"What do we do exactly?" Aaron asked.
    "Just stay calm and do what I tell you." Venom replied. "We'll be fine, I promise. I know what I'm doing."
    Aaron nodded. "I know." He said. "What should we do now?"
    "Nothing. Right now we're safe. So long as Kevin is asleep, we'll be just fine." Venom turned around and froze. She sighed. "Oh, come on..."
    There, standing in the doorway, was Kevin - green eyes alight and a metal flag pole (minus flag) in hand.

Jack, Thalia, and Logan jogged through the woods along a trail. "Do we actually know where this rock is?" Logan asked, looking like he was having a harder time running than the other two.
    "No." Thalia replied. "Seto just said its nearby."
    "Fantastic." Jack said sarcastically.
     Thalia rolled her eyes. "At least we've got a lead at all."
    "Yeah, yeah..." Jack said, staring ahead. "But if it starts raining, I'm bailing... How am I even in this mess anyways?" He turned and ran backwards so he could look at Thalia and Logan. "I'm not even in the army! When it started up three hundred ago or whatever, I even told myself; "I will not get involved. This is their fight." And look what I've gone and done!"
    "Wait wait, three hundred years ago?" Logan asked. "How old are you exactly?"
    Jack shrugged mildly. "Dunno exactly. Once you reach four hundred, you kinda lose interest. I lost track about then, so I just tell people I'm four hundred and twelve."
    Thalia's jaw dropped. "Four hundred?"
    "That's what I said."
    "But how?!"
    "Endermen and Ilex both can live to be around, eh, five thousand years old." Jack replied. "Me being half Ilex, I guess I'll live to be about half that, assuming I'm not killed on this little endeavor."
    "You won't be." Thalia said. "I'll make sure of it."
    "So does that make you the leader of our group or whatever?" Logan asked.
    "Well, I'm the highest ranked."
    "That's not even a real rank, it's a disguise!" Logan said.
    Thalia laughed. "I know."
    Jack rolled his eyes and turned around again. As soon as he had, he bumped into someone behind him. Thalia and Logan stopped. Jack shook his head and looked at the person he'd bumped into: a short old man with graying hair and green clothes. He looked at Jack with wide eyes. "Oh, sorry there son!" He said.
    Jack couldn't help but think, 'I'm most likely four hundred years older than you, kid.' But he didn't say this thought out loud.

The whole room suddenly burst into motion. Venom yelped and ducked to the left as Kevin swung down the pole, narrowly missing her. Mrs. Murphey cried out and shoved her children behind her.
    "Get out!" Venom shouted to the bystanders.
    "Aaron, get your sister outside." Mrs. Murphey ordered.
    "But-"
    "Now!"
    Aaron sighed, grabbed Kathy's hand and ran outside.
    "But I wanna help!" Kathy shouted.
    "Just c'mon!" Aaron replied. The door stayed open behind them.
    "That means you too, Mrs. M." Venom said as she ducked under another blow.
    "Gene, I can help if I-"
    "Now, Mrs. M!" Venom said, raising her voice.
    "I am not leaving any of my kids in danger!"
    "MOM! NOW!" Venom shouted, turning to look at her. Mrs. Murphey stiffened, but finally nodded and followed Aaron and Kathy, pulling the door closed behind her.
    Venom sighed in relief, but the feeling didn't last. All of a sudden, Kevin whacked her side hard with the metal pole. She cried out and fell into her back, ignoring the stinging pain in her side. She silently thanked her years of training, teaching her how to ignore pain. Before Kevin could strike again, she kicked his legs out from under him. She leapt to her feet and ran past him, grabbing the pole out of his hand. She spun around and held one arm behind her, and the pole out in front of her in the default defense position.
    Kevin rolled up to his feet and Venom knew Xandra had somehow tapped into his skill set. He spun around on his hand and tried to spin-kick Venom, but she caught his foot as it passed and flipped him onto his back. She tried to whack him across the head with the pole in an effort to knock him out, but Kevin grabbed it and yanked her down next to him.
Kevin, as always, was the fastest, and leapt to his feet, taking the pole with him. He tried once again to swung to pole down, but Venom rolled out of the way just in time.

Thalia looked the old man up and down incredulously. "What...? Why are you in the middle of the woods?!"
    "At midnight." Logan added.
    "At midnight!" Thalia repeated.
    "I was going for a stroll and I wasn't looking where I was going." The old man replied. "Sorry about that, kiddos. My name's Criffin."
    "Criffin?" Logan asked, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. "That's an odd name, isn't it?"
    "Logan, behave." Thalia hissed. She looked at Criffin. "Sorry, sir, we're kind of in a hurry." She started to walk past him, then she got an idea and stopped. "Actually, we happen to be looking for a big green boulder. Have you seen it?"
   Criffin nodded vigorously. "Of course! I can lead you there! Follow me!" He turned back the way he'd come and started to waddle in that direction, going rather fast for an old man. Thalia followed directly behind, and Jack and Logan exchanged glances before following.

Venom leapt to her feet just in time to block a blow of the pole to her head with her forearm. Kevin tried again, and once more she blocked it. The third time, as she blocked the strike, Kevin tripped her from behind. Before Venom could climb to her feet, Kevin held out the pole, hovering it over her neck. This move, in training, signified the defeat of one's opponent. But Kevin didn't stop there.
    He smirked. "Tally-Ho." He hissed. All of a sudden, Kevin squeezed his eyes shut and reopened them. For a split second, they returned to their brown color. Kevin winked at her and Venom smiled, but then his eyes faded back to green.
    He bought her just enough time.

As the three walked behind Criffin, Logan ran up to fall in pace behind Thalia. "Hey Skylord, can I talk to you?" He whispered.
    "What's up?" Thalia asked without looking at him.
    "I dunno if I trust this guy." He said.
    Thalia raised one eyebrow. "Why's that?"
    "Well he was just walking out in the middle of the wilderness in the middle of the night. That just screams weirdo. And on top of that, what kind of a name is Criffin?"
    "D'you actually think this guy is threat?" Thalia asked doubtfully.
    "Well... No, but..." Logan sighed. "We should just be careful, is all."
     Thalia scoffed. "I'm always careful." Logan hung back and watched as Thalia tripped over a root. She righted herself and adjusted her fake aviator goggles before continuing to walk, playing it off like she'd meant to do it.
    Logan and Jack watched her in confusion from a few feet back. "What is with her?" Jack asked
    "Dunno." Logan replied, mystified. "It's like she's in mission mode or something."
    "Funny story, actually." Jack smirked. "A long time ago, I got involved in another thing with your army. I was on a brief mission with the Commander leading it and he has a sort of 'mission mode' too."
    Logan raised one eyebrow. "Seriously?" As Jack nodded, he laughed shortly. "Maybe he's rubbing off on her." He raised one eyebrow at Jack. "What d'you think, Jackie? D'you think the army can handle another Adam Dahlburg?"
   "Pfff..." Jack smirked. "It can barely handle one." He and Logan both laughed.
   "Boys!" The two looked ahead to see Thalia and Criffin standing on the tree line, looking down into a massive crater in the earth. Thalia glanced back at the two. "You're gonna wanna see this."
    Logan and Jack jogged up to the pair of them and looked into the crater. "Whoa..." Logan murmured in awe. There, in the center of the crater, was a massive rock maybe six feet tall and glowing neon green, spreading an eerie light across the trees around the edge of the crater. "That is one creepy rock."
    "Alright. Let's blow it up." Jack said, holding up the TNT Venom had given him with a wide grin on his face.

Venom kicked the pole out of Kevin's hand. It spiraled away and slid under the couch, likely never to be seen again.
    Venom climbed to her feet and held both hands out in front of her in a defense position. "Xandra! I know you're in there!" She shouted.
    Kevin snarled, ignoring her words as he suddenly lashed out, punching her in the face. Venom reeled back, but managed to keep her balance as she felt a small trickle of blood fall from her lower lip. She looked at Kevin and only just managed to duck under an overhead swing. Then Kevin dropped into a crouch and attempted to kick her legs out from under her, but she was ready. Venom leapt over the kick and served her own kick to his face before landing. He fell into his back and Venom took a step towards him.
    Before she could take another step, however, he kicked her hard in the shin and climbed to his feet as Venom too stood back up.
    Kevin stared at her incredulously, those green eyes flashing. "You just don't give up do you?"
    Venom smirked and raised her fists once again. "The only reason I'll ever give up is if I'm six feet under. And that's not about to happen anytime soon."
    Kevin hissed and lurched forward, but Venom was ready.

"You want to... destroy it...?" The old man asked slowly
    "Yeah. It's hurting our friend, so we're gonna blow it up." Jack replied as he skidded carefully down the side of the crater on his feet.
    "How d'you think we should approach this?" Logan asked from the edge of the crater as Thalia followed after him.
    "I dunno, let's just stick the dynamite on it and make it go boom." Thalia replied, stopping at the rock beside Jack, who raised one eyebrow at her.
    Logan rolled his eyes and watched the two from
    "You're... you're the ones mistress warned me about..." Criffin whispered in astonishment.
    "That's nice, buddy." Logan replied, not quite paying attention. His eyes were locked on the boulder, which was getting sticks of dynamite duct taped all over it.
    Criffin stared at the ginger a few feet in front of him in awe. "The team that fights the alpha..." His eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why do you fight them? Why do you protest? You will fall in the end..."
    All of a sudden, a low growl escaped his throat and fingers started to grow into claws.
   "Jack, make sure you get the top too. We gotta make sure we completely destroy this thing." Thalia said a bit too excitedly.
    Jack eyed her worriedly as he tapes a few sticks of dynamite to the top of the boulder, which he had climbed on top of. "Do you have a thing for explosions or something?"
    Thalia just shrugged in response.
    All of a sudden, an animalistic screech split the air. From the top of the crater, Logan yelped and started to tumble roughly down the hill, running right into the boulder. He groaned and stood up, leaning against the boulder as he shook his head vigorously.
    "Ginger, you klutz..." Thalia's voice trailed off as she poked her head around the edge of the big rock and got a good look at Logan. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god, your arm!"
    Logan looked down at his right arm and noticed three huge gashes on his shoulder, each starting to bleed heavily. He winced as he noticed the pain. "Ow..."
    "What the hell did you do?!" Jack asked from the top of the rock.
    "I don't think it was his fault..." Thalia said, staring up at the top of the crater. Logan followed her gaze and his expression went blank. There, standing at the edge of the hole in the earth, was the old man. But he wasn't the bumbling, feeble old man he'd been only moments before. He'd undergone some sort of transformation. He had long claws instead of nails, sharp teeth, and eagle's wings stretching out of his back with a wingspan of at least ten feet.
   "Guys," Jack said, his eyes wide. "I think I found that guardian Seto was talking about."
   "Thalia Kal, I have one word to say to you." Logan looked at Thalia and smirked. "Toldja." Thalia rolled her eyes.
    Criffin screeched down at the three of them and spread out his wings. Thalia pulled out her sword as Logan pulled his shield off his back. "Jack, get that boulder blown up as fast as you can. Logan and I'll distract Criffin." Thalia ordered.
    Jack nodded and went back to work. "You got it."
    Criffin leapt off the edge of the crater, going far further than an old man should've been able to go. It went straight for Jack, who paid no attention due to his concentration on the dynamite.
    Logan threw his shield at him, managing to hit him in the wing. Criffin screeched and fell several feet in the air before rebalancing himself, narrowly missing Jack, who didn't seem to notice at all.
    "This would be a lot easier if Venom had come with us!" Thalia said, referring to her bow. She roared a battle cry and lashed at Criffin as he flew by, cutting a small slash in his underbelly. He screeched angrily and landed. He charged on foot at Thalia and swiped his claws at her, but she deflected them with her sword. He screeched in anger once again, but his tough skin softened the blow. He struck again and Thalia parried once more. "Jack!" Thalia warned.
     "Almost done!" The hybrid replied.
     Suddenly, Criffin roared and flapped his wings. He flew above Thalia and grabbed onto her Skylord's jacket. He the flew up, taking her with him.
    "Thalia!" Logan shouted.
    Thalia ignored him. She had no time to waste. She looked up at Criffin and grinned. "Y'know, for future reference... If you're gonna drop a girl to her death..." She winked. "Don't make it a Skylord." She pulled her arms out of her Skylord blazer and fell the short distance to the ground which, since she hurried, was only a few meters. Unfortunately, however, she managed to land on the Ginger of all places.
    The two fell to the ground beside one another, and neither wasted a second to get up.
    "Nice catch." Thalia said.
    "Nice fall." Logan replied.
    Criffin screeched in anger and dropped the jacket a few meters away from the edge of the crater and started to head back down for another try - and Thalia didn't have her jacket this time.
    From the top of the boulder, Jack stood and pulled two matches out of his matchbox - which Venom had given him - and tossed the rest down to Thalia. "Light it, quick!" He said Thalia nodded and struck one of the matches. Jack grinned and looked up. "This is gonna be fun."
    Then he disappeared in his usual flash of purple, reappearing on Criffin's back. Criffin screeched and tried to shake him off, but Jack's grip was tight.
     He stuck one of the matches between his teeth and struck the other match against the rough patch of fabric on his shirt. It didn't work - it was a dud. He sighed and tossed it away, then tried with the second one, clinging on for dear life as Criffin started doing barrel rolls in the sky. This match snapped, quite literally, under too much pressure.
     Jack groaned in frustration, now out of matches. He held his stick dynamite out in front of Criffin's face and pulled hard on the old man's hair. He roared in pain and spit fire out of his mouth.
    As soon as the fire stopped coming, Jack stuffed the stick in its mouth and leapt off its back.
    He landed solidly on the ground, rolling to break his fall beside Thalia and Logan.
    "Hold on." He grabbed Logan's collar and Thalia's forearm and teleported away.
    Upon reappearing in Kevin's living room, Thalia heard a distant boom and knew the dynamite had gone off.
    "About damn time." Thalia turned to see Venom holding Kevin in a full Nelson.
     She smirked and pulled her Skylord blazer back over her shoulders as she saw Kevin's eyes back to their normal brown and his obvious look of discomfort.
    "Venom?" He asked.
    "Hmm?"
    "You can let me go now."
    "Prove it."
    Kevin didn't hesitate. "You have a huge crush on that girl in-"
    "Okay shut up!" Venom's face flushed with panic and she released Kevin, who stood up.
    Jack smirked. "You cool bro? Did she hurt you too bad?"
    Kevin stretched his arms uncomfortably, though he had a regretful look behind his eyes only the Ilex could notice, because he had felt it before. "Only my pride, Jackie... Only my pride."