The next day, Corvi, a member of the Shido Tribe--our closest shōkan tribe neighbors--visited the Umi Tribe. As always, the princess made a big deal about it, so most middle and lower ranking  assignments were put on hold so that more protectors would be present for their arrival.

All of the protectors were invited to the big feast to celebrate Corvi’s arrival. Dan Siratchi, Juicy, Broadie and I were all there dressed in our best Umi Tribe attire.

To my surprise, Corvi was only accompanied by one other person: a young man with long dark hair. Corvi walked into our banquet hall with her head high, chest sticking out, and backside swaying. I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, what a woman.”

I overheard others talking and they said that she was once a big time botanist before she became the ambassador for the Shido Tribe. Corvi was well known by everyone in the Umi Tribe and was well celebrated.

Although Corvi was well known, no one seemed to recognize the guy that was with her. He wore a Shido Tribe medallion around his neck, he didn’t seem to be from the royal family. He had horrible posture and barely looked straight ahead. Instead, he was gawking at our pillars, chandeliers and the stained glass windows.

Before taking their seats Corvi addressed the Princess with their usual greeting, a long awkward hug. Corvi smiled at the princess, “You look radiant as usual.”

“I could say the same thing to you, but I won’t.” Then both the princess and Corvi began laughing.

“Tuyette, this is my nephew and the son of the Shido Chief, Lucius.”

The princess firmly shook Lucius’s hand and said, “It is a pleasure to meet you.” 

“Salutations,” Lucius said with a smile.

Corvi’s face turned serious: “Tuyette, I must let you know. We didn’t come all this way just for a casual visit. We have terrible news, and I wanted to talk to you about it face to face.”

The princess gasped, “What’s happened?”

Corvi whispered something in her ear.

The Princess announced, “Let the banquet commence!”

She, then, touched Lucius’s shoulders,“While I am gone, I want you to treat our guest here to anything that he desires.”

Lucius looked around at all of the servers and rubbed his hands together while smiling as the princess and Corvi walked around the corner into a private room.

“Corvi, what is this about?” Princess Tuyette asked as she casually sat down on the arm of a couch.

“The rumors are true.” Corvi said.

Tuyette’s eyes widened, “No!”

“Yes. People from our tribe have been going missing and, on top of that, some of our supplies are being stolen. There have been multiple eyewitnesses and all of their descriptions match. It’s undeniable.”

The princess stood up, “Are you sure?”

Corvi, with deep passion, said, “I am positive. They are Crimson Bloods.”

“Corvi, that’s not something to say lightly. Are you sure they can’t be regular humanoid hybrids?”

“No, they are definitely Crimson! Because of the previous thefts we decided to guard our storage units and some of them attacked our guards. The report states that they were intelligent, had horns, impenetrable skin and, most importantly, elemental abilities. There’s no mistake, they have the blood of a dragon,… Crimson Bloods.”

“This is bad Corvi, I just sent someone to investigate some stolen supplies just yesterday.” Tuyette said.

“That means that they could be here too. But don’t you find that to be a little odd that . . . well, never mind.” Corvi said as she turned away from the princess.

“No! Say it! It’s just you and me here.” Tuyette demanded.

“Well, it’s just that I contacted the Hikari Tribe, and they aren’t having these strange thefts like we are. When I tried to get in contact with the Chief, he wouldn’t even see me.”

“Corvi, what are you trying to say?” The princess asked. 

“I just think that it’s strange that our territories are being attacked and theirs isn’t.” Corvi said.

“Corvi, what are you trying to say?” The princess insisted.

“Now, you know me Tuyette. I’m not one to ruffle a bush, but I think that the Hikari Tribe may have something to do with this. Think about it, ever since their new chief came into power a little more than fifteen years ago, they changed their protocol with hybrids. Instead of killing them, they spare the animoids and the non-threatening humanoids. All the while, the rest of us look as if we are trying to wipe out hybrids completely.”

“Corvi, did you forget? My father did try to wipe out hybrids completely.” Tuyette snarled.

Corvi continued, “My point is that maybe the Hikari Tribe became allies with the Crimsons and now they are using them to gain control over all Tribes.”

“I seriously doubt that,” the princess said dismissively. “Their chief has always been a loyal ally.”

“I’m not saying that it’s him specifically. I’m just saying that it could possibly be someone within the Hikari Tribe. Who knows? They may even be sending spies to our villages.”

“This is not a time to joke, Corvi.” The princess insisted.

 “You’re right, we need to focus on the Crimsons for now. And how to stop them.”

The Princess paused for a moment then said, “You know, one of my pupils and her team caught a man who claimed to be a hybrid, but he looked nothing like one: he actually looked human. We think he’s just a nut-job who’s actually a descendant of an exiled shōkan. I should be getting his blood results in tomorrow morning.”

Corvi looked shocked, “Is that even possible? I thought the Umi Tribe has always preferred execution over exile.”

“Eh, you’re right? I wonder why I didn’t think about that. Wow, now I’m really starting to get worried.”

“Aw, don’t worry, honey: everything’s going to work out. I’m sure of that.” Corvi embraced Princess Tuyette as she continued, “We’ll definitely think of something.”

**************************************************************************

Later that night, when I was at home my step-dad knocked on my bedroom door. 

“I just got a message from the Princess.” He said as soon as I answered. “She wants you at the station before dawn. They said that you were requested for a special assignment.”

“Requested?” I was shocked. 

“Yeah, by some governor of some village. He was impressed by your skills and wouldn’t agree to some assignment unless you could be there.”

I smiled, “Wow, that must be the governor of Mums Village! That’s pretty cool, being requested and all. You better watch out Dan, I’m coming for your job!”

Dan smiled, “Good job, kid.”

Dan closed the door, walked off and then opened it again, “Oh yeah, by the way, your mom sends a goodnight to her Kazy-Bear.” Then Dan walked off laughing, “Ha, Kazy-bear!”

I shook my head, closed my bedroom window and went to bed.

**************************************************************************

The next morning, Lucius was the first person I saw upon arrival at the Protector Station. He was standing outside with his ear against a tree.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I said.

He looked at me and smiled, “Salutations, good sir. The tree is speaking to me. He told me that your nickname is Kazy-Bear, is that true?”

I was a little freaked out so I asked, “Have you been spying on me? How did you do that?”

Lucius responded, “I didn’t really do anything but listen. It’s a gift, I guess. And no, I don’t spy on people unless I have a good reason.”

“No offense, but you’re kind of weird.” 

Lucius responded, “No offense, but you’re kind of normal.”

We both laughed, and I went inside where I saw Broadie. I asked, “You’re here too. Where’s Juicy?”

Broadie said, “Juicy isn’t coming. As a matter of fact, they requested for her not to come.”

“What? Why?” I asked.

“Well, the governor of Mums Village specifically requested that she’d never come back because she made him piss himself. So I assume that whatever our mission is, that’s where it’ll be.”

At that moment, Lady Tuyette, Corvi, Dan, Billy, Lucius and a few other protectors, whom I didn’t recognize, walked in. The princess got everyone’s attention by merely clearing her throat.

“Good morning, and thank you all for meeting here this early.” 

“It’s not like we had a choice,” Broadie mumbled inaudibly.

“As some of you know there have been rumors that the Crimson Bloods have somehow returned.” The princess continued, “I’m here to let you know that this rumor is most likely true, and we will confirm it today.”

Everyone became flustered as the princess continued: “Not to worry everyone! We have constructed a plan to not only confirm that we are dealing with Crimson Bloods, but also show them that we mean business! We believed that they were extinct along with the monsteroid hybrids, but now that they’ve decided to show their ugly heads again, we will make them wish that they were extinct!”

We all cheered creating a powerful war cry. Everyone but Lucius was amped up.

“Okay men! Settle down, settle down,” Corvi spoke up. “In my tribe the alleged Crimson Bloods have been stealing from our storage units filled with various foods, clothing and even weapons. So assume that the hybrids that you face will be armed plus have elemental abilities. Here’s the plan: now, because we know that the hybrids are targeting storage units we will send one unit to Mums Village. This storage unit is already packed with everything that the Hybrids have been known to steal. But, what the hybrids don’t know is that some of you will also be in the storage unit, waiting for them. When they break in, YOU BREAK THEM!”

Everyone cheered in agreement.

“Then, you will bring back at least one of them alive, and we will see what kind of information we can get out of it.” Corvi continued.

The princess added, “Kazai, Broadie, Steve, and Lucius of the Shido Tribe, you are going on this assignment. You four are Team Alpha. Lucius specializes in sensory, so he’ll be able to tell you when the Crimsons are coming long before they get there. And because he is not only our guest but also the son of the Shido Tribe Chief, he is not to participate in ANY combat whatsoever. The storage unit will be put on the shuttle in less than an hour, so you’ll need to get to the shuttle as soon as you leave here.”

Dan looked at me and I think that he could tell by the look on my face that I was a little worried. Dan spoke up, “My Lady, do you think that a four man squad is enough. What if they are outnumbered by the hybrids?”

“I have taken that into consideration. Corvi informed us that her witnesses have never seen more than two hybrids together at a time. Are there any more questions?” The princess asked.

No one spoke. 

“If there are no further questions, team Alpha, you are dismissed. Everyone else, we are heading to Dr. Kyro’s lab to get the blood results for Jack Findle.”

Less than a second later, we all heard a loud boom. Everyone ran outside to find that there had been an explosion at Dr. Kyro’s laboratory. We all ran there to find Dr. Kyro bleeding on the floor in the corner of his burnt lab.

“He got away!” Dr. Kyro cried. “Jack Findle escaped! Two hybrids came and set him free and destroyed my lab.” 

The princess became furious, “TEAM ALPHA! New plan! Lucius, use your sensory skills to find the hybrids. The rest of you, take those hybrids down by any means necessary, and bring Jack back! And if you can, keep this quiet. We don’t want to cause a panic.”

Just as we were leaving, the princess calmly asked Dr. Kyro, “What were the results? Is Jack a shōkan or a hybrid?” 

The doctor said, “I saw no signs of him being a hybrid. And his records indicate that he is not a shōkan. Perhaps he was lying about his identity and he is not the real Jack Findle.” 

The Princess just stood in a daze for a second and before saying, “We need to get you to the infirmary.”

Once out of the laboratory, which was still smoking, we saw that the sun was rising as we followed behind Lucius who was running at an abnormal high-speed. I shouted to him, “Hey Lucius! How do you know this is the way that they went?” 

“I don’t!” He yelled.

We ran to a wooded area, and Lucius slowly and seductively walked up to an oak tree. He put both hands on the tree like he was holding a woman’s waist and whispered, “I’m sorry to bother you so early in the morning, but I need your help. We are looking for some dangerous hybrids. Do you know where they are?” He put his ear up against the tree as if to listen to it talk.

Steve shouted, “Are you freaking serious? You’re wasting time! They are getting away!”

Lucius ignored him. 

Broadie became frustrated too, “Bro! What the heck are you doing?”

I said, “Just wait he knows what he’s doing.”

Lucius, standing there with his ear to the tree said, “Oh, that’s too bad.” 

Broadie was shocked, “It spoke? What did it say?”

Lucius responded, “He said that he doesn’t know where they are.”

Steve said, “Let’s head into the woods, that’s probably where they went.” 

Lucius interjected, “Wait! He said that the hybrids didn’t leave the Umi Tribe yet. They are headed towards the transit station.”

Steve shouted, “I thought you said that the tree didn’t know!”

Lucius replied, “He didn’t know, I heard it through the grapevine… the one right over there.”

We rushed to the transit station. 

On the way there, Lucius looked at me and said, “Hey, thanks for not thinking that I’m a nut-job. You’re probably the only one in the Umi Tribe that doesn’t.” 

I said, “No problem, plus you were right earlier, so why not trust you.”

When we arrived to the Transit Station we only saw some men loading a storage unit onto the end of the shuttle.

“That’s the container that we were supposed to be guarding,” Broadie said.

At the transit station, there were small trees planted for decoration and Lucius went to a tree then looked at it carefully and said, “Never mind.” He continued to another just as seductively as before and whispered, “Where are they hiding?”

Lucius put his ear to the tree and waited. Then he signaled for us to stay quiet by putting his finger to his mouth. He pointed to the top of the storage unit.

Steve shouted, “Are you kidding me? I’m sick of this foolishness! Don’t you think those guys would have noticed a couple of hybrids on top of the storage unit?”

Lucius looked at Steve and said, “Idiot.”

Next Chapter: ELECTRIFYING