Moonlight painted silver trails across the night sky as Angelo and his companions soared through the cool air. Their powers left streaks of color behind them like a living rainbow – orange, red, and blue light dancing against the darkness. The wind whistled past them, carrying the crisp scent of pine trees from the forest below.

  Angelo adjusted his grip on Neiva and glided closer to Blue, who carried Sol with his precise energy constructs. "Hey Sol," he called over the rushing wind, "you sure breaking our travel schedule was smart?"

  Sol's silver-white hair caught the moonlight as he flashed that trademark confident grin. "Come on, we had to if we wanted to stay on track. It's just this once!"

  "That's exactly what you said yesterday!" Angelo's annoyance carried clearly through the night air.

  "Look," Sol started to explain, "according to my calculations, we should reach Pinekeep any minute now. We can use our powers for light when we—" He cut off suddenly, his eyes fixing on something below.

  "What the..." Angelo followed Sol's gaze, his words trailing off as hundreds of campfires came into view, dotting the landscape like fallen stars. Tents and makeshift shelters surrounded a small town, creating an unexpected sea of light in the middle of nowhere.

  Red picked up his pace, his predatory grin wider than ever. "Well, well! Looks like we're not the only ones who love camping!"

  "This is incredible," Neiva breathed, unconsciously tightening her grip on Angelo as they hovered in the night air. The fires below cast shifting patterns of light across her face.

  Blue appeared with his usual perfect posture, somehow managing to look dignified even while floating. "While local festivals are not uncommon, this gathering seems... peculiar."

  "We should check it out!" Red bounced in mid-air with barely contained excitement.

  Sol's expression hardened, his usual playful demeanor vanishing. "We can't afford distractions. The mining town case has to come first."

  "Since when do you turn down a mystery?" Red asked, genuine confusion in his voice. "I thought detectives loved this kind of thing!"

  "Normally, yeah." Sol ran a hand through his silver-white hair, frustration clear in his movements. "But we can't solve every weird thing we stumble across. We've got bigger problems waiting."

  "I'm just surprised we found anything out here at all," Angelo said, scanning the unexpected gathering below. "This forest is supposed to be empty."

  Red waved off their concerns with his usual dramatic flair. "We're camping here anyway – might as well do some investigating while we're at it!"

  Sol's shoulders slumped in resignation. "Fine, but we leave on schedule no matter what you find."

  "Perfect!" Red rubbed his hands together with theatrical glee, his grin promising trouble.

  Blue's scholarly voice cut through their planning. "First, we require adequate space for our camp. The area appears quite crowded."

  Angelo rolled his eyes. "Blue, we're Aurons. We can make our own clearing." His gaze swept the forest until he spotted a dense patch of trees away from the other campers. Without warning, he dove toward it like a hawk spotting prey.

  "Time to redecorate!" Red shot after him, crimson energy tentacles already reaching for the trees.

  Blue sighed with scholarly disapproval. "Such unnecessary violence against nature."

  Sol remained quiet as they descended, but his eyes never left the mysterious gathering of campers spread out below them. The night air grew warmer as they dropped below the treeline, carrying the mingled scents of campfires and pine needles.

  Working together, they quickly transformed their chosen spot into a suitable clearing. Angelo and Blue set up Neiva's tent with practiced efficiency while Red's energy tentacles somehow managed to outpace them both, moving with controlled chaos as he assembled the remaining shelters.

  Soon a cheerful fire crackled in the center of their camp, fed by the trees they'd cleared. The logs made surprisingly comfortable benches as they settled in with their travel rations. Red stretched dramatically, his gray-tinted form catching the firelight.

  "Right then!" He bounced to his feet. "Time for one of my famous late night walks, and by that i mean some good old-fashioned snooping!"

  Blue's perfect posture somehow managed to radiate disapproval. "You mean invading innocent people's privacy."

  "Exactly!" Red fired finger guns at Blue before dissolving into crimson smoke that rushed into Angelo before immediately emerging out. Then he drifted toward the distant campfires.

  Angelo watched him go with a soul-deep sigh that carried years of dealing with Red's antics.

  "Someone really needs to put a leash on that guy," Sol said, gesturing toward where Red had disappeared.

  "I heard that!" Red's voice echoed through their shared consciousness.

  "God knows how much I wish I could, the guy's a menace..." Angelo let out another sigh.

  "I heard that too!"

  "You were supposed to!" Angelo shouted back out loud, making Sol and Neiva exchange bewildered looks at his apparent outburst.

  Neiva tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to hide her growing curiosity. "So... not that I support spying or anything, but if Red does find something interesting..."

  "I refuse to participate in such violations of privacy," Blue declared with scholarly dignity.

  Angelo just shrugged, poking at the fire with a stick. "Yeah, whatever. I'll let you know."

  Sol leaned forward, his detective's curiosity finally winning out. "Hold up – you three can actually see and hear everything Red experiences?"

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "Unfortunately," Blue's resigned tone carried volumes of suffering, "yes."

  The campfire painted warm shadows across their faces as Sol leaned forward, his eyes bright with curiosity. "Look, I've got to ask – what's really going on with you three? Every time I see your condition in action, it gets more interesting."

  Angelo stretched back against his log, linking his fingers behind his head. "Trust me, it's complicated stuff. Might make your brain hurt."

  "Try me." Sol's voice carried the particular excitement of someone who loved solving puzzles.

  "Your funeral." Angelo shrugged, then glanced at his scholarly counterpart. "Blue? You're better at explaining this stuff."

  Blue straightened, his perfect posture making everyone else look slouched in comparison. "For most of our lives, we understood very little about our condition. Recently, however, a professor developed a theory while studying our unique energies."

  Sol unconsciously sat up straighter, mirroring Blue's formal bearing. The firelight caught his silver-white hair as he listened intently.

  "The professor calls it 'The Components of Pure Energy Theory,'" Blue continued, his scholarly voice warming to the topic. "Think of energy like a pie cut into three pieces – Neutral energy is half the pie, while Positive and Negative each make up a quarter."

  Sol nodded, his detective's mind clearly piecing things together. Blue gestured to himself and his companions as he continued: "Since everything is made of energy – including our bodies – we got split into those same three parts. Angelo represents the Neutral half, while Red and I each embody a quarter."

  Sol's hand drifted to his chin as he stared into the fire, deep in thought. Angelo watched him with growing amusement.

  "Hey, don't feel bad if it's too much," Angelo said. "Most people's eyes glaze over when we try explaining. Even I needed it broken down a few times—"

  "Hold on," Sol cut him off, his eyes suddenly sharp with insight. "If your actual matter is divided, shouldn't you exist separately all the time?"

  Angelo's mouth fell open while Blue's perfect posture actually wavered with surprise. The crackling fire filled their stunned silence until Blue found his voice.

  "I... that's an excellent point," Blue admitted. "Perhaps our smoke forms represent our scattered atoms before they reconstruct into temporary bodies?"

  "Temporary bodies..." Sol rolled the words around like tasting wine. "That makes sense – twenty-five percent probably isn't enough energy to maintain physical form constantly. You two flowing in and out of Angelo suggests your atoms stay connected somehow, like quantum entanglement."

  Blue's eyes lit up brighter than the campfire. "Of course! That would explain why our bodies mirror Angelo's, and why our minds stay linked!"

  "Okay, timeout," Angelo held up his hands. "Since when are you some genius scientist? I thought you were just a detective."

  He glanced at Neiva, who looked about as lost as he felt. She gave a helpless shrug. "Sorry, you lost me at atoms. Psychology's more my thing than biology."

  Sol's serious expression melted into a warm laugh. "Nah, just took some extra science classes in high school. Got curious about how things work."

  "Watch out, Angie," Red's voice echoed through their shared mind. "Tall, handsome, strong, AND smart? Better keep an eye on Neiva or lover-boy might steal her away!"

  Angelo rolled his eyes so hard it actually hurt, while the campfire continued its quiet dance, painting everything in gentle orange light. Somewhere in the distance, crickets added their song to the night air, completely unaware of the complex scientific discussion happening around this simple forest campfire.

  The firelight danced across Sol's face as he leaned forward, his expression turning serious. "Here's what I really want to know – how did you end up split into three? If this theory was born from studying you three, it means its new. And that means this condition was never observed before. You are a complete anomaly."

  "Told him we're nature's greatest mistake," Red's voice echoed in their shared mind. "He thought I was joking."

  "Thanks for that," Angelo muttered, earning confused looks from Sol and Neiva.

  Sol's eyes sparkled with genuine curiosity. "You know what I mean. This is fascinating!"

  Blue interjected, his scholarly presence somehow making the forest clearing feel more formal. "The truth is, we don't know. Whether we were born this way or something – or someone – caused it remains a mystery."

  "Now that's a puzzle worth solving." Sol's detective instincts were clearly itching to investigate. "After we deal with GHOST, of course."

  Meanwhile, Red drifted through the refugee camp in his smoke form, finally spotting two women sitting outside their tent. Their quiet conversation drifted through the night air.

  "You think Max will be okay out there?"

  "I can only pray for his safety..."

  "We haven't heard from him since he left..."

  They fell into heavy silence, making Red sigh internally. "Well this is going nowhere. Time for the direct approach."

  He materialized behind a nearby tree, deliberately stepping on leaves to announce his presence. Both women spun around, fear clear on their faces.

  "Who's there?" One called out, her voice sharp with panic.

  Red held up his hands, smoothing his usual wild energy into something more approachable. "Easy there, ladies. I'm just a town resident."

  "What do you want?" The second woman asked, still wary but less frightened.

  "Just information," Red admitted, channeling Sol's charming tone. "Been seeing all these camps pop up around town. Can't sleep for wondering what's going on." He felt their tension easing as he spoke.

  "That was almost human-like," Blue's scholarly disapproval rippled through their mental link.

  "Zip it, blueberry!" Red shot back internally.

  The first woman's forehead wrinkled in confusion. "But... how could you not know what's happening?"

  "Pardon?" Red kept his voice innocent.

  "The only reason we're all camping out here is because Pinekeep is completely full." Suspicion crept back into her tone.

  "Help!" Red's mental voice carried genuine panic. "Need a cover story!"

  Angelo's bored response drifted through their link: "Tell them you just got back from the army. Easy explanation for being out of touch."

  Red cleared his non-existent throat. "Actually, I just got back from army duty. Been helping clean up after those Sundering Flames terrorists. Only home for a few days before heading back out."

  "Just like Max..." the second woman's voice carried fresh pain.

  "Who's Max?" Red asked gently.

  "Our eldest brother," the first woman explained. "After the terrorist attack, they drafted him into the army. They're taking all Aurons over twenty-four now."

  "I see," Red said carefully. "But that still doesn't explain all..." he gestured at the sea of tents around them.

  "We're refugees," she said simply, the weight of that word hanging in the night air. "Some of us lost our homes in the attack. Others... we just needed to get away from the border. Somewhere that felt safe."

  "Now it's starting to make sense..." Red felt pieces clicking into place.

  Back at their camp, Neiva was practically shaking Angelo's shoulders. "Come on, what's Red finding out? I know that look – you're talking to him!"

  Angelo finally focused on her, sharing what they'd learned about the refugee crisis overwhelming Pinekeep. The cheerful campfire suddenly felt dimmer as everyone processed this news.

  "But can such a small town handle this many people?" Neiva asked, worry clear in her voice.

  "A troubling situation indeed," Blue agreed, his scholarly tone unable to hide his concern.

  Sol ran a hand through his silver hair. "This complicates things. I was counting on restocking our supplies here."

  Angelo stood up, brushing dirt from his clothes. "We'll figure it out in the morning. For now, we should sleep."

  He pulled out his phone, the battery icon blinking red as he sent a quick message to Miriam: "All fine, battery dying, don't worry."

  "Night," he called over his shoulder, disappearing into his tent. Blue dissolved into azure smoke that followed him inside.

  Sol watched them go, his usual confidence dimming. "What a mess."

  "What do you mean?" Neiva asked, though something in her voice suggested she already knew.

  "People are scared. Desperate." Sol glanced meaningfully at Angelo's tent. "And our Angel of Death... well, I've heard the stories. Seen what he can do firsthand. If someone pushes him the wrong way..."

  "It could get ugly," Neiva finished softly, worry clear on her face as she stared at the tent where her mentor slept.

  The campfire burned lower, its warmth unable to chase away the growing tension in the air. Somewhere in the darkness, hundreds of displaced families tried to sleep, their fears and hopes mixing with the smoke that rose toward the star-filled sky.