#//HAS KAIDEN FOUND OUT HES A DEMON YET?//

[ask-the-monster-nest]

"I heard it's your birthday today, so I brought you gifts and a small cake for just us to enjoy." Kaiden spoke softly with a smile.

(Lucifer

Lucifer smiled patting Kaiden on the head. "Thank you for that. It is nice to have others want to celebrate my birthday." He looked at the cake and gifts. "So what did you bring?"

[zenithlux]

Alpha and Omega - 6

I finally did a thing. Four months later You can find it on AO3 Here!

Nero had been incredibly hopeful that this version of his father would be much less stubborn. 

How naive that thought had been. 

“We’re trying to help you,” Angelica said for what felt like the millionth time in the last fifteen minutes they’d been walking. 

“You’re lucky I’m letting you walk with me at all,” Vergil hissed, still holding Yamato like an oddly shaped teddy bear. It might have been cute if their entire future, lives, and whatever else was going on didn’t depend on Nero using it himself.

“Oh for fuck’s…”

“Language.” Nero barked without thinking.

If looks could kill he’d be dead in the ground. “Look,” Angelica tried again. “We know something special about that sword that you don’t.”

“And I told you to feel free to tell me.” Vergil snapped. 

“We have to show you.”

“And I told you no.”

“This is pointless,” Kaiden muttered. “Why don’t you just take it from him?”

Nero had considered that, but he still wasn’t certain what such a thing would do. Did Vergil have a little demon form? Would he attack them? Would he have to fight his own, pint-sized father? Would Vergil remember all of this? If he did, Nero was more than ready to give him a piece of his mind. “Look,” Nero said, stepping in front of them. “I know you’re confused and scared.”

“I am not…”

“But there’s someone that we need you to meet,” Nero interrupted. “A friend of your father’s.”

Vergil’s scowl quivered slightly. “What do you know about my father?”

“If you let me borrow that,” Nero said, pointing to Yamato, “then the guy we’re going to take you to can tell you everything you need to know.” At least, he hoped that was the case. Nero had a feeling that Pythagoras was just as likely to slam the door in their faces than speak to them, but he had to give him a shot. 

“Where is this man?”

“He’s a demon name Pythagoras,” Nero said. “I don’t think he has a door in Redgrave, but he does have one in Fortuna.”

“And how do you expect us to get to Fortuna?”

Angelica looked ready to slap him. Though, to be fair to her, she hadn’t yet. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” She said. “We can use Yamato to get there.”

After a long, tense moment in which Vergil’s eyes darted between all three of them - and Nero thought he was about to have to chase him through the city - he finally, finally, held Yamato out. “If you don’t give it back…” His voice quivered, and Nero knew he didn’t have anything to back that sentence up with. He gave him points for trying though. 

“I will,” Nero promised. As he unsheathed it. The blade looked a bit different than he remembered. An old wrap or handle? Maybe. Who knows what happened to it before Vergil put himself back together. But it was just as sharp as always, and Nero could feel the gentle thrum of power from its core. Slowly, he envisioned Fortuna, hoping that his memories of his childhood would be enough to get them there in Vergil’s. When he sliced through the air, a clumsy portal appeared. He heard Vergil gasp as Nero resheathed the blade, satisfied as he handed it back. “You first,” Nero said, praying he wasn’t about to get them all killed. 

Vergil stepped through, followed by the kids. “Damn, Dad,” Angelica said from the other side. “You’ve gotten pretty good at this.” 

Nero rolled his eyes and followed after them, appearing right in front of the blank wall that should have been Pythagoras’ doorway. He hesitated, uncertain whether the demons would even be here. 

“Father,” Kaiden said. “Look.”

Nero glanced behind him, surprised to see that the people in the streets were frozen, just like the members of the castle. “What the hell is going on?” Nero muttered. 

“Language,” Angelica snarked. 

“Oh shut up.”

“About time you showed up.”

All four of them jumped, spinning around as Pythagoras glared at them. “You’ve caused enough problems as it is.”

“You know what’s going on?”

Pythagoras sighed, rubbing his temples. “I sure wish I didn’t.”

--------------

Vergil realized very quickly that he was abysmal at running away from things. It went against every fiber of his being, and his demon half was simultaneously furious that they were running and annoyed over what they were running from. 

His human half… well… he tried not to think about that too much. 

At least he was still aware of his surroundings, as he never could have torn that library apart as precisely as he was. He didn’t know what he was looking for, but he hoped he’d know when he saw it. Unfortunately, it was hard to focus on the task at hand when the powered up remnant of a past (current?) life was hunting him. They were doing a great job of evading Nelo at least, and more than one time had been throw as a distraction. Vergil could just imagine Pythagoras’s death glare at the destruction of his library if they ever saw him again. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. 

“Verge!” Dante yelled from across the way, throwing his arm up in triumph. “I found one!” But before Vergil could see what it was, a sword slashed through the closest bookshelf. Dante jumped to dodge it, then kicked the shelf over. It dropped on Nelo, but the brothers took off before he could recover.

“Where did you find it?”

“In a book.” Dante tossed a small, gray block to Vergil before the two split up again. It was pie-shaped and fit in Vergil’s palm. On the top was a black symbol to match the others on the picture. A book��� That did explain why the library was trashed before they’d gotten to it. But what did Nelo or Mundus hope to gain by finding these pieces? What was hidden behind that symbol? “Two more,” Vergil said as they split up again, tearing through books. He found the second one hiding in a corner-  black - and touched it away. One more , he thought, but they were running out of books. Had they missed it? Now that they actually knew what they were looking for, it shouldn’t be too hard to…

Suddenly, Dante leaped across the aisle and threw up the Devil Sword. Yamato collided with it as the bookshelf fell to pieces. Vergil summoned a barrage of summoned swords, but Nelo’s armor was strong enough to withstand it. Dante knocked Yamato away, only for Nelo to swing with Rebellion. As Dante blocked that one and ducked under Yamato, Vergil saw it; a white feather block embedded into Rebellion’s hilt. The last piece of the puzzle attached to an enemy they weren’t sure they could defeat.

Wonderful. 

“Dante,” Vergil said.

“Yep,” Dante grunted. “I see it,” He triggered, tossing Nelo away before chasing after him. But when Vergil moved to do the same, pain shot through his skull. He flinched, stumbling backward as he grabbed for his head. What now?

Find the sword. A voice whispered.

The sword. A second, more feminine voice sang.

The sword. A third, deeper voice said. 

His vision blurred. “Get out of my head.”

We can’t do that, The voices said. Were they the same voices from before? He hadn’t noticed the multiple layers, but the third was certainly familiar. “You are the convergence; our only hope.” 

“Enough!” Vergil snapped. “Just tell me…”

“The sword,” They whispered again. “Find the sword.” 

“Which one!”

The voices said nothing, but Vergil swore he could hear the command echoing in the back of his mind. Which sword? Yamato? Rebellion? He’d already figured out the last piece was in the latter, so what was the point of telling him this? All it was now was a distraction. How did he get Nelo to drop Rebellion? How did he destroy it to pull out the puzzle piece? Dante was fully triggered and barely making a dent in the armor, and Vergil could feel an oppressive air slowly choking him. Was Nelo strong enough to do something like that? Vergil didn’t have a clue what Mundus could have accomplished without Dante to get in his way. But they had to kill him. Whatever creature this Nelo had become, Vergil didn’t think they could escape with him alive. 

Will Ashira see this one too?

“Vergil!” Dante roared, swiping numerous swords of fire in Nelo’s direction. “Got a plan?”

No, Vergil thought, but he wasn’t about to admit it. But he knew that body once. Knew its weaknesses, even though he would never have admitted it. Were they still the same? Maybe if this Nelo never lost, then Mundus would never have had a reason to change him. Not that he bothered with Vergil. The former (current?) demon king had been more than happy to abandon his little pet to endless torture for losing such a battle. But maybe… just maybe.

“The joints,” Vergil said. “The armor had to be weakened at certain points to actually move.”

“It’s all fused now,” Dante said. “I can hear the armor creaking every time this thing moves.”

Vergil didn’t know why the term ‘this thing’ made him flinch. “But that’s where it’ll be the weakest,” He said. “We might be able to break it.”

“It’ll take some time,” Dante said. “This thing’s the hardest shit I’ve ever tried to carve through.”

“I need Rebellion.”

“That I can probably manage,” Dante parried one attack and swiped at Nelo’s knee caps. The suit of armor dodged back and swung out with both swords. Dante dodged through them, kicked Nelo in the back, and plunged forward. Nelo vanished, appearing behind him, and the dance began again. Dante was strong. Vergil knew he had near limitless stamina, but Nelo didn’t seem any weaker than before. Maybe he’d get through him eventually, but they didn’t have all day to fight. 

The chandelier.

His eyes flickered to the ceiling as an idiotic plan filled his mind. There’s no way this will work, He said, shaking his head as he leaped on top of it. The chandelier swayed, and Vergil silently thanked Pythagoras’ gaudy tastes for making something so impossibly large as the centerpiece of his library. He swiped a summoned sword through the first chain, but it took a few more hits than he would have liked. Demonically reinforced steel. Yamato would have cut through that in a heartbeat. He pulled on his demon form, but not enough to draw any attention. Summoned swords shattered. Chain after chain broke. The chandelier swayed back and forth, and the blue flames that flickered on each garish, multi-point candle seemed to grow brighter and brighter. Finally, once all the outside chains were done, Vergil shot for the middle. “Move, Dante!” He snapped as he tore it apart, blinking away. Dante shoved Nelo back, darting away as the chandelier crashed into the suit.  One of the sharp edges plunged through his right elbow, tearing through the weakened piece of armor. His arm, and the sword in it, fell to the side. Dante shattered Rebellion tossing the puzzle piece to Vergil. Nelo rose from the ruins, unfazed by the injuries. But his armor was broken in numerous places, but his shattered arm reformed. 

“Go!” Dante yelled. “I’ll deal with him.”

Vergil nodded, ducking back toward the puzzle. Only three pieces were missing, yet he didn’t have a clue which was meant to go where. At least the various combinations wouldn’t take that long to try, but he certainly wouldn’t put it past Pythagoras to have some kind of trap laid for whoever was wrong. He needed to get it first try, or risk far worse consequences. 

Something… Blue, Purple, Pink, Orange… Something… Green, Yellow…

He’d seen this pattern before, but his mind struggled to remember when. The memory was there, hovering on the edge of his mind. But he couldn’t quite reach it, as if a thick fog were in teh way. 

Blue… Purple…

Ashira… Kaiden?

The image of the Phoenix statue popped into his mind. Of course. He rushed to place the last three, his mind drifting to the flowers Ashira had mentioned before all of this. What does it all mean? He thought, placing the last, white feather piece into the slot. A light spread through all of them, shifting around in the star shape. As it finished, it flashed and cracked open from the center. Vergil flinched, looking away until the light faded and he could finally see what big, important thing Mundus and his other self were looking for. 

His heart plummeted as his gaze met the dull, bi-chromatic ones on the other side. 

“Vergil,” Ashia whispered, the chains around her body clinking together as she tried to raise her head. “No… its not you… is it. Not my Vergil…” Her eyes closed as her head sagged again. “They told me you’d never be the same again.”

“Who?”

“Moirai,” She whispered. 

Vergil recognized that name. “The Goddesses of Fate?”

“The voices that keep speaking to you.” 

------------

Ashira didn’t know how long they had been walking for, but it was long enough that she had run out of stories to tell. Her mouth had gone dry four tales ago, and her voice had finally given out halfway through her riveting tale of the day Vergil left to wipe out the entire Angelo population. 

But the more she told, the more she knew he believed her, though she wasn’t quite sure how to feel about it. There were still too many questions that she didn’t have any answers to. She’d answered the relatively few he had, but it didn’t get them any closer to understanding what was happening. 

She hoped there would be more answers at her home, but the trip had already taken a ridiculous amount of time. Three days, tops. Though she wasn’t sure she could count the days when time itself seemed to be frozen. Nothing moved anymore, and the demons hadn’t sprung to life again. The demonic moon never fell, though Ashira knew that could take weeks or longer even when things were normal. The leaves only moved if they walked near them, and remained suspended whenever they did. There was no breeze, leaving the air stale that somehow didn’t smell like anything. Even Vergil had theorized that they were in some kind of temporal stasis. Why it didn’t affect them was a theory that baffled him as much as her existence did. “It could have been created before we entered.” He said. 

“But wouldn’t we have noticed walking through it?

He didn’t have an answer to that. If this was her Vergil, they would have fake argued over it for a few minutes, with him denying his lack of knowledge and her teasing him until he gave in. He wouldn’t admit he was wrong, but he might kiss her to shut her up. But this wasn’t him, and it was becoming harder for her to remember that. She wanted her Vergil back. She wanted her world back, but she didn’t know how to get it. 

Finally, they arrived at the familiar empty clearing. She stopped him just shy of smacking straight into the barrier. “I’ve got it,” She said as she slid off his back. She knew now the magic her father had used to make it. But her past self had only figured out how to leave years after Vergil did. But this world might be different. Had she already left? Would they find anything in her home? Was this entire trip pointless?

“Calm,” Vergil said, arms crossed. “You’re shaking.”

Ashira sighed but sucked in a deep breath as she placed her hand against the barrier. It rippled under her touch, and a small pulse of magic opened it. Before them sat a grassy expanse stretching out to her old home on the horizon. In the center, however, was a body sitting upright, with rich black hair and an outfit Ashira had once made herself. “It’s me,” She said as they stepped through. Fear mingled with exhilaration as she stepped forward. “Shira!” She yelled, caution gone to the wind. “I know this is crazy but…”

Vergil yanked her back, startling her. “What?” 

“Blood,” He said simply, not looking at her. But when she paused to question him, she smelt it to; the undeniable stench of fresh blood. “Ashira?” She said quietly, approaching her still form with a new sense of trepidation. Her other self didn’t move, even as Ashira herself reached for her shoulder. “Hey… It’s…”

She stumbled away as the body tumbled backward, its throat slashed. A deep chuckle echoed around her. “Poor, lost soul,” A familiar, female voice whispered. “Another death… another you.”

Then, the world shattered. 

[agentexeider]

Zootopia: Kaiden’s Story...Chapter 12: Crossroads

The black was empty for a while, a void, endless and silent. Kaiden felt light, floating on an abyss. In a way, this was better. It was finally quiet, the pain gone, the worry and care of existence faded away. Facing potential eternity with only what he brought with him. Alone on an endless sea, bound no longer by time or space, at last it was over.

The void filled up with thoughts, images, feelings, memories both pleasant and horrible. Kaiden began walking through the events of his life, wondering if this was what mammals had always meant by ‘lives flashing before their eyes.’ Yet he had always known that to come before death, not after. As the disjointed images and sounds passed him by he started to feel very heavy, his body aching and feeling very tired. The images had a surreal quality to them, becoming distorted and faded like aged sepia-toned film on its last legs before burning and breaking.

Feeling very hot, Kaiden felt the void filling up with flames all around him, coming from seemingly nowhere. The familiar terror gripped his heart. Lily’s screams seemed to resonate in the void around him, calling for him, begging for him. The claws of demons pawing at him, scratching him with their claws. They appeared as black shadows swirling around him, screaming as if they were right in his ear. Screams that blended into a sheer tone, solid and boring straight into the inner recesses of his head. The flames licked at his fur, the pain of the heat, the crisping of his skin. He cried out, but his mouth made no sound. Closing his eyes, he emphatically prayed for it to end.

Suddenly, Kaiden’s eyes opened. The silence resumed save for a faint repetitive beeping. His blurry vision told him he was in a room, and that he was lying in a bed. Slowly it resolved, more things coming into focus. It was a hospital room, and a number of machines were dotted around the head of the bed. Feeling a presence to his right, he turned his head to see it. White, with two blue eyes, blue as river stones. For a moment, Kaiden thought it was her, his dear Lily. He tried to speak, but all he could manage was a groan due to the tube that was lodged deep in his throat. The image resolved, it wasn’t even a rabbit but a white tigress nurse checking on him.

“I know you still feel woozy, but we have to take the tube out of your throat.”

Kaiden reacted to the word ‘we’ with unease. She turned away and an otter doctor climbed up on a stool that was close to the bed.

“Mr. Ellison, my name is Doctor Boyd. You’re at Bunnyburrow County Hospital. You were severely injured during a fire.”

Kaiden grunted.

“Mr. Ellison, please don’t try to speak until we get the tube out of your throat,” Dr. Boyd urged.

The otter nodded to the nurse, who released the saline that kept the tube in place.

“On the count of three, I want you to blow out as hard as you can.”

She counted, and on three Kaiden blew as the nurse extracted the tube, coughing and sputtering. He took a deep breath of the cool dry air of the hospital, his throat stinging with agitation. The top of the bed was inclined so he could sit up slightly.

His deep and slow breathing had an airy, almost haunting quality to it, but he was able to breath on his own. Kaiden noticed that he couldn’t see the left side of the room. Holding his paw up to his left eye, all he could see what blackness. He turned back to the doctor confused.

“Mr. Ellison, you need to understand that when you were brought in, you were barely alive. And honestly, I don’t quite understand how you are either. You have a very powerful will to live sir.”

“But, you also need to understand what you suffered was the definition of catastrophic injury, so while we did keep you from perishing you are still very much critically injured,” Boyd said, trying to inform with as best a bedside manner as possible.

“How long?” Kaiden whispered.

“You’ve been in a coma for a month,” the doctor answered.

“My injuries?”

“Massive blood loss due to internal injuries. Your limbs were shredded, and I don’t know if reconstructive surgery is even an option given the level of damage and your weakened state. The gunshot actually went between the hemispheres of your brain. Miraculous really. Also, a hematoma and brain swelling is why you are blind in your left eye,” Boyd calmly explained.

Kaiden looked down to see that his arms were bandaged up from his paws to his shoulders. Faint and dry spots of leaking fluid had stained the gauze, and given that it was still doing this after a month of being comatose was not a good sign. His body was trying to fight and heal before the scar tissue would die and decay. Kaiden tilted the sheet up and looked down at his legs. Heavily bandaged as well, with fluid stains on the gauze. He knew what this meant: infection, sepsis, and a very painful death.

“How long doc?” Kaiden asked.

The otter doctor took a deep breath, not wanting to deliver the bad news.

“Doc?” Kaiden asked again.

“Days…a week, maybe two as most,” Dr. Boyd answered as if delivering a death sentence.

Kaiden breathed heavy on hearing the news.

“I’m sorry Mr. Ellison. I’ve contacted Zootopia General, and perhaps they may have specialists that can help you,” Dr. Boyd consoled.

Kaiden sat back on the bed looking up at the ceiling.

“If you need anything…If the pain…”

“I know the drill doc. I’ll holler if I need something,” Kaiden interrupted.

The nurse fitted Kaiden with a nasal cannula and adjusted a few of the machines that he was hooked up to. Both saddened, the doctor and nurse left, realizing that sometimes the best thing to do is leave the patient to come to grips with things on their own.

Kaiden sat in silence for a long time. He didn’t know how long he sat there, the IV drip making him fall asleep several times only to jerk awake as discomforting dreams would find him. He inclined the bed enough to look across the room to the nearby mirror mounted on the wall. For the first time he saw the reality of his situation. Like his arms and legs, his head was wrapped up with thick bandages. A small tube filled with red fluid, presumably blood, was coming out of his head and into a nearby bag to drain the hematoma and keep his brain from swelling.

“So this is how it ends,” he quietly muttered.

Kaiden took a moment to really consider those words, the finality of them.

“Really? I’ve never known you to be one for giving up,” said a voice.

Kaiden craned his head towards the voice. It was a raccoon dressed in a sharp suit looking at Kaiden concerned.

“Who the fuck are you?”

“My name is Christopher Talmadge, and little do you know, I have been following you practically your entire life.”

“What?!”

“I know… I mean, I knew… your parents,” the raccoon answered.

Talmadge stepped out of the doorway and entered, closing the door behind him on his way in. He walked over to the bed and climbed up on the stool that the doctor used. He gave Kaiden a once over.

“I’m so sorry,” he apologized.

“What for?”

“For not coming for you sooner.”

“Who are you?” Kaiden asked again.

“I told you, my name is–”

“No, I mean who are you?” Kaiden asked, indicating he was meaning something else.

Talmadge looked down almost in shame, taking a sharp inhale as if in grief.

“You remember ‘The Pit’ don’t you?” Talmadge asked as he cast his gaze back at Kaiden.

Kaiden huffed in amazement.

“Remember? I’ve been doing everything in my power to forget that place,” he replied.

“Remember the final test, and the administrators that were behind the mirror?” Talmadge asked.

Kaiden didn’t answer, just waiting for the raccoon’s answer.

“I was one of the administrators of that program.”

“So you’re MIA. Come to finish the job?” Kaiden concluded.

Talmadge gave an almost defeated laugh.

“I guess I deserve that. I was MIA. In fact I was a lot of things, and it took a very wise mammal to show me how wrong I was.”

“So what are you here for?” Kaiden asked, almost annoyed.

“To start a long journey towards making things right,” Talmadge answered.

“You think your apology means anything to me. You think anything means anything to me?” Kaiden asked insultingly.

“I know about your current condition Kaiden. I know you’re dying, and I’m here to make you an offer.”

“Not interested,” Kaiden said coldly, sitting back.

Talmadge looked behind him to see if anyone was there. After doing so, he leaned towards the fox’s ear, grabbing him by the shoulder.

“Listen god damn it, this is bigger than you know. You think what happened to you was because Jarod was taking out revenge? This is so much larger than you. A group is doing this, a group that’s been around a long time. Been part of every government, every law enforcement and intelligence organization. And they seem to have been around since the dawn of Zootopia. That has got to mean something to you.”

Kaiden glared at Talmadge, gritting his teeth.

“Not my problem anymore. None of this is my problem, and I never wanted any of this. They took everything from me already.”

Kaiden’s anger gave way to tears. “Please, just let me die in peace.”

Talmadge paused for a few moments. There was so much that needed saying, and the fox was seemingly in no mood to hear any of it.

“They took from you more than you know,” Talmadge said cryptically.

“You don’t want me to frame this in terms of the world and everyone else, fine. Then let me tell you the personal cost of what it was they took from you.”

Kaiden looked at Talmadge with his good eye.

“Your parents. They weren’t who they appeared to be. Robert and Kathleen were MIA agents.”

“That’s a fucking lie,” Kaiden vehemently denied the accusation.

“It’s the truth. Your parents were ex-MIA agents. They were my best friends, and when they wanted out, I did everything I could to get them out.”

“Why? Why’d they quit then?”

“You of course. When Kathleen found out she was pregnant with you, she wanted out then and there, but Robert and I convinced her that if she and her husband were to leave so suddenly, it would look too suspicious. It took me ten fucking years to get them out of deep cover work and into lesser classified work,” Talmadge explained.

“Import/Export?” Kaiden asked.

“Yes, by putting them there it gave enough time for the MIA to not consider them critical assets anymore, and it gave me the opportunity to have them quit without the MIA concerned about what they knew. And of course, as soon they got out, they packed up everything and got the hell out of Zootopia.”

“To the burrows,” Kaiden whispered.

“Yes, as far away from the big city and the MIA as possible. To get out of the way of history and out of ‘that’ world,” Talmadge answered.

Kaiden huffed in disbelief. He had become accustomed to lies so much that while this new revelation surprised him, it made sense in a strange sort of way. There were many times he would ask his parents about what life was like before him and in the big city, but they generally steered the conversation away from the topic, phrasing that life there was frantic and stressful and that life in the burrows was ‘better’ and ‘safer’. They had been trying to protect him from that world since he was born, trying to give their son a better life than what they endured.

Even knowing that they lied to him about their past, they did so because they loved their son, which make Kaiden love them that much more. Despite their efforts however, destiny had its own plans, and he felt sad that his parents’ sacrifice seemed to be in vain.

“Thank you for telling me about my parents. It answers a lot of questions. Now please, just leave me alone,” Kaiden replied, turning away from Talmadge and lying on his side.

Talmadge didn’t try to continue. After a brief moment of tense silence, he stood up and pulled out a card, leaving it on the nearby rolling table that patients use to eat off of. The business card was white card stock with a phone number printed on it, as well as a black lion’s head logo that simply had the number 13 written below it.

“If you change your mind, call this number.”

“I assure you, I won’t,” Kaiden muttered.

“Just in case,” Talmadge replied before stepping down from the stool to leave.

Kaiden waited for the raccoon to exit the room, hearing the click of the door latch. Now knowing the truth about his parents, he could finally grieve. The silence of the room filled with the soft whimpering and sobbing of the damaged fox.

Several Days Later…

Dr. Boyd appeared intermittently to supervise the nurses replacing Kaiden’s bandages with fresh ones. Even though the surgery when they brought him in had removed the thousands of pieces of shrapnel and foreign objects, the sheer physical damage was enough for anything to occur, from opportunistic infection to scar tissue. The prognosis was clearly not good by the worried faces on the staff. It was simply management at this point, and there was really nothing that could be done to save the dying fox.

After dealing with the interesting humility of being given a sponge bath, the room was quiet again. Kaiden started to notice a routine of periodic activity; it would be quiet, then busy, then quiet again. Much like his life, he wondered if perhaps that’s what life was in general: a series of moments, some quiet, others frenetic. He had his time to ponder on these kinds of thoughts at least until the final hours when all there would be was pain. But that time was seemingly distant, and for now, the peace and quiet of a solitary hospital room became his existence, and listening to the sound of his own breathing became the rhythm of life for him.

There was a tap at the door, interrupting the quiet of the room.

“Mr. Ellison?” The voice was Dr. Boyd, muffled from the other side of the door.

“Come in doc,” Kaiden beckoned.

The otter opened the door and climbed up on the stool, sitting down on it.

“More bad news doc?” Kaiden asked.

“No, no. This I confess is more of a personal visit,” he admitted.

Kaiden’s eyebrow perked up.

“I knew your wife, Mr. Ellison.”

“She did say she knew people at the hospital, colleagues,” Kaiden remarked.

“Yes, we were colleagues. We worked on several research projects together. We were also friends, and we talked about each other’s lives and the mammals in it,” Dr. Boyd said.

“Thank you for being her friend, doc, I know she needed friends all the time I was away,” Kaiden thanked.

“Call me Joseph,” the otter replied with a smile.

“Well, Joseph, what can I do for you?” Kaiden asked, cutting to the point.

“I was not sure how I would tell you this, or if I even should. I reasoned you had enough grief to deal with, and the fact that in the end it doesn’t matter anymore. But I figure if I was in your position, I would want to know.”

“What are you getting at?”

“Did Lily manage to tell you why she saw me that morning? Why she was ‘sick’?” Dr. Boyd inquired.

“No, she didn’t even tell me that she saw you.”

“Lily came to me with symptoms of nausea and what seemed to be a stomach virus, or so I thought, and I told her it would clear up in a couple days and that there was no problem. But the symptoms persisted, so I ran some blood work, and it was the morning of the fire that I found out what was making her ‘sick’.”

“Aw crap, don’t tell me she had cancer or something,” Kaiden shook his head.

Dr. Boyd snickered.

“No actually, something much more wonderful. Well at least, it was.”

The otter wrested his paws and smacked his lips trying to work up the nerve to say it. Finally, after a moment of silence, he took a deep breath and looked the fox square in the eye.

“Lily was pregnant,” he said softly.

Kaiden flashed back to that moment on the couch, to what Lily was wanting to tell him. ‘That must have been it,’ he thought.

“How is that possible?” Kaiden whispered.

“I don’t know,” Dr. Boyd replied.

“It shouldn’t be, but her blood showed levels of mCG and other pregnancy hormones, so there was no mistake,” Dr. Boyd continued. “She was pregnant, and I know that Lily loved you very much. She had always said that if she could she would find a way.”

“I don’t know what she did, or how, but she was brilliant, and if anyone could have figured it out, it was her. She loved you that much.”

Kaiden took the news like a kick to the chest, feeling the wind knocked out of him. He teared up, wincing with physical and emotional pain. He started to sob softly, staring up at the ceiling and willing the suffering to go away. Even Dr. Boyd was caught up in the heat of the moment and teared up a bit.

“What happened to you and her was unfair. I don’t pretend to know what business it is that you do. But what happened was an injustice, and I wish more than anything I could do something, anything to help you. Because I can’t stand the thought of the mammals who attacked you getting away with it. I’m deeply sorry. I know I’m supposed to remain professionally detached, but she was my dear friend,” the otter said, choking up on a few words. He cupped a paw over his mouth and started to shed a few tears.

Kaiden looked out the nearby window with misty eyes. He saw the moon staring down at him through the glass. He would often think back to those nights he sat in his cot during training, wondering if Lily was looking up at the moon as the same moment. It seemed Kaiden was faced with a choice, yet again brought before the crossroads to consider the options and possibilities. Death, or a fate worse than death. Lily was gone, the last light in his heart taken from him. The mammals who did this might as well have pierced his heart and forced the love to flow from the wound. All there was now was sadness, and sheer pain. They couldn’t be allowed to get away with this. They couldn’t be allowed to drive this pain onto others, and to create whatever horrors they have planned. This wasn’t about altruism, about doing the right thing. No, this was about Lily, and not seeing this repeat itself the world over. To watch from the eternal rest as others lament over their lost loves and lost families, knowing that he could have done something, that he should have done something, anything to prevent it, filled him with a renewed sense of determination.

In his heart of hearts, if Lily could speak to him now, he knew what she would say. “Do what you need to, to survive.”

“I love you Lily…I love you so much,” he thought to the moon, that in some time, some place, she would hear it.

Kaiden turned back to Dr. Boyd.

“Hey doc, you can do something for me.”

“What is it, what can I do?” the otter asked.

Kaiden motioned towards the nearby table, with the small business card on it.

“Call the number…Tell them, I changed my mind.”

Sometime later…

The offer that Talmadge had made was something of a mystery, and for good reason too. Had he said anything more during the time of his visit Kaiden likely would have scoffed or rejected it outright as abominable. But after listening to his heart and the reality of his situation, his mindset changed. It didn’t matter what it was, nor what was being asked of him. As long as he could bring Lily’s killers to justice, they could carve out a piece of his soul if necessary. And perhaps in many ways, that’s exactly what they did.

Cybernetic Augmentation, the wave of the future and the first step to self-controlled biological evolution, or so the futurists say. Going by how they would phrase it, one would think it almost a blessing, and maybe on some level it would be. The ability to surpass normal biological limitation, to correct a defect granted by genetics, or even bypass death all together. However, one would be foolish to not take into account the societal changes such technology would bring. But philosophy class was not what was on Kaiden’s mind. Even saving his own life was not important to him anymore. As far as he was concerned, his life was lost the moment Lily died, but there was some part of her calling out to him, something from the hereafter. He understood and accepted the level of augmentation that would be required. Even for this organization that Talmadge worked for, other agents had an arm or a leg replaced. Even two appendages was within the realm of possibility. But Kaiden’s case was one that, if successful, would be one for the record books.

Kaiden didn’t remember much after they transported him to the underground bunker, a place called ‘Bureau 13’. He couldn’t help but think that it was a fittingly cryptic name for a cryptic group. It was created many years ago by a small corps of agents from various groups, mainly the MIA. The signing of a federal executive order, officially called ‘Executive Order 60659’, also known as the ‘Bureau 13 Creation Order’ or the ‘Double Blind Contingency’, was what officially started the clandestine organization. The idea in short was that an agency operated separately from the government that employs it. The agency’s existence is even kept secret, and only known by a select few. This obfuscation would prevent such a group from being infiltrated, and moreover, make it capable of acting against any kind of infiltration into the government and other organizations in Zootopia. While given a high degree of latitude, their responsibilities are explicit: to find threats to Zootopia and its interests, and prevent such threats from carrying out their plans. However, Bureau 13’s ability to depend on other segments of Zootopian government is limited, hence the use of more stealthy solutions where possible.

Kaiden underwent several surgeries to stop his body from killing itself. The first and rather obvious one was the removal of his now dying limbs, which at this point were decaying and thus toxifying the remaining living tissue. A quadruple amputation, the removal of both arms at the shoulders and both legs at the hips, leaving the remaining torso and head. In any other circumstance, one would wonder what quality of life a mammal would have, but these were extraordinary circumstances. The joints were capped off, and metal attachment points were anchored to the joint bone, additional reinforcement added both above and below the tissue. The limbs themselves were made of made of metal, polymers and carbon fiber laminate over the metal structure. The augmentations were not limited to the external either. His internal organs were heavily modified as well. His lungs were revamped with an implanted rebreather to filter out toxins and even be exposed to zero oxygen environments for a short time. Angiogenic protein stimulation for accelerated healing, electrochemical conversion to allow food energy to be able to power the mechanisms, retinal prosthesis for enhanced and augmented vision modes, and much more. There wasn’t a part of his body that hadn’t been augmented in some way. Even his brain was augmented with a brain-machine interface chip that joined the organic to the synthetic, bonding electrodes to his central nervous system to allow the augments to not be simple prosthetics, but an extension of his very being.

It was quite literally brain surgery, which unearthed his memories and dreams. While the surgeons worked to fix his body, his mind drifted to her, the way she felt, the way she laughed, her scent, her taste, all the memories of days and nights gone by. The passion, the fire, sadness that dwelled within him that she alone could cure. The rage and frustration burning, he could feel his teeth grit and his fists clench. Desiring to kill Jarod for what he had done, for whom he had taken.

Kaiden opened his eyes, the grogginess of the whole ordeal still making his eyes feel heavy. He was in a lone hospital bed, the room dim with no light save for the fluorescent lamp softly buzzing above the bed, casting its diffuse light and barely illuminating the entirety of the room. There was an eerie quiet about the place. The twenty-four hour clock showed that it was past midnight. It would make sense to have such clocks due to the absence of windows, at least none that Kaiden could see. There would have to be some way to tell day from night. The feeling he got from the place was that it was underground. He wasn’t quite sure how, but he could almost feel the mountain of dirt above and around him just outside the concrete walls.

He looked around. He was hooked up to an IV and heart monitor, but gone were the plethora of machines from his old room. There was a slight pain everywhere, and his whole body ached. Feeling stiff and stretched like taffy in a pulling machine, even breathing caused a slight twinge.

“I assure you it will get better,” said a familiar voice from the nearby doorway.

Kaiden craned his head and looked at the figure, recognizing him immediately from his silhouette.

“You of all people would be the last I would expect here,” Kaiden replied.

“I suffered from my own hubris, and what happened to me was not to be expected,” said the voice.

The figure stepped out of the doorway and came over to Kaiden’s bed. It was a large grizzly bear. He had been injured some time ago, bearing his own set of scars and disfigurements, the most obvious of which was the fact that his arms had been replaced with cybernetic augments. Scarring was visible on his face, neck and chest, at least going by what little that peeked from above the collar of the shirt he was wearing.

“So…what are you doing here Kerberos?” Kaiden asked.

“I came to see you. When I heard that you had been injured and that you had decided to join up, I just had to see you,” Kerberos answered.

“I’m touched,” Kaiden replied sarcastically.

“I deserve that. Actually I deserve a lot more than that. After what I put your children through, I don’t deserve a second chance,” the bear said plainly.

Kaiden’s eyebrow perked up. He had known Humphrey Kerberos as many things. A hard ass, a cruel taskmaster, and even a downright aggressive son of a bitch, but never once had he seen the expression that was on the bear’s face right now: regret. Regret with a side helping of humility. Kaiden was a bit more receptive, that and the fact that he was in a hospital bed.

“I guess one of the reasons I wanted to see you was, I wanted to say… I’m sorry,” Kerberos apologized.

Kaiden was shocked. He apologized, he actually apologized for something. Admitting wrongdoing was also not something Kaiden had known the bear to ever do, not in all the years during his time in ‘the Pit’.

“Why?” Kaiden asked.

“Because of what I did,” Kerberos replied matter of factly.

“No, not that, I mean why do you even feel bad about it now?” Kaiden clarified.

“Because sometimes blind faith can make you rationalize things that you shouldn’t, and I was a patriot Kaiden, zealous even. I did what I did because I believed in what they were selling, that what I was doing was in the service of Zootopia. That even as sins go, it would make all the difference later. I believed, even when they asked me to do even worse things for them later.”

“Worse than child abuse? Worse than turning children into weapons, weapons that would then be pointed at innocent people to make room for what, some kind of new world order?” Kaiden scoffed.

“In short, yes. Because while what I did to you in many ways made you stronger, at least it produced something for that effort. Every single one of you became stronger as a result. I’m not saying that excuses me, but it created something, and that at least is something productive. All the years after were spent destroying something,” Kerberos explained.

“And that is?”

“The world, the structure of it. The small little places of peace and tranquility, because we were told that our way was the best and the only way. I believed in the lie just like you. I knew on some level it was wrong, but I ignored it same as you.”

“So what changed?”

“Same as you. I awoke. Opened my eyes one day and realized the truth of what I was doing. I lost the zeal, the commitment, and eventually the focus, which caught up with me rather quickly,” Kerberos replied, holding up his cybernetic paws as proof.

“So what made you join this outfit?”

“We all have the same motivations here. We joined up to do many things, but ultimately, because we wanted to serve and protect, to make the world a better place. And we realize now that we broke it. WE broke it, not any one of us, but a group effort of many people, across multiple disciplines, all running blindly towards it. Why are we here you ask? Because we all realize our part in this, even you. And just like you, we want to work at helping to fix it,” Kerberos said.

Kaiden weakly reached up with his paw to grab the side rail to his bed and was stunned, seeing the prosthesis for the first time. Flexing the fingers and rotating his wrist, it felt like his paw. It moved like it, but it was made of metal and polymer. His pawpads had a rough feel to them to replicate his old ones. Touching the metal rail felt cold, it actually felt cold. The fact that he could feel anything at all was a shock, but whatever process that was allowing him to feel was able to do so pretty accurately compared to before.

Kerberos saw the expression on the fox’s face.

“That was the other reason I wanted to be here.”

“What, to see me marvel?”

“No, to help you through this.”

“Through what?”

“Using them, training with them. Simply walking is going to be harder than you think,” The bear informed.

“You offering to train me again? Is that it?” Kaiden asked.

“Kaiden, despite what you think about me, training the next generation is what I do. Imparting my knowledge and experience to allow others to achieve. I can’t make up for the past, and I can apologize a thousand times, and it won’t change what I did or what happened. But if you let me, we can change how it goes from here.”

“It’s not like I have a choice anyway,” Kaiden muttered.

“No, I guess you don’t. But I would rather you be a willing participant this time, especially since willpower will be a major factor here.”

Kaiden heaved a sigh, noticing the clear irony and seemingly cyclical nature of the universe. How the crossroads of our lives seem to come right back at us again and again, each time a new chance at the road. Does one go right or left, forward or back, and how attitudes and beliefs can make all the difference in the world. At the very least he would work with the old bear to learn his new capabilities. It’s not like they left him with an owner’s manual.

Three months later…

Training with Humphrey Kerberos wasn’t exactly what Kaiden expected, not just because part of it felt more like physical therapy than military training. Learning to walk again, to grasp things gently without crushing them, etc. The power of the augmentations was nothing that could be denied, but finer control, things like picking up a fork and using it to eat, or drinking from a glass without shattering it in a paw, that was something else.

But despite all of that, there was something different about Kaiden’s training regimen than the content: patience. Kerberos was patient with Kaiden, and in fact all of the recruited agents that were in various states of augmentation were patient with him. Where in the past Kerberos was cold and hard, even cruel, none of that existed here. He was kind, patient, even compassionate. Kaiden wondered exactly what caused such a complete inversion of his personality. He concluded something bad must have happened, something that shook the bear to his core.

During their training, Kaiden had slowly but surely tried to get him to talk about it, but the bear would always change the subject and even sometimes tell Kaiden to drop it. Kerberos knew what the fox was digging for, and Kaiden considered the bear would give him an answer eventually.

The pair had been paged to Director Talmadge’s office. Walking through the halls past the command center, they arrived at the raccoon’s office, standing ‘at ease’ in front of the mahogany desk. The raccoon had flipped through the last few pages of a file.

“These are your copies,” the raccoon gestured toward the more appropriately sized copies of the file on his desk.

The pair picked them up and began to review them. A picture of a red-furred squirrel caught their attention.

“Do you know a mammal named Milton Hamilton?” Talmadge asked Kaiden.

“Isn’t he some big time tech mogul?” the fox replied.

“Was,” Talmadge replied.

“Was?”

“Lucas Technologies purchased Hamilton Industries, a hostile takeover. Milton Hamilton Sr. had died a year earlier and left the company to his son. Milton Hamilton Jr. had been working an incredibly brilliant bit of programming. Basically, it’s a publicly available encryption scheme that, and here’s the kicker, doesn’t have any kind of government back door into it. Apparently Junior doesn’t trust the system any more than we do.”

“Ok, so what does that have to do with us? Didn’t that happen like, I don’t know, two, three years ago?” Kaiden asked.

“Four,” Talmadge corrected.

“Ok, four. Point is the company was bought, and Junior here, didn’t he just go off into obscurity? Probably enjoying his fat bank account,” Kaiden said.

“Actually, the director and I believe that Milton Hamilton was abducted, and the story of his ‘riding off into the sunset’ planted for the sake of explaining his disappearance,” Kerberos clarified.

Kaiden nodded and looked back at the file.

“What the hell does Lucas Technologies want with a twenty-one year old kid?” Kaiden asked.

“Not Lucas Technologies, but rather the mammals behind the corporation,” Talmadge put rather delicately.

“Kaiden, perhaps there is something that needs a bit of explaining. We’ve discovered that there is a group of mammals, across many areas and disciplines of influence, who are working together for some kind of goal that as of yet we haven’t figured out,” Kerberos explained.

“Have you ever heard of a group called the ‘Council of Five’? Or perhaps by their more colloquial name, the Illuminati?” Talmadge asked.

Kaiden’s head snapped to match his gaze with the raccoon, displaying a stern expression.

“I take it from your reaction, you have,” Talmadge replied, answering his own question.

“You could say that. Just before Jarod, that bastard, shot me in the head, he said that’s who he worked for. In fact, he said that’s who we’ve always been working for, that they ran the MIA. Hell, by his reckoning they run all of Zootopia.”

There was a thick pause in the room. Kaiden waited for at least one of them to set him straight. He shot a glance back and forth between Kerberos and Talmadge, neither taking the opportunity.

“Well, he’s not far off,” Talmadge said, breaking the silence.

Kaiden’s brow perked in surprise.

“We have known for some time now that there is a group of powerful mammals who have been trying to manipulate society from behind the scenes. We aren’t sure when they established themselves. In fact, there is a very concerning notion they may have actually been in their position since Zootopia’s founding. In either case, they have been attempting to elicit more and more control over everyday forces that run not just the city, but the entire planet. And we have come to the conclusion that such a position is not in our best interests,” Talmadge explained.

“So, they’re literally the invisible paw, the power behind the throne, the um…masters of the world or something to that effect?” Kaiden asked flippantly.

“Correct.”

“Ok…Well let’s let that nightmare sink in for a second. What are we supposed to do about it?”

“They’re not invincible, Mr. Ellison. They are just mammals made of flesh and blood. Powerful yes, and with a wide range of resources, but that hasn’t stopped us before, nor has it even stopped you when you worked for the MIA. It requires the smart use of tactics and resources, but there is an answer to find. The question is can we be smart, strong and fast enough to find and use it?” Talmadge said confidently.

“And luck, luck helps too,” Kerberos added.

“Well I think we’ll need plenty of that,” the raccoon nodded.

“Well I knew the other paw was going to drop at some point, just didn’t realize how big of a drop it would be,” Kaiden remarked.

“This isn’t just about you Kaiden. It’s about Zootopia. It’s about all of us. We rise or fall together. You need to understand that nothing is more important than the security and safety of Zootopia and its citizens. Not you, not me, not any of us. I think deep down you believe that too,” Kerberos said.

Talmadge pulled a patch out of his desk and slid it across to Kaiden. The patch would become the symbol that would define his life from this moment on.

The patch had a stylized white-furred lion head on it with a mane of black, the number ‘13’ embroidered below it, and words written in a circular alignment along the edge.

“Cum Animus Et Ferocia Nos Tueri Zootopia”

“With Courage and Ferocity We Protect Zootopia”

Kaiden took the patch from the desk and studied it for a moment. Feeling the sensation of the patch in his newly minted mechanical arm, it seemed purpose found him again right when he needed it.

“OK…Let’s get started.”

[footyplusau]

After the siren: Best weekend ever? It’s right up there

IN TERMS of drama and impact, nothing will ever beat the final round of the home and away season in 1987.

Hawthorn champion Jason Dunstall’s last-minute goal at Kardinia Park knocked Geelong out of the finals and paved the way for Melbourne to make it for the first time in 23 years by beating Footscray at the Whitten Oval.

Meanwhile at Waverley, Carlton kept the Hawks from claiming top spot – and the precious week’s break that came with it – courtesy of Stephen Kernahan’s goal after the siren.

But the weekend of footy just gone comes awfully close. Hawthorn’s fabulous win over Adelaide on Thursday night at Adelaide Oval (17th beating first for the second straight week) might have stood up all weekend.

Yet the events that followed over the next 72 hours had already consigned it to the “ancient history” basket by Sunday night.

We’ll get to the Hawks a bit later. Let’s start instead with the really close ones. This was the first round since round 23, 2013 to have two one-point results. Add the West-Coast Melbourne and Geelong-Fremantle games and you have four games decided by less than one kick – giving us a weekend of drama and excitement not seen for, well, 30 years.

• The run home: How the race for the finals is shaping up

Comeback Cats do it without Joel

As he sat dazed on the bench after the head clash that sent him off the ground after just one minute on Sunday, Joel Selwood was entitled to wonder whether, after so many games over the last decade in which he carried his side to victory, that gesture would be reciprocated.

Thankfully for him it was, and the two-point win over Fremantle turned out to be one of Geelong’s bravest for years.

By the final quarter, Tom Stewart and Darcy Lang were also out of action, yet it was the Cats who finished all over the tiring Dockers, who at one stage during a mesmerising second quarter led by nearly six goals.

WATCH: The thrilling final minutes at Simonds Stadium

It might have been at home in front of their adoring fans, but such a win can only fuel the belief at Geelong that anything is possible this year. We’ve moved on from the ‘Dangerwood’ phenomenon at Geelong this year, but to claw back and win in the fashion the Cats did without one of them, bodes well for what is to come for the rest of the year.

A grand old flag? Win in the west gets Dee faithful dreaming

Saturday night marked Melbourne’s first win over West Coast since 2009 and the first by the Demons over West Coast in Perth since 2002.

They had no business winning the game, really. Jack Watts, Jesse Hogan and Nathan Jones were watching on TV on the other side of the country while a fourth star, Jack Viney was running around with a crook shoulder.

• Nine things we learned from round 14

Yet the toughness and the versatility for which they’ve become renowned in 2017 came to the fore. Viney was magnificent after spending part of the third term off the ground and Clayton Oliver (despite an awful theatrical flop to the ground right on half-time) relished the hard contest.

Demon takes on ex-Test cricketer in Twitter spat

And then there was the career-best five-goal haul to Tom McDonald. Usually a defender, the absences of Max Gawn, Hogan and Watts have required him to play everywhere but in defence, and he has emerged as one of the better swingmen in the competition.

And that goal to put the Demons ahead just before the death was superb. A bit lucky, but superb nonetheless.

WATCH: McDonald’s five hauls Dees across the line

Social media was abuzz afterwards as to whether the Demons are premiership material. Footy history suggests this group might need to experience some finals footy heartbreak first, but with the best ruckman in the competition and the right blend of speed, hardness, scoring power and flexibility, Melbourne’s premiership window is open. In this new era of AFL parity, why not this year?

Dogs thrill, but 2016 still a distant memory

About a quarter of an hour earlier, the Western Bulldogs outlasted North Melbourne to win by a point, having led for most of the night.

Only in the final seconds of the game, when they went coast-to-coast to get the ball to Jake Stringer for the match-winning point, did they resemble the premiership winning team of last season. Otherwise, they played in fits and spurts and it is hard not to hark back to 12 months ago when the Bulldogs would have put this game to bed much earlier.

WATCH: The final thrilling minutes of WB v NM

The umpiring will be a talking point out of this one – the 26-14 free kick count (which at one stage was about 14-2) and episodes such as Shaun Higgins being called to play on by the non-controlling umpire 40m away just before half-time will dominate the Monday AFL talkfests this week.

Frustrated Scott not dwelling on costly free kicks

The Dogs have been mainly good at home but woeful away and are going to have to manufacture some wins at places such as Adelaide Oval, Cazalys Stadium and Eureka Stadium before the end of the year to a) make the finals and b) enter them with any degree of confidence. After Saturday’s clash with the Eagles they play just three more games at Etihad Stadium for the year.

Swans get the little things right in huge win

The night before at the SCG was insane. What is it about Sydney, Essendon and close finishes?

But while the spotlight will be about the Bombers and the number of errors they made in the final few minutes, the takeaway should also be about how well the Swans played the last few minutes. Heath Grundy and Callum Mills made some enormous defensive plays and player after player made the correct decision during those same frantic contests.

WATCH: The final two minutes of the Swans’ thrilling win

It’s what you get with a mature group that is never out if the game and is a product of one of the best coaching set-ups in the AFL. John Longmire looked as though he couldn’t believe what he saw, but in fact, he shouldn’t have been too surprised. He has engineered the Swans to finish the game as they did.

• Forecast the road to the flag with the AFL Ladder and Finals Predictor

Clarko’s still the king of coaching

Hawthorn’s triumph on Thursday night was another triumph of coaching. Adelaide’s forward line contained Eddie Betts, Taylor Walker, Josh Jenkins, Tom Lynch, Wayne Milera, Hugh Greenwood and Andy Otten. The Hawks countered with Kaiden Brand, Blake Hardwick, Ryan Burton, Taylor Duryea, Luke Hodge, Grant Birchall and James Sicily.

On paper the Crows win that every time, but Alastair Clarkson’s brilliantly crafted defensive game-plan didn’t let the Crows get the easy goals out the back, which has been their modus operandi for much of the year.

The Hawks recalled 774 games of experience to their side and it showed. Birchall was a key inclusion and it was a night where the veteran savvy of both Hodge (how fantastic was it having him mic’d up by Channel Seven?)  and Shaun Burgoyne came to the fore. We still don’t see Hodge playing next year, but giving Burgoyne another year at this stage appears a no-brainer, even though the Hawks should rightly wait until the end of the season before making the call.

But the most important person at Hawthorn right now is Clarkson. In a fascinating interview on ABC radio on Saturday he gave every impression of someone determined to stick around for the rebuild, even if nobody at Waverley is calling it such. He remains the best in the business, as Thursday night in Adelaide amply demonstrated.

Other observations

1. It’s all about the wins for the Tigers these days, so excuse the lack of style in their defeat of Carlton on Sunday. Things such as poor conversion can be worked out to a degree at training, but the Blues came at them several times and the Tigers held their nerve. Bachar Houli likely won’t be playing any time soon after what was one of the most uncharacteristic reportable acts in recent memory.

2. Fortress Subiaco? Perhaps not. Saturday night was the first time since 2010 that West Coast has lost a game at Domain Stadium by less than a goal, having won the previous seven. West Coast’s last four games at home this season have been decided by an average margin of eight points. It is becoming increasingly likely that West Coast’s round 23 clash with Adelaide there will be the last AFL game before the move to the new stadium next year, because hopes of a home final for either the Eagles or the Dockers are fading fast.

3. This was the second time this season North Melbourne has lost by one point, and North in 2013 is actually the last team to lose two one-point games in the same season. Adding further salt, they’ve played in five one-point games since 2011 and lost them all. 

4. Hayden Ballantyne’s value to Fremantle was evident from the very start against the Cats on Sunday and he was a factor until he ran out of petrol tickets in the final quarter. He’ll be better for the run, as they say, and Ross Lyon will be delighted to finally have him back.

5. Compared to the lofty standards set elsewhere this weekend, Saturday’s Collingwood-Port Adelaide clash was a relatively drab affair. But the brilliant work of Robbie Gray, especially in the first half, was worth the price of admission alone and his five-goal haul was easily his best return in 12 games at the MCG to date. Ken Hinkley made the point post-match that Gray wasn’t hurt, which hopefully for Port’s sake is a portent of what is to come for the rest of the year.

WATCH: Robbie Gray’s MCG masterclass

6. Expect some of South Australia’s best investigative football journalism this week as the locals examine how North Adelaide’s Ryan Burton slipped twice through Adelaide’s grasp at the 2015 NAB AFL Draft and found his way to Hawthorn. Those two third-quarter goals against the Crows were all class and Burton now shapes as the best first draft pick made by the Hawks since Cyril Rioli a decade ago. He’s signed through until the end of next year, but some of that extra money the Hawks now have thanks to the new CBA will surely find its way into Burton’s bank account before too long.

7. Dayne Beams can’t take a trick and let’s hope the Lions captain, who has been riddled with injury since moving home two-and-a-half years ago, gets on the ground again this year. Beams stood no chance up against Shane Mumford, who as long as he keeps things legal, will scare the bejeezus out of the Giants’ opponents between now and the end of the year.

• Around the state leagues: Who starred in your club’s twos?

8. Relax, Saints fans. Cool your jets everyone else. Jack Billings (30 disposals and a goal against Gold Coast on Sunday) is becoming a super footballer and is on track to give the club all it could hope for from a No.3 draft pick.

WATCH: Jack Billings puts on another show

9. We have the technology but… goal line reviews are still sketchy. Thursday night and twice on Friday night, the TV pictures weren’t quite clear cut to support what the naked eye seemed to show. Some clarification from the AFL on Monday about want the goalpost padding means when it comes to the ball crossing the goal-line would be helpful as well.

The post After the siren: Best weekend ever? It’s right up there appeared first on Footy Plus.

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[footyplusau]

Why isn’t he getting a game? Out-of-favour stars

There are plenty of key players who aren’t getting a run in the ones for your club this season.

AFL.com.au reporters nominate the stars that are out of favour and explain the reasons why.

Scott Thompson

The 34-year-old veteran hasn’t been able to add to his career tally of 307 games this season. Shoulder, calf and thigh injuries hampered Thompson’s pre-season, and although he’s been able to regain some solid form in the SANFL, it’s clear he’s fallen down the midfield pecking order. Matt (31.9 possessions per game) and Brad Crouch (27.5) are having career-best seasons and Charlie Cameron, Rory Atkins and Wayne Milera have added pace to Adelaide’s midfield. Hugh Greenwood is probably the player keeping Thompson out of the side with his toughness when the ball is up for grabs and grunt work at stoppages. – Lee Gaskin

Tom Bell

The burly half-forward/wing started the season in Chris Fagan’s best team, but has been dropped twice already for poor form. Bell is a powerhouse runner, but put simply, hasn’t been as physical as he can be. Ryan Bastinac has been given a reprieve in Bell’s absence, while Tom Cutler has also been used in a similar role. Bell has gone back to NEAFL and excelled – he’s above that level – and with some more aggression in his game, can certainly win his spot back. – Michael Whiting

Dylan Buckley

The son of club great Jim has been unable to break into the seniors this season, despite encouraging displays in the VFL. In his fifth season at Ikon Park, Buckley, 24, suffered a setback in the JLT Community Series when he hurt his hip. He has worked hard on the defensive elements of his game to complement his strengths of providing explosive run and rebound. Buckley has a penetrating right boot and plays with energy and enthusiasm. He managed 11 senior games last year to take his total to 38, but needs to perform well in the remaining matches and secure another chance at AFL level as he is out of contract at the end of this season. – Howard Kotton

Chris Mayne

Many have already written off the former Docker’s four-year, reportedly $2 million contract as a dud deal for the Pies. At his best in a strong Fremantle side, Mayne was a 30-40-goal forward, but in a developing Pies line-up the 28-year-old was underwhelming in the opening three rounds, kicking just two goals, and hasn’t returned since. This week coach Nathan Buckley admitted Mayne’s output hadn’t been to the level expected but insisted the Pies were committed to helping him rediscover his best footy. The road back is clear – Mayne needs to knock the door down with performance. His most recent VFL effort was encouraging – he bagged a season-high four goals from limited opportunities and started to launch himself at aerial duels. – Ben Collins

High-profile recruit Chris Mayne hasn’t delivered for the Pies thus far. Picture: AFL Photos

Craig Bird

Bird played 18 games for Essendon last year, his first season at the club after eight years with Sydney, including playing in the Swans’ 2012 premiership win. He added important experience and grunt to the depleted Bombers’ midfield, and averaged nearly 21 disposals as Essendon claimed the wooden spoon. However, Bird has yet to play at senior level this season despite strong and consistent ball-winning form in the VFL. The simple reason is Essendon already has many of his type and speed in its midfield: Jobe Watson has returned, Brendon Goddard is playing strong footy and David Myers and Dyson Heppell are back. There isn’t room for another player of Bird’s pace in the midfield unit, but he at least will be ready to go if called upon. – Callum Twomey

Nick Suban

It was a surprise when Suban was picked in round one to fill the small forward void left by an injured Hayden Ballantyne, and after booting only one goal in the opening two games the 27-year-old found himself on the outer. The Dockers’ 0-2 start to the season prompted coach Ross Lyon to turn to youth, and Suban was one of six players axed for round three. Suban has been an emergency several times since he was dropped but despite some solid form at Peel – including 26-disposal games in rounds eight and 10 of the WAFL season – he hasn’t been able to crack a senior return in a rebuilding Freo line-up, with Brady Grey and Ed Langdon ahead in the pecking order. – Travis King

Aaron Black

The ex-North Melbourne forward isn’t doing much wrong when it comes to endeavour, but he simply isn’t kicking enough goals at VFL level to break into the side. He played three AFL games between rounds five and seven for four goals, but went back to the VFL after the loss to Gold Coast and has managed four goals in three games since. Black is going OK, but essentially needs an opportunity to present itself given Rhys Stanley got the nod last week to replace Tom Hawkins, while Wylie Buzza is screaming out for his AFL debut. Although Nakia Cockatoo is out for a bit with a fresh hamstring complaint, Brandan Parfitt and Lincoln McCarthy are moving closer to availability after long-term injuries, which could make things tough for Black in the back half of the season. – Jennifer Phelan.

Trent McKenzie

‘The Cannon’ was one of the most recognizable Suns in their first four seasons, but the languid left-footed defender is now struggling to get a game. In fact, McKenzie has been stuck on 99 career games since his last appearance in round 14 last season. A combination of form and most recently injury – hamstring and calf – have kept him out. Kade Kolodjashnij has cemented the role as a third tall defender who can also use the ball well, making it difficult for McKenzie to squeeze back in. He’s out of contract at season’s end, but if he tightens up defensively at NEAFL level, coach Rodney Eade has shown he’s prepared to elevate players in form. – Michael Whiting

‘The Cannon’ has failed to fire in 2017. Picture: AFL Photos

Jeremy Finlayson

The club’s shocking injury list should have given Finlayson an opportunity to make his debut early this year, but unfortunately a groin problem came at the wrong time and has limited him to just five NEAFL games. The athletic tall defender has averaged 28.8 possessions per game this year and his versatility allows him to play at either end of the ground, or on a wing, which makes him an exciting prospect. The GWS academy product is a real chance to play senior footy in the next month, perhaps even against the Brisbane Lions this week. – Adam Curley

Kurt Heatherley

Both of the New Zealand born-and-bred defender’s games at AFL level have been as match-day injury replacements. He came in for Kaiden Brand at the last minute for the round nine Collingwood clash and did OK, as he did last year when he was rushed in for a late-season loss to Melbourne. Rangy and with a bit of agro, he has been a key figure in the backline for Box Hill, which has yet to lose a game this year, but with finals unlikely for Hawthorn, the time has come to ‘play the kids’ as such and the Hawks need to discover whether Heatherley, in whom they have invested so much since bringing across the Tasman as an international rookie several years ago, can play at the level. Ryan Schoenmakers hasn’t played at AFL level since round one, but despite some good form at VFL level, it seems to be a case of ‘prefer others’, as the racing writers used to write when compiling the form. – Ashley Browne

Jack Trengove

The former co-captain has not played for Melbourne since round 13, 2016 and has managed just five matches in the last four seasons. Plagued by a career-threatening foot injury in his navicular bone, Trengove has fallen behind the likes of dynamic youngsters Clayton Oliver and Christian Petracca as Melbourne has heralded a new era. Rather than being downcast about the situation, Trengove’s leadership and experience has been crucial for VFL affiliate the Casey Demons and he continues to set high standards for his teammates. The 25-year-old has been in excellent form in the VFL, averaging 24.6 disposals per game this season. Trengove, pick No.2 in the 2009 NAB AFL Draft, lacks the zip and power that was apparent in his game before the injuries took hold. Out of contract at season’s end, it appears as if 2017 will be Trengove’s last at the Demons. – Ben Guthrie

Jack Trengove has been dominating in the VFL. Picture: AFL Photos

Sam Durdin

Bullocking ruckman Braydon Preuss was another option for this, but Durdin is also screaming for an opportunity – and may be closer to a regular senior spot. The 20-year-old key defender, the 16th pick in the 2014 draft, has blossomed in his third season at AFL level, made his debut in round three and played again in round eight. Both opportunities came through suspension; firstly, Scott Thompson then Jarrad Waite. Therein lies the Roos’ predicament with Durdin, who suffered a game-ending concussion in the first quarter in the VFL at the weekend. They haven’t been able to find him a spot because of the experienced key-position talent in front of him. He looks to be in a battle with out-of-contract veteran Lachie Hansen to be the third tall down back for the rest of the season. You would imagine 198cm Durdin will be a first-choice player by round one next year at the latest. – Marc McGowan

Logan Austin

After showing some promising signs in 11 games last season, the 21-year-old key defender has slipped out of the Power’s rotation this year. A lengthy recovery from an ankle injury disrupted Austin’s pre-season and allowed Tom Clurey to establish himself in the Power’s backline alongside Tom Jonas and Jack Hombsch. With all three in solid form this year, the 196cm, 92kg Austin may need to look elsewhere at the end of the season for greater opportunities to play regular senior football. Ruckman Matthew Lobbe is at a crossroads behind Paddy Ryder, but at 28 and with two years left on a lucrative contract, he’s unlikely to find clubs willing to take him on. – Lee Gaskin

Anthony Miles

A regular fixture in the Tigers’ 22 in his first three seasons with the club, Miles has fallen out of favour and played just two games in 2017. The tough inside midfielder has been the victim of Richmond’s midfield recruiting, with Dion Prestia and Josh Caddy joining the club and playing key roles in that part of the ground, with Caddy also rotating forward. Coach Damien Hardwick has acknowledged on a number of occasions that Miles is above VFL level, regular racking up more than 30 possessions in state league games, but he cannot fit into the senior team. The 25-year-old finished sixth in the best and fairest award last year, and fourth in 2015, so he is highly rated at the club. He does need to improve his disposal efficiency to demand selection, however, running at 57.9 per cent efficiency when recalled in round seven and registering eight clangers in round nine. – Nathan Schmook

Tom Hickey

The ruckman was dropped after the Saints’ 14-point win against Collingwood in round four. He was beaten by Brodie Grundy that day and struggled in games against Melbourne’s Max Gawn and the Lions’ Stefan Martin. Part of the problem was Hickey lacked presence at stoppages and wasn’t showing enough physicality. Billy Longer has come into the team and improved St Kilda in that respect. A medial strain in Hickey’s left knee sidelined him for a few weeks and upon returning, he has been an emergency over the past fortnight. Hickey showed when he cemented a spot in the best 22 last year that his mobility made him one of the competition’s better ruckman, but the Queensland-native has not performed well enough in the VFL to demand selection in Alan Richardson’s side. – Dinny Navaratnam 

Aliir Aliir

The key defender was a revelation in 13 games last year before he was injured against Geelong in the prelim and missed the Grand Final, and it has been all downhill from there. The 22-year-old struggled with a toe injury over summer but managed to get back for round two, before being dropped three weeks later due to form and fitness concerns. He earned a recall against the Brisbane Lions in round seven but was axed for missing training the day before the game, and youngster Lewis Melican has taken his chance to grab Aliir’s spot in the Swans’ back six. – Adam Curley

Luke Partington

Given West Coast’s inconsistent form and midfield woes it seemed a matter of time until Luke Partington would crack a debut game, but the 20-year-old is still biding his time at East Perth. Partington was racking up big numbers for the Royals in the opening half of the season, however his effectiveness was questionable and a glut of inside midfielders at West Coast kept him out of the line-up. It seems Partington has changed his role in recent weeks to become more damaging – with the South Australian booting three goals against West Perth recently and adding another from a season-low 17 touches against Subiaco – which might help his cause. – Travis King

Luke Partington could yet come in for his debut this season. Picture: AFL Photos

Tom Campbell

In five seasons at Whitten Oval, the 25-year-old has only managed to play 39 games, and only four this season. It appears his lack of mobility and versatility is holding him back under Luke Beveridge’s flexibility mantra. While he can take a strong contested mark and kick a long goal, Campbell struggles to cover the ground that mobile big men Jordan Roughead and Tom Boyd do. Despite signing a two-year deal at the end of last season, the former rookie may be better off looking for a fresh start at another club, with first-year ruckman Tim English developing at a rapid rate . – Ryan Davidson

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