Elijah Klein pressed forth, his feet pounding against the unkempt tile below as he gave chase. He knew the voice of their assailant. The man who had attacked them in such a cruel and underhanded way. It made a lot of puzzle pieces click into place for the young man, as unfortunate as it was. There was a small part of him that held out hope and for that, he had to be the one to intercept their attacker.

  Zino blazed ahead, the blood of the fossilized hunters burning in his veins. There was a tinge of pride in the Klein heir, he didn’t even know how Zino had formed his dirt claws without punching into the ground. Perhaps he had been slowly pulling dirt along as they went.

  Either way, it demonstrated the last month hadn’t been a waste – even if Elijah had focused on training himself, Zino must have sharpened his mind.

  “We’re with you!” Ritika’s voice momentarily surprised the Maestro, but he was glad to have backup with him. He couldn’t take the time to find out if it was just Ritika, or if another Maestro gave chase – it was taking all his might to keep up with Zino both physically and visually.

  Thankfully the sprint ended shortly soon after; the hunters having cornered their prey.

  A rather tall man stood before the group of four. He had greasy black hair and wore a long white lab coat. Even taking into consideration the poor lighting the decrepit building possessed, the man still thought to wear a pair of sharp cat-eye sunglasses. Despite being cornered at the end of a hallway, the man stood nonplussed by the presence of the Maestro and three Resonators.

  “I had my suspicions, but I had hoped them to be wrong...” Elijah furrowed his brows whilst attempting to catch his breath. “Klaus Martin,” he announced the man’s name.

  “Of course, my former employer is the one to give chase,” laughed the man. “How do you do Mister Klein? I hope you’re well.”

  The three Resonators around the Klein heir stood ready to fight despite their target having no visible weapon or Resonator of his own.

  They know something I don’t, Elijah realized, keeping himself ready to move at a moment’s notice. “We’re sorely missing your talents, Mister Martin.”

  Diplomacy was met with a scoff. “Doubtful. You constantly shot down my projects.” The scientist glowered at his former boss. “I hope you enjoyed my demonstrations of what they’re capable of,” he chuckled.

  “The sprite bodies?” Elijah raised a brow. That was the big one he remembered the man championing, though he was certain that wasn’t the only project to have been shot down.

  “Of course. We can equip them will all manner of attack and auxiliary systems that push the envelope of Resonator potential,” Klaus grinned wildly as he spoke.

  Elijah shook his head. “Once again, you miss the point.”

  “What?!” Klaus barked.

  “That’s not a Resonator. That’s just a weapon, a gun.”

  “What’s the difference?!”

  Ritika gulped, gathering sand around her. “This guy’s a freak,” she muttered to Soot, who nodded in agreement with his fellow Resonator.

  Elijah too, found himself in agreement with Ritika’s commentary. His eyes narrowed as his focus remained solely on the other Maestro before him. “Resonators are beautiful, wonderful beings we have the luxury of sharing this world with. They should be respected.” Images of Shouri and his trio flashed in the young man’s mind. “They’re our equals, our partners,” the conviction in his voice was loud and clear which earned warm smiles from Emily’s two by his side.

  As strong as Elijah’s convictions were, however, they were swatted away by a scoff of indifference from the receiving party. “They’re useful, Klein. You can cut your self-righteous preaching about their rights or feelings. Tools are to be used until they break. When they break you pick up a new tool. It’s as simple as that,” spat the scientist, his glare sharpening behind his shades with every word he spoke.

  The Klein heir shook his head. “Who hurt you, Klaus? You have too brilliant of a mind to be missing the big picture like this.” Regardless, Elijah persisted. “If you’re concerned about returning to a normal life after this, I can pull some strings and help you find a more reputable position at a better firm,” he offered.

  Ritika just stared in awe at the Maestro by her side. Despite the horrible, monstrous things Klaus was saying, Elijah still saw the potential in the older man. He wanted to help. He wanted to make a difference in this man’s life.

  “You can take your deal and shove it in the paper shredder,” Klaus growled. “I don’t want to hear that from you of all people. You’ve never known a day of honest work in your life.”

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  Once more the hand of diplomacy was smacked away. There was only one option left. Elijah took in a deep breath, exhaling loudly. “So be it,” he spoke, his voice quavering with regret. “Zino,” Elijah firmly called, his Resonator flexing the digits of his claws. “Apprehend the criminal.”

  The Dinosaur grinned, arcing his back and flicking his tail. “With pleasure,” he spoke through his bared fangs.

  Klaus stood up straight, pushing his shades back up. “You think I’m not ready for your pet, Klein?” he scoffed.

  “I hope you are,” Elijah said a confident smirk gracing his lips. “It would be disappointing if you weren’t.”

  The expression the Klein heir wore was unlike anything the scientist had seen before. It shook him momentarily, but he quickly regained his composure.

  Zino slowly approached his target, preparing to leap at any second. Ritika and Soot stood on either side of Elijah, tugging on the strings of rhythm that connected them to Emily. The cat gulped, her eyes darting back and forth.

  This was too easy.

  There had to be a trick.

  There’s no way a man like this would go down quietly.

  Little did Ritika know her suspicions were spot on.

  Ritika’s ears flicked as a certain hum hit them. But before she could voice her warning one of the walls exploded. Electricity crackled in the air as the battle began in earnest.

  Zino pivoted and intercepted the first fist coming his way. The opposite wall similarly collapsed with another lightning-covered fist being thrown in his direction.

  The dinosaur grabbed both of the oncoming attacks, his dirt claws snuffing out the wild charges contained within the assailants’ limbs.

  “Those are sprites?!” Ritika gasped, holding up a hand in prepared spellcraft. Soot too aimed a hand up ready to arc a shot at their adversaries.

  Zino held onto two robot bodies, slowly crushing their metallic limbs with his dirt claws. They attempted to attack with their other arms, but a quick flick of Zino’s powerful tail sliced through the metallic bodies like warm butter.

  Even with his precious robots being crushed Klaus grinned toothily. Before Elijah could figure out why, the opposing Maestro pressed a button on his tuner.

  BEEP

  BOOOOOM!

  The floor rocked as both robots exploded in a violent blast of rhythm and shrapnel.

  “ZINO!” Elijah cried out, only being held back by Soot and protected by a timely barrier of sand from Ritika.

  “Have a little faith in me…” the dinosaur snarled from within the smoke.

  When the debris settled, Klaus remained in place, three more of his robot Resonators having appeared to shield their owner from the blast. The floor, walls, and ceiling were severely damaged – chunks taken out of the surrounding infrastructure.

  Despite the destruction around him, the proud dinosaur remained standing, his dirt claws having been evaporated in the blast and his real arms being charred black.

  Klaus adjusted his sunglasses. “I’ll give you credit, lizard. You’re certainly sturdier than the last time I saw you.” His eyes scanned the opposing Resonator who despite the rough state he was in, glared back with blazing hate in his eyes. “Though those pesky claws have been dealt with,” chuckled the scientist, allowing his shoulders to catch slack.

  “Armalcol Fucile, Legato.”

  THWICK

  One of the robots suddenly collapsed, the yellow gem containing the sprite that moved it embedded in the wall next to Klaus.

  “What the hell…?” Klaus gasped. Through the hole in his defenses, he noticed Elijah; panting hard, hair half white, brown tuner tightly in his grasp.

  “You… don’t cast spells...” Klaus’ shock was quickly replaced by anger, however. “You can’t! Especially not Ossias!” roared the researcher.

  Elijah grinned, one hand clutching his chest while he gathered his breath. “Correct - I don’t,” he replied, reaching into his coat with his tuner hand. “But my life has always been about risk management and optimal usage of my resources.” A small flask of golden liquid met his lips. He threw his head back, downing the vial in one go. Color burst back into his hair, restoring the Maestro’s lost energy.

  Klaus shook, his teeth nearly cracking under the pressure of his jaw, the hate-filled glare directed solely at the Klein heir who stood defiantly before him.

  The blond Maestro stood up straight, his composure returning with his spent rhythm. “Let’s play a game Mister Martin – who will run out of steam first? You or I?”