“You can’t go,” Harold said for the seventh time. They had been discussing who would be meeting with the Agency and Cal had continuously suggested himself as having to go.


    “It’s my house. I have to go,” Cal said again.


    “No, if you go and something happens, the loop ends. We have too much to do before we can let the loop end this time. For that same reason, I can’t go either,” Harold answered.


    “Fine, then who does get to go the meeter?” Cal asked, annoyed but resigned with the reasonable fact that he could not go until the children were in the loop.


    “Alfred is collecting your father. Stan, Glenn, Bug, and Frank will go. That should be plenty of heavy hitters to make the point very if anything is attempted. I know we could add a fifth, but I’d rather not. I do want you, Twonger, and the other two dogs waiting in reserve if needed though. If a fight starts, you are to end that fight with the usual extreme measures needed,” Harold said. Cal was reasonably sure he could live with that compromise.


    “Fine, when are we leaving?” Cal asked.


    “As soon as Stan is briefed,” Harold answered.


    “Alfred told me most of it on the way. I’m not sure why you think I’m a better choice to keep my temper under control than Cal, though,” Stan said, entering the room.


    “Who said anything about temper control? I just don’t want the loop ending prematurely. There is too much that needs to be done. Stan, you are one of our most powerful assets. You’re going in there to make your anger well-known. I fully understand if you refuse to come back without your wife until there is no one there left alive to guide you to her. Part of why the called for this peace agreement is they know we are better people than they are. We are less willing to hurt people. What Brice doesn’t understand is the justifications where we fully find violence to be the correct solution,” Harold answered.


    “Wait, you really think that they expect us to just play nicely because we said we would?” Cal asked. Did Brice really not understand why they were fighting them? Cal had no idea how to get himself into that kind of mindset and was glad Harold was able to.


    “I’ve met some of these types before when I was in the military. I think I understand now that you say it. They can’t fully comprehend the idea that we are willing to risk our own lives or break arbitrary rules,” Stan replied.


    “Correct. Everyone ready?” Harold yelled to the wider room, most of who had been locked in their own conversations.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    “Yes, but please make sure my wife and kids are fine if anything happens to me,” Glenn said as he walked towards Harold, followed by Bug and Frank.


    “Of course, alright, both groups head for the gateway, but only group A is to head to the house unless it becomes a melee,” Harold said to several nods, Cal’s included.


    Stan


    Stan was walking toward the front door of his own home, now a place full of the people who had taken his wife from him, not to mention having kidnapped himself, Cal, and Bug in the previous loop. He was not thrilled about this meeting, not one bit. He would make his demands crystal clear, though. He may not have been training for long, but he and Excalibur had learned some new tricks.


    The door opened before he had a chance to touch the number revealing a man on the other side. “Please come in. The others are at the kitchen table for the meeting,” the man said. Stan registered the urge to break the man’s nose for inviting him into his own house and instead lead the way after him. If he started the fight now, he knew Frank would tear the house apart right beside him.


    “Thank you,” Glenn said to the man at the door, breaking the silence as they walked towards the table and took their seats.


    “I’m glad you could make it. It’s about time we all met face-to-face like this. After all, our goals aren’t that different. It’s a shame we are wasting so many resources fighting each other,” Brice said, staring at Stan.


    “All negotiations are a non-starter without the full return of all people associated with us currently being held by you,” Glenn said as Stan returned Brice’s stare.


    “Ah, would that include the animals too?” Brice asked, smiling.


    “Yes, every single associate we have, including those we have made during this war, will be considered off-limits. Without that agreement, we can’t move this forward at all,” Glenn said.


    “I’m not sure that’s something we can agree to. Several of your associates have been mana touched, and we don’t generally allow those people to exist outside our control,” Brice said. Stan coughed loudly after that statement.


    “I’m sorry, Glenn, you were doing your best, but I think I’m going to need to explain our position here,” Stan said as he tightened one of his hands into a fist in a reflexive bit of anger.


    “And just what is that position, Stan? I can call you Stan, right?” Brice asked, smiling again.


    “Our position is that either you agree immediately to release all your hostages to us, or we retaliate as we see fit. Should you agree, you will have exactly one hour to release them to us, or once again, we will retaliate as we see fit,” Stan answered, struggling against the extremely strong urge to slam the man’s head into the table.


    “I’m sorry, we just can’t do everyone. Perhaps we can come to an agreement on some of the humans, but we are going to have to keep the animals,” Brice answered. Stan slammed his fist down onto the table, cracking it into two with a loud crunching sound as the table parts crashed to the ground.


    “Apologies, Brice, you seem to have misunderstood what was happening here. This was never a peace talk. This was a hostage negotiation, and you’ve left us no other choices,” Glenn said.