mental conversation with the sentient representation of the magical symbol that was bound to my very soul me at an early age.

"You should really get that checked."

Shut up, you.

"The people of this city would gladly help you off the toilet seat."

All eyes went straight to the stairs. James Canis came striding down fully dressed in MODD officer armour and with his fur wet and in clumps. Clearly, he had a shower. Jacob couldn't help but wonder if he and Max became a little too active in the shower. As much as he loved the idea that Canis pounded Max's ass into submission and left the chubby dragon twitching and sore on the shower floor, he also felt a tightening in his jeans at the mental image of Canis' cut, muscular body wet and nude.

He shook the thought quickly from his mind.

Damnit!

You're with Leo! And he's a hundred times hotter than this snarky snob!

"They'd probably wipe your ass too if you asked," Canis added, coming to stand a few feet from Sierra. "You just don't want us to go to war. You know everyone in your army knows what Balthazar did, right? We all know the asshole deserves what's coming to him and all you have to do is say the word and we'd tear up Rillotia for you."

The Elemental Lord of Water shook her head firmly. "And that is exactly why I will not let anyone fight for me with that mentality." She lifted her cane, jabbing Canis' chest with the blunt end. "You have no stake in this except for your loyalty to me. These people..." - she gestured at Jacob and the rest of the Branded - "... have been personally affected by Balthazar. They have something to gain from seeing him fall." She jabbed his chest again but he didn't stagger. "You just want to fight because of me."

"That's very noble of her..." Spectre observed.

No it isn't...

Jacob snorted loudly. "So you'll send the guys you barely know on a suicide mission to kill your former lover?"

"You're an idiot if you think she's not trying to at least make it worth your while," Canis snarled. "She's offering to train you, isn't she? She's putting herself at risk for this. What do you think the world will say if this all goes to shit?"

"He does have a point..."

If they failed to kill Balthazar, it would become evident that Sierra was part of the plot or at least fall under suspicion. Could a single Elemental Lord stand against the might of the rest of MODD? They had Marcus in Pollenburn and Rocky was wandering Rillotia sowing propaganda into the masses and Rex was certainly with them but was that enough to fight against the remaining Elemental Lords?

"You're just thinking of ExIT. What about ANVIL and SWORD? MODD extends beyond just the Elemental Lords."

"We can't afford an all-out war," Sierra said, her eyes fixated on Joanna. "Bringing down Balthazar carelessly will plunge all of Mortaelis into war. Remember, MODD is originally based in Minteroca."

"You think they're grip here is strong?" Canis supplemented. "Think again. I've been to their headquarters in the southern continent. The Primarchs are far superior to the Elemental Lords."

The what...?

Spectre tapped his shoulder with a paw lightly. "The Primarchs are the commanding officers of SWORD. They are meant to possess the greatest Seals second only to the Eternal Seal. They are unrestricted by the Elements. Last I heard, one of them was newly inducted and he was granted something called the 'Oblivion Seal'."

Jacob felt a chill run down his spine at the name. That doesn't sound appealing...

The Animus' wings folded around his body like he was trying to warm himself from some chill. "From what I remember, it could destroy anything. Absolutely anything at the cost of blood proportionate to the mass of the object being destroyed."

He gave his Animus a raised eyebrow. Please don't tell me the guy is a vampire...

"_She _isn't. But the Oblivion Seal never said it had to use her blood."

Again, that chill.

"If the Primarchs take the field," Canis murmured softly, "we're royally screwed. We've got to make sure that this conflict stays within ExIT." His eyes locked with Jacob's and he navigated around Sierra to stand in front of him. It surprised Jacob that they stood at exactly the same height. "So you better show some gratitude, crotchsniffer!"

Jacob bristled.

"Don't take the bait..."

His hackles rose and his lips peeled back, fangs bared.

He took the bait.

"Funny thing calling me a crotchsniffer when you were the one just caught with man-cream all over your chest!"

Canis didn't back down. "At least I know when I'm just having sex for the hell of it." He cast a quick glance at Sierra. "Sorry," he added, before turning back to Jacob. "I don't delude myself with the grandeur of 'love' and 'mateship'." The Alsatian hiked a thumb over his shoulder and, coincidentally, Max had taken the last step off the stairs. "That thing back there? It was hormones. I was horny. My balls were about to explode and I had so much cum bottled up that I was pissing semen. Fuck, I bet the poor girl that next uses half the toilets in this place might find themselves pregnant!"

Again, he turned to Sierra and apologised quickly.

Jacob's counter died in his throat when Canis spun back towards him and continued his barrage.

"You though..." The ANVIL sergeant let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh god... Where do I start?" He spread his arms wide, as if welcoming others to give him an idea. "Whoever you fuck gets your little Brand and because of that, they're exiled and forced to follow you around for the sake of survival. Either that, or MODD tears them apart all because of you got pissy over your daddy issues and went around stealing, murdering and just being a general asshole! It's like you've got and politically, socially and physically damning STD!"

"Okay... Ouch..."

"James..." Sierra began but the Alsatian raised a paw at her, holding her back.

"Let's talk about your little 'revenge' now," Canis said. "Your daddy experimented on you, Balthazar had him killed and then had you confined. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Balthazar actually doing what was right for the world?"

"What!?" Jacob's cry was mirrored by both Kerry and Joanna.

Canis pointed at Jacob accusingly. "He holds the power to undo Seals, right? Didn't Sierra just say that if MODD went down, they'd take the Seals with them and that'd lead to anarchy? He has the power to break Seals! If that were you, wouldn't you think you'd chain up the guy that could undo the very laws of the world?"

Rage bubbled in Jacob's throat but something kept it down. His mind flicked back to stories he remembered reading from books he stole and movies he snuck into during his years as a rogue and renegade. In many of them, the bad guy was always imprisoned because they held the power to destroy the world. The heroes were tasked to either stop the prison breaking or stop the minions from freeing that malevolent force.

Am I the bad guy...?

"Look here," Joanna began, stepping up, "Jacob was wronged as a child! He didn't deserve to be experimented on and imprisoned for simply being born!"

"Well life isn't fair," Canis countered shortly. "It's in his nature to destroy the world. Look what he's doing! He's taking down the Elemental Lords one by one on little more provocation that some dead, crazy Elemental Lord giving him a target!"

"Hey!" Jacob was acting before he knew what he was doing. Light sprang from his left paw, shaping a bright, white blade of reshaped light. It burned the air around its glimmering, crystal-like form. He levelled it at Canis' nose but the Alsatian didn't even move. "Don't you dare talk about Gale that way! He broke down when he learned about the truth behind the Seals. Anyone would."

"Then is that what you did?" Canis accused, fixing him with a penetrating stare. "Gale Winthrop gave you some arbitrary information that Balthazar is to blame for all the wrongs in your life and without even verifying his information, you decided to go on some 'holy crusade' or 'epic quest' to stop the big bad guy sitting at the top of big evil tower?"

Jacob didn't falter. "Tell me I'm wrong then. Tell me that Balthazar doesn't deserve to die."

"Don't get me wrong," the sergeant replied, a cruel smirk on his features. "I want Balthazar dead because of what he did to Lady Sierra. But you..." He took a step towards Jacob. He would have been impaled on the shimmering white blade but Jacob felt his arm bend and his blade dropped to his side. "... ask yourself this... your father was the one that gave you those powers, wasn't he? He used MODD resources to experiment on you. Yeah, his experiments were more 'gentle' but he was the one that started the process. What do you think he was building in you, huh? The power to break Seals? The power to undo everything that MODD stood for? Was he looking for the same 'Ultimate Seal' that Balthazar is supposedly searching and he was willing to use his own son to that end?

"Now answer me this: is Balthazar really the bad guy here when all he wanted to do was to stop the anarchist that Isaac Reaper was making? Wasn't he just locking up the living weapon that could undo the world's already shaky foundation?"

...

Jacob was speechless. His jaw felt heavy, falling slack and unresponsive to his mental commands. Even as Spectre stood on his shoulder, growling, Jacob couldn't find it in himself to counter.

"And let's talk about your 'daddy issues'," Canis continued, taking another step forward. He was practically breathing down on Jacob. Despite them being the same height, the wolf felt so much smaller. He tried to hold his head up but it was feeling heavier and heavier with each passing moment. "How much do you really know your father, huh? Do you 'love' him because he's your daddy? Have you even considered what he has done?"

He told me to run...

He tried to save me...

... but save me from what...?

Did he just try to save me from the consequences of his own actions...?

Was I just a research tool to him? When he told me to run, was it because I was his son... or because I was too valuable...?

"Jacob, you can't think that," Spectre insisted. "He is - I mean - was your father. He loved you."

You can't know that Spectre.

"Then what about the summer house? Isn't that a sign that he loved you?"

He thought back to that dilapidated house but gave his Animus no response.

"And while we're on the topic of love," Canis said.

"James!" Sierra snapped. "Don't!"

But he didn't stop.

"I get around," the Alsatian said. "I fuck, I get fucked and fuck I fuck. But I don't delude myself that it's all part of something big or meaningful. It's hormones, loneliness, curiosity or a big fat, 'why the hell not?'. Fact is, I know when sex is meaningless. But you..." Jacob suddenly found himself nose to nose with James Canis. "You really think what you feel for Leonardo Custer is real? I mean, the guy is head over heels for you! He's giving you himself, following you to hell and back and you get to fuck him to boot! But what do you give him in return?

"You drag his innocent ass halfway across the world, throwing constant dangers at him and you don't even give him more reason than 'because I'm angry'. It's like he's your pet dog that you drag along on a leash and fuck occasionally! Seriously! What do you offer in the relationship?" Canis stepped back, throwing his head over his shoulder and letting out a barking laugh. "Oh that's right! You gave him a nasty sex disease that made a shiny mark appear on his body that makes him buff, big and ready to fight in your freak show of an army!"

He's...

... he's right.

What am I giving Leo except power...?

Do I even really love him...?

He pursed his lips... then gave a few firm nods. His eyes lifted, locking with Canis. Even with his vision blurred from the tears, he still somehow managed a smile. "You know what? You're right."

A stunned silence fell on the room.

"Jacob..." Joanna began. He felt her paw on his shoulder but it was like cold ice on a festering wound and he shrugged her off.

"You're right about everything," he finished, shrugging absently. "I'm a mess. I told myself I would let myself look back, embrace my past and who I was but really... What was I doing but just hoping that moving forward will conveniently get me in the same place as where my memories lay?" He shook his head, running a paw through his hair and laughing absently. "And what reason do I really have for hating Balthazar? He screwed me over years ago... Crap, I can't even remember how long it's been since I escaped that facility! Did I even escape? Was it all just memories planted for my convenience? Who is to say Balthazar isn't just letting me hate him so I have some purpose in life?"

"Don't say that," Joanna insisted. "Balthazar needs to die, Jake."

"And there," he snapped, pointing at her. "That name. Even now I can't hear that name without coming within an inch of a heart attack!" He took a step back, arms spread wide and laughing hysterically. "You're absolutely right, Canis! I've got the makings of the villain here. I've got the royally screwed past, the emotionless, uncaring relationship, army of juiced up commanders and hell, I'm even crossing the country conquering one place at a time!"

"Jacob..."

"And you know what?" Jacob said, taking one more step back. He stood on the verge of the orphanage's entrance. "Before the gallant, shiny hero comes along and rips my heart out to the rejoicing of all the people..." He gave one last nod, letting his arms fall to his sides with a sound thwap. "I quit."

Again, that stunned silence.

"What!?" Kerry exclaimed incredulously. "You can't just can't quit! We've got too much invested in this!"

"What exactly have you got invested in this?" he accused. "Your friends are in danger so you come along to make sure they don't fall into danger? You're branded criminals now so you can't just walk into town and buy your next designer handbag? Seems to me that we've been doing a lot of just marching into towns and no one has ever given us a second glance. Well..." He dusted his paws theatrically. "Problem solved. Sierra, invite Balthazar to dinner but I'm having no part in attempting to murder him. Go ahead with your plan but me... Well..." He bowed. "I never had a plan so if you don't mind, I'm going to go find some guy who looks like me, murder him, take his identity then maybe I'll find some real purpose in my life. Or take up painting."

He spun on his heel and marched out of the Orphanage just as Rex, Taylor and Leo came marching back in.

"Jake -" Rex began but he just stormed right past them.

For a moment, he locked gazes with Leo and his 'mate' seemed so worried but he didn't give him a second glance and continued his charge. Far behind him, he heard Rex ask, 'What did we miss?'

Once beyond the gates of the orphanage, Jacob seized his left shoulder, his Brand glowing beneath his fingers. With a cry, he summoned Spectre, his Animus appearing beside him in a flash of light.

"Jake, you can't -" the winged wolf began.

"Shut up," he snarled. His arm snapped out, pointing in some arbitrary distance. "Go."

Spectre's eyes went wide, startled. "What...? Jake -"

"I said go! I don't want to see you ever again!"

"What? But... We've always been together! You can't just send me off like that -"

"I can and I will!" He stared at Spectre, blue eyes burning with anger. "And you know what?" He seized the bands binding his coat, tearing his coat from his shoulders and throwing it to the ground. "I'm done with all of this shit. I've done nothing but ruin people's lives!"

"You saved the people of Pollenburn! You thwarted Belford's plan and freed Rocky!"

"But did I do it because I wanted to?" he snapped back. "No! I did it so I could pull them all into war. I'm done being that guy." He dug his claws into his skull drawing blood. The stinging grew intense after a minute so he pulled his paw away. "No more... I'm not fighting for anything."

"Revenge...?" Spectre offered meekly.

"Do you have any idea how bad that even sounds? Revenge for what? I'm not even sure what Balthazar did!"

"He killed your father!"

"Who experimented on me, drove my mother into another man's arms and it sounds like he was trying to reach the realm of the gods and totally fuck over the world! Who wants to be that man's son!?"

Spectre suddenly puffed out his chest, eyes piercing. "No one gets to choose their parents but they are still bound by blood. Love them, hate them, it doesn't matter. Your parents gave you life so at the very least, you could return the favour to the bastards who spilled that very same blood!"

"Says who?" Jacob sneered.

"I say so!" Spectre growled, spreading his wings threateningly. "You're going to march back into that orphanage, tell everyone you had a bout of crazy and are back on track and you're going to find a way to kill Balthazar!"

"And I suppose you're going to make me?"

"If I have to, yes."

Jacob stared at his Animus for a long moment, saw the determination in those eyes and for the first time... really saw what Spectre wanted. It made him laugh.

"Wow... so it's really come to this, huh?"

"I guess so..." Spectre murmured softly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not..." He looked to the stars, sighing softly. "You know what? My father never taught me how to swim. You taught me."

A smile touched Spectre's lips. "Yeah... I did. It was cute how your fur always fluffed out right after getting out of the ocean."

"Yeah... And I also remembered you mentioning that with those wings of yours..." He gestured at Spectre's wings. "You find it really difficult to swim."

"Well... The curse of being able to fly is -"

WHAM!

Jacob's foot rang and shivered from the strike. It felt like he had struck his own heart but he had steeled it a few minutes ago. Spectre flung over the edge of the canal and hit the water with a resounding splash. He didn't dare peer over the edge unless he decided to change his mind.

"Jacob!"

He wasn't sure who shouted his name if it was Spectre or one of his 'friends' back at the orphanage. But he bolted down the street at high speeds, putting all his power into his legs. Angelsea went by as a blur. The devastation and beauty of the world around him just went by as a mix of colour, making him think about the life he had missed.

On paper, his little 'campaign' seemed so good. So perfect. Beautiful even. Get the support of the Elemental Lords or kill them. Then, go after Balthazar. But there were so many holes in the plan. Most of all was the fact that it was very in line with the plans of a supervillain.

Plans, just like Angelsea he realised, were fragile. It was nice and pretty but it could be easily broken by the slightest, altered variable.

Well...

I'm changing a variable.

He stopped his charge, staring at a familiar the dilapidated porch. Something drove him to mount those rotted steps and push open the shattered door. The smell of mildew and rot hung in the air, making him sneeze a couple of times. Even in the darkness, he could make out the marks of where furniture used to stand. He stared at the silhouettes, trying to conjure some memory he knew was in the recesses of his memory. All he came up with was the knowledge that this used to be his family's summer home.

Undeterred, he marched through the lounge room and entered a dining room sitting directly adjacent to a kitchen. A small window stood in the wall separating the kitchen that allowed the cook to pass meals directly from the hot stove. Jacob couldn't recall ever smelling any dishes or meals wafting from that window.

A flight of stairs led upstairs. With measured steps, he took them one at a time. The sixth step broke under his weight, making him curse as spiders spilled out from the hole and his shoes crunched against the bones of a feral mouse that had lain there to die. The dust in the air seemed to form shapes and shadows in the moonlight but none of them were even vaguely familiar.

His heart felt empty even though just an hour or so ago, before the battle with Neptune, he felt elated and thrilled standing on the porch of this house built held together by cobwebs and rot. The door immediately to his right led to a library that spanned both storeys of the house. The walls were lined with empty shelves with windows breaking through them every now and then. A single path led around the rim of the second floor like a balcony. A flight of frail stairs led to the first where a writing desk stood.

Jacob vaulted over the rotting railings and landed on the first floor with a soft thud. The floorboards creaked under his weight and he held himself there for a moment longer to make sure he wasn't about to fall into the basement.

He approached the writing desk.

It was blank, empty.

Even as he lifted the rim to reveal the compartment underneath, he found only moths and spiders.

Should've expected that... MODD would've cleaned this place out...

Cutting his losses with the room, he worked his way back up the stairs but stopped when he saw a flicker of green right beside the stairs.

It was a book.

Gently, he brushed off the dust on the book's surface and winced when he realised the green colouring came from mould. He gingerly opened the pages...

"The Little Snow Girl... Huh..."

Nostalgia strangely gave way to the rest of his emotions. He pressed his back against the shelves and slowly slid down to the crouch, setting the book on his lap. Slowly, he flipped to the first page.

"'There was once a little girl,'" he read aloud, "'who lived unloved by her family. Every day, she would be thrown out of her home and forced to make sculptures from the snow and sell them. One bitterly cold night, the sun had set and she had not sold a single sculpture. Fearing the beating she would receive from her father, she crouched in the snow and sculpted a feast for herself...'"

A richly seasoned turkey with thick, creamy gravy. Potatoes mashed with milk, cream and cheese. Ham glazed to perfection decorated with pineapples and infused with cloves...

He flipped through the pages, reading the story slowly and searching for some fragment of a memory. Sadly, he could only find the fact that this book was his favourite. He didn't know why or when he had first read it.

The fact that he adored the book suddenly felt so empty.

Is anything I know from my past even real_...?_

"Why dwell on it?"

Jacob lifted his head. Black sand wrapped around his shoes and an inky black sea surrounded the small, island. Gnarled, barren trees reached out from the oily sea. His back was pressed against a coffin standing vertically on the centre of the island.

Zack, his guardian angel, stood a few feet away, smiling at him benignly.

"Why do you need a past? Embrace it but don't dwell on it. The past cannot be undone and it does not have to be the reason for you to move forward."

"Says you," Jacob muttered, rising from where he was crouched. "Seems to me all everyone does around me is because of the past. Gale couldn't take that the entire city that had been home was used to power his Seal so he broke down. Rocky's past was erased because her father and Belford used that to control her. Sierra is using Balthazar's past actions as a prediction of what he will do in the future."

He shook his head at the white, winged angel. "But you know what? We can't use the past to predict the future. But we still need to help us move on." His thoughts went back to the paintings and sculptures in the art exhibit he had visited with Joanna. "It's just like Joanna told me... Every piece of art has an intention, a message. If it doesn't, it's open to interpretation but idiots like me and we just mess it up entirely."

"But if I recall correctly, the original artists of that particular painting you commented on... What was it...?"

"'The Hypocrisy of Mortal Existence'."

"Right. Did the artist not mention he appreciated that you took his work from a different angle?" Zack spread his arms and wings. "The past, like art, is open to interpretation, Jacob! You can take it one way or you can take it another! Or don't take it at all. You don't need a past to make more."

"I don't," he agreed, nodding firmly. "But I want one."

Zack gave him a half-exasperated and half-joking smile like a father reprimanding his child. "And why is that, Jake? Why do you need the past? You've done so well so far without it."

"Well?" Jacob growled. "What have I done exactly? For years I've stolen, lied, cheated and never had any purpose. Then, when the fragment of one drops on my lap, I snatch at it and follow it on some random course, causing the death of countless of people and the ruin of many others! All that because I have no purpose."

"I thought your resolution from your adventures in Graesham was that you would take your past and embrace it regardless of what it held." Zack spoke with even, patient tones. It irritated Jacob. "Would you truly change your course even if your past held nothing of importance?"

"This isn't about my past!" he howled. "It's about my goddamn purpose! Where I'm going and how I'll get there!" He slumped back against the coffin. "I guess I was just hoping that if I looked back far enough, I'd know where I could go. But it seems like the more I look back, the more I realise I'm going the wrong way."

Zack leaned on the coffin, smiling brightly. "It takes a man to finish his the path he is on. Children start again and leave loose ends. At least see this path closed, Jacob, so you don't leave hearts waiting."

Jacob closed his eyes... thinking about all the people who were relying on him to kill Balthazar and end this conflict. Joanna wanted - no, needed - Balthazar dead. Her heart was set on it. Kerry... She probably wanted Joanna and Taylor safe and both of them were committed to seeing MODD extinguished. Well... Taylor was probably looking for the adventure of a lifetime. Leo... The horny little guy just wanted to find where he belonged and maybe more.

Max... Max was a mystery. He had no connection to the rest of the group at all except for being Branded and yet he still hung around.

He couldn't let them down...

... not even Max.

"You're right..." he whispered.

Zack sighed in relief. "Good. Now how do you feel about being buried alive?"

Jacob felt the coffin starting to tilt towards him and he imagined that was how he would 'wake up' this time.

But... just this little reality ended... he thought of everyone else.

Not Joanna, not Taylor, Max, Rex, Kerry or Leo.

Not even Sierra or James Canis.

Everyone else.

Those people living their lives out normally blissfully unaware of the Branded's fight against MODD. The Joes and Janes of Rillotia who brought up their kids to be good little men and women who would stand up for what was right. The bullies, the corporate fat cats, the broken hearted, the hopeful preachers, the gentle philanthropists and the average who just hovered in the middle.

Could he let them down...?

Thunk.

Zack blinked several times in surprise. Jacob's paw pushed the coffin back and he slowly rose to his feet, shoving the casket back and letting it fall over away from him.

"You're right, Zack," he said. "I have to end this path to stop people from getting hurt. That's why I'm going to end it now."

"What exactly to you mean...?" the angel asked warily.

A plan formulated in his mind. "I'll go back to Sierra and tell her to just call off the dinner and the plot. I'll convince Joanna and the others somehow to stop. Maybe I'll tell them that without me, they couldn't possibly fight Balthazar. If they still want to go on their path, I'll wash my paws of them. It's not my fight anymore. I'll go to Rocky and Marcus. I'll call it off. Yes, I started this, but I'll give it to someone else to finish because honestly..." He gave the angel a crooked smile. "I'm no good at leading people. You've seen me. I'm just so focused on my goal that I'm not stopping to think of everyone else and who I'm hurting... It's time I stopped that."

Zack looked conflicted. For the first time, he seemed to be speechless. "Jacob... That's... very... mature of you." He swallowed hard. "However... Cutting the bud before it can blossom into a flower will kill both the bud and the stalk. You have to finish this."

Jacob let out a soft laugh. "Where do you get these analogies? Do you have a book of them somewhere?" He then broke into a strangely natural, bright grin. "Wait, that's what you do here all day, isn't it? Seriously, what do you do while I'm not here?"

"Masturbate," Zack muttered sarcastically. "Jacob, listen to my words. Balthazar needs to die. You are committed to this act. You can't simply quit."

"I can and I just did." Jacob crossed his arms against his chest. "Call it 'breaking a contract'. People do it all the time. I just did."

"People's lives are at stake!"

"Every time someone quits, that's exactly what happens. Maybe Joanna can take over. She's strong enough. Hell, she's got more stable powers than I do. Seriously, what can I do with 'Light' and 'Sound'? Blind and deafen people? Come on! Even my 'light swords' are just a flashy way of poking people with lasers. Easily replicated by modern technology. She can move mountains and flood cities!"

"No!" Zack shouted, aggravated. "You must do it! It will offer you closure for your father's death."

Rolling his eyes, Jacob said, "Right... my father. Let's recap. What kind of father was he exactly?" He tapped his chin as if trying to ponder the question. Then he widened his eyes, opened his jaw in a soft cry of enlightenment and lifted a finger into the air. "Oh right! He's the kind that experiments on his own kid, doesn't give a damn when his wife goes off and bones another guy and messes with the fabric of reality!

"And what gives you the impression that he only wanted you for the purposes of his experiments?" Zack countered, his aggravation still showing.

"The prophecy," Jacob replied shortly and with conviction.

The angel's face fell.

"Gotcha, didn't I?" he accused. "The prophecy spoke all about one key and five locks." Jacob gestured at himself. "Only my Brand seems to be able to make other Branded. One key. We have another five Branded. Joanna, Kerry, Taylor, Leo and Max. Five locks. My dad found out about this and I'm willing to bet that he knew I was the key. I bet he was trying to get me to make those five other locks."

Zack's eyes widened briefly then he shook his head vigorously. "No... No that can't be right." He cupped his own chin with one paw, his brow furrowed deep in thought. "It's a coincidence that you five met... Chance... or is it fate... It was a prophecy... But there were meant to be two keys... One key to open the locks and the other to defeat whoever stands at the Empty Throne..."

Jacob flicked his ears towards the angel. "Uh... What...?"

He got a raised paw for silence.

"I always thought you were the key meant to defy destiny... But six Brands... could it be...? No..."

"Zack..." Jacob shook his head, a nervous laugh filtering from between his lips. "You're talking like you know the prophecy."

"Of course I know the prophecy!" he snapped. "Now quiet! I'm thinking!"

Jacob's features hardened and he straightened. "How?"

"I don't know!" Zack sliced through the air with his paw. "It should have been that you were the key wield Realmbreaker. That was what was agreed! We traded places so that you'd specifically be the one! You're stronger! Our world would make you stronger than the other one!"

"Other one...?" Jacob repeated. He shook his head twice. "What are you talking about, Zack? How do you know all this?" Then he blinked several times. "Oh my god..."

The angel stopped his pondering, his eyes wide as their gazes locked.

"Oh my god..." Jacob repeated.

Zack sighed heavily. "Jacob, son, I can explain..."

"You're Spectre!"

For a few seconds, Zack blinked several times.

"That must be it!" Jacob accused, pointing at the angel. "You're just Spectre in my head! That's why whatever you say tends to fall in line with whatever Spectre says! God! I'm such an idiot!" He spun around throwing his paws into the air. "Shit! I'm glad I didn't listen to you!" He turned again towards Zack, growling. "Is this how you've been manipulating me!? You act like my friend out there" - he jabbed a finger out into the distance - "and in here, you're like my 'guardian angel'!?"

"Jacob -"

"Shut up! Just shut the fuck up!" He took several steps away even as Zack advanced. "I told you to go away! I don't ever want to see you, you lying, manipulative, son-of-a-bitch!"

"Just listen to -"

"I'm done listening to you! I've done so my entire life and all that's ever led to is what little of my life I have imploding around me! I have some friends now and I could actually make them friends but instead, you're pushing me to great lengths to go on some crazy vendetta against Balthazar!"

Jacob's feet brushed against the waves of the ocean.

"That's because -"

"Why!?" he barked. "Why, Zack? Spectre? Why do you want to ruin my life!?"

The next words he did not expect.

"Because I'm your father!"

...

Jacob's jaw dropped. "Say that one more time."

Zack took a deep breath and said, "I'm your father, Jacob."

...

"Still not sinking in. Do you have a jackhammer handy?"

"Just..." Zack lifted his paws and clenched it several times. "Jacob... You're my son. I am Isaac Reaper."

Then, Jacob's mind went back to the last time he was in this world.

His eyes went as wide as dishes.

"Oh my god! You're my father!"

"Yes, I am -"

"And you kissed me!"

Jacob opened his eyes, screaming. He bolted to his feet, eyes wide and disturbing the dust all around him. He was still screaming when he heard another voice joining the undertones of his cries. A quick look to his left and he found a pair of blue eyes staring back at him.

Ah! Spectre!

He screamed again.

James Canis screamed one more time. "Fuck! Stop that!"

Jacob's heart was pounding and he clutched his chest. He was pretty sure he had just suffered a heart attack in that dream-like state. His mind went back to what Zack-Spectre-Isaac told him. Mind spinning and disoriented from just having woken up, he pushed past Canis, eager to put as much distance between himself and this place... not to mention vowing never to sleep again.

"Whoa! Hold up there!" Canis seized his shoulder and shoved him against the wall. He didn't even feel up to resisting. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm thinking I'd throw myself off the closes pier see what'd kill me first, the lack of oxygen or the crushing pressure from the depths of the ocean. Want to watch?"

The Alsatian did not seem pleased. "As much as I'd love to see you kill yourself and trust me, I'd be the one to tie the cement blocks to your feet and push you off the damn pier, I'd rather you didn't."

Jacob offered the sergeant a sarcastic smile. "Thanks buddy. I really appreciate that you'd help me kill myself."

"Anytime." Canis took a deep breath and forced a smile. "But... the world needs you, Jacob Reaper... It needs a hero."

"You do realise you're being awfully transparent right now."

"Really? I thought having a heart filled with cum and endless hatred of you would make my insides look a murky white and hide my intentions."

Jacob pushed past Canis. "I appreciate that you somehow managed to regenerate your balls after either Sierra or Joanna tore them off after giving me that beat down but I'm not changing my mind. I'm not going back. By the way, if you do somehow managed to find out how to fill your heart with male semen, give me a call. That'd be one hell of a way to go."

Canis let out a heavy sigh. "You realise you're being really melodramatic right now, right? You're acting like a teenager with a bad case of angst and is contemplating suicide because it's be the easiest route out of his problems."

He spun back towards the Alsatian, one finger raised. "See, I don't think it would be that easy. I regenerate pretty quickly. Quicker than the other Branded, actually. So, I plan to actually make my suicide as painful as possible. I wonder if I'll actually just keep coming back at the bottom of the ocean."

"Damning yourself to eternal torment. Talk about hell on earth."

"If it makes you feel better, I'll bring a pressure-resistant camera so you can watch me die and come back over and over again whenever you're bored. If anything, on your sad, lonely, cum-soaked deathbed, you can watch me die and at least be grateful that your miserable existence will come to an end while I will die painfully and regenerate until the sun goes supernova."

Canis inclined his head to the side. "I never thought about using my last moments of life in an orgy. Thanks for the idea."

"Anytime buddy," Jacob responded. "Now if you'll excuse me, time for me to die."

As he turned, Canis seized his shoulder again. "Okay, in all seriousness, you can't just turn around and quit."

"In all seriousness, yeah I can."

The sergeant let out a heavy sigh. "What is so fucked up about your life that you seriously want to end it now?"

"Gee, I don't know." He turned back to the Alsatian. "Let's start with the fact that I'm a wanted criminal for just existing. Oh and my father experimented on me, my mother cheated on him, spawned a super-sexy half-brother whom I constantly have sex with and now my dear old dead dad has come back to haunt me not only as the supposed intelligent incarnation of the magical symbol he gave me but also as my little guardian angel that constantly invades my head and tries to kill me in my dreams in admittedly humorous ways!

"Then there's the fact that I have an unfulfilling relationship with a super-hot, sexy Tribal whom I have never given anything in return of his love, filling me with immeasurable amounts of guilt. I've got an anti-MODD activist armed with the power to level entire cities just waiting to press the big shiny button that will send the world into a global, nuclear winter. There is also the broody, closet goth who absolutely loves the occult that I'm pretty sure is using voodoo to either summon the forces of darkness to challenge me or give me nightmares of spooky, black oceans with rotting trees rising from the oily waters like dead, skeletal hands grasping for my eyes. Also, a horny cougar with dreams of grandeur that deludes him from the pain and suffering that he is causing giving me the mental image of a perpetually grinning, ten year old kid with machine guns for arms running around in a field of cute, fluffy animals slaughtering everything in his wake while vomiting rainbows and skipping to the tune of 'Pop goes the Weasel'!

"Oh! And I'm pretty sure I've also got a MODD fanatic plotting my demise -"

"Crushing humiliation and castration, actually," Canis corrected. "It used to be 'crushing humiliation, castration and embarrassing death' but I managed to convince him that living without balls is worse than dying."

"Thanks," Jacob muttered sarcastically. "And to top it all off, I've got a smarmy, gutter-mouthed cum-eater who's ass is so loose that I could very well be mistaken for a black hole that still has to tell me how to replace my blood with semen!"

...

By the end of his rant, he was breathing heavily, panting and with his chest rising and falling at a rapid rate.

"Done?" Canis asked.

Jacob lifted his finger and gripped the railings of the balcony. He tore a large chunk off and handed it to Canis who took it without question.

WHAM!

The Alsatian reeled, clutching his nose which now spurted blood.

Jacob cracked his knuckles. "Yeah, I'm done."

"Should've seen that coming..." Canis chuckled softly. He straightened, nose still dripping blood. "So... What part of all that doesn't appeal to you?"

"What part does?"

"You've got people you know watching your back or possibly attempting to murder you... Hard to tell with friends." Canis shrugged again. "Look, your life isn't really that bad."

"Try saying that with a straight face."

"Can't. Your punch permanently set my features into a mocking smirk."

"That only appears whenever you're talking to me?"

"Yeah."

"Thought so."

"My point is," Canis said, lifting the chunk of the railings he held, "you've got people that know you for more than just than fifteen minutes of bliss where some part of you or them is inside the other."

"Fifteen minutes? Dude, you should get that checked."

"I specialise in heavy weapons. I shoot big loads but when it comes to sustained fire, I need to reload often." Canis shook his head. "Each of those people you just named, they care about you in one way or another. They might not admit it, but they have a connection with you. That's more than I can ever claim."

Jacob bit back his next response and gave the Alsatian's words a few moments of thought. "So why do I feel so rotten?"

"I dunno. Black soul? Spawn of evil? Crushing emptiness? Tell me, when you orgasm, does semen come out or this black, corruptive sludge that turns anything it touches into a horrifying, otherworldly beast of indescribable terror?"

"Better. It's a corruptive sludge that looks deceptively like cum and fills the recipient with incredible power in the shape of a magical symbol somewhere on their body that binds their destiny to my own spiralling path of despair."

"Ah. I might have a cure for that."

"The fact that my cum damns people?"

"No. The whole feeling rotten part. We can try castrating you but I'm pretty sure Max wants to fuck you crazy first until you start liking it and then tear your balls off."

"The fucking queer."

"I know right?" Canis smirked as he shook his head. "You want to know how to turn your life around?"

"Sure."

"Turn."

Jacob raised one eyebrow. "What?"

"You lack any direction of your own," Canis said. "You just follow whatever path you were given. You need a purpose. A reason to go forward. All your other Branded buddies, they're working toward something. It was based around your vague goal but it was still theirs. Tell me, who was the first guy that put the idea of killing Balthazar and going around to recruit the Elemental Lords in the process in your head?"

He frowned. "Gale..."

"Right... So who's goal was that?"

...

"Gale's..."

"So what's your goal?"

Smack!

It felt like he had been hit in the head with a broken railing. Which he had. He saw stars in front of his eyes and a few splinters were stuck in his cheeks but the realisation as more damaging than anything Canis could have thrown.

I've been following Gale's path... and not my own...

I've been pushed by Zack-Spectre-Isaac and never walked myself.

I need to find my direction... and purpose.

"Any idea where I can find a goal?" he asked.

"Tried the football field? Soccer?"

"You know what I mean," Jacob responded with a soft smile.

Canis look a little surprised as he inclined his head to the side. "What? No witty comeback? No insult? Did I win already?"

Yeah... You did.

The Alsatian rubbed the back of his head, nodding firmly. "Well... I can't say I'm the best guy to be asking where to find a goal. To be honest, I'm still searching for mine. But I guess that's a good a place as any. Keep looking."

"And what about Balthazar?"

"What about him? If he gets in your way, fuck him."

Jacob raised his eyebrows. "Wait... is that 'fuck him' as in bend him over and rape his ass or 'fuck him' as it leave him alone."

"Up to you."

Smiling, Jacob said, "Thanks... You know... You're not so bad."

"I need to work harder, then," Canis responded with a shrug. "Then again, you did punch me and I was brutally castrated by Joanna. I'm still growing my balls back. Come at me when I'm on my A game. I'll have you crying and weeping like a little girl. That's a promise."

"So that's what you're into. Little girls. Explains why all those guys have always been so unfulfilling." Jacob bent down and picked up the book that was on the floor. "In that case, you might like this."

He handed the book to Canis who regarded it with scepticism. "Oh god... you were crying to this, weren't you?"

The Alsatian's eyes suddenly went wide.

Jacob wasn't entirely sure what he was doing but the moment he pulled his lips away from Canis, he knew he had either made a really big mistake or a good friend.

"If I see cum on those pages, you are so going to pay," he warned with a mocking edge. He spun around and strode out of the library with a renewed sense of purpose.

"Wait! Where are you going!?" Canis demanded.

Jacob's smile said it all.

"Somewhere new."

*****

He found him sitting on the end of a pier, staring at the sunrise.

Jacob rested down beside him, legs dangling off the edge of the stone structure.

"For some reason, despite not remembering anything about you apart from the fact your totally screwed me over, I always knew you were a romantic. I don't know why."

Spectre dropped his ears and sighed. "I am sorry..."

"Yeah well, I don't forgive you."

"I figured as much."

"And just to be clear, I'm not about to add 'because there's nothing to forgive'. I'm still pissed off at you."

Spectre gave him a critical stare. "You're... unusually chirpy... Your sarcastic edge is back too... What's changed?"

"I found a new outlet. Punching someone nose is surprisingly relieving. Oh, and getting smacked with the broken fragment of a balcony. Don't go to the second floor of our summer home's library, by the way."

"Why not...?" Spectre asked warily.

"You'll either scream at the fat that I wrecked the railings or you're cringe at the cum-soaked copy of The Little Snow Girl there."

"You pawed off to that."

"Not me. No."

Spectre looked about ready to ask who but held his tongue. "Jacob... I really am your father, you know."

"Yeah... After I thought about it, it all fit together. Hell, you and Zack even look the same. I thought I was just going crazy but the more I thought about the fact that you built the Brands to destroy Seals... and Zack was there to guide me to destroy those very Seals... Things just sort of... fit." He turned towards his Animus and father. "Okay... Explain."

It took a moment for the winged wolf to speak. He took several deep breaths and let them out slowly.

"When I heard the prophecy... it spoke of the Seals. The hidden undertones of the prophecy is that someone, somewhere was going to undo the very fabric of reality and basically rule it and the Seals were at the centre of it all. I wanted to prevent that. I wanted to make sure that Mortaelis didn't have any trace of the Seals."

Spectre dipped his head. "So I came up with a concept. A Seal-like symbol that didn't have to rely on the souls of loved ones to power them. A symbol that drew on personal reserves of power instead of tormenting other people's eternal souls."

"The Brands."

"Right. Except..."

"What happened?" Jacob asked.

"My plans grew... personal." Spectre sat down on his belly, his head resting on his forepaws. "I got wind of Balthazar's plan to abduct you and with his position and resources, I knew I couldn't just stop him. Whatever happened, he would take you from me. So... I reprogrammed the Brands slightly. In addition to drawing on personal reserves, it would give the people wielding them the power to materialise a fragment of their soul into a living, breathing creature."

"The Animus."

"Yes." Spectre nodded. "But Animus are just hollow shells. Ultimately, they are just a representation of that person's greatest attribute or desire. Spectre... I think he was a representation of your sense of freedom. Even back then, you were a free spirit. God... I gave you a pen one day and an hour later, I find the front of our house scribbled all over with your handwriting!"

Jacob flinched. "I vandalised our summer home."

"Not just that. If you saw our house back at Shellington, you'd be amazed." Spectre chuckled. "Anyway, I made a little concession with Spectre as I believed yours would be the only Brand in existence. I downloaded my own soul into him, filling that hollow husk. When Balthazar killed me, my soul just travelled to this body and I've been with you ever since."

Wow...

"All that to be with me...?"

"To get my revenge," Spectre admitted grimly. "I wanted Balthazar dead. I was overjoyed when Gale guided you to that same direction and I guess I pushed a little too hard. I should have thought about what you wanted compared to what I wanted. I'm sorry, Jacob... I was selfish."

Jacob placed his paw on Spectre's back, rubbing his slowly. "Yeah, you were. When did the part about appearing in my subconscious kick in?"

"The Elemental Seals have such powerful resonance. I can reach out to them thanks to your powers. I can't unravel them entirely and it's mostly thanks to you that I can slowly wend my way through them and help you destroy them."

"You destroy the Seals?"

"It's how your power works," Spectre replied. "I personally go into the Seal and shatter it from the inside. I free the soul in there, thus destroying the Seal." He smirked proudly. "Come on, I was a heard researcher in Seal technology. Give me some credit."

"And the fact that you and I meet inside the Seal helps?"

"Yes. Finding the soul trapped in a Seal is quite hard. I'm glad to have at least that one father-son activity with you despite how violent it is."

Jacob regarded the sunrise and gave Spectre a slightly smile. "Well... There's plenty more we can do."

His father gave him a startled look. "What...?"

"Dad... The past... It's crazy. Crazier than I'd care to admit. You're going to tell me all about it and I'm going to rant and rave about how you destroyed my life but you're still my dad. But we can't change the past. However, we can still forge the future. I can look back at those times that I may have lost but at the same time, I can take comfort in the fact that I can reshape the future."

He gave Spectre a cocky smirk. "It's like a piece of art. The subject matter might be horrible and depressing but at least it looks good, right?"

"Thinking of becoming an artist when this is all finished?"

"Male stripper actually."

"What!?"

Jacob burst out into laughter, wrapping his arms around his father and hugging him tightly. "Kidding, kidding. I'd make a killing but I'd like a job when I'm past forty."

Spectre gave a begrudging noise. "So... what does this mean for us...?"

He straightened and regarded his father, eye to eye. "I think I still need a bit of time to figure thing out. I need to come up with why I'm fighting and what I'm fighting for. Your vendetta, Gale's plan and everyone else's motivation all play a part but I need my reason. No one else's. As for this..." He gestured between himself and the winged wolf. "... we're going to pretend it never happened."

"Oh..." The Animus' ears drooped.

"You're just my dad," he said. "You've got your motivations but your my dad, okay? No more manipulating. No more spouting analogies and screwing with my head. I need to be sane to make a sane decision of what the future will hold."

Spectre smiled, ears springing back up. "I can live with that."

Jacob squeezed his father's shoulders. "And it only gets better from here." He felt Spectre's head lean against his shoulders, a weight flying off his own heart.

"Incidentally..." he began, "what do I call you when it's just us? I've been going with 'Zack-Spectre-Isaac' mentally. Maybe it's better if it's 'Zack-Isaac-Spectre'. That way I can shorten it to 'ZIS'. Sounds like 'jizz'."

His father gave him a piercing stare.

"What!?" he cried with a half-serious smile. "You're fur is white! What else am I supposed to think about!?"