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Coming out of the plane, from the AirTrain Airways, Archard felt the powerful breeze hit him. He pulled the air to him, filling his lungs. Holding his bag, Arch looked down on Niko, whom he had brought along for this journey. What Archard had in mind couldn't be achieved if he was trying to do it alone. He needed someone. But, he needed someone he could trust. Niko seemed like the best option. 

Now, both were in Duncans, and Archard was ready to hit the hotel and drop the bags. Get a good nights sleep after that not-so-great flight. Although they came in first class, it wasn't the best service ever. Well, it didn't even come close to it.

Then, Archard started to glance around, and saw a man holding a piece of card with the name Anarchy written on it. "Niko, found our ride," he stated, before jogging to the man.

"Good afternoon, I am the one you're waiting for." he said, eyeing the man's limo.

"Buenas tardes, sir. Welcome to Jamaica." the man answered him while setting the cardboard on the trunk of his limo.

Great, we had to get one who likes to speak spanish, Archard mused, as he gave the man his bag. "My name is Archard, and this is Niko. Pleased to meet you," Archard said politely, while the man settled the bag in the trunk.

He was a young fella, tanned, but with enough money to buy a decent suit. Still, he could shave that god awful long beard. "Mi nombre es Roberto, Sir."

My name's Robert, neat. Archard thought, but only nodded. 

"Hey Niko, give the man your things, and come on," he said, opening the door to the back of the limo, which was indeed huge. Archard sat back, as he turned on the plasma T.V in the back of the limo. As soon as Robert got them to the hotel, the first thing Archard was gonna do was relax in the hot tub. He needed it, before what came next...

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Niko and Archard arrived in the limo to the hotel. Roberto had removed their luggage from the limo's trunk, and handed Niko his card. They spoke a bit before Niko went to check in. Being Hispanic, he understood and could talk with Roberto about the sights and points of interest. It was all small talk though, since Niko knew why they were there in the first place.

But both men were jet-lagged and could use a shower. Niko wouldn't be able to sleep right away; his insomnia always kept him active in spite of his degree of tiredness. He'd hit up the gym for a bit, and maybe grab a drink somewhere before sleeping.

But he wanted to speak with Archard about the mission first. Niko wanted a full idea of what was in store for them, power levels, strike position, and various other factors. He hated going in without an extensive knowledge of the situation.

Besides, Archard was not bad company. Although he usually had the bad boy air about him, he would open up occasionally to Niko. Niko had been longing for a big brother again since Allayne left OKC years ago, and Archard kind of stepped into that position seamlessly. I wonder if Allayne and Archard would play nice?, he thought with a smirk.

Archard had finished procuring the room, and they made their way upstairs. I wonder what time my blades get here?, he wondered. He had his throwing knives in their porcelain sheathe, but for this assignment it seemed he needed full arsenal.

Niko threw his bag near the couch. "I'm callin' the couch!", he called out, knowing Archard would feel better sprawled out on the bed. While both of them were in peak shape, Niko had a little more of that kid energy in him. Archard would benefit from the spa, and Niko himself thought it would be fun.

"Yo, Arch. You ready to hit the spa?", he asked with a smile on his face.

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As they arrived, and Archard had his bag handed to him, and eyed Niko whilst he spoke with the limo driver. He understood a part of the conversation, but wasn't able to keep up. Oh well, he could only think, before they started heading for the hotel.

The structure was gigantic, with around 25 floors and stood at 280 ft high. It had several outdoor pools and rivers, a grand Spa, several restaurants, and a nightclub, that opened at midnight. From all of those, Archard was looking forwards to hitting the spa, and then the pool, before the task he and Niko had to perform was upon them.

Both men entered their room, and Archard smirked once Niko hurled his bag. "You can keep it!", Archard answered with a bright, yet small chuckle. Although the bed would be marvelous, the couch wasn't so bad. They were in a luxurious hotel after all.

But it didn't surprise Arch, that Niko wanted the sofa. The kid was always moving around, and probably had no idea of how nightmares seemed less effective when Archard was sleeping in a bed. Nightmares. Oh how those kept Archard on his toes every night. They haunted him. In a way, the nightmares were what led Archard to his target in the first place, due to how they acted...

Entering his room, Archard smiled. It was a room of titanic proportions, with a king sized bed, a bathroom, a small buffet, and an amazing view over the gardens of the hotel. Impressive indeed. Setting his bag on the bed, Archard's mind began to travel to the moment that was coming. They were gonna face Kalim. Perhaps one of the most dangerous and powerful mutants of their era. He had info about him on his laptop, so before the task was at hand, he and Niko could go over said info.

Archard had also called for something to arrive before him. And he grinned when it did. Across the room, was another bag. A bigger one. As Archard picked it up, he placed it on a desk in the room. Opening the bag, a bright smile was brought to his face, followed by a malicious grin. He picked up his weapons. One by one.

His Black Death Katana. The black ray skin handle was wrapped with white cord, and that made this sword stand out in Arch's collection. The guard had a wind design with a dragon crest end cap and custom metal fittings on the scabbard. A fine weapon. He set it on his bed, and picked up another weapon.

His Dragon Nagitana Staff. The Naginata was a Japanese Staff that originated over 1,000 years ago, given to Archard by his ancestors before he murdered them. Due to its massive height, the Naginata was the weapon of choice for battle against horsemen and swords. Stretching over 5 feet tall with a 20" carbon steel blade with intense blood grooves, Archard found it to be a perfectly craft weapon.

Placing the staff next to the Katana, he took out his Albion Spiked Axe of Valor. Named for the mythical land once inhabited by the Chaos family who fought to keep the weapon intact, it was given to Archard by his mother, the one chosen to carry this weapon.

Finally setting his Axe down, Archard set his eyes on the various guns he had brought. An AA12 Atchisson Assault Shotgun; a XM2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle, a ump45 Submachine Gun and finally, a M1911A Pistol. All of those guns had been stolen from the CIA headquarters, except the UMP45. They were all from the top dogs, and Arch was pleased to have such a large amount of weaponry at his disposal when facing such dangerous task. 


Once he heard Niko speak, he closed the bag, letting the guns stay in there, and headed out of the room, closing the door shut. "Been wanting a trip to spa ever since I got on the plane", he answered, walking towards the door, "Race ya," he smirked, opening the door and disappearing with the wind.

Soon enough, Arch re-materialized closer to the spa, right under a camera. Using the camera's own shadow, Archard snapped the camera in half, and grinned. C'mon, Niko, hurry up!

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Archard was a good man in Niko's eyes. Cold-blooded, no-remorse killer, sure, but a good man. Niko had noticed Archard's 'older bro' attitude towards him, and Niko felt glad to be around guys that can help him trust again.

With his sublimation skills, Archard easily one the race to the spa. But the winner didn't matter -- seeing Archard in a moment of fun and happiness that didn't involve a neck slitting open was incredible! For a moment Niko actually forgot why they were there. He was just happy to be away from the madness of NYC.

As they got in the hot tub, Niko noticed the tautness of Archard's muscles. He must train every chance he gets, he thought, amazed. He also noticed the scars on different sections of his body, and looked at his own shoulder. I guess we're even there, he chuckled inwardly, and started taking off the towel.

But when Arch started undoing his robe, Niko got flustered an turned away, quickly. He didn't know what Arch knew about him, but the last thing Niko would want was Archard uncomfortable around him. He quickly un-toweled and jumped in the hot tub.

Pretending to look out the privacy windows while Archard finished getting undressed and entering the hot tub, Niko started rambling about how they should get windows like these with imprints. Clearing his head quickly and hoping to avoid too many questions, Niko began asking questions about the mission.

"Do I get to have a weapon, or am I just the decoy?" he laughed. "I am NOT gonna play your Robin, with them goofy ass green Underoos!". He wanted Archard to laugh. But he knew Arch wouldn't have asked him to help if this wasn't a bad situation. Turning serious, Niko asked Archard to let him see the files and give him a rundown of what they were up against.

Niko prepared for the worst.

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Niko was someone special. Archard looked at him differently. Even before they banded together, making the Alliance of Evil powerful again, Niko was already different. Archard looked at Dragon as a friend, and at Eris as a sister. Hades was someone he was just now getting used to. And his relationship with Natalie couldn't really be described. But Niko, Niko was the one Archard could put on the right path.

Niko, as Archard had mused several times, was not like him. He could be different. Niko didn't have to do things, like Archard did. Nothing forced him, so with the right person to look up to, he'd be on the path to righteousness. But the thing was, Archard was not the right one for Niko to look up to. He'd never be good. Not while his family was alive.

As he slowly entered the water, the bubbles burst, and Archard grinned. Water's amazing, he thought to himself, and as he settled down, Niko began to ramble about the privacy windows. While he spoke of that, Archard was still getting used to the water, and just nodded with a small smile. But once Niko started talking about their mission, Archard's muscles tensed slightly, as he lost his smirk.

"I'd be a fool to not give you a weapon..." he sighed, glancing around. "This is a big deal Niko! I'll show you some files about our target once we get back to the room", he said, enjoying the water a bit more. 

Archard had been searching for files about Kalim everywhere. After he murdered Misty, Arch finally got what he was looking for. Although the file wasn't complete, it explained enough. Enough for Archard and Niko to know what they were going up against.

Then, after what seemed like brief moments of relaxation, Archard climbed out of the water, and dried himself with a towel. Putting on his robe, he motioned for Niko to meet him back at the room once he was ready.

Arch then, slowly walked away from the spa, hands in the robes' pockets. Taking out his card, he entered the room, stretching out. The plane trip got him exhausted, and then, being in that water made Arch feel like sleeping even more. But no, first, he had to show Niko the files, then, he could go to sleep.

While waiting for Niko, Arch fetched his phone, a Samsung Galaxy S4, and smiled. Natalie was probably worried sick about what Arch and Niko were up to. They had let her know where they were going, but Arch was sure she was cross he didn't let her come. 

Text :
Arch finished writing and added a smiley face and a little heart. He sent the text, and hurled his phone at his bed, simply putting on a pair of boxers, while he kept waiting for Niko.

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Niko enjoyed the water so much, and hated leaving it's peaceful embrace. Being there with Archard was fun, ruined by the thought of the mission. As Archard got out of the water, Niko decided to remain a bit longer. These moments of relaxation were so few and far between, and Niko wanted it to last a while.

Finally opting to get out of the spa, Niko robed himself and headed for the the room. It was funny to see the gleam in Archard's eyes when he looked at Niko. Niko used to think it was that look some guys got when checking Niko out, but not quite that. Niko began seeing Archard as a role model of sorts; someone to base himself off of in terms of training and other things. Niko knew Archard had seen him check his body out, and was glad he never said anything. Niko couldn't help it; it was instinctive.

Entering the room, Niko saw Arch in nothing but boxers. Niko actually blushed, thinking Why can't I have this every day?!?!. Niko noticed every muscle sculpted on Archard and smiled. Niko was defined as well, but he thoroughly enjoyed the sight before him. The boxers left little to the imagination as well.

Stop drifting, kid!, Niko thought, and got moving again. He got disrobed and air dried while looking for clothes to wear. Niko was many things, but shy was something he definitely wasn't. "So, let's get down to work, shall we?", he said as he found the Ben 10 boxers he loved. It didn't escape him that Humongosaur was the one on the crotch. Niko loved the humor of some people.

Niko started opening a folder, looking at it intently. He awaited Archard's explanation and plans for the mission.

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Seeing Niko enter the room, Arch grinned. He truly hoped the kid had a good time at the spa. He needed to relax before their task. Specially because of the danger they'd be facing. Arch didn't want to think about such thing, but there was a possibility he and Niko weren't returning from this little adventure. Their foe was one of the most powerful people Arch had knowledge of. This man could face Magneto and give him trouble. He could only hope they'd get lucky...

Once Niko opened one of the folders that Archard had brought, Arch cracked his knuckles. He had opened the folder that spoke about their foe's powers. "When I told you this guy was strong, I wasn't joking!", he stated. At first, anyone could think the file was wrong. That no one could be so powerful. But the man Niko and Archard was gonna face was indeed that powerful.  Healing Factor, Disintegration, Psammokinesis Firebreathing and Heat Vision. "The thing is, this guy is usually around deserts. There's one close to here, that was actually made by him. Reason why we need so many weapons, is that Kalim is that powerful." Archard said, before picking up another folder.

This one had general information about their foe. Things like his name, Kalim Cannar, his age, that only said 'at least two hundred years old', his weapons, a long staff and two jackal handguns. Lastly, it had a small piece of info about his style of fighting. 'Offensive, his defense is never too strong.' This would at least let Arch and Niko have an advantage. Although it wasn't too big.

"That's about it, Niko...we have nothing else on this guy. You're not scared are ya?" Arch questioned him, with a teasing tone. Of course Niko could be startled, but Arch wanted to see how much of a man Niko was already.

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Archard was giving Niko the rundown about the target, which was getting processed in Niko's mind as it started to devise strategies for the upcoming battle. Niko was absorbing the data like a sponge, and wanted to show Archard how much he learned since his induction into the Alliance of Evil.

When Archard asked if he was scared, Niko actually stopped for a moment. He heard Arch's teasing tone, but the question itself brought emotions forth in Niko.

"Actually, dude. Yeah, I am a little bit." He didn't want to sound like a pussy, but he wanted to voice his concerns. "I know you wouldn't ask me to come with you unless it was really dangerous." He half expected Archard to shoot him down now that the truth was out, but Niko would keep going with his thoughts until they ran out and Archard would start in.

"But I'm also intelligent enough to see outside the box and get plans going", he said without pause. He was looking at all the angles to get to the target. "My Antarctic Vibranium form makes me very durable and all metals demolecularize on contact with me. His sand and fire abiity can make deadly glass shards, and maybe block airflow."

Niko waited for Archard's take on the situation, trying to see other factors he may've missed previously.

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As Niko admitted he was fearful of the incoming battle, Archard didn't sigh, nor cross his arms. No, in fact, he nodded. Nodded with approval. Not many men had the courage, the guts, the 'cohones' to say they were afraid. Some thought that made them weaker, others thought that made them scrawnier. Both were wrong, admitting you're afraid only made you stronger, and only helped you overcome your fear much faster.

So, unknowingly, Niko had made Archard proud in just that moment. In that moment alone, he had proved he had indeed become a man.

"Not many have the balls to admit that. Proud of ya," Archard responded honestly. Niko was honest, so Archard owed him to be exactly the same. Plus, Niko was like his brother. He needed not to hide his emotions from him, even if he still did most of the times.

"There's that", he said as a matter of factually, "And, fire is a major problem. I can cover him with Shadows, but he can create light. My Shadows'd be damaged. Although I could always sneak up on him, one bad move and he touches me so I'm gone. We gotta be careful with that, Disintegration. He can destroy any matter on touch. Including humans and mutants alike. Thats why his desert is deserted," he said, with a bit of a joking tone, although Archard was not playing around at all.

Overall, the situation was messed up. Period. The firs thing they'd have to do would be use the guns and blades to their advantage. From there on, they'd just have to improvise, "He can also destroy bullets by touching them, but is he fast enough? Possibly no. So we gotta count on our guns, and we gotta pray his healing factor hasn't evolved enough for him to be nearly immortal. Our best bet is to strike him with weapons first, then only if needed, use our powers," he stated, giving his take on the situation.

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Listening to the details of the situation, as well as Archard's approval of his admittance of fear, gave Niko a new drive in this mission. Archard was always looking out for him, much like Allayne. But it was also time to show that he could stand on his own.

"So, the fires limit you drastically in your powers, and touch contact equals bon voyage...", Niko said matter-of-factly. "What about proximity explosions? "He's not immune to explosions, and they may distract him enough for you to use your Umbrakinesis." Niko was going through all the new information within his head, looking for kinks in their target's armor.

"They say that forces of nature like this guy have weaknesses that they leave clues to," Niko mused. "Like in World War Z, sometimes the thing you thought was the most brutal aspect turns out to be their downfall. The virus was disguising its weaknesses as strengths. Maybe if fire is a strength, we can use grenades and mines to make him absorb the explosion damage and keep his disintegration powers at bay. Hell, we can do this with Molotov cocktails as well!

Niko's mind was racing, as he started mapping out scenarios to the problems at hand. Archard was a weapons specialist, and Niko was damn good with his knife accuracy. They could take this guy out, together. "I'm gonna syn with your power, bro", he stated. "But I'm never going to show I have it." Niko touched his Antarctic Vibranium band and shimmered into the metallic skin form. "I'm the X-Factor in this fight, right? He doesn't know me yet. If you hit me with your power now, I can get used to it. And later on, if you use a wisp of it to keep me in this form every few minutes, he'll never know that it's not my normal form. Plus the AnVi metal adaptation will instantly disintegrate any metals that come in contact with me.

Niko had at least two plans now. He wanted to know what Arch thought of them, and if he'd missed any angles. Niko was confident now, having verbalized his thoughts and plans. It was time to experiment with Archard's power, and see what he could do!

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Niko brought some very good points to the table, and Archard took a fair amount of time to analyse them all. One thing he didn't need to analyse for long was his statement. '...forces of nature like this guy...' That was what made fear strike in the hearts of men. Hearing such a mutant actually existed. This kind of bastard probably matched Magneto and Xavier.

Regarding the explosions, Archard responded quickly, "No. No he is not immune. However, let's not forget, although the explosions can indeed work, we'd have to be careful, and prepare them really well, and hide them extremely well too. We'll be facing him in his desert, where he controls the sand, and where would the bombs be? Exactly, in his domain. He can easily track them, and explode them from a distance, so we'd have to either place them on platforms under the sand, or on top of it as a matter of fact, and then see what happens," Archard said without pausing. Platforms were easy to get. The AoE had enough hovering platforms back at the base, so if needed Archard could tell Natalie, or Legion to send some over.

Archard continued to hear Niko's every word, and watch his movements as he demonstrated his metallic form. Archard nodded, before beginning to speak, "Yes, he still has no idea who you are. He heard about me from his son, Gavin, another one that I killed, but he has no info about you what-so-ever. So that could work. You sure you wanna try this?" he asked. Not of worry, he knew Niko'd handle. But simply to make sure the little syn didn't feel forced.

"My powers are dark Niko. They hurt even metal beings. I can hurt you if we do this. I don't control these," he said, lighting up his hands with darkness, "completely yet. So if you wanna try your theory, we should be very cautious. Don't wanna be the cause of your death. Natalie would kill me," he said with a bright grin.

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Niko listened to Arch's words about being the death of him. Well, they were on a virtual suicide mission anyway, and this needed to be explored.

"Bro, if something happens to me... take good care of Natalie and tell Allayne at the Institute I was a good guy, ok?" Niko said in a somber tone. Fear crept up his spine, but so did the resolve to do any and everything that was needed to rid the world of this atrocity.

Looking at Archard and seeing he wanted to say something about that comment, Niko decided to switch up subjects. "So let's figure out what your shadow does when syn'd to my metal, shall we?" Niko got ready to feel the power Archard possessed. 

In order to alleviate the tension with a little Syn-type humor, Niko looked right into Archards eyes and grinned. "You ready to thrust that awesome power into me, chief?" he said with a smirk and a wink, ready to begin the experiment.

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Archard thought hard about what Niko said, and was about to answer when the little syn changed the subject. Smart of him. Having touchy conversations at that time wasn't really gonna help at all.

Archard was about to ready himself when Niko dropped his joke. Archard burst out laughing, shaking his head, "Bro for crying out loud," he said in a joking tone, but soon Anarchy took over.

His eyes turned into a dark yellow, and his ears turned pointier as a darkness cloak formed around him, "Enough with the jokes," he said, powering up and lighting up his hands with darkness. Creating a dark pyramid of darkness, he hurled it directly at Niko's heart.

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Niko powered up his synergy ability, ready to take in the power of Anarchy. Archard had warned of the unpredictability of Umbrakinesis, as well as the pain that would likely follow. Niko knew he had a high pain threshold, but it was likely that this might test the upper stratum of that threshold.

Niko breathed in heavily as Archard aimed the shadow burst at his heart. Niko felt the darkness begin to invade him. He focused his mind on absorbing the pyramid into himself and use it to change himself. The invading power seeped into him violently, filling every cell within Niko. The strain caused him to wince and almost yell out in agony. But he knew he couldn't give up. Part of their success was the ability to keep this power retained for the right moment.

Niko felt himself begin to reign in the power of darkness. His metallic skin took on a dark gray shade, and his back and chest formed slits that resembled vents. Niko felt the dark shadows call out to him, to become another part of his form. The power was incredible. Now he knew why Archard seemed so cocky.

"I'm ok, bro!", he said to Archard, noticing a concern on his face. "I'm jealous of your power, man. This is intense!" Niko began wielding the darkness as he'd seen Archard do, and noticed it took a lot of concentration for the dark to form the way he wanted it to. Just as Niko had gotten the pyramid shape down, his limit had been reached. His body rejected the Umbrakinesis and kept the original metallic form.

"Well, I can do it. But I have to get connected often to keep this form." He told Archard. "You'll have to keep me powered up." In typical Niko form, he looked at Archard and said "Think you can keep up, old man?", He said with a smirk.

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