Leana's destination was Ritore, but it was a small town called Fintel, located in one of the cluster of islands which comprised the Ritore kingdom, that was her specific destination. Ritore's self titled island was home to the kingdom's royal family, while Planniforth's rich jewel mines supplied much of the kingdom's wealth, and several smaller islands provided farm land and space for naval bases.

One of the largest islands was Elelsiske, home to the kingdom's ports for sea, space and air travel, and this was where Leana's plane had landed. From there she travelled by boat to Trele, and was now heading at last towards the town of Fintel on a small bus. The town had grown up around a world famous university that was central to the island - a beautiful, calm place, hence why Nightlights had made Fintel their home. It had proven to be a vast source of inspiration for their music. Therefore it made sense that they had chosen to hold the celebratory gig in their hometown, and the sizeable population helped gain a loyal and decent sized audience more often than not.

Leana stifled a big yawn as the bus turned down a narrow, quiet street that led to a small bus station, marking the end of this particular journey. She had left home early on the morning, and even now in Aredria it would have only been early evening. But so much travelling always proved tiring, even if much of the journey was spent sitting down. Due to Ritore's time difference compared to Aredria, it was only mid afternoon here, so Leana planned to sneak in a quick nap before heading to the gig on the night. She'd originally planned to say an early hello to her mother, Koreen, before the gig but decided it was too rushed. Instead, it seemed better to surprise Koreen by letting her see she was in the audience. There was always time to chat later.

The bus pulled into the station with the chime of a bell, and the doors hissed open to let the sparse gathering of passengers disembark. As they shuffled off, Leana was last to leave, blinking briefly in the bright mid-afternoon sunshine, as she hefted her small grey suitcase onto the cobbled pavement. The doors closed behind her and the driver hefted out a newspaper, settling back in one of the passenger seats, intent on making the most of his short break. Leana strolled down the street - a place she had been quite a few times before, so she knew her way well enough. Even so, it always felt strange to be somewhere so far from home.

During her brief journey along the street, she passed several identical, old fashioned houses. At the very end of the street was a small, fairly unremarkable hotel, which Leana had seen many times before during her visits to Ritore, but had never had reason to visit. Normally she'd head straight past, aiming for Koreen's house, but the situation was different this time. As she walked along the small path, the large wooden doors swung open and a male zebra hurried past, into a taxi at the end of the drive. Leana caught the large door before it closed, heading straight to the reception, where a very attractive vixen sat behind a gleaming wooden desk, her jet black hair in a loose ponytail. She looked decidedly tired. Much of the reception seemed to be decorated in a rich golden colour.

"Hiya!" Leana smiled winningly. "I made a reservation for a room, just for tonight?"

The girl - Serien according to her name badge - seemed to brighten up as soon as she noticed Leana. "Sure, can I just ask your name, madam?"

"Leana Sharinda Snowkitten."

"Oh!" Serien said with surprise. "Of course. You look so much like your mother, madam."

Leana smiled. "You know her?"

"Oh yes," came the reply. "I'm a big Nightlights fan, right from some of their earliest albums. She used to stay here sometimes. No idea why when she lives not far away, but..." She trailed off.

Leana nodded. "Maybe she just liked a change of scene now and again. Hey, drop the madam stuff. You can call me Leana. Honorifics don't sit well with me. So you're going to the gig tonight then?"

The girl appeared to blush for some reason unknown to Leana. "Me? No, all the tickets had long since gone by the time I found out about the gig." She tapped briefly at a computer keyboard on her desk, squinting at the results on the screen, before scooping up a key card from a pigeonhole just behind her chair. "There we go! I believe room fourteen, on level two, is ready for you. Do you need any help with your luggage?"

Leana declined politely, heading up the stairs after noticing that the lift was broken. She swished her tail side to side as she walked, sensing the vixen's eyes watching her the whole time, and Leana grinned knowingly.

With only three floors and seven rooms on each, Leana found the designated room easily. The actual room was nothing fancy, with its fairly basic red carpet and blue wallpaper, but it was nice enough. Leana hadn't intended to spend a fortune when she only planned to stay here a short while. After placing her suitcase in the small wardrobe, she pulled the pink curtains shut and locked the door. That just left the setting of an alarm clock for early evening, and within minutes she was curled up asleep on the bed's yellow duvet.

She was woken half an hour earlier than expected, not by her alarm clock but by a sharp knock at the door. Leana blinked, stretched, and sat up, checking the little monitor by the door frame. She could see the vixen receptionist waiting outside with a tray.

Leana clicked the door open, and Serien held the tray forward bashfully. "Complimentary sandwiches," she explained. "There's cheese and tomato or cheese and ham. Sorry I didn't ask what you wanted earlier. I totally forgot to ask, but I can..."

"It's okay," Leana smiled, taking the tray. "I'm sure they'll be great."

The vixen, blushing again, said, "Well, if there's anything else you need, just ring downstairs and I'll be up right away. Anything at all, okay?"

She's got a crush on you, Leana thought, and decided to disarm the situation as best she could. She explained to Serien, after thanking her for the food, that she'd be heading out in a short while, and that she wouldn't be back until fairly late, and even then possibly only to collect her stuff.

"Oh..." came a somewhat disappointed reply. "I thought... Okay, well if you change your mind."

Leana clicked the door shut again and sighed. It was very flattering, but it didn't change the fact that Leana was already well and truly taken, and very happily so. She returned to the business at paw. After a quick meal, and cherry cordial from a decanter at the side of the bed, Leana felt fully refreshed and decided to prepare for the gig.

A short while later she left the room, wearing a tight pink t-shirt which showed off her tummy, and a pleated, black and white miniskirt which swished around her hips. Her hair was covered in an array of differently coloured ribbons. The bracelet Keryan had made and subsequently cast a spell on, was safely on Leana's wrist alongside her usual jewellery. (She still hadn't been able to suss just what spell had been cast on the bracelet.) The last time she'd worn that outfit, Andrina had described her as "officially a right little heartbreaker." The look she got from the vixen on reception, as Leana headed for the exit, suggested the statement was a little too true for comfort.

Facing away from Serien, Leana closed her eyes momentarily and muttered something under her breath, before turning back round. "Look, I don't want you to read too much into this. I just wondered if you wanted to go to the Nightlights gig? I have a spare ticket right here that my brother wasn't able to use, but I don't know if you can get the time off at this short notice?"

Serien's eyes widened with excitement. Not long afterwards, she and Leana sat in the back of a taxi, heading away from the hotel, after the vixen had cajoled the hotel manager into letting her leave early, and after she had changed from her work clothes into the casual outfit she kept in her own room at the hotel. (It seemed she didn't have her own flat, but a room was provided for each staff member on the upper level, if they required it.) She looked so different with her hair in pigtails, tied with pink ribbons, and wearing a red, glittery t-shirt and flared blue jeans. Leana also noted that her whole personality seemed remarkably brighter, away from the rules and the need for a professional attitude. The way she rambled on about Nightlights, and how much she loved their music, would have given Andrina's conversational skills a good run for their money.

The taxi journey across Fintel was brief and uneventful. It was a calm, quiet town usually and the people who had made it their home intended to keep it that way. It wasn't a place people went to if they expected rowdy clubs and pubs. Of course, with the famous university, and therefore students who occasionally needed to let off steam, there were a small number of clubs on the edge of Fintel, as well as a medium sized music venue known as the Arcadian. It was the only place a band could play live, realistically, in Fintel but it was an impressive venue.

Naturally, this was where Nightlights were playing tonight's gig, and this was where Leana and Serien were heading. Once the taxi stopped outside the venue, Leana payed the scruffy leopard driver using her cash card, stepping out and taking in the view - masses of interwoven neon lights covered the venue walls, swirling around in strange, complex patterns. The colours of the lights cycled slowly through the entire spectrum, but did it so slowly that most people didn't even realise.

Leana opened the little purse on her belt, removing the two tickets as she and the vixen strode up to the huge, elaborately decorated wooden doors which formed the main entrance. A middle aged, green haired, lizard lady sat in the ticket booth. As soon as she saw Leana, a flash of recognition crossed her face, but she didn't say anything. She took the tickets from Leana with a slightly theatrical flourish, before gesturing for the snowkitten to carry on through the doors. Due to the delay with Serien, Leana had arrived slightly later than planned, so she knew the near-deserted entrance would be very deceptive. Most of the audience had arrived much earlier, intent on securing the best place to watch the gig. Leana didn't mind - her tickets were for one of several small, two-seater booths situated high above the rest of the audience, and these offered the best view possible of the whole band. It also meant that she had more chance of getting her mother's attention when she chose to surprise her.

Leana gestured, and both she and Serien climbed the stairs to the booth at a fairly keen pace, admiring the photos along the walls, which depicted some of the more famous bands that had played at the Arcadian over two decades. The venue opened in 2006, and one of the first bands to play there had been Nightlights, just a few years into their recording contract. It wasn't a surprise therefore to find a photo of the band, early in their career, neatly framed at the top of the stairs.

"See!" Serien commented. "I told you Koreen looked just like you."

Leana looked closely at the photo. It had been several years since she'd been in the upper booths at The Arcadian, so it seemed slightly strange to see the photo again after such a long time, and thinking how young they had all been at the time. Leana herself would only have been eight when that photo had been taken.

At the top of the stairs, a staff member in front of the door nodded, and they both stepped into the booth as the door was gently closed, but not shut, behind them. Both seated, they looked down at the stage and, just as Leana had hoped, she had an ideal view of the massed synths, all ready for Koreen to play. Several of them were fairly new, but Koreen's oldest synth - a rare TD100 - had pride of place, and she had owned it since the band first formed in 1996. Just behind the keyboards lay a small laptop computer, which was used to keep the synths from crossing the fine line into total chaos.

At the moment, ethereal ambient music floated across the venue, played from a sequence on Koreen's laptop. Serien commented that it was a remix of a long song on Nightlight's new album. Leana knew that already, of course, but didn't want to interrupt the girl's enthusiasm. In the absence of a support band, the music served as something for the eager audience to listen to while they waited, as technicians made final checks and alterations to the equipment.

Somewhere in the darkness, a casually dressed, white furred wolf headed towards the Arcadian. The rest of the audience had long since filtered in, so there was no need to queue. He presented his ticket and was then directed into the main entrance by the lizard in charge of the ticket office. She told him it would be a good idea to hurry, as the gig was due to start fairly soon.

His ticket was for the lower seating area, though he knew that few of the fans would remain seated for long once the show began. He pushed through the crowds at a leisurely but determined pace, finally picking out a seat six rows from the front. Its previous inhabitant had presumably gone for refreshments, so the wolf claimed it.

He checked his watch. Eight o'clock came and went, but that was to be expected. Few bands began at exactly the scheduled time, and in the case of Nightlights, the sheer amount of hi-tech musical gear had to be very carefully checked, so it was bound to cause delays. One of the various technicians offered several heartfelt apologies for the delay, throughout which the wolf sat, unconcerned and emotionless, while a few of the fans had been sighing and shuffling impatiently in their seats.

Shortly after, a similarly dressed grey wolf politely nodded to the member of staff who stood by the door to the upper booth, directly opposite the one occupied by Leana and Serien. He paid them no attention, looking instead at the audience below. Before long, the background music began to intensify, increasing in volume. Much of the audience knew what that signified, as the lighting dimmed to a rich, deep blue. Moments later, as the synthesized music reached a crescendo, the lights flared into vivid reds and pinks, and the audience roared with excitement as the feline band members of Nightlights walked onto the stage.

Koreen was first out, heading to the pile of synths, taking over from the pre-recorded music as she played a swirling sequence of notes. The audience cheered and she grinned, raising a paw to wave, while the lights illuminated her in blue. She looked almost identical to Leana, albeit slightly taller and with longer, wavy hair, tied high in a purple bow. Her layered, purple, pleated skirts matched her lighter purple t-shirt perfectly.

Kerrin, next on-stage, headed straight for his bass guitar - a normal looking, white electric bass at first glance, but it had dials and switches covering most of its lower edge, looking more like a small synth panel. Kerrin grinned at the crowds as he complemented Koreen's keyboards with a hook-filled bass line. He was a tall, black furred cat with white paws and a white muzzle, his long orange hair in a tight ponytail, and eyes hidden behind dark purple sunglasses. His long black jacket swirled around his feet as he played.

Joining in simultaneously was Iyisha on the drums, at the back of the stage. His drum kit was a huge mix of cymbals, hi-hats, acoustic drums and hi-tech drum pads. Those pads allowed him to play the thumping synthetic drum sounds and sound effects which made up much of the band's rhythm section. Also, part of the lightning rig was connected to the drum pads, so they could change in time to his playing. Iyisha had white, short, spiky hair and orange fur. His muscular arms were shown off to good effect by his sleeveless black t-shirt. He was often described as a "gentle giant" since he was without a doubt, the shyest member of the band.

Not long after, Heather - a bubbly cheetah girl with long, wavy, yellow hair picked up her guitar, next to a mass of effects and filters, and began playing strange sweeping sounds that wove in and out of Koreen's synth patterns. The guitar was a customised hybrid - a cross between a normal red electric guitar and a synthesizer, with miniature keyboards along the lower edge and at the top of the fret board. Her clothing was almost totally black, the only exception being the dark purple hem to her miniskirt.

Finally, Tamyra walked up to the microphone stand, next to a solitary keyboard. As the band's singer, he seemed to gain the most applause as he yelled a greeting into the mike. He made sure to point out, "We're Nightlights, and we're really glad you guys could all make it here tonight!" His fur was orange, his hair a vivid red and tied in a loose ponytail, trailing down the back of his long, leather jacket. He'd opted to complete his gothic look with dark sunglasses and a purple ribbon tied round his right arm. The single synth allowed him to play some of the keyboard parts that Koreen couldn't manage by herself. There had been long-standing rumours that Tamyra and Koreen were more than just friends, but the rumours were way off the mark.

Tamyra called out to the entranced audience, "We're gonna kick off tonight's show with a little known song of ours. This is called 'Clouds!'" It turned out that the chosen song was Nightlight's biggest hit to date. That was the cue for further yells from the sizeable audience, and the lights flared into vivid colours. Behind Iyisha and his drums, a huge video screen burst into colour, showing weird swirling 3D shapes and, appropriately, masses of clouds.

When the song eventually ended with a thundering crescendo, it gave way to a swirl of improvised synths, while Tamyra introduced the band members, perhaps unnecessarily, to the audience. Leana chose that short interlude to try grabbing her mother's attention from the upper booth, while Serien clasped her paws together excitedly. It proved tricky to make Koreen notice her, since the upper booth wasn't as well lit as the rest of the audience, and many other people were waving at the band trying to get their attention too. By sheer luck Koreen just happened to glance up as a light swished across the upper gallery, and she saw her daughter waving at her from above.

But the look she gave her wasn't at all expected. It was one of total surprise and she silently mouthed, "What are you doing here?!" at Leana. As far as Leana was concerned, she had been invited here, so a puzzled look was totally unexpected. Once the initial surprise had gone, seconds later, Koreen gave a big, beaming grin and was evidently over the moon that her daughter was watching, returning to her keyboards with renewed spirit. Even so, that look of surprise sent a chill through Leana. Something suddenly felt very wrong.

As the next song started with a jingling guitar, Koreen blew a kiss towards Leana, mouthing, "I'll speak to you later!" The song began in earnest as Koreen joined in with the synths, looking back at the keys so she could concentrate properly.

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion.

Leana caught movement from the corner of her eye. Down below, a few rows from the front, a white wolf grabbed the otter girl in front of him, flinging her to one side and simultaneously pointing his finger at Koreen on the stage. In the upper booth directly opposite Leana, a grey wolf had turned to face her, holding both paws up in front of him.

Leana reacted instantly. A streak of white energy shot from the white wolf's fingers, straight at Koreen. Leana sent a blaze of green light towards her mother at the same time. It surrounded a shocked and bewildered Koreen in a vivid ball of energy, causing the wolf's attack to turn into harmless sparks as it struck the shield.

At the same time, the grey wolf opposite Leana opened his paws wide, sending a red bolt of energy towards her and Serien. Leana thrust her free paw sideways, rapidly summoning another green shield around the vixen. The shield just barely held as the red bolt struck home. However, Leana had neither time nor a free paw available to protect herself as a second red bolt smashed into her, knocking her to the floor while Serien screamed in panic.

The snowkitten lay on the floor, stunned, hearing nothing but a rushing sound in her ears. Whatever spell the wolf had used was vastly more powerful than anything anyone had used against her before. As her hearing gradually returned and her healing abilities instinctively began repairing the damage, she thought quickly about what had actually happened. The blast should have hit her side, but instead it had mostly been absorbed into the bracelet Keryan had cast the mystery spell on. She shuddered. The impact had been bad enough from what little of the spell had got through, so she didn't even want to think what the full impact could potentially have done. If she hadn't had that bracelet, and if Keryan hadn't cast the spell on it... It was as if somehow the little snowkitten had known what was going to happen. But surely that was impossible...

Now was hardly a good time to worry about that though. The disguises worn by the two wolves were pointless now, so they discarded them. In the booth opposite Leana, the face of the grey wolf dissolved, replaced by Attra's feline features. Down below, his partner-in-crime, Ashden, casually ignored the fleeing audience members, as he sent a barrage of powerful energy bolts hurtling towards the band on the stage. The band members were protected by a shield summoned by Koreen, who was hidden behind a large amplifier. However, her powers were nothing in comparison to those of Leana, and she was gradually weakening. She couldn't keep the shield up indefinitely, and the two Elysia officers knew it. They had no interest in the Nightlights members, but if they could force Koreen to use up her powers protecting them, so much the better.

Leana, out of Attra's sight as she lay on the floor of the booth, noticed that the shield she'd created around Serien was fading. She acted swiftly, summoning a large, light blue ball of energy in her left paw. She leapt up, noticing in a second just where Attra was standing, and flung the spell in his direction. As it slammed into him, it exploded, hurling him into the wall behind. He recovered instantly, drawing a strange symbol in the air with a single claw. Half a dozen small, red globes of energy formed in front of him, and began streaking directly towards Leana.

The snowkitten grabbed Serien by the paw, yelling, "Move!" as she dragged her as fast as possible towards the door leading away from the booth. They had only reached the top of the stairs, heading down to the main reception area, when all six of the red orbs struck the booth, exploding violently. The force of the blast hurled Leana and the vixen down the stairs, till they crashed in a heap at the bottom.

Leana shook her head to clear it. Her healing powers had saved her from injury, but Serien's leg had been badly twisted in the fall. She winced as she tried to stand.

In theory, Leana knew she could have diverted her own healing powers to help Serien. However, this would have taken a considerable length of time, and they simply didn't have that time to spare. The snowkitten looked at the vixen and asked, "Any chance you can walk if you lean on my shoulder?"

Serien winced again, deciding the only way to find out was to at least give it a try. Hopping along, leaning on Leana for support, the pair made their way towards the front door. Leana explained, "I'll get you out of here, then I have to go back to help my mother."

They both froze on the spot as they looked out of the main entrance, along the lengthy car park. The Fintel police, to their credit, had arrived within minutes of the distress call from the venue's security officers. Leana knew full well that despite the fact there were probably more than twenty police outside the building, there were two Elysia officers inside, and therefore it was no exaggeration that they were outnumbered. The police, that was... Their presence, to Leana at least, seemed relatively futile, but that was beside the point, and at that moment they had some far more pressing concerns.

They were attempting to prevent something - whatever it was, it was too far away for Leana to make out any details, except that it was almost entirely silver - from reaching the Arcadian. They were also failing to stop it. The creature, approaching steadily, was of course the FL7, created by the Elysia. Undaunted by the fact that several of the police had opened fire on it, the FL7 patiently advanced, completely unharmed and unconcerned. It only took even the slightest notice of the police when one of them got too near in an attempt to strike it with a large piece of metal. As smooth as liquid, its hand shot out, grabbing the officer by the throat and hurling him the length of the car park. He struck the wall just by the ticket booth, unsurprisingly landing in an unconscious heap.

The FL7 pointed its steel arm towards several of the police nearest to it, and with a loud whirr, a gun barrel appeared along the length of its wrist. Moments later it unleashed a barrage of highly destructive energy bolts towards anything that moved. As the police dived towards whatever cover they could find, cars exploded and chunks of glass and metal flew in all directions, sparks raining down along the tarmac. The commander yelled at his officers to retreat and regroup, which they did without hesitation, one of them dragging the injured officer nearest the Arcadian to safety.

Of course, Leana had no idea that the approaching creature was the FL7. All she knew was that it was evidently an Elysian creation, and it was potentially lethal. The front entrance was not an escape route any longer. As it strode more quickly towards the doors, Leana snarled, "Back! We've got to go back, now." Grabbing Serien close to her, she retreated back into the Arcadian, kicking the doors shut behind her and sealing them with a powerful spell. They both heard a crash as the FL7 smashed its fist into the wooden door. Leana's spell held, but she wasn't sure it would last much longer.

"We'll have to go back this way," Leana muttered, pointing towards the door to the main auditorium. "The only other way now is the fire exit, and that means heading for the stage."

Serien didn't argue, even though she knew they could only reach the stage by going into the very area currently occupied by the Elysia officers. Behind them, they heard the FL7 continually hitting the door as hard as it could with its fists, and there was no chance of it simply giving up. Before they entered the auditorium, Serien looked back and wasn't totally sure if she saw the creature's fist break through the door.

As they entered the main seating area, they were shocked by what they saw. Most of the audience had already fled, but a few bodies lay scattered around, and it sent a chill through Leana and the vixen. The Elysia's main target may have been the snowkittens, but if anyone got in the way, then it was regarded as unfortunate but also "for the greater good." Flames raged at one side of the room, where several amplifiers had been obliterated. Ashden stood among the seats, casually throwing energy balls towards the stage, almost toying with Koreen, while Attra just looked on from the above booth with an expression that bordered on excitement.

The rest of Nightlights were behind Koreen, trying to lever the stage door open, but it refused to shift. Something had totally sealed it. At that moment, Koreen's powers gave out and she began to slump forwards in exhaustion. Too late for Leana to help with a shield of her own, the next spell cast by Ashden struck Koreen and hurled her and the other band members backwards.

Leana told Serien to head for the stage as best she could, and that she'd cover her. Serien shook in fear, but began hobbling rapidly towards the stage, while Leana snarled, a look of hatred on her face as she glared at Ashden.

"How dare you," she hissed. She walked at a considerable pace towards the Elysia officer, and nothing was going to stop her. As she headed straight for him, Ashden held up both paws and launched several yellow energy balls at her, but Leana struck them out of her way with her wrist. Attra clenched his fist, high above in the booth, and a stream of crackling energy shot from his paw. Leana used her own paw to 'catch' it, and sent a far more powerful stream of energy back along Attra's spell. As soon as it struck him, the entire booth exploded noisily in a huge fireball. Leana didn't even look as a figure plunged from the balcony in flames, striking the floor below. She knew it was impossible to kill the two officers, but they could at least be injured, however briefly, and that would at least slow them down.

The snowkitten resumed her advance towards Ashden, angrily smashing aside each spell he threw in her direction. Without any warning, when Leana was less than ten feet away from him, she suddenly flung a streak of black lightning at Ashden, which crashed into him, forcing him back against the far wall, where he slumped, seemingly unconscious.

Leana heard a metallic sound behind her and spun round, just in time as Attra - having evidently recovered unnervingly rapidly from his balcony skydive - swung a long, curved sword down towards her. She swiftly reached up, grabbing Attra's wrist to stop his attack, her teeth bared as she snarled, "Back off!" The next thing Attra knew, another bolt of lightning had been used to hurl him backwards and he struck the wall not far from where Ashden was staggering up.

Leana turned and headed swiftly towards the stage. If she'd looked back, she might have caught the slightest smirk from Ashden as he watched her. She pounced up onto the stage, where Serien - despite her injured leg - was attempting to drag Koreen to safety.

Leana shot a glance back at the two stealthily approaching Elysia officers. Turning back to the vixen, she told her, "There isn't time. Cover your ears." As soon as she held out a paw, every power socket on the stage hissed and crackled, and electricity channelled out in long arcs towards her waiting fingers. Leana combined that power with her own, sending it out from her other paw. A huge energy barrier formed right across the front of the stage, making a deafening roar as it expanded, its green tint casting an eerie glow on everyone behind it. And then there was silence.

Leana glared out through the barrier at Ashden and Attra. It was Attra who decided to be the first to try it out. Raising a paw, he launched a volley of high powered spells at her shield. Leana's spell held firm, and each blast dissipated harmlessly, as the snowkitten had expected. Serien was understandably far more nervous, backing as far away from the front of the stage as possible. Attra tried a few more spells, then very calmly shrugged and stepped aside. In his place, Ashden launched a continuous stream of white-hot energy straight into the shield, but it made no more progress.

He stepped up to the barrier, calmly taking his glasses from his coat pocket and placing them on the end of his nose, looking at Leana with what almost seemed like admiration. "Impressive," he commented. "Not that we expected anything less. The main thing is that we've got you all exactly where we wanted you, even if it did take longer than I expected."

Leana ignored him, kneeling down to her mother, whose own healing abilities weren't working anywhere near quickly enough. Leana channelled her own healing powers into Koreen in an attempt to help her recover more rapidly. Serien pulled at the stage door, as the other band members had done earlier, but found it was still sealed tight or bolted from the other side. The rest of Nightlights, who hadn't been hit directly (unlike Koreen) were gradually waking.

It was Iyisha who suddenly sat bolt upright, pointing at the auditorium entrance. "What in the name of the goddess is that?!"

Leana, still holding her mother's arm, looked where the cat had pointed. In the doorway, striding towards the stage was the FL7. Leana recognised the android from the venue's entrance - it had evidently worn down her spell and smashed its way in. But this time she could see it properly, and it was a terrifying vision. All black, purple and silver metal, looking like a twisted mockery of a humanoid, it appeared to be extremely muscular, except for the stomach area which was strangely thin, at least in comparison to the rest of it. Its arms and legs bore a frightening array of cruel blades, all razor-sharp, and its head seemed to be a demonic cross between a goat and a praying mantis, its jet black eyes staring at Leana as it walked towards her.

It lifted a long arm, pointing towards the energy shield around the stage, and with a loud click, a small gun appeared from a hatch on its wrist. It immediately fired. Luckily, as Leana had hoped, the laser bolt simply bounced straight off the barrier. The FL7 seemed unconcerned. Another hatch opened on the underneath of its wrist, and a much larger, complex device appeared with a louder click. Leana stood, wary now, as it aimed again and fired a much more powerful bolt at the shield. This time, the shield only just held, and blinked out of existence just for a moment, before flaring back into life.

The FL7 emotionlessly watched for a moment, and then two more beam weapons slid out on the left and right of its fist, complimenting the other two weapons. Leana's eyes widened as it aimed, and she yelled to everyone behind her, "Get back! Get back as far as possible!"

She barely had time to finish her panicked sentence before the FL7 opened fire, and a wide, blue-white bolt of sheer energy tore straight through the shield, hitting her straight in the chest. She was hurled to the floor in a mass of sparks. As she began to fade in and out of consciousness, she saw the FL7 pounce onto the stage as if it was a wolf, the shield dissolving around it, and then it turned to face her and the others. As she passed out, the last thing she heard was a scream from Heather as she yelled, "Oh goddess, do something! It's killing her!"

In Phoenixbrook, downstairs at The Burrow, Jarret and Ailee were locking up the nightclub. Jarret shivered suddenly and involuntarily, for no apparent reason. He'd felt troubled all night, but hadn't been able to figure out why. If Ailee had felt the same, she'd probably put it down to her worries about Keryan.

The phone behind the bar started ringing, so Jarret - who was nearest - picked it up. His eyes narrowed when he recognised the voice on the other end of the line.

"Alder..."

Ailee stopped in her tracks and felt the blood drain from her face. She ran over to the bar, trying to listen.

The leader of the Elysia sounded amused. "Nice to know you never forget a friendly voice."

"Cut the crap," Jarret retorted. "What do you want?"

The reply was a while coming. "I just wondered what time it was over there in Phoenixbrook."

"What?" Jarret snapped.

Alder replied, "I'm guessing it must be approaching midnight. Right about now, Leana is over in Ritore with her mother, although she probably wishes she wasn't."

"What do you..."

Alder interrupted, calmly. "Be quiet, snowkitten. She'll almost certainly be tackling our new little toy. Great creation from Ashden, called the FL7. You never know, you might get to play with it yourself, if you survive tonight."

Jarret tried again. "What the hell does..." Ailee put her paw on his arm in an attempt to calm him down.

Alder replied, no less calmly than before, "I told you to be quiet. Believe me, Leana won't be coming back from Ritore. I think this all very nicely proves that not even you can know everything that is going on, no matter how many contacts you surround yourself with."

Jarret growled, "All this proves is that I don't give a damn where Leana goes or what happens to her. She isn't my priority."

"Really?" came the mocking reply. "I know about the link between you and Leana. If she dies, so do you, and the same in reverse. I think you care more than you're letting on about her fate, even if it isn't by choice. Anyway, it's after midnight now, so I thought I'd give Leana's fate a little helping paw. Goodnight, snowkitten."

The phone went dead.

Simultaneously, three passers-by outside were flung to the cobbled ground as the entire Burrow nightclub erupted in a deafening explosion, the whole building engulfed in flame, with glass showering down in all directions. As the initial explosion subsided, it was replaced by a fearsome roar of flames, which incinerated everything that remained of the Burrow.

Somewhere outside the city, high up on a hill, the Elysia leader watched the distant fireball within the city walls, eerily silent. As was he. He clicked his mobile phone shut, pocketing it, before walking down the hill like a man without a care in the world.