Jarkon became silent while he thought to himself, "Such pitiful fellows."
They are not like him. They have taken this mission very seriously. That's why they are worried that the security forces of a plane will delay them from getting close to the planar portal.
A planar portal can not be accessed by just anyone. It is the one sure way into a plane so the plane will try to protect it and limit access to it. That's why some people won't want them to get anywhere close to the planar portal even when they promise that they don't want to use it or that they mean no harm. But Jarkon doesn't mind. The delay just gives him more time to enjoy the sights.
They were frustrated with the delay and he tried to help them out but they were not like him. They didn't even want him to express his wayward feelings about the mission to them. They know that he is rebellious but they don't want to hear his rebellious thoughts.
He lamented to himself, "I am not so different from them. Maybe I am more pitiful than them."
He pities them for truly believing in Justice meanwhile he doesn't believe in it but he is doing the same thing as they are. He is here with them on the same wild goose chase. At least they want to be here. He doesn't but he is still here. So he might be more pitiful than them.
He said to himself with determination. "I will try to enjoy myself nonetheless. No one can take that away from me."
He decided that he would try to enjoy himself no matter their thoughts and opinions about it. Unfortunately for him, his boring sightseeing vacation was cut short. He got a trace of Soverick after a few months of searching.
He wanted to ignore it so he resisted the sensation for a while. He struggled as his body stood up from his seat. It was his bloodline that forced him to do something. The others noticed his abrupt movement.
"Have you found something?" DOUBLELINE asked him.
Jarkon didn't answer. So the other five that fought Soverick with him began to sense the environment themselves. They are not like him who has locked onto Soverick so they didn't notice the traces right away. Even so, they still caught the faint traces of him.
One of them ordered with a shout, "Stop the carrier immediately."
The air carrier stopped. It stopped a short distance from a deserted but functional planar portal. This is a weird sight. Most, if not all deserted planar portals are nonfunctional. Nonfunctional planar portals are portals that have been opened in the past but have been somehow sealed. Hence why they are deserted.
Any portal that hasn't been opened yet won't show up on the ancient battlefield. This planar portal is odd because it is clearly functional but there is no one protecting it. They can all see the swirling white energy vortex within the stone structure of the portal. It means anyone can go in and out without problems.
JETTASTIC became ecstatic. He said in excitement, "This is our very first trace. I bet this will be good."
Jarkon isn't so optimistic. "It might not be Soverick's aura. It seems to be similar but it has changed a lot. There's something wrong with the traces. It might not be Soverick's at all."
He is not lying. The more he sensed the weirder the situation seemed to him. The aura has traces of Soverick in a weird way. The aura should be faint since Soverick was never here. They are certain that Soverick never left the plane so this aura should be mixed in with the aura of the person who met him. But this aura is full and thick as if Soverick was here personally.
The aura has also changed in that it is accompanied by a sense of decay as if Soverick was dying when he came here. It is very odd. If he is to guess, it seems like someone is pretending to be Soverick and is trying to fool them.
The other five agreed with him. "This can't be right. There is something suspicious going on here. It is clear that we must get to the bottom of this."
There are a lot of oddities about the traces but they are not discouraged. In fact, the oddities have riled them up. They will not be satisfied until they find out why the traces of a dying Soverick are here.
Jarkon rolled his yellow feline eyes. He thought to himself, "You are supposed to run away from something suspicious not toward it."
He didn't bother to voice his thoughts because he knew they wouldn't listen. It is just like them to be headstrong. It is why some people call them the slur of being hound dogs. They have finally gotten a trace of Soverick so they are not going to give it up regardless of its authenticity. Even if it ends in failure, the allure of visiting Justice on those who would try to fool them and hinder Justice is too much an encouragement for them.
UED asked, "What does he smell like? Maybe we can get traces of him too."
The four of them are unlike Jarkon and the other 5 who have met Soverick. They have never met Soverick so they are not certain of his aura but they are very talented trackers. They don't have a lock on Soverick and this aura of him here is too different from what has been pointed out to him in the Virut plane. They can can't distinguish it from the plethora of other scents but they will be able to do so with some help from the others.
The aura in their environment appears like a multicolored river in their senses. The water of different scents appears like threads that are sometimes small or large. The threads are all lines and they have a beginning and an end. They can follow the lines to find the beginning or the end. They will be able to find the source of the aura or its current location that way.