Xerces brushes past him, then stops, and stares at him for a minute. He sneers, and turns down a street, then takes off running. [i]Of all the other protectors, why did it have to be[/i] him[i]?[/i] He looks back at where the portal used to be, and sighs. [i]I do all the work , and someone else comes and tries to steal the credit.[/i] He walks into a random bookstore, picks up a novel, and begins reading. He occasionally glances up from his book, looking around for the other Protector. [i]Come on, where'd you go?[/i]