"Hah..." She let out a quiet sigh as she looked over the vast cityscape in the distance. She missed the view sometimes, but it also drudged up too many dark memories. Besides, her home would be elsewhere sooner or later...

"Something on your mind, dear?" A voice suddenly spoke out behind her. Being taken by surprise, Hailey let out a soft gasp before realising who it was.

"Elaine... What are you doing here?"

"I live here?" Elaine stated before walking to Join Hailey on the balcony. She then proceeded to observe Hailey looking into the palace from where she had just emerged.

"If you are looking for your Father, he is on Ecumenopolis 2 unveiling some new foundry that the government has funded. So you are safe today... The real question is why are you here? With King Sigismund no less? I thought you were teaching at the Psionic College."

Hailey allowed herself to relax knowing she wasn’t on the same planet as her DNA donor. She then turned back to look out over the view from the royal palace and sighed once more.

"Well, After Apollo got his dispensation things took off for him and to put a long story short, he created a new drug and now Uncle Sigismund has bought the manufacturing rights to it and is in the process of getting it made, he just needs to pass a few laws. I am here to oversee that nothing negatively impacts my boyfriend. Even though all parties present like him a great deal."

Elaine showed her surprise to that statement. "Was that what you had tricked your father into signing? His black biology-"

"Gene enhancement..." Hailey cut off her mother in law, sternly.

"Right... Still, I am surprised Sigismund has taken a liking to it. He is a stickler for convention." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Hah!" Hailey let out a laugh catching Elaine off guard. The laugh was genuine, so it freaked her out.

"You haven’t seen Sigismund yet have you?" Hailey asked and Elaine shook her head.

"No. Since your..." Elaine looked around cautiously. "That bombshell that you dropped on me, I haven’t been around your father much... I’ve distanced myself from politics and have just focused on my children. Why? What has happened?"

Hailey began to walk away "Come. I could use the distraction. I think you will find the situation... Amusing."

...

"Oh Elaine! How wonderful to see you. I started to think you were ignoring me. Come, pull up a chair, I am just getting some of the prep for the laws I am passing out of the way. How are you? How are the kids? Are they avoiding their favourite uncle aswell?"

Queen Elaine suddenly became slackjawed at what she was seeing.

King Sigismund, the war king, the man she had once chased around for an entire day to sign one little document was sitting down with a small cup of coffee, glasses on and doing... Work... Smiling.

"Am I being punked?" She blurted out and quickly covered her mouth. Prompting Sigismund to laugh.

"Hahaha! It really is night and day isn’t it? That Sentinel is a little genius I am telling you. Hmm, thirty eight mins, might as well..." Sigismund then pulled out an inhaler from his pocket and.

*TSSK*

"What was that?" Elaine asked, still baffled by the sight of domestic Sigismund.

"This? This is what I am writing my law about. I am making sure those fat fucks on Euc 6 get nowhere near it. It is for the use of the military and it will remain that way for as long as I am King."

Putting it together, Elaine stepped forward towards the king and picked up the inhaler he discarded. "Is this the thing Sentinel Apollo was working on during his dispensation? What is it?"

"A combat stim." Hailey spoke up "I spotted the potential for it to completely eradicate the Lyssa drug the first time I took it. It will be revolutionary."

"Plus it mellows out my emotions so I can function like a rational person when needed. Like dealing with boring as fuck paperwork." Sigismund added on. "Though I could do with a break. How are you feeling Hailey? Still glum about your boyfriend being at war on his birthday?"

Hailey let out a deep sigh. "Yeah. I miss him."

"Apollo is at war? Where?" Elaine asked, curiously, true to her words, she was out of the loop on recent events.

"Lleon T1. Fighting the Drakoshi. According to the reports I have from the front. He has been on a harassment campaign for months now. Not what I would do, but the fact he is hurting the Drakoshi to a standstill with such few numbers deserves merit."

"Lleon T1? I have heard of that place before." Elaine muttered and Sigismund stood up.

"Aye. But don’t worry, princess. The... Ugh even in this state it sickens me. The peace talks with the Coalition are going well and the scourge has slowed their assaults on all sides. Once those have passed I will be going there to finish the incursion once and for all. I have been inactive for far too long."

A silence lingered in the room for a moment as Sigismund, even in his current state, allowed his warrior within to take over, his aura and presence engulfing those present.

"R-Right then... Best of luck to you, Sigismund. It’s nice seeing you in a... It’s nice seeing you look so chipper. I’ll leave you to it." Elaine declared and began walking away before stopping as Hailey still looked a bit down in the dumps.

"Hailey... Would you like to come and see your siblings? I am sure without Dickon’s presence nearby, the interaction will be more pleasant for you?"

Hailey frowned at the request and was about to decline, but she caught herself. It seemed a bit harsh to say no, they were her blood, though the half she didn’t particularly like...

Still though, she put on a smile, she could do with the distraction. The talk about Apollo had left her feeling needlessly worried for him. "Sure. I don’t see why not. Let’s go.

...

One Week later: Spartari Core world- Pandoton

Thorne and Malone entered a room they had visited everyday for the last five days. This facility was a highly classified military outpost. Surrounded by thousands, hundreds of thousands of guards, a great deal of them Psionically trained.

So as the duo looked around the black and white room. They were still stunned by what they saw.

Chaos.

Gashes in the walls, feet deep. Blood and meat everywhere. Technology destroyed. If Thorne hadn’t gotten the call directly from the Butcher that this was her work. He wouldn’t believe it. This wasn’t her way of doing things.

Sure she was a twisted fucking Psychopath that gutted and ate portions of her victims, but this? He had no idea how the butcher was capable of such destruction."

"It just doesn’t make sense, Sterling. I don’t sense a motive this time. The last time there was a connection. A pattern to follow. But Cora Pyrmenocles was a powerful Lochagos and a squeaky clean background. Why would the butcher come for her? It doesn’t make sense after days of looking at this place."

Sterling took a deep breath. "I know Dean, I know. But perhaps it’s time to follow that other lead we had more carefully this time? Could the butcher have been hired? And if so, by who?"

Malone inhaled and stayed silent for a few moments before speaking up once more. "Maybe we missed something in Cora’s background check? As for who it could be? What family have we run into each step of the way?"

Thorne said nothing, but nodded his head. Three Hyllus’ all involved or impeding their investigation in their own way. It was suspicious, but there was no proof. Just speculation.

"Detectives! I got something!" Someone shouted from across the room. A techno mechanic friend of theirs. "What do you have for us T?" Thorne said, overly eager as he approached the man.

"Hidden cam feed. Was a bitch to get the machine to spill its secret. It was on the verge of dying countless times after the damage it had taken by whoever did this, but after days of decoding, I have a video feed."

Malone patted T on the back. "Well? What are you waiting for? Play the fucking thing!" He yelled, getting over his tech displeasure rather quickly giving the circumstances.

"Alright alright. Just let me transfer it over to a more secure... There we go. Holo-projector activating... Now."

After the techno mechanic said that. A small holoprojector began to play a video. Lochagos Cora was at her desk doing her work. The woman looked like a true Spartari military professional. Her brown hair slicked back into a pony tail and even in private, her military garb was in perfect condition.

The detectives grew worried each moment the video played. If it was just her doing paperwork, they would have nothing. However after a few more seconds, a voice suddenly became present in the room.

"Lochagos? There is a Psionic recruit, Denise, to see you. Shall I let her in?"

The Lochagos reached under her desk, and pulled out an object the detectives couldn’t see from the angle before replying.

"Yes, Send her in. I have been expecting her..."