Earlier:

With Sapphire, we had made excellent time and arrived back at the training field we started at before sunrise. Dismounting just behind the treeline, I observed the location. Everything was naturally the same, except a large tent like the one Kathrine and I shared during the mercenary contract.

’Most likely, that is their base. Interesting.’ I smirked as a plan formed in my mind, to turn the hunt inside out.

"Apollo? Are you crazy? What are we doing back here? Won’t we be disqualified if we come back?" Tamara questioned me as she stood next to me. I turned to her and smiled.

"Why would we be? Did they say we would be disqualified?" I asked, and watched as Tamara was about to say yes, but as the cogs began turning in her mind, she realised they hadn’t so I continued.

"They just told us to go into the jungle, you know. Their hunting ground. We could have ran into the College if we wanted, but that would have caused quite the kerfuffle."

I could hear Tamara’s mind shattering at what I just said, but chose to ignore it. "Right so the plan is... Actually slight change of plan, you two destroy the interior of that tent, but keep the exterior intact. I am going to go and talk to the traitor."

...

Taking an early morning stroll. Valerica was accompanied by two others on the topic of her only child. "-So you see, With his already advanced Psionics for his age, I feel Apollo needs a step up in his education. He needs a challenge, we can’t have him stagnating with the rest of the first years. I even received word from my contacts that Sigismund is heavily invested in his growth so we need to pick it up."

Fergus was next to speak. "I concur, your son is... Unique. I felt it the moment I first laid eyes on him. But I am not sure what you want me to do Valerica? He already understands Psionic bullets to a very advanced level. His gun shooting is shoddy, don’t get me wrong, but that is going to be more of a hobby for him, I can see where his true power lies. Though I suppose I can try and help him more with control?"

Beth Duvile then interjected from the other side of Valerica. "Apollo’s Psionic presence is utterly unique to any other human I have ever witnessed. He appears fully corporeal while within the Psionic plane. That shouldn’t happen unless he is a Psionic entity, but he isn’t. It’s incredible. I am more than happy to tutor him more one on one with no strings attached. He and I could learn a lot from each other, just help set something up and I will be there. Plus there is the matter of his Psionic defences... Valerica I know you only adopted him, but do you know anything about his previous family? I have my mind to have some serious words with them about how they ’train’ a child’s mental defenses. Unacceptable."

Valerica shook her head. "His life before meeting my, oh right Kathrine... His life before meeting my Daughter is rife with mystery. Even now he barely tells his poor mother anything. Can you imagine not knowing much of your only child’s childhood? It’s heart-breaking! I just wish I-"

"-Hey! Traitor!"

Valerica felt chills go down her spine by that voice shouting those words. Turning around she bore witness to Apollo fully clad in armour wielding his weapon, staring at her. The word traitor was shouted with such venom, she feared her heart would stop.

The other two accompanying her were put on edge for a moment before Fergus walked forward, realising who it was. "Wow kid, this is some serious defence. Xeno origin. Looks like nothing else on the galactic scale... Where the fuck did you get extra galactic equipment?"

"Derelict ship plunder." I spoke calmly, keeping my gaze locked onto Valerica. Another then spoke up. "Hi Apollo. Are you ok? Why are you in full armour right now?"

"Hi Aunty Beth, Why am I in armour? Good question. It’s because while a decent amount of my ribs were nothing but rubble, My supposed mother sent a group of people to hunt me down and try and kill me. You know, no biggie."

"Now Apollo, you just wait a minute! They are not trying to kill y-" Valerica tried to interject, but Beth exploded in anger.

"You did what! What did I warn you and Hecate about the other day? This boy has been through enough and you are torturing him with people trying to kill him! You get over my knee right now young lady!

Beth then sat down on a chair and glared daggers at Valerica. Her actions brought me out of my act for a moment. ’Whoa, where did that chair come from?’

Valerica was stupefied by Elizabeth’s comment and what Apollo had just called her. "W-what?"

"Did I stutter? I said over my knee. Now. Before your punishment becomes worse, tormenting a poor child who has already gone through so much, shame on you!" Beth said once more, prompting Valerica to attempt to defend herself.

"B-But it is for elite training! So his battle brothers and sisters know his stock. It’s not my fault I was assigned to this task! I am just the base command for the mission!"

Beth simply looked at Valerica for a moment before speaking calmly. " Valerica Selene Hyllus, do I really need to ask you a third time? You are already well aware of how my punishments get the more I ask. So, do I need to ask again?"

Valerica looked around for a way out, but a moment later her shoulders slumped in defeat and her age regressed by seventy years. "No Miss Duvile, I’m sorry."

As soon as Valerica arrived in front of the seated Beth, I spoke up. "Aunty Beth, if I may?" I said, prompting Valerica to flinch and Beth to smile with pure unadulterated delight. "Yes Apollo?"

"Could you leave Valerica’s punishment to me? I was the victim here after all."

"Hmm." Beth thought it over for a minute. She had a hunch Apollo was going to go soft on Valerica, but ultimately it was up to him. "Very well. Valerica, go receive your punishment from your son."

Valerica looked at her son with genuine love for sparing her that fate, Beth did not hold back in her punishments. Once directly in front of Apollo, he raised his sword to her chest, the point felt sharper than anything she had ever felt.

"Put your hands up." I commanded, Valerica looked at me confused for a moment before doing so. "Now say ’I Surrender.’"

"I surrender."

Zircon then blipped out of existence and I smiled. "Good. I have forced the base commander to surrender. When was the last time that happened in one of these hazing ceremonies huh? Now go sit over there and think about what you have done, your punishment will come later."

Valerica’s mouth opened in shock, before she smirked. ’Clever bastard. I love you so much!’ She couldn’t help thinking after her emotions were sent here, there and everywhere. She had surrendered, so she did as she was told.

With Valerica dealt with, I would not look the gift horse in the mouth and decided to ask. "Hey, it’s going to be a longshot, but it is not against the rules, I think, would you two like to help Tamara and I set up an ambush for our pursuers?"

Fergus was the perfect candidate. A spec ops sniper? He would know how to set up an ambush as easy as it was to brush his teeth, meanwhile, Beth was adverse in Powerful Psionics that could help me out.

Before either of them had a chance to speak, a voice spoke up from behind me. "Apollo, there were two stragglers left behind in the tent, I knocked them both out and Your beastie destroyed all their radios and shit- Oh, who are these chumps? The guy looks like he watches people in the women’s showers and woah! Why is tiny’s chest bigger than the rest of her?"

...

...

...

After passing all my speech checks, I somehow convinced the two to help Tamara and I out despite her insults.

"So I was thinking here is a good funnel right? Their teleporting guy, I am pretty sure he needs coordinates from his marked air to travel from my hunches, so once they find out we have come back here, they might just be stupid enough to teleport back to their base thinking they are safe. The issue is, I can only manifest like forty Psionic bullets at once before it becomes a serious mental strain and even with those forty I can’t aim them, just throw them in a general direction unless I use them one at a time.. Any thoughts?" I asked everyone.

I had expected Fergus to answer right away, but he continued to stroke his chin in thought. In fact it was Beth and Tamara who simultaneously suggested.

"How about Pylons?"