"We're going now?" Richard asked, stepping forward from behind Michael. "But Edward said-"

"I know what he said," Will retorted, cutting him off. "But as I said, I learned-"

Richard cut him off in turn. "You think now that you're an Alpha, you don't have to do what he tells you?"

The reply didn't entirely shock Will. Ever since Richard tried to kill him outside the Fred Meyer, the original rivalry never faded. It was smothered, to be sure, when Will was an ally and part of the same Nexus. He'd been foolish to expect it to be settled, he thought. Now that they weren't bound as members of a fellow Nexus, Richard's original opinion of him had resurfaced. He reinforced it with his next comment. "You're an outsider. You don't get to issue orders. We're here to do what Edward wants, not what you want."

Will hesitated, glancing towards the back of the group, meeting Kenta's gaze. His friend could only offer a shrug. No suggestion as to how he thought Will should treat the challenge. As it turned out, he didn't need to offer one. Michael stepped in front of Richard, turning to face him. "Watch your manners, boy. He's the one that taught you how to fight, remember? He's your Captain!"

"Not anymore, he's not," Richard said. "And you don't outrank me either. If you weren't a member of the Nexus, you'd be in the same position as him."

Michael stared incredulously at Richard for several seconds. Then, his face hardening, he turned to face Will. "What's the plan? Just rushing in there?"

Will scanned the faces of the others before answering. By his best guess, Michael was the only one who seemed ready to help him, outside of Kenta. Just perfect, he thought. So their acceptance of him had been a lie all along. He took a deep breath to steady himself, as his heart was suddenly pounding its way into his throat. "Well, if you're coming along with me, then no. Come on, then. Kenta, with us."

His friend moved to follow at once, as did Michael. The others stayed where they were, watching the three of them walk away with narrowed eyes. Will felt another flash of irritation and looked pointedly away. Forever the outsider, he thought. "You sure you want to disobey Edward's order, Michael?"

"Ah, he'll understand," Michael said easily. " Besides, you might not be one of us, but you're still an ally. Those idiots can't look past the fact that you ain't from one of the villages."

"That's one way to put it," Will grumbled quietly. "Alright. Kenta and I will be a lot faster than you if we use our power, so we'll run like normal."

"Aye aye. Let's get to it, then."

They broke into a light jog, then ran at double pace, cutting a narrow path through the knee-high grass of the tundra. Will kept an eye out as they moved, scanning to either side of their group. It was good that he did. The grass might have been tall enough to conceal the people lying in wait for wanderers, but Will, ready as he was, saw them rising to their feet, ready to fight. He turned sharply on his heel as he saw the first one appear. Fire was already leaping into the stranger's hands, but Will reached him before he could do more than produce a flicker of light. He slammed the hilt of his sword into the man's head. His eyes rolled back into his head and he fell with a grunt. Then two more heads popped up, mere feet away, hands pointing towards him.

Will ducked low to avoid the shards of ice they sent his way, then stood up and threw a ball of flames at the one on the left. It was a direct hit. The other suddenly gave a cry of pain and collapsed. Will could see the evidence of electricity flickering across his body. Confused, he turned to where Michael was standing, one hand still extended, two fingers pointing. "How'd you do that?"

Michael looked just as confused. "I just guided it into my hand and let it go. Did you not try that?"

Will almost laughed. He'd always tried it the way he'd done with fire, which was collecting it in his hand and throwing it. Of course, lightning couldn't be collected, at least not in that sense. "Nope. Good tip though."

Another three figures were visible now, running forward to get closer. Before they could attack, Will had extended his free hand in the same fashion, directing current into that hand. An arc of bright electricity leaped from his hand to the person he'd targeted as if they were connected by an invisible wire. The woman convulsed silently, then fell out of sight once more. Will quickly shot down the second one, and Michael conjured an explosion behind the third, knocking them out. Neither of their opponents had the slightest chance to launch an attack.

"Nice work," Will said, to both. "Alright, let's keep moving."

They resumed their fast jog, making good progress. It was another two or three minutes before Will heard the sounds of people fighting ahead. He slowed down enough to make himself heard. "Alright, Michael."

"What's the plan?" The old soldier asked at once. "Bombardment?"

"Yep," Will said shortly. "Do your best not to hit us."

He didn't have to explain his plan to Kenta, who reacted at once. Will could see the electricity dance across his friend's body, and nodded. It looked strange from an outsider's perspective, he thought. He charged his own body, and bolted forward, Kenta right behind him. In no time at all, they'd caught up to the battle. There were almost a hundred people there that weren't from the Fire Nexus, he noticed. Togai had done a lot of recruiting. They had the Fire Nexus surrounded, unleashing a constant stream, forcing their targets into a tight group. Will thought that the only reason they hadn't crushed them yet was because of the power boost that the Fire Nexus got from being in the cold.

Yet he could tell at once that they were in a bad situation. Even as he watched, he saw Angel get hit by a flying rock, and drop to the ground. Then Emmet was struck by several ice chunks in rapid succession, and fell as well. James took a huge blast of fire, and though he stayed up, it was obvious that he was badly hurt. Edward, Noratuk, and James were stationed around the Fire Nexus, slinging a never-ending stream of flames at the enemies that approached. They were the best source of power. In the center of the cluster, Charlisa was supporting them, her face pale and strained. There was no sign of Togai at the moment.

Will and Kenta both darted forward, drawing their swords and going on the attack. Will cut down two of them before they even noticed he was there, slashing his sword back and forth with blinding speed. He pivoted and jumped back, avoiding a jet of flames and slamming his fist into the face of another with the same movement. In another second, Kenta had moved past him, cutting down three enemies in a flurry of strikes. Will felt a moment of satisfaction that he'd picked Kenta to join his Nexus. He was using the lightning as if he'd done so for years, and his sword was a blur of silver, casting an odd glimmering light across the battlefield as he moved around. Then Michael added his own efforts to the mix, and things suddenly became very loud.

A chain of explosions five or six long erupted in a circle around Will and Kenta. They were so powerful that they even drowned out the screams of the people who were struck by them. Will lifted one arm to protect his eyes from the blinding light, and when it faded, there was a huge gap in the press of bodies that had surrounded them. Will and Kenta shared one look of awed surprise, then glanced back to see the grinning figure with his hands raised. That was a spike in power that Will hadn't expected. Definitely more than should have been possible just from the cold air around him.

"Keep that up Michael!" Will shouted. The former soldier waved to indicate that he understood. More explosions rang out around them. Already his efforts were making the fighting a lot easier for the Fire Nexus, and it couldn't have come at a better time. Even Noratuk, the one with the most stamina out of the entire Nexus, looked like she was starting to get tired. Still, she was blocking and throwing fire so fast that it was endless, constantly dancing from side to side to catch the worst of the enemy attacks and shield the people behind her.

Strangely, the enemy seemed to be most focused on Edward's position. The Alpha was knocking each one down with absolute ease, but they still rushed his position. Will tried to think of a reason for that, but his mind came up blank. Surely they knew that they stood no chance of defeating him. Right? Still, something about it didn't sit right with Will. He charged forward, leaving Kenta to the cleanup of the rest of the outlying attackers. He slammed his shoulder into one at top speed, hurling him back into the group and toppling many of them like bowling pins. Then he had to dodge as Edward released another flood of red fire, coating the entire group. The ones that had been knocked down by Will stood no chance and the few of the remaining group that survived suddenly lost their will to continue fighting.

"What are you doing here so early?" Edward asked, spotting Will. "You weren't supposed to come for another ten minutes!"

"New info," Will said, moving closer. "I figured out how Togai is creating more Nexians. The method is a particularly bad one."

As quick as he could, he told the other Alpha what Tobias had shared with him. Edward's face paled by a few degrees as he came to the same realization as Will. "So he can use our powers."

"I think so," Will said. "He's never done it before, but if he can take our energy, it only makes sense that he can send it back."

"Of course it does," Edward replied. He turned sharply on his heel to blast a fake Water Nexian out of the way. "So that's his trump."

Will shook his head. "It's absolute bullshit, is what it is. But that's not the biggest piece of news."

Edward raised both eyebrows expectantly, not saying anything. Will obliged by explaining quickly. "Togai isn't an Alpha. Neither was Hitori. He can be killed easily. And when he's dead, there's no more Soul Nexus."

To Will's surprise, Edward didn't seem at all bothered. In fact, his mouth curled into a small smile, and he said, "Well, that's some good news. About time."

"You think that's good?" Will asked, taking half a step back. He knew Edward wasn't fond of Togai or Hitori, but to wish the disappearance of an entire Nexus...

"You heard what Kenta said, Will," Edward explained, his face serious once more. The sound of the battle faded around them as the last enemy fell to one of Noratuk's attacks, and they looked around in faint surprise. Edward lowered his voice so that only Will could hear. "They can literally suck the life out of someone. I don't think anyone should have that power."

"We can kill just as easily," Will protested. "Easier, if anything."

"Yes, but our damage can be reversed. Fire can be put out. Water can be moved. Earth can be smoothed, and air can slow down. You can't revive a dead person."

"Which is entirely bad news for you," Togai's voice said. Appearing out of the ground in front of Edward, he lifted his sword to level with the Alpha's chest. "Goodbye, Edward."

It was only at that moment that Will understood. They had all focused on Edward to force him to use his flames. To heat up the air around him. To activate the weakness of his Condition. Will snatched his sword free of its scabbard, his movement sped up by the electricity that jumped through him, and swung the blade up in the same movement. It sliced right through Togai's sword arm at the elbow, cutting the limb cleanly in two. Togai didn't even react to the blow, already pivoting in place and striking Edward directly in the center of his chest. There was a strange reverberation in the air around his hand, and then a flash of blinding light that knocked all away.

When it cleared away, Edward was standing, alone, in the center of the small crater the explosion had formed, a large hole in his chest. Slowly, as if time had also stopped its progress to watch, the Alpha looked down at the wound in his own body. Another smile touched his face as if he'd just thought of something funny. For a brief moment, his head turned, and his eyes met Will's. There was a blank sort of acceptance there. No anger. No fear. His lips moved in a single sentence. Even though Will couldn't hear it from where he was, he knew what the words would be. And then he fell.

"Keep your promise."