***

A masculine figure swiftly moves through the shadows, aiming to not be spotted by anyone. "Finally," he says, "Why does the portal have to be tucked away?"

Appearing behind him without notice, Dedes reaches out and, without missing a beat, shoves the man into it and hastily follows. Once through, he speaks with hushed yet hurried tones, "Report, now."

"You could have warned me...." Upon noticing Dedes' growing impatience and anger, he nods. "Fine. I influenced Dalginath's thoughts from the shadows and helped him come up with.... his.... plan to take out Adarr before the full invasion."

Dedes stands there in the void, staring the man down. "And....go on. Tell me."

"Well, the plan was carried out, mostly. Dalginath managed to wound him, but Adarr is still alive and being protected by the other Aethereals. He failed."

An aura of rage begins to roll off of Dedes, nearly enough to make the man drop to his knees. Suddenly, the aura stops as Dedes turns towards the portal between the void and the planet Genesis.

"Oh, here she comes; she's going to chew you up. Have fun." Grinning widely, he vanishes into thin air.

"BROTHER!" Ruxla's voice booms, echoing through the portal. When she appears, with her face and eyes full of anger. "I was told about an army of disgusting creatures, some of which attempted to assassinate Adarr."

Keeping a straight face, Dedes simply shrugs. "And what do you expect me to do about it, sister?"

Her eyes widened in shock at the tone he added on the last word. "I didn't create them. You...." She pauses briefly, eyes looking down and shoulders hunching over for a brief moment as she realizes the truth. "You did this to your sister's children? I honored our deal and left you alone here in the void. And THIS is how you repay me?!"

"I have remained here in the void and gone nowhere else. You must have made a mistake without me increasing your strength. Now, go. Leave me be."

"We are not done talking about this yet, brother. I'll be back to deal with you later." Ruxla steps back through the portal in a hurry.

***