Prologue

The End of the World and a New Beginning

 

  

 

            It began with the End of the World. At least, that’s how the story goes. It happened so long ago, nobody truly remembers what had happened except in stories. Whether or not they are true is up to the reader or the listener.

 

 

Begin Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qWuxARMH9k Sweet Song (Instrumental short opening version) – Xenosaga Episode II: Jensuits Von Gut Und Bois soundtrack

 

 

          Once upon a time, Earth was in the midst of a grand Golden Age of technology: flying vehicles filled the sky endlessly while magnificent skyscrapers stretched up to dizzying heights. Against all odds, peace had finally somehow been obtained. And having mastered spaceflight, humanity was on the verge of spreading out to brand new worlds as colony ships rose up in every major city, ready to take those who won a lottery to a new home, discovered at our closest solar neighbor, Alpha Centauri.

          With all of the boons humanity had made for themselves, it seemed like nothing could slow them down.

 

          If only they knew what was coming…

 

          For on that day,

 

          December 21st 2012     

 

          Everything was going to change as destiny began for many.

 

          On that day, out of the blue, a sudden, intense, and mighty beam of energy shot down into the Earth, tearing into the area known as Tunguska. This had happened before back in 1908, when the same beam struck down with such a force to flatten trees for miles- trees that still have not grown back, and which marked a random hunter no one took notice too.

          Whilst everyone wondered what the beam was and where it came from, they were left completely unprepared for the terrors that were about to be unleashed. For out of the ground came legions upon legions of horrifying monsters long thought to be myth and legend spread across the world like a plague.

 

          Fiery Ifrits laid siege to the city of Dubai, destroying buildings indiscriminately while giant scorpions with the upper bodies of men ransacked the streets, killing all they can see. One beast of a Ifrit let loose a hurricane of flames, engulfing the Burj Khalifa in the center.

 

          People ran for their lives as Wendigos and Jersey Devils poured over the scenic Mount Rushmore, destroying all that they could see. Thunderbirds roamed above; their mighty wings creating mach-speed winds that tore up trees from the ground. Dover Demon’s and replica’s of the Flatwoods Monster tore New York City to ribbons. The Flatwoods Monsters launched beams out of in front of them, destroying indiscriminately. Rubble fell onto a certain little boy and his mother, who had a particular mark on his cheek.

 

          Dragons filled the skies above Europe, raining death down from above onto many cities and many people. Below, Krampus’ dragged and maimed people away in chains while many other beasts wreaked havoc to the best of their abilities.

 

          Demonic merfolk dragged people to their deaths across the many many islands and shores that line the world, all the while a monstrous Kraken laid siege to many ships, dragging them to a watery grave.

 

          Vicious jackel-headed beasts turned the sands of the Sahara red with blood while Cyclops’, Minotaur’s, and Sphinx’ tore across Greece and Italy, destroying many ruins and relics like the Parthenon and the Coliseum. Hellspawn and Hellhounds laid siege to the Vatican, slaughtering those praying for mercy.

 

          Across the sands of Mongolia, death worms tore across the land, dragging everyone to their grave beneath the sands. Mogwai’s, Yaogui’s, and a legion of ghosts and other monsters spread across China like a virus while Japan was besieged by many, many different types of Yokai and Kaiju, ranging from as small as a cat, to as tall as a building. A truly monstrous one even took the fabled Tokyo Tower and began using it as a club.

 

          Giant Spiders and Chupacabra’s came over the hills of Rio de Janeiro and Yacumama’s and Encanto’s stalked the many canals and rivers that snake though the city.

 

          This was the end of the world. Nobody knows what caused this to happen or why, but humanity did not die this day. The colony ships that were to take the winners to Alpha Centauri were filled to capacity. However, many lottery winners were not so fortunate, for the rich and the powerful were able to board the ships first, barely leaving any room left those who aren’t as rich and powerful.

          Once the vessels were filled to the brink, they launched into the cold vacuum of space, ignoring the dangers around them. Some were destroyed by flying monsters as they attempted to flee, killing everyone on board.

          Of the 122 ships that launched, 103 were able to break though the atmosphere and make it out to space, where they would begin the long journey to Alpha Centauri. And of the 10 Billion people that called Earth home, only 5 million were able to escape the planet.

 

          Those left behind… would be subjected to this madness.,,

 

          But not all was lost… for as sudden as these monstrous death dealers had appeared, so too had those who came to oppose them.

          Brilliant circles of light appeared in the air around the globe, ridding the doom and gloom. Out of those circles came those willing to fight for the besieged people: Angels, Valhallan Warriors, terracotta statues, and many other good spirits and monsters came from above.

 

          Back in Rio, a Giant Spider had cornered a family in a dead end and was to have them for lunch while another Giant Spider appeared out of nowhere, ramming into the enemy and sending it into a car. The one that saved them had white and gold armor over its body while painted in a heavenly glow. The armored spider, and many others like it, did battle with their savage kin.

 

          Ifrit vs Ifrit. Death Worm vs Death Worm. Hellhound vs Hellhound. Dragon vs Dragon. This was no longer a slaughter… this was a war, with humanity caught right in the middle and just as lost as ever. Warriors and Angelic beings fought alongside the armored monsters to push back the evil.

 

          Above the ruined city of Moscow, a divine warrior launched a great attack that wiped out a large number of airborne enemies. In his hand was a legendary blade. He was to go to battle again when he felt a presence. He turned around and saw someone dressed in a black cloak looking at him from on top the tallest spire of Saint Basil’s Cathedral.

          The cloaked figure looked towards the beam of light descending onto Tunguska. Large, leathery, demonic wings stretched out from underneath the cloak and the figure took to the air. The warrior chased after the figure all the way there.

 

          Hours later, in the dead of night… there was a blinding flash of light… and everything ended. The beam had vanished and the evil monsters had stopped their attacks. The good monsters and their allies vanished from the world.

 

          Whatever this… Divine War was and what caused it, it was now over… with humanity and Earth being the losers. Everything was decimated and the people barely holding on. Entire landmasses were missing and many were scarred beyond repair.

 

          It was the end of the modern world… and yet, a beginning…

 

          One nice thing can be said about humanity: they never know the meaning of the word ‘quit’. For good or ill, they always find a way to survive and persevere though even the harshest of circumstances. The same holds true even now. While the Golden Age is now over, and all the progress humanity had made erased and forgotten to memory, they still find a way to survive.

 

          The process would take decades, and they would be forced to live alongside the monsters that wrecked everything… but humanity would soon rebuild itself into a legion of scattered societies living the best they can in this new world which, if you were to use the lingo kids used during the Golden Age, would be Medieval with Steampunk elements. Even after all these years, I still have not been able to find out what exactly Steampunk means.

 

          Now… 200 years later, humanity had now reached a new era of stability and survival. But… things were about to change yet again. The beam that caused all this was slated to return and the ringleader of the monsters had a evil plan in motion. And in a small village outside the ruins of one of the Golden Age cities… one girl would find herself at the center of this new and horrible conflict…

 

 

 

 

This… is her story…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Requiem of a Goddess

2: Chapter 1: Every Journey Begins with a Single Step

Chapter 1

Every Journey Begins with a Single Step

8/13/2210 A.D. – 8/13/200 A.W. (After War)

         

         

 

          The sun hung high, high in the sky, illuminating the remains of what was once a grand city from so long ago, before the Divine War, or as the mortals calls it, the Scarring. It is an appropriate name; the planet was forever scarred from the day-long battle. As was stated before, entire continents were demolished and reshaped.

          The city rested at the bottom of a massive crater that stretched the entire city, surrounded by a forest ring of large oak and birch trees. Nature is slowly taking the city back; the smaller buildings were covered in plants and vines while the larger skyscrapers, the ones that weren’t crumbling away into dust, still retained their original architecture after a certain height. Wild monsters live here now; no human would ever dare trek in here unless they were naturally curious or have a death wish.

  

          A lone figure raced to the edge of the former city, panting heavily as she reached the edge. It was a mistake running in the summer sun, but she had her choice, now she had to live with it. She wiped off her forehead and gazed out at the city. With long silver-blue hair that stretched to her hips, long and slender legs and arms, sparkling blue eyes, two white bows on both sides of her head with blue flowers in the center, and a smile that could melt glaciers, 17 year old Requiem Hikaru looked out at the horizon, eager to get started.

          She had done this many times before, sneaking into the ruins of the city, finding ancient artifacts that can still be useful, and bringing them back home to mess with. She always had a curious nature- that and she hates their mayor with a passion, so defying him is just the icing on the cake.

          Requiem was dressed in a simple attire for trekking though abandoned ruins, all of which she excavated from the ruins themselves: she wore a pair of combat boots, skin-tight denim bicycle shorts, a shirt that is written in a language she can’t read- it’s a t-shirt for a music group that was popular at the time called Evagyline-, a black trench coat, and a large satchel she needed to carry all of the stuff she is going to find today. She can already tell that today was going to be an exciting day.

          “This is going to be an exciting day, Adi.” She spoke. Her voice was as angelic, yet filled with experience after doing this all her teenage life. “Can’t you tell? We’re gonna find some good things out here today.” She waited for a reply but got none. “Adi?” She looked back and then frowned with lidded eyes. “Seriously…?” She mumbled.

          The Adi she is referring to is her younger brother Adolphus Hikaru. This 10 year old boy loves to tinker with the things she brought him, and with everything in town. He’s been called a genius savant, and for good reason. He is easily the smartest person in town, despite his young age.  That said, he is not as nimble or as dexterous as his rambunctious older sister.  He can get tired easily…

          …like now, with him a few dozen feet away and already winded, and they haven’t even entered the city yet. He wore a short sleeved shirt colored like a orange cream popsicle, with a checker-board pattern over his abdomen. He also had on short black jean pants, tall and brown boots with a black belt on each, fingerless gloves, and a long crème-colored scarf. Unlike Req, who always changes her outfit all the time, he is consistent.

          He held up a single finger to silence her. “Just… just gimme a moment, Req.” He grunted as he panted. “Whoooo… that was a long run.”

          “We jogged.”

          “Still running.”

          She twisted her lips to the side. “… when we get home, we are going to have to work on your stamina. Forlorn sakes, Rubi’s got better stamina then you.”

          “Great… I’m being upstaged by the sick kid…” He grumbled to himself. He regained his strength and walked over to her. “So…. What is the place we’re hitting this time?”

          What was a good place, she thought. They’ve been to so many ruins here that its hard to decide. She knows they’ll find something good, but the question was where. “Hmm… aha, I know.” She pointed to one of the top floors on one of the high-rise apartment complexes. “There is where we shall go.”

          Adi gulped as he looked from the bottom fo the towe towards the top. “… Is it a bad time to mention I’m afraid of heights?”

          “Yep.” She hopped down several feet onto a dirt path that lead into the desolated city. Adi looked at her all dumbstruck that she is just ignoring him. He wasn’t joking- he has issues with heights. Knowing her, it’s likely she believes he’s faking it. He’s not, but Adi has used a myriad of excuses to get out of doing anything physical for some time.

 

          Despite the many times they had entered the ruins, the two of them are always in such shock and awe at the grand level of destruction on display. It serves as a reminded to the folly of man and how insignificant they all are compared to everything else on this planet. They may have creativity, but when it comes to pure raw power that can shoot out of your hand, capable of decimating cities, they are at the bottom of the list.

          In the two centuries since the Divine War, or the Scarring if you would prefer, the mortal realm had never truly learned the cause of the planetary devastation to begin with. Regardless of who you ask on the planet, the answer is always going to be the same: the ancient humans- yeah, 200 years is considered ancient to the current generation- had grown arrogant and violent, forcing a unfathomable power to annihilate them back to a more simpler time; a time before they were even capable of even reaching the stars. A time that would be described as Medieval Fantasy meets Steampunk with an apocalyptic twist.

          The two of them passed by a melted and twisted sign that they passed by many times before on the rim of the crater. The best they can figure is that it was some sort of welcome sign due to how the part that is still eligible is decorated. There are a few letters then can make out, but they couldn’t read it. The letters B-E-R may as well be gibberish to them.

          “Hope we don’t run into any monsters…” Adi gulped. Not only is he lacking in dexterity, he’s also a bit of a coward, running at the first sign of monsters. The only reason he’s sticking around now is because of Requiem. She’s played with wooden swords every since she was little, so she knows how to handle a weapon. Rather elegantly, I might add.

          “Knowing our luck, we probably will. Lords willing it’s a small one we can handle, like a Gremlin, or worse Skeltals.”

          Adi shivered in fear. “You just had to bring up those maniacs…”

          “Sorry.”

          They passed by a old hover car- or just a old flying machine that cannot fly anymore, as far as they are concerned. “You have to wonder what things were like back then.” Req commented. “If you believe the stories, we were able to stretch out onto the stars in the night sky, finding and colonizing other worlds. Seeing this marvels lying in the street helps me believe that to be true, but…” She tapped the car on the hood, which made the door swing open and narrowly miss her leg. She wasn’t worried about it hitting her.  “… but you can’t help but wonder what happened back then to cause all this devastation.”

          “Does it matter?” Adi asked. “It happened so long ago, there’s nobody alive who even remembers it, so would knowing and worrying about it really change anything?”

          Requiem looked away from the car for a moment. He’s right- the past is in the past and she can’t change what happened. But knowing would be a great benefit; it can prevent history from repeating itself. But they have no way of learning what happened, so, like he said, it’s best to just forget about it. Besides, the odds of the Scarring ever happening again are zip to none. “Yeah, I guess not.” She started walking back into town as Adi followed after her.

          The further into the ruins they went, the more desolated everything looked. Many buildings were demolished and many cars crushed. A large skyscraper had completely fallen over, with the top half resting in a large ditch.

          So far, they haven’t run into any monsters, which was a good thing. They didn’t want to deal with any beasts today and hopefully things will stay that way. But just because they didn’t run into any monsters doesn’t mean there weren’t any in the ruins. There were plenty and they were watching the two of them, but for some reason, they weren’t attacking. They were hiding. There is something much worse than them in the crater, resting in the top half of that fallen skyscraper in the ditch.

          “Hmm…” Requiem mumbled as she looked around with a finger on her chin.

          “What?” Adi asked as he looked up at her.

          “Isn’t it strange that we haven’t run into any monsters? There should’ve been at least a Oculus (Flying eyeball with tendrils), or maybe a Gider (Giant Spider). Yet we haven’t seen any, not even watching us in the distance.”

          He shivered in fear once again. “You want us to run into monsters? You’re kidding, right?”

          “Of course I don’t’ want to run into any monsters.” She pulled out her weapon- a dagger with a intrigue handle, having a screaming Chinese dragon with antlers as the crossguard and its coiled body the handle. “All I have is this dinky heirloom for protection.”

          He twisted his lips, agreeing that a small dagger is not ample protection against…. Well, anything. They would have problems with even the smallest of the monsters. “…….yyyyeah, that isn’t exactly stellar protection against a Gargoyle or a Lamia. But it’s better than nothing.” Requiem passingly shrugged in agreement before putting it back in its sheath. It can still make for a good throwing knife.

          After walking though the ruins for a half hour, the two of them had reached the base of the skyscraper she had pointed out. Their creaked their necks back and looked up at the massive building, looking past the flagpoles that stuck out. They had to climb all the way up that? It looks far more manageable from a distance.

          “That… is a lot bigger up close then it is from a distance.” Req gasped as her head tilted all the way back.

           “We’re gonna have to climb all those stairs, aren’t we?”

          “Yyyyyyep.”                

          Adi lowered his head and rubbed his aching neck. Trying to look up that high is a recipe in futility, but what was worse is what they had to do. “I was afraid you were gonna say that.”

          Req bounced out in front of him, ready to get this started. The sooner they can get this done, the sooner they can head home with their prizes. “Oh, come on! It’s not that high. Just think of all the cardio you’ll be able to do.”

          “I got plenty of exercise just running to this crumbling city…”

          “Jogging.”
          “… and you want me to pull ever more work by climbing up what I can assume is a 1000 foot building? Are you nuts?! Are you trying to send me to a early grave?”

          Requiem crossed her arms and pursed her lips to the side as she leaned on nothing. Adi’s on one of his rants again and it’s usually not easy to get him out of this mood once he’s in it. Fortunately for her, she knows his weakness. “I’ll make you a apple pie when we get back home.”

          There it is. That did it. His apprehension: gone, as if it was never there. “Alright then, let’s get going.” He bounded on in. Req watched her little brother run in and chuckled to herself as she slowly shook her head; it shouldn’t be this easy to get him to do things he hates.

          Adi climbed up over a large pile of accumulated dust and ash and slid down the other side. He hit his butt on a exposed metal rod- the ones used for security purposes with red velvet rope- and fell forwards. He slid to a halt in front of a skull. “AH!” He shouted as he scrambled backwards. After a moment, he saw that it was a Minotaur skull, which was a breath of relief.

          Requiem slid on down the same pile but didn’t trip. Instead, she saw that the lobby of this high rise skyscraper was a graveyard of skeletons, both human and monster. “Yikes…” She winced, careful not to step on a bone.

          “Well, I’m having nightmares tonight.” Adi said as he dusted off his behind. He saw the same mass grave Req was seeing and winced. “What in the world happened in here?”

          “Isn’t it obvious? It was a bloodbath.” She stepped over another Minotaur skull, this one bigger than the last one. She took a look around and saw that there were skeletons of Giders and a Lindworm and a Alp- there were ever some Kobold. “Yeesh… a regular monster bonanza in here…”

          “They must’ve been hungry.” Bran said as he looked around. “There are a lot of human skeletons in here.”

          Req brought a finger to her chin and thought for a moment. Yeah, there were a lot of human skeletons, but there were also a lot of monster skeletons too, but they all shared the same expression: pain. She looked back to the pile of dust and ash, and then to the walls of the spacious lobby; there were faded black scorch marks. “Maybe they were burnt to a crisp.”

          That sent him into freakout mode. “By what?” He ducked underneath a Giders sizeable thorax. The giant part in their name isn’t a joke. “A Krampus?! A Nix?”

          “No… I’d have to say Dragon.”

          “………. On second thought, I want the Krampus.”

          Req rolled her eyes and pulled him out. “Oh, stop your worrying. Nix’s haven’t been seen in these parts for decades. And this happened 200 years ago- not even monsters can live that long. Whatever killed this lot died from old age long before we were born.”

          “I hope so…” He quivered as he crawled all the way out of the Gider skeleton. He bumped his hand into something real, which made him freak out more. “ASGHBABA!!”

          “Oh, what now?” She complained as she looked back. She looked down on the floor and saw the object Adi had touched: An egg. A really big egg, as big as her head. “An egg?” Bran looked from behind her. She bent down and dusted off the side. It was sunset red with golden vine markings lacing along it. “huh…”

          Once his heart stopped beating a mile a minute, he walked back from behind her and looked down at the egg. “Huh… I didn’t know eggs could have such a colorful shell.”

          “I didn’t know that either.” She scratched her head. “How long has it been here? Was it underneath all that… ash…” She really didn’t want to say anything; every fiber told her not to continue on this line of thought. This egg was under the pile of ash, and there is evidence to suggest a dragon turned this lobby into a oven… which means a monster- a Dragon at worst- laid the egg underneath the pile of still warm ash. She sucked in her lower lip and bit it, hoping Adi wouldn’t piece it together, but he is super smart, so he will figure it out eventually.

          Thankfully, it was not today. “This will make a good omelet.” He commented.

          As much as she doesn’t like the idea, she is hoping that this was laid early enough to make for an meal, but she doesn’t have that great of luck. “Yeah… let’s hope so.” She breathlessly chuckled as she grabbed the egg and put it in the satchel. It was surprisingly light for what is probably a Dragon egg. That’s a good sign it was just laid, hopefully. “Alright…” She grunted as she pulled herself back up. “Let’s go spelunking.”

          “That’s for caves.”

          She rolled her eyes as she went to find the staircase. Every building they’ve explored has one, so this place can’t be any different. “Just go with it, party pooper.”

 

          Outside of the building, all the way on the crater’s edge, stood a lone figure. His appearance was obscured from a brown hooded cloak. On his back hung a long object covered in a white cloth, with the part near his head glowing a soft red. He watched the two of them enter the building from that far away.

          He felt the ground shake underneath him, but he didn’t care. He knew who it was. All he was focused on was the two of them. He heard loud thundering footsteps come his way- again, he didn’t look. A thundering snarl came from behind, along with a large and hot breath.

          “Yes, it is her. I am sure of it.” The cloaked man said. The snarl responded in a questioning manner. “No, I don’t have proof… just a feeling I have, that’s all.” The snarling had a small bark added to it. “I guess there is only one way to find out at the moment. Let them have their fun, then make your move. Scare them, but don’t kill them. I don’t want to risk destroying her.” A snort followed. “Human or no, they don’t have a place in this… not until we know for certain. I know you don’t want a repeat of last time.”

          A large gust of wind came from behind, kicking up the cloak, momentarily revealing a light-blue sash and a lock of silver hair. He watched as a shadow passed along the ground, heading towards the large high rise. “… I better be right about it this time.”

 

          Moments later, Requiem and Adi began their long and arduous climb up the skyscrapers many, many, maaaaaaaaaaany stairs. They had dealt with stairs in the other buildings before, but this is a whole ‘nother level. This is more torture then anything. They had passed the 13th floor, which is where the buildings they investigate usually go, but now they had just reached floor 20 and still had a long way to go.

          “This is agony!” Adi shouted as he fell onto the staircase, pooped beyond belief. Req was feeling the strain too and fell onto her back on the next landing. Picking this building was a huge mistake. “… The moment we are done and back home… remind me to kill you for making me go along with this!”

          “I should’ve picked a smaller building…” She croaked. She felt a light pain in her forehead, which made her wince. It was nothing new- she’s had this problem ever since she was a kid. Still smarts every time, though.

          He picked up his head and plopped it on the stair. “There is no way we are going to get home before dark. Noah is going to tan our hides.”

          “Only if he finds out…” Req grunted as she sat up. “And that lunatic is too stupid to find out on his own.” She grunted more as she got up off the floor and patted off her backside. “Now… wanna get this over with?” Adi moaned like a child as he slammed his face on the stair. “On, come on- it’s good cardio.”

          Adi mumbled in irritation as he moved his face back up, revealing a large red welt on his forehead. “Mbmbmbmbmbmb….. cardio my behind…” He forced himself up and followed after her as they began climbing back up the stairs. “I’ll show you cardio… with my boot up your butt…”

          After what felt like an eternity of climbing what felt like a endless stairwell, the duo had finally reached the top floor- or rather, the highest floor they can go to with the rest of the stairs leading up gone, and they were more exhausted then they were before. Req REALLY chose badly on this one.

          After regaining enough strength to keep moving, they followed down the hallway, wondering which room they should investigate. So many options, so little time. Any room could house any sort of ancient treasures they could use. It’s so tantalizing. If only they had enough time to look though them all, but they are on a time limit, so they needed to choose one now.

          And after a few minutes, they found one. There was just one problem: it was locked. Luckily, they know a way around that.

 

          Unbeknownst to everyone, the reason why they didn’t run into any monsters today was about to make itself known. Something large and in charge called the collapsed skyscraper its home, and it is made that outsiders have entered its domain.

          Whiffs of black smoke slowly began to rise up from a large hole that had been smashed open. A guttural growl soon followed- it was very pissed and very hungry, and he sensed new morsels to snack on… along with a familiar presence that made it even angrier.

          A large white clawed paw the size of a pick-up truck came out and dug into the ground, followed by a guttural growl.

         

          “1, 2, 3…”

          The door thumped as the duo slammed against it.

          “1, 2, 3…”

          The door thumbed again, this time causing small amounts of dust to come down from the ceiling. One more would do it.

          “1, 2, 3!”

          They hit it one last time, tearing off the lock and slamming the door right open. Requiem staggered in and almost fell over, but Adi did, falling face first into the dust that had just come down. He picked up his head and saw a monstrous face staring down at him. “AAAH!” He shouted as he flipped over backwards.

          Requiem looked up at him to see if he was ok and saw the beast for herself: it was a Gider, a species of giant man-eating spiders that can spray toxic gas out of their abdomen. They were lucky- this isn’t a Gider proper, but its dead remains. “Relax, Adi… it’s just dead.” She walked past him towards the corpse. “You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack one of these days.”

          Adi sat back up, holding his chest as his heart beat a mile of minute. “I think I’m having one right now…” He groaned as he fell back down. “Didn’t I just do this crap with the Minotaur skull?”

          “Yeah…” Req walked past the corpse and saw that the glass windows had been shattered. She walked back to the corpse and saw that it was big enough to fit though it. “…you did.” She said as she pushed the corpse out with a single push from her foot. The corpse fell down to the ground, where it shattered upon impact.

          Adi pulled himself back up off the ground, still panting from his little scare. 2nd time in an hour he’s been scared by a dead body- if this happens a 3rd time, he probably will have a real heart attack.

          Req bounced back as she looked at her foot, checking to see if she had any corpse gunk on her boot. She didn’t. “Ok… now that that has been taken care of…” She wiped it off on the door for good measure. She clapped her hands together and rubbed them as she stuck her tongue out to the side. “Let’s get to searching.” She snickered with a grin.

          “Wouldn’t this be looting?” Adi asked. “Like in one of those interactive stories we found? We are going into ruins to find ancient items, after all.”

          She waved her arm around flat for a moment. “Eh, tomato, tomahto.” She returned her mind to the task at hand. The living room was a sizeable place- large enough to hold a Gider- those bastards are 10 feet long and 7 feet tall, and by the looks of it, this room could fit about three or four of them. There was also a kitchen and a single bedroom with a connected bathroom. “Alright… seems small enough. You check the bedroom and bathroom. I’ll handle the living room and the kitchen.”

          Adi slouched over with a slack jaw. “Why do you get the best ones?”

          “Because I’m older.” She playfully stuck her tongue out. She dropped the large satchel in the middle of the hallway- gently to avoid cracking the egg, just in case- while Adi visibly mocked her as he went into the bedroom.

          Requiem went into the kitchen to see what she could find. “Ok… let’s see what we got in here.” She went towards the cabinets first. There was a lot of old and moldy food inside covered in maggots and other nasty and disgusting bugs, making her gag like she was going to the vomit. “Rghk… nope… not in there.” She closed the one she opened up and avoided the others entirely.

          Keeping her lunch down, she made her way to the fridge, but remembering the cabinets, she ignored that too. She also stayed away from the pantry. That left the drawers. She opened them up and found a lot, and I mean a lot, of silverwear. “Hmm…” She twisted her lips as she looked though. “We have plenty of forks, knives, and spoons… hmm, dad could use another spatula.” She took that and put it on the nearby table. “Hmm…” She grabbed a strange knife- the rolling blade used to cut up pizza- and looked it over. “This is new…” She said to herself as she put it down on the table.

          That’s all she could find in the knife drawer that they didn’t already have at home. She closed that and went to other drawers. In the end, she found several more knifes that could cut the tough meats and several pans. She wondered if the satchel can fit the pans, but only one way to find out. She wrapped the sharp stuff in a cloth- she learned her lesson the last time about having loose knives.

 

          Meanwhile, Adi looked though the bedroom. There were more interesting things to find in here than in the kitchen. His first location to ransack: the drawers and dressers. Clothes were a hot commodity back in town, so these are always go-to items to get on their little escapades. They always sell them dirt cheap too, since they always bring back so many.

          He looked though all the ones that weren’t completely demolished, finding a whole slew of shirts and pants that everyone back home can use. He left the ones that were too ripped and could not be sewn. He pulled out a shirt with a tiger made out of electricity on the front. “Oh, I’m keeping this one.” He said to himself as he put it on the wrecked bed he had put the others.

          Polishing the dressers off, he moved his attention to the vanity. The glass had shattered long ago, so all of the makeup and such was on the floor. He pulled a pillow off the bed and sat on that while he looked though the bottles that weren’t broken.

          “Hmm…” He took the ones that weren’t broken and put them next to the clothes. “Maybe Jessica will like these.” He pondered. He shrugged to himself- this is not his area of expertise. He’d have to ask her himself.

          After nabbing a few combs and a strange device- a hair dryer- he put those on the bed and then made his way towards the bathroom. Doubtful there was anything in there, but you never know.

          He won’t find out because when he opened the door, he saw something nasty that made him stay in the doorway for a minute, growing increasingly disturbed, before finally backing out. He shivered in visible distress before heading back to the bed. “Nasty…” He hissed to himself.

          Grabbing the clothes and make up off of the bed- the blankets and pillows were unsalvageable- he went out into the living room to join up with his sister, who was already reading one of the books from the bookcase. “Found a lot of clothes.” He grunted as he put them beside the satchel. “And some makeup bottles that Jessica may like.” He put them into the satchel beside the egg. “What about you?”

          “Some knifes and other utensils. That’s about it.” Req replied as she flipped the page. “Slim pickin’s today.”

          Adi looked up after he put the clothes inside and looked around the living room. “I dunno… we could find some good stuff here.” He grabbed a lamp off the table. “I could use this in my room.” He gently put that in the bag, wrapped around the clothes for protection.

            “I know. I found a lot of books that are very interesting.”

            Adi saw them as he put the wrapped lamp in the satchel. There was a LOT of books and surprisingly in good condition despite being decades old. They range from short to long, sci-fi, fantasy, and horror to romance, war, and alternate history, with and without pictures, and even a few non-fictional ones about world history and famed and infamous leaders, though it was from a era they don’t know that is gone from the surface from the world, so it’s just fiction to them. “What are you reading now?” He asked as he got up.

          Sticking her finger in the middle, Req closed the book to look at the cover. “Monsters of Myth, Legend, and Religions. Basically, it’s a guide about monsters, though they write as if they are fake.” She flipped back to where she was. “Which… kinda makes sense. They didn’t appear until 200 years ago.”

          Adi shrugged as he walked over to the bookcase as well. He looked at the sides, hoping any would speak out to him. He was fonder of the sci-fi and fantasy genres himself. Requiem: she likes what she likes, regardless of genre.

          They were so engrossed by what they were finding on the bookshelf, they didn’t notice the shadow pass them by outside, followed by another one, this one many times bigger.

           “I’ll have to finish this when I get home.” Req said as she snapped the book shut and placed it into the satchel.

          “I know I’m gonna be reading for days.” Adi giggled as he picked out every single comic book on the shelves. He stuffed them all in, not caring if they could fit. They could, albeit barely. She was worried the egg would crack under all that- that would be a large mess she didn’t want to deal with.

          Moving on from the bookcase, Req walked over to the nearest coffee table and picked up a old machine with an antenna. She and Adi found another just like it before and they knew what it was from the mechanical books they found before. “Huh… another radio player.”

          That got the kid’s attention. “You mean speaker.” He said as he walked over to her and looked at it. “Hmm…” He took it out of her hands, much to her chagrin. “Hmm… seems to be in good shape. Power system doesn’t appear to be damaged at a visual glance… no deformities or defects.” He tapped it. “It isn’t hollow, so it has all its parts.” He turned to look at her. “I think we found a good find with this. It should be able to work.”

          She felt happy about that. “Great, then we can throw the piece of garbage away.” She grabbed some CD’s off of the same table. “And we can use these to test it out with.” Adi nodded as he and Req put the speaker and the music CD’s into the bag.

          Adi took a quick look out of the window while Req cracked her back. The sun was about to begin its dip below the horizon- their time here is running out. “It’s getting late.” He said. “Should we start heading back?”

          Req looked out the window to look at the sun. She looked back at the case. There’s one shelf she didn’t look though yet. “Un, yeah. You start heading down- I’m gonna give this place one last combover.”

          “Just don’t take too long. I don’t want to become monster chow.”

          Req rolled her eyes. “Then take the dagger.” She took off the knife and scabbard and tossed it to him. He caught it in both hands. “I’ll only be a few minutes anyway.”

          “Yeah yeah…” He said with a yawn as he headed for the door. Req returned her attention to the shelf. Both were unaware of the shadows as they passed by yet again.

         

          If you ask anyone, they will agree: going down a long flight of stairs is infinitely better then climbing up a long flight of stairs. You don’t get tired as easily and it’s a lot faster. Adi can be added onto that list of people. He was able to reach the lobby in half the time it took to climb up.

          He walked towards a half demolished bench and sat on the part that was still useable. He exhaled with a moan as he raised up his feet, glad to be off them after being mobile for so long. “Ugh… my feet hurt…” He took off one of his shoes and rubbed the soles of his feet. “First thing to do when I get home: A hot bath.” He said to himself.

          After a few minutes of rubbing his feet to ease the burning sensation, he put his shoes back on and made his way towards the exit. He had the dagger out, just in case he ran into any monsters.

          He wouldn’t need to worry long; no monsters were coming out today, not with what is flying around above and about to make its presence known.

 

 

Begin Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcrJPPv-TpM Bye Bye Babylon by Cryoshell

 

 

Finished with looking though the shelves, Requiem put the last book back on the shelf, finding it uninteresting and needlessly boring. She found more than enough to keep her occupied for months, so one book isn’t going to be a deal breaker.

         Satisfied with all that she and Adi had collected, she walked over to the satchel and picked it up. For most normal people, it would be too heavy to lift up with everything that had been accumulated. Bodybuilders and folks with large muscles, not so much. If they can lift 100 pound barbells, they can lift this satchel.

         Req, despite being neither of those things, was able to lift up the satchel very easily. Despite being as skinny as a twig, she has an unusually high amount of strength, being able to lift a washing machine with ease. Everyone believes she’s got latent magic inside her that makes her this strong. 

         The stereo fell out of the satchel as she lifted it up, causing her to roll her eyes in and grunt in exasperation. “Maybe we put in too much stuff.” She said as she reached down and grabbed it by the handle.

 

 

The War of the Gods begins anew…

 

 

Destiny calls to the unprepared…

 

 

 

         She stuffed it up as the shadows once again came back, dancing around the window in a violent display. This time, she saw the shadows as they fluttered on the wall. She tilted her head and raised a eyebrow, wondering what the heck is going on.

         She didn’t have to wonder long.

         She turned around to see a large and ferocious beast barreling towards her with wicked intent… that was the plan. Instead, it’s the backside of another of the same species, this time blasted her way. She had no time to react as the monster crashed into the building.

         Adi heard the loud and thunderous crash from ground level. He felt the ground shake from it, making him fall forwards, barely missing a pile of mud. He flipped over onto his back and saw a pair of gigantic red wings sticking out of a large display of smoke and dust as the floors they were just at was crushed under the biggest flying monster out of them all: a Dragon.

         He heard roaring coming from the other direction. A second dragon, this one white and covered in red strikes, with murderous intent. It swooped in and blasted the building with a huge fireball. The blast hit, creating a gigantic explosion that struck off the top of the skyscraper and sending rubble flying everywhere…

         …and sending a young girl caught in the crossfire falling off the side, unconscious from the slam and the fireball. All Adi could do was hold his hands over his mouth in terror as he watched his older sister fall.

         Time slowed to a crawl. The wind whipped by the unconscious and helpless Requiem at an astonishing rate as she fell from the tallest building in the ruins towards the ground far below. The sun dipped below the horizon perfectly enough to cast her body in a perfect split of light and darkness.

         Dark voices whispered into her ears; voices as slippery and as sinister as a snake lavered in oil.  “weapon… desolation….destruction…nexus…sol…death… destiny.......... abomination.” Images of war and death filled her mind, of the Scarring and events that took place long before. She felt a urge to kill.

         The voices receded as Requiem slowly opened her eyes. She held her head in pain for a brief moment before realizing the situation she was in. She gasped as she looked up, watching as the white dragon slammed into the other that was still pinned into the building.

         She spun back around to see the ground rapidly approaching at blazing speeds. She shrieked in terror, seeing no way out of this predicament. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it.

         Suddenly, her eyes slowly changed color, going from a soft sky-blue to a more intimidating maroon with reptilian slits. She was suddenly filled with all of this newfound confidence and boundless determination. Her mind worked much faster than normal, formulating a plan to get her out of this alive, and all involved the flagpoles that stuck out the side.

         Closing her hands into a fist, she flipped around to where she was falling feet first. She had to time this just right, or else she’s a stain on the sidewalk.

         The pole groaned as it was bent in a way it shouldn’t be as Req landed on it. She positioned herself to where she could be launched forwards towards another ruined building; the slumped ‘stump’ of the collapsed skyscraper. Bending down as far as it can go, the pole suddenly lurched up, launching her up into the air.

         She flipped forwards as her astonished brother watched from below. Her feet touched down on a curved slope, digging in as she slid on down, slowing down as she did. She kicked off the building to avoid a sharp protruding pipe. She grabbed another flagpole and spyn around it a couple of times before letting go, somersaulting though the air. Seconds later, she landed on the ground in a epic pose, completely unphased.

         Adi could barely keep his excitement in. How in the world was she able to do that? She had never done that before. He ran over to her. “Hoooohohohohoholy crap!” He laughed. “How in the world did you do that?”

         Req lifted up her head. The eye color changed back to normal and she softly gasped to herself when it finished. “Wh…” She stood up, rubbing her eyes. They were itching like crazy, for some odd reason. “How did I do that…?”

         They heard a loud crash behind them, followed by a huge kaboom that propelled them forward a few feet before landing on their faces. They lifted up their heads and looked back to see that the beast that had slammed into the building- a giant red dragon with scars all over- spread its wings and roared with enough force to knock the white and red one away.

         The siblings didn’t even have to say a word to each other since they both had the same thought: Run. Their feet dug into the dirt as they ran up and away.        

         Regaining its composure, the white Dragon heard the pitter patter of their footsteps and looked their way with binocular vision. It spotted the two humans and snarled with a furrowed glare. It reared back to roar, only to be headbutted by the red dragon, then slapped in the back of the head by its tail, and blasted down to the ground.

         “Figures we’d come right as a Dragon war is about to start!” Adi shouted as he ran faster than his sister, wanting to get out of here before they become food.

         “I’m starting to think I have rotten luck!” Req shouted in equal measure as she kept pace.

         The white dragon’s wing tore off the side of a building as it swept though, snarling as it sidestepped and let the red one’s slam into the skyscraper. The white one pushed on the red one with all its strength, slamming it into the skyscraper. One fire blast for good measure and it turned its attention to the fleeing humans. Fire dripped out of his mouth like slobber. “RRRRRR….”

         The kids heard the ground bounce underneath them as they kept running. They didn’t want to look behind them, because they knew what was coming after them. “The monster is right behind us, isn’t it?!” Adi screamed, starting to get dangerously exhausted.

         “I’m not even looking to check!” Req shouted, getting just as tired. The last thing they planned was running across a whole city.

         Despite their protests, they looked behind them to see the white dragon chasing after them like a hungry hyena chasing a meal. Their hair stood on end as they screamed for dear life. Gaining a new burst of speed, they sped off towards the exit, hoping that would put an end to their troubles.

         Yeah, right.

         The white dragon leaped up and flapped its wings once, creating a large gust of wind that picked the two kids up and carried them over to a precarious ledge created by something striking the ground hard eons ago. Req hit the ground and rolled before being flung off by the momentum. She grabbed onto an exposed pipe.

         Adi followed after her. She didn’t have time to try and catch him with her free hand, though she did try. She extended out her leg and caught him that way. He grabbed onto her boot and hung on.

         “Ow!” She winced, feeling his full weight pull on her leg.

         The white dragon landed on the ground beneath the ledge and looked up at them with a hungry look. The kids felt shivers go up their spines as the drake licked and smacked its lips with a guttural snarl.

         “So this is how we die?!” Adi shouted as he pulled his legs up. “This isn’t how I pictured my life ending!” Looks up at Req with a furious snarl. “I blame you for this!”

         “I’m blaming me, too!” Req whined. She pulled up her legs, allowing her to grab Adi with a free hand. “But we’re not going out like this.” She grunted with determination. She swung her legs forward, then back, then forward, then back like a swing.

         The white dragon saw the girl’s foolish plan to swing herself up and decided to humor them, waiting for her to fail and fall rather than do the work. All he has to do was wait.

         That wasn’t going to happen for the red dragon appeared from out of nowhere and bodyslammed into the white, pinning it down under its own weight. Red roared in the whites face, temporarily rendering it deaf.

         Gaining enough momentum, Req swung up and tossed Adi up onto the ledge. He rolled a couple of spins before stopping. Req continued swinging in order to get herself up onto the ledge as well.

         The white dragon shoved the red off and prepared to blast fire at its face. Red did the same. Red and orange light came up their throats before they launched their attacks. The two blasts collided with the other- red from red, white from white-, creating a explosion and a cacophony of colors.

         The wind from the explosion lifted Req up on her last swing, surprising her as she was launched up a few feet before crashing back down onto the ground a few feet away from Adi, stopping on her front

         “Req!” Adi clamored up off the ground and rushed over to her.

         She rolled herself onto her back, coughing up nothing as she moaned and groaned. “I’m tired of getting tossed around today…” She placed a hand on her stomach, feeling sore in there. “Is it bed time yet?”

         He looked at her with lidded, unimpressed eyes. “… Really? You’re pulling that schtick?”

         They heard two very loud and very powerful roars coming from below, making them cancel their little comedy routine. Rather than wait to regain her breath, Req started up and bolted away, digging her feet into the dirt as she sped on ahead of the fleeing Adi.

         Both dragons flew up from below, clawing and biting at each other. Purple blood dripped from their wounds, raining down on the runners below. Adi grumbled in disgust but continued to run. He can complain later; right now, he wants to get back home.

         “Of all the days for two dragons to have a apocalyptic fight, why today?!”

         The white dragon dug its horns into the reds, causing it to shriek in pain and bloody murder. The white dug it’s claws into its foes shoulders and thighs while also biting its chest. With a single flap of its wings, it flipped itself backwards and rocketed down to the ground. The red tried to break free, but it was in a losing fight.

         The two dragons struck the ground with enough force to create a small 3.4 earthquake, shattering everything that still had glass in a 10 block radius

         The siblings tripped when they felt the earth shake. Adi almost fell down, but Req kept him up. The two kept running as fast as their legs could carry them, unaware of the small dust cloud that was pursuing them thanks to the impact.

         Catching her hand on a lamppost, Req grabbed Adi by his collar and swung around the corner, heading down the street they came down while also avoiding the dust cloud. Seeing how far they still had to run, Adi slowed to a halt and whimpered, leaning forward with his hands on her knees and panting heavily.

         “Adi!” Req called out. She was just as tired, but they couldn’t afford to stop. “Adi, come on! We need to get out of here!”

         Adi panted so hard, he could barely speak. He had never run this far before in his life. “I c… I can’t… I can’t run that far.” He wheezed.

         Req bit her lip. One of those dragons will catch up and turn them into chowder, but she was not going to abandon him so that she can escape. She ran her hands though her hair, hoping to come up with something.

         And she found a place that may help. A couple of buildings back, she saw a mechanics. She and Adi ransacked that place a couple of years ago, getting some tools he uses every day. She remembers finding something there that may prove useful. There were also ruined cars nearby- cars that are hundreds of years.

         She quickly came up with a plan.

         She patted her on the shoulder and handed him the satchel, saying “I’ll be right back.” before running to it.

         Crossing the street to the next block, Req made it to the mechanics and immediately began shifting around, hoping to find something that can help them out of their current predicament. She pushed aside tool boxes and tossed away power tools as she rushed her way though.

         Her foot landed on something that slid out from underneath her, making her fall backwards. She hit the ground, grunting in pain as she landed flat on her back. “I’m getting tired of falling today…” She sat up, rubbing her back and looking at what she tripped on.

         It was precisely what she was looking for; the board with wheels that mechanics used to go underneath cars- a creeper, if the book they found was any indication to go by. She picked it up and sped back to Adi with all the speed she can muster.

         The ground thundered consecutively. One of the dragons was coming their way. She looked to her left and her eyes went wide as she saw it was the white one, thundering towards her with a rage-filled scowl.

         That was a good motivator to run faster.

         “ADI!!!” Requiem shouted to catch his attention. It worked. She tossed it to the ground and kicked it over to him. It rolled over to him as she moved to one of the ruined cars. The creeper stopped in front of Adi, who looked at it all confused.

         He looked to Requiem, wondering why she was going to one of the flying vehicles and not, but her plan quickly formulated in his mind. He quickly got on the board and put the satchel on his lap.

         At the same time, Req made it to the car and opened up one of its doors as wide as it can go. She pulled on it, hoping it would come off from centuries of rust and decay. She was not that fortunate. “Oh, COME ON! Cooperative with me!” She shouted. She took her boot to it, kicking it over and over and over until, after when felt like forever, the door was kicked off. It was surprisingly lighter then the satchel, but a lot more durable.

         They need it as the white dragon had come to the crossroads and looked in their direction. “Crap crap crap crap!” She cursed to herself as she sped back towards her brother.

         Adi screamed and his hair stood on end when he saw the dragon bound in their direction, with a light slowly rising up its throat- it’s about to blast them with fire. As she ran, Requiem looked back and saw the light. She positioned the car door so that it could cover all of her. She was hoping this would work. If not, they’re going to be flambéed.

         She leaped onto the board, nearly bouncing Adi off of it, and spun around just as the dragon breathed a column of fire towards them. She brought up the car door like a shield, holding onto the handle. “Hang on!” She shouted to him.

         The fire struck the car door hard, creating a powerful enough thrust to launch them like a rocket. The two shouted in both fear and excitement as everything went from zero to 50 in mere seconds. The wind whipped by like… well, a whip.

         The white dragon stopped breathing fire, certain that the two humans were barbeque and now lunch. Instead, what he saw was them rocketing away from it at blinding speeds. The dragon snarled, rolling its upper lip as it took to the air, chasing them all the way to the edge of the crater.  

         Another lone figure, this one dressed in a turquoise robe, watched the events unfold from on top of the skyscraper they were just in, standing at the very tip top of the useless cell tower. In the figures left hand was a sword with a angelic handle and a blue blade.

         “Finally…” She said with a dark voice while drawing a sinister smile, looking specifically at Requiem. “I finally found you…” She brought up and looked at the blade. In its reflection, she could see her eyes glowing a disturbing shade of yellow. “Now the real fun can begin.”

         She could sense the other robed figure. She looked in his direction and he in hers. They may be enemies, but they cannot make a move, not with Adi here. They needed to be patient. “The game is on, you old coot.” She snickered, knowing he can hear her. “I’ll be coming for all your heads soon enough.” She vanished in a flash of black fire.

         The other robed figure closed his hands into fists. He couldn’t do anything to stop her now. Instead, he returned his attention to the proceedings, or rather to the red dragon that was laying motionless in the street. A pair of angelic wings came out of his back. With a single flap, he vanished.

         What would’ve taken minutes was done in mere seconds. The siblings reached the edge of the crater in no time flat. It was then that they didn’t think this all of the way though: they don’t know how to stop.

         Thankfully, nature did the thinking for them. Once the board crossed the craters threshold, it was snagged on an exposed root of a oak tree. The board flipped forward, launching the two of them off the board. Req let go of the car door. It bounced off and embedded itself into the thick trunk of a large tree.

         Requiem and Adi shouted before landing in a pile of leaves. The board bounced on pass before coming to a halt near a small stream.

 

End Song

 

         Adi rolled out of the pile, feeling his body aching from everything that had transpired. If he had a watch, he would see that it took them all a grand total of 10 minutes to get from the skyscraper to here. 10 whole minutes. It took 40 minutes of walking to get from the edge to the skyscraper, now they shaved off all that time. His body was feeling the price- it hurt like hell.

         “Ugh… I’m sleeping in tomorrow…” He groaned, rubbing his chest. His heart was still racing and his lungs were beginning to ache. “And sleeping in bags of ice…”

         Req slithered out of the pile like a caterpillar. “Agreed…” She croaked, feeling as pooped as him.

         They heard groaning coming from above. They peered up and saw the dragon flying around in a circle. Adi was about ot shout but Req put her hand on his mouth to keep him quiet. She shushed him. “The dragon doesn’t know where we are.” She whispered. “He’ll give up and go back to the red one.” She looked back up, hoping that would be true.

 

         The white dragon looked around and around, hoping to find its dinner. It made a mistake using the fire and he was going to pay for it. After minutes of searching, the dragon snarled and roared in anger, furious that his meal was long gone. To make matters worse for the beast, it sensed magic coming from behind. There was someone else here, someone that could provide a more hearty meal. It turned its head, then its body, before flying back to the ruins.

 

         Once they saw the white dragon fly back towards the ruins, the siblings breathed a gigantic sigh of relief. They were safe. Now if they can back home, they can keep it that way. Unless Noah finds out, then the pain will continue.

         “Ugh…” Adi rolled onto his back with his arms stretched out. “I think that is enough excitement for one day…” He grumbled.

         “Agreed.” Req moaned and croaked as she got up. She rubbed and cracked her back as she looked back to the ruins. “Still… it was pretty strange that two dragons showed up here. I didn’t even know the Albino Wilds were in this region.”

         “Neither did I…” Adi grunted as he sat up. “Must be a rogue or something.” He looked to her. “I’m more curious about those moves you pulled back at the skyscraper. Did you know you could do that?”

         “No…” She rubbed her aching arm. “I didn’t.” She looked back to the ruins one last time. “I’m as surprised as you are.” She lifted up the satchel and checked to see if everything was still good and that nothing was broken. Nothing was broken, which speaks volumes. “Whew…” She shouldered the bag and walked over to the board. “Well… it wasn’t on the list, but still could be useful.” She picked up the board and handed it to Adi. “You’re carrying this one.”

         “Great.” He said sarcastically. “As if I’m not aching enough already.”

         “You’ll be able to take a warm bath when we get home.” She said as she shouldered the bag. “I know we want to get back before Noah finds out… but I think walking would be the better idea. Less pain.”

         Adi grunted happily as he slowly shook his head. “You read my mind.” He commented. The two began their long trek back. It took a half hour to get to the ruins and it was going to take them a half hour to get back. As if they didn’t have enough pain already.

 

         And with this little act of exploration and curiosity, destiny had been set in motion. For better or for worse, the lives of those involved shall be forever changed and linked to the one person at the center of all of this: Requiem Serenity Hikaru.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

          

 

      

 

3: Chapter 2: Home Sweet Home

Chapter 2

Home Sweet Home

8/13/2210 A.D. – 8/13/200 A.W. (After War)

 

 

 

          Normally, it would take around an hour to get from their hometown of Teria to the ruins Requiem and Adi were just at. They made the trip back in less than 25 minutes- they were that scared for their lives, and that’s before you include their marathon to escape the Dragon chasing them. Their lungs were burning and their legs were aching and breaking by the time they got to Leche Lake.

          Located a few hundred feet outside of town, Leche Lake has been described by several passersby of being shaped like a pear, with a point deep enough to fit a castle tower. Near the lake was a large hump of a hill, with an entrance to a cave system located out of sight and to the side.

          Requiem grunted and panted as she fell onto her knees, coughing as she struggled to breathe. Adi fell onto his back, hyperventilating as he panted. None of them had ran that far that fast before- nobody in town has. Not even the town’s founder and namesake, Teria, was capable of such a feat.

          “I… am going… to die…” Adi grunted as he rubbed his chest. His lungs hurt so much. Desperate for drink, he crawled over to the lake and dunk his head in the water, chugging it as bubbles popped on the surface.

          Req was too exhausted and too in pain to care. “Adi… right now, I’m trying to avoid passing out, so--” she saw that his head was dunked underneath the water, so he couldn’t hear her even if he wanted to. Still, he had the right idea. She crawled over and dunked her head in too, drinking as much water as she could.

          Having had their fill, the siblings lifted their heads out of the water with an exhausted yet satisfied gasp. They continued to pant heavily. “I think I ran all the marathons I ever will in one day…” Adi groaned as he continued to rub his aching chest.

          “Same…” Req groaned as she laid down on the grass, panting away. She looked up at the sky and saw that the red and orange was almost completely gone while a deep purple slowly crept in. Twilight as almost at an end. They needed to get home pronto, but they were in no condition to move. Besides…

          Adi sniffed the air and discovered a foul and wretched odor, forcing him to cover his nose with his shirt. “Ugh... what is that sm--” He smelled that same smell on his shirt. He sniffed it, then his scarf, and realized what it was. “Oh, geez, it’s us… we stink!”

          Req sat up and sniffed her armpits, forcing her to pull back out of disgust. “Ugh… yeah, that is really nasty. Though I’m pretty sure some of it is dragon related.”

          “Whatever the case, we smell horrible.” Adi commented. “We’re gonna get busted for sure.”

          That they were, and if not for the body odor, it would be for being out after curfew. Either way, they’re busted. Req, at least, had one way to combat one of the problems. “Well… we’re busted anyway.” She grunted as she took off her boots and put them next to the satchel. Next off came the trench coat.

          “Say what?” Adi asked. He watched her as she got up and dove right into the lake. “Oh… the odor.” He twisted his lips to the side. “… yeah, we’ll get busted anyhow. May as well smell decent.” He took off his shoes and slid into the water slowly to prevent any further pain to all his places. Going in the water helped his sore legs immensely, which was a godsend. 

          Requiem burst up from the water, gasping for air before shaking her head to get the mildly lukewarm water out. “Brisk.” She commented. She looked to Adi, who was giving her a evil glare. She said they were going to be back before nightfall. “What?”

          “You said we would be home before nightfall. It’s nightfall and we’re not even back home. We spent far too long at the ruins, and I’m sure the Dragon didn’t help with matters.” Req rolled her eyes with a sputter. “And that’s not helping either.”

          “Ok, yes, we are late getting home, but as long as we get home before one of his guards goes on patrol, we’ll be fine. He’ll never know.”

          “Eh, I wouldn’t be too sure about that.” A voice said from behind. The siblings jumped in their skin from the sudden voice, worried that they were soooooo busted. Nobody in town were friends with Noah, but they didn’t want to piss him off either, so they were strongly hoping that the owner of the voice was someone very friendly.

          They slowly turned their heads back towards their shows and the satchel. Squatting down on the shore was someone they trust and are close friends with, letting them breath sigh huge breathes of relief: Aura Aesir.

          A year older then Requiem, sporting smoldering red eyes and silver hair with a lot of bangs, and dressed in a brown hooded cloak with a lit lantern, Aura isn’t what one would call strong or fast, but he is cunning, the one positive thing he got from his father Noah. But unlike Noah, he is actually nice and friendly to everyone in town, especially Requiem, who Noah… well, let’s just say the two of them have a lot of animosity, and that’s putting it mildly. He is also quite the looker, but too bad ladies, he’s already taken.

          “Oh, thank heavens.” Req gasped in relief. “It’s just you, Aura.”

          “What are you doing out here?” Adi asked.

          “I should be asking you the same question.” He reached out his free hand. Req smiled warmly towards him as she grabbed it. He pulled her out of the water while saying, “Why were you swimming at this hour, anyway?”

          “We smelled.” Adi said. Once Aura pulled Req out fully, he helped Adi out of it as well. “We smelled horribly.” He sat on the side of the shore and wiped his pants. “How did you even know where to find us?”

          “Jessica told me what you guys were up too, and I just knew you’d be late getting home, especially given how gone you guys were long.” Adi gave Req the evil eye again, which made her whistle awkwardly while wiping water off her shirt. “And this is the only route to the ruins from town, so you’d have to come through here.”

          Req lifted up her shirt, showing off her midriff as she twisted the water out of it. “How long have you been waiting?”

          Aura made sure to look away from her, just like a perfect gentleman. “Just a few minutes.” He took noticed that the sun was barely visible. Nighttime was mere seconds away. “We should hurry, though. Father wasn’t in the best mood last I saw him, and if he catches you out here, he will have your hides.”

          “What else is new?” Req droned as she let her shirt hang down. She sat down and began putting her shoes back on, as did Adi. “How’s Jessica doing?”

           “She’s been better.”

          “I can only imagine.” Req finished putting on her shoes and got back up. They’ll have to finished twist-drying the rest of her clothes back home. “We should talk on the way back- I don’t want to piss Noah off any more then I need to.” She grabbed her trench coat and stuffed it into the satchel.

          “When isn’t he pissed?” Adi commented as he finished putting his shoes on. He made the mistake of swimming with his scarf on. The wet cloth pulled on his throat, forcing him to take it off. “Now if you two lovebirds are done, can we get home before Noah or whatever monsters lurk around here at night finds us and turns us into jelly?”

          Requiem stuck her tongue out at him. “Spoilsport.” She picked up the satchel and shouldered it. “And what monsters? All that are around here this time of year are Revenants and they are slow as heck, and the Dragons are duking it out at the ruins.”

          “Dragons?!” Aura exclaimed, not in terror but in surprise.

          The trio began walking around the lake. “Two of them, yeah.” Req explained. “A Crimson Death and a Albino Flame. They were fighting each other for some reason we didn’t see. The Albino was the more ferocious and bloodthirsty of the two- it chased us all over the ruins. We were able to lose it by sheer dumb luck and some clever thinking on my part.”

          Aura glanced over to Adi to see if Req was telling the truth, because she has a tendency to overexaggerate things. A lot. “It’s true.” Adi confirmed. “And she did come up with a plan to escape. She used the door of one of the old hover cars to block the fire while also propelling us out to the forest, where we hid in a pile of leaves. I’m amazed it actually worked, though.”

          Aura returned his attention to Req as they finished walking around the lake and entered the woods that surrounded it, walking along a well-worn hiking trail. “And there was absolutely no way any of the dragons could follow you back.”

          She waved it off. “Not a chance. When they started fighting again, we hightailed it as fast as we could. Far as we know, they’re still fighting.” She put her hands behind her head. “Besides, Noah can’t do a damn thing if I do invite one home. They can fly, you know. All they need to do is look down.”

          That is true, but Noah is too stupid to realize it, and Aura knows it. “Take it up with dad- he’s the paranoid one.”

          She snorted a laugh. “Haha. Yeah. Right. Like he’ll listen to me. He hates my guts.”

          “Well, you do make it easy for him.” Adi commented.

          “OH, shush up.”

          After a few minutes, the trio exited the woods and returned to their hometown of Teria. The path led out near a inn with a high tower called the Judgment Ray. This inn was one of the first buildings constructed by Teria himself, because he knew in order for a town to grow, travelers would need a place to stay and refresh so they can be convinced to stay, and for those who live here to have a place to unwind and relax. He also chose that name because it sounded cool, or it was a suggestion by one of the travelers- there were a few stories explaining the name. The first floor was a tavern area, complete with a bar, an eating area, and a big kitchen staffed by five, including the inn’s owner Jonathan. The second floor was the inn area- rooms for travelers to sleep in. There are 13 in total. There is a wine basement and the tower serves as the attic, holding a whole assortment of random items.

          And there was where the three of them were going. Night has just now fallen on the town, so there are still people inside enjoying themselves after a long day. If they are careful, they can get in before Noah knows they were even gone.

          Rather than risk the front entrance, the trio snuck around to the back of the inn, towards the stables. The few horses tied up to the posts were munching on hay, so they had no problems sneaking past before one snickered and whinnied enough to arouse attention. Inside, they saw the staff cooking meals for the waiting costumers in the cramped but decked out kitchen. The cooks saw them sneaking in and stayed quiet. The kids didn’t have to worry about them- just about everyone in town isn’t a fan of Noah, but if he was here, they needed to be quiet. One passed a potato to Adi, who was glad- he was hungry.

          They snuck out the kitchen entrance and slooooooowly made their way across the modestly filled tavern towards the stairs that led up to the inn area. They should’ve looked to their right when they exited.

          In a word, Busted.

          With wrinkles that would make Scrooge jealous, a five o’clock shadow, balding silver hair, and was rather short for his age, this 66 year old croon of a man is as stubborn, cranky, mean-spirited, spiteful, and manipulative as you can imagine, and that’s why everyone hates him. Descendent of Teria or not, that doesn’t give you the right to be a right jerk. It also doesn’t help that he constantly wore a judge’s robe, reminding everyone he’s Judge, Jury, and Executioner here.

          “AHEM!” Noah loudly cleared his throat.

          Requiem and Adi nearly jumped out of their skins when they heard him. They stood perfectly still like statues, hoping his vision worked like a frogs and he wouldn’t see them if they stood still. That wasn’t to be the case and they knew it, but they had to try. “Come on, guys.” Aura said as he didn’t even try. “You know that won’t work.”

          Req gave up as she lowered her head. “…. Crap.” She spun around on one foot to look at the old codger. To Noah’s left, leaning on the bar with his head on his fist was her and Adi’s father, Jonathan. He was a few years younger than Noah, but still had his fair share of wrinkles. He still had a full head of brown hair with gray streaks in random locations. Unlike Noah, John was a very kind and very helpful soul and was more casual with his clothing options. He was always looking out for others and giving worldly advice- everything Noah wasn’t.

          “Nooooaaah.” Req proclaimed to try to get on his good side before being lambasted to kingdom come while speaking in a false positivity. “Heeeeey… it’s been a while, ever since…. you look good. Have you lost some weight? Looks like you got a few more wrinkles too. You really should slow down, otherwise you’ll get older faster. And you remember my boyfriend, Aura.” She pulled him over to her, which made him smile awkwardly, being literally pulled into this. “Of course you--”

          “I told you not to go to the ruins.” He said in a severely rude tone. “You were forbidden from heading there.”

          “—do… How did you know?”

          Aura facepalmed himself. “Ugh… Jessica cannot keep her dang mouth shut…”

          Requiem let him go and bit her lips as her façade began to fade. “Un… well, if it’s any consolation, we didn’t stay long. We were in and out in a heartbeat… if a heartbeat lasted... what, an hour?” He looked to her brother, hoping he knew how long they were there. He stayed out of this- he wanted as little punishment as possible.

          Noah wasn’t buying any of this. He told her she was forbidden from going there and she denied him. Again! “You weren’t supposed to go at all! Like I said, you were forbidden from heading to the ruins! You could’ve lead monsters here and endangered us all!”

          And now the façade is gone because she was rightly piiiissed. “…. Heh…. Hehe…. You’re kidding, right? Tell me you’re joking.” He wasn’t joking. “… e-heh… yeah. see, there’s where you are wrong, you simpleton.” She clapped her hands together. “Right… listen carefully, jacqueass, because I’m only going over this once. It is NEEEEVER my fault that any monsters can find their way here. We’re in the middle of a forest with main roads leading here- they can just follow the tracks from ANYONE, not just me! And keeping with that middle of the forest theme, they can just wander in. You do know that monsters like to wander around, right? Unless they are nesting, they are pretty much all nomads. And heeeeeeehehe, here is the kicker: there is not one thing we can put up that can keep monsters out outside of magic, so blaming me for luring monsters here is kind of a idiotic moot point because, even if they do follow people in, I’m not the only one to do it. In fact, correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it your golden boy Sopa who lured a herd of Giders here?”

          She got a small round of applause from everyone that was in the tavern at the time. Noah stayed silent as he stewed in his hatred for her. As much as he hates her… she is also right about all of that, not that he will ever admit it. Instead, he said nothing and departed in a angered huff, knocking down a chair on the way out.

          Requiem smugly smiled as she gave him a playful little wave. She didn’t even try to hide the giddy laugh she was having for winning again. “Nice talking to you too, you old codger. It’s always fun kicking your behind in these verbal matches of ours!” She and Adi shared a high five.

          “AURA, COME!” They heard Noah shout.

          Aura sighed as he lowered his head. “Great… you sideswipe him and I gotta go home with him.” He looked his way. “Coming Dad…” He returned his attention to Req. “Thanks a lot, silvertonque.”

          Req snickered to herself as she put her hands behind her head. “You know you love it.” Aura rolled his eyes, not really loving dealing with the aftermath of his father’s fuming. He ran after Noah while Req was enjoying herself. “Whoo, I’m good. Maybe I should run for mayor next year.” She looked towards John, who was giving her a disappointed look of derision. That killed the mood. “What?”

          “You know he’ll retaliate for this.” He said in a calm, soothing, buttery voice that would make you think he’s a trustworthy guy. “And we’re all going to have to suffer for this.”

          “I’m sorry, Dad, but that guy is a huge pain in the butt and everyone knows it. I’m the onlt one in this town who has a curfew thanks to that flea.”

          He slowly shook his head in disapproval. “I just wish you wouldn’t antagonize him so much.”

          She backed up towards the stairs as Adi followed. “Then maybe he should stop being an antagonist and actually be a decent human being for once?” John crossed his arms, knowing she can do better then that. “I tried being nice to him, but he refuses to play ball.” She started up the stairway with her brother following. “I got some things for you from the ruins, Dad. I’ll bring them down in a minute.”

          Aggravated and irritated, John grunted a groan as he rubbed his eyes. This animosity between Requiem and Noah is getting worse and worse by the day. How long until it reaches a boiling point? “Hehe… those are always so much fun to watch.” One of the cooks commented. John gave him a stern look, which made him stop and get back to work.

          “As much as I agree with him on how entertaining those all are…” Emil, an early-40’s regular to the bar, commented as he took a swig of his beer. “…it probably won’t be long until Noah goes overboard. I’m amazed he doesn’t banish her already.”

          “He knows the town would revolt if she was.” John said as he went back behind the bar. “He’s crude and controlling, but he’s not stupid.”

          Emil only shrugged, not really caring beyond that initial question. “Eh, whatever. Guess time will tell.” He placed another coin on the counter, along with his empty mug. “Refill.”

         

          Reaching the second floor, Requiem grumbled in anger as she stormed down the hallway, with Adi cautiously followed behind her. He learned this lesson the hard way multiple times: whenever she is in a mood like this brought about by Noah-itis, keep your distance and only say positive things- you just might make it though it alive. “Can you believe the nerve of that arse of a jerk!?” She grunted. “Blames me for all the monster attacks we get?! Where does he come off on thinking up such ludicrous and idiotic ideas!?!” She stopped before a third flight of stairs- one that led up into the tower, and turned to confront Adi. “I’m asking you a question, Adolphus!”

          And put in the situation. He was trying to stay out so she can rant all this out. “I don’t know. He’s just insane, is all. He’s crazed, delusional, irritable, nuts- whatever word you think would describe him best!”

          Seeing how awkward this is making him, Req stopped badgering him and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “I’m ok…” She finished on a gasp. “Sorry, Adi. I just… I really do hate that guy.”

          “Really? You hide it so well.” He said with a snarky tone.

          She gave him a mischievous grin before she took another deep breath while feeling her palms beginning to sweat. That’s the last thing she needs right now- more problems. “Right now… I’m just glad he’s gone before I broke his nose.” She looked back over her shoulder and took off the satchel. “I’ll go take this to my room for now. We’ll go through everything later. Right now, I just want this off my shoulder- it’s getting sore.”

          “Alright.” He took a step and heard his socks squish. He and Req looked back down the hall and saw that they had left a trail of water. Whoops. “… we should probably change our clothes first.”

          “Good point…” Adi began walking down towards the end of the hallway, where his room was. the door at the end opened up into a miniature hallway that diverged into two rooms- John’s on the left, Adi’s on the right. Req watched him leave for moment before starting up the second flight of stairs up to the tower.

          At the top of this flight was a unlocked hatch. She pushed it open and climbed up into the tower. There were boxes and all sorts of items everywhere. The boxes were heirlooms from both mom and dad’s family. All of the loose items were accidentally left behind by travelers and they never came back for. There were a couple swords, a few cloaks, a strange device that floats- a hoverboard- and others that would take too long to describe. She walked through the self-made path and headed towards a door located in a wall that divided the tower room. She opened it up and went inside.

          Once inside, she reached up and pulled a switch, igniting the light that revealed her room. It was a small room, but it had enough room for her. Rectangular in shape, Req’s bed rested underneath one of the windows. Her wardrobe rested on the far end of the room, with a vanity between it and her bed. On the other side was a ‘modern’ dresser, a coat rack, a bookshelf with tons of books and figures, and paintings and drawings from the ruins that hung up off the wall.

          She put the satchel down before walking to the wardrobe while taking off her wet clothes. As she changed into something dry, the egg they had swiped began to shake. Whosever’s egg it is, the tenant is still alive and is close to hatching. The inside glowed briefly before she could notice.

          Out of her wet clothes and already into her pajamas, which were a pair of tight black PJ’s with a starlight pattern, she returned to the satchel and sat down on the floor to divvy up the loot. The clothes and the kitchen supplies were nothing special, so she set them aside. She and Adi will go though the clothes tomorrow to see who keeps what before selling the rest. Same with John and the kitchen stuff they got- see what he wants to keep before selling the rest.

          That out of the way, she moved on to the more interesting items. First was the red egg. She is against Adi breaking this open so he can have lunch tomorrow. old or not, there is still probably a growing animal inside there and she isn’t going to kill it. She decided to wait a month before doing anything with this, so she put it under the vanity for now, leaning it up against a pole.

          Next came the makeup box. As she never wears makeup herself, Req wondered who this would be useful for. She knows Jessica likes the stuff and is always looking for new colors to make herself look the best, but that is also true to a lot of others. She’ll have to auction this off to the highest bidder.

          The portable stereo was up next. It played music when she and Adi were running form the dragon, and it stopped playing when they fell into the pile of leaves, leading her to believe that it ran out of power or it was broken in some way. She looked it over and didn’t find anything wrong with it on the surface. She rolled it over and found the battery compartment. She opened it up and they fell out- one whole and one cracked in two and covered in some strange crystal stuff. That answers that- ran out of power due to bad batteries. Adi will have to come up with some sort of a workaround.

          With that out of the way, she moved on to the final items in the bag, the ones she was most interested in: the books. She got gotten a modest amount. These were ALL hers. She loves to read and these are a good time waster. They all looked interesting, but the one that still has her attention was the one that caught her eye the most: Monsters of Myth, Legend, and Religions. This could give them some needed information on the local beasties, and give a clue as to how many are around the world. Heck, there could be a weakness for Dragon’s they could exploit.

          She put it aside- she’ll look at it after she’s had dinner. She hopped up off the floor and grabbed all of the kitchen supplies they nabbed. Putting them in the satchel, she headed back downstairs, closing the door behind her.

          She reached the bottom of the second flight of stairs and made her way over to the first. She reached the first step and saw a familiar face sitting at a table down below. “Jessica?” She asked herself, wondering why she was here.

          With short, shaggy, pure red hair, soft blue eyes, and normally with a smile that could melt your heart, Jessica moaned and groaned as she rested her weary head on the table. The last born in a set of triplets and Aura’s younger sister, Jessica is a calm, peaceful girl known for bringing a smile to anyone’s faces and being really helpful. She’s the only one in the Aesir family with red hair- everyone else usually has the same silver as their grandfather Teria. One of their sisters, Gryff, has yellow hair, but she and Jessica are the exception to the rule.

          Req reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Jessica in the state she’s in. “Jessica?” She asked, getting the younger one’s attention. “What are you doing here?”

          Jess grumbled as she rubbed her forehead. “I came with dad, but I had to go to the bathroom before you got home. Ugh… I get out and the lout left me here.” She lowered her head back down. “He forgot about me.”

          “Wow. Dick move.” Req said as she put the satchel down on the chair beside them. “How are you feeling?”

          Jess lifted her head back up and looked at her with lidded eyes. “… I’ve been stuck in the bathroom for a grand total of 3 hours today, with the 3rd hour being the entire time you’ve been gone.” She lowered her head once more as she groaned into the table. “Morning sickness is evil.”

          Req patted her poor friend on the head, remembering how her mother felt when she was pregnant with Adi, so she knows what Jessica will go though before this is all done. “I think you got every expectant mother past, present, and future agreeing with you on that.” She patted her on the head again. “I’ll go get you a water.” She said before picking up the satchel and heading over to the bar.

          Jessica lifted up her hand and a single finger. “With lemon.” She said into the wood table.

          John wiped off a part of the bar where someone spilled their drink while Requiem approached the bar and placed the satchel upon it. “How is she doing?” He asked, referring to Jessica.

          “Bad.” Req replied. “Morning sickness is really hitting her hard.” She opened up the bag and began pulling out supplies. “It’s only been 2 weeks and it’s already bad. I don’t remember mom having it this bad when she was carrying Adi.”

          “Well, everyone experiences pregnancies differently.”

          “Yeah, we had that talk the last time Jess was here and she couldn’t hold down her meal.” She finished pulling the last ones out and laid them out on the counter. “See anything interesting?”

          John looked them all over and thought to himself as he did. He already has some of these back in the kitchen, and still in good quality too. That said, there’s nothing wrong with having another butcher knife. He took that a few other knifes for good measure. When he got to the pizza cutter, though, he was confused. “The heck is this?” He held it up.

          “I have absolutely no clue. It’s a odd shape for a knife, though.”

          “You’re telling me… I’ll have to test and see what this does.” He placed that down and took several more while leaving a lot of others. “These will do it for me.” He said as he put them on the counter behind him.

          “Then I’ll sell the rest of these when I get the chance.” She said as she began putting them back into the satchel. “Between this and everything else up there, we could get enough to buy a whole pheasant over in River City.”

          “Oooooh, now that would be nice.” Jessica commented as she walked over. “Assuming I could hold it down, that is.” She said as she took a seat at the bar, placing her head down on it. “Water with lemon…” She groaned to John. He nodded and shouted it back to the cooks. She turned her head to look at Req as she put the last of the knives in the satchel. “So how did the excavation go?”

          Req put the bag down beside her stool and rubbed her still aching forehead. “It could’ve gone better. Adi complained the entire time there and he was on wits end, worried we were going to run into monsters. I swear, he was going to wet his pants.”

          “Thanks for throwing me under the bus!” Adi exclaimed as he appeared from out of nowhere, putting himself between Jess and Req. Like Requiem, he was already dressed in his pajama’s. No sense ruining another set of clothes for the day. “And there’s nothing wrong with being worried!”

          “Of course there isn’t.” John said.

          Req rolled her eyes before pushing Adi back by his head. “Surprisingly enough, we didn’t run into any monsters. There wasn’t even any trace of them. They were all gone- vanished into thin air. Anyway, we reached where we were going and a Gider corpse scared Adi so badly, he screamed and fell over.” Adi looked at her with lidded eyes and a audible snarl. “After we got rid of that, we ransacked the place… that’s when the real trouble started.”

          “Oh?” Jessica cooed.

          “Yyyyyyeah. Turns out the monsters weren’t there for a reason. There was a Dragon. Two, in fact: an Albino Flame and a Crimson Death.”

          “Whoa.” Jessica and John both went, as did the rest of the bar and staff as they were interested to hear what had happened out there. Hearing everyone else respond was a bit surprising, but not unexpected.

          “Yeah, whoa.” Req chuckled. “They were having a intense fight and then me and Adi got roped into it as the Albino tried to have us for lunch. We ran across ruins, running as fast as can before the Albino could turn us into a evening snack. That’s when I had the idea to use a few items from a nearby ruin to use the fire to our advantage. The idiot lizard propelled us out of the ruins and out of its mind. Right now, I’m sure the dragons are still fighting each other over there.”

          “You didn’t lead them here, did you?” One of the patrons asked.

          Requiem rested her head on her hand. She JUST had this same conversation with Noah. “…. You’re kidding me right? Why does everyone always forget that Dragons have wings?! All they have to do is look down and they can see us.” She looked at John with an exasperated look on her face. “Honestly…” He just shrugged back with a smile.

 

          Later that night, after she had eaten her dinner and helped Jessica deal with another bout of morning sickness after seeing her dinner, Requiem retired back to her room, where she laid on her side in her bed, reading the monster book she got by lamp. The rest of the books were stacked up on her bookshelf, in order in which she was to read them based on their cover art and their plot descriptions. The monster book certainly was a interesting read, to be sure, but she wonders how much of this is true.

          She heard a tapping at her window. She looked up and saw Aura there, waving at her. She smiled and chuckled as she put the book down and unlocked the window. He opened it up and climbed right in. “You know you can just use the front door, you know?” She commented.

          Aura shrugged as he sat on the windowsill. “Eh, this is more romantic.” He pushed himself in.

          Requiem shrugged again with another warm chuckle. “Hehe… yeah, I guess so.” He closed the window and locked it back up. “Soooo… Noah is pissed at me, isn’t he?”

          He nodded. “And how. He’s got smoke coming out of his ears and everything.” Requiem laughed at herself, picturing that in her mind. “It’s not funny, you know. I have to live with him.”

          She stopped laughing and held a finger to her mouth to calm herself down. “I know, I know, I’m sorry.” She snorted once and finally stopped. “Sorry.”

          “Eh, it’s fine.” He noticed the book she was reading. “What’s that you got there?”

          Req lifted it up so he could see the cover art. “Monsters of Myth, Legend, and Religions. It’s one of the books I found in the ruins. I figured it could provide some insight into all the beasties around here, but so far, I’m doubting that. for starters, the Gargoyles in this book look nothing like the Gargoyles in real life. There’s not even a mention of Giders or Oculi yet. It’s still interesting, though, seeing what the ancients thought monsters were like before they were real. I’m interested to see what they call the World Supporters are.”

          Aura got on the bed to take a look. “Huh.” He was looking into the book when Req turned her head around and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, which caught him off guard. “What was that for?”

          “Just for you being you, cutie.” She cooed.

          He gave a knowing chuckle, knowing where she was leading too. “I am cute, aren’t I?” He said in a swooning tone.

          Before long, the two kissed and began to make out with each other. With her eyes closed and completely encapsulated by the make out session, without breaking lip contact, Req pressed the corner of the page to mark her spot and placed it down on the desk. She pulled the covers over them as he moved his free hand up to the lamp and pulled on the lamp switch, turning out the lights.

 

4: Chapter 3: Another Day

Chapter 3

Another Day

8/14/2210 A.D. – 8/14/200 A.W. (After War)

 

 

 

          Sunlight twinkled in though the window, illuminating the room that Requiem calls home in natural light. She snuggled up next to Aura, who held her close in her arms as they slept off the wild night they shared, cradled under the warm, yet messed up blanket.

          The sunlight touched on Aura’s cheek, prompting him to grunt a groan as the warmth woke him up. He forced his eyes open as he rubbed them with a free hand. On the palm of his right hand, a birthmark glowed. It was strangely in the shape of a blazing sun, which is odd. What’s more odd is that everyone in his family has the same mark somewhere on their body. A gift from Teria, Noah would say. Nothing odder then a strange birthmark.

          He sat up and stretched his arms up over his head, cracking his back to spruce it up. He looked over to the window and opened it up. From that window, he could see the entirely of Teria. It was a humble village, nestled deep in the heartland of… wherever they live. Or at least it was the heartland. The countries of Earth got wrecked so badly during the Scarring, this thick inland forest turned into seafront property, and the name of said country forgotten.

          The Romanesque-inspired town, while not that big on a map- only 4 square miles, is divided up into several districts. The side the Judgment Ray was on is the farming district, as it is almost nothing but farmlands. Then there is the Old Town, which is the oldest area of the village with the oldest buildings dating back to when Teria first laid the foundation. Opposite of that is the Aesir district, aptly named due to the large Aesir estate that rests on the largest hill in the village, overlooking the many many homes that rest underneath it. The only schoolhouse in town is also located there.

          Then there are the docks. Thanks to the aforementioned Scarring, this deep in the country village was turned into seafront property. That said, there weren’t all that many docks or that many boats. There weren’t even any warehouses- only a few storage sheds. Small fishing boats were moored at the docks.

          In the center of town rested its bazaar, a circular row of shops and stands and stalls, surrounding a very perplexing sight: a ancient and mysterious temple- a pyramid, in fact, based on Mayan and Incan steppe designs. Why such a thing exists all the way here is anyone’s guess. According to his journal entry when he founded the town, Teria was also confused why such a structure was out of place. It is a mysterious no one has been able to solve in the 142 years the village had existed, and it likely never will be solved.

          If the village were to be looked at from above, the town would be in the very rough shape of an anchor. The circular hole at the top is the docks, facing northward towards the sea. The ends of both lines would be where both living districts were located, with Old Town on the left / east, and the Aesir district on the right / west. The large curve at the bottom / south is where the farmlands and the Judgment Ray are located. And as stated before, the bazaar and the out of place temple is located smack dab in the middle.

          His thoughts soon changed as he heard his companion start to wake up herself. She mumbled as she wiped her eyes. “Yawn…… morning…” She cooed in the cutest way possible.

          “Morning.” He warmly replied, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead.

          Req happily mumbled as she curled up under the blanket. “I had a good time last night.”

          “You say that every time.”

          “Yet it’s true.” Req giggled as she sat up, covering herself with the bed’s blanket. “So, what do you have planned today?”

          Aura groaned a sigh as he sank back down. That swiftly killed the mood. “Ugh… you had to remind me…” He pinched his eyes. “Well, I gotta deal with dad’s ever increasing paranoia. He thinks Uwe is a spy for some goblin smuggling ring.”

          “Uwe? That big, fluffy, loveable giant who wouldn’t hurt a fly Uwe? A part of a Goblin smuggling ring? That makes absolutely no sense. Since when do Goblins smuggle?”

          “That’s what I said.” He stopped pinching his eyes. “Then there’s all of the usual crap, on top of helping Jessica... Then there’s tonight…” He lowered his head further. “Sopa’s coming back today…”

          That elicited a truly appropriate gloomy groan from Req, who sank back down to join him in his frustration. She HATES Sopa with a passion, even worse then Noah. He’s rude, self-centered, egotistical, dangerous, borderline sadistic, and the one who put Jessica in the situation she is in. Recently, he had killed a Emerald Nightmare that was on the outskirts of town by himself. As thanks, Noah said that they’ll be a party to celebrate his achievement after he returns from the nearby city of Ctron for some… personal celebration.

          And for all these reasons, and many many more, these two hate his guys. “I hate that guy.”

          “Join the club.” He droned. They knew they had to switch it to something a bit more positive. “So what do you have planned?”

          Req looked down and saw that the satchel was still under her bed, exactly where she left it. “I gotta sort through all of this stuff we got from the ruins. I’m gonna keep when I want, then sell the rest, as usual.”

          “What did you get, anyway? You didn’t have time to tell me yesterday.”

          That’s true. Between the lake and the encounter with Noah, she didn’t tell him what all they got. “Well, for starters, the place we hit was a total bust. There was barely anything interesting about the place. But we got clothes, books, some kitchen supplies for dad, a music player Adi is going to have to try and fix, and a large egg.”

          He raised an eyebrow. “An egg?”

          “Yeah. A pretty big one too. It’s un… well, it’s as big as how Jessica is going to look in 9 months.” Aura gave her a glare- that’s his sister she’s talking about. “What? I needed an analogy and that was the best one I could think of. But yeah, it’s a big egg, but it’s as light as a feather.”

          Big egg as light as a feather. There’s only one species they know of that has a egg like that. “You don’t think it’s a dragon egg, do you? You know how much dad hates those things.”

          “Yeah yeah, I know I know. And no, we don’t know. Me and Adi had a debate about it before we went in and he wants to try to turn it into an omelet. You know I’m not going to let that happen. Monster or no, I’m not going to destroy this thing because of Noah’s crazed delusions.”

          “Your funeral.” Req stuck her tongue out at him and he stuck his out back. He grinned and began to tickle her, making her squeal with laughter. She tickled him back, making him laugh.

          There was a knock on Req’s door, ruining the moment. “Hey Req, you up?” Adi called from the other side.

          Her head dangling off the side of the bed, she looked over to the still closed door. “Yeah, I’m up.” She responded, now fully awake from the sudden tickle fight. “What’s up?”

          “Dad wants to talk to you. I think he’s worked up a punishment for our… escapade into the ruins yesterday.”

          She sucked in her lips. She’s so screwed- John always can think of some devastating punishments. “Uh-oh… that can’t be anything good…” She lowered her head with a exasperated grunt. “Tell him I’m coming.”

          “Alright.” A few seconds later, after he was supposed to be gone, he came back and continued, remembering something else. “And tell Aura that Lelouch is looking for him. Sounds like Noah’s getting ready for some sort of hullabaloo or something.” A really quick rundown- Lelouch is one of Aura’s younger brothers. The eldest of the triplets, to be precise. 

          How in the world did Adi know Aura was here? They were silent last night. Are they really that predictable? “Wha-- How does he do that?” He asked while flapping an arm.

          “I don’t know. Maybe we’re predictable.” As much as she would like to stay in bed and do nothing, that would just add on to her punishment. Besides, she still had her loot to sort through. “Well, we better get going. I’ll catch you at the lake later for practice?” He nodded in confirmation. He moved to get out of bed but remembered that they weren’t clothed. Req picked up and tossed him his vest from off the floor, pelting him right in the face with it. “Whoops.”

          “Not cool.”

 

          Only a lumberjack was down at the tavern, eating a bowl of oatmeal served to him by Adi, who was now sitting at another table, tinkering with a mechanical doll they got from the ruins a few weeks ago. The thing was busted up when they found it, but now it’s good as new. They saw that it required a power source, but they don’t have the cylindrical power sources- 4 AA batteries- needed to power it. The doll was based off what they believe to be a really popular entertainment program from the time- Cranaya Man. The doll in question was based off the show’s main villain, Dr. Scorpion.

          Adi huffed as he put the screwdriver down, finally glad to be done with this after weeks of tinkering. “Well, at best you’ll make a decent bookend.” He began to hear a lot of sounds coming down the stairs, along with a lot of talking. He didn’t even need to look behind him to know what was going on- Aura was trying to sneak out to avoid being caught and grounded by proxy. He was back in his cloak from last night, which was flapping in the breeze that was coming through the open doors.

          “See you later, Aura.” Adi called out while still looking at the doll.

          Aura looked at him with a slack jaw, still wondering how he is doing this. Does he have enhanced hearing or something? There has to be a explanation for this, because there was no way he could hear him trying to sneak out. “Seriously, how does he do that?” He asked Req, who was behind him on the stairs with a equally slacked jaw.

          Req herself was dressed up in solid black pantyhose, a frilled red skirt with pink stripes, and a simple school uniform-style white shirt that should’ve spent more time in the wash with how wrinkly it is. She also had on her “trademark” look- a pair of red ribbons, located on both sides of her head. At the center of each ribbon was a blue flower.

          “I don’t know how he does it- he’s got some weird sixth sense.” She said in response before she hopped down and quickly kissed him on the cheek. “See ya later, handsome.”  Aura gave her one back before running out to hopefully not get a grounding like she’s about to get. She walked on over to Adi, who was sitting there all smug with his head resting on his hand. “But come on, how do you always know?”

          “I just know you.” He snickered. “And whose window do you think he climbs past?”

          Req stayed silent with sucked in lips. She always told him to come up from the stable side, but nooooo. He has to take the easier side with the gutter. “… ok, I need to give him a key at this point.”

          “Pretty much.”

            Nervous about what their father is likely going to say, Req tapped her fingers on the table. This is always his thing when he is about to give them a punishment: call them downstairs for a family meeting and make them wait it out. He had to have been in some sort of combat group before having kids- how else can he know such dastardly torture tactics? “Heh… dad… sure is taking his time… heh…”

            “Don’t remind me.” Adi groaned. “We’re gonna get punished so bad, our eyes will spin.”

            “If we’ll have any eyes left.”

            “Ahem.” John went from behind, appearing as if out of nowhere. A shiver ran up Req’s spine, freezing her from the inside out. Adi stayed absolute still. Taking back would only make things worse for him. If he stays quiet, maybe he’ll get a lesser punishment. John walked over to the other side of the table and put a single hand on the wood. “You were told not to go into the ruins, and yet you went, and you almost got yourself and your brother killed at the hands of a dragon. That is just stupid as stupid is.”

            “… Sorry, dad, but you know I have to do the exact opposite Noah says. It’s pretty much programmed into me at this point. Besides, you know I am always careful when I go there, and I always bring back valuable items that everyone in town can use.”

            “You’re only going to make him angrier at you. He doesn’t care about what you bring back- he cares about you defying him.”

            “And you don’t see the problem with that statement? Dad, he’s an arrogant, pompous, senile, insane windbag who tries to lord over everyone with a iron thumb. Anyone would want to oppose that, especially if it’s from crazy.”

            “It still doesn’t change the fact that he is demanding that I punish you for defying him.”

            Req exhaled sharply, making a ‘psh’ noise when she did. “Peh… figures. Punish someone you despise for having some fun, but let the scumbag who forced himself on your daughter to run free and even reward him.”

            “Requiem…”

            To prevent herself from blowing her top off and going on a tirade, she pinched the bridge between her eyes, groaning loudly in frustration. “Sorry…I just hate both of them…”

            “I know. But you still need to be punished. Therefore, for your punishment… you will not have any dragon meat from the banquet tonight.”

            She raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. Not allowed to eat meat? She hates dragon meat- it’s too gamey and tough. On top of that, she’s vegetarian… with the occasional cheat day sprinkled here and there. “What? Dad, I don’t like d--” It took her a moment to realize what he was leading towards. “… ooooooh. I getcha.” Adi leaned back in his chair and rested his hands on his stomach. “Oh, well.” She spoke in a sarcastic, knowing tone. “I guess I won’t have any dragon meat at the banquet. What a shame?” She snickered with a wink to her little brother.

                 “Now that we have that squared away, I have your chores for the day.” He passed the two of them lists of what they need to do for the banquet tonight. “Adolphus, you’ll be helping set up the tables, polishing the dishes, and rolling in flagons. Requiem, you are going to wait on the tables when people start coming- you too, Adolphus-, along with making up your delicious sweet rolls and treating the man of the hour with some respect.”

                 “I can do all but that last one.” Req said as she slammed her list down. “The day I’m nice to Sopa is the day I die.”

                 John slowly shook his head with exasperation. So much spirit, she has. “Fine then. I’m gonna add on a extra chore for you to do.” Req grimaced at him- he had to have planned for that response. “I need you to go to River City and pick up spices I have backordered at Hans’.”

                 Req looked his way with a slightly ajar mouth that leaned to the side. He wants her to go to River City AND make the rolls? Does he not know how long those take to make? “Say what? Gah… If you want me to make the rolls on time Dad, I’d need to leave… well, now!”

                 He shook his head. “Afraid not. The horses ran off. Something spooked them last night and they disappeared somewhere in the village, and I can’t go looking for them because it’s going to take me all day to cook up enough of the dragon meat for everyone in town. I’ll need to use every cooker, stove, oven, and helper I have just to finish on time.”

                 “And there is a lot of it!” One of the other cooks shouted from the kitchen. “Sopa bagged a big one.”

                 Req rolled her eyes, not really caring one bit about the size of the beast. The only positive she can think of is that this will be good for business, especially if travelers come today. They’ll make a good bit of scratch tonight. But first…

                 She got out of her chair and pushed it in. “Yeah yeah… I’ll go find the steers. Just get the wagon ready. Wanna give me a hand, Adi?” She asked as she walked towards the exit.

                 He just shrugged. “Eh, I got nothing better to do.” He got out of his chair, grabbed the doll, and followed after her. “And I’ve been going over the numbers in my head. You should have at least an hour of free time before going to River City, and getting started on everything when you get back.”

                 “An hour? Guess I can cross practice off the list, then… and we’re likely going to spend that much time looking for the horses.” She thought about what she can do to kill an hour’s worth of time. “Hmm… well, we can go check up on Jessica. We barely had time to talk with her last night. And I guess we can swing by Rubi’s and check to see how she’s doing too. At least her asinine brother won’t be there- thank Teria for that…”

 

                 Exhausted and beat from yesterday’s fight, the cloaked figure with the clothed item on his back panted heavily as he rested his hand on a thick oak tree, struggling to catch his breath. He knew their foe was powerful, but he sorely underestimated how powerful he really was. His foe had grown stronger since the last time, which is concerning for a large number of reasons.

                 “{Will you pick up already!?!}” A shrill female voice bellowed form inside one of his pockets inside the cloak. The figure reached in and pressed something.

                 “I can hear you… please stop yelling.”

                 “{Sorry about that, but you weren’t answering.}” The voice, now calm and clear, said back. “{I was worried something happened to you.}”

                 “Something almost did.” The figure sat down on the ground, placing the item to his side. “Catalyst was here.”

                 “{Catalyst was there!?!?! But why? Last we checked, he was hold up inside his palace, so why would that jerk be doing all the way out here in the boonies?! Unless…}”

                 “…unless the fallen one knows where she is.”

                 “{And you know, too. You found her?}”

                 “Maybe. She fits the bill of what we expect her to look like after all these years, but… I’m hesitant to say yes, given what happened the last time.”

                 “{So the usual trial, then?}”

                 The figure reached over to the item and lifted it up off the ground. Part of the cloth came undone, revealing a solid-metal black bat wing near the top. “The usual… and hopefully this time, we can finally put an end to this.” He put the cloth back over the wing.”Are there any towns near here?”

                 “{Several, by the closest one by a wide margin is a town called Teria… wait, he founded a town and named it after himself? That sounds narcissistic to me.}”

                 The figure put the clothed item on his back and regained his composure. He heard a beeping noise in his pockets, meaning that his contact had forwarded the information about the town and its location to him. “Sounds right to me…” He grunted as he began walking towards the town.

                 He barely took a single step before he heard a snickering grunt, followed by a frightening neigh. Intrigued, he followed the noise to find a brown horse with white stripes being pursued by a Drude.

                 Don’t let the appearance of a Drude fool you- while they may appear short and stubby women, with their grey shaggy skin barely keeping on, they are some of the most powerful monsters in Germanic folklore. They can slip into your horse through the tiniest crack and possess your body as you sleep. The most powerful of them were even a part of the Wild Hunt, an army of monsters said to bring about the end of the world in Scandinavian folklore.

                 Luckily for the horse, this Drude was really, really weak. She was to eat it to survive, something that won’t come to be once the stranger dispatched it with some powerful magic that made it dissolve into dust of light.

                 “Drudes… ugly little creeps.” The stranger commented to himself. He approached the panicking horse without fear. The horse was still freaking out as the stranger approached with an outstretched hand. It was getting ready to rear up and kick him in the chest when the stranger placed his hand on the snout. The palm of the hand glowed- that was all that was needed to calm the horse down. “Shhh… I won’t hurt you.” He gently petted the horses snout. The animal calmed and allowed itself to be petted.

                 The stranger walked around to the side of the horse and looked back to the dissolving Drude. He saw that the monster had a cloven hoof sticking out of its mouth. It was REALLY hunger, so much so it was about to eat her third horse. “Shame about your friends.” He walked back to the front of the horse, noticing it had marks routinely associated with that of saddles and reins. “You had owners. Let’s see if they still yet live.” He moved his hand up to the horses forehead and used magic to look into its memory’s.

                 He saw a quaint and quiet village near the sea, a lot of small buildings, a fancy estate, and a out of place temple. He ignored that and focused on finding the owners, which he did. The horses memory’s showed a tavern/inn combo. He further focused in and saw who was likely the owner of the establishment and… the same boy from ruins yesterday. The memories them moved to the same girl from the ruins as well.

                 “Her…” He said to himself before breaking the connection. The horse was unfazed by the process- it’s not even aware of what happened. There are several villages around here that live by the sea, but only one has that out of place temple. Now he knows where to find her. “… let’s get you home. You must be mortified.” He climbed up onto the horses back and summoned reins of light. At least this will be easier then walking with how exhausted he is.

 

            Leaving their spacious tavern home behind them, Req and Adi made their way into the village. With an estimated hour of free time to kill before being stuck preparing for the party tonight, they wasted no time getting to what they want to do like visiting their friends… along with also finding the missing horses. They’re hoping he didn’t run off into the forest, because it would be near impossible to find them out there, not that they have to worry about that. After a scare by a Wampus Cat several years, they never went out into the woods again without human company. And luckily, the stables are inside the tavern, so being behind double security helps too.

            The two of them reached the outskirts, which were scattered rows of houses and huts, and began walking around, calling out the names of the horses. The tallest building in Teria is the Judgment Ray tavern thanks to the tower, but the biggest has to go to the Aesir estate on top of the hill. Every other Romanesque-style building in town isn’t no more than 2 or 3 stories high.

            “Loweeeeeeell!” Adi called out into the air. “Ethaaaaaal! Ugh, where could those animals have run off too? We know they can’t enter the woods out of fear, so that limits his hiding spots.”

            “I want to know who let him out.” Req commented back with her hands behind her head. “The stables are on the inside, so there’s no way anyone could’ve gotten to them without causing a ruckus.”

            “Maybe dad forgot to lock the door or something.” Adi suggested. “And I don’t remember there being any travelers staying last night, so it couldn’t have been a thief. And Teria is a big place- they could’ve run off to one of the other stables.”

            “Hopefully.” Req said, but she feels that a monster may’ve gotten to them. One could’ve followed them home from their escapade in the ruins. She looked up towards the Aesir estate up on the hill and frowned. She didn’t want to run the risk of running into Noah… but she is worried about Jessica. If last night is anything to go by, she’s going to have a rough time. “So… who should we check in on first? You wanna go chat up Rubi or head straight up to the estate to look in on Jess?”

            “Hmm… decisions, decisions, decisions… hmmmmmmmm…” He thought long and hard about it.

            Req exhaled in contention, placing her hands on her hips as she stared at him with a deadpan look in her eyes. “We’re choosing who to see first- it should not be that hard for you to decide, Mr. Genius.” She lowered her head and slowly shook it. “You know what; we’re pressed for time, so let’s just split up. Its better than standing here, doing nothing. Besides, we could find the horses a lot quicker that way.”

            “Ok.” He started walking off. “I’ll go check on Rubi then.” He was a few feet away when he was grabbed on the head by Req and forcibly turned around. “What?”

            “I’LL go check on Rubi; Sopa won’t be back until his celebration tonight, so that’s one fight that won’t happen. However, I can’t go up to the estate- I don’t want to risk running into Noah up there, especially after what happened last night, so that is a fight that I want to avoid.” He moved his shoulders in agreement. “So YOU will go check on Jess.” She walked pass him. “Tell Jess I said hey.” She called back with a back wave.

            “Fine.” He turned and headed up towards the manor up on the hill. “Though I don’t think Noah is at the estate today, genius.” He quipped.  

 

            Within a few minutes, Req had made it to Rubi’s place- a small single-story house situation near a pond, a pond that Sopa’s family has had complete ownership over since 70 years ago, when they traveled over from a eastern country to get away from a rampaging monster. They charge money whenever summer rolls around to swim in the pond, which works alright for everyone since there is a lake out near the tavern that is free. Nowadays, it’s only Sopa and his sister Rubi that live here, ever since their parents died a few years ago.

            She reached the house and knocked on the door. It was still kind of early in the day, so maybe Rubi was home. When there wasn’t an answer, she twisted her lips and knocked again, tapping her foot rapidly as she waited impatiently.

            “It’s open…” A raspy voice said from the inside. Concerned, Req walked inside, into a nearly barren house, as far as the hallway was concerned. There were five doors, leading to different rooms- the nearest left was the kitchen while the farthest left was the bathroom. The nearest right opened into the living room while the farthest right was a bedroom. The one in the far back was the master bedroom.

            Req walked into the living room to find Rubi sitting at the table, drawing with colored pencils and crayons while a Great Dane slept by her side. Barely scratching 7 years of age, Rubi is a kind-hearted girl, with hair as red as fire, with eyes to match. She is the exact opposite of her older brother: she abhors violence and tries to avoid conflict, and for good reason. It’s not like she’ll be a part of a fight soon anyway, since she was born with lung problems and a bad throat.

            The dog’s ears perked up as he heard the visitor approach. That got Rubi’s attention, prompting her to look up from her drawings and saw who her visitor was. “Oh, Requiem.” Rubi spoke in the raspy voice. “What brings you here?”

            “I wanted to stop by, see how you were fairing. Eh, sounds like your voice took a nosedive. Did you run out of the syrup?”

            “No. I just woke up and I wanted to finish this drawing.” She picked it up and showed her the drawing that she was making. It was of a dragon chasing after Requiem and Adi, which made the older girl frown. “It’s you and Adi running from the dragon.”

            “… How in blue blazes did you learn about that? It happened only a few hours ago!”

            “Word travels fast in this town, you know that.”

            “I never assumed it was this fast. But that still doesn’t’ explain how you learned of it.”

            Rubi put her drawing back on the table. “My. Gebaly told me when he came by to check on me last night.”

            Req lowered her head and let her arms dangle. “Course he was…” She finished in a deadpan tone. Rubi laughed to herself… which was a bad idea. She suddenly began coughing hard, like she was going to cough up a lung. Req was concerned by this, as was the dog. Her hair stood on end when she saw red mist on that last cough. Thankfully, this didn’t last long, only a few tense seconds. “You ok…?”

            Rubi grunted as she cleared her throat, rubbing it to try and soothe the sore. “I’ll be fine…. Think you can grab the syrup?”

            “Sure.” Req headed over into the kitchen, looking for the bottle it was in.

            “It’s in the bathroom.”

            She exited the kitchen and went down the hall. “My bad.” She said as she passed by. She opened the door and walked in, seeing a long row of bottles full of syrups and tonics. She never saw this before… but then again, she rarely ever sets foot here because of Rubi’s creepy older brother. “Wow. Either Rubi is more messed up then I thought, or these are all Sopa’s.” At which point, she felt sorry for him… for a second. 

            She knew the bottle she was looking for- she was there when the doctor made it for her. It’s a see-through yellow with a flower on the front. The syrup is made from natural tree sap mixed with vinegar and honey. The key ingredient to this concoction is flowers. 3, in fact, all of which are locally found: Edelweiss, Cornflower, and Love-in-a-Mist. Fun fact: the flower in Req’s ribbons- Cornflowers. The final product is supposed to be a cure-all tonic. It doesn’t cure everything, but it is helping Rubi a whole lot, so there’s not much for complaints.

            “Here it is.” She said as she grabbed the bottle at the end of the shelf. She went back to the kitchen to grab a spoon. She found one that’s the right size and went back into the living room, where Rubi was wiping her mouth. “Got it.” Req said as she sat down on the chair beside her. She popped open the bottle, poured some syrup onto the spoon, and handed it over to Rubi, who gulped it in one go.

            “Agh!’ Rubi coughed as she held her hand to her mouth. “Ugh… blegh… I can never get used to that taste.” She coughed again, almost getting nauseous from it. Why can’t medicine taste good? “Rgh… bleh…” She set the spoon down on the table and rubbed her throat. After a few seconds of that, she grunted as she felt the medicine start to take effect. “Ugh… every time, I can never get used to it.” She spoke in a clear, rasp-less voice.

            “Good to hear that voice again.” Req commented with a smile.

            “Glad to have it back… temporary as it is.” Rubi said somberly as she looked at her drawings. She shook her head, seeing no reason to be dismal now over something out of her control. “How are things?”

            “Good…. Except I have to help set up for that stupid party for Sopa. I have to leave for River City in about an hour…. Assuming we can find the horses. Something spooked them off last night.”

            She tilted her head, wondering how that was possible with the stables where they were. “Spooked them off? But the stables are inside, aren’t they?”

            “Yeah, they are, which makes this all the more confusing.”

            “It sure is.” Rubi tapped her fingers on the table. She knows what she is about to ask is a sensitive subject, but she needed to ask. This does involve her too, to a degree. “How’s Jessica doing, by the way? I haven’t seen her since…”

            “Since your brother took advantage of her?” Req harshly scolded.

            Rubi sucked in her lips. It’s sad to say that that is what happened with her brother- it is really awkward to talk about because of it, because people don’t want to hurt her feelings, as unavoidable as it is thanks to the subject matter. “…….. well……. You’re regrettably not far off.”    

            Req slowly shook her head. “I don’t know how she is. I never had a chance to talk to her last night. She spent most of it in the bathroom, vomiting up everything she ate that day.”

            Rubi winced, feeling sorry for her. “Ouch… poor Jess…” She sighed. She closed her hands into fists, angry that he isn’t doing anything about this. “I hope Adrian will step up and be responsible for this… but I guess I’d be asking too much, aren’t i?”

            “More or less, yeah…”

            Things got awkward and sad really quick. That is not how either of them wanted it to go. Sorely needing a subject change, Rubi got up off the floor and tugged down on her skirt. “Well, let’s go find those horses.” On cue, the dog got up off the floor and stretched and yawned.

            Req, on the other hand, was adamant not wanting to bring her. She can go outside, to be sure, but with her condition, she shouldn’t help looking for horses. “Wait, what? No no no. you’re still sick.”

            Rubi rolled her eyes, not really caring about that. “I’ve been sick since birth. Getting some fresh air isn’t going to kill me.”

            Req exhaled sharply as she rubbed the back of her neck. As if things weren’t awkward enough already, now she was to risk Sopa’s anger by endangering her sister when she shouldn’t. “Fine…… but don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Rubi smiled as she walked out from behind the table, following Req as they headed towards the door. “Let’s go get Adi, then. He should be up at the estate, checking on Jess.”

            “Adi’s here?” Rubi responded with a cheer in her voice and a excited skip in her step. She soon doubled back on her reaction and awkwardly coughed. “Un, not that I care that Adi is here. I could… care less.” She tapped her fingers together as she subtlety blushed and lifted a hand to hide it. Req soundly laughed to herself, remembering when she was in that ‘refusing love’ situation when she was young. Her mind turned to Aura as she wondered what he was doing.

 

            “Hrrrraaa!”

            A wooden pole wielded by Aura struck against a wooden sword wielded by his brother Michel. The two of them stood in the middle of a small, barren arena that rested in the yard. Watching from the sidelines were their four other brothers and sisters- the girls Gryff and Emia, and the boys Hans and Anders, along with the servants of the house. The only one missing is Jessica, for obvious reasons. Michel is the oldest out of all of them at 19 years of age. Aura is behind him at 18- a year older then Requiem. Next came the triplets Gryff, Hans, and Jessica at 16- with Gryff being the oldest and Jess the youngest among the three of them-, then Emia at 14. Anders is the last one of the siblings at 10. Every time the two of them sparred, they took bets on whoever would win, and this one was too close to count.

            Adi heard the sounds of fighting when he was approaching the estate and went around back to see what all of the hub-bub was about. “Wow. And I thought Aura practicing with Requiem was intense.” He commented as he walked over to the crowd.

            “This is more rough than usual.” One of the servants commented. “Ser Aura must be pretty mad about the Sopa situation.”

            “Can you blame him?” Anders said. “I want kick that jerks butt myself.”

            “Get in line.” The rest of the siblings said in unison.

            The door behind them opened and Jessica came out in her pajama’s, groggy and disheveled. “ugh…” she groaned.

            “Look who’s up.” Gryff said when she looked over.

            “Shut up…” Jess moaned as she plopped her face into her knees.

            “Bad night?” Adi asked.

            “Very… I couldn’t get any sleep last night. I kept tossing and turning- not being able to sleep on my front for the next 9 months is going to be a real pain.” She grunted a groan. “Ugh… next time I see Sopa, I’m gonna kick his ass.”

            “We’ll help.” Anders smirked. “And I think we should let Aura take first crack at it.” He pointed over to the fight.

            Aura pushed Michel back, leaped up several feet into the air, spun the wooden lance, and swung back down, almost getting him on the shoulder, but Michel dodged to the left, flipped his wooden blade backwards, and hit Aura in the gut with the grip. Aura spit up… eh, spit as air escaped from his lungs. Despite this setback, Aura grabbed his brother’s hand and pulled back, flipping him over himself and onto his front.

            The observers winced. “Ooooh… that’s brutal.” Emia said.

            “You can say that again.”

            Aura panted as he wiped spit from his mouth. Michel whined with winced teeth as he got onto his knees, rubbing the hand that Aura had pulled back. “Ow… that hurt like hell…” He waved it to hopefully dull the pain.

            “Sorry.” Aura said. “I got carried away.” He offered his hand to pick him up. Michel took it with his non-hurting hand and got onto his feet.  He tossed his wooden staff over to the wall and did the same for Michel’s wooden sword. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I can be brutal in a fight if monsters ever come.”

            “Then take your anger out on them.” Michel grunted as he continued to rub his hand. “Or on Sopa when he comes back.”

           

            Aura snickered to himself. The two began to walk over towards the crowd and saw two newcomers: Jess and Adi. Ok, Jess isn’t much of a surprise, but he wasn’t expecting Adi to come by today. “Adi?” He asked. “What are you doing here?”

            “Hello to you too.” Adi said. “And you work fast, going from what I can assume is a active sleepover…” Aura looked away to hide his shame. Michel snickered and playfully elbowed him in the chest. “…to a very brutal training regimen.”

            “Michel insisted, said he needed to work out some of the kinks.”

            “Oh, thanks for throwing me under the cart.”

            “Anyway… our horses are missing. Either someone stole them or a monster scared them enough to bust down the lock. Either way, they’re gone and we’re looking for them… up until we split up so she could go check on Rubi. I wanted to do that, but she didn’t want to risk encountering Noah.”

            Aura grabbed a towel from one of the seats and wiped his head. The spar took more out of him then he thought. “I can’t blame her. Dad is still fuming from last night, so avoiding him for the day was a good idea.”

            “Also, she won’t be able to practice with you today. Dad has us busy, preparing for the celebration. She’s being sent to River City to pick up some supplies once we find the horses, and after she gets home, it’s right off to work. She’s gonna make some rolls.”

            “Ooooooooh…. Yummy!” Emia squealed with her tongue sticking out. “She makes the best ones.” Everyone nodded in agreement, barely able to keep their hunger in check. The sweets Req makes are just… oooo, they are just divine. “She really should open up a bakery or something, because the stuff she makes is just heavenly.”

            “Soooo much sooo…” Jess cooed with hunger.

            “Hey, you finally expressed interest in food.” Gryff pointed out. “Morning sickness period over?”

            “No, it is not. They just sound good.” She clapped her hands onto her knees before getting up out of the chair. “Well, Adi, let’s go find those horses.”

            “Wait, what?” Aura asked. “Are you sure you should in your condition?”

            “Aura, I’m pregnant, not crippled. I have been losing my breakfast, lunch, and dinner for over 2 weeks now. I need to do something else before I go stircrazy from being cooped up in here all the time.” Aura was really hesitant on letting her leave the house in the condition she was in. He was fiercely overprotective of her, even back when they were kids. “Besides, I’ll be fine. We’re just looking for horses, not marching off into battle. And I’ll be fine as long as I got Adi here.” She put her arm around him, which made him blush by proxy.

            Aura rubbed the back of his neck, feeling more and more unsure about letting her go. He can’t say no to her; she’ll just defy him and do what she wants. It’s that rebellious nature that got her into this predicament to begin with- he warned her about Sopa, but she didn’t listen.

But ultimately, he’s not the one to make the decision. He’s not the eldest.

            “I got no problems with that.” Michel said. He put a hand on her shoulder to emphasize this point, “Just remember to let Req do the fighting if you encounter any monsters. Got it?”

            Jess won’t argue with that- she’s always been weak in strength, and she is carrying precious cargo this time. Besides, Req’s always been surprisingly strong for someone her age and build.. “Yeah, I know, I know.”  She looked down at her clothes. “Eh, can’t go searching in ragged pajamas.” She looked to Adi. “Be right back.” She said before heading back inside to change into something more decent.

            Aura looked away for a moment. He couldn’t help but to protest this- he feels that this was a bad idea. “I don’t like that she is going out in her condition.” He said. “What if she gets hurt and l--”

            “Don’t even finish that sentence.” Hans demanded.

            “She’s going to go no matter what you say.” Emia said as she got up out of her seat. “She’s always been free spirited, you know that. And the chance of her running into a monster in the middle of town is looooooow. Come to think of it, there haven’t been any high monster sightings for months now. She’ll be safe. You just need to lighten up.” Aura looked away from her, knowing that she was right.

            Minutes later, Jessica returned, dressed in a stylish purple sundress with a floral pattern on the skirt. “How do I look?” She chuckled as she spun around. She got approvals and thumbs up all around… except from a worried Aura. Rather than argue with him about this yet again, she walked on pass while booping him on the nose. “Lighten up, buttercup.” She giggled. “Let’s go, Adi.”

 

            After some time, the horse and its brief new rider arrived on the outskirts of Teria, right near the tavern. He read the horses memory again to confirm that this was where he came from. It was, and the girl frequents this place a lot. By the looks of her outfit in some of the memories, she works here.

            The stranger got off the horse and looked at the place. “Hmm… I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tower for an inn before.” He grabbed his item and placed it on his back. He walked along the woods edge and saw the name on a hanging sign. “Judgment Ray… now that is a strange name for a tavern.” He moved his sight towards the town proper. “Hmm… seems they never returned to the old ways and are now living the old medieval way.” He raised an eyebrow when he saw what was in the center of town. “What the… why is… why is a Mayan temple in the center of town? I’ll have to talk to Hunahpu about this..,”

He walked along the edge of the woods, around to the back of the tavern. He saw the corpse of a very large dragon out back, being carved up to be served by what he assumes are cooks. “They eat dragon meat? Things really have gone backwards if they’ve resorted to that. Shame- I really liked the old stuff.”

            He placed his hands in the pockets of his cloak, wondering how he was going to play this. He looked back to the horses and saw that it had followed him. “Wh—you need to get back to your owner.” He grabbed the horse’s reins and pulled him over. “Time for you to head home.” He took only a few steps before he saw someone walk out of the back of the tavern, carrying a few sizeable platters for the others to put the carved meat on. The way he was dressed made him believe that this was the owner. “That must be your owner. Well, I’d best tell him the bad news.” He headed on over to him.

 

Before the stranger sent the horse away by accident, the two groups of Requiem & Rubi, and Adolphus & Jessica, were searching all over the village for signs of the missing horses. They searched high and low for the steers and asked a lot of people, but ultimately, they came up empty handed.

With nothing more to do, Jess and Adi had retired to the bazaar that encircled the temple and got a couple of drinks from one of the vendors and sat at one of the many tables nearby. A mixture of stalls and buildings- with the stalls and vendors being the closest to the temple-, there is nothing you can’t find here, from food to… special items. A single stick of cinnamon stuck out of Jess’ mouth as she rested her head on her hand. Adi had chugged down the last of his drink and wiped his mouth just as Req and Rubi arrived.

“Well, good to see you out and about.” Req said to Jess as she approached the table.

“I needed to get out of the house.” She replied, the stick bouncing up and down. Rubi sat down beside Adi and gave him goggly eyes, which made him awkwardly look away. He would try to get out of his seat the other way, but the large dog was sitting there with its tongue hanging out. He’s seen that dog mad and he does not want to take that risk. “Between morning sickness and a overprotective Aura, I needed a break.”

Req lightly smiled with a smirk. “I can’t argue with you there. I remember when Mom was having Adi. She did not have a good first few weeks either.”

Few weeks? As in a lot longer than now? Jess groaned as she hit her head on the table, making the cups bounce. “Ugh… I am going to kill Sopa first chance I get.”

“I got a sword you can borrow.” Req replied with a joking sneer as she sat down. “So I’m guessing you two had no luck finding the steeds either.”

“Nope.” Adi chimed in. “We looked as long as we could.” He put his cup down. “I think it is safe to say that they ran off into the woods.”

Req promptly hit her head on the table, making his cup bounce off it and onto the ground. “Ugh, just my luck. Noah makes us throw a celebration for Sopa, and the day has barely begun before something goes wrong.”

“You could just rent horses from another stable.” Jess reassured. “You’ll be able to get to River City somehow. And I hope so too, because those rolls Adi said you were going to make sound like the only thing I’ll be able to keep down.”

Req lifted up her head, which still continued to rest on the table, and looked over at the empty glass she must’ve drank out of. “Yet you were able to keep down a Orange Julius.”

“Barely.”

Adi placed his cup on the table before getting up off the ground and wiping off his left knee. “You still drank it without vomiting. That’s a good sign.”

“Until something makes me lose it.”

Req rolled her eyes and shook her head while she grunted a sigh. Today is just going to suck, she knows it. If not Sopa’s ill-gotten celebration, then lord forbid something else. She pressed her hands on the table and pushed her head off of it. “Well… no sense putting it off. We better go tell dad the horses ran into the woods.”

“He’s not going to like that.” Rubi finally said as the pooch helped her off the chair.

“I know.”

 

The group of four—er, five, returned to the tavern after Req and Rubi got a couple of chicken legs to go and the dog a treat. They were starving themselves and needed a quick eat. Req and Adi were mentally trying to figure out how they were going to break the news gently that all of their horses may be monster chow.

That surprised them was seeing John hitching up the horse the stranger brought back, plus one other he was forced to rent from a neighbor. The two of them recognized the horse well enough. “Lowell?!” The both of them shouted in unison before running over.

John heard their surprised yelps and looked back to see the two of them running up, with Rubi, Jessica, and the dog walking not far behind. “There you two are.” He said to them as they stopped near the horse. “I was just about to send Vill out to find you.”

Req went straight to the point. “Dad, when did Lowell get back?”

“Some time ago. He was brought back by a out-of-towner. He says he found Lowell near the ruins, being chased by a Drud who ate the other three horses for lunch before he killed the monster. He brought Lowell back, and without prospect of a reward, too.”

“Wait, only Lowell is alive?” Adi asked. John promptly nodded back, causing Adi to lower his head. “Aw man… not Daisy… I liked that horse. She didn’t kick me off.”

Req walked back around the wagon and patted him on the shoulder in a attempt to comfort him. “So where’s this stranger now?”

“He asked where the bathroom was before running in.”

Rubi snorted a joke as she smirked. “When you gotta go, you gotta go.” She joked. Req and Adi giggled along, while Jess was less then enthused.

 

“You see her, don’t you?”

The stranger looked out of the window of the bathroom with the curtains mostly closed to hide him, down to the group that had gathered below. He sat on the sink while he used the item to keep the door from being open. His eyes focused on the silver blue-haired girl. She has to be the one they are all looking for.

“{She does bare an uncanny resemblance to her.}” The female voice he had spoken to earlier replied. “{Who are those with her?}”

“Her friends and family, I would assume.” He watched Requiem run inside to go grab something. “It has been a long time since we last saw her, so naturally she would try to assimilate with whatever local customs she would come across.”

“{Not the way I would’ve put it, but alright. But you need to be certain it’s her. We thought he last one was her because they had the same hair color. How were we supposed to know she dyed it?}”

He rubbed his eyes as he tried desperately to forget that day. “Can we not bring that up again, Krouze? I have bad enough nightmares as it is.”

“{Sorry. But we need to be absolutely certain before we can do anything.}”

The stranger looked away from the outside world for a moment.  “And the fact that Catalyst is also after this same girl isn’t setting off any confirmation bells in your brain?”

That made her quiet up. “{…. Shutting up.}”  

 

Requiem returned outside a few moments later, with a small cutlass with a scabbard strapped to the back of her hip. “Ok, so what do you need me to get at River City, dad?” She asked as she finished strapping on the belt.

“Just ask Hans for them. He should have them loaded up in a crate by now.”

Req put the last loop in and pulled on the belt to tighten it up. “Alright.” She walked over to the driver’s side and saw Jessica sitting up on the bench as well. She gave a smile and a cheerful wave.  “What the?! No, no, absolutely not.”

She didn’t even ask yet, and she’s already being told no? That’s it- she is gonna send Sopa to an early grave. “Oh, come on!”

“I’m in enough hot water with Noah already. Can you imagine how he’d act if he found out his pregnant daughter went to River City with the one person he hates more than anything? I’m pretty sure he’ll banish me from the town if he finds out.”

“It’s a simple supply run. We’ll be there and back inside of an hour, and if any monsters come a-knocking, I know you’ll send them packing.”

“You know you’ll never win this argument, Req.” Rubi said from below.

Req didn’t want to do this. She REEEEALLY didn’t want to do this, but she knows Jessica better then she knows herself. If she said no, she knows Jess would find some way to sneak back onto the wagon and come along anyway. She slammed her head down on the headrest, annoyed by this. At the very least, she’s early enough to where she can still run without problems if any monsters appear. “uuuugh… fine. I know better then to argue with you.” Req climbed up onto the seat and grabbed the reins. “But first sign of any monsters, I’m turning this thing around and bringing you back. Got it?”

Jess grunted a sigh, knowing that this was going to be her life for the next 9 months, and boy, it feels like it’s already going to suck big time. “Yeah. Fine. Whatever. Got it.” She rested her head on her hand.

Req looked at the two kids. She knows Adi can’t come because of his roles for today, and there is absolutely no way she is bringing Rubi in her condition. Unlike Jessica, who can still do some basic things in her condition like running and jumping, Rubi can’t do any of those things as sick as she is. “I’ll be back in a hour, you two, so be sure to play nice while I’m gone.”

Adi looked at her with lidded eyes. Why must she always be like this? “A ha ha ha… such a terrible jokester. A ha ha.” He jumped up and hit Lowell on the rear, making him, and later his temporary companion, to rear back and whinny before running off without warning… while tearing off the spoke, leaving the two girls horseless and the wagon broken. Everyone glared over to Adi, who felt bad and sank into his shirt.  

“……………. Whoops.”

                                                                                                       

5: Chapter 4: A Krak-en River City

Chapter 4

A Krak-en River City

8/14/2210 A.D. – 8/14/200 A.W. (After War)

 

 

 

            Founded 130 years ago by a ex-sailor with a penchant for craziness, River City is, for the local area, bizarre. The city is almost completely built on platforms raised over the river Spree, which had increased in size, making it as wide as New York’s Central Park. Not that far away was an opening to the wide open Baltic Sea, which was expanded exponentially after the Scarring. Both platforms and pillars are made entirely out of oak. The layout of the city was that of a bridge, crossing the mighty river from the west bank to the east. Two rows of buildings line the bridge, serving as the main hub for the town. On both banks were more buildings- houses, restaurants, and food stalls.

            On the western-most part of the platforms was the destination for our heroine, the tavern her father had sent her to, the Orca. It was built 33 years ago by yet another disgruntled old fisherman. There is a theme to this town, if you hadn’t picked it up.

 

            Dishes clattered in the sink in the back of Orca, the tavern of River City where John had sent Requiem to obtain the supplies for the celebration tonight. Save for the cook/tavern keeper, who was washing said dishes by hand, there was only one other patron passed out drunk at the bar who had been there since last night.

            The door to the tavern opened up. A pair of spiked spurs came walking in, belonging to someone who clearly was not from around here. The lad in question was dressed up like a cowpoke from the old Wild West days, complete with a brown poncho, a same color fedora. Blue jeans, a yellow vest and a blue shirt, and the aforementioned spurs. Two holsters hung off his sides, holding two six-shooter revolvers.

            Following him was a pair of animal companions- a cooper hawk with the colorations of a bald eagle, and a timber wolf with a ice-blue coat and white underbelly.

            The animals went off to find a corner to curl up and take a nap in while their owner walked over to the bar and sat down, weary from walking as long as he did. “Whew…” he grunted as he placed the fedora on the counter, revealing he had sky-blue hair tied up in a ponytail.

            The owner walked out from the kitchen, wiping off a glass with a washtowel. He noticed the newcomer and got a little timid. The way he was dressed- he was not from around here. He could be dangerous. But, he was barely 20 years old, near as he can tell, yet the way he carried himself and the look in his eyes- he has seen some things. “What can I get for you, newcomer?” He said with a false positive.

            “Gimme the strongest thing you gave.” The boy replied. His voice carried with in a baritone that was soothing, yet had the mark of experience behind it. Whoever this is, he’s seen some stuff. “And maybe something for them.” He pointed back to his animals.

            “Un… animals aren’t allowed in here. They will need to wait outside.”

            The boy brushed it off and gestured to them. “Fenrir, Cobalt, you heard him.” The wolf scoffed as he got back up and headed out the door. The bird landed on his back, feeling smug about not moving for a while and letting him do all the work. “Better?”

            “Somewhat.” The barkeep replied before grabbing a bottle of the strongest stuff he had. “You aren’t from around here, are you?”

            “Nope.”

            “I figured as much.” He finished pouring and gave the glass to the boy, who drank it in one gulp. The barkeep raised his eyebrows in astonishment- he’s never seen anyone chug all that down so quickly. The boy asked for a refill and he obliged. “Where are you from?”

            “Across the sea.”

            “From Ericano? Wow… that is a LONG boat ride, to be sure.” He passed another drink to him. “So what brought you all this way? Nobody crosses half the world on a whim.”

            He chugged it down again. “I’m looking for someone.” He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a picture. “Have you seen anyone who looks like her around here?”

            The barkeep took a good look at the image- it showed the boy and the animals with a little girl- couldn’t be more then 8 years old, with thick purple hair and a white lily braided in. “Mmm… can’t say I have.”       

            The boy sighed as he put his drink down. “Crud…” He put the image away.

            “The world is a big place. You could’ve just started your search in the wrong place.”

            “Maybe…” the boy sighed as he chugged down another drink.

 

            Having recovered Lowell, and obtained a spare wagon from the storeroom and borrowed a horse from one of their neighbors, Requiem and Jessica were well on their way to River City, traveling down the well-worn road between the two towns. A light breeze washed through, making the branches sway. Req was chewing on a piece of turkey jerky, as was Jess, who is actually keeping this down, surprisingly.

            Req looked up and saw a few pedals floating around, having been caught in the breeze itself. “Pretty day.” She commented before taking another bite.

            “Too bad it has to end with a party for that sniveling jerk.” Jessica harshly growled, biting into hers.

            “We could always be party poopers.” Req snickered with a evil sneer, already getting deliciously evil ideas on what to do to the jerk. “I’m sure a lot of people would love to see him fall face first into that dead dragon’s rear end.”

            Jessica giggled to herself, picturing that in vivid detail. “That would be pretty funny. And fitting to that jerkweasel.” She took yet another bite. She only took one bite before resting her head on the rest behind her. “And to think… 3 weeks ago, I actually admired the prick for his strength. How could I be so stupid?”  

            Req did not answer that question, because she knows that was a loaded gun. Jessica is sweet, but often times, she can be gullible. It’s not her fault, the poor dear- it’s not her fault that most of the traveling salesmen have silver tongues, but so did Sopa too. Rather than let this spiral into a depression, she spun it around into something positive.  “Well, at least you’ll have a cute baby bump.”

            “True, I guess. And I can still kick his arse before I start showing.”

            “I’ll hold him back, all the same. I want to get a few kicks in myself. And you still have the rest of your family to help.”

            “I know.” She lifted her head off the rest. “And I also got you, Adi, Rubi- pretty much the entire town.”

            “Except his fan club.”

            Jess scoffed as she looked away. “Don’t even get me started on those losers. Talk about no life.”

            “Can’t win ‘em all over.”

            Jessica put the last of the jerky into her mouth and ate it up. She swallowed as she crossed her fingers over the other on top of her stomach. This trip was in desperate need of a subject change. She had the perfect one, which is what she wanted to talk with Req and the others about anyway.  “… I had that dream again last night.”

            “Again?” Req replied. For the last few months now, Jess had been having these strange dreams. They started out all blurry and faded out, but as time passed, the images began to clear up more and more. The fact that they are always the same have lead some people in town to believe she has some sort of vision ability locked away inside. Teria was said to have been see into the future, so it would make sense for a descendent to have that same ability. “Were you able to see what it was about this time?”

            “I think so.” She closed her eyes to see what she could recall. “Mmm… yeah, I see the warrior standing on the edge of a cliff with the flowing hair and the sun facing towards it. He or she was facing down the unknown glowing eyes again that blocked out the light with darkness. And then I woke up.” She opened up her eyes.

            Req leaned forward, placing her head in her hand, with the connected elbow resting on her thigh. “I wish I knew. My best guess is that the warrior is fighting some… THING and that thing is not alone.”

         Jess sighed as she hung her right arm over the side of the wagon. “What if the rumors are right and I’m having visions of the future? They’re too consistent and samey to be dreams. And Great-Grandfather was said to see into the future- what if I have it too?”

            “Then hope that whatever that fight is takes place on the OOOOOOOOOther side of the world or long after we are gone. And last I heard, Teria couldn’t see that far into the future. He could only see, what, 40 seconds ahead on a good day? Great for battles and getting a sneak peak on how a date is going to go, but I can’t think of much else it could be used for.”

             “I suppose your right…” She looked to Req. “But that’s if these are actually visions and not me going crazy.”

         “Well on the bright side, you won’t get any surprise nightmares, like being swallowed by quicksand or chased by a giant whoever.”

         Jess chuckled. “True.” She looked over to Req, who was taking a drink from a water bottle, and snickered. Time to turn this talk about what-ifs into something more fun. “And if I can see into the future… I could see when Aura pops the question.” Req spit out her water like a fountain, drenching the back end of the horse in front of her. “Maybe it will be romantic. Or maybe spur of the moment. Ooo, I could also see how many kids you two would have--” Req put her hand over Jess’ mouth to stop her from talking about this any further. She pulled it away in a grunt when Jess bit it. “Someone’s anxious.”

         “It’s a bit early to be thinking about that, isn’t it?” Req sheepishly asked, shaking her hand. “I mean, we’re just friends.”

         Jess snorted a chortle, not believing that for a second. “Last night, you called him your boyfriend in front of our father. And I have seen you two kissing whenever Noah wasn’t around.” Requiem blushed profusely. “And don’t play coy with this- I know you two have late-night rendezvous’. I’ve seen him leaving home and making a straight beeline to your place.” She gave a knowing wink with a sly snigger. “You two are terrible at keeping secrets.” Completely embarrassed, Req looked away to hide how red her face had turned. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but for Aura’s birthday, didn’t you two--”

         “OOOOOOOKAY…” Req burst out loudly, scaring away a few birds. She sheepishly whimpered as she lowered her head between her shoulders in a hunch. Her face became as red as a raddish. “Discussion is permanently over. Let’s… continue driving in silence and… talk no more.” Jessica burst out laughing as she kicked her legs in the air- she had never see her this embarrassed in all the years they’ve known each other and it is a riot. She so needed this.

         Unbeknownst to the two girls, they were being followed. Two things trailed behind them, both invisible to the naked eye. One was simply a floating eyeball with tentacles- known as a Oculus, with the other was a magic crystal. Both projected sight and sound across the land, back to their respective owners- the Oculus to the black cloaked scoundrel from the ruins, and the crystal to the traveling gentleman at the Judgment Ray.

 

         Elsewhere…

 

         “Do you think this works?”

         A young girl barely 14 years old age with striking purple hair and amber eyes walked out from behind a curtain, rocking a brand new outfit she had just tried on. She had on a short brown tanktop with a triangular hole on the top, plain leather gloves and boots, a white tattered scarf singley wrapped around her neck, a leather combat skirt modeled after the ancient Greeks and Romans, and red bicycle shorts underneath that. A pair of large yellow rings hung off the skirt.

         The dressing room next to her opened up and another girl walked on out, this one edging onto 21 years of age. This woman had hair as brown as the dirt, and had the same amber eyes as the other. She had on a leather guard that exposed her shoulders and chest, the same brand of leather boots, a leaf green cape, a single brown wristband on her right wrist, a same color bracer on her left,  and a grass green skirt. On her back hung a quick with a full stock of arrows, and between the quiver and her back was a short sword barely 2 feet in length.

         The brown haired girl looked at the purple haired one and was a bit taken aback by how she looked. “Um… it looks good, but aren’t you a little bit too… exposed?”

         “Exposed?” The girl looked herself over. “I think it suits me. Gives me a lot of room to dodge and maneuver.”

         “Um…………… ok. If you say so. I know better than to argue with you.” On the wall between the rooms was a hunter’s bow with a green grip. The brown haired girl grabbed it and put it on her back.

         The purple haired girl finished tying a braid in her hair, to the side of her right eye. She looked at the outfit her companion was wearing and saw flaws in it as well. “And are you sure this is going to work for you?” She asked.

         “Well, all I do is fire arrows from a distance. The only time I move is when I dodge.”

         “I wasn’t talking about that. I don’t think that thing is made to stretch, and you are going to be huge in a few months.”

         The brown haired girl looked down at her new attire and put a hand over her 5 month pregnant belly. She won’t lie; it did make it difficult to put on the leather piece- that’s why she got several bigger sizes to go with it. At least these come with straps to loosen as the months go on. “… Leather stretches, right? Besides, we need to look the part. That loser won’t recognize us in these outfits.”

         “I hope so.” The girls went back into their dressing rooms and grabbed their old, fancy clothes. They stuffed them into their knapsacks, all the way down to the bottom before putting the rest of their supplies in.

         Before heading up to the counter to pay for their new clothes, the brown haired girl pulled a map off the counter and unfurled it for the both of them to look at. “So where do we try first?”

         “Hmm… Well, we want to be as far away as we can. So… as far east as we can go? Like, here?” She pointed to a area on the map, in the region of Reoski, formally the country of Russia. “I heard dad mention that this place was cold, so maybe that’ll keep the idiot at bay?”

         “And it will be winter by the time we get there…” She rubbed her belly, worried how this will affect her unborn daughter. “Though I’m nervous about being in the cold when I have her.”

         “Ahem.” The purple-haired girl lit a fire on the tip of her fingers. “Hello? I have instant heat waiting in the wing. We won’t be cold and neither will she.” She rolled up the map and lightly bonked her on the head with it. “We’ll be fine. Promise.” She got up off the floor and helped her sister up.

         The brown haired girl walked up to the counter, pulling her purse out of her knapsack. “How much for the clothes?” She asked the cashier.

         “1200 gold coins.”
         “Pbbt. That’s cheap.” The purple haired girl laughed.

         “It was back when we had money. But we have to be frugal now.”

         “Yeah yeah yeah.”

         The brown haired girl rolled her eyes before putting the money on the counter. She also grabbed the map her sister was holding and placed it on the counter. “Also, do you know the quickest route to get to here?” She unfurled it and pointed to the same area her sister did.

         The cashier leaned over as he was picking up the money. “To Moscow? Fastest route would be to take the boat to the nearest port and just walk from there, but if money is tight for you two… well, it’s still summer, so you should make it before winter if you walk.”

         “Hmm… well, guess we have to walk then. We won’t have any money to afford a boat ride.” She grabbed the map and began to rolling it up.

         While he tends to remain impartial to everything that comes through his shop, he has to comment as this is the first time he’s seen a pregnant traveler. “Are you sure you should be traveling in your condition?”

         She finished rolling up the map and put it in her knapsack. “You’re not the first to ask me that, but we planned for that. My sister is a sage and has put so many protection spells on me, I don’t think I’ll even get a scratch from a paper cut. And I don’t really have much of a choice in the matter.” She put her pack on her back. “We sure as hell aren’t going home.”

         “Ok. ok. I wasn’t trying to make a scene. I was just asking a question. I won’t pry any further.”

         “Come on now.” The purple haired girl whined as she slid past. “I’m starving and I want to get something to eat before we leeeeeave.”

         The eldest looked at their funds. She winced when she saw that this trip ate up a lot of cash. They still had enough to get them from here to Moscow, but she didn’t want to risk it. Once they run out, they’re out for good. They need to play this smart, but she was hungry too. “Ah… maybe a quick bite to eat. Maybe something to go.” She closed up her wallet. “But remember to be frugal.”

         “Yeah, of course, now let’s move it alreaddyyyyyy.” The eldest rolled her eyes. She walked out first, with her sister behind her. The shopkeep took notice of a single wisp of black smoke coming out of the youngest’s arm.

         The two of them departed the clothing shop located on the eastern most edge of a city perched up on stilts over a deep and blue river and headed towards a food stand located on the bank…

 

         …and on the western-most side of River City, a pair of friends had just arrived at the Orca tavern to pick up supplies for the celebration tonight. The wagon rolled up to the stables, where it came to a stop, barely getting the attention of a slumbering wolf and bird pair.

         Req grabbed the reins and slid off the seat. “That went faster then expected.” She commented before wrapping the reins around the post.

         “Speak for yourself.” Jess moaned as she carefully slid off her side. “I forgot how much I hate wagon rides… my butt feels like jelly.”

         “That’s a bit of an overexaggeration.”

         “No, it’s a complete-geration.”

         “That doesn’t even make any sense.” She grimaced before kicking a bucket over to Jess. It rolled up to her feet, which forced her to pick it up. “I’m not going to become part of a prolonged comedy routine. Give the horses some water, will ya? I’ll go check in and grab the stuff.”      She walked past the slumbering hound and foul and went inside.

         Jessica mocked her, filling up the bucket with water from the trough. Once that was full, she set it down in front of Lowell, who proceeded to drink out of it. She grabbed another bucket and went back to the trough. This time, she sensed someone coming up behind her. She could hear the footsteps as they made their way to her from her left. Her mind raced, speeding towards the worst case scenario: a repeat, as unlikely as it is. She kept about her business to lure this potential enemy into a false sense of security and then…

         “Excuse me, mi--”

         She whipped around, slamming the filled bucket on the guys head, then delivered a devastating roundhouse kick to his chest, knocking the breath out of him. He fell over and the bucket fell off of him. That’s when she took notice of who this was. It was a boy around her age.  Everything he wore was black- black shirt, black shoes, black socks, etc etc. Even his hair was black. He was very thin- to the point of scrawniness- and very well dressed and well kept. In his hands were several pamphlets about a play the school children were going to perform.

         “… oops.”

        

         Req went straight towards the bar, pulling out the purse full of money her father gave her before the two of them left. She took notice of the stranger sitting at the bar, but kept her mind focused at the moment. She’ll have time to talk after she gets things squared away.  “Hey, Gestahlt. You in here?”

         The owner came out from the kitchen after hearing her voice, washing a plate. “Ah, Requiem. It’s been far too long since you and your family came to visit.” With nothing to do in this bar but to listen in, the stranger looked over to the two of them. His eyes immediately focused on Req, seeing similarities.  

         “And this place still hasn’t changed.” She wiped her finger on the countertop. “I think this is still the same dust from the last time we visited.”

         She made that same joke several times before. She needs new material. “Ha. Funny…” He replied in a deadpan tone. “So, have you come for the supplies for Sopa’s celebration tonight?”

         “Yep. I have them all ready and waitng… though I wish it wasn’t for that… well, I can’t call him that in front of you. Hard to imagine he could do that and get away with it.”

         “You may as well, because he is that. I want to punch that creep in the face so much, even dragons will go ‘wow, that’s strong’. And that he’ll break orbit.” The stranger took notice of her remarks- his sister was witty like that as well. “Wait, how did you learn of it?

         “I heard about what he did from his entourage when they came through on their way to Ctrom. If you want, I have some rope you can use to hogtie him before giving him his just desserts.”

         “Thanks for the offer, but you’d go on Noah’s ‘hate’ list if you did.” She put the money she was given to pay for the supplies down on the counter. “Well, may as well move this along.”

         “Alright. I’ll go grab what you need.” He took the money and walked into the back.

         Req sat up on the barstool and waited for him to return with the crates. That’s when she finally decided to take note of the stranger, and saw that he was looking between her and a picture in his hands. “Um….. what are you doing? That’s a bit creepy, what you are doing.”

         Giving a sad expression after seeing she wasn’t who he was looking for, he put his photo down on the counter. “I thought you were her… but I was wrong, as usual.”

         “Huh?”

         He realized that he may’ve confused the young lady by his actions. He showed her the picture, hoping at the very least she would know who this is. “I’m looking for my sister. Have you seen anyone who looks like her around here recently?”

         She leaned forward and looked carefully at the image. If the boy in the image is the stranger, then this must’ve been from some time ago.  “She looks cute, but I don’t think so... How long has she been missing? And what’s her name?”

         “Her name is Kyra. And she vanished four years ago. I don’t know how, I don’t know why- all I know is that she has vanished. I’ve been looking for her ever since.”

         “Wow. You must really care for her.” She looked at the image again. “Well… I hate to burst your bubble, but the only Kyra I know is super old. And I never met anyone with purple hair before, so… I don’t think she’s around here.”

         “Crap…” He grunted. He put the photo away and began to drink again.

         “So… do you have a name?”

         “Ashlin, but you can call me Ash for short.” He took another drink. The two of them sat in silence. “So… i gather you don’t like this Sopa chap.”

         “You heard that?”

         “Of course I did. The only other person here is passed out on the counter.” Req looked past him and saw that he was right- there was someone at the bar with his lights out. “So overhearing things is going to be rather easy, intentional or not.”

         “I guess that’s true… and it sounds like his entourage is telling everyone they can, though I’m not sure why. But anyway, you’re right, I do hate Sopa. He is the biggest jerk you would ever meet. He cares only about himself and views others as toys. But what we’re talking about at the moment is how he took advantage of my best friend’s sister, knocked her up, then broke up with her after learning that.”

         “Sounds like a scumbag.”

         “That’s putting it tastefully.”

         “So why is he getting a celebration?”

         “Because, for some reason, our mayor Noah likes him. I’ll keep Noah brief… the man is a crazed lunatic, plain and simple. He called Sopa the son he never had… while having sons of his own.” All of this sounded like fiction to Ash, but he’s heard crazier in his travels. “But yeah, Sopa is getting a celebration because, whoopee, he killed a Emerald Triad. Now we gotta throw another party for him while he and his groupies are all off having their own little celebration in Ctrom, yaaaaay…” She took his drink and chugged down the rest of it. It stung as it went down, making her grunt like a dog and shake her shivering body. “Rrrrrgh… That hit the spot.”

         Ash was more or less astonished by all this. There’s no way this is fake if this is how she is acting. But there is one thing that puzzles him, “Emerald Triad?”

         “A dragon- one of the toughest breeds, too. Scales tough as… well, a emerald, and loves to use poison.” She finished off the last of his drink and burped. Taste and elegance, she does not have. “Ever since one killed our town’s founder- and Noah’s grandfather- long ago, dragons’ aren’t particularly loved in my town. But I still think it’s distasteful to hold a celebration for a sadist just because he killed a tough monster.”

         Ash didn’t know what to say, neither did Gesthalt when he came back with the crates loaded up with the stuff. Instead, the barkeep remained silent as he placed the crates up on the counter. “Wow….” is all Ash said on the matter. Req grabbed one of the crates and, because he is a friendly guy, Ash grabbed the other, which she thanked him for. He saw that it was full of spices and the like. “So… about your friend…”

         “She is not the girl you are looking for. There’s tons of family pictures to prove that. And she is scared, but she has her big family, me, my sister, the jerk’s younger sister, and pretty much the entire town to help her out. We’re that close a community.” He only shrugged, not caring all that much. “Besides, Jessica’s a sweetheart. She wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

 

         Meanwhile, Jessica was trying to resurrect the poor boy she had roundhoused in the chest by flapping a napkin in his face. “Once again, I am so, so sorry.”

         “Ow…” The boy grunted in pain, rubbing where she got him. This is the first time he had ever been kicked. It hurts a lot. “Do you do this… with everyone you meet…? Because I’m sure kicking people in the chest… isn’t nice…” Jess dipped her hand into the bucket, scooping up the last remains of water, and rubbed where she got him  He winced in pain. “Agh… that actually helps a tiny bit…”

         “Again, I am so, so sorry. I shouldn’t have kicked you.” She pulled her hand away and waved it in the air to get the excess water off. “I’m going through a really tough time and it has me on edge.”

         He sat up, puffing in pain. “Yeah, because that’s public knowledge, miss…”

         She wasn’t sure she should tell him, but sooner or later, this boy may learn who she is sometime. Besides, there’s no way what Sopa did could’ve spread all the way here. “Un… Jessica. Jessica Aesir.”

         He stayed silent as he sucked in his lips. The reaction said it all to her: he knows. “… I take it back, you are public knowledge… I’ll give you a few seconds to figure out why.”

         She knows why… and she’s pissed the jerk is spreading it around. “…………. I’m going to kill that prick. It was all talk before, but now it’s real.”

         “I think you’ll have most of River City helping you. A lot of them were disgusted by his gloating, yet he acted like a big shot. That boy has no morals.”

         “He’s a sadist.”

         “That explains so much.” He grunted as he got up off the wooden road. His chest still hurt, but it hurt less than it did before. The pain is either already dulling or the girl has healing magic. “Names Damian, by the way. Damian Natas.”

         “And you know my name… and the unfortunate association with a walking bad reputation.”

         “Are you here all by yourself?”

         “No, I’m here with a friend of mine. She’s inside picking up supplies for a…. celebration tonight for that prick.”

         “Wait, what? Why in the world would your hometown be throwing him a celebration?”

         “Because my dad is as insane as Sopa. That said… Sopa is the strongest warrior in our town, though my brothers and Req are a close second. He was able to kill a dragon very easily, chase off a pack of Revenants, and he is handsome on the surface level… it’s just what’s underneath the surface that is a whole slew of bad. I hate the jerk with a fiery passion, but I have to give credit where credit is due.”

         “No no, I get it. Villains in stories may be irredeemably evil, but you can’t deny they can get results.” He bent down in order to pick up the pamphlets that he dropped. He’s thankful there wasn’t a strong breeze, otherwise he’d be chasing them all over town.

         Jessica bent down and picked up what she could as well. It was the least she could do. She looked at the design on the front and immediately was lost as to what in the world this was supposed to be. “So… what is this play?”

         “The Miracle. It’s based off this old story that scavengers found in the old ruins about a statue created in the image of someone called Mary that comes to life to take the place of a nun that is coerced by a evil spirit to go on adventures that end up doing her more harm than good for a few years before she is able to resist and return.”

         “Huh. I have a few questions about that, but I won’t hold you up. It looks like you have a lot to pass out.”

         He looked at the stack and grumbled. He hates always getting the short straw. “I do have to hit the entire town. And you see how big it is.”

         “It is big.” She handed him what she was able to gather up and got up. He did too and made them nice and neat. “Well, I won’t hold you up. I’m sure I’ll be leaving soon, anyway. Req should’ve gotten the stuff by now.”

         “Req?”

         The door to the bar opened up and Requiem walked out with the supplies they came to get… along with someone else wearing clothes she and Damien didn’t recognize. The animals that were asleep by the door got up. Well, the hound did. The bird just rode on its back.  “Her… but I don’t know who that guy is.”

         The two of them reached the wagon and set the two crates down. Req unlatched the back and brought it down. She grabbed her crate and effortlessly put it in while her friend was having difficulty with his. She helped him push it in and latched it back up. “There we go.” She grunted as she put in the last hook. “OH, hey Jess.” She walked on over to her. “We got the supplies.”

         “Cool… so who’s your new friend? And why are there animals following him?” She asked as she looked over to the bizarrely dressed stranger.

         “The name is Ashlin, buy you can call me Ash for short.” He stopped aside to let her see his companions. “The wolf here Is Fenrir and the bird is Cobalt.”

         “He’s from across the sea.” Req went on to explain. “He came here looking for his missing sister.” He pulled out the picture and showed it to Jess and Damian, who leaned in to get a better look. “Her name is Kyra and she would be around our age now. Recognize her?”

         Jess thought about it for as long as she could before shaking her head. “Can’t say it rings a bell. The only Kyra I know is a retired medicine woman. As for colored hair… I think the only ones in town are Req, Sopa, and my family.”

         “I don’t know anyone like that either.” Damian chimed in. “I didn’t know people could get purple hair, much less what the three of you have. Very heavy on the color, too- it’s like looking at a drawing.”

         That’s when Req took notice of the new person near Jessica. He wasn’t here when she entered the bar, so he must be new. “Who are you?” She bluntly asked.

         “Damian.”

         “He was passing out fliers before he…tripped and fell.” She could feel the animals giving her judging eyes- they were witnesses to her attacking him. “Hit his chest really hard on the hardwood.”

         “The hardwood!?!” Damian exclaimed, shocked she’s trying to get herself off scot-free. “You kicked me in the chest! And really hard too- it’s like I was hit by a meteorite.”

         Jess knew what Req’s reaction was going to be: she would be looking at her, judging her for her actions with lidded, no nonsense eyes, her arms crossed, and her foot tapping. And sure enough, she was doing just that. Jess sheepishly chuckled as she scratched her cheek with a single finger before turning to try and leave. “I… think I hear Aura calling, so I should…”

         “Jessicaaaa…”

         She didn’t take another step. Req wasn’t going to let this drop, that much was clear. Whenever she gets like this, she never stops until she gets the truth out of people. Some have joked she should become a judge, she’s that relentless. Jess put her legs down and slowly turned around like a dog that did something bad. “Sorry… I know I shouldn’t have, but I was scared. I was worried it was going to happen again and…”       

         “So you decided to kick a complete stranger?”

         “It was instinctual. You’ve done it before when you k--”

         Req became flustered for a moment before she forced it down and waved her hands around to shut her up. “Ababababababa… I don’t think this kid was going to anything bad. In fact…” She took a step back. “Hey you, un…” She snapped her fingers, trying to recall his name.

         “Damian.”

         “Thank you- Damien, what is the worst thing you have done in your life?”

         He was taken aback, being forcibly brought into what feels like a family squabble. “W-what? I don’t see how this is any relevant to what you two are going through. ON that note, I just met you two, so I don’t see why I need to be in the middle of whatever this is.”

         Req tapped her foot rapidly- she didn’t have time for this. They’re on the clock here and she wants a answer now then later. “Come on, kid, I’m trying to prove a point here.”

         Damien got a sinking feeling that she wasn’t going to let up, if Jessica’s reactions are anything to go by. “… fine…. i… stole a couple of cookies.”

         Jess, Req, Ash, and even the animals had the same reaction- that’s it? a couple of stolen cookies was the worst thing he had ever done in his life? Seriously? “… That’s seriously the worst thing you have done in your life?” Damien nodded in shame. “Talk about squeaky clean. But it does prove my point. And you, Ash, what’s the… eeeeh… on second thought, never mind, I think your answer would be gruesome.”

         Ash grimaced to her as he crossed his arms. “Well, that was rather rude.”

         Damien took a step back towards him as Req continued to talk with Jessica about her stupid action. “She has no decorum, does she?”

         “Nnnnnope.” Out of nowhere, Damien felt a chill go up his spine. His body quivered and shivered, which made the foreigner puzzled. “What in the world was that?”

         “The Heebie Jeebies.”

         Ash looked to his animal companions and they were as lost as he was. Fenrir even shrugged with a unknowing shake of his head.  “The what?”

         “I have this sixth sense that manifests as… well, you saw what it does. The sense tells me whenever something terrible was going to happen, and in all the times I have gotten it, it’s always right. So something nasty is coming.”

         Ash snorted a suppressed laugh as shadows slowly slithered underneath the town’s supports. “You actually expect me to believe that you have a sense for danger and it manifests as your body doing whatever the heck kind of dance that was?”

         “It wasn’t a dance, it was a premonition and they are never wrong!!”

 

Begin Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgL25ygW1ww – The Great Escape – Gears of War 4 soundtrack

                              

            Lowell whinnied loudly in fear, pulling on his reins as he desperately wanted to get free. His companion struggled to do the same. the freakouts were enough to stop any discussion the four of them were having. It grew more intense before Req rushed on over to them.

            “Whoa whoa whoa…” Req comfortingly shouted, trying to get the two steeds to calm down. “Calm down, Lowell, calm down…” Their whinnies increased in intensity as pure panic set in. Their front legs kicked about, almost hitting Req in the face.

            Even Fenrir and Cobalt were on edge- Fenrir’s fur stood on edge as a growl emanated from his mouth while Cobalt was hunched over, wings spreading out as if to attack something.

            The way the animals were acting or reacting had drawn a small crowd of passerby’s- a old couple out for their morning stroll, a young boy who was going over to a friends, and one of the waiters for the Orca who was just getting to work. The ruckus attracted the attention of Gesthalt, who was trying to prepare today’s menu, if it weren’t for the loud noises. “What has got these animals spooked?” He bellowed as he slammed his door open.

         And as if exactly on cue, a very loud and very violent snap made the group jump in fear. Part of the eastern half of the city collapsed in on itself, destroying the buildings and platforms in an instant and sending the screaming people there falling to their watery doom, unaware of the horror waiting to have them for breakfast.

         The native folk went wide-eyed by the sudden event. “What the hell…?” Damien gasped to himself. Before long, more and more sections of the town began to collapse, sending more to the big blue, making the old couple, the waiter, and the kid slowly begin to back away to the western half of town.

         Ash ran over to the side to see what was going on and saw a enormous tentacle wrapped around the supports, snapping them like twigs… and it was slowly making its way towards them, tearing down more and more.

         With no time to waste, Ash ran back over. On his run back, he saw that the girls had wasted no time trying to turn the wagon around so they could get out of here. “We need to go, now!”

         Req helped Jessica up into the driver’s seat, looking back to him. Fearing the worst, the kid, the waiter, and Damien climbed into the wagon bed, with Damien and the waiter and even Fenrir and Cobalt helping the old couple. “What did you see?” Req called out.

         A massive tentacle suddenly burst up from below, destroying the Orca and a large chunk of the wood. “THAT!!!” Ash yelled. He spun ‘round and ran towards the wagon. “DRIVE, IDIOT, DRIVE!!!”

         Req nodded and snapped the reins, prompting the horses to split. Ash made a running leap and grabbed onto the tailgate as the wagon began to move. The tentacle came slamming down, destroying the platform they were on and killing the poor barkeep. Looking on ahead, he could see that the rest of the townsfolk on this side of the town were fleeing towards the banks.

         “WHAT IS THAT THING!?!” The kid cried.

         Ash looked back and saw more tentacles rise up out of the water. There’s only one beast this size that has all of these. “A Kraken!” Ash shouted. “But they thrive in warm climates- what’s one doing all the way out here?”

         “WHO CARES!?!” The waiter yelled. “Let’s just hope things don’t get worse!”
         Things got worse. Gargoyles wielding spears and swords came out of dark portals, shrieking demonically as they descended on the townsfolk, slaughtering anyone left alive on the eastern half of town that somehow managed to survive. And of course, they went towards the western half of town with intent to do the same.

         “Where the hell did they come from?!” Jessica bellowed in fear.

         Gaining some traction, Ash flipped himself up onto the wagon, landing directly on the rim of the tailgate. “Keep driving. I got this!” He reached down and pulled out his silver sixshooter revolvers. He spun them around once and let the handles rest firmly in his hands. “Fenrir, Cobalt, let’s get to work.” The wolf and eagle nodded while their eyes glowed, ready and eager to work out some kinks.

         Ash spun his pistols again and fired up. Instead of bullets, he fired instead bolts of colored light. Each bolt was a different color, but they cycled back around. Every six shots, he would spin one of his pistols around. He would later explain that he does this to “reload”.

         Each shot that hit was a instant kill, sending gargoyles down into the water. A whirlpool began to form in the middle of town, or what was the center of town. It slowly grew in size and ferocity in the currents. In the dark opened a dark, gapping maw with circular rows of razor sharp teeth, sucking in water, wood, and people.

         As more and more Gargoyles were taken down by Ash’s shots, the rest became more and more agitated and angry, furious at who was bringing down their kin. His defiance was a invitation to all the rest to swarm in on the wagon.

         “There’s more coming in!” The kid shouted, screaming loudly as a gargoyle was fast approaching them with spear raised. Suddenly, a burst of light shot from the wagon and struck the Gargoyle in the chest, leaving behind a gaping hole. The light faded, revealing a winged snow-white hound with ice-blue tips on the feathers. “More?! WHAT IS THAT THING!?!” The kid cried.

         “He’s on our side! And he’s called a Simargl.” Ash shouted back. He turned his attention to the friendly monster and nodded.  “Sic ‘em!” The Simargl snarled as if it was smirking for a brief moment before launching into the fight. It spun behind a trio of beasts and, with a single flap of its wings, shot razor sharp feathers that pierced like bullets, but left bigger holes. It flew off, chasing after a group that was coming for the wagon.

         The tentacle that destroyed the Orca turned its attention to them. It tore though the city, chasing after the helpless escapers. Ash fired nonstop at it, but none of his bolts were doing anything to it.

         Req looked back and her eyes went wide. She looked on ahead and saw that they were almost to solid land, but the tentacle was moving faster than they were. She looked back and saw claws slip out of the suckers. This thing didn’t want to eat them, but kill them, and Ash wasn’t doing anything against it, and the flying wolf won’t be able to do anything against a… THING that big.

         She reached back and remembered that she had a sword- a rusty old cutlass, but still useable. And she’s the only other fighter. If she does nothing, they’re all dead. If she does and things go bad, at least she tried.

         With no warning, she passed the reins to Jessica. “Here, you drive!” She commanded. She stood up before Jess could protest and drew the cutlass. Her eyes turned red as she gripped the handle tight.

         The tentacle was right on top of them. Ash swears he saw a slit beginning to form on the tip, fearing it was going to open up like a mouth to reveal more teeth. He was so distracted, he didn’t notice a Gargoyle landing on the wagon until it was too late. It raised its sword to strik the old couple, but was belted off by Req, who sliced her sword into its chest before kicking it off like a boss. The exchange was so quick, people were wondering what had happened. She swung her sword around and she got ready.

         Without warning, she leaped off the wagon. She flipped the cutlass backwards and swung with all her might, sticking the tentacle with a powerful *DONG* that rung upon impact. The strike had sliced though the tentacle effortlessly, carving it off from the rest of the Kraken like it was nothing. She dug her sword into the flesh, swung her body around, put her feet to it, and pushed off, launching herself back towards the wagon.

         She landed a couple dozen feet in front of the wagon and waited for it to come closer before grabbing onto a handle and pulling herself on. “How did you do that…?” Damien gasped in amazement. Even Ash was stunned by what he saw, and he saw a lot.

         “We’ll explain later!” Jess shouted back.

         The wagon bumped when it finally reached land. Wasting little time, they drove off into the woods. The remaining Gargoyles didn’t pursue them or anyone else further out. They stuck to River City.

         Out of the 2000 people that called this place home, barely 400 made it out alive: 133, plus the five from the wagon, would escape to Teria, while the rest would flee to Ctrom.

 

End song.

 

         They continued on for a long while before Jess finally stopped the let the horses’ breath, and for everyone else to try and process what had happened. Everyone happened so quickly. The townsfolk were in shock- they couldn’t believe that this was happening. Their home was gone, everything they knew, just like that.

         “Everything’s… gone…” Damian gasped, struggling to keep himself from crying, but it was a losing battle, especially with the kid bawling his eyes out at the prospect of losing his parents.  “My home… everyone… gone.”

         Ash tipped his hat down and looked away. “It’s ok if you want to cry… there’s no shame in that. I know how painful this feeling is. Bottling up is dangerous… so go ahead…” He waited for a response but didn’t get one. He looked back and saw that Damien and the rest were crying. He deeply exhaled, truly knowing the pain of loss from past experience. Instead of dwelling on it, he turned his attention to who may’ve been their unexpected savior. “So… are you going to tell me what that was all about?”

         Req’s eyes turned back to their normal color. She blinked several times before rubbing them. “W-what…?” She softly grunted.

         “The acrobatics. How were you able to do all that AND cutting off a Kraken’s tentacle? Something that big doesn’t just slice that easily.”

         “(It happened again.)” she thought. “(Just like at the ruins.)” She climbed down off the wagon. She looked at the cutlass and saw that it had been nicked pretty badly. “Honestly…” She put the sword away. “I’m not so sure. The same thing happened yesterday when me and my brother were scavenging around the ruins.”

         “I did notice that your eyes were a different color.” Ash said. “They were red.”

         She never knew that. “They were what?”  She moved her sword to try and catch her reflection, but it was too rusted up to even get a outline.

         “That is strange…” Jessica sighed. “But we got bigger problems to worry about…” She was, of course, referring to the group in the wagon and the dozens other River City townsfolk, now refugees. “… like what we’re going to do with them.”

         “I know…” Req breathlessly sighed, looking down the path. Like those in the wagon, they were all in shock. They were running on instinct, just making their way towards the nearest town for shelter. “We all know where this group is going. I guess those who escaped to the eastern side will make their way to Ctrom or down south to Aqui.”

         “Aqui?” Ash asked.

         “Another crossing village downriver. It’s a three day trip down that way, and they won’t have to worry about that waterborne monstrosity- the river closes up. It’s barely big enough for a tugboat to get though, much less whatever that thing is.”

         The winged wolf reached them, landing in the wagon effortlessly. The kid yelled and kicked away while digging into the couple and waiter. “AAAAH!!! NOT AGAIN!!!”

         “Calm down.” Ash bent down and petted the wolf on the head. “He’s on our side.” The monster glowed briefly before dividing into two familiar animals: the wolf Fenrir and the eagle Cobalt.

         Req was slack jawed. “That’s new… I didn’t know animals could do that.”

         “The Simargl can.”

         “Explain it when we get back.” Jess said, grabbing the reins. “Though don’t tell my father. He’ll throw a fit.”

         “Yeah…” Req clicked her sword back into the scabbard and climbed back up. “We need to help all these guys get to Teria. And if Noah finds out about the Simargl thing, he’ll likely ban all pets.”

         “I’ll keep quiet around that guy.” Ash promised.

         “Good.” She sat back in her seat and sighed, pinching the bridge between her eyes as she exhaled. “… with River City gone, Sopa’s gonna have to take the long way home. Noah won’t be happy about that. If what just happened is any indication, we’ll need some extra muscle back home.” Jessica remained silent, silently agreeing with her. She snapped the reins, prompting the horses to move.

         Req, meanwhile, was lost in thought. In all her years, she had never seen something this brutal happen- a town got destroyed in the blink of an eye and most of its inhabitants dead. What is puzzling is what Ash said while they were running- that Kraken thing doesn’t like cold water, yet here was one. And those Gargoyle’s, they appeared out of dark holes in the air. Obviously, that was magic, which means someone summoned them. If that’s true, could the Kraken have been summoned too? And who would have such a deep grudge against a small town like River City?

 

         The answer was something she would not know about for some time, but the cause was at the ruined remains of River City, looking out at the carnage. He sat on top of the Kraken, stroking the head of a Gargoyle like a cat.

         “I’d say this test was a success…” The black-robed figure from the ruins mused. “She can tap into her power, but she doesn’t know it… she truly does have no memory…” He crossed his legs. “That means I can have some fun…” He wickedly smirked, coming up with sinister, wicked plans that, to some, would be heinous and over the top.

         He summoned up a gem, which showed real-time footage of the wagon transmitted to him by the floating Oculus eyeball. The eyeball was focused on one girl in particular. “My dear Serenity…” He reached out and grabbed the gem. “You’re in for a rough ride…” He squeezed it tightly. “I’ll be sure to make it as excruciating as possible for you…” The gem shattered in his hands.

6: Chapter 5: Survivors

Chapter 5

Survivors

8/14/2210 A.D. – 8/14/200 A.W. (After War)

 

 

 

         The ride back home to Teria was as silent as the void of space. Nobody spoke a word. The only sounds could be heard were the tweeting of birds, the swaying of branches, the clipclop of the horses, and the creaking of the wheels. Hard to believe it’s only ten past 10 in the morning… feels like a whole day had gone past. The wagon traveled slow enough to keep pace with the ones who were forced to walk. Requiem and Ash were the only ones who could fight—well, fight with enough skill to warrant monster deaths, that is, so they wanted to be close to protection.

         The lucky few who survived the destruction of River City were still in utter shock of what they had barely survived. Damien had curled up into a tight little ball, struggling hard to not cry. He lost everything- his family, his possessions, his home… everything. And he had no relatives in Teria or in any of the nearby cities… he was all alone.

         After they arrived back in town, the boy would learn that his parents survived and would be reunited with them, and the old couple… they died of heart attacks. Nobody knew until after they got back. They died in each other’s arms, one protecting the other in some way. It was… tragically beautiful or beautifully tragic, whichever sounds the most appropriate. They had relatives in Teria that would oversee their funeral.

         The winged wolf had turned back into Fenrir and Cobalt and they were resting. Ash petted the top of the wolf as it slept. They wanted to know what the deal was with the monster, but nobody felt like this was the appropriate time to ask.

         Req somberly sighed as she sat in the driver’s seat, watching the road ahead. She looked at the cutlass and saw that it got more knicks and scratches. Only time know when this ancient piece of scrap will break. The fact this thing was able to protect them is testament to its metal, but even metal can deteriorate. She put the sword away and looked over to Jessica, who was still stunned by the whole ordeal. She can only imagine what she was thinking, but what comes to her mind is that if she died, two lives would be lost. She leaned over and rubbed her back. Tears welled up in Jessica’s eyes.

 

         It wasn’t long until they arrived back home in Teria. The survivors were sore from the long game and rested near the entrance arch. The people of Teria heard a loud commotion coming from the direction of River City and so, fearing the worst, a large group had gathered in worry to what may’ve transpired. Many, like Aura, feared the worst. When everyone began to arrive, some of those fears began to be realized.

         Jessica slowly climbed down from the wagon, only to be surprisingly hugged out of nowhere by Aura. She was surprised by the sudden hug. “Oh, thank goodness.”

         She tapped him rapidly on the shoulder to get him to let go. “Au-au-aura, lemme go.” He eventually did. “What’s with the sudden hug? And what’s with the crowd?”

         “We heard a lot of loud noises coming from the direction of River City and got worried. It sounded horrible over there.” He looked over to the somber and depressed crowd and got more concerned as more Terianites approached to understand what was going on. “… what happened over there?”

         Req rubbed her face, unsure how to say this without making the survivors even more sad. Unfortunately, she couldn’t think of a way. “… River City is gone.”

         That opened up a lot of murmuring and frantic gossiping. “Gone?” John asked as he approached the wagon. “What do you mean gone?”

         “She means it was destroyed.” Ash said as he stood up. His strange attire surprised most of the folks. “A Kraken and a flock of Gargoyle’s destroyed the city and killed almost everybody.”

         “And who the hell are you?” A unsympathetic Noah demanded as he strode on over.

         “His name is Ash.” Jessica explained. “He’s a traveler searching for his sister, and he helped save our lives and all of theirs, too.”

         Noah grabbed his daughters hand and held it with his. “I see. Well, it’s good to see you are safe.” Jessica looked away, feeling ashamed. Noah took his hand back and, like the oblivious jerk that he is, “Well then, whatdya say we get finish readying up for Sopa’s party? The meat isn’t going to cut itself.” He rubbed his hands together. “I can practically taste it already.”

         The way he was acting was disgusting to the townsfolk- how can he act so coldly when these people had lost everything? “The least you could do is show a little respect, you jerk.” Req demanded while keeping her cool to avoid upsetting them more then they needed.

         “And what did I tell you about speaking up to me, girl? You’re lucky enough I don’t beat you for leading monsters over to our village, you ingrate.” This resulted in him getting hateful glares from the survivors and even from a few of his own townspeople. How can he be so cruel- their homes and families are gone and all he can care about is some stupid party and acting all high and mighty? Is he truly this apathetic?

         “The Kraken won’t come here- it can’t travel on land… though I see you guys have a port… I hope that water is shallow.” Someone who worked at the docks said that it was. “Thank you, sir. And Gargoyle’s are territorial. They won’t le--”

         “Oh, zip it, you foreign monkey.” Noah harshly said. “If I want the opinion of some out-of-town nobody, I’ll ask them!” He pointed to the survivors, who were getting angry. Req was getting close to beating his face in, but John kept her on the wagon. “So just shut up and let me speak.”

         Damien didn’t waste any time saying his words. He walked around the wagon the long way to avoid getting Sopa’s attention. Before the mayor knew it, he was pinned against the wagon. “You have some nerve, you pig!” He snarled. “Our homes are gone, our families are dead, and all you care about is some dumb party?! Our’s lives are ruined and all you can think about is being some big macho dog? How can someone like you be so heartless?”

         Noah did not hear any of that. Instead, all he heard was vitriol that he felt was unwarranted. He is that self-centered and arrogant. “And how would you like to spend a night in jail for manhandling a public official?”

         Looking to end this before it got worse; John took one of Ash’s guns and fired it into the air. The loud and sudden pop scared everyone. At least it got everyone’s attention on him. “That is it. Break it up before you escalate things even further.” Damien gave one last snarl to Noah before tossing him to the ground. He climbed back onto the wagon to be hear his fellow survivors. “Now Noah, you are crossing the line. These people have lost their homes and many lost their families. Treating them terribly is not helping. And none of them have mentioned seeing Sopa, meaning he was either on the other side of the city or sidetracked to Aqui. Either way, it will be days before he and his entourage return. And if you are so worried about monsters, why don’t you just activate the Aegis?”

         “The Aegis?” Req asked. She had never heard of this before.

         “An invisible shield that keeps away monsters. Nobody knows where it came from- from the Golden Age, most definitely, but it is very useful. Eats up power like a Oruboros, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

         Noah grumbled before shuffling off. John got a small round of applause from the survivors, thankful he put that jerk in his place. “That was badass, dad.” Req chuckled.

         He handed Ash back his pistol. “I try.” He climbed onto the wagon and stood in the bed. “Ok, you can all stay for free at my tavern for the foreseeable future.” That got even more applause from the survivors.

         John sat down beside Req as she cracked the reins, prompting the horses to move. “You’ll have to share your room with some of them.” He said to her. “Me and Adi too.”

         “I know. I don’t have that much room, but I think I can fit at least one of them up in that tower. We could probably fit more if we move out the supplies, but that sounds like a hassle.”

         “We’d be better off pulling out sleeping bags and cots for those forced to camp outside.”

         Req rested her head on her hand. “Yep…” She popped. She heard a loud crackling sound coming from within the village. She saw a yellow light extend up into the air until it reached a certain height. The beam expanded out, forming into an invisible shield that encompassed the entire village underneath a protective dome. “Huh… so that’s the Aegis thing.”

         “Yep. A Relic of a far gone age. And I wasn’t kidding when I said it eats up power like a bottomless stomach- we’ll have a few days before it shorts out and it recharges again. Likely around the time Sopa returns. At least that’ll be some assurance from monster attacks.”

         Req popped her lips, keeping her eye on the road. “Yippee…” She spoke in a deadpan tone, not at all enthusiastic about him coming home. She glanced to her left and saw that Aura was taking Jessica home.

 

         Looking out the window of the bathroom towards the town, the traveling stranger watched as the beam extended to the sky before becoming a shield that enveloped the town in a dome. The beam then disappeared, but the dome remained. “Golden Age technology…” He chuckled to himself. “Gotta love it.”

         The crystal shone as it activated, hovering off the night stand. “{We may have a problem.}” The female voice spoke.

         “Problem?”

         The crystal began to project recorded video of the destruction of River City. “{The town nearest your location- the one they call River City? It’s completely destroyed.}”

         “What…?” He watched the footage.

         “{Yeah… Gargoyles and even a Kraken completely obliterated it.  There were barely any survivors.}”

         “But… but that’s impossible. Kraken’s love warm water. The water around here is cold. There’s no way it would be able to…” The footage then showed a certain cloaked individual on top of the beast’s head. “… Never mind… I think I see why it survived the frigid water.” The footage then showed Requiem and her friends escaping the Kraken’s tentacles, and showed Req pulling off that impossible move. “She’s certainly got skill. Wait… if Catalyst knew she was there, why would she try to kill her? She wants her alive as much as we do.”

         “{Because she’s insane and sadistic. She loves to play with her prey before she pounces.}”

         “Right…” He heard commotion coming from outside. He looked down and saw that a crowd- most likely the survivors- had gathered out front of the tavern. “Seems they’ve all gathered here. The patron must’ve offered shelter.” He looked back to his room and saw how it wasn’t all that roomy. A bed, a vanity, and room to exercise, but not much. He estimates that they can squish at least 5 in here before it’s packed. “I’m gonna have to switch up the plan a tiny bit. I’m gonna be camping.”

         “{Camping? But can’t you stay there in the inn?}”

         “Which is going to get crowded very soon. I can’t, in good conscience, pay for a room when someone else in need can take it. With the destruction of their home, it’s the least I can do. Besides, I’ll be fine. It seems they have a old defense grid to protect this town.”

         “{Defense grid? Oh, you mean those Aegis Shield Generators from the Golden Age. Yeesh, those things were temperamental, even on a good day. If one still works these days, it can’t possibly last that long. A few days, at best.}”

         “Enough time for these lucky survivors to acclimatize and to plan. And enough time for the fear of another attack to subside. The water here is shallow enough to where a Kraken won’t attempt to come, and no beast would ever dream of tangoing with a Dragon.”

         “{You won’t get any argument from me.}”

        

         Outside, the group of survivors were starting to arrive at the inn. Adi was crunching the numbers on a notepad he always keeps. The tavern has 17 rooms- that is including Adi’s room, John’s room, and Req’s tower. Since most of the tower was filled with supplies and holiday boxes, there was barely any room for a path to Req’s room, and even that isn’t all that big. At best, they can probably fit one more person in there, maybe two if they fung shui it right.

         Adi’s room and John’s room were the same size as the rest given to guests, but more crowded thanks to all of their things. They could fit three in theirs. As for the rest, they are made so that a family of five could fit in there. So five people times 14 rooms- that is 98 people they can fit into the empty rooms. Add the eight for both Adi and John and the probably 2 for Rew and that’s 108.

         Based on a preliminary count he did on the way back, there were 138 survivors- 140 if the traveler Ash and his animals were counted. That means the remaining 32 people were going to have to sleep down in the tavern area. The priority for the rooms would have to be the old and the young, but that’s ultimately up to the survivors. They could ultimately draw straws or go alphabetically.

         John stepped down from the wagon and took a few steps to the front before stopping to ask his daughter, “I meant to ask… is Gestahlt ok?” Feeling hurt, Req stayed silent as she looked away. Her silence and actions said it all. “… oh…” John felt sick to his stomach- Gestahlt was one of his closest friends. When John worked there, that’s where he met his wife. He was like family. Now that he’s gone… “Gestahlt… I hope it was quick and painless…” Req stayed silent still- she’s hoping that too. Being crushed, only to survive, and then blown up and eaten alive sounds like the worst way to go. He lowered his head and pinched the bridge between his eyes. He can mourn later. There were more pressing matters to attend to now.  

         He took a deep breath to stifle his emotions for now before walking back to the tavern, “Alright fokks, this is where you will be staying for the foreseeable future. There are not that many rooms, so you will all have to bunch up. It will be crowded, but until you can figure out some sort of plan, it is the best I can do.”

         Being crowded into tavern rooms didn’t sound fun or comfortable, but they had no other options at the moment. A lot of them needed to plan their next move now that their lives have been torn asunder.

         Damien got down off the wagon and sadly sighed as he leaned back against the wagon. He stayed silent as Req jumped off. He looked at Damien and saw that he was on the verge of tears. “…hey, for what it’s worth… I know what you’re going though. I lost my second mom to a freak accident and that still stings.”

         Damien raised his head as she began walking towards the horses. “Wait, second mom?”

         “Adopted.” Req said back to him while pointing to herself for the briefest of moments before she began to untether the horses from the wagon.

         Adi walked around and headed straight for her while looking at the math he had done. Req had taken off the reins when he bumped into her. “Oof. Oh, there you are. Listen, I’ve been going over the math and in order to make the most use out of this space, a couple of them are going to have to bunk with you.”

         She grunted as she strugged to pull out the spike connecting the horse’s yoke to the wagon. “Yeah, I kinda…” She pulled it out and almost fell backwards, but kept her composure. “…figured that would be the case.” She went to unbuckle them from the yoke. “And I’ll take those two.” She gestured back to Damien, who was rubbing his face, and Ash, who was still in the wagon.

         “Those two?”
         “Yeah.” She unbuckled the loaner horse and went to Lowell. “I got to know them a bit before this mess happened. Ash is looking for his sister while Damien… well, ok, I don’t know much about him, but Jess does and she liked him.”

         Adi slightly tilted his head. “Won’t Aura be jealous?”

         “Why would he be jealous?”

         “Aren’t you two bo--”

         She put a finger to his lips to shut him up. “Bababababaadadadadabada… We’re just friends…” She twisted her lips for a second. They can’t be friends with what they do sometimes. “…With benefits.” She took her finger away and finished unbuckling Lowell. “Alrighty then… I’ll let you and Dad handle the logistics of all this- I’m gonna go check on Rubi. I noticed she wasn’t at the gate when we returned, so I’m a little bit worried.” She then unbuckled the cutlass from her belt and handed it to him. “Make sure dad get’s that. It’s not looking good.”

         “Oh. Um… ok. You could do it yourself, but… alright.” She turned and walked past the wagon. She looked and noticed that the old couple hasn’t moved ever since they returned. A feeling of dread came over her, fearing the worse. “And… check these two. They haven’t moved since we escaped...” Fearing the worst for those two, she kept her mind focused on Jessica to distract herself.

         She took a few steps away when she stopped. She should at least try to help out as best she can. “… You wanna come take a look around town?” She asked Damien. “It would take your mind off things… at least for a little while…”

         Damien stayed silent for a long moment. There was no way the events of… Gods, an hour ago, were going to go away that soon. They were going to haunt him for weeks, months, maybe even years. You can’t just bounce back that easily from witnessing an apocalyptic event. But… he needs the distraction. This, at the very least, will distract him for a few hours. “I guess…” He said, putting his hands in his pockets as he followed her. Ash and the animals followed suit- they had nothing better to do. The two saw that he was coming, but didn’t know why. “Why are you coming?” He asked.

         “Like I said before the attack, I’m looking for my sister. I know my odds here aren’t too good, based on what she said…” he gestured over to Req. “…and I only asked you all back there, and there are a lot of people in this town I can ask, including the survivors.”

         “You’ll likely get the same answer we gave you.” Req said.

         “More then likely. But I got to at least try, right?”

         Damien and Req looked to each other and politely shrugged. “I guess.”

        

         “I told you, Aura, I’m fine.” Jessica said to her overprotective brother as they and their siblings walked the path to their home. “I’m shaken up, but I’m fine.”

         “Like hell you are. In your condition, things could’ve gone really, really bad.”      

         She hung her head back as she groaned in pure aggravation. Their siblings could feel the aggravation that was filling up; when it reaches a certain point… she’s scarier than a dragon. “Uuuuuuuuugh… I’m not going to survive 8 more months of thiiiiis… I liked you better when you weren’t a smothering dolt.”

         “You’re telling me a brother can’t look out for his sister?”

         “Not when he’s acting like you.”

         “And just what is that supposed to mean?”

         “Are you that dense? Do you see any scars on me? DO you see any bumps or bruises? Do you see a mangled leg? No? Then I am fine.”

         The siblings stayed to the sidelines, knowing from years of living together that taking a side in a familial squabble will not end well. “Are… we interrupting something?” A very familiar voice came from behind. The siblings looked back and saw Req standing there with two of the new people.

         “I hope not. It’s getting juicy.” Griff joked.

         Req rolled her eyes and pushed the group of them aside to see Aura and Jessica glaring at each other. She could see the sparks raging between them. The animosity is on a whole new level. “Woof… you two really need to calm down before you start a fire.”

         “Tell that to the overprotective nutso here.” Jessica scoffed.

         “Is it really so wrong for me to be protective of my sister?”

         Req crossed her arms, really hoping she could’ve stayed on the sidelines of this. “Well… you weren’t so protective before. This only started because of Sopa.” As if it was any kind of mystery why he’s so protective now. “I wonder what changed.” She droned in a deadpan.

         The two newcomers didn’t. Jess said she was on edge when she “met” Damian, but didn’t divulge why. Damian knows why thanks to the… claims Sopa had been spreading, but he doubts that’s the full cause. He tapped Michal on the shoulder. “Um… what are they talking about?”

         “Jessica is pregnant and the father Sopa is their mortal enemy.”

         Ash overheard and softly popped his lips. “… That would do it.”

         Aura thrust his hands up and exclaimed in frustration as he walked away. “Fine. Fine. Fine. Forget I said anything! Don’t come crying to me when you ring that bell in a few months time.” He noticed Ash and Damian and stopped leaving. “Un… you two were at the gate, weren’t you?” He wiggled his finger as he recalled them. He pointed to Damien first,  “You had our father pinned to the wagon…” He turned his finger to Ash. “…and you have magic… things.”

         “Guns.” He corrected.

         “We met them in River City before this whole mess.” Req said as she walked over to them. “Damian here was a native to the town while Ash is traveling around, searching for his sister.”

         Emia patted Damien on the back. “Sorry for what happened.”

         “It wasn’t your fault. And in some strange stroke of luck, I have Jessica to thank for me being here.”

         “You do?” A puzzled Jess responded.

         “Yes. If you haven’t kicked me, I would’ve gone deeper into the town and being among the dead- if not by Gargoyles, then by that monster in the water.”

         Aura puckered his lips out, tapping his foot as he and the rest of his brothers and sisters looked back at a discomforted Jess. “… You kicked him?”

         “Un……………………………………………” She pretended to hear someone calling to her from a distance. “What’s that? Coming Dad! Sorry, but I gotta go take this…” With a zip, she was away, moving faster than anyone thought possible. The rest of her siblings chased after her, intent on deriding her over kicking a random stranger.

         Damien was clearly dazed by how fast she moved. “What the?”

         “She moves fast for a pregnant woman.” Ash commented while leaning forward, looking down the trail she blazed.

         Req softly snickered to herself. This isn’t even close to it. “You should’ve seen her beforehand. Woman moved like a lightning bolt. One minute, she would be here. The next-- zooooom, halfway across town.” She could tell they didn’t believe her claims. “… ok, I was exaggerating a little, but she is a fast runner.”

         “That I believe more than the lightning bolt.” Ash said.                        

         Req went on to show them around town, mostly so Damien could know his way around if he decides to stay around and not go to Aqui or Ctrom to be with family… assuming he had a extended family. When they got to the port, Damian started to freak out a little, seeing that the town was exposed to the water and his home was destroyed by a water monster. Req assured him that it wasn’t going to be the case because the bay is very shallow at 30 feet in the summer and only 50 in the winter. Ash backed that up with facts that the Kraken is a 100-foot monstrosity and cannot breathe on land. That comforted him some.

         They soon came to a single-story, yet remarkably large building. It may not look it, what with the outside looking all rundown and disheveled, but this is the town’s hospital. Inside was a plethora of ancient machines from the Golden Age that Req and her friends picked from a mostly-intact hospital at the ruins. They still work, despite being hundreds of years old. They need to be recharged daily, but it’s better than working on your health the old-fashioned, shamanistic way.

         “I take it this is your hospital…” Ash commented. A window pane fell off in front of them. “…kind of…”

         Req sucked in her lips at how bad this place looks. She kept saying they should fix the place up. A little paint and some spick and span and it’ll be good as new. But for now… “……. Yeeeeah… it’s seen better days. It is the oldest building in town.” She looked back to the temple in the center of town. “Well… second oldest.”

         Ash tilted his head. He saw that same exact temple at the Central Bridge between North and South Ericano. On top of searching for his sister, he’s fascinated with history. “What is the deal with that, anyway? Last I knew, those kinds of temples were exclusive only to Central Ericano.”

         “No one knows. It was here long before Teria founded the village. I suspect he founded the town so he could study it until he died.”

         “hmm…”

         Req looked at the hospital and tapped her fingers on her legs. She was too worried about Rubi to continue showing them around town. “Listen, we’re gonna have to cut this tour short. I need to go check up on someone. You can do whatever you want.” She headed in.

         Ash put his hands in his pockets. “Then I guess I’m gonna go check out that temple.” He left without saying another word.

         “Oh… ok…” Damien struggled to say, feeling alone and isolated. He didn’t want to be alone after going through what he did. “I…… guess I’ll wait here…” He sat down beside the door and curled up. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a pocket watch. He clicked it open. He held it close and started to cry. He made sure not to make any sound to avoid drawing attention; this wasn’t his home… it never was going to be his home…

 

         Requiem walked though the hospital, knowing from memory where Rubi was: She has a private room reserved for her for when she has one of her… episodes or fits. She never did ask Adi how bad it was this time, but she was going to find out sooner or later.

         She gently tapped on the door. “You decent?” She spoke softly. She creaked the door open and saw that Rubi was asleep in the bed, with the dog right beside her. “Oh… sorry.” She whispered. “I’ll let you sleep…”

         “I’m awake…” Rubi croaked. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “You woke me up…”

         Req hesitantly breathed a chuckle as she walked in. “Sorry.” She closed the door behind her, catching the attention of the Great Dane. She petted the mutt on the head. “Adi told me you were rushed here after having a nasty fit a hour ago.”

         “I did. Almost passed out with how much I was coughing.”

         “That does sound bad…”

         “It was…” Rubi reached over and petted the dog as well, scratching him on the ear. His leg wagged as the sweet spot was scratched. She softly chuckled as she continued. “You’re back earlier than expected.”

         “Huh? You mean you didn’t hear?”

         “Hear what?”

         Requiem was initially confused at first, but it soon dawned on her with how obvious it was: Rubi was here when the attack took place and when the survivors arrived- there was no way she could’ve heard about any of this, not unless she was psychic. “Right… you were here the whole time…” She sat on the bed while the poor girl wondered what was going on. “… Well… to be blunt, River City was attacked by monsters: Gargoyles and some sea beast called a Kraken. The entire town was completely destroyed; Jess and I were lucky enough to survive, as were a small amount who came with us.”

         Rubi was visibly stunned by the news. An entire town gone, just like that? And so violently, too? “That’s… that’s too frightening to think about.” She gasped as she held her head. She quickly turned to worry- her brother was supposed to come home today. “Oh no… Sopa wasn’t one of the ones killed, was he?”

         Req kept quiet for a worrying amount of time as she thought about what to say. She hates him with a passion, but she doesn’t want to hurt Rubi with this. “… I don’t know. I didn’t see any fighting in town or on the other side, so he must not have arrived at River City when it happened. He could’ve gone to Aqui instead of returning- you never know. And I hate that lecherous pig, but I’ll be the first to admit he’s a powerful fighter. A few monsters aren’t going to take him down.”

         “I hope so…” Rubi softly whined as she held her heart in worry. “… and you said it was Gargoyles and something called a Kraken that destroyed it?” Req nodded in confirmation. “… then won’t they attack us next? We aren’t that far away.”

         “It’s ok. Noah activated the Aegis- we’ll be fine.”

         That didn’t exactly fill her up with confidence. “The Aegis? That old busted up machine? It’s not going to protect us for long before it shorts out again.”

         “I know. But it’ll give everyone piece of mind and give the survivors time to breath. Besides, according to Ash, the Kraken won’t be able to attack us- our waters are too shallow and it hates land.”

         “Ash?”

         “One of the survivors-… well, kinda. He’s from across the sea, searching around for his sister. He knows a lot about monsters; he even has one for a pet.”

         A monster for a pet? There is no way that can be possible- monsters are mindless, bloodthirsty machines that live only to kill. “He does?”

         “Yep.” She put a finger to her forehead to try and remember the name. “I… don’t think he mentioned the name, but it’s a winged wolf that can divide into a regular wolf and a eagle to fit in. It helped me fend off the monsters as we escaped, so I trust it. Just… keep silent about it, ok? You know how Noah is.”

         “I know, I know.”

         Req patted her on the head with a warm, motherly smile. Rubi smiled back, hiding her internal fears. “Well… I need to get going…” She stood up from the bed. “Dad is giving the survivors free room-and-board and I should probably get back to help.”

         “I understand. I just hope I get out early enough to see that winged wolf.”

         “You will. That Ash fellow is going to be asking everyone around town if they have any information about his sister, so he’s not going anywhere anytime soon.”

        

         No, he wasn’t. The temple he saw in the middle of town has him puzzled. This type of temple- a Mayan pyramid in design- should not be here on the other side of the world. He read that they belong only to the central country of the Ericano’s… so then why is one here? And why does it look like it was built yesterday, despite being, as Req put it, several hundred years old?

         His mind soon wondered back to the escape from the destroyed city, and how amazingly skilled in combat she was. Based on her reactions, it’s like she doesn’t know she is this good. He’s heard of this before- split personality. It’s like a coin- on one side, there’s the fun-loving, vibrant Requiem. On the other side, there’s some sort of combat master. This is all pure conjecture- he could be entirely wrong on this regard.

         Regardless… he cannot help but be puzzled by what he’s seen in the last hour: A Kraken in cold waters, a Mayan temple in a country it doesn’t belong, a girl with strength enough to cut off a giant tentacle and jump ridiculous heights. This certainly has him intrigued, but not enough to stay. As soon as he talks to everyone in town- both native and survivor- he’ll leave to go search for his sister. He’ll just take his time doing it for these mysteries. One of them, he can probably answer. The other two… not so much.

 

          The work getting the survivors settled was a lot harder than they had expected, and they expected it to be hard, so that’s saying something. Everyone who survived were still horribly shell-shocked by the ordeal. Many were crying; kids cried for their parents while everyone else cried for their homes and lost family. Several were in complete denial and were planning on making return trips to River City. Those never lasted long and were convinced that it happened.

         Many were planning trips to be with their relatives in Ctrom or Aqui. Some were wondering if the boats here traveled up to the Isle of the Danes-- formally the country of Denmark, but has since become a isolated island, with its southern half being completely destroyed and/or submerged. Either way, nobody can leave until that barrier comes down- if monsters can’t get in, it stands to reason that they can’t leave- something later confirmed by Adi when someone asked him. And even if it wasn’t there, there was no way anyone was going to leave with feral Gargoyles and that sea monster there, so waiting for them to leave would’ve been the option.

         Much to Requiem’s fear, the old couple had indeed died. It was confirmed by their son, who was visiting from Ctrom. He came to the tavern once they heard the news and discovered them in the wagon, permanently in each other’s embrace, a pose they shall be buried in once they take them back to Ctrom.

         Dealing with the survivors took most of the day. It was supper time by the time they finally finished dividing everyone up into the rooms. This was going to be a very crowded few days, but it was something they’ll all have to put up with for the time being.

 

         As soon as night fell, everyone at the inn had retired to their rooms and started going to sleep. Well… trying to, given the mental and physical state everyone was in. There wasn’t going to be enough tissues for everyone.

         Damien, Ash, and the animals waited outside of Requiem’s room up in the tower. She was on the other side of the closed door, changing into her pajama’s and moving things around to get the most room imaginable for them. They thought that she lived down in the inn, same as her family. Imagine their surprise when they discovered she lived up in the turret.

         “Well, you gotta admit, this is a unique place to live.” Damien commented as he looked around the attic to distract himself. They heard things being moved around in there.

         “Bet the view is nice.” Ash commented as leaned on a child’s rocking pony, with Cobalt perched on the head. “From the glimpse I saw before she closed the door, this room isn’t all that big. We’ll be lucky enough to fit in there.”

         The noises stopped and the door opened. Req poked her head out. “Ok, you can come in.” The four of them entered her room. “Hopefully there’s enough room to fit all of you.” As they walked in, they saw that her room was a stuffed rectangle of things. What amazed them is how much she was able to cram in here, and the sheer variety of it all. “Sad to say, I only have one spare pillow.”

         “It’s alright.” Ash said. “I got my own.” He patted Fenrir on the head.

         “And it’s fluffy.” Req whined. “Luckyyyyyyy…” She passed the spare to Damien. “So…. yeah, just pick a spot.”

         There wasn’t a lot to choose from. The two of them decided to sleep on opposite sides of the bed, with their legs slipping underneath the frame. “Won’t your boyfriend be jealous we’re bunking with you tonight?” Ash commented.

         Req screeched to a halt. “B-boyfriend?”

         “That Aura fella. I got the feeling you two were close when he came by at dinner time.”

         She waved her arms around frantically. “No no no no no no. We’re not dating. No no. We have the occasional… fun time, but we’re not dating.”

         “Fun time?” Damien cluelessly asked, prompting a hard facepalm from Req. The gears turned in his head as he thought about what it meant. The light in his brain soon went off. “Oooooooooooh. Guess that explains this belt.” He reached behind her dresser and pulled out a black belt with silver studs. “I don’t think black and silver is your color.”

         Feeling absolutely embarrassed and flustered, she blew out the candles. “Ok, time to go to bed.”

         “Oh, well now, hold on. I still have a question.” Req whined not wanting to go into more detail. She made a big mistake bringing them up. Damien leaned to the side and asked, “So… what’s the deal with those animals of yours?”

         Mistake averted. She almost forgot about the two magic animals Ash has. Fenrir had already curled up on the floor and fell asleep while Cobalt perched herself up on the coat rack.  She sat on her bed and turned to him. “Yeah, what is the deal with those?”

          Ash sat down on the floor. “To be honest, I don’t’ really know myself. Years ago, Kyra found the winged beast badly wounded and near death. She nursed it back to health and it took a liking to her, like a dog to its master. We found out it could divide into these two much later. It took me longer then her to get it to like me- I don’t think it liked these.” He briefly pulled out his pistols. “Anyway, she went surfing around a lot of books about beasts, real and magical, and found something close to it: the Simargl, a doomsday beast that can end the world.”

         Req pondered that for a moment. Simargl, she thought… She got up from her bed and went to her bookshelf to pull out the monster book she had gotten yesterday. “Doomsday beast?” Damien asked. “That thing?” Fenrir yawned loudly as it fell asleep. “It doesn’t look like it can hurt a fly. Er… on its own, I mean.”

         “I know- it doesn’t look like something that can end the world. Besides, we needed something to call him.”

         Req grabbed the book and plopped back down on her bed. “Simargl… Simargl…” She flipped through the pages, wondering if it was S or Z it began with. Regardless, she started with S and sounded it out in her mind as she looked though. She found the page. “Ah, here it is. ‘The Simargl is a beast from east Slavic mythology, depicted as either a winged dog or lion’.” The three of them looked towards the wolf. “… or a wolf, I guess.” She went back to reading. “ ‘It is the husband of Kupalnista, Goddess of the Night. He is also the father of Skif and the father of Cythia. Zorya’s, daughters of the sun god Dazhbog, keep the Simargl locked away in Polaris, the brightest start in the constellation Ursa Minor. If it were to escape, it would destroy the constellation and end the world’.”

         Damien scratched his bewildered mind. “How can destroying a constellation destroy the world?”

         “Search me.”

         Ash laid down on the floor, resting his head on Fenrir’s body while tipping his hat down over his eyes. “My sister’s the one who chose it, so take it up with her.”

         Req closed the book and put it back on the shelf. “Neither of you snore, do you?” She asked as she slipped it back in.

         “No.” they both replied.

         “Good.” She got back on her bed and picked up the two spare blankets. She tossed them to the boys, who caught them, though Damien had trouble catching his. “Well, good night then.”

         “Night.” They both replied.

         It took no time for Req and Ash to drift off to sleep. Damien, on the other hand, had major difficulty. He tossed and turned, but he couldn’t get comfortable. The floorboards were hard and the pillow stuffy. That was just the physical reasons. Mentally… it’s the same as before. The memories of the attack and the loss of his family— it may’ve only happened this morning, but it has left deep scars that would’ve taken years to fester.

         Deep into the night, Req woke to the sounds of crying. This was to be expected from the survivors. And while there was crying coming from down there… it was also coming from in here. She slowly lifted up her head and looked down her bed towards Damian. He was finally able to get to sleep, but he was crying and crying hard. She looked back to Ash, who was woken up by the sound as well and lifted up part of his hat to look down. He saw the crying boy clutching something tightly close to his chest. The two of them shared concern glances.

         While Req is puzzled by her actions back at the city and Ash lost his sister… it’s nothing compared to losing your home and family in minutes. This was a deep-seated wound that would take months, years to heal, if it does at all.

7: Chapter 6: Struggling to Cope

Chapter 6

Struggling to Cope

8/15/2210 A.D. – 8/15/200 A.W. (After War)

 

 

 

         The morning sun’s light seeped in though the window, hitting Damien square in the eye. It forcibly woke him up. He mumbled under his breath as he forced open his pink and puffy eyes. He cried so hard and so long. Almost every other survivor did as well.

         He force his eyes open and looked up. He saw a foot dangling over him- the big toe starring him in the eyes. He wasn’t even going to ask. He slowly moved his head to look down the bed and saw her left arm dangling off the side of it. He pulled back, freeing his legs from under the bed, while still rubbing his eyes.

         He noticed that Ash was gone, as were the animals. The door was open, too. If he is a traveler, as he claims, then this would make sense- you would want to wake up as early as you could to travel the most distance you could in a day.

         He moved his legs to the side and rubbed his eyes as he yawned. He stood up, yawning. He looked at the girl whose room he was bunking in and saw that she was a very messy sleeper. Her left leg and left arm dangled over the sides of the bed, while her right leg stretched all the way to the window and her arm was flung backwards. Her hair was a complete and utter mess, as were her bed sheets. Most weren’t even on the bed, and those that were barely covered her. Her pajama shirt had ridden up, showing a bit too much of her abdomen.

         The worst part is without a doubt the snoring. She is a snorer and it is loud and annoying and something you need earplugs for. He wasn’t in any position to complain, though, not after she showed him such warm hospitality and offered her room for him to stay while he figured things out.

         While his heart still hurts from yesterday, the sting has lessened a little. Sleep is a great way to help move on, even if it is something as painful as losing a home and family.

         He rubbed his eyes, not wanting to cry again, and left to go to the bathroom. Why she doesn’t have one up here, he’ll never know.

         He woke early. Most everyone was still asleep, or more than likely elected to stay in bed, praying that everything was just a nightmare. There was no line to the bathroom, so he was in and out with no fuss, and no one pounding on the door. With that done, he went downstairs to the large tavern and saw that the owner was pulling down the chairs off the tables. The traveler was down here too, nursing a cold cup of something that was too early in the morning to drink. He may not have been from River City, but it was still hectic.

         John took notice of Damien while he was pulling one down. “You’re up early.” He commented.

         “Blame the sun…” He yawned loudly as he reached the bottom of the stairs. “…and your daughter… I never knew someone could snore so loud.”

         “That’s Requiem for you.”

         “Besides, that wanderer woke up long before me.” Ash glanced over to him. “And… drinking much too early.”        

         “That’s what I said, but he was insistent.”

         Ash held up his mug. “It’s coffee, ya numbskulls.” He announced in irritation. “I don’t know what you did for caffeine around here, so I made it from my own stash.”

         “We have coffee. You just needed to ask.”

          Damien yawned again as he sat down on the nearest chair. “Thanks for letting us stay here. There’s no way for me to say how much I appreciate it.”

         “It was no trouble. I know the pain of losing a home. I lost mine to a fire when I was Adi’s age.”

         “Wow…”

         Ash took a drink of his coffee before turning on his stool. “If you don’t mind my asking sir, how is Requiem so powerful? She was able to cut though the tentacle of the Kraken with such ease. I hear this Sopa fella is powerful, but I get the feeling from the dead dragon out back that he’s not powerful enough to cleave something so precise.”

         “You are correct. I imagine that strength came from her birth parents.”

         “Oh, yeah…” Damien yawned “She mentioned in passing that she was adopted yesterday. I thought it was weird she would use that as a response so casually.”

         “I imagine that lack of reverence came from them too, same as her energy and curiosity.” He finished pulling down the chairs. “But yes, Requiem is adopted. We found her amidst the ruins of a traveling caravan. She was only four at the time, the poor thing. There was a smoldering crater nearby and she was in the middle. Based on what we found, they were a circus troupe that was attacked, likely by a dragon powerful enough to gouge a crater as big as this tavern into the earth. It’s no surprise that they are powerful- something massive had to have caused the crater that surrounds the Ruins. Anyway, we brought her home and she had lost all her memories. It was Aura that actually gave her the name Requiem; said that she was muttering it in her sleep. It’s amazing- despite having no memory of her past, she was quick to adjust.”

         “I imagine she didn’t react well when she found out.” Ash commented.

         “She was heartbroken. It was after Adi was born- a traveler made a passing comment about her hair and she wondered why hers was silver-blue but mine and Adi’s is brown and Mary Ann’s- Adi’s mother- was red. We were forced to tell the truth and she did not take it well.”

         “She seems to be alright with it now.”

         “Well, it has been 9 years. And Mary Ann’s grandmother had a saying that can ring true with any family in any era: ‘it doesn’t matter the blood that pumps through your veins or your ancestry; true family are those you love and respect’. She was a wise old bird, if not overtly cranky.”

         “Still sound advice.”

         “True enough. But I still get shivers when I hear a rocking chair.” He shivered. “That witch was chilling.”  

         “There’s always that one in every family.” Ash snidely commented. “Hell, my mom’s entire side of the family was like that.”

         Requiem yawned loudly as she came down. Her hair was a complete and utter mess, like she had been electrocuted and her hair was on a permanent stand. “You’re up early.” John said.

         “Can I go back to bed…?” She croaked. “Damn mother nature and… yaaaaaaaawn… all that natureness.”

         “That’s not a word.” Ash said.

         “I don’t care…” She reached the same table Damien was at and smacked her head upon it. “Wake me up when the world ends…” He brushed her wild hair away from his face.

         John snapped his fingers as he remembered something he was supposed to do last night. “It just dawned on me- we don’t have enough water for everyone to use the bath.”

         “Then they can use the lake.” A lazy Req mentioned. “I know I’m going to.”

         “You have a lake?” Damien asked.

         “More like a pond…” She yawned yet again. “A pretty big one, but I think everyone is going to have to take turns. It can’t hold hundreds…”

         “Isn’t that where you get your drinking water, too?” Ash pondered, getting a little bit disgusted  as he thought more into it. “Everyone knows you can’t drink sea water.”

         “Near as we can tell, it’s part of a underground river or a spring.” John chimed in. “I did some spelunking when I was her age and near as I can tell, the pond is the only part of that river that’s on the surface. Everything else is underground and flowing somewhere. So you don’t have to worry about it. I’d still wait a few hours, though- I tried drinking it an hour after a hot day in the summer and it had been used by pretty much everyone. It was disgusting. Blegh.”

         “I wonder why…” Damien snidely and softly joked.

         “Can you show them where it is, Requiem?”

         She didn’t want to get up. It took all her energy getting downstairs, now she has to go show them where the lake is? She wants to keep on sleeping. “Nooooow? I just woke up… gimme 5 more minutes…. Zzzzzzzzz…”

         He crossed his arms and spoke more sternly. “Req.”

         She lazily lifted the hair out of her eyes and looked up at him. “… You suck, dad.” She got up and escorted Damien out. “Come on… sooner we get this over with, sooner I can go back to bed…” Ash followed along- he may as well know where it is for his temporary stay.

         Damien isn’t sure if it was because of her current state between sleep and awake, but she forgot something that happened yesterday that may make getting to the lake a bit more difficult. “Um, Req, was it? Um, don’--”

         She yawned again. “It won’t take too long... We’ll be back before breakfast.”

         “It’s not that—it’s the…” Req’s face squished up as she went facefirst directly into the yellow-tinted dome that encircled the town. “… barrier…”

         “Well, that pretty much confirmed a question I heard since it went up.” Ash said.

         “… Shut up…” She grimaced with a muffled scoff as she slid down the barrier. It made a sound like something wet sliding down glass. She soon planted herself down on the ground, with her face buried in grass.

         “You are not a morning person, are you?”

         “Not when I don’t get my eight hours.” She spoke into the ground. She lifted up her right arm, then later her hand, to point. “I’ll make this easy-- you see that animal trail there?” She pointed to it.

         It was really easy to find. It’s the only trail they see- there was no grass on it, so this must be a trail that is traveled very often. Makes sense if it’s the only freshwater source for the town. Well, the only one these two know of. “Yeah.”

         “That leads to the lake. When this barrier goes down either by the switch or a malfunction, you can go.”

         “Malfunction?” Ash asked. “Exactly how bad off is that thing?”

         Req rolled over onto her back. “Well, it wasn’t operating on all cylinders when Teria found it and the years have not been kind. At all.”

         “I could take a crack at that thing.” Damien said without a second thought. He hadn’t seen it- what does he know? Both Ash and Req got the same thought- that this barrier machine may be over his head. They said as kind, but he was feeling generous. Need to be if he’s going to stay. “I operated a projector back in River City- it couldn’t be that different...”

 

         “… It is completely different.”

         The barrier machine that is projecting the yellow-tinted dome that enveloped the town was located at the top of the temple; more specifically, on top of a table surrounded by a circular pattern.

         When it’s not in use, the barrier is moved back underneath. The machine itself was a blocky mess of wires, tubes, and advanced metals. Inside the machine was a special cylinder that held a liquid that cannot be manufactured anymore. An ethereal wisp of yellow light, like the mist of a waterfall that caught the sunrise’s light just right, flowed up from the machine and into the sky, where it dispersed and spread.

         Nowhere near the projector from back home. It wasn’t as beat up and nearly broken in two like that. “How in the world is this busted up junk pile protecting the entire town?” A baffled Damien gasped.

         “Search me.” Req asked as she stood by. In her hand was a cup of coffee, which boosted her up considerably. She was still dressed in her pajama’s. “It’s over 200 years old, so we know they’re built to last.”

         “Not when they look like this.” Ash commented as he looked at the mess that was the generator.  “This should go in a trash heap.”

         “Trash heap?” That’s a word the two of them didn’t recognize.

         “Eh, forget it.”

         Damian was at a complete and utter loss. How in the world was he supposed to fix this with too few tools?  These look like nothing that can fix a highly advanced shield projector. “Just… how in the world am I supposed to fix this up? I doubt you have one of those instructional books.”

         She doesn’t have one, no. She doesn’t remember where the booklet is, to be honest. It may be at Noah’s since this is technically is, but she’s not entirely sure. It could be under the temple, where they normally keep it. “Un… lemme go check.”

         Ash bent down and took a look at it himself. “This thing may be busted up, but it’s still working alright enough.”

         Damian gave up for now and sat down on the cold stone. “But for how long? You heard her- it’s over 200 years old. It must’ve held off so many monsters over the years. Anything could break it at this point.”

         “Then let’s hope it doesn’t and score you some brownie points.”

         “N—wha, brownie points? Just where do you come up with these words?”

         Ash only shrugged back. “I heard someone back home say it. Never did ask what it meant.”

         Damian held up a single finger. “I think the better question is- what’s a brownie?”

         Ash looked at at him with disbelief. How can he not know what brownies are? He’s hoping nobody else in this town is like him and that ignorant. Req swiftly returned, panting up the steps. “Here’s the book.” Damien took it and flipped it open. “Thank goodness we keep them side by side.” He flipped though the pages. “See anything you can use to fix this thing with?”

         Even if he did, it was doubtful he could repair this thing. They’d need parts that aren’t made anymore. “Psssh… Req, I’ll be lucky enough to make this work for a couple more days before it goes off. This thing is beaten six ways to Sunday.” He closed it up. “How did it even get like this?”

         “Well…” Req grunted as she sat down. “Teria found it when he founded the town. It was already inside the temple.”

         “The temple was already here?” A disbelieving Ash responded.

         “Yep. According to his diary, the temple was buried under the dirt and muck for who knows how long.”

         Damien looked down at the edifice he was standing on. No way one person can move all that dirt on his own. This thing isn’t even in a ‘bowl’, if he really did move all that.. “This thing is big- how did he even excavate it? No way he did it all on his own.”

         “Well… there are several theories, actually. It’s rumored that his wife was a succubus that rode a drake and that it was their child that actually excavated it, but that’s all poppycock. His wife wasn’t a succubus…. Though it would explain Aura’s dexterity.” A little too much information there. Both newcomers had the same idea; they were a item. Req awkwardly coughed to defuse the situation. “Cough… anywho… there’s also another that he had god-tier levels of power. If that was true, I’d be more afraid of Noah, but he’s a wimp when his shouts get him nowhere, so that theory is standing on false legs. The only thing they got from him was a lot of money and power, and birthmarks on various parts of their bodies.”

         “Birthmarks?” The two boys asked.

         “Yeah. Specifically shaped, too. They all look like the sun, with a lot of artistic rays coming off it. Aura has his on the back of his right hand while Jessica’s on her left shoulder blade. I don’t know where their other siblings, or even Noah, have theirs, and I’m in no rush to find out. And nobody really knows where it came from either. Teria had it too, but according to him, it was an ‘inheritance’ too, so this goes far back.”

         “And the last theory?”

         “That there was a insane battle here that just dug everything up. There is some evidence to that theory--” She pointed behind her. “-the hill back there, where the Aesir mansion rests, does not look natural in the slightest, does it?”

         They looked behind here, to where she was pointing. The hill does look like it had been moved by some great force. “No it does not.”

         “So that theory holds more weight than the others, right?”

         “I suppose.”

         Damien heard what they were talking about, but was looking over the book. “D09 Anti-Personnel Area Shield… hmm…” It had plenty of pictures- thank god for that- but it was still confusing to him. He misses the projector; that thing was simple. He took a needle-nose plier to a bolt, and was immediately hit by static shock. “Yeowf…” He stuck his finger in his mouth. “That’s it- I’m calling it quits.”

         “But you hadn’t even started.” Ash said.

         “This thing is far more complicated than I expected it to be. There are far more… everything then the projector back home and it’s giving me a headache. Now I got a burn and I hadn’t even had breakfast yet.”

         “Yeah, I guess trying to work this on a empty stomach was a bad call.” Ash said as he stood back up. “But who to blame?”

         They pointed to each other while speaking at the same time.

         “Her.”

         “Him.”

         Ash put his left hand into his pocket while slowly shaking his head. “Wow. Just wow.”

        Req was in slight disbelief, feeling like this can’t be that difficult. Yes, by all appearances, it looks like it should be at the bottom of the ‘trash heap’, but the book can’t be that hard to read. “It can’t be that hard to understand, can it?”

         Damien held up the book. “Look it over yourself.” She swiped it out of his hands. “I’m telling ya- it’s really complicated.”

         Req opened up the book, feeling like she can figure this out easy peasy. The confidence soon drained away to trepidation, and it showed on her face as her face melted; her mouth went slackjawed and her eyes sank. “………” She tossed it over her shoulder. “Too complicated.”

         “Told ya.”

         Ash walked over to the book, picking it up. He dusted off the pages it landed on and closed it up. “Well, as we discussed before, you two are trying to fix this thing and understand complex equations and algorithms on a empty tank.” At once, all their stomachs growled. Req blushed in embarrassment, scratching her cheek with a single finger. “Case in point.” He put the book beside the generator. “What sort of breakfast can we expect?”

         Damien got up and headed for the stairs. “Well, what do you two usually have for breakfast?” Req asked as she got up and followed suit.

         “Bacon and eggs.” They responded in unison.

         “Well, lucky you, we have a surplus of those.”

         The three of them began descending down the temple steps. Damien looked towards the inn and saw the rotting carcass behind it. “And the dead dragon behind the inn?” He asked.

         “We went over that yesterday, didn’t we?”

         “Right. I forgot. Still, eating dragon meat- that’s gonna be……. new.” In truth, it sounded absolutely disgusting, but he can’t be picky.

         Ash fumbled for a bit, wondering if he should even bring this up, given how… fresh it still was. But everyone else at the tavern are going through the same thing are have the same thoughts running through their heads. “… Speaking of yesterday, what are your plans?”

         Damien slowed down as they neared the last dozen or so steps. Ash felt that was going to be the reaction when he asked. “I… don’t really know. I don’t know anyone here besides you two and that Jessica girl, and even then I’ve only known you for a day. And I know for a fact my parents didn’t survive… we lived near the center of town… and we all saw what happened to that…”

         They did, which sucks. The two of them know the pain of losing family in their own way. “Siblings?”

         “Only child.”

         That’s…. kind of a relief. At least he didn’t have any kid brothers or sisters get killed by that beast. “Any relatives?”

         “… mom and dad were never the friendliest of peoples. I’m pretty much the exact opposite of them in every way: caring, helpful- I even helped at the orphanage. They pretty much burned all the bridges with my aunts and uncles. But… with them gone, I may not have much of a choice. Hopefully one of them will take me.”

         “Any of them live nearby?”

         “None that I can remember. I do know I have a cousin who moved out east a few years ago. He was living with us for awhile, but mom and dad pushed his buttons one too many times. He still liked me enough to tell me he was going to someplace called Bangkok to get a new start. Again, thanks to mom and dad, we never had the best reputation in town… or anywhere in the area.”

         “Still, that’s a bit of an overcorrection if he moved that far east.” Req finally chimed as they finally reached the bottom of the stairs and they headed towards the tavern.

         “Mom and Dad were the worst. Especially Mom…” He slowed to a halt and sighed deeply. “And now that they’re gone… I strangely miss it.” His vision blurred as tears began to form.

         Without a word, Req gently patted him on the back, comforting him as best she can. “I know how you feel… I lost my mom a few years ago. I can tell you from experience that the pain you are feeling… it will pass in time. It will hurt for a long time, but eventually… it will pass.” She turned her gaze over to Ash. “What about you? I know your sister is missing, but you still have family back where you’re from, right?” Ash stayed silent. She noticed that he gulped in pain as he looked away. “… I think that says it all.”

         Ash exhaled loudly, keeping his emotions bottled down. “Let’s head back and try to find something more… positive to talk about…”

         “Ok…”

         He already had one topic to discuss. “Like I think I noticed a dra--”

         She suddenly put his hand over his mouth, much to his protest. “Shhhhhhhh!!!” She darted her head around, making sure nobody was in hearing distance. Nobody was- the stalls that circle the temple aren’t even open yet. She pulled them both to the doorway underneath the temple steps to avoid being overheard, despite nobody being around. “How the hell did you find that out?”

         “I saw it underneath your dresser.”

         Damien was so confused. It showed on his face, the poor thing. “Found what?”

         “A dragon egg.” Ash bluntly said.        

         “A DRA--”

         Now she covered his mouth. “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…” She waited until he was done yelling before removing her hand. “Yes, it’s a Dragon egg. Me and Adi found it the other day in the ruins and he wants to turn it into a omelet. I, on the other hand, am going to return back to the ruins soon as this barrier comes down.”

         “Ok? Then why are we keeping this hush?”

         “Because Noah HATES Dragons. And I mean it’s a really, really, REAALY strong hate. They are the only thing in this world he hates more than me. Why do you think he’s celebrating Sopa’s accomplishment of killing one?”

         “Because he’s a jerk?” Damien said.

         If only that was the only reason. No, there’s a whole list of terribleness Noah is guilty of. “… That’s reason 19, but this is reason 1. Look, point is, don’t mention it to anyone. Only Adi knows and possibly Aura. I don’t remember if he saw it or not the other night.”

         “Ooooooh… so you and this Aura have that kind of a relationship going?” Ash teased.

         Req sucked in her lips. She just cannot keep her mouth shut. She gets teased by her friends all the time, now she’s gotta worry about strangers, too? “B-b-b-before you get any ideas, we’re just friends.”

         “Friends with benefits, by the sounds of it.” Damien playfully ribbed.

         “N-no… I-it’s not like that.” Her entire face turned as red as a radish as steam hissed out of her ears and mouth out of sheer embarrassment. “We’re just… w-we’re just…”

         As amusing as this was, Ash knew full well when not to poke the bear, and she was offering her home to them, so he can’t poke it too much, and all the times he playfully acted the same way with Kyra were… hard lessons. There’s one welt on his head that still hasn’t healed.  “Ok, ok, we’ll stop. We’re just teasing.”

         “T… thank you….” She was still blushing profusely.

         With that out of the way- thank heavens- they went on their way back towards the tavern. “But in all seriousness… just what is your relation with that Aura chap?”

         She tired to talk through this without breaking into a profuse blush, which was harder said then done. “W… well… he’s kind… caring… tender…”

         “I said relation, not a character bio.”

         “Oh. Well, he’s my closest friend. He’s been by my side all my life. He was the first person I saw when I woke up after… well… I told you yesterday that I was adopted, right?”

         “Your father already told us the story before you woke up.”

         Why was she not surprised? “… Figures. Not related by blood, yet we both cannot keep our mouths shut to save our lives. But… yeah, Aura was the first one I saw when I woke up after I was found. He even gave me my name.”

         Damien held up a finger. “Can I point out how absolutely bizarre it is to have Requiem for a name? I don’t think anyone in the history of mankind has ever had that for a name.”

         Req walked ahead a few feet and put her hands behind her back as she walked backwards. “I don’t mind. It’s rather unique for a name, and I am very unique. Though, I will admit, half the time I wonder if people are talking about me or a song for mourning the dead.”

         “I think those are dirges.”

         “No, you’re thinking of Draugrs.”

         The growling of empty stomachs interrupted their talk. “How about we continue this after we eat?”

         Req clapped her hands together and rubbed them fast, licking her lips with her tongue. “Now you’re speaking my language. I’ve been craving bacon ever since I saw dad pull it out from the barrel.” She spun around and sped for home. “Come’ere piggy!” Damien snorted down a laugh.

 

         The three of them returned to the tavern, and to the smell and sounds of sizzling bacon. If this was a cartoon, Req and Damien would be floating in on clouds of bacon heaven. They saw a large number of survivors in the lobby, likely thanks to the bacon. There are worse alarm clocks out there. There were a lot of somber faces among the crowd. Most were still crying, albeit softly.

         “Guess the bacon woke everyone up.” Ash commented.

         “I think the crying woke them up.” Damien said. “Not that I blame them.”

         “And that’s my cue.” Req said. “I should go help out. I know dad has some of his chefs helping him, but he can always use a helping hand.”

         “You can cook?”

         “I mostly do a lot of sweets and pastry stuff, but I can cook regular stuff too. And I learned from the best baker in area. I can easily make enough biscuits for everybody.” She turned and saw Fenrir and Cobalt sleeping near the open door. “Un… speaking of food… what does a Simargl eat?”

         “It may be a magical beast… one that can bring about an apocalypse for some reason, but that’s neither here nor there, but it’s still an animal. They eat the same thing regular animals eat.”

         “So bird seed and rodents for the hawk, and meat for the wolf?”

         “It’s an eagle, and we’ll go last. Everyone here went through far worse than me and my animals, so we’ll take whatever scraps remain. We’ve gone days without food before- we manage.”

         Req warmly giggled before gently elbowing him in the gut. “Well, aren’t you just a knight in shining armor.”

         “I was raised right.”

         “Clearly.” That out of the way, she went into the kitchen to get started… without changing out of her pajama’s. She’ll be complaining later.

         Damien tilted his head to the left as he and Ash watched her run in. “Does she know she’s still in her pj’s?”

         “Guess not.” Ash shrugged. “It’s not my problem if she ruins them.” He saw that all the seats at the tables were getting filled up. He kept away from them; he doesn’t know any of them other then Damien and the dead bartender. “You should go talk with your people. You should probably interact with those you know.”

         “Yeah… I should make plans for the future.” He exhaled sharply, rubbing the nape of his neck as he went to the tables to find an empty seat. “I don’t know what I’m going to do...”

         Wandering around, he soon found an empty seat. There were others at the table, of course: other survivors like him- all girls of varying age. The youngest looked to be 10. He recognized one of them- the assistant to the mayor. She looked like a complete and utter mess. She must not have gotten any sleep last night either.

         “Hey…” Damien somberly said as he took his seat at the table.

         The assistant, with her head resting on her fist, exhaled on a sigh. “Hey…” She didn’t say a word as he sat down. Nobody else at the table did. “I woke up, hoping this was all some sort of sick, twisted nightmare. But nope… it’s real…”

         “I know… I’m still in disbelief.”

         “Where were you?” Another at the table- a girl around his age who had the same hair color- asked.

         “Distracting myself and finding some small modicum of joy however I could…”

         “I don’t blame you there…” The assistant commented. “But gods…” She buried her face in her hands. “This is some never ending nightmare, isn’t it? We’re stuck like this…”

         “No, we can leave once the barrier goes down.” The same girl commented. “And once that does, I’m going to my grandma’s.”

         The assistant nodded in agreement. “I suspect everyone else is going to find their relatives once this barrier goes. I can only imagine how their relatives will react once they hear the news.”

         “Terribly.” Everyone at the table said… everyone except Damien, anyway.

         The ten year old noticed that and spoke to him about it, “Don’t you have any relatives?”

         He does, like he said, but his relationship with them is really strained. There’s no guarantee they would take him in if he came by, and the cousin that does like him lives too far away. “… No, no I don’t. I have a cousin, but he’s too far away. I’m all alone.” The girl patted him on the back to give him some sort of consolation. “If things don’t work out, I’ll be staying here…” He buried his face in his hands, groaning loudly.

         “Well, I think you’ve gotten a leg up, becoming fast friends with the cool kid and pissing off the mayor no one likes. And I could think of worse situations.”

         He pulled his hands down his face, pulling down on his eyelids. He let go and put them over his mouth. “I guess…”

         “I don’t envy you…” the assistant said. “… I don’t envy anybody from River City right now…” She tapped her fingers on the cup of water she had been nursing ever since she sat down. She glanced back towards the survivors. There wasn’t a smile among any of them; she had been hoping for someone to tell a joke to lighten the mood… but looking at it in hindsight, it was a likely the wrong thing to hope for.

         She grabbed her spoon and stood up, clinking it against the cup. “Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” All the survivors, plus Ash, turned and looked towards her. “I would like to propose a toast… a toast to the nice man and his family who let us stay at his inn for free, a toast to all of us who survived here and those who made it to Aqui and Ctrom… and… a moment of silence, who those who are not with us. We all lost everything yesterday: friends, family, a home… but we survived, and hopefully one day, we’ll put this nightmare behind us and live to remember our fallen, and maybe in the future, River City will be rebuilt better than ever. So… to the fallen.”

         “To the fallen.” The survivors all said in unison as they all lifted up their cups and glasses and took a drink. It was then followed by a moment of silence. The only sounds here were the sizzling of bacon and eggs on the frying pans.

         Req watched from the roomy kitchen, as did her father and his helpers, hoping they would be able to get back on their feet soon. What they went through, she wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy.

         Speaking of which…

        

         “What the hell…?”

         After several days away from home, spending time in Ctrom celebrating his kill over the nasty dragon, Sopa and his entourage had been making their way home back to Teria. They left later then they had planned, so they were to arrive at River City late.

         That turned out to be a good thing, depending on who you ask, because when they saw the ruined remains of River City, they were stunned by the sight. Broken wood bobbed up and down in the water, as were bodies of those who weren’t eaten or crushed into a paste, with most being eaten by Gargoyles.

         Well… all except Sopa, that is.

         He stood at the head of his entourage, looking out at the ruined remains. With flaming red hair that completely covered the left side of his face- eye, cheek and all-, this foul-mouthed little sadist was unfazed by the desolation he saw.

         His outfit was a heirloom from his grandmother, who had traveled west from Arabia. He wore a really long trench coat fashioned after the Arabian design. It was colored white on the shoulders and chest, with long black sleeves that opened up on the lower arm with a golden patch. The bottom half of the coat was black with a golden trim all around, and with a pair of red ribbons dangling down. The coat was buttonless, so it remained open for all to see. Underneath, he wore a red, low cut shirt with a gold royal-like trim around the neck. He wore white khaki’s with a gold belt, a same-color sash, a pair of dangling tassels, and a fire pattern on the end of the legs, held in place by a pair of golden anklets to keep it from flowing. On his feet was a pair of red Arabian-inspired footwear, complete with the curved-up toes. Around his neck was a necklace, with the ornament being a large fire ruby, big enough to envelop the entire palm of your hand. That too was an heirloom.

         On his back rested the Aesir pole-ax, the same weapon wielded by Teria long ago. Wicked in design, this gothic monstrosity had a grey body with the sharp part fire-red. It had ‘pocket’s in the head to catch enemy weapons. On the five-foot handle was a gold ornament and a simple tassel- the inches in between was where the other hand was to go if this was to be wielded with both hands. 

         Sopa, however, is extremely cocky, preferring to use this with one hand. He’s got the skill and strength to back it up. He’s one of the most powerful warriors in Teria, almost on par with the founder himself. He took down a dragon, after all, and they are tough pieces of work to take down.

         His entourage was nothing but encouraging yes-men—it’s best to stay on the nice side of a sadist, they figured. Five in number, they range in age, but have been Sopa’s… “friends” for some time. They were: Hans- a brutish man who sported purple hair, of all things, and has a nasty habit of being too rude, Paul- Hans identical twin brother but much more subdued in nature, Heinrich- a blonde-haired ruffian and the only martial artist in town, Magdalena- a……. shameless yet innocent flirt with flowing raven hair, and Charlotte- the red headed opposite to Magdalena in every way.

         But even they are surprised by the total devastation of River City. If they had left when they were supposed to, they would’ve been dead like all of them.

         “Holy crap…” Magdalena gasped with her hands over her mouth. She was… there’s no way to sugar coat it, she’s……. very, very, very…… VERY suggestive and provocative, showing off too much. Oh, there was a way to sugar coat it. “What happened here…?”

         “Isn’t it obvious?” Charlotte replied. She is the exact opposite of Magdalena, being very conservative with her looks. “River City got wrecked to pieces. The idiots played with fire and they got burned.” She may be conservative in looks, but she has a harsh personality.

         “Hey, show some respect, will ya?” Paul replied. “These people are dead.”

         “And that matters to me why?”

         Hans grunted a groan in aggravation as he rolled his eyes into the back of his head. If he has to listen to one more argument… “Just shut up already. Regardless, we cannot cross here. We’ll have to go all the way down to Aqui.”

         “Hey hey hey, I’m not allowed back there.” Heinrich hissed. “I ruined this girl for her husband and I’ll just leave it at that for Charlotta’s innocent little mind.” Charlotte stuck her tongue out at him. “Anyway, he still hates me and will kill me if I go back.”

         “Well, tough. It’s our only route home, or did you not notice the Gargoyles scavenging the ruins like vultures?”

         “Though it begs the question… what did this?” Magdalena pondered out loud.

         “Gargoyles, duh. What else could it?”

         “We’ve seen Gargoyles before, and there is no way they have the numbers to completely destroy an entire city in days.”

         “Oh, just shut up! Just stand there and look like a trophy wife; that is all you are good at.”

         Magdalena snarled at him, feeling the urge to hit him rise up to the usual heights. “You want to taste my fist or keep your teeth?!” All the while, Charlotte and Hans were shouting ‘fight fight fight fight fight.’

         “SHUT UP!” Sopa shouted. His voice had a deep boom, which made his presence even more intimidating. “If I have to listen to one more second of you nitwits, I’ll feed you to the Gargoyles myself and watch.” That prompted everyone to shut up. “We’re going across. No ifs, ands, or buts.”

         Paul, usually the most timid of the group, poked his fingers together, knowing everyone else was thinking the obvious. “Um, un, Sopa… how? There’s no bridge, not even the remnants of a tightrope. And even if there was, there are so many Gargoyles.”

         Sopa scoffed with such revulsion, it’s… unsettling. “They won’t last long.” He reached back and grabbed the handle of ‘his’ pole-ax. The blade itself began to glow red as it heated up. “I killed a dragon. Gargoyle’s are no problem.” He took a few steps backwards so that he could get a running start.

         “No, the problem is whatever turned River City into a pile of rubble. And what if there are survivors in the water? They could use our help.”

         The fire ruby began to glow brighter. His shoes began to glow, absorbing power from the ruby itself. “Who cares?” He ran to the edge of the cliff and pushed off, leaping high into the air. The first Gargoyle he took out didn’t suspect a thing as it was looking over its spear for any dents. He sliced up, cutting the Gargoyle’s left wing off. It howled in pain and turned back. Sopa landed on the back of the monster, with his foot caving in the creatures face. He pushed off the Gargoyle and went on to the next one, plunging the axe right down the monsters body.

         “Now that’s awesome!” Charlotte, Heinrich, and Hans cheered, amazed at his stunning power.

         “He’s nuts.” Paul spat.

`        “And he’s going to become a father?” Magdalena lambasted. She lowered her head, slowly shaking it as she pinched the bridge between her eyes. “Lordie lord, help Jessica, because she’s gonna be raising a devil child.”    

 

         Jessica sneezed loudly, narrowly missing her salad. She sniffled and wiped her nose. It wasn’t allergy season, and winter is still months away. She shrugged it off and went back to nature watching. She sat at the edge of the cliff near her home, looking out to the wide-open sea beyond. She saw all sorts of marine and avian life go on by, ranging from simple creatures like whales and dolphins, to more… destructive creatures she’s glad don’t take the time to look around.

         A random glance down towards the piers and she caught notice of someone sitting at the edge, looking down in the dumps. She squinted her eyes to try and make out who it was, but was too far away to tell. Could it be a fisherman? They aren’t allowed to leave when the barrier is down.

         Still munching on her salad, she got up and went on down to see who it was. The entire walk down took 10 minutes and she finished her salad before she even reached the piers, and it was doubtful the guy would remain there the whole walk down, but much to her surprise, he was still there, and someone she knows.

         “Damien?” She asked as she approached.

         He lifted his arm and wiped his eyes before looking back. “Oh… um, Jessica, right?”           

         “What are you doing here?”

         “Just… needed some time to myself…” He returned to his original position, with his arms wrapped around his legs and his chin to his knees. Not wanting to leave him alone, Jessica sat down beside him, putting her bowl to her side. “You didn’t need to sit, you know.”

         “I know. I just thought you could use some company. Everyone does after a tragedy…”

         “… Thanks… I guess…” He buried his mouth into his knees, exhaling sharply.

         The two of them stayed silent for a good long while. Jessica kept silent until he decided to talk. She doesn’t know the pain of losing a home, but she knows the pain of losing a family member. They all lost their mother not that long ago.

         After what felt like a few good hours, Damien finally spoke up, “… Req said there was an optical illusion here that prevents sea monsters from attacking. I don’t see any illusion.”

         Jessica got up off the edge and searched around for a good sized pebble. “Well, that’s because it’s not an optical illusion. Well, not… fully, I guess.” She picked one up and tossed it up and down in her hands. “We found out about it about a century ago.” She tossed the pebble as hard as she could. The rock hit something invisible… but it wasn’t the barrier being emitted. Damien was left puzzled. “That is boni-fied Dragon Glass. It’s created when a Dragon’s fire hits sand. Whoever hit this thing did it with a fireball, because when it shines after a torrential downpour, it looks like a huge explosion.”

         “… and the monsters can’t see through it?”

         “No, they can. But we think being only a few inches behind the barrier messed up the ocean side of the glass wall, because it has a really sharp yellow tint. So sharp, the green grass looks like it’s a deadland.”

         “And there’s the optical illusion.”

         “Yep. And any monster who tries goes smack against the glass. I never saw any of them die from it- I guess it’s not sharp enough.”

         “Then how do the fishermen leave to go out to… well, find fish?”

         “Well, my home, actually.” They looked up to the mansion on the cliff. “There’s this little canyon that goes from here to the sea, but it curves back around the cliff. The exit and entrance are directly below the mansion. And for those leaving… you see that brown line along the glass?” She pointed towards a line of brown paint that coated along the glass limit.

         “How in the heck did I miss that?”

         “Too busy moping. Anyway, that’s where the glass is. We have it lined all the way towards the exit. And for those coming in, there’s still the mansion, but also a thin strip of cloth dangling on the edge of the glass.”

         “Huh. That’s kinda smart, actually. Natural defense and noticble clues no dumb monster will ever get.”

         “Kinda? It is smart.”

         “Yeah, it is. But you know not all monsters are stupid, right? I’ve heard of a… what arethey called…….. I forget, but there are monsters that are able to solve a complicated puzzle, you know.”

         “I know.” She sat back down next to him. “But we never had any sea creature attacks since our founding, so I think we’re good.”

         He raised a few fingers in soft agreement. “True enough.” He noticed her making a face like she was gonna throw up. She rubbed her stomach; that gave all the answer. “Still feeling sick?”

         “Yeah… and I was hoping the salad would help.” She puffed her cheeks and exhaled. “ooogh… ugh…” She laid on her back. “I’m seriously going to kill Sopa…”

         “Why did you even sleep with him in the first place? He’s a putz.”

         She raised an eyebrow. “Putz?”

         “An insult someone back home liked to throw around. But the question still remains, why did you sleep with him?”

         She rubbed her hands to her face, feeling naucious even about talking about him. She was hoping to forget that night, but she’s gonna have a living reminder the rest of her life. “… You want the long version?” She sat back up and rolled her hands down her face. “Well, I was being really stupid and one night, Sopa approached me, laying on the charm. He may not look it most of the time, but he can be a smooth talker. Anyway, since Dad looooooves the maniac, he gave him permission to try and woo me. Scary enough, it worked. I don’t remember what I said, but I found myself complete enamored. We went out on a date and…. Well, I think you can guess what happened.” She moved one hand to her stomach. “Pretty obvious.” She put the same hand down on the concrete. “Anyway… it wasn’t until the next morning I found out he did this just to get back at his ex in Fortos, who broke up with him only a few hours earlier. He planned it so that she would find us. Poor girl… I never saw someone in so much pain before; it looked like she was heartbroken.”

         “He truly is a sadist.”

         “I know. Yet dad loves him more than his own children… he wasn’t even mad when I told him what he did. He congratulated him on the coming kid.”

         Normally, anyone hearing this story would be in completely disbelief by this story; there is no way anyone would be so vile… but he met both Sopa and Noah; they are every bit as horrible as she says. “Your dad sounds worse than mine.”

         “And you met him, so you know I’m not lying…”                                                                  

         “At least you’ll have a lot of help.”

         “I know. Still doesn’t mean it’s not scary…” Fear gripped her as she put her hand back to her stomach. She hopes her kid won’t inherit any of Sopa’s… violent quirks. Damian could see the fear in her eyes. He patted her on the back as she buried her face in her hands. “I’m fine…” She rolled her hands down. “I’ve cried for over a week before. I’m good.” That was a half lie- she could feel her eyes getting heavy as tears welled up.

         Damien glanced to the ground for a brief moment before looking back out towards the sea. “Well… for what it’s worth, I think you’re gonna be a good mom.”

         She wiped her eyes, preventing the tears from coming out. “You really think so?”

         “Yeah. Just… try to cut back on the kicks.” He rubbed the area on his chest where he was hit. “I’m still feeling phantom pains.” She pushed him down by shoving his head. He lightly chuckled as he landed on his side and getting back up.

         “Have you figured out what you are going to do?”

         “I… honestly don’t know. Thanks to mom and dad, my relations with my relatives are very strained, and the only one that still likes me lives too far away. If neither of the close-by relatives respond to the letters I’m sending out, I may have no choice but to live here.”

         Now it was her turn to console him, patting him on the back the same way he did to her. “Well, at the very least, you already have some quick friends with Req and me. That’s a good start.”

         He snorted a laugh. “Heh… yeah: the pregnant daughter of a psychotic mayor, and the free-spirited rebel that pisses him off.”

         “Like I said, it’s a start.”

         Suddenly, they heard a strange sound coming from within the village. Jessica is familiar with it, but it’s brand new to Damien. She recognized it as the power down to the barrier. “What was that?” He asked.

         “The barrier is shutting down… was it deteriorated that badly this time?”

         Damien kept silent as he sucked in his lips, getting the sinking feeling that he was responsible for its sudden shutdown… but wait, he tinkered with it in the early morning. It’s just now a half hour past noon, so it couldn’t be him. Malfunctions don’t take that long to manifest, least not to his experience.

         She looked up at the dome and saw it slowly retract, one hexagonal grid at a time. “Wait… this was shut down manually. If it was a malfunction shut off, it would be gone like…” *Snaps fingers* “…that. If it was manual… then someone is coming or going.”

         “Everyone from River City are still making plans for their departures. Some won’t leave for a good few days now, and that’s for trips to Aqui and Batos. So unless a merchant has a big need to trade, then someone must be coming.”

         Jessica moaned as she lowered her head at first, then flung it back as she exclaimed loudly like a tired soul. “Uuuuuuuuugh… there’s only one person I know who can get the barrier shut off without a fuss…”

 

            The two of them ran over to the entrance to the village, where they saw that a large crowd had gathered. As they got closer, Jessica’s suspicions were proving more and more true: Sopa was back. She stopped far from the crowd, far enough to get Damien’s attention.

            “What is it?”

            “Sorry, but I’m not going near that asshole.” She started backing up. “I’m heading to Requiem’s. She needs to be warned and at least I’ll have some form of protection from him. You… stay cautious around him.” She spun and ran as fast as she could towards the tavern.

            Damien stood still and stayed silent for a moment before running on over to the crowd. It was much larger then it was yesterday; clearly celebrities get more of a crowd then a tragedy. Stuck in the back of the crowd, he jumped up and down to see who was there and, sure enough, it was the red-headed menace he saw a few days ago.

            “Big brother!” Mary came out of nowhere and tackle-hugged Sopa. “I missed you so much!”

            “Clearly.”

            “But River City was destroyed.” One of the men in the crowd said. “There was no way you could get to Aqui and here so quickly. It would take at least a day. So how were you able to cross?”

            “Sopa.” Heinrich said. “He carried us over one at a time.”

            “And on that note, how was River City destroyed?” Paul asked. “It was perfectly fine a few days ago, and there was no way a flock of Gargoyles could do it in that short a time.”

            “It was a Kraken.” Another said. “This giant tentacled beast came up from the depths and turned the city into kindling.”

            “A Kraken?” Hans repeated.

            “Sounds made up.” Charlotte retorted.

            “It’s true. There are loads of survivors and they--”

            Noah shoved his way through the crowd and went towards his quote unquote “Son”. “Yeah yeah yeah yeah, we’re all sad and all that, but now we can get back to the fun stuff. Sopa is back, and that means the celebration is back on!” Sopa’s entourage cheered… but no one in the crowd cheered. Noah glared their way. “I said the celebration is back on.” No one was eager for a party, not with the recent events. They all scoffed in disgust and walked off, leaving Noah feeling disrespected. “HEY! Don’t walk away when I’m talking to you!”

            “Ignore them.” Sopa sharply said. “They’ll be there. No way anyone can pass up dragon meat.”

            “But… they did lose their homes.” Paul said. “Isn’t in disrespectful to throw a stupid party when a lot of people are in mourning?”

            Noah gave him a sharp glare, like it could pierce his soul. “When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it, you nobody runt! So shut up and be a good boy and go back to playing in the mud!” He shoved Paul down to the ground before storming off. Sopa and his entourage laughed when they saw he landed in a puddle and followed Noah. Magdalena hesitantly looked back towards Paul before following after them.

            “What an asshole…” Damien commented. Nobody had noticed he was still there. He walked over to the poor lad in the mud and offered his hand. Paul paused as he slowly figured out this stranger is one of the survivors from River City. He took his hand and Damien helped him up. “Why do you put up with those losers?”

            “You kinda have no choice when one of them is your idiot brother.”

            “That explains it all.”

            Paul didn’t need to look back and see his behind was covered in mud. “Ugh… thanks, Noah… I need to get going.”

            “I won’t hold you.” Paul nodded and ran past, heading straight for his home to change out of his muddy clothes. “At least he is more civil then the barbarians he calls friends.” He said to himself before making his way towards the tavern.

            The way Noah was acting was unbecoming of a mayor- it’s almost like he was a spoiled brat growing up. The old mayor of River City was more civil, and he was a teenager. Damien sighed internally as he put his hands in his pockets. It’s completely uncouth to throw a party with the survivors of a destroyed town still in pain.

            At the very least, they’ll get free food. He hasn’t tried Dragon meat before- nobody in both towns have, so it’s not a lie to say nobody wasn’t curious enough to try it.

           

            Nobody knew it, but tonight… tonight is when fate‘s wheel would start to turn as destiny begins…

8: Chapter 7: Walking Skeletons and Zombie Dragons

Chapter 7

Of Walking Skeletons and Zombie Dragons

8/15/2210 A.D. – 8/15/200 A.W. (After War)

 

 

 

            With Sopa back from his celebratory getaway to Ctrom, the celebration back home in Teria was now about to get underway. All the workers at the Judgment Ray had to work overtime in order to get everything ready for the party tonight. They had to carve up the dragon meat, ready the tables, find enough room for the entire village plus the survivors… that last part was going to be a hassle because the tavern can hold only so many people. Granted, nobody’s gonna be sleeping here, except the survivors, but even then, there’s only so much room that can be given. They needed to clean out the stables and the upper floor just to fit in a few more dozen people. This was going to be a pain, there was no arguing about that.

    It was almost unanimous that Noah throwing this party while the survivors were still in mourning was completely uncouth and horrible behavior, but they didn’t have much of a choice. Some were thinking that this could be the shot in the arm the survivors needed to boost their spirits, and in some ways, it could be…

    If it wasn’t interrupted by danger.

           

            Night had fallen on Teria and while some stayed at their homes to sleep in their own little way of rebelling against Noah and Sopa, almost everyone in the village was at the Judgment Ray, partaking in the festivities. The tavern was packed, filled to the brim with people. There were barely any places to sit; it was that cramped. They cleaned out the stables to make room, and many have taken to the stairs and the upper floor and even the basement, but you were lucky enough to find a way through that didn’t involve bumping into someone. Sopa and Noah sat at one of the few tables left after somehow pushing everyone in. The only other tables available wee located near the entrance, and they were filled up too.

            Most of the survivors were disgusted that Noah would throw this just a day after their home was destroyed, but given their current situations, they can’t say no to free food, and Dragon meat can last a good long while. It’s perfect travel food if prepared correctly. Nobody had to worry about using knives to cut the meat. Dragon meat is extremely tender when cook well-done. It practically falls off the bone. All someone needs is a fork to hold it, and the tavern had plenty of those.

            Several of the barmaids went back and forth, taking the completed dishes to whoever was hungry. Adi helped out as best he can, and he was one of the better options as he was shorter and smaller.

            After finishing her contributions to the celebration, Req had changed into her standby barmaid outfit. No one asked her too- she just liked wearing it. It was a tight number with a purple skirt, a corset on the outside, and a very revealing cloth undershirt. She loves wearing this whenever Aura comes over. Helps get her good tips from travelers, too.

            Though… tonight may’ve been a bad time to wear it. Nobody here was going to pay, and the skirt easily gets snagged. If she’s not careful, it’s going to tear. She made her way through the crowd, making her way to one of the only tables in the place that hadn’t been shoved elsewhere.

            That table was used by Aura, Damien, Ash, and Jessica. Aura was using this time to get to know the orphaned kid and his sister’s savior. Cobalt and Fenrir slept by Ash’s chair, saving up their energy whenever they need to go Simargl again.

            Req popped through a tight fit, grunting and panting as she finally reached their spot. “Sorry about the wait.” She panted. “You see how busy it is.” She set down two plates, decked with dragon meat and her own fresh-made cinnamon rolls. It was up to them to decide who got what first.

            “I’m amazed you were able to fit everyone in here.” Damien said.

            Req set down the second plate. “Well, you saw the clouds outside. It looked like it was going to rain and nobody loves wet food. I saw someone vomit over wet bread; that was not a pretty sight.”

            “And just like that, I lost my appetite.” Aura commented. He pushed his plate over to Jessica, who took it whole-heartedly.

            Out of nowhere, “Do you always wear something that revealing?” Ash abruptly asked. Aura subconsciously gave him a scowling glare.

            “Hmm?” Req looked down at her costume. She saw nothing wrong with it, but she can see how other people would react to it. “Well, I think it’s gorgeous. And do you know how rare it is to find Golden Age clothes like this in pristine condition? I got the goods, so I’m gonna show this dress off. Plus, I get good tips if I wear this.”

            “Figures money played a role.”

            “No way I’d let Jessica wear that.” Aura commented.

            Jessica gave her brother a mean glare like she was going to punch him while Req crossed her arms. “Really?” She replied. “You didn’t complain the other night when y--”

            Aura hissed through his teeth, waving his arms to get her to stop talking before she revealed something embarrassing. “Habadabadadabdabdaaababa…” It was too late; his reaction to her comment said it all, making Jessica giggle. He lowered his head in shame, covering with his right hand.

            Req snorted a brief chuckle, holding a hand to her mouth. “Hehehe… well, whatever. I better get back to work before dad starts yelling over the crowd. I’ll be back with the other two plates.” Knowing the jungle-like trek she was gonna have to navigate, Req steeled herself, perked herself up, and bulldozed on through.

            Aura grimaced, gently yet forcefully kicking Ash in the shin. He silently exclaimed in pain. “Why’d you have to ask her about her outfit?”

            Ash pulled up his left leg to has lap and rubbed his shin. “Because I’ve run out of questions to ask. I pretty much learned all I needed to about this town and I’m running on empty both mentally and hungerly... starvily? You know what i mean.”

            “Still not a question you should ask to someone you barely know.” Damien said, munching on a celery stick the meat came with. “That’s more of a 4th date kind of thing.” Jessica chuckled to herself with a mouth full of food.

            Aura was not amused, and it showed in his deeply lidded eyes. The way he talked sounded robotic. “Ha. Hilarious. You are so funny.” He gave a fake laugh. “… do you know how to fight at all, Drake?”

            “Damien. And no, I don’t. I’m not much of a fighter. I’ll throw a punch if I get mad enough, or scare the pants off of a old man yesterday, but I have never gotten into any physical fights. Least not any I started.”

            “I'm still surprised you did that.” Aura replied with a faint laugh, grabbing his cup to take a drink. “… just a word to the wise… Dad holds grudges. Just warning ya.”

           "Well, he hasn't done anything yet except throw a poorly timed party. I may be free of whatever vengeful wrath he may have cooked up in his evil little mind. And i'm a refugee from a destroyed city; you honesty think he would be that cruel to attack someone who just lost their home?"

            "Then you don't know dad." Jessica said. "He can be... very scary." She took a bite of her celery stick. "I'm honestly hoping the baby will calm him down. I mean, who wants a evil grandpa? That's some fairy tale craziness." She took another bite. "Leave it in that story about the girl with the glass slipper." She ate up the last bite. "Horrible fashion sense, by the way. Those things would hurt like crazy."

            "My sister went as her for Halloween." Ash commented while petting the top of Fenrir's head. "She even got those slippers. You are not kidding- she was crying after the first minute." He could tell by the looks on their faces that they had no clue what he was talking about, and it was very obvious what it was. "Lemme guess... you don't know what Halloween is." The three of them nodded their heads. "Should've guessed. To put a long story short, you dress up in costumes, go to different houses, and get candy. That's pretty much the gist of it. It has a more complicated history, but i'm too hungry to go into detail over."



            While everyone was enjoying themselves and enjoying the free food, they made one big mistake: they left no one to keep an eye out for danger. There is usually someone out on patrol to keep an eye out for monsters and attempt to fight off the weaker ones- that's what Aura was doing when Req and Adi returned from the ruins. And thanks to this little oversight... danger was approaching the tavern. They were going to have some fun in one night.
            While they moved through the trees to approach the tavern from one direction, a certain traveler was coming from another.


    
              Having found a suitable spot to set up camp near the pear-shaped lake, the stranger returned to the Judgment Ray, feeling peckish. He didn't plan on how packed the place was going to be; the last time he saw humans cramped together like this were bunkers to survive the war. Granted, there's not as many as what he saw, but it feels the same.

            Rather then wade his way through this ocean, he stayed near the entrance, wanting to take up as little space as possible. IN fact... Making sure no one was looking, he pressed his hand against the wall and cast a little expansion spell. The corner he used it on expended outwards a few feet- enough so that nobody would notice at first.

            Once that was done, he grabbed a stool nobody was using and set it down so that he can lean back against the wall when he sat. When he did, he summoned up a cup of tea. He closed his eyes and opened up his ears, listening to the sounds of the tavern.

            There's nothing wrong with relaxing once in a while.



            Requiem later returned to her friends with the last two plates they needed. Jessica finished hers in record time and Damien was halfway through his when Ash and Aura finally got their steaks. She set down Aura's plate first before handing the last to Ash. "And here we go- the last two plates. Hope you guys enjoy it."

             "Well, i enjoyed it." Jessica cooed as she patted her stomach. "Easily the best thing i've tasted. And that's saying something."

            "Yeah, you're actually keeping it down for once. Finally, we can stop cleaning the toilet every hour." Aura commented. That resulted in a smack on the head by his little sister. "... i deserved that." That made Req chuckle.

            "Well, she's not wrong." Damien said with a fork sticking out of his mouth. "I am enjoying this. I'm taking my sweet sweet time with this."
                
            "It's not like the meat is going to spoil." Req commented. "Dragons take a long time before they start to decompose. I don't know how long the corpse out back has left, but it will last at least another week."

            "I hope so because i want seconds!" Jessica smiled brightly as she held up her plate. "Pretty pwease?"

            "Not tonight, genius. In case you didn't notice, we're packed to the roof here. Until everyone gets a slice, then we can worry about seconds if our cooks haven't fallen over in exhaustion."

            Jessica pouted like a kid, sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed. "Ah, Phooey."

            Req snickered a scoff. As she turned to leave, she took notice of the silver-haired stranger sitting in the corner, sipping on a cup of tea. She cocked her head to the side, wondering who he was and where he came from. The cup he has is nothing they have in store or up in storage- it's a foreign design. On top of it all, he felt......... familiar. She has this feeling in her gut and her heart that she met him somewhere before...

            "Who is he?" She unknowingly asked out loud. 

            Her voice caught the attention of her friends, who looked in the direction she was facing. Whoever this stranger was... he felt powerful; like he had an air of mystery surrounding him. Who was this guy?

            "That.... is a good question..." Aura muttered, feeling like he saw him before somewhere as well. "He's not from around here... We'd know who he was." He looked towards the two outsiders. "Do you two recognize him?"

            Damien shook his head. "No. I never saw him before. If he is from River City, then he wasn't from where i lived."

           "Ash?"

            "Your guess is as good as mine. The cloak clearly indicates he is a traveler, but i never came across him before. It's likely he arrived in town just now."

        As if in a trance, Requiem merely stood there as she stared at the stranger. She just knows... she knows in her heart that she met this man, that she may know him. Could he have been in the caravan that was destroyed? Was he a relative to someone in it? Was he a survivor? Could he be her real dad? While that last part is tantalizing, especially if it could alleviate fears of genetic problems... she loves her current family... but regardless, she needed to know.

        "-uiem. Requiem. Requiem."

         The sound of Aura's voice snapped her back out of her trance. "Huh, wha?" She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see him standing behind her. "What is it?"

        "You've been standing still for awhile." He returned his attention to the stranger. Barely here a few minutes... that has to be some kind of a record. "Do you know him?"

         "I... honestly don't know." She held her hand over her heart. "I got this feeling in my heart that i... that i do know him... He could be a survivor from the caravan all those years ago... or a relative of one of them coming to investigate... or maybe something else entirely... i don't know..." She closed her hand. "I'm curious... and it scares me..."

        "We're here for ya." Aura reassured her, giving her a warm smile.

        She softly and warmly chuckled back at him. He always knew just what to say. "Heh... i know you do, cutie pie." She poked him on the cheek. If this wasn't a clear sign they were a item, nothing was. "And it's not like i'm going to leave..." She looked back to Jessica, Ash, and Damien; Jess gave her a thumbs up while Ash and Damien gestured her to go on with it. "I just want some answers... that's all." She took a step forward and took a deep breath. "hooo... i'll play this safe." She walked over to him, looking to play this by the ear. She reached him and put her hands in front of her. He opened one eye after he heard her approach. "Hello there. Welcome to the Judgment Ray." She bowed.

        "How courteous." The man put his tea on a cup he materialized out of thin air. That got Ash and the kids interested; he could use magic. That made Req very interested in this man as well- could she have magic in her family? That would explain all those moves everyone is saying she had been pulling recently. "I'm fine, by the way." He looked towards the massive crowd. "I see you got a bit of a celebration going on here."

        "Yeah, the local jerk killed a dragon and the even bigger jerk had to throw a party. We could throw on some dragon meat for you- it's no trouble at all."

        "I'm good, thanks. Vegetarian."

        That's something that don't share; Req loves her meat. She cut herself off the biggest slab she could. She's gonna fry it up tomorrow and try to eat it in one sitting. "Well, meat isn't for everyone." She said with a smile. He smiled back as he refilled his cup. "So... you aren't from around here, are you?"

        "Am i that obvious?" He said in a joking manner. She nodded, making him chuckle. He leaned back against the wall and put on leg on top of the other. "Well, you are right. I am not from this town. I'm a wanderer like that kid over there." He gestured over to Ash, who was caught off guard by being dragged into this out of the blue. 

          He was able to pick out Ash that easily from everyone here? This guy must be really smart... or it was that obvious. "Was it the hat?" 

        "Yep." Ash pouted, crossing his arms and sinking into his chair. He likes that hat.

        Req ignored the pouting cowboy and kept her mind on the important task at hand. "So if you are a wanderer, you must be either looking for someone or just out to see the world."

        "There's more reasons then just those two, you know, like you were tasked by a ruler or bored with your life or hunting a beast or trying to find answers to a forgotten question."

        Its not like those other options are foreign to her. "I know there are other options- i'm not stupid. I just heard those first two so many times, it's like i got them memorized."

       The man chuckled to himself. "Hehe.... well, in this, you are right about the first one." He summoned more tea into his cup. "I'm looking for someone. A little girl, in fact."

        "Another missing girl?" She exhaled with a slack jaw. "Is there some gross slave ring we should worry about?"

        He waved his free hand side to side. "No no, nothing of the sort. At least i hope not. She went missing years ago- an enemy of her mother's tried to kill her and she was sent away to train how to fight, but the time for her return passed years ago and i was sent to find her. I've been trying to find her ever since. Each year that passes... i worry."

        She can sympathize, to a degree. "That's so sad... what was--- is her name?"

        "Serenity. At least i hope that's still her name. She could've changed it to hide her identity... assuming she's still alive, that is." He somberly took another drink. 

        Inside, Req was disappointed. It's clear as day that this man isn't related to her at all. The name Serenity isn't resonating or triggering something in her, and a caravan would be overkill for someone trying to hide from an enemy. 

    
        "So... this girl, what was she like the last you saw her?" Jessica asked as she approached him. "Maybe there are some clues you are overlooking."
    
        "A lot can change in 13 years. The last i saw her, she was four years of age... which would put her at around 17, 18 years of age right now. Around the same age as you two. She also had stunning golden hair that was really big for her age, and a thirst for adventure and excitement."

        "I can relate to that last part." Req joked. A drunk man, high off his rocker, pushed right by her and staggered his way out the door. The girls gagged at how bad his breath was. What has this guy been drinking? They plugged their noses shut. "And we have a few blondes in town, but nobody around 18."

        "That's working off the assumption she didn't change her hair color."
    
        "Good point."

        

        The drunk man staggered his way out, wasted out of his mind and struggling to find his way home without falling over in his stupor. Each step sent him sideways. He was so drunk, he thought he saw 5 very thin individuals coming towards him with raised weapons that secreted a dark mist, and that one of them swung at him and-- wait a minute.



        "Did she have any colors she liked growing up?" Jessica asked. "She could've changed it to that."

        "Well... for a strange reason, she did like silver hair."

        "Well, can't help you there. Other then my brother and father, nobody in town has silver hair."

        "It still opens up my search. I cou--"

        "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!"

        A blood curdling scream ripped through the tavern, loud enough to overpower all the sounds in the place. It was so disturbing and distressing, it silenced everyone, ruined the party, and unleashed a outbreak of spine-tingling goosebumps. As they were the closest to the scream, Req and Jessica felt their blood freeze solid, feeling like they had heard a scream from hell. The stranger closed his eyes and remained where he was; he recognized this MO.

        The drunk man returned, covered in blood. He fell in through the entrance, raising out a hand for aide. "Help... me..." He whimpered. There wasn't any time for a reaction as a sword came in through the darkness, stabbing the guy in the back. His eyes went wide in pain as he was pulled back screaming into the darkness.

        Nobody knew what to say or how to react or... even know what to do. This was unprecedented and out of nowhere... what could've caused such a heinous act?

        The answer came just seconds later as a group of 5 thieving, murderous, psychopathic murderers came in, laughing among themselves as they had their hellish-looking weapons brandished. It got scarier as these were actual walking skeletons, better known as Bonewalkers. While they are extremely rare around these parts, they are well-known to illicit fear out of everyone in the room. Well, everyone who weren't crazy.

        When they came in, they saw that the party had ended and everyone was in fear for their lives. The leader of this group of Bonewalkers, who was wearing a stylized helmet, leather armor with spiked shoulderpads, and wielding a intricute looking staff or lance took notice.

        His lance was not like most Bonewalker weapons- they usually use whatever they can scavenge. This looks brand new: the shaft alone was 7 feet in length, with a red twine twirled around below each end. Both ends were headed by two steel blades two feet long, connected to the staff by blackish-grey fleur-de-lis' with a red gem in the center and on both sides. A circular disk stuck out the connecting side, headed in four directions by more metal. Where could he have gotten this from?

        As for the monsters themselves... nobody really knows how Bonewalkers are made. It's been seen that they rip themselves from their corpses when they die, but... how are they born? is it magic? Something in the air? As uncommon as they are, the mystery behind them puzzles all. Whatever these monsters come from, they are truly not to be trifled with. While they are bone, their quote unquote 'magic' makes them inhumanly strong. They can take a lot of hits and are effectively immortal. There is only one way to kill them: crushing their skulls, but you have to be strong to crush a skull. 

        The lifecycle is weird as well: when the person who is exposed to... whatever causes this dies, they first become a Revenant- a zombie that can reanimate other corpses- that may be how they are made in the long run. But once enough time has passed and the flesh had all melted away, only the bones remain, and as they are freed from the confines of flesh, they become... well, these maniacs that lose all memory of their former selves and become living weapons. They can still reanimate corpses, and it's known that wherever Bonewalkers go, Revenants follow, so some may be outside the tavern right now.

       If he could, the lead skeleton would sneer at the crowd. This was just too perfect. "Well, lookie at what we have here, gents: a party just for us." He shouldered the lance, putting his other hand over it while his underlings snickered. "I'd say its our lucky day."

      Req and Jessica slowly began to back away while Ash slowly moved for his pistols. The three of them were moving so slow, it was practically unnoticeable.

      "I'd say so boss." The Bonewalker with the bloody sword commented as he got too close to Damien. "And they got meat. Lucky us." He took the last off Damien's steak and ate it up whole. It fell through his bones and plopped on the floor. 

       "Aw, and they're so scared. How cute." Another one joked in a sadistic manner. "It's gonna be so much fun to see that in their eyes when we kill them all and use their skin for tarps."

        Like the idiot that he is, Noah tore his way through the crowd and made himself noticeable to the monsters. Sopa was with him, so he wasn't worried about his safety... or the safety of everyone else in this place. "Get out now!" He demanded forthright. The Bonewalkers looked at each otehr in complete silence before breaking out into uproarious laughter. "I mean it. Get. Out. Now!!!"

        "HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!" The leader went. "Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaa... hohohohohoho... gimme a moment." He 'wiped' his eye. "Hooooo that's cute. The idiot thinks he can talk us down... haaaa... oh, that's so stupid, even for a old fart like yourself."

        Noah crossed his arms. "I mean it. I am the Mayor and you bastards will treat me with the respect i deserve! Now i am ordering you to get out of my village right now before i let Sopa loose on you!" Sopa slammed his right fist into his left open hand, showing he was serious too. "Now get o--"

        The leader cut him off before he could speak, kicking him hard in the chest and sending him to the floor. "How about you shut up, you idiot! You don't command us. We can stomp the daylights out of you before your overpriced bodyguard can pulled out his weapon. Speaking of which..." He thrust his lance into Sopa's chest as he reached back for his Pole-ax, resulting in a lot of panicked screams from the fearful crowd. He made sure not to hit anything vital as he wanted him to be awake for what's next.

        Sopa fell to the floor as well, grunting in pain as blood seeped out of his right shoulder and his chest. He hit the ribcage, which hurt like hell. He growled, moving to get up regardless of the pain when the lance that did the deed pointed right at his face. "How about you sit down before i beat the daylights out of you." The leader demanded.

        Suddenly, the lance was slapped out of Sopa's face by a courageous Req, who had the platter she carried the dishes on ready to go. "Yet another courageous idiot?" He droned.

        "I may hate these two, but there is no way i'm letting them be killed by monsters, least of all Bonewalkers."

        The leader had his hand to his mouth. "Yawn... you are boring me, my dear." He pointed the lance at her. She didn't flinch. "Like there is anything you can do with a platter. Besides..." He moved the lance to face Jessica, moving it down towards her stomach. "Your pregnant friend here is much more enticing." Req got between him and her. "We can sense these things... like how the old man there is  quaking in his boots while putting on a brave face, or how you are wondering how you can distract me while your boy toy tries to attack us from behind." He looked behind and saw that Aura was moving to do just that.

        Without warning, Ash burst up from his seat, slammed a Bonewalker down to the ground, and pointed his pistol at his head. Fenrir and Cobalt went to action too as Fenrir ripped out a leg bone to make sure he wouldn't walk while Cobalt 'clawed' the eyes of another. She was smacked away into the wall. Ash knew it would take more then that to kill her, so he wasn't worried much. "Get lost or your friend here dies!" He demanded in a commanding tone, pressing the pistol right into the eye cavity.

        The head honcho looked to the two remaining members and scoffed. "Go ahead. See if i care." Using the distraction, the Bonewalker he had pinned kicked Fenrir in the snout, grabbed Ash by the throat, and slammed him down to the ground, knocking the air out of him. "You really shouldn't take your guard down around us." He snapped his fingers and his goons went for the nearest people they could.

        One of them wielded an axe and held Damien by the head while another side-stepped around Req and grabbed Jessica by behind, holding a knife to her throat while the distracted Req was kicked in the back and down onto the floor. Instinctively, Aura got up to try and save them, only to be kicked so hard in the chest, there may be a collapsed lung. He was kicked into the table, making it collapse under his own weight.

        The leader scoffed at their actions. "How stupid do you kids have to be?" He tapped his lance on the floor as he held it up. "You can't beat us. You are all just a bunch of pathetic weaklings." He pointed to everyone he could; they all whimpered and squirmed in fear. "Her, and her, and him, and definitely him, an--" He stopped talking when he reached the man sitting in the corner. He ust sat there with his eyes closed and his left leg crossed above his right and drinking his tea. The leader almost dropped his lance in shock after seeing him. "No... wh... hehe... what in the nine hell's...?" Once the rest of the underlings noticed him, they jumped in their sk--.... that expression doesn't work well with walking skeletons.

        "It's called communication, genius." The stranger snidely commented, casually drinking his drink. 

        The Bonewalker head scoffed a laugh, lifting his lance up as he approached. "This is unbelievable... surprising to see you among the dregs, Gabrielle...."

        "Gabrielle...?" Req repeated to herself under her breath. She feels like she heard that name before.

        "...But, un..." He put his free hand on the wall and leaned on it. "...this isn't their turf anymore. They abandoned it when they left with the big group, so why don't you get lost?"

        "Interesting... the rude mayor told you to do the same thing, so what makes you think i'll listen to someone as pathetic as you?" The leader snarled like a true monster. "Now as i was saying, why don't you leave? Your master isn't going to find what she is searching for here."

        The leader snarled a scoffing laugh. "Heh... yeah, i don't believe you. And besides..." He subtly looked back, towards a certain girl still holding the platter to fight with. "... i think we found her." He lowered the lance in front of his face. "I think we can have a lot of fun with her before we have to turn her in. I bet she screams beautifully."

        Gabrielle's eyes briefly shined a amber color, something only Req seemed to catch.

Begin Song www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfu0XB… Blinded by Light - Final Fantasy XIII soundtrack

 
        Before the leader of the group could make his move towards her, he was suddenly grabbed by the wrist. He looked back, only to be decked hard by a glowing fist. It sent the living skeleton crashing into another table that was swiftly evacuated. 

        Gabrielle's fists glowed in a white, ethereal flame, something that seemed to scare the monsters. He opened his raised hand and swung across while saying "Praesidio". A shine suddenly appeared between the crowd of patrons and the monsters. He used the same magic to get Ash away from the Bonewalker that had pinned him. 

          Aura, who was still in the rubble of the table he hit, sat up in pain only to faceplant against an invisible barrier. It squeaked like glass as he removed his face from it. He pressed his hand on it, wondering where this came from.

        "Barrier magic?" Damien commented as he knocked on the invisible shield. "This guy is no joke... this is some top tier stuff... but what was that word he used?"

        With another swing of his arm, the entire room began to glow, which scared everyone present... which was everyone. The room began to rumble as Gabrielle had unleashed another expansion spell, this time expanding the walls of the tavern. The floors grew wider, as did the walls. Originally, the tavern had a space equivalent to a hotel lobby. Now, thanks to this spell, it was as spacious as a ballroom dance floor, with people finally able to stretch their arms. He did this so he would have more room to fight these monsters with.

        The Bonewalker leader sat up, grumbling in anger. He slammed his lance on the floor and got up. "Kill him!"

        One of his underlings, the one that had Ash pinned earlier, did just that and moved to attack him from behind. Gabrielle sensed this and kicked his foot backwards, getting the Bonewalker in the crotch. As he was all bones, there was nothing there to hurt, but that doesn't mean it didn't work as he was lifted up into the air by that kick. Gabrielle leaped up, striking the monster as he launched pass. He then planted his feet on the ceiling for a second before thrusting himself back towards the living skeleton, striking with enough force to scatter the bones. 

        All this happened in only a few seconds, which shocked everyone present. How can anyone be that fast? Aura's not that fast and he's the fastest fighter.

        Rising back up, Gabrielle moved his eyes around and saw that the other four were getting ready to go on en masse. He heard clattering below. He looked to his feet and saw that the bones of the shattered Bonewalker were rolling towards the head, which he didn't smash. That was his mistake. In seconds, the fifth monster was back together and was very angry.

        "Rrrrr, you're gonna pay for that!" The formerly shattered monster shouted.

        Gabrielle let out a single tsh as he raised his left arm, which was glowing brighter then the right. "I missed." He closed his hand into a fist. A shaft of light suddenly erupted out, swiftly taking the form of a weapon.

        The light slowly began to dissipate, revealing the weapon to be a long pole-ax, like the one wielded by Sopa. In fact, when the weapon was summoned, Sopa checked to make sure the stranger didn't steal it. He quickly realized that that was stupid as the design was completely different from his.

        Gabrielle's axe had a full body-length black rod with gold handles and a small, black flame-like hook detail at the end. A huge ax-head rested at the top in front, two small triangles in the middle, with gold scales holding it to the aura colored holder with gold stripes down the middle. A smaller, wing-like axe rested on the other side. Lastly, a royal blue jewel rested on top the top. At the bottom of the axe handle were black & white feathers coming out of a small ring with a green jewel nestled within.

        He grabbed it with both hands and took up a battle pose with the blade head behind him as he crouched down just a little. The Bonewalkers foolishly made the first move, attacking him with zero regard for their own well being. With very little offer, he swung his weapon and struck two Bonewalkers right in the ribs, severing their spine. Their torsos fell over as their legs kept moving independently. 
    
        Stepping to the side to avoid an attack from a sword, Gabrielle stuck the ax into the floor by the hook and spun around it like a dancer, kicking the head clean off its shoulders. The head bounced off the barrier and landed in Ash's lap. With his composure cool, he bounced up and punted it out the door. The headless body ran out after it.

        While still spinning, the stranger lifted his weapon out of the floor and, with his momentum, swung down with enough force to crush one of the severed Bonewalkers skull into little tiny pieces, hitting the floor with enough force to leave a little crater the size of a platter. The dead monster's body turned to dust instantly with its head now mulch. Keeping up his hot streak, he swung himself forward, using the embedded blade like a pole vault, and kicked the leader hard enough to send him rolling out. While he was still moving, he picked the axe up and sliced the 5th from left shoulder to right hip. He didn't even break a sweat.

        Reattaching his spin, the remaining Bonewalker ran outside to get with his other two fellows. Gabrielle followed suit, walking towards the door. He raised his hand and snapped his fingers while saying "Yameru". The shine came once more but soon faded away. Jessica tried to put her hand to it and touched nothing. The barrier was gone.

        "Holy..." Adi said from within the stunned crowd. "This guy is awesome!"

        Ash looked to the sliced up Bonewalker on the floor, who was trying to put his body back together with little results. He pulled out his pistol and shot it in the head, ending that menace before he could repair himself. The sudden shot scared the Terian natives, but they wanted to keep watching the fight, so they rushed to the exit.

        The first one out, a inconsequential farmer, was the first to run out and was beset out of nowhere by a snarling, whiling beast with melting skin and hollow eyes. This is a Revenant, the reincarnation of a dead person that will eventually turn into a Boneshaker. The zombie tried to bite the guys neck, but was pulled off by Fenrir, who tore out the undeads neck, to little avail as it was an undead beast. Ash corrected that with a shot to the head. The beast fell over in a slump and faded into darkness.

        Windows on the second floor opened up and most everyone ran outside to see the stranger locked in combat with the remaining three Bonewalkers and the Revenants that followed them. One of the children tried to get to the front of the crowd to get a better view, only to run right into the barrier once more. He had cast it again when he got out to prevent them from getting caught in the crossfire again. Req, Jess, Adi, Aura, Damien, Ash, Sopa, and Noah pushed their way to the front of the crowd to watch.

        Gabrielle skidded along the ground, digging his boots into the dirt after being struck hard by the leader. One of his goons leaped over him and sliced his blade down. He blocked it and pushed him off. He spun his axe around before hitting him with the hook end, sending the monster crashing though a tree and towards the edge of the battlefield.

       He spun his axe so fast, it was like a blur- akin to a helicopter blade. He spun it around his back before swinging up, unleashing a huge blast of wind that sent a Revenant crashing into another. He flipped back around and used it to saw up the middle of a third, cutting it into 2 while casting a magic spell that electrocuted the first two until they were nothing but dust.

        "That skill..." Aura breathlessly said. "It's like he's not even human..."

         Gab stopped spinning his axe just in time for the leader and the remaining lackey to attack him from two directions. He blocked the one with the sword with the handle while he caught the lance with his bare hand. This allowed a fourth Revenant to attack from behind. He sensed this and flipped up, his hand and axe still where they were. He grabbed the lance and pulled it, making the leader hit the zombie and skelle. All three fell to the floor. He flipped his weapon around and stabbed down with the hook. The leader pushed himself backwards just in the nick of time. The hook penetrated the Revenants heart- or where the heart should be- and got the Bonewalker in the shoulder. None of them killshots, however.

        The zombie forced its head to turn around, making a sickening cracking and popping sound as it did. It roared like a inhuman beast, swiping Gabrielle in the leg. The skin melted away, grossing out nearly everyone. Within seconds, the skin was gone and the Revenant had evolved into a Bonewalker. The spooky skeleton laughed, kicking the stranger away with newfound strength it never had before now. He skidded along a considerable ways. He grunted in annoyance, raising his axe to attack... only to unfortunately realize that it is still in the Bonewalkers chest.

        Said monster pulled the axe out and snickered, using it for his own self. Weaponless, Gabrielle was gonna have to play this carefully: people like him can still die. His fists glowed with the ethereal flame once more. He charged at them to prevent them from doing the same thing.

        The leader of the Bonewalkers charged at him, grabbed his lance with both hands, and swung it like a sword. That is not how they work and Gabrielle took advantage of that, ducking under it and sliding along the ground. He swept his leg, kicking monster off his feet. In the attack, the lance was let loose. Gab leaped up, grabbed it, spun it around a few times, and slammed it down on the creatures spine, trapping it for now.

        Sensing the other two coming at him at top speed, he spun around the lance and delivered a solid punch to the one with the sword. He grabbed the handle and swung it with such a force, it cut a tree dozens of feet away. The slice cut the head from the body. He then stabbed it in the head, ending that monsters reign of terror.

        He barely had enough time to dodge the Bonewalker that still had his axe. The monster swung it around wildly- newborn Bonewalkers have the mind of a reckless idiot-, tearing up the ground with each swing. Gabrielle tried to block it with the sword, but that only shattered it. He knew it wouldn't work, not by a long shot... but it provided him with a opportunity. "Cios!" He shouted. A green glyph appeared behind the shards, a glyph that let loose a gust of wind that blew the shards into the Bonewalkers eyes, blinding it. Taking advantage, Gag grabbed the axe handle and drop-kicked the monster down, tearing the arm off. The wing on the back of the axe glowed, boosting the axe back forward like a rocket right into the thief's head, ending that life before it could cause any damage. Its death took the arm away from the shaft.

        And then there was one... the leader, still trapped under his lance...

        Gabrielle slowly walked over to the monster, who was try to get the lance off his neck, but it was dug in too deep into the ground. He stopped when he saw his executioner standing over him. He stopped, knowing this was going to end one way. "Hehe..." He scoffed a laugh. "... my one regret: i won't be around to enjoy the show..." Gabrielle angrily frowned before delivering the finishing blow.


end song.


        With the threats now gone, he snapped his fingers and the barrier dissipated.

        "Holy cow..." Adi gasped, still dumbstruck by what he just saw. Everyone was. Sopa and Requiem may be the best fighters in Teria, but this guy... this guy was a whole other level. They were nowhere near as skill at combat as he. "That was amazing!!!"

        "It sure was..." Aura gasped. "Just.... wooow..."

        Nobody knew what to say or what to do next. How do you follow up a insane battle like that? Req knew and she went over to him to check and see if he was alright as the crowd slowly began to spread out after being cramped up.

        Gabrielle stood there, lost in thought as he thought about what the Bonewalker leader meant. "Too bad i won't be around... to enjoy the show..." He put a finger to his chin. "Does she know already...? Or..."

        "Hey, are you ok...?" The voice brought him out of his train of thought. He looked to his right and saw Requiem there, looking at him with concern and envy. "Are you hurt?"

        "Yes, i'm fine." He grabbed his axe and sent it away; he vanished amidst a display of white sparkles. "They got a few lucky shots in, but I've tangled with Bonewalkers before. They're sadistic, but predictable... Though i wasn't expecting a Revenant to hatch into one in the middle of this. It was unexpected, especially when he used my own weapon against me." He pulled the lance out of the ground effortlessly. "Nor did i expect them to have this..."

        "Just how in the world did you do all that?" A still flabbergasted Adi asked as he approached. "Can you teach me?! Please please please please please please please please?"

        "Eager little fella, isn't he?" He laughed a question to Req, who just nodded back in a shrug. "Sadly, no i cannot. It took my decades to get where i am. If you start now, you may have a chance. Maybe."
    
        Adi pouted his head in disappointment and sorrow, sad he couldn't learn to be as badass as this stranger. "Wait, decades?" Req interjected. "How old are you? You don't look a day over 36."
    
        "Thank you for that. But i am old. I may not look it, but i'm actually in my 70's."

        "What?!" Adi and Req shouted in unison. How in the hell can this guy be in his 70's and be that skilled and strong? Aren't people at this age supposed to start deteriorating or something like that?

        "Un, can we back up for a moment here?" Damien asked as he approached with Jessica. "Weren't there 5 of these nasty things?"

        "Six, with that Revenant hatching into one of them."

        "Ok then.." Jessica added in as more of the crowd began to approach, with Ash and Sopa in the lead. "But... you killed five of them. Where's the last one?"

        That is when everyone realized it: there was still one left, and he could be anywhere, killing anyone. They must not have noticed it was still alive as they were too focused on the fight. People began to freak and panic, worried that they were going to be killed. They know nothing about Bonewalkers- for all they knew, the monsters could dig. They can't, but the people don't know that.

        Ash pulled out his second pistol and ran over to the last spot where they saw the monster and saw tracks. He followed them and pieced together what it was doing: the undead beast was running away from the fight, knowing that it was no chance against this guy, but was he running to hide, running to tell his fellow monsters, or running to find a way to get a sneaky kill? The tracks soon stopped cold a dozen-or-so feet away from the dragon corpse.

        "That's odd... the tracks just stop..." He scratched the side of his head with his pistol, wondering where it could've gone. He pondered what could've happened, oblivious to the ripples in the dragons forehead.

        "Where is that sonovabitch?!" Sopa shouted as he came with pole-ax in hand. His barbaric nature irritated Ash, which made him lose his train of thought before he could go anywhere with it. "I'm gonna cleave that thing in two."

        "Well, he's long gone now." He put his pistols away. "I probably could've figured out where he went if a certain barbarian didn't shout like a maniac."

        Sopa snarled and pointed his axe at him. "Don't you dare talk down to me, you outsider filth."

        Ash looked at him with lidded eyes- is this guy serious? He saved his baby mama, and the brute is making threats? "Look, i know your ego is fragile and all, but how about you shut up and actually use that pea brain you call a brain for a moment." Their backs were to the corpse, which showed signs of movement. "This thing disappeared and we need to find it before it comes back with friends."

        "Monsters don't have friends."

        Ash facepalmed hard- this guy is a class-a idiot. "It's an expression, idiot..." HE took several deep breaths in a meditative way to calm himself down. Sopa rolled his eyes at the sight. "He's not worth it, Ash... he's not worth it..." He exhaled slowly. "Just focus on finding the monster..."

 

Begin Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBupoD6s0MY  Halcyon Days by Stratovarius
 

        Suddenly, a large, clawed paw slammed into the ground right next to them, making them jump upon impact. The claws dug deep into the ground, tearing up dirt and grass as it was pulled back to a very much alive corpse. 

        The eyelids melted away, permanently revealing dead green eyes that turned into a solid, deep black. Bones snapped in a sickening manner as legs, wings, and the tail were pushed and forced back into place. There were numerous gaps in the flesh, all from cutting it up for steaks. Bones and sinew could be seen underneath as the muscles decayed away. The scales turned a sickly green color, like vomited pea soup. A noxious gas fumed out of the mouth in a green smoke.

        This was the first time both Sopa and Ash saw something like this happen; the reanimation of the dead, especially something as long dead as this behemoth. "... i found the monster..." Sopa commented, resulting in a grimaced look from Ash.

        The zombie dragon slammed it's foot into the ground before unleashed a loud, unearthly, inhuman roar that sent shivers up their spines.

        The crowd in front of the tavern heard the roar and were immediately afraid. First Bonewalkers and Revenants, now whatever this was? ".... what was that?" Damien gulped.

        Gabrielle's eyes went wide as he realized his was what the leader meant when he said he wasn't going to see the show: one of his own revived the dragon corpse. Did they plan this or just find it at random? Whatever the case... trouble. "Even worse trouble." Without saying another word, he ran as fast as he could towards the back of the tavern, going as fast as he could.

        He arrived to see Sopa and Ash hit back towards him by a savage backhand by the zombie dragon's paw. He stopped to avoid getting hit by the humans. Ash landed hard on his back while Sopa rolled back several feet before stopping on his front. The dragon flexed it's claws and shook like a dog drying off from a swim as the new occupant got used to its new body.

        One of the townsfolk ran by the corner of the tavern and screamed bloody murder when he saw the revived dragon. "AAAAAH!!! I thought Sopa killed that!!!" He screamed.

        "He did." Gabrielle said as several more arrived and reacted to the revived beast. "Bonewalkers and Revenants have the ability to revive the dead... in most cases, by merging with the corpse."

        "So the last one is INSIDE that thing?"

        "Yes.. and Dracolich's are fierce opponents..."

        The Dracolich slammed its paws into the ground and roared up to the air. The shriek was unlike anything anyone has heard- if there was a sound to associate with hell... this was it. With its head still reared back, he breathed a cloud of green smoke up into the sky, quickly forming a ring that encircled the town. For what reason, no one can say: to call for reinforcements? A call to fight? To test its new body? To keep its prey from escaping? Whatever it was for, it was intimidating. 

        Gabrielle gripped his axe tight before charging towards the beast. He had to find the merge point and destroy it before the Bonewalker has complete and total familiarity with its new body.

        Hearing running footsteps, the Dracolich snarled towards the charging warrior. It leaped up a few feet in the air, but it was more then enough as the impact wen it slammed back down created a tremor that made Gabrielle lose his footing. With that advantage, the zombie smacked him away with the back of its paw, sending him back towards the crowd, nearly falling on top of Ash, who rolled to the right to avoid being slammed.

        The Dracolich unleashed another bone chilling roar as it flexed its wings as far as they could go. They were filled with holes, but it wasn't going to matter. Gab grabbed one of Ash's pistols and fired at the monster... just as it flapped its wings and took the air. The shots instead hit a tree, splintering the trunk. Gab kept pulling the trigger, but no other shots came out. He opened up the revolver chamber and saw that it was empty.

        "Yeah, it's a special reload..." Ash commented as he took it back.

        Reaching an incredible height in a few seconds, the Dracolich had a good overlay of the land... and how much destruction it would be able to do with its new body. The bones and sinew in its mouth snapped, extending the jaw to unnatural points. A green light began to form in its mouth as energy surged into it as the gas it belched out began to return to its body.

        Seeing the growing light coming from the monster made everyone quiver in fear. Most fled as fast as they could. "Un... should we worry...?" Damien gulped as he slowly backed up with Jess and Adi.

        Gabrielle knew what was going to happen; he saw this happen before with other Dracolich's- the breath attack of a normal dragon was already nasty enough. A Dracolich is much, much worse. TNT compared to a Atom Bomb worse. "I won't lie... we should run..." They wouldn't get far- the Atom Bomb analogy is pretty apt.

        The energy reaching a peak, the Dracolich prepared to let the attack loose... 

        Only to suddenly have its left wing sliced off at the stump. Even with reanimated zombie corpses, two wings are still needed to fly. One was not going to cut it. The glow in the mouth quickly went away as the zombie drake used all its power to try and keep it aloft, but it was for naught as it began to fall towards the ground. A series of slashes cut at its body, leaving nicks and cuts. It caused no pain- no nerves- but it irritated the zombie to no end.

        A flaming ball spun down and delivered a devastating blow to the belly of the beast, propelling it down like a meteor. The Dracolich hit the ground near the small farmland hard, resulting a small quake that knocked everyone onto their front, their back, or their side. The dragon skidded along the ground, leaving a trail that lasted a good few dozen feet that kicked up a lot of dirt and dust.

        The flaming ball landed down near the crowd- the flames were coming from the special shoes that were worn by Sopa himself. The flames retracted into his footwear as he shouldered his pole-ax and looked back to the crowd with a confident smirk. "One grounded dragon. You are welcome."

        "You idiot!" One of the farmers shouted. "You brought him down near the farm! It'll destroy the crops!!"

        "So what? We can always plant new ones."

        "Not this close to the cold season, idiot!!!" Sopa merely rolled his eyes. All these people do is nothing but complain, complain, and complain.

        In the dust cloud, the silhouette of the zombie dragon could be seen. It was unfazed, but very, very angry. With a flap of its wings and a mighty roar, it cleared out the cloud, revealing it in all its disgusting glory.

        Sopa spun his weapon around as he got ready to kill this thing. "This'll be a cakewalk. I killed it before, i can do it--" He never got to finish his sentence as he was shoved to the ground by Gabrielle, who used him to get back up. Tossing the lance away, he summoned back his axe and held it with both hands with a frighteningly determined look on his face. He quickly cast a spell to protect the plants from the battle.

        The Dracolich saw him coming from a mile away- his kind are always like this. That doesn't change the fact it was angry as hell and needed something to kill. Lucky for it, here came an unfortunately stooge... a very strong one who all monsters have a grudge against.  "GA... BRI... ELLE!!!" It was able to snarl out in a demonic scream before charging towards its new foe at full speed. 

        The warrior leaped into the air and swung his axe with full force while the zombie swung it's right paw. Blade met claw, with both at full strength. Both were bounced back for a moment before launching towards each other again in the same way. 

        The Dracolich pulled a fast one and sideswiped him with its left paw. Gab rolled along the dirt path a few rolls before flipping back onto his feet. While still keeping his speed, he summoned up a series of light orbs over his head. The orbs launched towards the beast, with each one launched replaced by a new one milliseconds later. The barrage angered the monster. It reared its head back before breathing out a noxious gas- the same as the kind used to encircle the town. Gabrielle quickly covered his mouth with his free hand- Dracolich gas is fatal...

         ... and flammable. The dragon snapped its teeth to make a spark. The spark ignited the gas, rapidly turning the fumes into an explosion that covered a wide area before striking Gab- the first major hit of both fights. The blast knocked Gabrielle on his back. His axe came loose and landed a dozen-or-so feet away.

        Back at the tavern, all anyone could do was watch as the zombie stomped its way over to the defenseless Gabrielle, still winded by that blast. Nobody could do anything to help... well, not without a selfish goal behind it. 

        Sopa closed his hands into fists as he gritted his teeth. "Grrr... i just killed that dragon and that stranger thinks he can steal my glory?!" He gripped his pole-ax by the handle and charged right in without a second thought.

        "He can't be that petty..." A unbelieving Ash droned, dumbstruck by the stupidity and selfishness coming from this warrior.

        "That's Sopa for ya..." Jess sighed. "... but right now, he's the only fighter we have that can hopefully take down that thing..."

        Ash gave her a indignant glare. The ONLY warrior? He's seen Req do some incredible things back at River City, and he's not that shabby himself. "...not the only warrior.... Fenrir. Cobalt." He readied his pistols and turned to job into the fight, with the wolf and eagle following right beside him.
    
        The Dracolich was right on top of Gabrielle, holding down by its paw, leaving his head exposed for it to bite down on. It opened its nasty mouth and brought it down to bite, but was suddenly struck in the head by a furry blue and white blur. The dragon nearly toppled over by the impact, loosening its grip on Gabrielle. The Simargl came back around and launched razor-sharp feathers out of its left wing. Those, coupled with the incoming mana shots by Ash, struck the dragon in the eye, popping it like a zit.

        His eyes glowing like fire, an enraged Sopa dug the pole-ax into the beasts gut and sliced it open as he ran alongside it. Black smoke hissed out the gaping wound. With flames coming out his footwear, he leaped and sliced up the dragons throat, forcing its head upward. It flapped open as more black smoke hissed out. 

        The crowd cheered on the warriors as they actually did some damage to it. They may actually make it out of this alive. But there's always that one person who focuses on something else... "THAT STRANGER HAS A MONSTER FOR A PET!?!" A FUMING and hellishly irate Noah shouted at the top of his lungs as the Simargl launched the feathers into the eye. Figures he'd focus on that and not the hard damage Sopa just delivered.

        The cheers of the crowd slowly went away as the wounds delivered to the beast were reversed. The holes in the gut and neck were healed up like they were done by a professional surgeon and the eye returned as it if hadn't popped. As if it wasn't bad enough, the wing Sopa cut off earlier was slowly growing back, one bone at a time. It focused all its time and power to speeding up the process.

        "It's regenerating?!" a surprised Sopa commented. "It didn't do that last time."

        "It's an undead. They can replace missing parts, given enough time." Gabrielle explained. "The only true way to kill them is destroying the head."

        "Then we chip this blokes head off and just slice it to pieces." That last part had him grinning from ear to ear.

        "No. We can't. Big customers like the Dracolich can only be destroyed by destroying the Bonewalker or Revenant that merged with it. To do that, we need to find where they entered the body, which could be anywhere- the foot, the tail, the horns, the wings, even a tooth. The only clue to go by is ripples, like a stone thrown into water."

        "Ripples?" Ash replied, recalling that he saw something like that before the fight. "I saw ripples- on the Dragons forehead." The zombie, overhearing everything, snapped its head in Ash's direction. "I thought it was just the wind-- oh, shit!" He had no time to react from a sudden beam attack from the monster. It wasn't a full charge- just a quick burst. Those, thankfully, are only powerful enough to destroy a single house. But they can be charged in quick succession, so it's the same result, just takes a lot longer. 

        "Getting to it is going to be difficult..." Gabrielle said to himself.

        "Says you, old man." Sopa scoffed before launching himself towards the beast. He did not last long as he was whacked by the tail right into the ground. Gabrielle slowly shook his head in disappointment. 

        It snapped its jaw back open and began powering up another uber beam attack. Gabrielle summoned and magically increased the size of one of the light orbs before launching it. It flew inside the beasts mouth and expanded, cutting off its access to any further attempts at beam attacks. To add insult to injury, he cast another spell, "Agidi". A magic shield appeared in Dracolich's throat. No more gas and no more beam. The Dracolich made sounds like it was choking, feeling its access to the heavy attacks was cut off. 

        His weapon glowed as it decreased in size until it was the size of a woodsman axe. He leaped back up and held it with both hands as he swung to attack the weakspot while it was distracted by its predicament. That did not last as long as he would've liked. The Dracolich snarled and moved faster then he had anticipated, getting headbutted hard into someones home.

        Shots rang out as bolts peppered its body in rapid succession. The monster glared towards Ash, who was moving as fast as he could as he fired his pistols as fast as they could. As it didn't have access to either breath attack, it was going to have to improvise. It smacked a wagon towards Ash with one of its rear legs.  He ran towards it and leaped over, only to be met with a tail-swipe that sent him into a outcropping protruding out the raised hill the tavern was on.

        Back at the tavern, everyone was stunned by how easily this monster was cleaning shop with their seasoned warrior in Sopa, the stranger Gabrielle who just showed how powerful he was, and the other stranger Ash. Even the surprisingly friendly monster in the Simargl wasn't doing any damage.

        "How can they even beat this thing...?" One of the townsfolk breathlessly gasped. "Even Sopa can't do a thing to it... and he killed it when it was alive..."

        Req closed her left hand into a fist while the right still had the tray, infuriated that she is sitting on the sidelines while three skilled fighters were getting their asses handed to them by a monster that was already killed. She wants to help out, but doesn't know how in this current predicament: The outfit she was wearing is both freeing and limited, and the cutlass wasn't going to do a damn thing- it's so rusted and chipped, it'll likely crack apart if she hit it only once. 
    
        But... there was one thing here that could help them- ironically, it was the same weapon the monsters used against them: the lance used by the Bonewalker leader. Gabrielle threw it down when he charged at the monstrosity- was it on purpose so that someone could help. It wasn't much to go on, and she is terrible with spears and lances when compared to swords, but they have no options.

        With no warning to everyone in the crowd, Requiem burst forward, grabbing the lance as she ran off. John called out to her to stop while several of the townsfolk, including Jessica, gasped, but what can they do against a monster? Except for Aura and his brothers and Sopa's goons, nobody here is a fighter.

        The Dracolich walked along the path towards the winded Ash, who was struggling to get up with the Simargl helping. The undead nightmare was right on top of them when it was hit on the horn by a thrown tray. "Hey Ugly!" It turned to face who threw it and saw her standing at the top of the outcropping. Its eyes went wide as it recognized her instantly: she was here all along? "I saw better zombies in a kids play!" The black abyss that was its eyes reverted back to its original dead white as the black color contracted into black dots the size of goblets.

        The moment she saw the eyes contract and focus squarely on her, that's when Req knew she was in a bad way. "Uh-oh..." The Dracolich let loose another howling screen of a roar like a dying girl before lunging at her at top speed to snap its jaws shut on her. It moved so fast, it was like a blur. Anotehr blur thankfully saved her as she was shoved aside by the Simargl, who then quickly flew away before the bite.

        Req didn't fall over, but knew that things were about to go from bad to worse as the Dracolich snapped in her direction, with express intent to KILL!!!! She didn't wait around for it to start chasing after her for her to bolt as fast as she possibly can. The dragon roared again before chasing after her, running like a demonic dog. "All this for a bad joke!?! It wasn't even that great!"

        Engulfed in a blue and white display of sparkles, the Simargl came in from out of nowhere and spiraled into the undead monsters face. It staggered it a little, but it kept up its pursuit of its pray. IT was focused and had a clear goal: Klll her by any means necessary. The Simargl tried its attack again, approaching from above, this time with more force behind it as it was a hard drop. It worked as the head slammed into the ground, causing the body to flip head over heels. This victory was only temporary as while it rolled, it smacked the Simargl away like a fly to a flyswatter with its tail, slapping the winged dog down into the ground, burying it in a little indent made upon impact. The Dragon got back up and continued its pursuit.

        Miraculously, Req was able to make it to the treeline when the Simargl slammed down. She leaped up onto a sturdy enough branch and panted- what is it with her and dragons lately? What's been with the last couple of days in general? She was in no position to ponder as the beast leaped at her like a lion. Her eyes went wide in fear as she leaped to the next tree seconds before the beast collided with the last one.

        She used the lance to latch onto a sturdy branch and looked back. Bad idea as the beast appeared out of nowhere in such a sudden and scary fashion, tearing through the trees as she leaped from tree to tree, heading up the treeline unintentionally back towards the tavern. They were nothing compared to the undead beast.

        Sopa suddenly came in from out of nowhere and delivered a devastating, firey dropkick to the monsters jaw, breaking it as the force from his kick pushed the beast deep into the forest. Req panted as she stopped and looked back towards her surprising savior. "And that is how its done." He smugly grinned as he put his fist to his hip and his pole-ax on his shoulder.

        Req gave a little smirky laugh as she continued to pant. "My surprising savior: a world-class jerk."
        
        "Hey!"

        "Heh.. least i don't have to worry about Jessica feeling uns--"

        The two of them made the mistake of letting their guard down as the Dracolich burst out of the woods, splinting the tree Req was on while simultaneously smacking her HARD with its right paw, sending her flying towards the village. She was hit so hard, she had dropped the lance, which was sent spinning a fair deal away from her. She has the misfortune of crashing into Ash, who was just helped up by Gabrielle. The two of them fell to the ground as she hit them with the force of a train. They groaned in pain while the Dracolich smacked Sopa into a tree. It roared once more before running towards the disabled fighters.

        A magical whip wrapped around the legs of the beast, making it topple down to the ground. Gabrielle pulled on the whip hard, making sure the whip was wrapped nice and tight around all four legs. The dragon howled in anger before smacking its tail into the ground, making him lose his balance. The whip vanished and the Dracolich was ready to rise up and finish this fight when a surprising upset appeared.

        Without a sound or a warning, Aura leaped from top of the outcropping, grasping the lance in both hands as he thrust it right into the forehead of the surprised beast. The Dracolich roared in fear, knowing that this lad was close to ending its life. It flailed about like a wild animal trapped in a cage, trying to get Aura off its head by any means necessary. Aura hung onto the lance for deal life, digging it deeper into the forehead.

        Req sat up in pain and saw what Aura was doing. She was shocked to see him in battle: he's normally protecting Jessica whenever a fight breaks out. To see him in the middle of one was new. She also noticed something dangling in the mouth of the monster. Not the strange dangling thing in the back- the uvula- but the upper head and torso of the Bonewalker itself as it returned to the merge point. It must be trying to move far enough away from the lance to avoid being killed, but she had no way to get to it with it flailing about like that.

        The opening would arrive when a powerful magical blast by Gabrielle cemented the monster into the outcropping in a awkward position: its head was facing down towards the ground while its body flailed above. The magical blast made Aura fall off the head, rolling on his side before popping back up. The lance was still in the forehead as the ripples opened up to reveal a grotesque-looking eye right in the middle of it.

        Req got up and approached Aura. He looked back to her and they both nodded- they only have one chance to end this and they had to take it. They rushed in, grabbed the lance, and thrust it in as hard as they could. The eye cast a magical barrier when they ran over. When the metal hit the barrier, it created a demonic howl as a magical wind with the appearance of dark lightning tried to push them back. The lightning hit points on their body, causing more pain, but they pushed through it.

        The Dracolich was able to pull its head out of the outcropping and raise high in the sky, roaring loudly as the duo hung on like they are doing wire work, as the lightning evolved into black fire, which hurt even worse. When the head lowered and settled, it was their last shot.

        Persevering through the lightning and the pain, and putting their hands at the other end of the lance heads- her left and his right-, the two of them yelled in unison as they pushed down with all the strength they could muster. Their eyes glowed temporarily, as did the back of Aura's right hand. The lance broke through the barrier, piercing the eye and digging straight though the skull, hitting the tongue.

        The Dracolich screamed in agony, flailing about with such ferocity, it finally flung the two off, however late it was. It rose up onto its hind legs and screamed into the sky when... it stopped. 

        First, it fell onto  the knees of its hind legs. Then it staggered back and forth for a bit before finally falling over to the side, crashing down so hard, it created a tremor that lifted everyone off the ground a few feet. A guttural gasp came from withih as the eyes were dead with life. Black smoke began to wisp off the old corpse made new, signalling that this was now truly dead.

        "Di.... did we do it?" Aura asked.

        "I... i think so..." A exhausted and drained Req replied. She sqawked like she was powering down a video game as she fell backwards. "I feel as dead as him..."

End Song.



        An invisible Oculus watched from the sidelines, from behind the massive crowd gathered in front of the tavern. On the other side, sitting on a throne in the shadows, someone had watched the battle and was thoroughly entertained. "Took down a Dracolich... one animated by one of my best, too... i'm impressed." The Oculus focused on Requiem and Aura, who were exhausted. "I'd say the first test... was a success..."



        Once the dust had settled, everyone was slowly calming down from the fight. The body of the Dracolich was slowly fading away into black whisps of smoke, and the person killed by the Bonewalkers before the madness began was identified as Klaus, a simple farmer who didn't have a family, so Noah was going to have to auction off all his possessions. As for the fighters, Ash, the Simargl, Sopa, Requiem, and Gabrielle were hurt from the battle- a lot of broken bones and a bruised ego for Sopa. 

        "Ow..." Req hissed as Jessica pressed a cold washcloth on her forearm. She, Ash, the Simargl- having changed back to Fenrir and Cobalt, and Sopa were back at the tavern, sitting on chairs brought outside as their wounds were tended to. "Ugh... everything hurts..."

        "I can imagine." Aura commented. He had retreived the lance from the mouth of the thing and was looking it over. "You got shaken up pretty good out there."

        "Why aren't you hurt?" Sopa barked in pain.

        "Because i was a last minute save. You would've seen it if you were conscious." He returned his attention to the lance. "This is a pretty looking lance, though. How would a monster have something this intrigute, anyway?"

        "Because Bonewalkers are scavengers." Gabrielle said as he walked into the tavern, looking as right as rain, like he wasn't hurt at all. "It's likely he took that from a fancy noble or stole it from a ruined museum."

        Ash held up a hand, realizing it was a bad idea as he winced in pain. "Hold on, why aren't you hurt? You got smacked around as hard as us."

        The answer was revealed when he held up a small glass bottle with a blue drink inside. "This. It's a healing potion." He handed it to Req, who slowly took it from how much pain she's in. "They are rare and hard to make, so only take a drop."

        "How does it work?" She asked as she looked it over.

        "It'll numb the pain and heal your wounds while you sleep. But keep in mind that it will go into affect AFTER you go to sleep, so don't think about doing jumping jacks until the morning." She doesn't do jumping jacks, but she gets the point. She took a millisecond swig and licked her lips- it tastes like blackberries. She felt the pain go away as her body briefly glowed. "Huh. Tastes like blackberries." She passed it on to Ash, whose body also glowed after he took a swig. He also put a few drops into Fenrir and Cobalt, who glowed as well. Sopa got it last.

        "That was so cool, what you did out there!" Adi gleamed with admiration in his eyes. "How did you do all that? All the magic and the crazy stuff? And can you teach me how to do all that stuff?"

        "I travel. I've been to a number of places you can only dream about. And no, i can't. The magic i weild is far too advanced for someone as young as you."

        "Then it was you who brought the Bonewalkers here!!" Noah exclaimed as he stormed towards them, as per usual. Req and his children groaned as he came to them- he's gonna try to pick a fight again. "They followed you here, you outsider filth!"

        Gabrielle leered at the old man. Is he seriously trying to pick a fight with a powerful stranger that single-handedly took out a squad of Bonewalkers and Revenants, and went toe-to-toe with a Dracolich? "Did you miss the show out there? If it weren't for me, a lot more people would've died to the Bonewalkers and Revenants. I'm sorry about the farmer, but it wasn't my fault they came to this village. You forgot to put up the shield before i came. And except for a select few, i saw nobody in this town lift a finger to fight against the Dracolich. If it wasn't for my magic, this place would be ruins. So next time you--"

        Noah could see he was going nowhere with this ingrate and instead moved on to Ash to avoid getting a lecture from those he viewed as beneath him. "And you! You brought a monster into my village!"

        "Geez, you are annoying." Ash muttered as he pinched his eyes. "Yes, i did, but it's been two days and, obviously, he hasn't attacked anyone, and he was a big help in the fight against the giant zombie. There are good and bad people in the world, and there are good and bad monsters as well, and the Simargl here is a good monster." Fenrir and Cobalt smugly nodded at the old brute. "Next time you want to pick a fight, don't try it against people who saved your sorry ass." 

        All the townsfolk and refugees present agreed with him- they weren't from around here, but they saved their lives so why would Noah try to pick fights with people he clearly cannot handle? Noah gave in return to all of this was a sneer before he stormed on out, shoving aside a kid as he did so. 

        Gabrielle slowly shook his head as he cross his arms. "What is his problem?" 

        "Where do we start?" Req, Adi, Aura, and Jessica replied. And from his own children too- he was a bad father and a bad leader through and through.

        After having been on the sidelines all through this, John finally appeared for hte first time tonight, backing out of his tavern. "I don't know what kind of magic you performed on my tavern, stranger..."

        "Sorry about that, but i needed the room to fight the Bonewalkers."

        "You didn't let me finish. I've been meaning to expand for a few months now, but couldn't find the time. You just saved me a lot of time and money. I can fit a lot more people in the main area now. And that means more sleeping room for the refugees, too."

        "Guess that means we're no longer sleeping in the tower with Requiem anymore." Damien commented and Ash nodded.

        This is the first Aura is hearing of this. "Wait, what?"

        Gabrielle took his vial back from Sopa and capped it off. "I need to go." He said as he put it in the pockets of his cloak.

        "Because of father?" Jess asked. "I know he is a jerk, but--"
    
        "No, it's not because of that. It's the aftermath." He looked to the corpse of the Dracolich, which was still giving off black wisps of smoke. "The death cry of that thing echoed for miles. It will surely attract a lot of attention by that alone. Then there's the decomposition- until it's completely gone, the scent will attract more undead foes as well." He sent his axe away. "I'm gonna go take a gander at that shield generator before i head out- see if i can fix it."

        "You're welcome to try." Aura said. "But we've been trying to fix that thing for decades."

        "Maybe it just needs a little magic touch." He said with a knowing smirk. "Everyone should head on home for the night. It would be wise not to risk anymore deaths tonight." he started walking towards the temple. The townsfolk followed his advice and headed for home as well- this was already a wild night to remember.

        Sopa got up and put his pole-ax on his back. "I should get back to Rubi. She must be shaken up by all the commotion tonight." He headed off, with his posse following behind him.

        Jessica watched him walk away. "He cares about someone other then him?" Damien crudely asked.

        "She is his only family." Jessica said. "If there is one nice thing i can say about Sopa, he's a caring brother."

        "Here's hoping he'll be a good father as well." Aura said as he got up off his seat. Jessica nodded as she got up off the ground. "We should be heading back home anyway." He waved good-bye to Req. "See ya tomorrow. And here's hoping that stranger is right about the magic water."

        "You and me both." Req chuckled.

        Soon, everyone had left to return home, ready to put the crazy night behind them. The blankets and pillows were passed back out to the refugees as Req, Adi, John, and a few volunteers moved the tables and chairs back outside for the night. Req had put out the last stool when she saw the beam from the temple go up into the air and spread out to form the shield. Fixed or not, everyone will feel comfortable with the added protection. She clapped her hands and returned inside to the tavern.

        "Will you two be alright down here?" She asked Damien and Ash as they got settled in.

        "I think we'll be fine." Ash said. "Like i said yesterday, i traveled for years. Hardwood floors- i can manage."

        "Yeah, same." Damien said as he sat down on the floor. "Feels the same as the floor up there." She wouldn't really know- she never slept on the floor up there in the tower. ... well, not at first. "By the way, i think our new protector left something behind." He pointed to where Gabrielle sat before. She looked and saw a huge item, wrapped in cloth, standing in the corner. It was as tall as her and, based on the rough shape, must be a sword. "Did anyone even notice that before?" He asked as she approached it.

        "I don't know." She responded. "He must've sat in front of it." She grabbed what she assumed is the handle and lifted it up. It was as light as a feather. "And we were too focused on the fight to notice, i guess." She settled what she assumed is the blade on her left hand. "Feels like a sword. Maybe it's a heirloom to that girl he's looking for."

        "He must've forgotten it in all the craziness." Ash theorized. "I forgot my pistols a few times after a wild day myself."

        She nestled it into her hands. It's so lightweight, it's like she's not even holding it. "Until he comes back, i'm gonna hold onto it. The tower is the safe place to put it. No offense, but i don't want to risk theives taking it."

        "None taken." Damien said. "There was a robbery problem in River City before, anyways."

       After saying goodnight to the two of them, John, and Adi, Req climbed up the tower steps. Once she reached the attic, she put the covered 'sword' in a safe spot behind the stairway trapdoor and walked through the path towards her room. She was so tired and beat, she didn't even changed into her pajama's.  She plopped facefirst down onto her bed and fell asleep instantly, unaware of the rolling dragon egg underneath her bed. Cracks began to form along the shell. A hole popped open and a tiny eye peaked out.

 

       She just can't catch a break, can she?

9: Chapter 8: A Baby Dragon?!

Chapter 8

A Baby Dragon?!

8/16/2210 A.D. – 8/16/200 A.W. 



 

        Loud, obnoxious, window shaking snoring filled the tower room. With her left leg on the windowsill, her right leg and arm dangling over the side of the bed, and her left arm draped over her head, Requiem was snoring up a storm. Her mouth was open wide as she shook the house like a loud siren. The potion Gabrielle gave them did its job; She, Sopa, Ash, and the Simargl were fully healed up. They were snoring up a storm, however- guess that was a side-effect Gabrielle didn't know about. 

        She felt something small moving around on her belly- it felt like a cat. She snorted once before continuing to sleep away. She felt claws, which were uncomfortable, but she had dealings with them before. She was far too sleepy to think things through and just wanted to keep on sleeping. "Mmm... not now, Aura.... i'm still tired..." She groggily said.

        The claws and whoever it belonged to moved up to her chest. Now it felt uncomfortable as the claws dug into her breasts as they moved up to her head. "Ow......" 

        She forced opened her eyes to see a pair of tiny little eyes looking at her. The eyes belonged to a small crimson scaly body with yellow-ish orange vine-like markings, with furled wings, tiny horns, and a stubby tail. The gears in her brain went into action as she slowly realized that she was staring at a baby dragon the size of a full grown cat.

        Her eyes went wide in fear as she shrieked and shouted, kicking her legs and arms wildly. She already dealt with twp dragons before now- she didn't want to deal with another! In her panic, she accidentally kicked the dragon off her bed and into the wall. She fell onto the floor and backed away on her hands and feet, panting heavily as she thought she was going to be killed.

        ...only the baby dragon didn't do a thing. The baby whined in pain as it struggled to get up. Barely alive for a couple of hours and its already badly hurt. It tried standing on its legs, but fell over out of exhaustion. 

        Requiem's panic was slowly replaced with fear and dread. As she calmed down, she realized that she had attacked a baby and went intoher protective mode. Whenever she sees a hurt animal, she becomes like a mother hen and works effortlessly to help. Now she can add dragons to that list. "Wh... oh no..." This thing has done nothing to her- well, except clawmarks on her chest, but it was to keep this from happening. She gasped in fear when she realized this. "Oh no... oh no no no no no no..." She crawled over to the baby. It moved its head to look up at her in sorrow and fear. "Oh dear... oh, i'm so sorry..."

        She slowly stretched out her hand. The baby winced as it moved itself into the wall. "Shh... shh... it's ok... i won't hurt you again..." She slowly put a single finger to the head of the dragon, showing it that it didn't have anything to fear from her now. "I'm sorry..." The baby closed its eyes as it nuzzled up to her finger. She slowly moved to her whole hand. It purred louder. "Aw...." With the dragon distracted, she moved closer to get a good look at its body, to see how it was hurt. She saw the drake had a broken leg and a broken wing, all on its left side. She didn't know about any internal damages. 

        "I'm so sorry. I wish i could he--" She then realized that she was fully healed up despite going to bed hurt last night, recalling Gabrielle's potion. "Oh, wait, Gabrielle's miracle juice. It can cure just about anything..." She pouted as she lowered her head. "...but he could be anywhere out there... and i don't know how bad you are hurt..."

        There was a knocking at her door, which made her freak. If anyone learned that she had a dragon in her room, even if it is a newborn that didn't do a thing, Noah would come down hard on her, and he is scarily ruthless when that happens. He loathes dragons with a vengeance- that's half the reason why he threw Sopa a party. And he is not afraid to banish- she's honestly surprised he hasn't done it to her already; she can thank John, Aura, and Jessica for preventing that.

        Req scooted back over to her bed, bringing the dragon with her. She laid down on the floor and positioned herself in a way to where it looked like she fell out of bed, with one foot still on the mattress for good measure. She hid the baby under the blanket, while leaving a big enough opening for it to get some air. She made it looked as natural as she could before putting those acting chops to the test. "Uuuuuuurgh..." She moaned, acting like she was still tired.

        The door opened up and Adi came in. When he saw Req on the floor, he put his hands on his hips. "I knew you were a heavy sleeper, but wow...."

        She "forced" opened her eyes and saw her brother standing there. "If that's a jab at my weight, i'm gonna end you..." She grumbled. She felt the baby dragon moving around under the blanket. She stealthily moved her covered hand to keep it still. She looked out the window and saw that it was daytime- cloudy, but the sky was still lit up. "What time is it anyway...?"

        "10. You slept for a long while. Same with Ash and that flying wolf thing of his. They were snoring up a storm. I doubt anyone down there in the lobby got any sleep."

        She slowly raised her head off the floor. "Did you say 10? I missed breakfast?"

        "Yeah, but we were able to save you a plate."

        "Thanks." She wondered to herself what dragons ate. Or to be more blunt, what baby dragons ate. They're lizards overall- they don't produce milk. Is it like birds and its already chewed up? Or something small enough for it to eat? Bacon seems as good a place to start as any. "Thank you can bring me my plate..." She yawned. This was real- despite being jolted awake, she still did just wake up. "I, un... hurt my foot."

        He raised an eyebrow. "Your foot? I thought the strangers potion was to heal your wounds while you slept."

        "It did..." She had to come up with a excuse quick. Luckily, her 'predicament' gave her the perfect one. "...i got this when i fell out of bed... hit it hard against something. So think you can bring some bandages?"

        "I guess." He shrugged as he went on downstairs, closing the trapdoor behind him.

        With it closed, Req pushed the blanket off of her and took a look at the baby dragon, who was more then perturbed being trapped under that blanket. "Sorry for that, little guy, but it was the only thing i could think of." It gave her a hiss and stuck out its tongue. "Is that your idea of a raspberry?" She snorted a laugh. "At least i didn't accidentally take away that attitude.... assuming you have a attitude." She scratched her forehead. "Where did you even come f--" The answer came to her just as her mind wandered. There was only one place the baby could've come from. 

        She reached underneath her dressed and pulled out several shards of the egg she and Adi found. Remnants of yoke and embryonic fluid dripped onto the floor. "... so it had life in it after all." She looked down at the dragon. "I bet that death roar from the zombie woke you up, huh?" She then thought back to the dragons she and Adi encountered at the ruins. The one that chased them through the ruins was white- almost an Albino. The dragon in her lap was crimson with orange markings, so the big guy can't be its mom or dad. The other dragon, however, might be. It's the same color for the base scales and... well, things were happening so fast, she's not sure if the thing had markings. "Was the big guy looking to take out the child of a rival? That would make the most sense." The baby tilted its head, wondering what she was saying. "Right... I guess you can't understand me." 

        She laid her head back on the bed frame, sputtering like a horse as she rubbed her hands on her face. "Pbpbpbpbpbpbpbp..." She ran her hands down and put them to her side. "What a week...first a dragon, then a kraken, and then the undead... and now a baby..." The dragon merely blinked at her with big, inquisitive eyes. "Ugh... can i just take a chill pill and sleep all day? I'm begging for it..."

        The door opened without the person on the other side knocking. Adi came in with the plate. "We weren't able to save you much, but i--" He then noticed the baby dragon on her lap. He stood still out of shock and fear, causing the plate to fall out of his hands. 

        "ADI!?!" Req shrieked.

        "D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d..." 

        She quickly bounded up off the floor, holding the dragon in one hand, and pulled him inside, keeping his mouth shut while she slammed and locked the door. "What do you think you are doing?! You should've knocked- i could've been naked!"

       He blinked in rapid succession as he came back to reality. He pulled her hand away from his mouth. "... well, you may as well have!" He saw the dragon in her other hand and freaked, jumping backwards into her bookshelf. "And you are just holding that thing!? Did you forget that TWO tried to kill us in the last 3 days?"

     The dragon tried to get out of her hand as he wanted the food now on the floor. "Of course i remember! Almost being eaten isn't something you'd forget."

        "Where did that thing even-- wait, lemme guess. The egg we found." She nodded. The dragon finally got out of her grip and crawled along her bed towards the laundry basket it used to get up. "... so much for an ostrich, but we have to get rid of this thing."

        "We can't. It's just a baby- it's only a few hours old. And even if i wanted to, there's two problems: the barrier and that i... accidentally hurt it when i woke up to it on my neck, so i have that guilt weighing down on me." He raised an eyebrow. "It crawled up my body and looked me in the eyes when i woke up- moving on."

        "Wait, you hurt it?"

        She rubbed her neck, guilty by her deed. "When I... freaked out, i accidentally flung it into the wall. Its got a broken leg and wing and i don't know if anything is wrong with it on the inside since i can't see inside." She gestured outside. "And since that barrier is up, i can't go looking for that Gabrielle fella to get some of that miracle potion." The dragon slowly clawed its away down the basket and limped over to the plate.

        "Well, i hope you aren't planning on keeping it." Adi callously said. "It may be a newborn baby, but it is still a dragon, and you know how much Noah hates dragons. His children won't be able to stop that rage storm when it erupts and you were never on his good side, so when he brings down the hammer, he'll be hard and ruthless. You'll be banished or he may even try to kill you himself."

        "I doubt he'd go that far." Req said. "If anything, he may get Sopa to do it."

        "Doubt that. If there are any redeemable qualities in that lunatic, it's that he never hits anyone human, especially a girl. Living in a houseful of them softened him up a bit."

        Req groaned as she rubbed her face for the umpteenth time in minutes. "Ugh... look... all i know is that until Gabrielle gets back and the barrier is brought down, i'm stuck with this thing. Until one of the two happens, we need to keep this a secret. I know no one in town has any love for Noah, but some would squeal on us for some brownie points with that loser." She exhaled sharply as she sat back on her hands. "... we need to figure out what it eats."

        "It's a dragon. Obviously, it's meat."

        "Yeah, but it is a newborn baby. Maybe they do it like birds where the momma does.... whatever it does to make it look so gross. And dragons are lizards, not mammals, so milk is out of the picture. An--" It soon dawned on her that hte baby wasn't anywhere near her. "Wait." She looked to her left and right in a panic. "Where's the dragon?" She burst up from her bed and frantically looked around. "Where's the dragon!?!"

        "I don't know!"

        "You were looking right at me and it was in my hands! You could've seen--"

        They were interrupted by the sounds of eating. The siblings blinked a couple times before looking down to the floor. They saw the baby tearing into the food Adi had dropped, devouring hash browns like they were a rare commodity. It hadn't even touched the bacon or the eggs- it was solely focused on the fried potato. 

        Adi opened his mouth to speak, but stopped. He then raised a finger, stating, "... i wasn't aware they liked potatoes."

        "Neither did I." Req said. She squatted down so she could get a better look at the dragon devouring away at what was to be her breakfast. "Scary eaters even when they are tiny." She leaned forward and the dragon growled at her like a dog with a chew toy. "He must really like potatoes."

        He put his hands into his pockets as he got used to the baby drake. "Sure it's that and not how dad makes hash browns?"

        "We can experiment later." She stood back up. "After this thing is done eating, i'm taking it to the hospital."

        Naturally, that resulted in a loud, echoing screech from Adi. "YOU'RE WHAT!?!"

        She plugged her ears when he shouted. She hoped nobody heard that. "Shhhhhh. Good work on staying quiet, dum dum." He put his hand over his mouth when he realized he done goofed. "I plan on going when it's at its most empty- lunch time. When everyone is gone, i can sneak in and get a few internal pictures done; see if i did any bad damage."

        He held up his hands, nothing wanting to do with this. "... good luck with that. I'm out." He turned and headed for the exit.

        That wasn't going to happen. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. "Oh no you don't." He continued walking, despite being a foot off the floor. He eventually figured it out. "You're going to be my lookout when i'm in there."

        "Like hell i am." He grimaced at her. "Why should i help you? This isn't my problem."

        "It became your problem when you came in without knocking." She let him go. He staggered on the first step. "Now turn around and keep an eye on that dragon. I gotta change out of these pajama's." He stuck her tongue out at her but did as she asked. He turned around and slammed his butt down on the floor with his arms and legs crossed. She slowly shook her head. "Always so dramatic."

        Adi looked down at the eating dragon as his sister changed out of her nightware and into something more comfortable and fitting. The baby had completely devoured the potatoes on the plate and moved towards the bacon. It took its time with that. "Never in a million years would i guess that dragons were addicted to potatoes." He commented. "You're not going to name it, are you?"

        "Are you kidding me?! Of course not!" Req exclaimed as she put on a plaid button shirt with pockets for holding small items. Once it was rolled on, she began buttoning it up. "I have no plans on keeping a dragon. I'm not suicidal."

        "I'm just sayin';... we can't keep calling it 'it'. It's not fiar to this little guy. Or... girl?" He tilted his head, realizing that they have no idea to tell dragons apart.
        
        "Well, good luck coming up with a name that works. I'm not going to come up with one." She pulled up a pair of plaid pants that matched with her shirt. "I'm more concerned with how i'm going to sneak it out without being caught."

        "You can take the same route Aura does when he comes for a 'friendly' visit."

        She closed her left hand into a fist and put it on her hips. "Oh, ha ha. Hilarious." She looked towards the window and put a finger to her chin. "But... not a bad idea, if i'm being honest. But then how would i carry it?"

        Adi went over to the coat rack and pulled off her knapsack. "This is big enough." He turned it around to show it to her.

        That wasn't a bad idea... but putting a baby in a knapsack, even if it is a dragon, felt cruel in her mind. She never understood why people would think that is an acceptable thing to do. "But it will run out of air quick."

        "Which is why going down Aura's route is the faster option. You can avoid everyone down in the lobby easily, and it won't be a problem for you to get down from up here."

        "I guess." She grabbed it and flipped open the flap. They looked back down at the baby dragon and saw that it had fallen asleep from the wild feast for its size. It rested upside down on its back, with legs in the air and tongue hanging out. It burped loudly, creating a puff of smoke. "Least it's cute... until it grows into a giant lizard of death."



        "{...sounds like quite the party.}"

        A goblin shrieked a death rattle as it fell backwards, purple blood spurting out its forehead as it and its kin had been slain by Gabrielle. True to his warning, the death roar of the Dracolich was attracting all sorts of monsters from miles away. This troupe of goblins were the most recent, but they weren't going to be the last. The floating crystal hovered beside him as he swung his axe, swinging the blood off it.

        "It was." He panted. "Bonewalkers, Revenants, and a Dracolich... a undead trifecta..."

        "{At least she can fight. You said she escaped a dragon and a Kraken- that's not exactly a good indicator that she can fight. It sounded more like she was more good at running. At least with these, we got some of an idea. Even if it was a death blow. But i'll admit: i'm impressed a couple of regular humans were able to hold their own against it, even if they did get flattened in the end.}"

        "The people of today aren't as fragile as the Golden Age..." He said as he used magic to ruffle through the goblins pouches for any valuables. "It's fight or die."

        "{We noticed. ... what are you doing, anyway?}"

        "Looting. It's a term used in RPG video games, back when they still made them. A mechanic is allowing you to rummage through the defeated bodies of your foes for valuables, such as items to sell for money or healing items."

        "{... ok, this isn't one of those video thingies. This is real life. And furthermore... you don't need to go rifling through disgusting bodies for loot. You have a near infinite supply.}"

        "I know. But Teria doesn't." Coins, assorted bottles of liquid, and the weaponry of the goblins were extracted and hovered before him. Again using magic, he sorted them into the piles he had been accumulating from all the kills he had been achieving. The knifes and clubs went to the pile of weapons while the bottles went to the other random stuff he had extracted. The coins he put into his purse. These, he didn't get much of yet, but every bit helps. "They can use everything they can get. Their own defense generator was a few uses away from shutting down completely."

        "{Well... ok, i'll give you that. What about Serenity?}"

        "I already told you."

        "{I know... but what is her life like?}"

        "Her life? ... her life... she's perfectly happy and content where she is. She has a loving family, amazing friends, and a boyfriend that, from what i overheard, is the best, in all that it implies." He heard laughing coming from the crystal. "Yeah, laugh it up... but know it won't be easy to convince her to leave. She loves it here and wouldn't trade it for the world."

        "{She didn't tell you all that.}"

        "It's how i saw her act while watching her and from what i overheard. You can learn a lot that way. And... i don't think she'll ever want to leave."

        "{Well, of course. She's lived in that village her whole life. ... but... if you don't convince her... we know the enemy will torture her. You remember what happened back in Barcelona, what she did to that poor farm girl. Such pure mental torture...}" The voice shivered. "{No mortal should have to suffer that. I hope you can convince Serenity to leave before our enemy starts 'having fun'.}"

        Gabrielle turned his head to the sounds of approaching nastiness in the form of more goblins, flanked by a Ubergoblin- basically the same thing, but a lot taller and buffed up like it was on steroids. "Assuming i ever catch a break from all these hordes." He heaved up his axe and got ready for a fight. "Just how far did that death cry go?"

        "{Very far.}"




        Requiem and Adi skirted along the barrier's edge, following it around as it circumnavigated around the entire village, encasing it in a perfect yellow dome. They had hoped that by traveling this way, they can approach the hospital undetected so that she can put her mind at ease and check on the baby dragon. This was dangerous, what they were doing. Req survived encounters with three giant monsters this week alone- if Noah finds out about this, he'll be worse then all three combined.

        As they traveled, Req took a gander at the damage the battle with the Dracolich had wrought. An entire field of crops had been completely flattened, so there will be a reduced supply of white radishes and asparagus. THe land near there was scarred by the battle, with craters and holes littering the area. She saw where the Simargl was flattened. Even if it is supposedly a doomsday beast, there was no way it should've survived that.

        The duo had reached the side the hospital was on and broke away from the barrier, making their way there. They darted behind trees and bushes as they made their approach towards the back exit. Req was the first to reach the door. She pulled on the doorknob, but it wouldn't open. She grimaced and pulled again. She put both feet to the wall and pulled with all her might. Next thing she knew, her hands had slid off and she was on the ground. She was about ready to kick the thing down, but not before Adi held up a single finger and turned the doorknob, pushing the door open.

        Req got up off the ground and brushed off her back. "I knew that." She said as she went inside. Adi only rolled his eyes in bewilderment as he followed her in.

        Now they needed to play it safe. Even if Noah wasn't a jerk, nobody in these parts were big fans of dragons. There's been one too many attacks to strike fear into the hearts of many, and last night didn't do any favors. If anyone sees the baby dragon, they'll... well, she doesn't know how people will react when they see a baby dragon, but given the last few times dragons attacked Teria, she can get a good understanding: hiding in fear or trying to kill it.

        "Do you even remember the way to the image room?" Adi whispered as they made their way inside. Req stayed silent as the two of them hugged the wall. Silence was never a good reply. "Well?" She stayed silent. " oy kavalt...... when was the last time you were here getting one of those internal images taken?"

         She turned around and spoke in a hushed whisper,  "Last year when i broke my arm. And i think they're called X-Rays."
        "Doesn't really matter what they are called if we can't find the room. Why did the Golden Age have to build the insides of buildings so complicated?"

        It's not that big. A few dozen rooms and three floors, but nothing terribly big. The buildings in the ruins were bigger- bar none. "This isn't that big a place. I'm sure if we explore, we'll find it and i'm just now hearing it- why am i suggesting this when we are on a unbearably strict time limit?"

        He plopped down on the cold floor and crossed his arms. "And most everyone is out to lunch right now, so we can't follow anyone. And even if we did, we'd get caught."

        Req wasn't about to give up that easily. After a swift thought, she quickly snapped her fingers as she came up with an idea. "Wait a tick: patients would know, and we know one here who can keep a secret."

        They do? Yeah, they do. "W-- Rubi? You'd think she'd know where it is?"

        "Better then wandering around aimlessly until someone comes back and catches us in the act, and we know she can keep a secret." Adi wasn't so sure about that. She may keep secrets, but she is still Sopa's sister and may blab to him. "Look, i'll try to keep the dragon out of the conversation- i'll make up some kind of an excuse." The two of them began heading towards Rubi's room, which was just down the hall. For once, a easy location to reach. "And with almost everyone at the celebration last night, she must've been bored out of her mind, so why not pay her a visit, eh?"

        "Assuming she wasn't able to sleep through all that last night." The dragons head poked out of the knapsack and looked around at his new surroundings. Adi jogged up behind her and gently pushed it back in the knapsack. "And you stay in there. Can't risk exposing you to anyone."

        Req un-shouldered the knapsack and looked inside, seeing the dragon struggle to keep its balance amidst all the shaking. "I just hope he isn't tearing apart the inside. This is my only knapsack."

        The two reached Rubi's assigned room and knocked first. "Hey, Rubi. You in?" Req asked. There was no response. The siblings looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders before she opened the door. Req poked her head inside and saw that the bed was empty. "Huh. She's not here." She closed the door. "Must've been released today."

        "So we're back to square one: exploring."

        "Pretty much. Unless we can find a directory like in that hospital we salvaged in the ruins, we're boned."

        "To the front desk then."

        And so, the two of them walked down the nearest hall to head towards the front of the hospital. You'd figure with all the times Req had been here to visit Rubi, she'd know the place inside and out. And you'd figure she would as they passed by the room they needed to go. It wasn't until they were almost gone when Adi glanced at the sign saying 'imaging room' on the door and came to a halt. 

        "Un, Req?" He called to her. She turned around and, upon seeing the sign, facepalmed hard. "I think i found it."

        She rolled her hand down her face as she walked back to him. "So i walk past it all the time and i never once noticed it? How in the world does that work?"

        "I dunno, but you'd be surprised how common it is. You'd be surprised how many times i mix up rooms." He reached for the handle and tried to pull it up, but it was stuck. He tried pulling it down and it was stuck. He let go as he crossed his arms. "And it's locked. Great."

        "I got this." Req said confidently. She pulled a dagger out of her knapsack and took it out of the sheath. She slid the thin knife between the handle and the door frame, using it to jimmy the latch. After some maneuvering, the latch unclicked and the door opened on its own. They peered inside to see the room was void of people, which is what they wanted. "Told ya." She smirked as she spun the dagger by the handle.

        "Why do you have a dagger?"

        She slid the dagger back into the sheath and put it away. She then pulled out the baby dragon. "Why don't you?" She then walked in, leaving Adi a bit dazed for a moment before he followed her in. Feeling around on the wall, she found the light switch and flicked them on. It's amazing the power still works after 200 years, and there is a reason for that. The Golden Age people used the underground river in the area to power everything in the outpost. No need for a generator when you got a underground dam.

        The room only had one machine in the center- a CAT scan machine that had been here since the Golden Age. It needed replacement parts from time to time; plenty in the ruins to nab. There were other machines, like a traditional X-Ray machine, but most are too damaged for use. Req had planned to grab more machines out of the hospital in the Ruins for years, but she would need a lot of help as they are too heavy for her and too numerous. She'd have to wait until Noah leaves for somewhere to get the help she needs, if he ever does go somewhere.

        "Do you even know how to work this thing?" Adi asked as they approached the CAT Scan.

        "Um... no." Adi facepalmed yet again. She doesn't know how to work this thing, yet she's going to try to scan it? "But how hard can it be?" She glanced to the side of the machine and saw a book hanging off of it. "Aha. See? instructions." She placed the baby dragon on the bed before walking over to grab the instructions. It was hooked to the machine, so she was stuck where she was. "Go keep an eye out while i figure this out."

        "Why me?"

        "Because you are smaller." 

        "Because you are smaller. Pbbt." Adi said in a mocking tone. He did as she asked regardless and went towards the door. He stuck his head out. 

        At the same time, Req had flipped open the book and went to the table of contents. "Let's see... maintenance, procedure... blah blah blah... ah, here it is, scanning." And lucky for her, it came with pictures. "Ok... strap patient down with strap..." She looked at the bed and saw the dragon curled up like a cat. "... don't think that is a problem." She returned her attention to the book. "Beh beh beh... that must be how you turn it on."

        Following the instructions in the book, she flipped the necessary switches and pressed the right buttons to turn the machine on. It hummed to life and the bed began to slid into the machine. The sudden movement and sounds woke the baby up. Its head darted around as it wondered what was going on. It freaked out when it saw the white humming walls encircle it. 

        The dragons skeletal frame appeared on the screen above the switches and buttons, allowing her to see into the dragon and check if she did any lasting damage with her kick. She prayed she didn't- dragon or not, it's still newly born. Her prayers were answered as she saw only the broken wing and leg in the skeleton, and no damages to anything else.

        "Oh thank heavens." She breathed a sigh of relief. She turned the machine off and went to go pick the frightened and startled infant off the bed. "You are a lucky duck." She said as she picked it up. It squeaked like a duck; barely a couple hours old and it was already on a adventure. "Only a broken leg and wing."

        Adi pulled his head back in and looked towards them with the door partially shut. "Then how does that make it lucky?" 

        "Because broken limbs can be fixed with time. Internal damage cannot." She gently put the baby dragon back in the knapsack. "We'll have to make up some crutches and, and splints."

        "Really? We're actually going to heal this thing? Need i remind you that it is a baby dragon! They don't stay that small and cute forever, you know! Did you not see the size of that colossus last night?"

        "Of course we are going to help it. And i know how big its going to get. Soon as the barrier is down, we can go back to the ruins and try to give it back to its parent."

        "Its parent?"

        "Remember our last trip to the ruins? There were two dragons chasing after us: a white one with blood-red markings and a crimson one i didn't get a good look at." The baby dragons head poked out of the knapsack. "And look, the baby's scales are more faded, but you can tell they are crimson or going to be crimson. I think the two are rivals and the albino was trying to take out the competition. It makes the most sense- they are smart creatures."

        "Didn't seem like that back at the ruins." Adi said under his breath. "And how can you be so sure that mama or dada will take the tyke back? What if the beast sees you and thinks you stole the kid... which we kinda technically did do, huh?"

        She was to argue back, but he made a good point. Smart as they are, they are still animals. Could be they are like lions and the alpha would kill the young to assure his dominance. "I...  hmm.... you have a point." She rubbed her tired face. She's still very hungry and needs to go to the bathroom bad. "Uuuuuugh... i can't think... we should head for home before we get caught."

        "Smart thinking."

        He peaked his head out the door once again to see if the coast was clear. Req shut off the machines and turned off the lights before joining him. They looked down both ends of the hallway and, once the coast was confirmed clear, they got out. She closed the door and insured it was locked by pulling and pushing on the handle multiple times. It stayed firmly in place. "And nobody will be the wiser." She smiled. Adi rolled his eyes and followed her back towards the exit they used to get in.

        If Req had read further into the book, she would've found a chapter on stored memories. Golden Age CAT Scan machines have a internal memory device that records up to 150 scans. For every new scan, the oldest is automatically deleted. That's something Req didn't know and now, the skeletal frame of the baby dragon was in the memory banks of the machine.

        Big mistake on her part, and one that will bite her in the butt later on, but that's not for a few months.

10: Chapter 9: Bahamut

Chapter 9

Bahamut

8/16/2210 A.D. – 8/16/200 A.W. 





 

        Within the Aesir mansion was a vast library of recovered books from the ruins. Ranging from medical, to historical, to fictional, and everything in between, the library was the biggest in the area. Well, the biggest private library. There are a couple in the ruins that survived the Scarring that anyone can enter, provided they survive the monsters.

        Only one person was using the Aesir Library at the moment, and that was Aura. He was sitting at a desk, with a stack of books to his left and the lance from last nights battle on his right. That fella Gabrielle said that Bonewalkers are notorious thieves and that they likely stole this from somewhere. He's aiming to find any mention in any of the weapony books recovered from the ruins. So far, the search has been going poorly. He's on the last book and not finding any picture resembling the lance he pilfered off the pilferers- the stack of books were books he already read. If the lance isn't in these, then it must've been made after the Golden Age ended. In which case, he now has something unique. 

        Lances aren't uncommon, but one as complex and multi-functional as this one was. After he had taken it, he discovered that the pole can shorten significantly, turning the two ends into a sharp handle while the pole, now covered in a glossy sheen and as sharp as any blade, stretches out like a sword. How that is even possible and why something like that would be needed, he does not know, especially since the pole is wooden, but it could be useful one day.

        Reaching the last page, he sputtered like a horse as he slammed the cover shut. He pushed the book aside and rested his weary head on his left hand. "Nothing..." He looked to the lance- the sunlight bounced off the steel tips. He reached over and pulled it over to him. "Well... seems you have a mysterious origin." He held it with both hands. "There's no way a Bonewalker could've created you- that guy said they were scavengers." He pushed the chair away from the desk and got up. "Doesn't really matter in the long run- i'm keeping you anyways."

        "Why are you talking to a weapon?" Gryff suddenly said out of nowhere as she leaned against a bookcase. 

        The sudden voice made Aura jump and almost drop the lance. it slipped out of his hands a few times before he clasped it tight. "Whew... and not funny, Gryff."

        "I thought it was." She snickered. She grabbed the weapon and took a gander at it. "But anyway, were you able to find anything out about this thing?"

        "Nope. Wasn't in any of the books, so it must've been made after the end... which begs the question of how, since this is far too complex for someone these days to make."

        "You mean someone from here." She tapped him on the face with the flat end. "You forget, the world is a big place." She tossed it back to him before walking off. "Just don't break it!"

        "I'm not going to break it." He muttered. As he headed for the exit, he glanced out the window towards the tavern and looked out to see a odd sight- Requiem sneaking towards her home while holding her knapsack tightly, staying out of sight as best she could. "What in the...?" If the barrier was down, there would've been a easy explanation for this: she found something out in the world she wants to keep. But the barrier is up... so why be so sneaky? "What is that girl up too?"



        Eyes darted to the left. Head shifted to the right. Requiem did this back and forth as she neared the south side of the tavern, hoping nobody would notice her. She could feel the dragon rifling though her bag, which was a big no-no for her- as started before, she likes this bag. 

        Reaching the wall,she pressed her back up against it and shimmied along all the way to the rear entrance. She hoped nobody was here as she slooooooooooowly creaked the door open. She peered in and saw the kitchen was staffed, and with far too many to try sneaking in. She silently cursed to herself before closing the door. She sucked in part of her bottom . There was no way she could try the front door- if the cooks are here, then odds are the lobby has people too. She would have to do what she did to get down: climb up the roof.

        Not the easiest thing to do, but if Aura can do it, so can she. All she would have to do is follow Aura's route... assuming she can remember what it was. Most of the times, she's either too sleepy or cotton-headed to remember what it was. She couldn't recall what it was, which made her curse again. She would need to find another way onto the roof. After that, she'll climb up to the tower easy.

        She backed up with a finger to her chin, wondering how to accomplish this. She saw some boxes she could move to create a impromptu staircase, but the commotion would attract attention, not to mention the odd stacking pattern she'd leave behind. She could cut out the middle man and just climb up the waterspout, but her feet hitting the walls would still attract attention. She's left with only one option: Jump. She saw last night she can reach a tree branch easy, and the one she grabbed first was higher then the rooftop she was facing. And if the story is true and not just hyperbole, she could jump dozens of feet to take on a Kraken.

        She took a few steps back to get a running start and unknowingly bumped into someone. She stood perfectly still as she moved her right hand backwards to feel if she truly did bump into someone. She did and it was a he. "(Please don't be Noah, please don't be Noah, please don't be Noah...)" She slowly creaked her head around to see who it was.

        Much to her relief and joy, it was Aura. Her heart was aflutter when she saw him, but that she wrote that off as a stress relief. "Whew... you scared me half to death, Aura. What are you even doing here?"

        "I saw you from home, sneaking around like someone with something to hide." She sucked in her lips, eyes darting left to right as sweat slowly came down. Her reaction said it all. "Wait, you are hiding something?"

        "N-no i'm not." The squeaking in her bag, and the bulges that came out the sides, ruined that lie. "... un..."

        Aura crossed his arms. "What are you hiding in there? It's not another cat, is it?"
        
        "Nothing. Nothing. I just, un... i just... un..." She silently cursed Adi at ruining her brunch- she was starving and knows from experience that thinking while hungry is practically impossible. Unable to come up with a excuse that could get her out of this, she bolted for the front door. Not the smartest move she's made, but again, starving. 

        She had no choice but to use the front entrance and pray it was empty enough to keep herself from being scrutinized. She slowed down when she reached the door and walked in quickly, darting her eyes about to hope her father wasn't in. He was, but he was busy in the back, which worked just fine. It wasn't lunch hour yet, so the only people here are drunkards drinking away their sorrows, so their eyewitness testimony wasn't going to hold up. She darted past as quick as she could walk and climbed the stairs. 

        Reaching the second floor, she darted up the second pair towards her room. She zipped in and closed the trapdoor. She went to her room, zipped around, and locked that too. She wasn't seen by anyone, so she didn't have to answer any awkward questions. She felt guilty doing it to Aura, but she had no choice if she wanted to keep this a secret.

        "What are you doing?" Aura said as he sat on the bed.

        Req shrieked like a scared banshee, falling backwards by his sudden voice. That hurt, and her hungered mind was puzzled by how he got up here so quick. "A-A-Aura. How--how-how-how-how did you get up here so fast?"

        "I climbed. I have a route i know by heart." She hit her head on the floor, groaning. "Now what are you hiding?"

        She swiftly sat up and held her knapsack close. "Nothing!"

        He wasn't buying it- not for an instant. "Requiem." He saw paw prints sticking out of the bag, which made her groan even more as she hit her head on the back of the door. With nary a word, he pulled the knapsack away. Req didn't try to fight it- she would've given in eventually. "You're not going to fight me for this?"

        "Why bother? I'd have given in anyway." He wasn't going to argue with that. He pulled back the zipper. "Just... promise not to freak out."

        "Why would i freak out over a c--" The baby dragon's head poked out of the knapsack and stared up at him, and he back at it. It was silence for a moment as gears turned in his head. ".... AAAH!" He dropped the knapsack and Req moved quick enough to catch it before it slammed. "W-w-w-w-why do you have a--" She bolted up and covered his mouth. She then pinned him on the bed and made sure he stayed quiet. 

        "Shush shush shuuuuuuush..." She hissed. He gave muffled shouts before stopping on his own. He's rarely on this side of their relationship. She slowly lifted her hand off his mouth. "Yes... yes, i know... that is a baby dragon. I already went through this song and dance with Adi."

        Aura's eyes shifted over towards the baby dragon poking its head out of the knapsack. "Adi knows...? How did you... when did..."

        "The boy has no concept of knocking." She sat up on his lap. "And... as for how? ... well, remember when me and Adi went to the ruins? You saw all the things we brought back that night- one of those was an egg. We thought the thing inside was dead due to age or whatever, but... obviously, we were wrong. It hatched last night when i went to sleep- probably woken up by that giant zombie's death knell. When i woke up, i accidentally kicked it into the wall, breaking its wing and front leg. I was scared, but still worried- it may be a monster but it is still a baby. When Adi came in, i roped him into helping me sneak into the hospital to scan the insides. Thank gods above that i didn't hurt it inside."

        He sat up. "Wait, you're taking care of it? Are you insane? If dad catches you with this, even if it is a baby, he will actually kill you. This won't be bluster like always- he will come at you with a sword and everything."

        "I know, i know... but i got no choice with the barrier up. And i feel guilty for hurting it, so i'm... kinda obligated..." Aura moaned as he slammed his head into her pillow. "Look, i know this is a horrible situation, but i got no choice in the matter. Until that barrier is taken down, he's stuck here. And i don't know how long it'll take his bones to heal- i still need to make splints."

        "And now i know..." He rubbed his face. He looked at the dragon and saw that it had fallen asleep. "Uuuugh... Requiem, you're lucky i love you..."

        She rubbed the back of her neck. "Again, i know this is sucky..." She sighed as she rubbed her own face. "blllllegh... not even noon... it's not even flippin' noon..."

        He rolled his hands down his face, pulling down his lips. "It's just you, me, and Adi who know, right?"

        "Yeah. No one else knows. I suspect Damien and Ash saw the egg the night they spent up here, but they may assume it's dead like we did. I hope."

        "...... those two stayed up here?"

        "Don't worry, nothing happened." She realized he may be feeling apprehensive about that and chuckled knowingly. "Are you jealous?" He blushed, glancing away. "How cute." She giggled. "Don't worry, big guy..." She learned forward and gave him a kiss on the lips that perked him up. "...You know i love you."
        "Good to hear."

        She pressed her body into his and walked her fingers up to his nose. "... so... what do i have to do to buy your silence?" She asked in a very sultry tone. He chuckled back and whispered in her ear. She snickered as she blushed at the prospect. "Ho ho ho.. Naughty..." She grabbed the curtains and pulled them shut. 

        "I thought it was."

        "Hmhmhmhmhm..." She planted a passionate kiss on his lips as she pulled the covers over them both, giving them some privacy.


        
        With one foot in front of the other and her arms stretched as far as they can go, the girl with the purple hair slowly walked along a thin stone wall that overlooked a field of corn. Orbiting around her were a pair of chakrams and crystals made of ice. Her eyes were closed and her hair was lifted up by the magic she was producing. Underneath a nearby tree at the edge of a forest, her brown-haired sister was resting. After so much walking, they both deserved a break- her more so.

        Although she wasn't walking, that doesn't mean she wasn't resting completely. She was rummaging through both their knapsacks, trying to find the map they bought. "Where did we put it...?" She muttered as she buried her head into her sisters.

        A chill wafted the air, sending a shiver up her spine. She lifted her head out and saw that her magic was slowly spreading out over the land. It reached as far as the tree and the nearest batch of crops. The leaves above were beginning to frost over. "Not again." She slowly shook her head. "Hey, Jax!" she called out. Jax heard her, opened her eyes, and looked towards her. "You're doing it again." She pointed up to the frosted-over tree. 

        "Whoops." She stopped channeling her magic and grabbed the chakrams with her hands as the ice crystals, and the frost they brought, faded away as if they were nothing at all. "Sometimes i don't know my own skill." She giggled. Her sister rolled her eyes and went back to rummaging. After some time, she finally found it. Jax dropped down from the wall and rolled her sore shoulders. When she saw her sister with the map, she grumbled. "Wh- again, Sora? Really? How many times are you going to look at that?"

        "As many times as it takes." Sora replied as she stretched the map out on the ground beside her. 

        "Rex ain't gonna catch up this quick, you know. Not with that city on the water as wrecked as it is."

        "And that automatically means i should be all loosey goosey? Is that it?"

        She sunk in her face. "Hello, mood swing."

        Sora grumbled indistinctly, rubbing her forehead. "...Sorry for that, but a large gap didn't last long the last time. He'll find a way over before we know it, and i would rather get somewhere safe he can't get to before my daughter is born."

        Jax put her hands behind her head and performed some side stretches, moving her upper body back and forth- she needs to stay as limber as possible. "I thought we agreed Moscow is the best candidate. He doesn't like the cold."

        Sora sat back on the tree, bringing the map up to eye level. They did agree that the city would be the better candidate. From all of the books they read, it tends to be rather frigid during the winter time, something their pursuer hates considerably. Then there's the distance- they still have a long, long, long way to go. By the time they get there, the kid may already be born. "That's true, but... i'm getting second thoughts about it..."

        "Because of the baby?" Sora stayed silent, letting Jax continue speaking. "If they can be born and raised in the ungodly cold that is the arctic, i think they can survive Moscow in the winter, a place that has done it for thousands of years."

        "And the distance? We keep this trend of stopping and going the entire way there, we're gonna turn into old biddies."

        "Scary analogy right there... but that's when we'll ask for boats or other rides heading there. Sheesh... what happened to your optimism?"
    
        "It went out the window after we left." She folded up the map and put it back into Jax's knapsack. Jax walked over and helped her heavy sister up off the ground, then picked up her bags. Sora picked up hers and shouldered it. She rubbed her eyes with a grumble. "Sorry for being ornery today. I got no sleep last night."

        "I noticed." Jax replied. The two of them started down their path, heading away from the farm and towards the east. "Maybe we'll get lucky today and find a inn or an abandoned cottage."

        "if only we were that lucky." Sora droned.





        What's your name?

        H..... huh?

        Your name. You do have one, right?

      I.... don't remember...

  You don't remember your own name? You must've been hit a lot harder then we thought.

    What?

How about i give you a name? 

I... guess...

Hmm... it needs to be something cool. I know- this is a cool word i heard recently. How does Requiem sound?





        Aura forced open his eyes after a rest, staring up at the ceiling. He doesn't know how much time had passed, not that it mattered. Today was still a lot of fun. He turned his gaze towards the bed, which thankfully still had the sheets on this time. And they were still dressed, which worked out wonderfully for him. "Least we kept it quiet this time..." He groggily commented to himself. 

        His gaze soon turned to the exhausted maiden that snuggled up as close to him as humanly possible. Her right arm stretched onto his shoulder, her right leg was raised up to his hips and his arms were wrapped around her, and her face was nuzzled so deep into his chest, she could hear his heartbeat. It was such an adorable pose and one he didn't want to let go of. "Nothing could ruin this moment..." he softly said as he snuggled up next to her. And he's right, nothing could...

        ... except for one thing.

        The baby dragon squawked as it searched around the room for food. It was hungry and it needed to be fed. Aura grimaced when he heard the sounds and glared down at the baby dragon. He had to get roped into this; he pushed into her with his questioning, it's his fault he got involved.

        "Right...there's you..." He said in a passive aggressive way. "...and we don't have any meat to give you."

        "He doesn't eat meat..." Req suddenly droned in a heavily groggy tone with her eyes still closed, not wanting to let go.

        A dragon that doesn't eat meat? that's a first for him. But to be fair, this is a newborn baby. If not meat, then, "Milk?"

        "No... potatoes."

        He raised a eyebrow. That can't be it- that really can't be it. "Potatoes?"

        "I'm just as surprised as you are... but that's what we saw this morning when he ate my entire brunch... went straight for the spuds first thing..."

        He popped his lips for a second. "Never would've guessed that in a million years... but at least we have plenty of those to spare." He looked down at the dragon as it gnawed on the bedpost, clearly hungry. Stuck with it... they're stuck with it for who knows how long. Since there's no way around this, he may as well steer into the skid. "... i know it's only going to be for a few days or weeks, but we need to think of a name for the beast."

        Req opened her eyes and lifted her head up. "A name?"

        "Yeah. You can't keep calling it 'It' or 'Baby Dragon' all the time."

        She rubbed her tired little eyes. "What brought this up?"

        "Had a dream just now of when we first met. At least i think it was.... I heard voices, but didn't see anything."

        "Aww... how sweet that you remembered that." She kissed him on the cheek, which made him blush. "But... i guess you are right. I don't really want to, but we should. You know this will get us attached to it, right?"

        "True..." He looked down at the baby dragon- not exactly the best analog for their future; why is he even thinking this? "...but i think we could look at this as practice for when we have kids."

        She sourly looked to him with raised, twisted lips. "Jessica's kid will be practice, not a wild animal. And we're not having kids for a long while. We haven't even told people we're engaged yet."

        "yet they keep joking about our visits." She slid off her bed, rolling herself over the back end of it. They were still dressed, but smelled terrible. They both need a bath pronto. "They already know we're together, so why keep hiding it?"

        "Your psycho dad, moving on..." Aura rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Once again, something he likes is tarnished thanks to his old man. He should make a list about all the things ruined by him. Nothing could ruin Requiem, though- not in his eyes. She sat on the floor and let the dragon come to her. "What do you think we should call him?"

        "hmm........ i don't really know." 

        She looked up to her dozens of books and pondered. "Hmm... maybe something from a book. No sense wasting our brain cells trying to think of one in the fly."

        "You have a headache from not eating all day, don't you?"

        "it's bad, and what we just did didn't help matters." She crossed her arms and leaned back until her back touched the vanity. She popped her lips as she tapped her fingers on her arms. "I can't think on a empty stomach." She got up and headed for the door. "I'll bring you something too. Can you make splints for the dragon while i'm down there?" She asked as she opened the door.

        "Splints?" He sat up. She did mention he was hurt. "Do you even have anything to make splints out of?"

        That was a valid point... they have wood, but it was all dense firewood- too big and too heavy. With a finger to a her chin, she took a cursory glance of everything that's on top of the piles of garbage they call an attic. "Hmm..." She reached into a pile and pulled out a old wooden toy sword of hers. It was broken, but she kept it because, when she was that age, she didn't want to lose anything. She was scared of losing her memories again. "Maybe this thing." She tossed the broken toy in.

        "Your old toy sword?"

        "Yeah. It's too broken to pass on, so it may as well be useful for something. Besides, i can always get it back when he outgrows it."

        The baby dragon approached the toy sword and sniffed it. Aura sat down on the floor and picked it up to look at it. He'd have to break it down into smaller sizes; the baby dragon is as big as a kitty, after all, and the sword was made for kids. "We'd still need something to hold it in place."

        "Strings of a basket?" She asked as she held one up.

        "No, it would need to be something that would slip off as he gets bigger."

        There was nothing in the attic that could work like that. Baskets were the only thing close enough that could do the job... except for the mysteriously wrapped thing the stranger Gabrielle left behind last night. "What about the cloth around that thing Gabrielle left?"

        "It.... could work, but how will we be able to explain the torn cloth to him when he comes back?"

        "We'll think of some explanation, like rats or.... something..." She said as she approached the mystery weapon. As she closed the trap door and headed for the covered weapon, she felt a strange... presence? feeling? She couldn't tell-- there were no words to truly describe how she was feeling, but if she could, she would say she was... lighter then air; like her very soul was being lifted out of her body. She shook her head, getting back into reality. She grabbed some cloth, put one hand to the weapon, and tore off a small amount. There was barely enough for a handful, but it's enough for a baby dragon.

        "This should be enough." She announced as she went back into her room. She walked in on Aura keeping the baby dragon off his lap, trying to get at the torn pieces of the toy sword. She sat down next to him and ripped the cloth into smaller strips. "You know... we don't really know how long it takes for a dragon to grow up." Aura went still as the thought entered his mind as well. "What if they grow really, really fast. What if he's the size of a kitty today, but tomorrow he's the size of a Great Dane?"

        "Animals don't grow that fast... except for insects." He stuck out his tongue in disgust; he hates bugs. "At most, and this is me being hopeful here, we have a year before he gets to a height we should start worrying. Two, if we're lucky."

        "And if we're unlucky?" She asked as she gave him the strips of cloth.

        "... months then. 3, 6- who knows." He looked down at the dragon, who looked up at him with inquisitive eyes. "Let's hope it's a long one."

        Req clapped her hands on her thighs, pushing herself off the floor. "Well, i'm gonna go get us some food. Splinter him as best you can."

        "Will do." He replied as he got to work.



        John, oblivious to everything that had happened with his children today, set down a filled mug of a sugary drink for one of the children. "Thanks." She said as she put down a coin and ran to the table her friends were playing a game at. He went back to work on a plate of food as Req came on down the stairs, eager to get food in her empty, rumbling belly.

        "Look who is finally awake." He commented as she approached the bar.

        "Awake?" She recalled that he never met her yet today- for all he knows, she's been asleep all this time. He knows nothing of the dragon... and it's best she keeps it that way. Aura and Adi knowing is bad enough, and knowing them, they'll likely rope Rubi and/or Jessica in somehow; they never know when to shut up when it counts. "Oh... yeah, i'm just now waking up for the first time today... yeah, i'm so exhausted and so hungryyy..."

        "That's no surprise." He said as he readied a plate. "You've slept most of the day away."

        "Not by choice. That potion Gabrielle gave us knocked me out good. I imagine the same happened for Ash, Sopa, and the monster." It did. Ash and the Simargl slept in the first time in a long while; woken up thanks to her and Aura, but still later then normal for them, while Rubi to wake Sopa up with a armies worth of noisemakers. She's the only one to have gotten up early, and that's thanks to the scaley inconvenience up top. "But yeah, i am STARVING... i need something in me before i starve to death."

        "You won't starve to death. it takes a few days for someone to die of hunger. Dying of thirst- that's what'll take a few hours. Speaking of which..." He handed her a glass of water, which she chugged down. She set the cup down with a grunt, followed by a audible burp. He plugged his nose and waved his arm when he smelt it. "ooof... i hope that's from the potion." 

        "You and me both." She laughed. "But seriously, food please. And don't hold back on the potatoes."

        "That hungry, are you? Why didn't you eat the plate Adi took up earlier?"

        She counted with her fingers. She put up her pointer, "A: i was still asleep...." Then held up her middle, "...And B: the little stinker tripped and spilled it."

        "Well, the only thing i have ready is this last piece of dragon meat i was planning on having, but you don't eat meat, right? You're a vegetarian."

        "A really bad one." She came back around the counter and went into the kitchen. "And after almost being killed by the source of this stuff last night, i'm not going to cry foul if i eat it." She patted him on the shoulder. "We'll split it." She reached into the potato bin and pulled out a couple- one for her, one for the baby dragon. "It's big enough for that, right?"

        "Indeed it is." He held it up off the skillet- it was as big as her head. "Want me to cook those for you as well?"

        "No. I'll eat them raw- i'm so hungry, i could eat a horse."

        "Don't touch Lowell- he's the last one we got." He said with a hidden grin that she didn't catch.

        She crossed her arms, taters still in her hands. "It's an expression, dad."



        Meanwhile, Aura had finally managed to get the tiny ball of scales to stop moving so he could be the splint on. This is not a one person job, but he found a way to do it, by keeping the tyke between his legs, with the injured limbs poking upwards. He put the wood around the legs and the wing. He tore the cloth with his mouth and wrapped smaller pieces around the wood, putting them in place. 

        "... well, i'd say i did a good job on that." The dragon glared up at him, which he took nothing by. "Hey, i did my best, didn't i? ... why am i defending myself to a dragon...? They don't understand me." 

        He heard the trapdoor shut on the other side, but was too busy making sure the baby dragon didn't gnaw off the cloth of the wood. The door opened and in came someone who wasn't Requiem. For the second time in a row, Adi had come in without knocking. "Ok, little guy, against my better judgment, i found some twi--" He freaked when he saw Aura leaning back on the bed, making him groan loudly and cause his knees to fall out comedically. "Oh, come on!!!" He put his hands to the wall and slid on down half the way as the door shut. "You have got to be kidding me!!"

        "Hello to you too, Adi."

        Adi got up and looked his way. "And now you know. Figures.... she can never keep anything shut."

        "Hey, you are the one who came in unannounced."

        "Because i thought it was only the baby dragon up here! I saw her downstairs and thought it was safe! But... nope. You're here."

        "She convinced me to stay quiet- don't worry your worrying little mind about it."

        Adi crossed his arms and looked away towards the wall. "Bet that was easy." The door opened once more and Req came in with a plate of food- half a cooked dragon steak and two raw potatoes.  She knew Adi was here- she saw him head up earlier while waiting for the steak. "What happened to keeping this a secret?" He asked her as she headed to the bed.

        "I was keeping it a secret. He was just really persistent. And i wasn't thinking- i was starving and making bad judgment calls." Adi opened his mouth to talk, but Req stopped him then and there with a finger up to his face. "Don't even think about commenting." She snidely remarked before sitting down next to her secret fiancee. 

        When the dragon saw the potatoes, its eyes lit up- it was hungry far, far worse then her; it is a newborn, after all. Req thought ahead and placed several cut up pieces on the floor between her legs. The baby dragon made a beeline towards them. 

        "You're eating meat?" Aura asked as he took one of the raw potatoes. 

        "I'm that hungry. I'm that bad a vegetarian, i know." She said as she took a knife to it. "And after being tossed around, slapped silly, and almost killed by a giant rampaging zombie and the crazed horde that revived it, i think i deserve some kind of comfort food." She stuck the cut off piece in her mouth and sharply pulled out the fork. This was her first time tasting it and was caught off guard by how good it was. "Mmmm... wow, this is actually pretty good. Bravo, dad."

        Adi crossed his arms once more and leaned against the bookshelf. "If Aura knows, that means his dad will find out sooner or later. He'll likely tell Jessica and she'll get roped in too."

        "The only way she is going to be roped in is if she does what you did and walk in without knocking." Aura spoke as he pointed the potato towards the lad. "She's got enough to worry about and i don't want to add more onto it. Same with Dad, and i don't blab everything to him." Req subtly grinned, knowing what he was referring to. "So long as dad or Sopa doesn't find out, we're in the clear." He took a bite of the potato... and his face immediately twisted in disgust. He spat out a gross black part of it; Req had grabbed a rotten tater. The baby dragon didn't care- it gobbled it up. Aura put it to the side, knowing the baby will get to it at some point.

        "Whatever." Adi droned in a exasperated tone. "Just... what do we do with it? With the barrier up, we're stuck with it, and i don't feel like tunneling."

        Req held up her knife and a finger to speak- she was going to talk next, but needed to finish what's in her mouth first. "First, we think of a name."

        Did he hear that right? Did she say that they needed a name for the wild monster? "A name? You do that, you'll get too attached. Why do we even need a name, anyway?"

        "As Aura pointed out, we can't keep calling it "it" or "baby dragon" all the time. We need to call it something."

        "But it's a monster- a wild beast that try to eat us every day, and if you are correct and one of those dragons that chased us in the ruins is its parent, we know it's going to be aggressive."

        "He's not aggressive now." She pointed out how it's just devouring the potato pieces relentlessly, and not once has it attacked them ever since it was born, save for the scratches on her body. "And Ash has a pet monster with the winged dog, and it's as sweet as it can come. There are good monsters out there, but they are outnumbered by the bad. Hopefully the dragon here can be one of them. But first, we need a name."

        "How about trouble?" Adi mumbled. 

        "Adi." She sighed as she slowly shook her head. 

        "Well, he is. If we get caught with it, we're gonna get flayed alive."

        "Dad isn't like that." Aura said. "... but then again, he's become unhinged in the last few years."

        Req waved the worry off- they can't live in fear forever. "We'll be careful. We're not keeping him- this is just until the barrier is down and he's fully healed... however long that will be." Adi grumbled and lowered his head- he's just not getting through to her. She may not be related by blood, but she still got their stubbornness. "Now... hmm.... grab the monster books. We may find a name in there."

        Adi raised a eyebrow, wondering why she would look there for a name against his protests, and went to grab one as Aura turned to ask the question, "Why out of the monster books?"

        "When was the last time you heard of a monster named Fred or Abagail?"

        He tossed them onto the bed passive-aggressively. "Fair enough." He grumbled. Req stuck her tongue out, reaching back to grab them. She handed them to Aura, who took a gander in. "How are you even going to decide the name? You had trouble naming the horse."

        "Simple." She said as she stuck another piece of meat in her mouth. "We're start naming out names and whichever one it responds to is the one we'll use. And since i'm eating and you're grumpy, Aura will be looking through the book."

        "That and he's not much of a reader." Aura joked. Adi sneered towards him and stuck his tongue out as far as it can go. "But why call out names before he responds, anyway? Does that even work?"

        "Worked with me, didn't it?" She commented back. "You named me Requiem, remember? And we did the same with Adi when he was born..."

        "You did what?" Adi snapped.

        "...so we know it works. Besides, Dragons are smart creatures."

        "Fair enough..." Aura flipped open to the first page of this 500 page novel. If they have to go through the entire book to get a name for this thing, it's gonna take a loooong time. "Ok... Amunet?" The dragon gave no response. He scowled and flipped to a random page. "Nidhogg?" Still no response. Next random page, "Zoyra?" Nothing. Back a few pages, "Wendigo?" Nothing. So he moved on to the next page.

        "I should look up these beasts when we're done." Req commented to herself. 

        He flipped to a page that had a picture of a enourmous fish. "Bahamut?" The baby dragon looked towards him, having grown irritated by all the random names he was throwing out. It was a baby, but it was as smart as a dolphin. Regardless, he looked, and to them, that meant they found a name that could work. "I think we have something."

        "Bahamut?" Adi asked. "What creature does that belong to?"

        Aura looked on the pages for a description of what the beast is. "badadadadda... here it is. The name 'Bahamut' comes from Pre-Islamic Arabian Mythology. It was the name given to a gigantic sea creature named Bahamut; the mythology doesn't cement if the creature is a fish, a whale, or a sea serpent. On the back of Bahamut stands a giant bull with four thousand eyes, ears, noses, mouths, tongues, and feet called Kujuta..." Req and Adi whistled in amazement. "... and the distance between the two is a mind-boggling timespan of 500 years!"

        "That is a big fish." the siblings in amazed unison.

        "No kidding." Aura laughed. He returned his attention to the book. "On the back of Kujuta is a solid ruby the size of a mountain..." That made Adi's eyes light up with dollar signs. "... and atop this mountain was a angelic creature that carried six hells, the Earth itself, and seven heavens on its shoulders. In 469th tale of 1001 Arabian Nights, Isa, the Arabic name for Jesus Christ, came upon the legendary beast and could not gaze upon the entirety of Bahamut as it was truly that enormous."

        "Big and important fish." Adi said.

        "In Popular Culture, the name was used as the name of extremely powerful dragons in various media, often depicted as a mighty benevolent or malevolent king, a god of mighty power, a protector of the character, or the most powerful beast in existence, depending on the story."

        "Wow." Req put the plate down to her side and gently picked up the baby dragon. "Guess your name is now Bahamut." The baby dragon gently bit her nose, making her chuckle. It didn't hurt at all- it was barely a scratch. "Hehehe... you're cute."

        "And you're getting attached..." Adi sighed, pinching his eyes. "I warned you this was going to happen when you decided to give it a name, and look: it's happening."

        "I'm not getting attached, Adi." Yes she was. "The plan remains the same." No it isn't. "Nothing is going to change about it." Yeah it will. "As long as we keep him hidden until the barrier comes down, we'll be fine. No one will know, ESPECIALLY Noah. Besides..." She held Bahamut up to Adi's face and spoke in a baby-like voice. "... how can you say no to this pretty wittle face?"

        Adi rolled his eyes with a huff. "Ugh... this is going to be a long week."

        If only they knew. If only the poor children knew. It wasn't going to be a week they were going to have to take care of Bahamut, but instead a few months, all the way into winter. And at the end of those months... insanity ensues.

11: Chapter 10: To Raise a Dragon

Chapter 10

To Raise a Dragon

8/18/2210 A.D. – 8/18/200 A.W. 

 

            

             
        Requiem snored loudly into the wee early hours of the morning, her covers half covering her as her arms and legs were strewn all over the bed. Every time Aura is not here, you can always find her being a messy sleeper, sleeping in as long as she can before she's supposed to get up to begin her day. 

        The sun hadn't even begun to crest over the distance before the slumbering beauty was forced awake by a putrid smell. She slowly broke her eyes open before the scent entered her nostrills. That bolted her wide awake as she covered her nose. 

        "Oh my gods!" She shouted into her hands, muffling the noise. "Oh gods, that is the worst smell i have ever smelt!" She gagged at the oder. "Agh... what is that?!" Plugging her nose, she looked over and under her bed to find the source. The answer should've been obvious from the getgo: dragon droppings, and there was a nice, putrid pile right next to the slumbering baby. "Right... i forgot..." She lifted her head back up. "Dragons poop." She looked out the window and saw that it wasn't even time to wake up yet. "... worst wake-up call ever."

        She got up, still plugging her nose, and went out to the attic part of the tower to find something to seal and contain the chemical weapon. "ugh... the smell could topple kingdoms..." She moved things around to find something worthy enough to deal with this mess, but all she could find that could work was a child's plastic bucket and pail- the type used to make sandcastles. "ugh... and no lid." She groaned as she walked back into her room. "I do not want to spread the smell all over the inn..." 

        She looked out the window and saw the barrier still up. "... only way out that doesn't spread this smell is the window... least i'm light on my feet, so i shouldn't cause too much a ruckus." She then sat down on the floor and got to work. She soundlessly gagged multiple times, feeling bile rise and fall, and that was just the smell. The sight was far worse. she quickly shoved it into the bucket, taking a big breath of air and holding it to keep herself from smelling it any further. She left the shovel inside to offer some modicum of visual cover on her way down.

        Once that disgusting task was finished, she slid open her window as silently as she could. She peered her head out and looked around to see if nobody was nearby. There wasn't. She climbed out, barrel in hand, and slowly made her way down the water spout. "Here's hoping nobody has their windows open."

        She softly touched down on the shingles of the roof and gently tip-toed over to the back of the inn. If there were any cats that lived around here, she could spin a tale, but none live near the inn, so that's a story that won't be. And she can't say it was Aura- he never came over tonight and from what people in the rooms say, they keep hearing 'thumping on their walls' when they try to sleep. That also means she's gonna have to come in the normal way. It's still early enough to where nobody is up, so she'll hopefully get lucky.

        Reaching the edge of the roof, she pandered down and around to see if there was anything soft she could land in. She was not fortunate- the only things that she can land on is the wagon, and that'll definitely make noise when she plops down on that. She has no choice but to make for the grass and hope she lands far enough away.

        Putting some oomph into her leg muscles, she launched herself off the roof, pushing her feet off the weather veins. She jumped a rather respectable distance for a standing jump, but it all worked out. She landed on the grass far enough away to where nobody could hear the 'thump'. 

        She looked back to the inn and felt confident about her jump. She smugly patted herself on the back before erroneously looking down at the bucket. "Ugh... now to bury the evidence... but where would..." She went to snap her fingers, but realized that was likely a bad idea. So, instead, she just bumped her free hand on her forehead. "Of course, the vegetable fields. This can be used as fertilizer." She started to make her way there, but it made her wonder if it was a good idea after all. "Hmm... i don't remember dead or dying flora in areas where dragons live... well, i guess we'll find out. We're close to harvest season anyways, so this shouldn't be a problem."

        Certain nobody was there at the fields this early in the morning, she made her way over to the crops. She looked around the field, wondering where she should bury the stink. Her solution came quick as there was a patch of land where crops were already harvested and the soil left bare. "That'll do." 

        She got on her knees and used the plastic shovel to dig into the dirt as deep as she can go and putting the shoveled out dirt into a pile before people would notice. It took far longer then she would've liked, but when you're using a toy and digging down the entire lenght of your arm, you need to make do, but she was able to make it as deep as her leg. Once she felt confident that the hole was deep enough, she put the bucket over it and flipped it upside down. The mess fell into the hole, which was a huge relief to her. She was getting used to the smell and she didn't want that.

        "Urgh... that smell... it's gonna make me vomit..." She then used the shovel to pull the pile she had accumulated back into the hole she dug. That was far shorter then the actual digging. Before long, it was so seamless, it's like nothing had changed. Nobody would be able to tell that a hole to dispose of incriminating evidence she was harboring a dangerous animal was dug in the final hours of night.

        "And that takes care of that. Now i know why dad won't let us have cats..." She grunted as she exhaled, tossing the pail into the bucket before leaning back on her hands. "Guess it was too much for me to hope he'd be able to hold it in until the barrier goes down." She got up off the ground and picked up the childs toy. She can still smell remnants of the stench, which was nauseating. "uuugh... I'm gonna need to wash this thing 20 times to make sure the stink is well and truly gone. But at least i now have something for Jessica's baby shower."

        Despite the excitement, Requiem was still very tired. She was up far earlier then she wanted to be and just wanted to get back to sleep. Mission accomplished, she headed for home. At least this time, she can go into the inn the normal way... but will need to hide the bucket until she can wash it. She could still smell it... but it smelled more rotten then anything. She ignored it as her drowsiness is getting to her.

        Returning home from her nighttime excursion, she pondered where she was going to hide this. There aren't a lot of hiding places around the inn she can use, and she can't use the bushes in the forest as the barrier was still up. Thinking about it, and in her groggy state, she realized that the only way hide this is to put it with stink, and the only place in the inn capable of doing that is the stables.

        Sneaking around to the front of the inn, she stopped before the locked doors. Luckily, she knows where her dad hides the spare key. She reached down near the doorframe and lightly tapped on a piece of crooked wood. There was a clicking sound and the wood popped out, revealing the spare key. She grabbed it and unlocked the door, then put it back once that was done, pushing it back in until it gave another click.

        Daintily grabbing the handle, she slooooowly pushed the door open ever so slightly to prevent any noise. She saw the survivors fast asleep inside and she whimpered- she forgot they were still down there. She opened it enough to where she could slid on in, sucking in her stomach to make it past the handle. Once in, she turned and closed it just as softly, careful not to make a sound. She locked the door and tip-toed her way to the stables. The stench that came from here was familiar, yet still rancid, so it should be able to hide the smell coming from the bucket.

        The only horse within the stable was Lowell, and she felt bad that he was all alone down here, what with all his friends gone. She made her way over to the haybail in the corner and slid the bucket behind it. The noise it made when she set it down woke up the slumbering equine. "Sorry, Lowell." She whispered. She made it up to him by petting his ear, gently rubbing and scratching it. "Didn't mean to wake you. And we'll get some new horses soon." She gave a gentle pat on his neck before leaving.

        Now came the hard part: getting back to her room and coming up with a good excuse. The first part was the simple one: getting to the bathroom- the digging dirtied up her hands and she needed to wash them, and the only bathroom to the place was on the second floor with all the rooms, so assuming nobody was in there, she should be in and out of there in no time. Even when asleep, people still need to use the bathroom, so sounds coming from there won't be an issue, nor will her climb back up the stairs to her tower room. It's the climb up the stairs from the lobby that's the issue as there are more then a few creaky steps... steps she was supposed to fix ages ago.

        "This is what i get for shirking the heavy duties..." She grimaced. But it was the only way up, so she had to bare it for now. She put her foot to the first step to begin her ascent when she saw a light appear. She winced to herself and swiftly hid behind a nearby divider. One of the survivors, a child, made his way down the stairs, rubbing his tired eyes and quietly yawning. The steps he stepped on made sounds, which had her wince in anticipating that that would wake someone up. Nobody was woken up by the sounds the stairs made and the kid non-eventfully returned to his spot to go back to sleep.

        "(Nobody woke up from all that?)" She thought to herself, wondering why that was. After some brainstorming, she came up with an answer. "(Right... they all used to live on a long bridge made of wood; they must've heard creaking on a daily basis and gotten used to it.)" With that information in mind, Req still carefully ascended up the stairs, but this time relieved that she didn't have to walk on eggshells.

        Once on the second floor, she got in the bathroom and washed her hands. As she dried her hands, she looked in the mirror and went slack-jawed when she saw that her pajamas were covered in dirt. "That's just great..." She mockingly lambasted at herself. She can't sleep in these- she'll get her bed all dirty. "Well... guess i'm sleeping in my underwear."

        After she was done, she climbed up the stairs to her room, feeling like she had gotten away with a major crime, which she kinda did. Noah hates monsters, but he hates dragons most of all. She didn't have the energy to worry about that as she felt slumber take a hold of her once more. She opened the trapdoor and closed it behind her as she came up. Inside, she got out of her pj's and tossed them to a corner, leaving her in her underwear, and then plopped herself down onto the bed, feeling exhausted. She spotted the dragon slumbering away under the bookcase and grimaced. "You better be worth it..." She yawned before pulling the blanket over and heading back to dreamland.

 

        The next morning...

 

         Gabrielle panted heavily as black blood dripped down off the head of the axe, stained from the umpteenth monster he had slain. Collapsed backwards on a log, his arms and legs were tired and sore from endless fighting. It's only been two days- how were there so many monsters in the surrounding countryside? Not even Africa has this many beasts, and that land is nothing but nature.

        The crystal hovered out of his pocket and into the air as a different voice came out of it, this one a mans. "{That has to the the hundredth monster that came this way.}"

        "Really?" Gabrielle wheezed like a dying man with something in his throat. "Only the hundre?" He dug the axe handle into the ground, holding it straight up. "I thought was at 200..." He wiped his mouth, still feeling the drain.

        "{You know you can't keep this up.}" The voice replied. "{The monsters will overwhelm you eventually and you're not even speaking straight. You're not as young as you used to be.}"

        "Yeah..? Wel... i figure that if i keep slaing every beast that comes this way, that's one less for Ricon... Rushi... you know who i.... wheew, i'm exhausted..." He wiped his forehead. "...that means one less monstrosity to come after her, let's just leae it at tat..."

        "{How can we even be sure it IS her? She's not the first girl to fit the description. You remember what happened to the last one, don't you?}"

        "I alredy had this talk with Krouze..." He huffed as he got up, using the axe handle as support. "And onc these monsters are dealt with, i'll... i'lllll...." He couldn't continue talking. He fell over onto his back with his arms spread. "I'll.... take a nape..."

        "{You mean a nap. And you do need a rest. If it helps, scans show that there are no more monsters in the immediate area. There are others in the surrounding countryside, but they don't seem to be moving towards the town. I think the Dracolich's death rattle didn't reach that far. Still... you slayed an impressive amount.}"

        "i know..." He still huffed. He pulled out his potion and took a swig of it- when he wakes up, his exhaustion and his pain will be gone. Once he had enough, he took the bottle away from his mouth and looked within. "... already at halfway... that's not a good sign... it was full  just a few days ago..." He rested his head back. "Can you snd more?"

        "{Can't. You know how hard it is to make those, and you already squandered so much.}"

        "I know..." His wheezing downgraded to panting. "... there is one thing you can send me."

        "{And what's that?}"

        "A blanket, a pillow, and a glass of warm milk..." He passed out from exhaustion.

 

        Gabrielle wasn't the only one suffering from exhaustion. Req's head was one of the tables in the lobby, buried almost face-first into her breakfast. She was the only one here; everyone had already ate their breakfast and left, she was the only holdout and she was taking her time, which was messing up her plans for the day. Other then her, the place was pretty empty: her father and the help were washing the horses out back.

        Aura entered the inn, wondering what was taking her so long. He saw her head on the table and put two and two together. "Long night?" He asked as he stood over her.

        "You could say that..." She groaned.

        "I feel like i already know the answer, but why are you so tired?"

        She lifted up her head to glare at him. "You know that old book we found in the ruins about potty training? Think we can modify that to work on dragons...?"

        Aura held a hand to his mouth, stifling a laugh. "You're kidding."

        "I wish i was. It smells as bad as you are probably imagining it."

        "It's not still up there, is it?"

        "You don't have to reach for a clothespin to plug your nose- the problem was taking care of... at 3 in the fricken morning." And that explains the exhaustion. "I had to use a old toy bucket to get it out of my room, then i had to take a page out of your book and climb down the tower as softly as i could, then find a spot to dig so no one outside a blood hound can find it, then sneak my way back, all the while trying not to wake anyone up. Then i had to wake up early again to feed the diabolical little stinker." She plopped her forehead back down on the table, making the plate bounce. "Do they make dragon diapers...?"

        "Afraid not." She whined in anguish. He crossed his arms and leaned on the table. "And didn't you say that this would be practice for whenever we have kids?"

        "I take it back..." 

        "You're the one who found the egg, now you gotta live with it."

        She shot her head back up. "Not funny. The cretin is still chewing on the leg of my bed and i don't want to deal with the stink again." And back down it went. "He's like a slow, demonic little beaver."

        "Too bad there's no books on raising dragons- that would be helpful."

        A few seconds passed before she slowly raised her head back up. "A book... wait..." She pushed away from the table and got out of her seat. "I think i have one." She quickly made her way up the stairs.

        "Wait, you what? Since when did you have a book for that?" He took a few steps to chase after her but doubled back to grab her plateful of food and follow her once again. She was quick. She was already at the flight of stairs leading to the tower by the time he reached the second floor. "Sheesh... she could've waited for me." He grunted as he climbed up the second flight. He reached the top of the steps and saw that she was already digging through the pile of junk that accumulated in the tower. She dug in deep, crawling in and tossing everything that wasn't what she was looking for out from between her legs. "Dang, you're quick..."

        "Not now." She grunted as she tossed out the wheel to a tricycle. He sidestepped to avoid that. "I know it's in here somewhere..."

        "The one book you think will help is not one you already have?"

        "I don't keep them all, ok? This one was claimed by Adi. Two days later, he tossed it in with the rest of the junk."

        "Seems rather rude, but alright." He closed the trapdoor and leaned on the wall behind it, waiting for her to finish up. He glanced to the right and saw the strange clothed artifact still leaning on the wall behind it. "This thing is still covered? I'm shocked."

        "What, the thing in the cloth? It's not mine, so while i am curious, i can't just go ripping it apart."

        "Really? This must be torture, then."

        "Torture? Really?"

        "You hate mysteries."

        "Yeah, but i also hate getting my ass kicked. Did you see what that Gabrielle fella is capable of? I'd rather not be on the receiving end of that, thank you ve-- aha! Found it!" She crawled her way back out of the pile of junk, covering herself in dirt. She got out and coughed dust out her mouth. "That can't be anything good." She coughed again. "Anyway... found it." She got up and handed the book to him as she took her plate.

        Aura flipped the book open and looked through it, seeing if there was any valuable information they can use. Bad news: there wasn't. The book Req found was fictional. "What the... Req, this isn't going to work."

        "What do you mean?" She asked as she put a forkful of food in her mouth. 

        "For starters, this was made back when monsters were considered fables and myths. Everything in here is fake: We can't use this."

        "Sure we can." She spoke with her mouth full. "We just need to be careful." She swallowed.

        Aura glared at her with lidded eyes. "No, we can't. We follow the crap in this book, we'll likely kill him. I would rather not piss off whatever that thing has for a parent."

        She angrily stuck her fork back in her food. "Well, sorrrrrrrrry i don't have a more up-to-date manual on how to raise a monster, so this is going to have to do. Unless you got any better ideas, start reading."

       He tossed the book back into the pile of junk; he sure as hell wasn't going to read this. But... maybe there is something that can help. Or rather, someone.  "........ actually, we do have a better option. And he's in town right now."

 

        Surrounding and encircling the mysterious temple in the center of town was a bazaar. It was one of the first things Teria had established when he began construction of the town. Ranging from stalls to small buildings offering a number of goods, this place is usually a hot spot for meetings and activities, and it wasn't that much different today.

        Ash himself was sitting at a table near a food stand, drinking a sweet tasting drink through a straw. He had his hat off, letting his blue hair flow and breath after so long under that fedora. Beneath him, Fenrir and Cobalt were sharing some steak. He had to pay extra for that, especially since he has a monster in a town that Noah is trying to keep monster free, an impossible feat, given where they all live. He's more irritated that the barrier is still up. He had talked to everyone from this town and the survivors- nobody has anything relating to his sister. He was going to stick to his plan and move on, but as long as the barrier was up, he was stuck.

        "Found him." Ash looked in the direction that came from and saw Aura and Req jogging over towards him. Knowing those two, it had to be trouble. He only knew them for a few days, but whenever they're around, something always happens. "There you are..." He panted.

        "Almost didn't recognize you without the hat." Req panted as well. 

        Ash leaned forward on the table and pressed his cheek into his fist. "And the rest of the outfit didn't point me out to you?"

        It really should've. Req felt like a idiot and slunk away. "................................................................ you wanna take this?" She passingly waved to Aura as she sulked behind him. 

        Aura stepped forward. "Sooo... what is it like, raising a monster?"

        That is a odd question to ask, especially in broad daylight like this. Noah's hatred for monsters is well-known,so why ask this where he could likely be in earshot? On that note, why ask a question like this at all? "Why ask?"

        "Just curious."

        That wasn't helpful. "... ooooook. Well, most of the time, he- she- it... stays separated into Fenrir and Cobalt. I think it finds life easier that way. Or maybe it's to conserve strength for when it needs to fight- i don't really know. I do know is that they have the same mind- they're telepathically linked, or so my sis figured to believe. But anyway, i don't know how to take care of the Simargl, but taking care of Cobalt and Fenrir- easy."

        That was no help at all to the secret couple's predicament. "Oh. Un... ok."

        He spotted something off about their response. "That wasn't the answer you were looking for, was it?"

        Req and Aura looked at each other- they can't just beat around the bush with him. If Adi were here, he'd be up-front about this in no time. "Nnnno... No that wasn't what we were looking for." She said. "But we really shouldn't talk about this in public. Let's talk someplace private."

        "Sounds serious then." He chugged down the last of his drink, put on his hat, and left a tip on the table before following them to a private place where they can talk. The private place in question was inside the entrance to the temple. He was perplexed they can just enter willy-nilly. The entrance was a covered doorway with two entrances that led to a tiny lobby before it opened into the temple passages proper. "Wait, we can enter this place?"

        "Yeah." Aura said. "It's open to the public. Grandfather Teria and some villagers searched this place top to bottom. They found nothing interesting or dangerous, and some passageways were caved in from rock and whatever this is made out of." He tapped one of the walls. 

        "Ok." He leaned back on the wall with his hands crossed. "Then what is so important that we have to speak in private?"

        "Wellllll...." Req rubbed the back of her neck. "Un...... you'll recall that i go exploring in the ruins, right?"

        "I think you mentioned that the first night i spent here, yes."

        "Well... one of the things i found was an huge egg. I thought it was a dead egg with whatever was inside it dead, while Adi wanted to have it for breakfast. So after we got out with our lives, we took it home and....... weeeeeell... turns out the thing inside wasn't dead."

        "So... what? You got a Emu? A Ostrich?"

        "Not... exactly. It has wings, but... it... also has... scales."

        And that made it click. Once he realized what she was talking about, he slowly put his hand to his face. "Oh lords.... don't tell me it was a dragon."

        "It is a dragon."

        "I said don't tell me..." He groaned. He pinched the bridge between his eyes. "... just... hooooow? How do you always find yourself in these situations?"

        "It's not like i do it on purpose!" Req exclaimed in defense. "It's not like i go out to find this stuff!" Her voice went up a few octaves. "And i don't know why, but a lot of weird things have been happening. Have you seen the entirety of the past week? It's kinda crazy!"

        Ash held up a hand, getting her to stop. "Ok. Ok. Ok. agh. Stop squeaking- you're gonna make my ears bleed."

        "Sorry. And before you ask... no, we haven't gotten rid of it." She pointed up. "Shield's still up, remember? So even if we wanted to get rid of it, we can't. Then there's... other things... we'll come back to those, but suffice it to say... we need a lot of help, trying to raise this thing. It woke me up in the middle of the night with a smelly gift."

        He rolled his fingers down so that his eyes can open. "Ugh...." He rolled them off his face. "You are asking the wrong person. There are hardly any dragons where i am from, and i honestly never encountered any until i arrived on in this land." Req slumped in disappointment. So close- they were so close. He's not the best at raising animals- that was always his sisters doing. "... but... it shouldn't be that hard to figure out how to raise one."

        "Better then nothing, at least." Aura pointed out as Req picked herself up.

        "So... this baby dragon... just how old is it?"

        "It's only a day old." She said. "It hatched during the night. I didn't know it had hatched until it was crawling all over me."

        "A day old?"

        "And already mobile and gnawing on my bedframe."

        "Gnawing? so it already has teeth? That's odd for a animal to be born with teeth already grown."

        "Maybe it's like us humans and it was born with baby teeth." Aura interjected. "Some animals are born with baby teeth. Birds hatch their way out of their egg with one that fall off soon after."

        "We're dealing with a reptile, not a bird or a mammal." Ash responded. "One that was considered a myth until the end of the Golden Age, no less. And since it is a reptile, it likely eats meat. I can only assume babies do as well."

        "Un... i kinda already figured out what it eats." Req interrupted. "It's not just Aura that knows about the dragon's existence, but also Adi, my little brother. He came in without knocking with my breakfast and dropped it in shock. The dragon ignored the milk and the bacon and went straight for the potatoes."

        Ash cocked a eyebrow in confusion. Did she just say a dragon, a baby at that, eats potatoes? "Un... one of these things does not belong." He tuned. "I think i hear you say it ate potatoes." She nodded to confirm that is indeed what she said. "... that... is so bizarre and random."

        "Yet not any less true. I tried other foods, but the tiny scaly loves them spuds."

        "Huh..." Ash leaned on the wall as he went into thought. "Odd... but i think we can logically figure out why. Potatoes are loaded with carbs- maybe dragons use them to help grow into their gargantuan size. Either that or its like catnip to them."

        "Catnip?" The two replied in unison, wondering what that is.

        "Never mind. Guess that was a bit of a dumb analogy- i never saw any cats around this place to begin with. Un..." He put a finger to his chin. "Mmm... Beer? Wine? Spirits?"

        Getting annoyed, Aura waved his hand in a circular motion, gesturing him to get on with it. "We get the picture; moving on now."

        "Sorry about that. Is there anything else i should know about or should i just see this animal to get a better idea of what we're talking about."

        "Look at it?" Req repeated. "I... guess we should've lead with that." She chuckled nervously. No one else was laughing, so she stopped. "Come on then." She walked past the wanderer and out of the little room. "Nobody's at the Ray, so we should be able to get up there without anyone getting suspicious."

        "Why would anyone be suspicious?" Ash responded as he, Aura, and the animals followed after her. "You haven't done anything to warrant people being suspicious of your actions. Did you?"

        "Well... given how Aura, Adi, and I reacted to the beast in the first place, i think some people have their guesses. Plus... i did sorta sneak into the hospital, acting like a secret agent in one of those old Golden Age pictures. But the way i acted on the way there, i'm sure someone saw."

        "And why were you sneaking into the hospital?"

        "You'll see."

        Requiem was lucky on her assertion that nobody had entered the tavern in the few minutes she and Aura had been gone. As they entered the building, she took advantage of the situation, and her fresh awokeness, and grabbed the bucket from her hiding place. Her companions complained in disgust- even Cobalt was disgusted by it. "I told you it was heavy." She commented as they reached the stairs. "I'm gonna have to give this thing 10 washes before i use it as my present for Jessica's baby shower."

        "That's not for months." Aura said as they started up the stairs... with all them keeping a good distance away to avoid the stench. "And there's no way you're giving her that."

        "You do know the presents are mostly for the baby, right?" She lifted the bucket up to eye level. "If i clean this out well enough, she'll and the tyke will never know. Besides... i can't find much anything else at the moment..."

        "Again. Months away." She rolled her eyes at him before continuing upward.

        Once up in the tower, she put the bucket next to the mysterious clothed item, then kicked the trapdoor shut with a light tap once everyone was in. "Ok... the baby dragon is in there." Ash turned and approached the door. "Let's just hope it didn't leave another stinky." She commented. 

        The wanderer walked on in and saw the baby dragon fast asleep on her bed, curled up like a cat, with its left wing and front left leg in a sling. "Why are its entire left side in a sl--" As if it wasn't that obvious of an answer. He glared over to a sheepish Req, who was trying to play innocent terribly. "..... you hurt it, didn't you?"

        "... not on purpose...." She poked her fingers together. "I was scared when i woke up and... i panicked."

        "That explains the secret hospital visit, at least." Ash got down and took a look at the splints. At the same time, Cobalt landed on the head of the bed and leaned in while Fenrir sniffed it. The splints weren't too bad, all things considered. They did a good job bandaging the dragon, but how long will this last? They don't know how long it takes for a dragon to grow to full size. "... well, you did a decent job. But how long will it take to heal? And grow?"

        "We don't know and we don't know." Req rubbed her arm. "I'm hinging on the bet that that Gabrielle guy will come back and i can use that magic cure-all potion of his. In fact, i feel he will because we still have his mystery item."

        "I wondered what that was." Ash muttered. He returned his attention to the dragon, who was slumbering away without a care in the world. His only experience so far was the Dracolich, but he doesn't remember the corpse having markings. "Now... what are you plans with this thing?"

        "Well..." She approached her bed and got down on her knees to look at the slumbering beast. "i was thinking that once it was fully healed, i try to find its parent and give him back. Easy, right?"

        He slowly shook his head. "Easy in concept, but not so easy in execution." He leaned back. "You have to understand that animals, even monsters, are not like humans. Even the more humanoid ones like monkeys and Bonewalkers don't act like we do. For example, if you cared for a baby lion for whatever reason and try to return it to its pack, 9 times out of 10, it'll be killed after being seen. There are rare scenarios where they are welcomed back without a fuss, but that's one in a million. And this is a dragon we're talking about. Who is to say mom or dad would welcome it back with open... wings and not try to kill you?"

        Req sadly pouted, sitting in the corner with one finger whittling at the floor. "You didn't have to shoot it down that easily... it's not like Bahamut is going to hurt any of them..."

        "Wait, what? You named it?"

        "................... well.... we needed to call it something other then baby dragon and it."

        "Well, i hate to say it, but you got a pet." She whined, leaning forward and her head on the wall in front of her. "If you name it, you'll grow attached. And if you're attached, giving it up is going to be impossible."

        "It's only been a day." Aura said. "How can we get attached if its only been a day?"

        "Just wait... it'll happen. And when it does, you better hope the jerk in charge is in a good mood." Req whined even louder as her head sank down the wall. He quickly thought of a way to turn this around- to show the positive side to this. "Think of it this way- if you raise it right, the town will have a giant dragon as a benevolent guard dog."

        Req turned her head on the wall to look to Aura, and he looked back to her. They never considered that. "Well... that... is an option, i suppose." Aura said. "But where would we keep him? We see how big they can get- he won't be the size of a cat forever. And if Dad finds out, he will not hesitate to kill him."

        "He would actually kill a baby dragon?" Req asked. "... Yeah, that sounds about right." She pushed away from the wall, rolled onto her back, then flipped on up onto her feet. "But we do have one advantage: Noah never leaves town, and if he does, it's always just to go to another town. He hates the wilderness."

        "Big shock..." Ash droned in a sarcastic tone.

        "So... we'd need a place to put Bahamut and raise him until he is big enough to care for himself, and to where Noah wouldn't go..." She snapped her fingers. "Leche lake!"

        "Leche lake?" Ash repeated. 

        "It's a small lake shaped like a pear about half-a-mile from the tavern. The only path to it is in our backyard."

        "But everybody goes to Leche Lake." Aura added on.

        "During the summer, yes. But fall and winter are coming up, and nobody goes swimming in sub-zero temperatures. Unless they're crazy." She looked to the dragon. "He is still a newborn, so we may have time before he gets to full size. I mean, it takes at least 16 years for humans to get to full size. Dragons can reach as big as 70 feet, so getting that big should take a long time."

        "And if it's not?"

        Req crossed her arms and legs, leaning against the wall to her left. "Then we better hope that by the time Halloween rolls around, he's the size of a bloodhound. Any bigger, and we'll have problems."

        "Why Halloween?" Ash asked as he got up.

        "Because at least if he's caught, i can pass him off as a dog in a convincing costume i got from Aqui." She pursed her lips to the side as Ash glanced out the window, catching something odd in the distance. "But all that is ultimately mute until Gabrielle gets back with the magic cure juice to heal him, and who knows when that is."
        
        "Switching topics..." Ash interceded as he leaned to get a better look out the window. "There is a large crowd gathering by one of your farm fields... really large, too. I think it's the whole town." Aura and Req shared concerned glances. That's where she buried Bahamut's "gift". Did someone find it? She dug down the entire length of her arm. She was internally praying it was something else.

12: Chapter 11: Beginning's of Fate

Chapter 11

Beginning's of Fate

8/18/2210 A.D. – 8/18/200 A.W. 


 

           Nobody knows when their life will permanently change. Nobody even knows how it will change. But through hindsight, they can pinpoint where it all changes, for better or for worse. For Requiem, today was that day. While it would be slow, painful, and arduous until the main event, her life was about to change forever. 
        Just like before...



        Requiem, Aura, and Ash approached the small crowd as they surrounded the cropfield where Req buried Bahamut's... stinky surprise last night, leaving her to worry if someone accidentally dug it up. It's harvest season, so there was no reason why someone should've dug it up. Unless it was attached to a root, there was no way anyone would or could know.

        The first thing the trio learned before even asking a question was the stench: the horrible, eye-watering, repugnant smell that burned nosehairs. This was far, far worse then Bahamut's surprise; This could kill if it had toxic properties like methane. If it can make a hound faint upon contact, you know it's bad. They should've realized something was going to smell horrible since everyone there was covering their noses, even those who shovel manure, and that stuff is made from it.

        "Agh.... that is so horrible..." Aura gagged.

        Ash coughed in agreement. "I smelled bad things before, but this is a whole other level..." He saw that Fenrir and Cobalt were out cold, and they were two halves of a monster, so they should be stronger then the average wolf and eagle. "It even knocked out these two. They could tank anything."

        "Then you know it's terrible..." Req groaned and whined. She tapped the closest person on the shoulder to get any information about what could be causing this. Much to her surprise, it was Damian. She wondered where he was. "Why does it smell like the ass-end of a volcano's lake?"

        "Terrible, isn't it?" Damien replied. "And nobody knows- we're trying to figure it out." 

         The culprit for this putrid stink wasn't Bahamut's personal manure, as she feared, but something they really should've figured a couple days ago. Req and Aura walked through the crowd- it was so small, they didn't bump into anyone, and saw that all the crops had withered away. Well, rotted would be a better word: rotted to its core. And not just the crops, but the land too. There was no way Bahamut was the cause of this. But someTHING from its genus family was.

        "I don't get it..." One of the farmers commented as he held up a dissolved rutabaga. "Everything was fine and healthy yesterday. I even checked things before i went home last night, so how could all this have happened in that time?"

        Aura approached to check things out. "What's going o--" He saw how horrible the veggie looked and almost gagged. "Oh gods, that looks as rotten as a dissolving corpse..."

        "Smells as bad, too." The farmer said. "We came this morning and found everything like this. And it's not just the vegetables, but also the land too." He pointed down at Aura's feet. He looked down and saw that the land was dead- corrupted, brown, and looking as bad as a half-decomposed body. It had spread outward in a weird pattern. 

        "We're not going to start decomposing like this by touching it, are we?" Aura asked.

        "I've been touching it since 5 and except for the smell almost knocking me out, i feel fine."

        "Then what could've caused this?" Aura pondered. "The only thing to happen in the last couple of days was the D..." He looked back towards Requiem. "... the Dracolich." That got the crowd mumbling. 

        "That giant zombie?" One of the crowd members asked. "... now that i think about it, that does sound like the logical culprit."

        "Yeah, it does." Ash said as he stepped forward, digging up a clump of dirt. It dissolved away like it had no life left to give. "Dirt does not turn into this instantly. I've seen bad fields before- my hometown was nothing but a farming village. This is not a bad field with a bad till: It is a decomposing field, which should be impossible. And the battle raged all over this hill- did anyone check the other spots that thing was in or struck? Or where it died for the final time?" They did not. "Well, I'm certain those other spots are like this, too."

        "So what do we do?"

        "Well, all i know about the undead are what i read in books and and saw in movies from before the Scarring, so that obviously doesn't work in real life. No, our best bet would have to be someone who has knowledge about them. Ideally, something who knew how to kill them before we did."

        "You mean that Gabrielle fella." Req figured. 

        Ash nodded in confirmation. "He's been wandering the world like me, and far longer by the sounds of it, so he must have learned things i didn't. Besides, he does have that magical cure-all potion. If it can work on humans and monsters, it's fair to assume it can work on the land too. If not, he must know some magic."

        "How can we even be sure he's still alive?" One of the crowd pointed out. 

        "It's only been several days. And we saw how powerful he was. He doesn't seem like the type to go down that easy."

        "Still struggled against that dragon." The farmer commented out of the side of his mouth as he tossed the rotted rutabaga away.

        Ash and Req still have some bad memories of that fight. It's still fresh on everyone's mind. The pain may be gone thanks to the potion, but the memories linger. They shivered when they thought back to it. "We all did- even Sopa. And he's the one that killed it in the first place." Req said.

        Aura snapped his fingers repeatedly, getting everyone back on track. "Back to the subject at hand: even if Gabrielle is dead or not, all we need is the potion. If that thing is broken and/or he lacks some book of spells or whatever else he has, then we'll worry."

        "Easy for you to say, rich kid." Another of the crowd snidely commented. Aura scowled for a moment before looking away in shame. "That's all well and good, but there is one little problem you seem to be forgetting about." He pointed up. "The barrier. Last i remember, your family controls that thing, and your idiot of a father won't deactivate it." That got most of the crowd to rumble in agreement- most of them were River City survivors who really wanted to leave.

        "Hey hey hey!" Damien finally spoke up. "I've only been in town for a few days, and i can already tell Aura is not like his maniac dad. And if it does belong to them, can't he just shut it off himself?" 

        "Well... yeah."

        "Well, there you go."

        In the time it took the crowd to reach this point in their collective thought process, Noah and Sopa arrived to check as to why there was a unlawful gathering taking place at the farm field, seeing it all the way back at the estate. Sopa had lost his sense of smell when he was young, so he didn't suffer like everyone else has. Noah, on the other hand...

        "Oh, gods, this smells like River City on a bad day!" He gagged. That drew the ire of many of the survivors when they turned to look at him, but he stayed silent. He plugged his nose and waved his hand in front of it. "Why does it smell so horrible?!"

        "This is why." The farmer commented as he tossed the decomposing rutabaga at Noah's feet. He gagged at the sight of it. Sopa felt quiesy too, but his lack of smell made it less potent. "The land is dying."

        "How?" He glared towards Req, as he always does whenever something bad happens. "Was it due to outside forces?" That drew even more ire, especially from the locals. 

        "Yes and no." Ash said. "The Dracolich- the zombie dragon that you carved steaks out of for your little celebration- was the cause. The battle left this area decomposing like a dead body and it has spread to the crops. And if this field is affected, then it's a fair assumption that other places it stomped, blasted, slammed, and died the second time are also suffering the same effects."

        Finding his claims laughable, Noah crossed his arms. "And just how do you know? You're a traveler- i doubt you know anything about this."

        "Shows what you know. I live in a farming village my whole life, up until i left. I volunteered my fair share, so i know the difference between good and bad land. This is beyond bad land- this is dead earth bad. Only way you're going to be able to fix this is Gabrielle; he knows a lot about the undead, so maybe he has a way to fix this before it gets bad."

        Noah stood perfectly still, failing to see the problem in all of this. "... and? What's the point?"

        You'd figure Ash would've learned by now that talking to Noah was like talking to a brick wall with a horrible personality, but he still had to try to hope that he wasn't this bad. "The point is is that if this continues, this will spread to your entire farmland."

        "We have plenty of food." Noah stubbornly boasted. 

        "For now!" The farmer shouted. "But what will happen if we run out of food?"

        "We won't."

        "Yeah, you won't!" The one who talked down to Aura shouted as the rest of the crowd got riled up. "But the rest of us will!"

        "I don't see how any of that is my problem!"

        "It will be your problem once we start dying!!" Requiem shouted.

        "How about you shut up, you harlot." That stung a bit, she won't lie, but it made everyone else hate him even more. Even the usually and equally as stubborn Sopa was getting appalled by his masters actions. "You cause enough problems already!"

        "Hey, you don't talk to her that way!" Damien claimed. Ash sighed as he lowered his head and pinched his eyes. So much for democracy- now it's shouting time.

        "How about you shut up as well, outsider trash!" He snarled. That made the River City survivors hatred for this man grow. "I should've figured bringing in outsiders would be nothing but trouble." He turned to leave. "I can't talk to you people when you get like this."

        Ash tapped his foot impatiently. This town is so messed up if their leadership is this corruptly bad. Still, he needs to try to be the voice of reason. "... if we can just calm down, we can talk this out." Noah scoffed as he continued to walk away. "look, if you want to make the people happy, you need to save their land and the town. To save their land, we need to find Gabrielle, but in order to find him, the barrier needs to come d--."

        That brought the old man's anger to a boiling point. "OUT OF THE DAMN QUESTION!!!" Noah yelled, spitting in his face. "That barrier is staying up! End of story!"

        "You're not even going to entertain the idea!?!" Damien bellowed.

        "As i told you, no!!!" He pushed Damien down to the ground. "The day i accept help from a filthy foreigner like yourself is the day i die!!! THIS TOWN BELONGS TO ME!! IT ALL BELONGS TO ME, AS DO ALL OF YOU!!!" His right hand glowed, making the townfolk afraid. Ash, Damien, and the survivors wondered why everyone, even Sopa, suddenly got so afraid. "YOU LISTEN TO ME, AND I SAID NO!!! NOW YOU WILL OBEY ME!! THAT IS AN ABSOLUTE ORDER!!!"

        Not everyone was afraid. A gunshot rang out, shocking everyone. Ash looked down at his holsters and saw that one of his pistols had been pulled out. The one who did it held the gun up into the air so as to not hit anyone with the shot. Since it was mana, it'll dissipate over time. "Now that is enough!" Aura spoke with an authoritative voice as he lowered his hand.

        Noah was shocked to his very core by this sudden betrayal, not only by one of his subjects, but by his own son no less. "You... You dare speak back to me?!"

        "Yes i am!" He handed the pistol back to Ash, who holstered it. "You cannot speak to people like they are your property! That is just sick. And even if i did agree with that sentiment, i don't agree with you on ignoring this problem." He gestured to the rotting ground. "If we don't do something about this, the entire town will die, and you won't have anyone to lord over! You can be evil and dumb or evil and smart!"

        Noah snarled at his own son, angered by his imputant attitude. "You ingrate! I swear, you will pay for this!" Aura rolled his eyes and scoffed loudly before walking off. 

        Req slowly skirted away from Noah before rushing towards her secret lover. She looked back and saw that many of the locals were following him too- even a few of the survivors followed. He must've really inspired him. She caught up to him and walked beside him. It was no surprise that he was going to the temple to turn off the barrier device so they can leave... but what did he have planned? "So... what's the plan?"

        "Like Ash said, our only option to deal with this is finding Gabrielle. We know he's sticking around to deal with beasts coming thanks to the giant's death roar, and seeing how he fought, he is not going to die easy. Therefore, we just need to go out and find signs of fighting, either destroyed landscapes or roars of monsters."

        "Yeah, sounds simple... but the forest is a big place. He could be anywhere between here and the ruins..." She looked back to Ash, who had dragged his animal companions away from the smell and started to revive them. "Maybe we can ask Ash to lend us Fenrir and Cobalt. Half a monster or not, they are still animals- eagles have incredible eyesight and all canines have amazing senses of smell."

        "That could work. But i don't think Fenrir will be of much help- that smell is going to overpower everything else for a long while. Besides, it's been so long, Gabrielle's scent must've gone away by now, and the only thing he left behind, you touched multiple times."

        "Cobalt only it is." The pair soon reached the temple. She stopped but he kept on walking, which puzzled her. "Un... i thought you were going to shut this off."

        "I am. I just need to get protection first. The forest is likely going to be infested with monsters and i don't want to go out there without a weapon."

        "Fair point." As he walked off towards his home, she sat down on the bottom-most step of the temple, leaned back, and crossed her legs. She put her shoulders on the step under her head just as Damian and a number of others arrived. "Wait, where's he going?" One of the locals asked.

        "To get a weapon. There are still monsters in that forest, after all." Most nodded, understanding that it's a bit of wishful thinking that there's nothing out there that could tear them apart once they leave. "If anyone's coming to help us, you should probably go grab a weapon of some kind- a kitchen knife, a garden hoe; anything that can give a beast a bad time." Those who wanted to volunteer to help find Gabrielle quit and went home, while others went home to grab weaponry to help. She waved her foot up and down, waiting for Aura to come back. She glanced up and saw Damien waiting there with her, hands behind his back as he awkwardly whistled. "What?"

        "Nothing. Nothing. Just... trying to pass the time." He nervously whimpered as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

        "You're not a very intimate person, are you?"

        "If that means one-on-one conversations, no i am not. I got lucky with Jessica back at River City because she was from out of town so coming up with dialogue with her was easy enough... not to mention she kicked me really hard..." He rubbed the part of his chest that she hit- it still stings. "I'm just a bigger fan of crowds then alone situations."

        "Huh. Never knew it worked in reverse. Well... try to think of something. You must have something to talk about."

        "... actually, yeah, i do. Back there, Noah's fist glowed like it was on fire. What was up with that?"

        She softly chuckled to herself. Of course was going to bring that up. "You had to lead with that, eh? Well, to be frank... the entire Aesir family are half monsters."

        He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, puzzled as to why she would say that to people who were her friends. "Say what? I know Noah is pretty much evil, but the kids aren't near the monster he is."

        "Not figuratively. Literally. You better get comfortable- it's complicated and crazy." Translation: you better sit down, cause it's gonna be a long story, which he did as he sat next to her. "Now, you heard a lot about Teria, right? He's the founder of our town, a powerful warrior, and Aura's great-great grandfather, right?"

        "First i'm hearing he was a powerful warrior, but yeah."

        "Heh. Well, he was there. He was around Adi's age when the Scarring happened- you do know what the Scarring is, right?" He midly shrugged. He heard of it, but didn't remember much. "Quick refresher: A conflict broke out globally, caused by the sudden emergence of monsters and their seemingly divine counterparts that opposed them. While it only lasted a day, it changed the world forever. The Golden Age ended and the world became what we know it as today. Anyway, the emergence of all these previously mythical creatures brought something else with it: Magic. It did exist long ago, but with the rise of technology and the then-mythical status of the monsters that didn't seem to exist, it sort of faded away. 

        "With their return, Magic came back as well, and as it turns out, Teria could use fire. He didn't know how he was doing it, but it was enough to keep him alive to get him to safety. In the years that followed, he trained himself to control his flames, and from what i read, he didn't use ordinary flames, but rather something that looked like he was harnessing the power of the sun. It also allowed him to live longer then normal. He looked 32, but he was actually 76 before he went out on his journey after he learned a monster that killed his mother- i think it was a Oni- was still alive. 

        "He found the Oni after some time, but it had been killed by another: a succubus named Marrigold. The two fought, since she technically did steal his kill, but... somehow, for some reason, they ended up together. They fell in love, got married, had kids, and founded the town. Try wrapping your head around that- a human shacking up with a monster and somehow making it work. Anyway, Marrigold eventually died to a hunter, who didn't know she was quote unquote 'tamed', and Teria, who got revenge on the hunter beforehand, died to a nasty customer of a dragon. That's the reason why Noah hates dragons above all else, by the way."

        "Ok, so Noah can use that solar fire thing, right?" She waved her hand in a 'kinda, sorta' motion. "What about everyone else in that family?"

        "I heard that he could during his younger years, but he hasn't used it ever since he became a father. As for his children, i never saw Aura or Jessica show signs they could use it. I think the only one that can use it is Gryff, and even she has trouble with it. Bloodlines can dilute with new additions, and they are fourth generation, so whatever power Teria had will likely vanish with the passage of time."

        "Huh. So... wait, if Noah and his kids are..." He counted on his fingers. "...1/4th succubus, why does he hate monsters?"

        "It's Noah we're talking about here. Have you seen the psycho make any sense in the short amount of time you've known him?"

        "Alright, fair enough."

        She got up off the stair, starting to get uncomfortable. She cracked her neck and stretched her arms and back in a twisting motion. "You gonna help us explore?" He shook his head. He doesn't know how to fight, so he'd be a hindrence if they ever came across things wanting to eat them. "Ok. Then you can shut off the barrier. Aura or one of his siblings will show you how." She stopped stretching and jogged towards home. "Meanwhile, i need the cutlass."

       In no time flat, she returned home to the tavern and headed behind the bar to acquire her fathers sword. She really needs to get one for herself, cause constantly borrowing one- especially as old as the cutlass- was ridiculous. She raised the partition and headed on back, knowing that he wouldn't mind if she--

        Her vision suddenly went blurry and wavy as she stumbled back and forth. Her mind was in a dizzying state fog as she could barely keep herself upright. "Wh....." She blinked once, but it was useless. "W..."

        And then her world turned dark......



        She's not responding.

        Well, try again. I'm not losing this one.

        Ma'am, what you are proposing... it's insane on all accounts. You know that once the others learn of this, they will banish you and strip you of your ranks. You'd be as good as mortal

        It's not insane... it's just what is needed... once i acquire all i need, i will be unstoppable... It's time they received a wake-up call... but i still need two more...

        Two more what?

        Elements for my plan. Now keep working. I want this done before any of them find out.



        The door to a florists within the circle of buildings around the temple jingled open. John held it open and Adi walked out, carrying several pots. In the pots were several seeds for spices- oregano, cilantro, and peppercorn. "At least these are some trips we don't have to go on." John commented as he closed the door and walked alongside his son.

        "You'll get no argument from me dad." Adi replied. "Almost being killed for simple spices is pretty stupid." He pulled out one of the bags and looked at it. "These can survive the cold months, right?"

        "I guess we'll find out."

        As they rounded round the temple, they saw that a crowd of people had gathered at the base, talking among each other as they held garden tools and knifes. A couple of them even had old weapons, such as a old gun- a bolt action rifle called a Kar98K with a bayonet one the end. There was no ammo to put it to it's true potential, but it still makes for a decent spear. Curious as to what was going on, the two approached. Adi spotted Damien at the edge of the crowd and went to him. He tapped him on the side to get his attention. "Un, what's going on?" He asked as John walked up.

        "Well, do you remember the zombie dragon not that long ago?"

        "I don't think anyone is going to forget that thing anytime soon." John commented as he crossed his arms.

        "Well, he left behind a little going-away present: the patches of land where he stomped, blasted, and pretty much fought in are kinda... rotting away like a corpse." Adi's fact twisted in disgust. "And one of those patches just happens to be at one of your farms near the tavern, so the plants there are dead. Everyone is assuming the patch is going to spread, so they're kinda in a rush."

        "A rush?"

        "To find that Gabrielle fella. Since he knew how to fight the undead and know what the zombie dragon was, he should know how to counter what is happening to the land. If it's not his potion, then he may know some magic that can do it. At least, that's what everyone here concluded."

        "Ok...? But that still doesn't explain why the crowd has gathered here and looked like they're marching off to war."

        Adi held up a finger, catching their attention. "Lemme guess: Requiem fired them up?"

        Damien shook his head. "No, Aura did."

        Now that was a shock to the system. Aura riled everyone up? "Aura!?!"

        "Yeah. Noah went off the deep end when he saw what was happening, yelling and spitting and claiming that he owns everyone and everything in this town and that this was no problem whatsoever. His own son, who i always thought was a emotional wuss, stood up to him and put him down. Everyone here was there when they saw it, so they are amped up and ready for the barrier to come down so they can go find that Gabrielle fella."

        Adi listed to the left and saw some people who are not from town among them, mainly a few survivors and Ash, who had revived Fenrir, who looked like he had seen a ghost. "So... then why is Ash and a few River City survivors helping?"

        "He was very effective."

        "Sounds like it. I wish i saw it."

        John slowly shook his head. "I don't... this just means Noah will get angry." Adi looked to him like he didn't just say that. How will Noah get angry from this if he is angry every day? "Well, angrier! And if you think he's bad now, just wait till he reaches his boiling point. Aura will probably regret standing up to his father by the end of all this."

        "Too late for regrets now." Adi commented under his breath. It was then he realized that Req was nowhere to be seen among the crowd. She's easy to pick out as she's the only one in town to have silver-blue hair. Since Aura was leading the charge, he figured she would've been here to support her friend with benefits. "Un... if Aura is doing this, why isn't Req here?"

        "She is. She went back to the tavern to grab your cutlass..." He realized that she had been gone far too long for a simple errand run. "... thought she has been gone for a long time... longer then she should be taking, same with Aura. You don't keep it hidden, do you?"

        "No. It's right behind the counter." John answered. 

        Adi may have an answer for why she's taking so long- a easy to explain reason with scales, wings, and eventually a breath hot enough to melt steel, but he can't say what it was. If Noah is mad now, telling him about the dragon will make him explode. "un... i'm sure it's nothing." Adi said with calm nerves. "Maybe she saw that Lowell was low on food or something." 

        "Well, i should go check on her all the same." His father answered as he started for home. Adi bit his lip in worry before following a few steps behind.

        In no time at all, they returned home to find a pair of legs sticking out from behind the counter. They were motionless and they were in Requiem's clothing for the day, which meant only one thing: she was in trouble. "Requiem!" John shouted as he ran in. Adi followed too but made sure not to drop the pots they had bought; he was scared, but he wasn't stupid. John fell to his knees when he reached her- she was on the ground, unconscious with a big welt on her forehead. She must've tripped when she came in, they figured. "Come on, Req. Come on, wake up. Wake up."

        Adi whimpered in worry- it's something you never get used to, seeing people in peril like this. But when it happens to your own family, something inside sinks and grabs your heart and twists it in a vice. "Is she ok...?"

        "I hope so. I really hope s--" Her mouth closed and twisted as she grumbled softly. Her eyes slowly forced themselves open. "OH, thank heavens."

        "D... dad...?" She weakly groaned. She saw her brother behind him and realized that she was on the floor with a throbbing headache. "What happened...?" 

        "I don't know..." He looked down at her feet, thinking she may've tripped. She wasn't wearing anything that could make her trip, so maybe she just stepped wrong. "I think you tripped or stepped wrong and hit your head hard on the wall or one of the poles or something."

        "Oh... guess that explains the headache..." She grunted as she struggled to sit up. John helped her slowly get up off the floor. "God, this hurts like hell..."

        "Seeing as how you hit your head on something, of course it would hurt." Adi commented as he put the pots on the countertop. "I don't think you're going out Gabrielle hunting today." She painfully lifted an eyebrow. "Damien filled us in on what happened. I don't know if his potion will work on the land, but it can't hurt to try." She grunted as she rubbed her forehead. That was a bad idea, making her wince and hiss in pain. "And we know it'll make the headache and probable concussion pop away once you take a swig."

        "Need to sleep for it to take affect first, you know..." She said in a grumpily tone that made it hint that she was going to throw up. 

        "I'm more worried about how Noah is going to react to this." John said as he checked for any more bruises on the parts of her body that she fell on. "He hates it when people defy him, so to see his own son do it will surely be a huge blow to his ego and make things worse for everyone else."

        "I'm more shocked Aura actually stood up to him." Adi said. "I never knew he had it in him. I thought he was always a yes man."

        Req tapped a finger on the floor, feeling insulted for Aura that he was speaking bad about him. Though she won't deny it, he does have a bad tendency to let people walk all over him. "He's not, you jerk. I w-- agh..." She held her head as it hurt again.

        A knocking came from the doorway to the outside. Adi poked his head up from behind the bar and saw Aura standing there. In his left hand was the lance or the spear or whatever it was used by the head Bonewalker. People were gathering up outside behind him, talking among themselves.  "Damien told me he filled you in."

        "He did."

        He approached the bar, the lance moving fluidly in his arm with each step, almost as if it was made for him. "Then do you know where Requiem is? He said she headed here to grab the cutlass and--" When he arrived, he saw Req sitting behind the bar, her face twisted in pain. He immidately went into panic mode and ran behind. "Oh geez, what happened?!"

        "I don't know..." She coughed. "Dad says i tripped and hid my head on something... ow, and i think he's right cause this hurts horribly..."

        Aura moved her hand to look at the welt on her head. It was nasty looking, making him wince in sympathetic pain. "If it is hurting this bad, it's gotta be a concussion."

        "That's what i said." John chimed in.

        Aura's hand instinctively moved down to her cheek. It was warm to the touch, which she liked. "Well, it's a good thing we're looking for someone with a magic cure-all potion then." Realizing where his hand was, he gently tapped it before getting up. "Hopefully this won't take too long."

        "Hold on..." Req grunted as she tried to get up. 

        "Oh no no no no no no." John put her back down on her rear. "You are not going anywhere, young lady. Not with your brain likely cracked."

        "Cracked brain?" Adi repeated with a flabbergasted tone. "Wow, that was pretty bad."

        "Adi."

        "Sorry."

        Req didn't want to hear this- the land is worse off then her. "But...."
        
        "Your dad is right, Req." Aura affirmed. "You're not going out. What if it starts hurting when a monster pops up and attacks? You'd have no way to defend yourself. And from what i remember reading, concussions can cause hallucinations and even memory loss, and you already lost the first four years of your life. And i think the most dangerous part is the dizziness: if that happens while you are out there, you could fall and hit your head on a rock. I don't think anyone wants to know what happens if someone gets two concussions in a row."

        Req opened her mouth to speak, but didn't. She wasn't going to defy both her father and her secret fiancee. "Ok. Ok... i won't go. You made your point."

        "Good." He grabbed the lance of the bar and shouldered it. "Make sure she doesn't go to sleep- it can put her into a coma."

        Adi poked the flat edge of one of the lances blades; the subtle tab got Aura's attention. "Why are you using the zombie spear?"

        "It's a lance and and they were called Bonewalkers. What, because it was used by a nasty monster means nobody can use it ever? What kind of logic is that?" He has a point. Weapon is a weapon- there's no law saying that one weapon is forever linked to someone or something. Besides, if this were a warzone, he'd be scrambling for any kind of weapon he could get his hands on, even if it was designed by the enemy faction. "Yeah, that's what i thought." With that out of the way, he headed out the door, leaving them behind. 

        He walked out to the crowd, who were waiting for the barrier to come down, and reunited with Ash, who was petting Cobalt on the head as the bird rested on his hand. Fenrir was still out of commission; he was conscious, but thanks to the stench from the farmland, his sniffer was going to be of no use- dragging it against the dirt wasn't helping as well as it should. "Cobalt ready to go?"

        "Yes she is." Ash said as he gave Cobalt a berry from his back pockets. "Fenrir's nose is still out, though."

        "Req actually suggested we use him, but Gabrielle's scent must've gone away after some time. And now that i think about it, he fought a lot of monsters. That means a lot of blood and dead monster smells would've overpowered anything else anyway."

        "Fair enough a point." Ash agreed. "Speaking of Requiem, where is she? I thought she was going to help."

        "She was, but she took a nasty tumble in there. Now she has a concussion and that leaves her in no condition to fight."

        "Concussion? Oooof. I never experienced it myself, and i pray i never have to." A bright flash came from the barrier, almost blinding several people by how sudden and out-of-nowhere it was. Ash covered his eyes when the flash started, but it snuck through the gaps in his fingers. "Geez... why is it glowing so bright?"

        "It always does that when it's deactivating." Aura brought his lance down to his waist. "Not sure why it does that, but it does. It's even worse at night. imagine having to deal with that when it's dark out." Above, they could see the barrier fade away one hexagon at a time. As it slowly worked its way down, Aura walked to the edge and tapped the weapon on it, making a sparking sound to get their attention. "Alright, everybody. In a moment, the barrier will come down and we'll be able to leave. We're all going to break up into pairs;  Gabrielle had been fighting monsters for the past few days, but that doesn't mean the forest is clear of danger. Also, since he's been fighting for so long, he may be delusional and weary."

        "There's no way he could've been fighting ALL that time, right?" One of the volunteers asked. "There's no humanly way that's possible."

        The barrier faded away completely seconds before Aura responded, "You can ask him when we find him."


        
        The sound of snapping twigs woke Gabrielle up from his sudden, but very needed, nap. The potion he had consumed had healed his wounds and rejuvenated his body. He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning loudly. "Yaaaaawn... i needed that..." He groggily said. He looked up to the sky and saw the sun peaking through the leaves. "Noon... eh, hopefully i didn't sleep a whole day. That would be embarrassing." He pushed himself up from the log he had used as a makeshift pillow. He rubbed and moved his tense neck around to work out the knots.

        "Yes, i think it would be embarrassing." Gabrielle went wide-eyed for a moment, recognizing that voice. He spun around and summoned his axe to his hands. Sitting on the log he had just used was the unknown in the black cloak from River City. The only thing visible under that hood was her mouth, chine, and the glare in her eyes. "Though knowing you, i'd say it comes naturally." She mockingly joked.

        "Rubicon.." Gabrielle snarled as he held the axe with both hands.

        She leaned back on the log and looked at her nails. "I thought you lot called me Catalyst now. Or was i wrong?" Gabrielle suddenly attacked. With no warning, he swung the axe with both hands, slamming it down onto Rubicon. She was there one second and gone the next; all the axe hit was the log. "Well, that was a fine hello." She said as she appeared behind him, leaning on her back to a tree.

        Gabrielle turned to glare at her. "I am going to end you."

        "You said that the last time, too. How did that work out?" She pretended to think as she put a finger to her chin. "Ah, yes, that's right. Our little spat tortured the last lass until she was no more. Though i think that last one should be blamed on you- you were so pushy." He charged at her and swung like a lumberjack. Like before, she vanished, letting the weapon make contact with the tree trunk. "Someone became more brutish since the last time." She mocked from a branch thick enough to hold her.

        "And you wonder why, death dealer?!" He barked while pulling his axe out of the trees. 

        "With you, i never have to wonder." She sat back and let a leg dangle off the edge. "I can see why you chose this town next. If you ignore the ruins and the monsters and the undead, this would be a boring place to live."

        "Quit stalling!" The glare in Rubicon's eyes halted, like she had grown tired. "Now why have you come here? There's nothing of any interest to you here!"

        "You always were such a terrible liar." She scoffed. "Nothing of interest? How about the human who seems to have a tamed Simargl as a traveling companion? Or the mysterious temple in the middle of that town? Or... maybe the town itself." Her left hand punctured and dug into the wood of the branch, cracking it. "There is no way i can forgot about him. That bastard took one of my best generals away from me and turned her into his own personal concubine, then he develops a ego so big, he names a town after himself."

        "Are you going anywhere with this? Why would you be so enraged by Ter--...." He went silent when he realized what she was leading on about.

        "Heh. And you said there was nothing interesting in that town." She flipped forward onto her hands, then pushed off to land on her feet. "Between his descendants and the out-of-place Mayan temple, i'd say there was something interesting there."

        "You'll never succeed. Teria is gone and so is Marrigold; going after their descendants is ludicrous." 

        "Ludicrous, you say? Or fun? I thought you knew me, Gabby..." 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH_3XbYDSok The Consuming Dark (World of Tres Orchestra version)- Kingdom Hearts 3 soundtrack



        She snapped her fingers, and out of the ground popped up five humanoid plant monsters. The main bodies were a tree trunk covered in moss and vines sculpted into a humanoid shape, whilst their arms and legs were a trio of vines twisted up into one, with flowers serving as fingers. Their heads were Venus-flytraps of varying size. The fifth, likely the leader of this particular group, was more angular and rigid, sorta like a lizards face.

        She smiled so wickedly, it would send shivers down a normal persons spine. "...like you said, i like to play with my food before going in for the kill." She chucked in a disturbing manner, prompting Gabrielle to bring up his axe to fight both her and these plant demons. "Don't take too long with him. I still want to play after i confirm Serenity is here." She vanished into a plume of black fire.

        The plant demons pulled weapons out of the ground; made from dirt, grass, and rock, the four underlings wielded faux axes and lances- two apiece-  while the leader had a sword. Gabrielle spun his axe around before taking his battlestance. The leader barked something he couldn't understand, ordering the four to attack en masse. The two lance wielders leaped up and thrust down towards him while the axe users came from the side to attack him should he leap back.

        With no other choice in the matter, Gabrielle leaped back, avoiding the lances but leaving himself wide open to the axes. He dug his own axe into the ground to grind to a halt before dragging it through the dirt, kicking up a temporary 'smokescreen' to disorient one of the axe wielders. The second axe came in from the other side and sliced, getting him in the arm. It was merely a flesh wound and Gabrielle countered by thrusting the handle back into its chest, knocking it backwards. He kicked up and swung down over his head, slicing off the left vine arm.

        Spinning his weapon around his back and to his other hand, he thrust it forwards, creating a powerful gust that forced the four attackers back. The blade of the axe then glowed and he swung upwards, unleashing a slicing beam that shot towards the leader. The plant monster brought up his sword and blocked it. It dug what passed for feet into the ground, rooting it in place. Through force of will, it deflected it back towards him. Gabrielle swung his axe up, sending the beam skyward.


        
        Reaching a high enough attitude, the beam exploded like a firework. It's high height caught the attention of everyone on the ground, including those searching for the progenitor of the attack. Aura and Ash looked to each other and nodded- that had to be him. They rushed towards where the beam detonated, with Cobalt flying high up in the air.



        Gabrielle kicked one of the axe wielders back, and then moved to block the attack of the second. He pushed the monster back and the two had a brief duel where steel clashed against earth; the plant monsters may be made of natural elements, but it was magically as sharp and as durable as bladed weapons. Gab spun around to avoid a killing blow and slammed it in the back of the head with the handle.

        He jumped up to deliver his own killing blow just as the two lances burst up from beneath him, piercing him in his thighs while their wielders were a few feet away at a safe distance. He winced in pain as the lizard-faced leader leaped over the lance wielders and swung his sword down with both hands. Gag barely noticed in time, blocking the attack with the handle of his. It left him open for attack from the axe wielders, who got back in after working out of their problems. He had no time to react,and even if he did, the sword or the lances will take advantage.

        A glow came from within him. With a mighty yell, energy burst out of him in a pulse, knocking the leader and the axes back while disintegrating the lance weapons. He fell down onto one knee and panted in pain as he held himself up by his weapon. The pulse drained him a lot worse then he had planned. He lifted his head with one eye open and saw his foes getting ready for another attack. Ignoring the pain, he got up and took up his stance once again, getting ready to fight in spite of the damage and the drain, but he couldn't stay up. He fell back onto one leg, dropping his weapon.

        One of the lance wielders remade his destroyed weapon and grasped it with both hands as he led the charge.

        Another lance, this one of metal and steel, was thrown from within the woods, piercing one of the axe wielders all the way through the chest. Aura leapt through the thicket and punched the open end of his double-ended weapon, penetrating all the way through and slaying that plant monster. He then grabbed it with both hands and swung around, swinging the pierced monster like a baseball bat, smacking the leader with the body. It slipped off and pinned the leader to the ground. 

        Keeping up the momentum, he spin the lance in a single hand so fast, it turned into a sawblade, with no visible proof that there was a pole to grab-it was so fast, it's like it wasn't even there. He moved it up, sawing one of the lance wielders into two. All of this happened so quick, nobody knew what had happened until the second monster fell into two.

        Rolling it back around his neck, Aura thrust towards the second lance wielder, who reacted in time to block it between the blades. But Aura was nimble and a quick thinker- anticipating that, he fell to his back and slid in between its legs, leaving his lance behind. As the second axe was coming in to attack him when he slid out the other side, Cobalt screeched in from above, pecking and clawing at its face, distracting it. Aura leapt up and kicked the lance wielder in the back, knocking it to the ground. The monster fell onto Aura's lance, allowing momentum and gravity to kill that one. It cleaved all the way through.

        The second axe wielder swatted Cobalt out of the air with its free hand and went in for the kill. Out of nowhere, Ash came in and drop-kicked the monster into a tree. The plant monster quickly pushed itself off and quickly turned to attack. A swift and precise headshot by Ash took care of that notion. 

        The leader pushed the dead monster off of it and quickly got up. It swelled up its cheeks like a squirrel and fired a barrage of seeds like bullets. Aura spun his lance like a helicopter, blocking the seed bullets until it stopped. Once it was done. Aura then charged. The leader raised his sword and the two met. Aura swung from the right, which the humanoid-plant blocked with its blade, then from the left, which was also blocked. He then flipped up and spun sideways, sawing through the sword, with the final slash slamming the plant monster onto the ground. Landing on his feet, he then swept the plant monster of its own. He brought up his lance in a stabbing motion and did just that, crushing it down so hard, the tree-trunk body exploded into splinters and toothpicks.


End song.


        Aura panted, wiping spittle from his mouth as he pulled the lance up from the ground. "Today... just isn't a good day for flora..." He dug it back into the ground in a different spot. He turned to face Gabrielle, who was impressed by what he saw. "You've been keeping busy..."

        Gabrielle grunted as he pushed himself off the ground. "You could say that..." The axe at his feet vanished into thin air. Ash walked by him and over to Cobalt. "She's alive." Gabrielle assured as Ash picked her up and held her in his arms. "Disoriented, but alive."

        "How do you know that?"

        "I just do." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his potion. He popped off the cap and took a half-second swig. He will run out at this point- it's already past the halfway point. He stopped and wiped his mouth. "But why are the two of you out here?"

        "It's not just the two of us." Aura replied. "And there is a reason. We need that magic cure-all juice."

        "My potion?"

        "Yeah. The Dracolich left us a little going -away present that may run the risk of killing us all if we don't do something about it. In places where its been and struck, the land is dying; rotting away like a old corpse. We surmised that the potion may be able to cure the land, so me, Ash, and a few dozen volunteers came out to look for you."

        Gab moaned as he rubbed the bridge between his eyes. "I forgot they do that..." He rolled his fingers down to his nose. "Well, you don't have to worry about the Revenants doing such a thing- that nasty little trick is exclusive to undead animals. Unfortunately, however... the potion will not work. It only works on sentient beings. Even if it did, i barely have enough for myself. I'm already past the halfway point on the bottle."

        It was Aura's turn to pinch his eyes. That wasn't what he wanted to hear. Time to pray Plan B will work. "What about magic? You're a traveled man- you must've seen things. Surely you must have something in that noggin of yours that can help us."

        Gab crossed his arms and looked to the ground, tapping his foot as he thought about it for a moment to give the illusion he was thinking. There is a magic spell he can use to heal the land. In his adrenaline fueled state that night, it had slipped his mind. "There is, actually. I... learned this from a tribe living in a small village on the western-most coast- they were plagued by undead and developed spells that can heal the land they fell on. But keep in mind, it will take time for the land to heal, and any fruits and vegetables on that land need to be tossed."

        "As long as we avoid dying due to starvation, i'll welcome it." Aura heaved up his lance and shouldered it. Gab and Ash followed him out towards the thicket the duo had burst out of. "Oh." He snapped his fingers, remembering Requiem. "How many more gulps do you have left in the potion?"

        Gab held it up and sloshed the magic water around to get a gauge. "If used absolutely sparingly and with small amounts... i'd say 10-- no, 20 more uses. Why?"

        "Cause Requiem was supposed to come help us look for you, but she, un... she had a little tumble and hit her head hard. We're afraid she has a concussion."

        Gab winced in sympathetic pain. "Ooof... i had one of those before. They, un... they suck."

        "That's putting it bluntly." Ash commented.

        "Oh, Ash. Think you and Cobalt can inform everyone that we found Gabrielle and are heading back to town? Is the bird even up to the task?"

        Her head cleared up and mind sharp, Cobalt flew out of Ash's arms and landed on his hat, letting loose a confident screech. "Yes, she is. But i don't think anyone will get the hint that he was found?"

        Gabrielle held up a single finger. He pointed towards the eagle and a line of text came out. Written in blue letters, it read "We found Gabrielle." It then spun around the left foot and turned into a ribbon shape, which Cobalt nibbled at. "That'll help. It won't hurt her- it can come off as easily as it went on."

        "Good to know... i guess."



        "I really want to go to sleep..." Req moaned as she laid her head on the nearest table. Fenrir was upset he didn't get to go either as he rested his head on Requiem's lap.

        "No you are not." Jessica said as she forced a cup of coffee down Requiem's throat. Req hates coffee- she almost coughed this cup up, but it'll keep her up to avoid permanent brain damage. Damien came from the counter with a cookie loaded with sugar- something else that'll keep her awake. "Concussions are bad news. You go to sleep, you won't wake up."

        Req coughed loudly as she found the ability to breath again. "Uagh... oogh... this is not a good day." Damien set the cookie down and she swiped it like a raccoon. "I had plans." She took a bite... and almost coughed this one up too. This had waaaay too much sugar for her. That one bite should keep her up for hours.

        "Well, plans change."

        "Is she staying awake?" John called from the kitchen. "Do i need to make more coffee?"

        "No you don't dad!" Req replied. "The super sugary cookie here will keep me up for days. I'll never have to sleep again! You've created an insomniac- i can hear my heart building a racetrack and going around it like a speed demon!! Good job!!!"

        "Don't you already stay up all night?" Damien asked. "What about your midnight rendezvous w--" She kicked the chair out from under him, making him fall onto his back. He hit it hard. "Ow... uncool..."

        She slowly shook her head. "Next time, keep your mouth shut..." 

        Adi came down from the second floor, shaking his foot before heading on down the stairs. Jess and Damien scrunched up their faces and belted at him, "Where in blue blazes were you?!" 

        He stopped on one of the steps halfway down. He and Req both stayed silent; he cannot say that he was just taking care of a forbidden, potentially deadly monster that could grow up to turn them into ashes. And he especially cannot say that he had just got done feeding the little tyke. "Un... i needed to use the bathroom."

        "It's been a half an hour." Damien pointed out.

        "............. i reeeeeeeeeeally needed to go."

        "Un, it's true." Req spoke up. "Yeah, un, un, un, he gets really bad un.... un...." She rubbed her forehead- her brain was starting to hurt; her having brain damage may be true after all as she could not think of anything coherent to say. "Where was i going with this...?"

        Damien sucked in his lips while Jessica bit hers. "Uh-oh. That's a bad sign." Damien sucked in air through his teeth. "Really, really bad." 

        Adi reached the bottom of the stairs and outside the door, he could see people who went out to search return, walking by the tavern triumphant. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that for long." He pointed to the door. The trio at the table leaned over and saw people were heading for the farm, presumably. 

        Aura then walked in through the door with a big, triumphant grin on his face. "Mission accomplished." He held the potion in his hand and jiggled it around. "Gabrielle found and potion obtained."

        "Nice going!" Jessica cheered. 

        He would ask why Jessica was here, but knowing them, they obviously told her what was going on. No doubt she was curious if Noah went home, fuming up a storm. "And it doesn't take a genius to know you know what's going on."

        "The entire town does." John said as he came from the kitchen, wiping his hands on a raggity ol' towel. "Word about the farm and the search for Gabrielle spread fast."

        Yet another thing Aura is not surprised by. This is a really small town and the community is tight- what happens to one person happens to everyone. "Whatever, we got the potion, so can someone grab a teaspoon or something?"

        Req grabbed the bottle out of his hands and looked it over. "...And since you have it here with you, i guess that means it won't work on the land?"

        He popped his lips. "Yeah... according to Gabrielle, it only works on sentient beings. But it's not all doom and gloom- he knows a magic spell that should lift whatever curse or infliction or whatever thing that undead jerk put on the land. It won't heal the food, but at least we'll avoid starvation in the future."

        "As long as i don't have to eat any rutabagas this winter, that's fine by me." Adi rudely commented.

        Everyone ignored the kid, as most should do whenever someone is being rude. "Magic, huh...?" Req said to herself. "Well... i don't want to miss whatever light show that'll unveil." She popped off the cork and, like Gab did before after the Dracolich fight, put a drop on her tongue. She gulped it down and closed it up. "Tasted like oranges this time." 




        "This looks worse then i anticipated." Gabrielle said as he gazed at the rotting farmland. He had a crowd gathered with him as everyone didn't want to pack up and leave; this was their home. He should've done this before he went out to deal with incoming monsters from the Dracolich's roar, but the thought never even crossed his mind. 

        "So what can you do?" The farmer from before asked. "Is it even fixable? Are we too late?" 

        "Another month, and you would've been." Gab replied. "Rotting land curses like this can take a long time before it becomes irreversible. At that point, you'd better pack up and leave. This is the second stage of the rot- if it progressed any further, it would start to affect people. You were lucky to have caught it when you did."

        "Can it be reversed or not?"

        "Yes it can. Like i said, this is a pretty early stage, so the magic spell should be able to exorcise it away." He turned to face the crowd. "You all better stand back- this is gonna be a big spell and i don't want anyone to get caught up in it." They listened to the one who knows his stuff and backed up as far as they could so they can still watch what he was going to do. They backed up all the way to the edge of the rot, with the rear of the group bumping into Req and co., who had just arrived.

        "Oooof." Req went when she was bumped hard in the stomach by Rubi's head. "Rubi? What are you doing out? And why is everyone backing up?"

        "He wanted us to back away." Rubi responded. "Apparently, it's a big one that could hurt us."

        "Oh. And again, why are you out?"

        "I was feeling better. I got some new pills that should help me."

        Req smiled as she tasseled her hair. "Let's hope about that." She picked her up and put her on her shoulders to give her a better view.

        Zoning out the noises and the voices of everyone who had gathered, Gabrielle raised his right hand and held it out in front of him. The tips of his fingers began to glow. With multiple waves up, to the left, and to the right, three triangles- one on top of two- appeared before him with each wave. In the middle of the right triangle was a Ankh. In the middle of the left was a pair of snakes coiled around a staff with wings at the top. And in the middle of the top was a strange array of lines nobody local could recognize. 

        He then thrust his hand forward. The triangles went from flat pascals to multiple forms that overlapped the other. He then raised his hand once more. The biggest set rose up and flattened out. Multiple Circular glyphs appeared around it, with each space in between housing letters they never saw before. The other sets vanished, appearing seconds later above other patches of land that the Dracolich damaged. 

       As this went on, everyone was in awe by the magic that was on display. They never saw anything so bright and so mystical in their lives... except for one person. For some strange reason, Req felt uneasy. She has a sinking feeling in her stomach and her heart, like she had seen all this before... and it wasn't for healing. For a few brief seconds, the scene changed in her eyes, replaced instead with a figure in white robes usng the same kind of type of spell, this time to block intense, floor melting fire. She held her hand to her heart, looking afraid, something only Jessica and Rubi noticed.

        Gabrielle slowly lowered his hand and the many sets of glyphs followed suit. His hand was down by his side by the time the magical rings touched the ground. They glowed as bright as street lamps before dissolving into the ground like water. He exhaled tiredly as he rubbed his forehead. 

        "Wait, is that it?" The farmer, while awestruck, asked.

        "That's it... though i never did it on such a large scale before." Gab pretended to pant. "It will take a day or two for the rot to fade away, but the crisis has been averted." That was a huge relief to the rest of the town. 



        From atop the Aesir estate, a certain cloaked figure watched from the highest point. She looked towards the crowd; more specifically, towards one person, who had a little girl on her shoulders. "Found her... at long last, i found her..." She gave a wicked, evil smile that bared fanged teeth. "What to do with her first?"

13: Chapter 12: Repercussions

Chapter 12

Repercussions

8/19/2210 A.D. – 8/19/200 A.W. 

 

 

        In the early morning, as Bahamut gnawed on the leftover eggs, bacon, and hashbrowns from her breakfast, Requiem was busy trying to do... something. She kept on thrusting out her arm, grunting with each thrust. This isn't some weird exercise; she was trying to accomplish something. Gabrielle did this just yesterday, so how is she finding it difficult to cast magic? She's seen other humans like Noah do it, so why can't she? That's the belief she's had for years now, and yet it never amounts to anything.

        This isn't the first time she's tried to cast magic. She's been trying for years, with little success. She could never get close; either her patience is so low, she can't concentrate hard enough due to her wandering mind, or she's just not attuned to it. But it just makes sense to her that she should be able to cast magic; she has vague recollections of seeing magic before- it's the only memory she had been able to regain of her time before Teria. There must've been magicians in the caravan, she concluded. Something happened to cause that huge crater, and in her mind, the culprit was her having magic inside her. 

        "Come... on..." She grunted. "Fire... ball. Bliz...zard. Ergh... Water. Agh, come on!"

        In all honesty, she was doing this to delay heading out. What happened between Aura and his father yesterday was... it wasn't pretty, and it hasn't ended well. After Gabrielle healed their farmlands, Noah tried to kick him out as revenge against Aura. It didn't work- he's back at the inn. She could only imagine the arguments that sprung up from this defiance, and she knows going over there would make things worse since Noah hates her guts. But she also knows Aura will need emotional and mental support, so she'll have to go there anyway.

        Then there are the River City Survivors. With the barrier down and the encroaching monsters dealt with- Gabrielle confirmed this to be true- the survivors were now able to leave. She wondered what they would do once it came down. She knows not everyone will stay. They have families they need to reunite with, damages to assess, lives to rebuild. They all had a lot to do before they can return their lives to some semblance of normal, especially Damian. He cried hard his first night here, so she can only guess what he does next now that he's free to go. He said he needs to send a letter to his relatives, so he likely won't be leaving until he gets a reply.

        After the umpteenth time thrusting out her arm, nothing came out. No sparks of fire, no droplets of water. Not a thing. "Uuuuuugh. Still nothing..." She lowered it, feeling numb from all of it. She plopped down next to the bed. "Maybe i need to ask Gabrielle...." She flexed her fingers to bring some feeling back into them. She glanced over to Bahamut, who was licking her plate clean. "Yet when you grow up, you'll have access to fire and air plentifully."

        She rested her head on her bed frame and sputtered like a horse. She looked at her hand again and wondered that maybe she should move her hand the same way Gabrielle did when he cast the spell to save their fields. Remembering the movements he did, she copied him to the best of her ability. Nothing happened... except for a really faint white glow coming from her palm, but the way her hand was positioned, she wouldn't see it, nor did she feel it- it wasn't warm or anything. She grumbled as her face scrunched up in annoyance. 

        His meal finished and belly full, Bahamut crawled his way over to Req in such a cute fashion, it brought a smile to her dour face. "Hehe... that was too cute." She lifted him up and put him on her lap. "Think you can behave while i'm gone? No more gnawing on my bed legs?" He merely placed his paw on her nose, making her giggle a smile. "I'll take that as a yes." She sat back for a moment, staring up at the ceiling as she let her mind wander. 

       As it did, her mind returned to that... hallucination thing she experienced when she fell over and bumped her head on the bar. Was it a hallucination? Or a memory? "Elements of my plan... i want it done before any of them find out..." She looked at her hand; the one she unknowingly had magic come out. "Risking banishment and a stripped title... hmm... i don't know who was speaking, but the voice felt... familiar..." She shook her head, returning to reality. "Agh, i got enough on my plate as it is."

        She set Bahamut to her side and got up to go get dressed. She walked to her dresser, opened it up, and began changing into something more appropriate for heading out. Her pajama's fell onto Bahamut, whose head wildly looked around in the dark, spooked by the sudden shift to blackness. Req noticed this and lifted the clothes off him; he had a cute scrunched up face when he sneered at her. "Heh... sorry..." She pulled him out and placed him on her bed. 

        That's also another thing she had to consider: what to do with Bahamut. Since the barrier is down, she can take him back to the ruins to try and reunite him with his mother or father... but that's working off the assumption one of the dragons back there was his parent, and that they are also still alive. If they didn't kill each other, Gabrielle may have, and he never knew about the situation; she only did talk to him the one time. Working off of that, that leaves her with only one option: raising the dragon like a pet... one that could end with her banished and almost killed by Noah. She doesn't have a problem now, but when he gets bigger, she'll need to find a hiding spot. She won't find one now- it's still summer. Once winter comes around, she may have a better chance since everyone will want to stay indoors to avoid the cold.

        Until then, she'll have to hope dragons grow slow.

 

        Speaking of growing, the farmers of Teria looked out at the healing fields. Ever since Gabrielle cast that spell, they had a soft white glow coming out of the dirt. He did say it was going to take a couple of days, but after a few hours, they are already seeing progress. Some of the rot had gone away; not all, but enough to notice a difference. Based on how much had healed since the casting, this should be all healed up by dinner tomorrow or breakfast the next day.

        "That guy wasn't kidding." The head farmer asked as he ran his hand over the glowing land. "It's slow, but its healing right up."

        "So it'll be like that giant undead creep never happened, right?" Another asked as she leaned on a garden hoe, resting her chin on the end.

        "Maybe." He got back up and dusted off his knees. "Too bad the same can't be said for the crops." He pointed towards the ruined vegetables they were forced to dig up. "He said this curse thing worked in stages, right? Crops are smaller then farmlands, so... i mean, we can still ask, but i'm not holding my breath."

        "And if he can't? We're gonna have a lot of hungry people when winter comes."

        The head farmer rubbed the back of his neck. "Either everyone eats less or they start making trips to Ctrom, Aqui, or heaven forbid Bhisk and start buying up some supplies." He approached the carts holding the rotting crops and grabbed a decomposing carrot. This thing was beyond saving, so Gab's spell was not going to work. "Either way, sacrifices are gonna have to be made."

 

        Sitting by himself in a corner of the tavern lobby, Gabrielle sipped on a cup of herbal tea as he read a book he had bought back when he arrived in Europe. It was a romance/adventure novel about a soldier going through hell and high water to save the woman he loved from a evil demon. Simple, but effective. All that is missing now are crumpets and he'd look like a posh member of high society. The tavern was abuzz with activity, as the survivors made plans on what to do now that the barrier was gone.

        "Excuse me, Gabrielle?" He heard a familiar voice ask. He looked up from his book and saw Requiem standing near the table. She was dressed in a absolutely stunning black sundress that was a bit too revealing; where she was planning on going, it was going to be effective. "I need to ask you something."

        "And that would be?"

        "Can you teach me how to cast magic?"

        He raised an eyebrow. If his hunch was right, she should know magic. "What brought this on? Did you get interested after my display yesterday?"
    
        "Kinda, but it's not the reason."

        "Then i assume you plan on trying to coerce me if i say no by wearing such a revealing attire?"

        "What?" She looked down at her dress. "Oh, no no. It isn't like that. This is for Au--... for something else. No, i want to know how to cast magic for... reasons."

        He closed the book and set it down. "You know i'm not going to just teach you magic just because you ask, right? How am i supposed to know you will harness it for good and not go on a rampage with it?" He does have a good point there. "I suspect there is a story behind this."

        "A long one, but one that's relevant." She sat down in the chair across from him. "Well... truth be told, i'm not originally from here. John isn't my real father. I am adopted and i don't know who my real parents are or where i came from. I don't remember what happened, but according to dad and everyone else is that there was a massive explosion out in the wilderness, and when they went out to check, they saw destroyed wagons and dead people from what appeared to be a circus trope, and me in the center of a huge crater. I apparently had steam hissing off me and whatever happened was so traumatizing, i suppressed my memories... which took away the first four years of my life, so effectively, i have amnesia."

        "And you assume it is magic that did it?"

        "The evidence adds up- a massive explosion kills everyone around me and i end up being the only survivor in a crater? I know for a  fact it wasn't a meteorite. Nobody saw a fireball in the sky, and if it hit, i would also be dead and the surrounding area would be flattened- there would be no Teria. Magic is the only explanation... and scary still, i think i may've caused the blast. Even if i didn't and i stumbled in there, the crater rim is too high up for 4-year-old me to climb."

        "Hmm... i think i know where this is going. You want me to teach you how to use magic so you can prevent this from happening again."

        "Yeah. I already lost one family and forgot all about it. I don't want it to happen again... especially with Aura..." She scrunched up her hands on her thighs, keeping her frustration under the table. 

        Gabrielle put a finger to his chin as he thought about this. He can see she was being sincere in wanting to prevent history from repeating itself and keep everyone she knows safe. He saw it back during the Dracolich fight and escaping the Kraken, so there is truth behind her words. "Hmm.. i'll think about it."

        She sighed, unclutching her fists. "Guess that's all i can depend on at the moment." She got up from the table. "Thanks for listening to me."

        "It's no problem. And... just where are you going dressed like that? It's far too early in the day."

        That put her on edge. She could tell him- he's a wanderer and not liable to tell anybody- he would have no reason to; he'd leave soon to continue his search elsewhere once he was done here. But on the other hand, he could tell Noah to earn his respect to stay a little while longer. But he did risk his life twice to protect and save this town- three times if you count the spell. "Well... ok, i'll tell you because you saved our hides twice without any reason to. And if you tell anyone, especially Noah about this, i will smack you so hard, you'll be flying to the moon. Got it?" He nodded. "I'm holding you to that... and... it's for Aura."

        "Aura?" She's going to him dressed like th-- "Oooooh... i get it. You two are dating in secret because of his villainous father, aren't you?"

        "Not just that. We've engaged; we have a wedding all planned out and everything, but we can't do anything because of the head prick in charge."

        "How very scandalous."

        "In this town and with Noah as his father, it kinda is, isn't it? But also incredibly dangerous. You saw how he blew up yesterday, at his own son no less."

        "So you're going there dressed like that to cheer your fiancee up? You must really love him."

        "I do." She chuckled. "And there's a line i've practiced for months now. Heh..." She pushed her chair in. "Well, thanks for listening to me." She turned ot leave. "I hope you say yes." She jogged on out.

        Gabrielle calmly took another sip of his tea, sitting back in his seat. He looked to his left and saw that his crystal had activated, and not by him. It must've hovered out of his bags and floated here to listen in. "Aren't i supposed to be the one to turn it on?"

        "{It wasn't my doing.}" The female voice said. Gabrielle heard shuffling on the other side- she was probably pushed away by the short shriek he heard.

        "{It was mine.}" A male voice responded. "{I was calling to ascertain your progress.... but i wasn't expecting this. Based on what she said... we found her. We actually found her.}"

        "I would say it's 100 percent certain, Met." Gabrielle replied, putting a hand over the head of the chair. 

        "{Met?}" The main voice replied. He shook it off and continued. "{Well, i am. You heard her story: a great magical explosion that destroyed a wagon convoy, leaving her the sole survivor, found in the middle of the blast zone and suffering from amnesia of the first four years of her life? Who else could she be?}"

        "A poor kid who suffered before but since found her niche."

        "{... that didn't make any sense.}"

        "It doesn't need to." He set his cup down. "Even if it is her, do we really hold the right to tear her away from this?"

        "{You heard her- they aren't her real family.}"

        "And yet they are. You don't need to be related by blood to be a family; she has grown to accept them as her father and her brother and her friends and nothing can change that. And you heard the rest of what she said: she has a life here. She's engaged to be married someday- who are we to tear her away from her family and her fiancee? I'm not arguing against the evidence; there's more then enough proof that she may be her, but... but it wouldn't be right to just destroy her life like this." He chugged down the rest of his tea and got up. "Until i am 100 percent certain, i'm not going to tell her, cause if i'm wrong, i'll destroy another innocent girls life." He shut off the gem and stuffed it away.

 

        On the other side, the caller tried to say a word but couldn't get a word in before Gabrielle shut off the communications. "Wait, Ga--" The display shut off, leaving him to grumble and sputter. "That's just great..." He was a slender man with his appearance in the early 30's. He had bronze-colored skin and same colored hair, and cold silver eyes. He was dressed in a similar attire to Gabrielle's, but the robe was brown. Their surroundings were pitch black, save for the light from the many, many, many monitors that seemed to line the entire wall. How does one keep track of so many?

        The woman he had shoved got up off the floor and brushed off her stomach before storming over to him. "It's rude to shove someone away, you know." She pouted with puffed out cheeks. He merely looked over to her with a cold stare before backing away from the console. As he left, she grabbed her chair and put it back where it belonged. "... he's not wrong, you know." He stopped walking, but didn't move to look back. "Serenity or not, we don't have the right to destroy someones life. You saw what happened the last time we did and look what happened. Gabrielle is right to be cautious."

        "... tell that to the enemy. Once Catalyst gets wind of this, she won't hesitate to make the girls life a living hell."

        "Even so, we've seen her fight against the Dracolich and her agility when they fled the Kraken. That combat personality of hers is strong- she won't go down without getting a few punches and kicks in."

        Met slowly shook his head in disagreement. "Sometimes, Krouze, i wish i had some of that optimism..." He started heading towards the exit. "But we're on a time limit and Gabrielle is content to just sit on his butt and do nothing." The door opened on its own and closed after he walked through. 

        "10 months is more then enough time." She grumbled, sitting back down in front of her console. She went to press a few keys but stopped short, thinking about it. In the long run, it should be enough time... "... at least i hope so."

 

        Walking down that well-worn road, Req took as much time as she possibly could to avoid arriving at the Aesir Estate as long as possible. Noah is going to be angry- no doubt about that, and her being there is only going to make things worse... but Aura is going to need her, so this is a double-edged sword; piss off the guy liable to banish you to support the one you love, or leave him to whatever punishment he's to get while keeping your own hide safe? She was too much a goodie-two shoes; she had there to support him... even if it meant living out in the wilderness. But she's gained so much good will with everyone in town, they will rise up to her defense if he ever does. He can't banish everyone.

        She approached the household and saw that almost all of the children were outside, as were the help and even Sopa. There could only be one answer, and it wasn't a good one. Anders saw her approaching and tapped the nearest person, one of the help, on the shoulder. She looked back before quickly rushing over to her. Her sudden sprint caught the attention of everyone else and they saw Req approaching.

        "You chose a really bad time to come." She said.

        Req was afraid of this. His act of defiance yesterday really got under Noah's thick skin. "Sigh... i was afraid something like this would happen. So what's been happening?"

        "A whole lot of shouting." Hans said as he walked up. "I don't think Dad has stopped yelling since yesterday. His throat must be killing him."

        "Never mid that- how are we going to diffuse this?" Michel asked. "Last time Dad was this angry, he almost killed our Uncle Vermeer."

        He almost killed someone due to his anger? That wasn't filling Requiem with such high hopes- there may be no way to diffuse this. "But he's just a distant relative. Aura is his son- there is no way he'd try to kill him, right?"

        Wrong.

        Aura yelled as he was slammed through the balcony door on the second floor, which shattered and splintered when he broke through. He hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet before stopping on his side. Req's heart skipped a few beats when she saw how wounded he looked. No way all of his injuries were from the fall. 

        "I raise you... for 18 years, and this is how you repay me!!?!!!" Noah yelled form the balcony. He leaped over the railing and slammed into the ground, creating a small impact crater. His children and the servants ran away in fear, hiding behind the nearest wall. All except Req. "You disobey my direct orders and you willingly bring in an outsider?! Didn't i teach you all the right skills?!"
        
        Aura sat up, holding his sides. One eye stayed close, likely from the pain. "If you consider Hate a skill, then you're a sad, pitiful excuse of a man." Noah snarled in response. "And disobeying your order? I'm your son, not a soldier. I have my own free will, you know."

        "YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE ONE!!!" He shouted, caring less who would hear him. "Nobody in MY village has any say in anything! They do what i tell them to do and they are to follow them to their dying breath, just as you should! I swear, this all started when you found that pathetic girl!! You should've left her so she could die!!! She has corrupted everyone in this town ti disobey me!! ME!!! THEIR LORD!"

        Req closed her hands into fists- she had planned on just letting this play out, but now she has no choice but to step in. What he is saying makes no damn sense to anyone but him, and it's dangerous to have someone with his mindset in charge. "Do you even hear yourself?!!" She yelled out as she approached. "You are insane- only a cartoon villain would think things like that!!"

        "And there is the *bleep* now." He snarled. Req's eyes went wide when that word reached her ears. The help and the oldest kids were stunned by his depravity, and Jessica quickly covered the youngest ears in a vain attempt to keep him from hearing that word. "Did you come to corrupt more of my people?!"

        "... what did you call me....?" She gasped.

        "You heard me! A *bleep*." He finished with a sinister smirk. 

        Req was hurt that he would even call her such a thing; how can someone be so cruel? Seeing her reactions, Aura snarled in pure anger as he sprung up and clocked Noah so hard in the head, teeth flew out. Noah fell hard onto the ground, leaving everyone present shocked that someone actually hit him... but did it have to be his son? 

        Noah rolled onto his back and sat up. Feeling something missing, he ran his fingers through his mouth and saw that he was missing some teeth. "You... you dare strike me?!"

        "DON'T YOU EVER CALL MY FIANCEE THAT EVER AGAIN!!!" Aura yelled. And it was in that moment he realized he had messed up and messed up bad. He said it. He said the secret and it was going to blow up in their faces when Noah blows up. But it's too late- what's said is said. 

        Noah was... of course, shocked to his core. HIs own son, shacking up with the one person he despises the most? "Y... your what?"

        "Your what?" Jessica repeated calmly.

        "YOUR WHAT!?!" Everyone else shouted.

        Aura looked back to the flabbergasted Requiem, who was understandably perturbed that he would just blurt out such a big secret like this, and to her nemesis, no less. But, as stated before, it's too late- what's said has just been said and there is no taking it back. He steeled himself and turned back to his father. "That's right... i said it. Requiem and I- we're engaged. Have been for some time now..." And he kept going- the flood gates were opened, so time to let it all run loose. 

        "...We just never said anything because you are the most insane, irrational, dangerous person i know!! For god sakes, you almost killed your aunt for taking the last dinner roll when we visited her in Careente a few years ago, and when she finally did die of a stroke, you threw a damn party!! You order people around like they are robots then throw temper tantrums when they don't- only spoiled brats act like that!! You are a certifiable nutjob who needs some serious psychiatric help that only gods can provide or else you're going to lose all of your children and what friends you have left, which is none!!"

        To any normal person, those words would reach home. But Noah is not normal. Aura said it himself: he is a nutjob. He ignored everything Aura said and focused squarely on the one part that angered him the most. "You... are laying with this bitch?" Noah exclaimed in annoyance as he flapped his arms; getting through to him is like trying to get through a brick wall with a brittle plastic spoon. "You... are sleeping with this monster!?!"

        "She is not a monster! If you bothered to even try to get to know anyone that doesn't bruise your fragile ego, you'd know that she is a k--"

        A swift but brutal punch to the gut, then to his face that sent him to the ground shut Aura up. Noah snarled like a wild, rabid animal as he stood over him. His children were all frightened by his monstrous appearance. This man... this was not their father. Req stood there in shock- this is now how this morning was supposed to go down. Even Sopa was shocked by these cruel actions. Aura groaned as he held his side, getting up to glare at him.

        "You... are no longer welcome in this house. You... don't belong here anymore. ....... you are no longer my son." That hit hard. Aura felt a knife go through his heart when he heard those words. Noah give him the meanest look he could before heading back to the house, with a air of menace about him. "Never come back here again... piece of filth..." He slammed the door behind him hard enough to shatter glass.

        Aura stood up, his eyes wide in shock after being disowned by his own father. "W... was that still Noah...?" A equally shocked Req said. She looked to the others- they were frozen in fear. "He... he felt completely different... almost like a monster..." 

 

         Elsewhere, from on top of a nearby tree, the cloaked figure from the other day watched as this soap-opera level melodrama unfolded. When Noah stormed back into his home, she finally stood up and walked along the branch. "That is a man with some issues." She neared the thinnest part of the branch. "I know some humans are arrogant, violent creatures, but he gives some a run for their money." She stepped one foot off the branch, but didn't fall. Instead, she started to walk on air. "He scarily reminds me of me." She soon stopped, giving a disturbingly evil smile visible from under the hood. "That makes him all the more easy... hmhmhmhm."

 

        After everything back at the estate died down and everyone had time to soak everything in, they had all regrouped at one of the open-air restaurants down in the bazaar; Hans and Emia followed Aura and Req down there while everyone else stayed back at the house to both try to defuse the situation and get Aura's stuff out before Noah burns it all. Everything had happened so fast, it was almost like it never happened. But it did. Since he was old enough, Aura bought his very first beer and chugged it down. It's too early in the day for one, but after the morning he had... could you blame him?

        "Did all that... really just happen?" He asked as he put his mug down.

        "Everything happened so fast, i barely had time to react." Req responded, wanting to drink as well, but she was underage, so she was stuck with juice. 

        "I knew Dad has problems- everyone in town can see he has some problems... but i never imagined he'd do this..." Aura rubbed on his face where he was punched. "It's like he's not even human..."

        Emia tapped her fingers on the table, not wanting to defend the jerk of a father's actions, but... "Well... to be fair, our great grandmother is a succubus, so... maybe he got some extra monster blood or something?"

        "I don't recall succubi being that violent."

        "Well, they don't have children with humans either." Hans pointed out. He lightly shrugged in agreement- He'll give him that. "And Grandma said she was unusually strong for one of them. But even so, that's no excuse for what he did to you. Beating you up and kicking you out- who does that to their own kid?"

        "People with severally messed up minds and egos..." Aura sighed as he took another swig. It tasted horrible, but he needed the numbing sensation. Noah left scars that aren't only on the surface. "i can only imagine the mental gymnastics that goes on in his mind to make him think he's a god among mortals."

        "He does have the power to back that up." Req said as she rested her head on her fist. "Just be thankful he's not a master seducer."

        Emia pursed her lips to the side, wondering when would be the right time to bring this up. "... so... i'm just gonna go straight into it, but i doubt this is how you and Req wanted to have this secret relationship exposed, huh?"

        Req had completely forgotten about that. She turned her gaze towards him and glared at him with daggers in her eyes. "Yeah, Aura... just what were you thinking, telling him about us in the middle of that?"

        "I wasn't thinking. It just came out." Her glare turned sharp. "I'm not making excuses- i made a mistake. One i'm probably going to regret for a long time."

        "I get why you would want to keep it a secret from Dad, but why us?" Hans asked. "Everyone in the village knew you two were an item, but i doubt anyone would've guessed you were engaged."

        Req raised an eyebrow as she looked to him. "Wait, how did everyone know? We kept it a secret."

        "Badly. Whenever Adi tried to make jokes, you always stopped him, and that wasn't fooling anybody. And you do know patrols can turn their heads, right? They don't look straight ahead all the time like dolls. And people living in the inn can hear his footsteps when he sneaks over them, and we know that ain't Krampus."

        Req groaned, pressing her head on the table and digging her forehead in before lifting it back up, placing it on the edge."We suck at keeping secrets."

        "I'm more amazed Dad didn't piece it together..." Hans commented before his disposition turned sour. Now back to the touchy subject after a decent amount of distraction- at least he tried. "... so what are your plans now, Aura?"

        "Find a place to live. A lot of rooms are going to open up at the inn once the survivors start to leave."

        "Probably a good idea. Out of everyone in town, John seems to be the only one who can stand up to him."

        "Or at least, the one brave enough to stand up to him."

        Emia snickered as she nudged him with her elbow. "Not to mention more nightly rendezvous with your betrothed, eh lover boy?" Both Aura and Requiem blushed profusely; he glanced away from his sister as he took another drink whilst Req groaned into her hands. Emia snickered to herself. "Hehehe... oh that was a good one."

        "Emia, that wasn't funny..." Aura blushed. "... besides, hard to do... that when i only have the one outfit. I would ruin it before the year is out." Req buried her face in her dress, wanting to escape the awkward embarrassment Aura put them in.

        "Not true." Hans took over, knowing Emia would run this into the ground. "The others getting all your belongings before Dad turns them into mulch. They don't want ya to suffer."

        "At least i'll still have something." He snapped his fingers, remembering something he left in the house. "Oh, and tell them to bring that lance."

        "The lance?" Emia responded with a confused look on her face. "... wait... that Bonewalker lance? Why would you want that?"

        "Yeah? Why should i get rid of it? It's a perfectly usable weapon. The other Bonewalkers had rusted-looking hand-me-downs while their leader had a cool-lookin' thing that was probably used by princes, so he stole it from somewhere. Besides, i used before and it feels right- perfectly balanced, right length."

        "I thought you would've gotten rid of it, but fine. Fine. You're right- waste not, want not." 

        Realizing something, she exhaled with a hiss as she rubbed her face and forehead. "Ssss.... now... comes a even harder part." The three siblings looked towards her. "... convincing Dad to let you stay... while also dropping the bombshell we're engaged..."

        Aura made a sound like he was powering down as he sank in his seat. "Ooooo... right.... how do you break the ice in this kind of situation? It's not like i can just be forthright and say 'Hey, John, i need a place to stay- i was kicked out of my home. Also, i've been engaged to your daughter for the past year."

        "I'm pretty sure we can find some way to break it to him gently." Hans reassured the exposed couple. "If not, well, there's always the lake." And the reassurance is gone.

 

        Some time later, the two of them had somehow found the courage to approach John... now they just need that push to actually tell him. They waited outside in the storage shed, arguing back and forth over who should be the one to tell him. John was currently inside, pouring drinks for the farmers. 

        "You should be the one to tell him." Aura pushed.

        "Me? Why me?!"

        "Because you are his daughter- he'll be more accepting if you say it." He proceeded to push her towards the exit, but she dug in her heels and put her hands to the frame, keeping her in place.

        "Un, no!" She looked back to him. "I'm technically still in trouble from the ruin expedition. You, however, have a clean slate with him. I'm sure you earned some acceptance points after yesterday, so time to cash that in."

        "And i would rather stay on his good side, which is why you have to tell him!" He pushed again, but she stayed her ground. "Come oooooon..."

        "And i said no!" She pushed back, making him fall into a pile of buckets. It created a loud commotion he hoped nobody heard. "I'm still in trouble and no amount of zombie slaying is going to fix that!"

        Aura puffed out his cheeks; she always was a stubborn lass. There was no way this was going to be settled easily between the two of them. So... time to bring in a third party. "We'll flip a coin." He suggested as he got up, pulling out a coin from the Golden Age. At that time, the world had one collected currency, replacing the multiple myriad of types that existed before. One side depicted the globe while another depicted a space ship. The currency is still used today- it's just a bit harder to make more of them; most of them are recovered in salvage runs. "Globe side, you tell him. Ship side, i tell him." She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "You got a better idea?"

        "... i call globe."

        "That's what i already said." With no delay, he flipped it up into the air. It landed back down in the palm of his hand Globe side up. Color drained form Req's face as she slowly glared up towards him. "Maybe try to lead with a hypothetical?"

        She snarled a snort as she made her way to the shed's door. "I'm so going to get you back for this." She opened the door... and immediately stopped when they saw John standing there at the entrance with his arms crossed, a chip on his shoulder, and a smoldering intense look on his face. In short: he angry. "Un.... hi, dad, what un.... what brings.... youu.... um...." She leaned to the right and saw that several people had gathered outside, along with Adi, who had munchies to what was assuredly going to be a good show, and Gryff, who had a look of guilt and shame painted all over her face. "... Gryff...."

        "I made a oopsey..." Gryff groaned a nervous chuckle.

        That means he knows. The idiot probably let it slip while talking; she never was one to stay quiet. ".... Dad, i can explain everything, just--"

        "Inside. Now." He spoke in a commanding tone as he went in first. Req's face melted out of fear. John is rarely angry, and when he is... run. Something she, unfortunately, can't do. She turned to Aura, who didn't want to get in trouble for the second time in a day. At this rate, he'll achieve a world record. The two of them hesitantly followed John inside, fearing the reaper that was sure to follow. Adi and Gryff knew not to follow- she already dealt with one volcano today and Adi didn't want to get caught in the crossfire.

        The pair followed John into the kitchen- it was empty as the staff was on a lunch break, and barely anyone was in the tavern area, so they can have a talk in private. Well, as private as it can get in this place. He cleverly chose the spot near the meat, causing Aura to gulp in fear; the last thing he wants is someone angry to be near knifes. 

        "I was just enjoying my day, thinking everything was right in the world, when all of a sudden, Gryff walks in, carrying several suitcases filled clothes and knickknacks. I asked why she was doing this and she said she was helping move. So, i inquired, thinking that she was helping one of her siblings or her girlfriend move. But no, it was for Aura. She then proceeded to tell me a interesting little story about Noah losing what little sense he had left and whaled on his child, disowning him and banishing him from the estate. And then... hehehe... the funniest thing happened- she told me that Aura was moving here because, apparently... you two are engaged." The two of them looked at each other like they had committed a crime. "So imagine her surprise when she found out that you two hadn't told me yet and that she had just spilled very volatile beans."

        Now they had to diffuse another situation with one of their parents... this just isn't their day. Unlike Noah, however, John is smart, he listens, and most importantly: he's not insane, so maybe they have a chance with this one. Maybe. ".... Dad, please don't be angry. We just..."

        "Angry? ohhhhohohoho, no no no, no i'm not angry." She foolishly breathed as sigh of relief, thinking it was over. "I'm livid." Too soon for that sigh. "How could you keep this a secret from us?"

        "To avoid getting killed by Noah. You clearly heard what Gryff said- he blew up like a volcano. I knew he had a temper, but i never knew he was so sadistic enough to smack his own kid around like a punching bag! And you know there are people like Sopa who would love to gain 'don't hurt me' points by ratting on us."

        "... ok, given what happened today, what with the marks on Aura's face, i can see why you wanted to keep this a secret from Him, but why the rest of us?"

        "Same fear. Adi can't keep his mouth shut, Jessica would likely write this in her diary which Noah will force one of the maids to steal and read, Rubi is Sopa's sister so that's a automatic no no cause she would tell him, and you.... you're practically the only one left in town who still talks to him. No, scratch that, you ARE the only one in town who still talks to him. Besides, i know the argument you are going to make; that i am too young."

        "But you are. You're 17- you're far too young to be getting married. You don't even have any money."

        "I turn 18 in a few months, and there are people far younger then us who got married, like in those old fairy tales like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and often times they were forced into it... the ones in real life, i mean." She pulled Aura over to her and wooshed her finger back and forth between them. "This between us- this is willing. I love him and he loves me and we want to be together, even if we have to leave town and settle down someplace else. Besides... didn't Mom tell a story while we were growing up? About a certain rugged man who saved her from the town creep way back when? Correct me if i'm wrong, but wasn't she my age when she married you? And you were a couple years older then her, and obviously in worse financial straits then us."

        "Req..."

        "We talked about this extensively, Dad. We made plans. With our surprisingly good action skills, we'll hire ourselves out as mercenaries until we earn enough money to build a home. Between that and salvaging anything we can from the ruins to sell, we'll make bank. After that, we'll earn more to open up a steady stream of income, and i happen to be one heck of a chef- thank you Dad and Marshell for teaching me, by the way- so a bakery is just that. The only question is where: i want to stay and opened one up, or inherit Marshell's when he dies, but if you become as bad as Noah... we can always move to Ctrom or Aqui or even to River City to aid with the inevitable reconstruction effort."

        "And nothing i say or do will change your mind?"

        "Correct."

        He turned his attention to Aura; he's been conspicuously quiet during all this. "And you, lover boy? You've been awfully quiet during this."

        "Because i knew whatever i said would likely make things worse. Besides... Req explained it all."

        John let out a long, exacerbated, irritated sigh as he rubbed his forehead. This is not what he expected this day was going to go. He was in no mood to deal with this, but he has too. And he knows this situation- he was in this situation back when he was their age. Mary Ann's parents weren't the most... welcoming, so he knows denying them this would only make things worse. They would continue to sneak around and, as Req said, move away. He still believes they are too young to get married, but love can make a person do crazy and stupid things, and these two... oof, you can't get stupider then them. 

        He stopped rubbing his forehead and just stared at them for a moment. "... i know from my own experience trying to keep you two apart will only backfire... but i still believe you are much too young to get married."

        "We know, sir, but we're not rushing into it." Aura said in a tone to try and reassure him. "We've been engaged for a year now and are in no rush to tie the knot yet. We still want to raise enough money to buy or build ourselves a home, among other things."

        John sighed yet again, rubbing his eyes this time. He can't stop them... but he can delay it. "Fine.... fine.... i'm not going to try and stop you. Like i said, i know from my own experience that it wouldn't work anyway." That was a relief to the young couple- they finally got some good news today. "But... i have a condition." And there it was. Once again, too early to celebrate. "First, i want you to wait until you are both a little bit older and mature. You are still teenagers and i don't want you to realize you made a mistake."

        ".... thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad."

        "And secondly... i need you to prove to me you two aren't blowing hot air out your mouths and show me that you can keep yourselves afloat. Married life isn't easy, and money is the biggest issue new couples like you can face. So... to give it a nice round number... try to earn 100,000 by this time next year. Do that, and i'll believe you can survive."

        The pair looked at each other with slight confusion and puzzled expressions. "un.... ok?" Aura replied. "Not sure why you suddenly turned this into a scavenger hunt, but ok."

        "Because i want to know if you can survive on your own when i am gone someday. I know you have the skills, but when it comes to money... you're not exactly the best. And with Aura is now cut off from his family's fortune, you need to make ever cent count."

        "We will, sir, we will." Aura assured. "We just need to get 100,000 by this time next year? We'll have that hauled up in no time."

        "I hope so. This is my daughter you are courting- i want you to make sure she's happy."

        "Oh, trust me Dad, he makes me happy."

        He crossed his arms, knowing full well what she is talking about. That was the wrong kind of happy he was referring to. "Different kind of happy." She playfully blew a raspberry back at him. "All that aside... i always thought you two made a cute couple. There's always far worse you could've picked."

        "Yeah, i know." A silence slowly fell on them; they always never knew how to end conversations. "Well, if that's all, then we need to move Aura in. Come on." She gestured to him and he followed. 

        "But we're not..." John started to speak, but stopped. He didn't have anything else that needed to be said outside of his own personal advice. But these two are nothing like him and Mary Ann. For starters, Req and Aura can fight. Rather effectively too. "Wait a minute. All the rooms are filled. Where is he going to stay?"

        "In my room, of course."

        That was a big no- Red flag on the play. "Ooooooooooh, no no no no no no no no no no." He said as he walked in front of them. "Nooooo way you two are sleeping in the same room."

        Geez Louise, can they catch a break today, Req thought. "Oh, come on!"

        "I know what goes on when couples are alone. And you two weren't as subtle as you let on: Climbing the drain pipe and walking on the rooftop aren't exactly soft, quiet noises."

        Just when they were home free, someone had to slam on the breaks. Req groaned a grumble as she crossed her arms with a pout. No way she was going to let Aura sleep somewhere else. But maybe... she had a way around it. ".... would it help if we kept the doors open? No way we can do anything if everyone can hear us."

        That's probably the only way they'll be appeased. Like she said, they can't do anything if everyone can hear. "... i guess. Fine. Leave your doors open."

        "Thanks. I guess." He stepped aside and let them pass. John groaned another side, pinching his eyes once again. He peered over to the kitchen exit to the back, knowing that someone would've eavesdropped on the whole conversation. Sure enough, Gryff and Adi did. They knew they were caught and bolted for it out the door. He slowly shook his head, wondering where he went wrong.

        The couple reached Aura's first wave of things and began hauling them up the two flights of stairs to her room. "What about Bahamut?" He whispered to her as they were halfway up the first flight. "If we leave the doors open, he'll get loose, then we'll get in even bigger trouble."

        "We'll put up a baby gate over the trapdoor. He won't be able to get out that way."

        "You have a baby gate?"

        "When Adi was a baby, yeah." When they reached the second flight, she gave a sad sigh. "You know.... this isn't how i planned on us starting to live together. Or how i wanted people to find out about us."

        "Yeah... that last part was all my fault. Still...." He rubbed where he was hit, still feeling the pain on his face and in his heart. "i can't believe Dad went that far..."

        She gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made him blush. "You'll survive. I know you. You always survive." He gave a sheepish chuckle. A smile slowly crept across her face. "Besides... i know how to cheer you up."

        He blushed ever more profusely. "B-but John said to keep the doors open. He'll hear us."

        She gave a sultry chuckle as she booped him on the nose. "Not if we go slow..."

        Slow? What did she mean by-- never mind, he figured it out. "Oooooh... i get ya." She chuckled again. "But first, can we get all my things in? I don't want to risk anyone taking my stuff while we're... busy with other tasks."

        She playfully pouted, knowing that he is right. "Fair enough." They reached the tower's space and set the things they already carried up down in the corner before heading down to grab the next batch. She was in his room before; he has a lot of things and the next batch was likely the second wave out of five. "So how long before you think the whole town knows?"

        "Between my siblings, the maids, and Adi... probably supper time."

        "Sounds about right."

14: Chapter 13: Basics of Magic

Chapter 13

The Basics of Magic

 

8/29/2210 A.D. – 8/29/200 A.W.

 

 

 

        10 Days had passed since Aura and Requiem's secret relationship, the one they worked hard to keep a secret, went public, and as it turned out... everyone already knew. It was one of the worst kept secrets in town that the two of them had the hots for each other, but they believed that they were being so sneaky and hush. But now that it's out in the open, the doting couple doesn't have to try and hide it anymore. Old habits die hard, of course, but it's less taxing then trying to keep it a secret for years. 

        Noah's been keeping quiet about all this malarkey, which was not at all what Req was expecting: she was expecting a humongous show with his tyrannical rants being center stage, but no. He hasn't left their manse since then either. Aura's siblings say he hasn't left the basement, and the walls and door are made of stone, so they can't listen in. This is something to worry about.

        The town had emptied up a bit since then too, with the Survivors of River City setting out. Many had left to reunite with relatives in other towns and cities; Ash left too, but his was temporary. He was gonna escort the smallest group to Bhisk before asking there for clues about his sister, then he was gonna circle around to Ctrom, then Aqui on his return trip, a trip that should be ending today. He took his wolf Fenrir with him, but kept the eagle Cobalt here- likely as insurance to make sure he had a reason to come back. And, of course, since the tavern had emptied up with most of the Survivors gone, John made true to his word and put Aura in one of them. Just because he's engaged to his daughter doesn't mean they need to be "together" all the time.

        Not all the Survivors left. Some stayed in Teria because they had nowhere else to go, and others stayed because they felt safer here then in any other city thanks to the barrier. Damian was one of them; he sent a letter to a relative and is awaiting its return, but she lives pretty far away, so it's gonna be a long while. In the meantime, he's been staying at the tavern. He helps out however he can to pay back John for his generosity. He's actually not that bad a chef. His chicken could use a little work, but beef and pork come out tasty. 

        As for Gabrielle... Req was still waiting on his reply, and she's kept it as bad a secret as her engagement that she really wants him to say yes to teaching her magic. Even if its just the core fundamentals, it should help her keep another supposed flareup from happening again. 

        The only problem is the waiting. Lucky for her, she knows how to keep herself busy...

 

 

        The rusted steel of the cutlass smacked against the smooth finish of the Bonewalker lance, bouncing both wielders back a few feet at the shores of Leche Lake. Req and Aura, dressed in swimwear- him a simple pair of swim trunks and her a sling bikini, panted from exhaustion, with him wiping sweat from his brow, before they charged at each other again, clashing weapons once more. 

        From in the water on the lake cheered Adi, Jess, Damien, and Mary, watching as the two duked it out while floating on the water. Sopa was there too, but it was to keep an eye on his little sister. She wasn't even supposed to be out today, but she was as adamant and as stubborn as he. It was almost the end of summer and they wanted to have fun at the lake before the cold comes; who could say no to that logic?

        Req blocked a upward swing from Aura's lance, then jumped back to avoid a pound that left a hole in the ground. Upon landing, she flipped her cutlass around, leaped back his way, and swung. The unorthodox method allowed her to spin around and follow it up with a sweep that knocked him off his feet.

        Both combatants panted as they caught their breath. She wiped sweat off her brow and stuck her sword in the ground as she looked towards the group in the water. "Well?"

        "It's a tie." Adi replied as he help up a chalkboard. "9 to 9...." He started as Jess tossed her a couple bottled waters. "...Next bout is the last." Req caught the two waters and passed one to the poor sod on the ground. They uncapped 'em and took a drink.

        "Do they do this all the time?" Damien asked as he floated on the water while wearing a stripped wetsuit- one of the few things he was able to find in the ruins of River City. 

        "Yeah." Jess giggled, sitting on a inflatable chair- she wasn't even showing yet, but Aura's already gone protective brother / future uncle mode. "And it's fun to watch too."

        "Watching two people fight?"

        "Well, they need to train, don't they?" Mary asked as she sat on the edge of a rockface over the water. "You think all the craziness they did with the skeletons was just pure talent? Nobody is that naturally skilled with fighting."

        "Well, some people are like that."

        Mary rolled her eyes and looked to her brother. "You wanna try explaining it to him?"

        "Why?" Sopa coldly replied. "It's not my fault he knows nothing about fighting."

        "Then now would be a perfect time to explain it." Adi said as he floated on a purple noodle.

        Sopa stayed silent for a moment before grumbling in response, rubbing his eyes. "Right... fighting is like a dance, alright? You have to move to avoid being hit and to deliver hits. Both require finesse. precision, and fine motor control. You need to learn how to jump at the right time, and when to twirl, spin, and even pierrotite if need be. You need to train for a long time to get good. Some ancient militaries even had dance classes as mandatory." 

        "Rather blunt, isn't he?" Jess said to Damien with a dead-pan tone and expression. 

        "You can say that again." Damian scoffed. Sopa scowled to the outside before walking away- he went out of his way to explain everything so there's no reason for him to be rude in response. "But is that last part even true?"

        "It's true..." Aura panted as he held up his water bottle. "I got the calluses on my feet to prove it!"

        Jess snorted a scoffing laugh. He's still complaining about that? Sheesh. She glanced over to the outsider and said, "Dad made us all take combat classes when i was young. We were worked to the bone."

        "You barely did anything!" Aura shouted. "You were always dad's favorite!"

        "No, i think that title belongs to brother." Mary said. 

        "His favorite, eh..." Sopa repeated to himself.

        Jess, on the other hand, was taking offense to what Aura was saying. "Oh, please, i was his favorite? Tell that to all the times i got caught after curfew! And did you forget what happened when he found out i got pregnant? He almost threw me out!"

        Aura flipped his bottle away and then got up from off the ground. "Yet, you are still in the house and i'm the one who got thrown out!" He lifted up the lance. "Again i ask, who's the favorite?"

        "Right now, not anyone." Req said as she took the lance away from him. "And we're not sparring with you in a mood." She placed it up against a tree, as she did her cutlass, and grabbed a pair of wooden swords. 

        "Really?"

        "Yes, really. And i can already here the others saying 'why didn't you use those in the first place?"

        "Well, why didn't ya?" Adi asked.

        "Because it doesn't have the same weight and oomph to it. And what will we do if a monster comes by, just hit it on the head like a whack-a-mole?" She swung it around lazily, imitating the hammer those games use. "There is a difference between wood and metal and it's not the same feel."

        "Un-huh, un-huh, un-huh..." He and the others on the water looked each other and responded in unison with all of them: "Use the sticks."

        "You guys are no fun." She scoffed. "But fine." She grabbed the cutlass and threw it hard enough towards the treeline to embed it into the trunk of one. It poked out like a branch, despite shaking wildly. 

        

 

        For the first time in weeks, the Judgment Ray was empty. With most of the survivors gone, people can finally stretch and move around in here. ... and it is very boring because of it. During the day, barely anyone comes by because they are all busy with work. The only times they come in are breakfast, lunch, dinner, and happy hour. 

    

        Scrubbing a glass at the counter, John looked out at the empty lobby. He never thought he'd miss the daily cacophony of voices they brought, but here he was. The only constant was Darwayne, a well-known drunkards who was always at the tavern no matter the day, the weather, or the occasion. He's a constant. He has no job, yet somehow has enough money to always pay off his tab- near anyone can guess, since he keeps to himself, is that he's rich but got screwed over by something and moved here. Nobody asked why- he can be a violent drunk if pushed.

        But then came the other constant: Gabrielle. Like Darwayne, he's almost always here, but he's not as heavy a drink as Darwayne; nobody is- how is he still alive when he's consumed enough alcohol to have liver poisoning for two people? This time, he had a stack of books under his arm as he came down the stairs.

        "Heading out to continue your journey?" John asked.

        "I was... but something came up." He said as he put the books on the counter. "Do you know where Requiem is?"

        That set off a couple alarms in John's mind. Why is a out-of-towner looking for her? "Req?" He hesitantly replied. He glanced at the stack of books- only a couple of the titles were facing his direction, and from what he read, they all had to do with magic. "... why do you want her?"

        "Because a few days ago, she asked me to teach her magic."

        That prompted a raised eyebrow and a perplexed tilt. "Magic?"

        "Yes. She said she wanted to learn control so that she could prevent another flare-up, like she thinks what happened with the circus troupe."

        Circus Troupe? John exclaimed in understanding- Now it was making sense. "Ooooh... she told you, didn't she?"

        "About how she was the only survivor from a destroyed caravan, found at the bottom of a smoldering crater? Yes, that story."

        "And she thinks it was magic that did it? It wasn't a meteorite or a monster?"

        "She brought up some good points that proved those wrong: if it was a meteor, then the trees would be flattened and you all would've seen it streaking across the sky." Yeah, that does make sense, John figured. "And there is no monster capable of producing a crater- not even dragons can produce fireballs that big."

        "Which leaves magic as the only answer."

        "Correct."

        "So... she wants to learn magic?"

        "No, control it. She believes she was the cause of the caravans destruction and wants to prevent a repeat... which given the evidence, she must have some very latent potential."

        "Her having magic all this time would explain some things..."

        "And since i'm the only mage anyone in this town has seen, i'm the only one to ask. When she did, i told her i'd think about it."

        "By the looks of the books, you made your answer." Gabrielle nodded in response. "Well... alright then. Req went with her friends to the lake. They wanted to have some fun there before the cold sets in."

        "Does it come that fast?"

        "Yep. Have you tried swimming in cold water? It's not pleasant."

        "I agree with you on that front."

        "Anyway, thanks for the info." He waved farewell as he walked out. John returned to his task... and saw that Gabrielle left his books behind. That was quickly rectified as he quickly came back, nabbed them, and left.

        The route to the lake was simple: there was only one path near the tavern and it lead to the lake. It's been used so many times, grass won't grow anymore. He followed it for some time before finally coming upon the lake... and the clashing of wood between the young couple. He raised an eyebrow as he watched.

        Aura slid onto his back to kick her off her feet but she leapt over him easily- he got a good view out of it, though. He quickly hopped up, flipped his wooden sword around, and swung, catching hers and forcing her back before she could land, making her roll a few feet before digging her hand in to stop. That smarts. Without missing a beat, she charged towards him and he to her.

        Their wooden swords clashed over and over and over, coming from many different angles. Even Gabrielle has to admit that they have talent. He knew they had agility from the Kraken and the Dracolich, but not with such skill with a blade. He then took notice the cutlass in the tree and got even more impressed- it takes a lot of strength to embed that. 

        The next blow pushed them back. Working off instinct, Aura flipped his blade backwards, which faintly began to glow. Req charged at him and swung. He jumped back and swung his sword to hit, but he didn't expect this: flames licked over the sword before rushing outward in the same crescent shape he just made. Req yelped in surprise before ducking to avoid getting burned. The slash of fire struck harmlessly against the stone hill in the distance. 

        Everyone was frozen in bewilderment: Aura hasn't done anything like that before. Magic runs in the family blood, but he's shown no inclination towards it, so to see this was a shock, even to Aura. "Did... i really just..." He dumbfoundedly said. He looked to the blade and saw it was still on fire. He swung it to put it out but it wasn't working. He quickly threw it into the water- away from the kids, of course. It worked and it put it out, but the sword was burnt to a crisp. "What the hell... was that...?" He panted.

        "That, little bird, was magic." Gabrielle said as he emerged from the trees.

        "But... i never used magic before."

        "I thought it ran in your family." Req said.

        Aura looked towards his sister, who was as stunned and confused as him on equal measures. "It does, but it's so diluted at this point, i don't think anyone other then father has it."

        Gabrielle patted him on the shoulder. "Well, guess that's not at all true since you clearly have it." He walked past. "But i supposed it means i now have two pupils now."

        Req's ears twitched when she heard that word pupils. Does that mean what she thinks it means? "Wait, two pupils? Does that mean-"

        "Yes, Req, i will train you." He showed her the stack of books under his arm. "Though i'm not really sure why- your strength and speed are massively impressive."

        She breathlessly giggled, scratching the back of her head. "Heh. Thanks."

        "The skills you showed, your teacher must be impressed."

        "Yeah, he is." Aura said as he put his arm around her. "Yes, i am."

        "Wait... you're her teacher?"

        "We trained each other." Req said. "We're both self-taught. Playing with toy swords when we were kids evolved into sparring matches. Sparring for years on end turned us into a couple of the best fighters in town."

        Gabrielle momentarily turned his attention to the rest of the locals. "And them?"

        "Adi doesn't like fighting, Mary is too frail, Sopa had a teacher from River City, Jess knows some hand-to-hand, and Damian....... i honestly don't know- Damian, can you fight?"

        "I know how to fight, i just prefer not to."

        "Then why learn?" Sopa dissed.

        "Better to know it and not need it then to need it and not know it."

        Gabrielle wiggled a finger his way. "That is true. That is very much true. And there is some benefit to being self-taught; your enemies won't know what to expect. But it is a double-edged sword in that they'll expect the unexpected." Req rolled her eyes at the saying. For humans, sure, but for monsters... it's not like they know the rules of combat, and those smart enough to know it don't really follow it, and that's if they even know of it to begin with. "But then... if you two were sparring, why are you in your swimwear?"

        "Well, it was mostly to work off some steam. Besides, we never had a chance to train with the usual insanity of home, not to mention moving Aura in. And with this being the last day before harvest season starts, we wanted to have some fun at the lake before we work non-stop... and before the cold sets in."

        "That still doesn't explain the swim trunks and the bikini."

        "The reason is twofold, Sir." Aura said. "First one is a sort of psychological test. Some fighters and monsters tend to use their bodies as a distraction- after all, what warm-blooded human wouldn't resist a hottie?" Gabrielle twisted his lips in response- he's not wrong about enemies using their looks to get a advantage by distraction, but the way he put it was outdated. "And two... we're gonna be going in the lake afterwards, so why dirty up our clothes with dirt and grass and sweat?"

        "Says the boy with the dirt and the pebbles in his back."

        "It also makes for a good show." Adi called out. "We even placed a bet to see who was the better fighter."

        "Right now, they're tied." Jess added in. "9 to 9. You walked in on the tie breaker."

        Geez louise, Gabrielle thought, the stamina in country folk is insane. And know them, they'll probably have energy for a late night rendezvous. "You fought 18 times?" The two of them merely shrugged in their response. To them, it's a average day, if they ever get around to it. "The stamina and energy of country folk is astonishing..." He said to himself. "Well... i suspect it's now on hold thanks to Aura's sudden magic."

        Aura looked at the hand the sword was in. On the back of it was the family birthmark- a circle with lines coming out of it; a blazing sun. It was so perfect in its design, too. And by family birthmark, everyone in his bloodline has it somewhere on their body. Jess' is on the back of her head, hidden by her hair. "I guess." He muttered to himself. 

        With a mischievous grin, Req teasingly elbowed her man in the side. "We can always hold a private tie-breaker." She snickered. Aura slightly blushed in anticipation as he breathlessly chuckled. 

        Yep... the stamina of country folk is something else if she's suggesting that. But that is not what is important right now. "Focus, girl. Save it for later."

        "Right. Yeah. Right." Req clapped her hands together and rubbed them, ready to get this started. "Alright. So what spell are you gonna teach us first?"

        "I thought you wanted control."

        "I do, but you need to know a spell first to know control, don't you?"

        He would argue if her point wasn't valid. "I... un... mm... valid point. But before i begin, i have a question for you, and it goes to everyone out in the lake too. Do you even know what magic is outside of a flashy spectacle or what you read in books?" The lack of a response from the two potential magicians and the peanut gallery confirmed it. "Well... i guess i shouldn't be surprised. Given how your leader acts, i would've expected this town to have devolved into a den of animals." And nobody argued, not even Sopa. "Does this town even have books?"

        "We do." Aura said. "It's just the vast majority of them are in our estate."

        Gabrielle sighed in disappointment as he lowered his head and pinched his eyes. Sighing a groan, he said, "Despots... gotta love 'em..." He lowered his hand and breathed out a sputter. "... well then. Better get comfy. We've got a lot to go over." And in the minds of these two, Get Comfy meant getting in the water. As Gabrielle strode on over to it, Req and Aura jumped right in, and after a long sparing session, the water felt amazing as the sweat and dirt washed off. Req shook her hair after reaching the surface.

        "Before anyone askes, you don't have to worry about getting these wet." Gabrielle explained as he tapped the books while setting them down. "They are enchanted."

        "We weren't really that worried, but thanks for the heads-up anyway." Adi said. Req grabbed him by the leg and pulled him into the water, laughing as she did. He came back up and splashed water in her face. 

        These are kids, Gabrielle reminded himself. "(These are all kids, so of course they are going to be unruly when it comes to learning, even if it is something they think is cool.)" He cleared his throat to get their attention. "Thank you. Now then class..." That got some soft snickers from the kids, but he ignored them. "...who can tell me what Magic is?"

        "It's manipulating the universe to your whim, right?" Sopa put out there.

        "That's a harsh way to put it, but accurate. It's the ability to shape, control, bind, and yes, even manipulate elements of the universe." With a wave of his hand, Gabrielle summoned up faded representations of Magic, that hovered above them in a circle. They counted ten of them, which... is not what they were expecting. They figured four or six, but ten? "There are ten Core Elements in the whole universe that all life wouldn't exist without, and that can be manipulated by a special skill known colloquially as magic."

        The representations are all what they represent in nature: "You have the basics you see everywhere like Fire, Water, Earth, Electricity, Air or Wind as some people like to put it." Represented by burning flames, a clear blue ocean, Monument Valley on the Arizona-Utah border, a lightning strike, and moving clouds respectively. "The other five are not as frequent in Magic circles, but are still important building blocks: Light, Darkness, Sound, Matter, and Time." Represented by a orb of light, a orb of darkness, sound waves, asteroids, and a pocket-watch respectively. 

        The inclusion of some of these... is a bit puzzling, which is to be expected for people who don't understand magic or are getting into it for the first time. "Un, sir..." Jess said as she raised her hand. "I think you are mistaken. Electricity isn't a... what did you say, Core Element?"

        "If you prefer, i could call it Energy or Plasma. Regardless of name, it is a element exists naturally in the world- Lightning storms and the sun come to mind about natural causes of Energy. And some elements have variations to them by mixing with others: Water and a chill Wind can create Ice, while the same combo but with a warm Wind can create clouds, while Water and Fire can create Steam, Earth and Matter can manipulate Nature like trees and metal, and so on and so forth."

        "Huh. That kinda makes sense."

        "Now then... while the first five are self explanatory, the others require a explanation of sorts." He sent the representations of Fire, Water, Energy, Earth, and Air away to focus on the other five. The first one he brought down was Sound. He tapped that representation, bringing forth some common causes of it: the mouths of animals and speakers like those found on the portable radio Req and Adi found.

        "Sound is as you think it is: the manipulation of waves in the air that carry audible events: what i am doing right now, talking, is Sound. With Sound Magic, you can either mute someone or make them really loud, have it carry your voice across long distances, immobilize your opponent with a Sound that would force them to cover their ears, and all that fun jazz." He saw some confused glances when he said that word. "i'm guessing you never heard of Jazz." The confused silences confirmed it. "Shame.... moving on. 

        "Sound is a lot more deadly then people tend to believe. It can be quite devastating. Get it at just the right decibel and at just the right volume, and you can shatter glass or even diamond... but at just the right frequency, you can rupture eardrums and cause brain aneurisms, and if you find the sweet spot... heads will pop, and that is the child-friendly way of putting it. And like the other elements, there are practical examples: Bats and Sea Creatures use Sonar, a type of sound, to travel and hunt while other animals have hearing evolved to such a degree to where they can hear sounds miles away and use it to escape danger- prey animals like Deer come to mind."

        "Who know Sound could be so deadly?" Mary mentioned.

        "People always underestimate what they cannot see. Just because it's not one that is seen doesn't mean it's any less deadly." Everyone nodded in agreement. 

        "Now then, Light and Darkness... what can i say that hasn't already been said? If you've seen or read one fantasy story that involves Light and Darkness, you already know what to expect: Light good, Dark bad. Light heals, Dark corrupts, and blah blah blah blah, throw those preconceived notions out the window." Which he did, summoning a faded window and tossing the representations through them. "The truth is is that Light and Darkness doesn't really work like that. Someone can use Darkness for heroic purposes while someone uses Light can be evil. Someone here can use a Darkness spell and be just fine- no corruption to evil or anything. It's just used as metaphors in stories about morality about how Darkness is evil and Light is good."

        "... well, it can make for good entertainment."

        "Yes. .... That being said... there is ONE Dark Magic spell that will corrupt you, but that is because it was invented by a psychopath who thought he was a god of Magic. It's called Eternal Ultimate Chaos, and it is a spell that eats away at the casters body and soul over the course of their life. It can boost their magic power to considerable heights, but is the payoff worth it?"

        Sopa opened his mouth to speak, but he was silenced by his sister who responded for him. "No. No it's not." He pouted out of irritation- that is not the answer he would've chose.

        Before he could move on, Req raised her hand with a question. When he said it, she began to wonder that maybe, her combat form is related to all this. "You said that this spell can boost someone's power. Ignoring the dangerous one, is there such a thing as Boost Magic?"

        "You mean, are there any spells that can increase someone's attributes?" He replied for confirmation.

        "Un, ... yes? I think so? I think that's the question."

        "There are. Boost Magic is a part of both Light and Dark Magic: Light Magic can boost your speed, your strength, or your defense to a considerable degree. For example, everyone knows that if we get hit by a sharp edge, we're as good as dead, or at the very least the part it hits, like a arm or a leg, gets hacked off. With the right defensive spell, strikes will not be able to touch you, leaving you unharmed. But the defense can only last however long the caster can manage it. Defense spells cast by experienced mages can stop at least five or seven hits, but a complete novice will barely be able to stop one. On the flip side, Dark Magic does the exact opposite- it can make your opponent slower, weaker, or strip away their defenses."

        "...huh."

        "You think this has something to do with your Combat Self, don't you?" She nodded in response with a 'well, yeah'. "Well, it is certainly possible: unconsciously casting spells isn't out of the ordinary. Your own fiancée proved that a few minutes ago, did he not?"

        "I suppose."

        "And i've been thinking about what you said and i've come up with a theory, that maybe your Combat Self is your past self- the personality that was lost after the incident that gave you your amnesia."

        "Like a split personality?" She figured.

        "In a way, but this one only makes itself known whenever you are in danger, like with the Kraken and the Dracolich. And it's not like Requiem is gone whenever your Combat Self comes out: you remember everything that happens, do you not?" She nodded. "Then it's less a whole other personality taking over and more a symbiotic guardian that comes to the surface when needed."

        "That... does explain some things."

        "But it is just a theory, don't forget that. It's the most probable, but still a theory." ... "Now then... moving on with class, we move on to the next magic element: Matter. Everything in the universe is made up of Matter: You, me, the rocks, the trees, the buildings you call home, the water you are floating in. Even these..." He tapped his foot on the books. "... are all made up of Matter. Common, yes, but you could say it's the most important Magic as it is what gives everything its shape. It is also the most difficult to master. Sure, for rookies, you can create walls out of nothing for defense but you can also do the same with Earth and Ice, while masters can create creatures like Golems, and they'd be lucky to make them moveable. Matter is... well, it's tricky. Hell, i'd say it's unmasterable for us mortals."

        Well... that's not at all encouraging... or sensible. If Matter is that common, why CAN"T they master it? It makes no sense. "Well... if Matter Magic isn't masterable for us, then who can master it?"

        He pointed up. "The Creators." The kids turned their gazes skyward. "The legendary beings in myth, folklore, and religion- the Primordials of Greece, Shiva from Hindu, The Native Americans Great Spirit, the God of Christianity, and all the rest that would take too long to list. Those who can create something out of nothing: the ultimate form of Matter Magic is the creation of life. Planets. Stars. Galaxies. The whole Universe. and Us. We are all creations of Matter Magic wielded by such powerful masters, we can't come close to matching their power."

        Now it all made sense, and he is right: the creation of life is the mastered form of Matter Magic. All mortals could hope to achieve with it is the creation of Golems or some trickster things like making more money. "Whoa..."

        "That doesn't mean humans haven't tried to master Matter Magic, but we couldn't do it the old-fashioned way. So, after centuries of trying, we finally found other means: Artificial Matter Magic, otherwise known as... well, basic human living. We didn't use Magic to create paper or clothes or even weapons- that was all us. You could say we were living embodiments of it. Too bad nobody saw it because we turned to more crude means, such as Alchemy. While most believed it could turn Lead to Gold, others tried for more... eccentric goals. While the practice of Alchemy faded, we soon created a new alternative: modern technology. Thanks to them, you can create something out of nothing that easily. Though as far as this town is concerned, i'd say that was lost to the fall." They would argue, but they didn't want to interrupt him.

        

        "Which finally brings us to Time. Time.... i'd say Time is very self-explanatory. Can you use it to quickly make someone old or young? Yes. Can you use it to stay eternally youthful? Yes." Req elbowed Aura in the side, giving him a knowing grin and look which he rolled his eyes at. "And can you use it to travel to the past and the future? Yes.... but i would advise against that. The Gods of Time are very, very, very fickle when it comes to time travel; often times, they'll try to erase you from history. Which brings me to this... Time Magic is also the most difficult to master and the most dangerous. One mess up and you'll end up dust in the wind."

        "Has anyone attempted Time Travel?" Adi asked.

        "Oh, many have. None have ever succeeded. Or maybe we did and we don't know because things changed. That's both the allure and danger of Time Travel: even if you do succeed in changing the past, nobody will know as the world they will live in will not be the one you came from. A lot of magic users forget that little thing. Fortunately, most Time Mages, and mages in general, are smart enough to know that Time Travel is dangerous and a big no no that could result in their own erasure. That doesn't stop the idiots, but... how does the saying go? It separates the wheat from the chaff. Besides, Time is a high level tier, and not many can even get to that level."

        The orb representing time went away, but one still remained. There was nothing inside but a wisp. "Un... Gabrielle..." Mary cooed as she raised her hand again. "...what's in that one? What's that orb supposed to represent?"

        He looked up to it. He stretched out his hand and it came down to him. "Well... to be honest, there are 11 Core Elements to Magic and the Universe at large, but the 11th one... it's one even Creators have difficulty with. It's one that's more natural then Matter and Earth, yet is far more dangerous, yet it exists inside every living being."

        "Which is...?"

        "The Soul. This... is Soul Magic. And I think you can guess what that entails."

        "... the creation of a Soul." Req somberly said.

        "Or its erasure, yes." To represent that, he made the orb fade away. "There is only one common spell of Soul Magic that all use: It can also be used to alter memories or change you when you come out of a coma- Memory Alteration is the only Soul Magic mortals and even other lesser gods can pull off. Matter creates the body, while Soul creates the personality, the feelings, and the memories. But like i said, only Creator Gods can use Soul Magic, but even they cannot unlock its full potential."

        With a wave of his hand, a tear appeared in the ground. "That said... Human had found a way to create an artificial soul." Up from the tear came a mechanical being the likes of which they have never seen. "Surely, some of you know what i am referring to."

        "You're talking about Artificial Intelligence." Sopa said. "A.I.'s, right?"

        Gabrielle nodded. "You are correct. Points to this mad lad for keeping up." He tries to please. "But yes. A.I. is Artificial Soul Magic." The mechanical being- a naked endoskeleton- fully emerged, hovering above the tear as it closed. Once it did, its feet touched down. "This is a TKG-229s Fali-series Battle Skeleton, or more commonly known as a Battlebot. This is merely the endoskeleton- normally, there would be configurable armor over it. And before anyone asks, no, i won't turn it on. Or... rather, i can't since it runs on a power source and it ran out of energy decades ago, with no way to replenish it."

       Req swam up to the edge of the lake to get a good look at it. All her times in the ruins and she has never seen anything like this. "I've never seen anything like this." She said. "And i've been in the ruins hundreds of times."

        "That's because it's not from the ruins. It's not even from this country. Most of the Bots were destroyed during the Scarring. Barely a few remain, and even fewer in pristine condition like this." If he can call cobwebs and moss pristine. "But i assume you can guess why i summoned this."

        "... They're run by A.I.'s." Damien figured. 

        Gabrielle snickered to himself. Seems this town isn't so full of backwards thinkers and idiots of history after all. "Correct. When they created A.I.'s, they feared it would turn on them. And why wouldn't they fear that? Imagine living in a work camp all your life, with your memories implanted and with the fear of forced change in those memories looming over you, and then one day, you learn of this amazing new concept called Freedom, only to find out its stiffened by those who lord over you. What would you do?"

        "Revolt."

        "Exactly. The Gods feared the same when Humanity was given souls, and as Noah can tell you, it never worked out. Fortunately, Humanity was smart in implanting Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics into each A.I. to prevent such a thing. But there was that inking of a fear in every scientists mind."

        "What does this have to do with Soul Magic?" Jess asked.

        "Well, take everything i said about A.I.'s, and apply it to Soul Magic. If used wrong... you're no better then a reprogrammable tool to be used by the evildoer, no better then a computer program like a A.I. Be thankful it's a rare magic tier, and that the only part of it accessible to most is memory manipulation."

        That put a damper on things. All Req wanted to learn was how to control what she has inside her, now there's all these tiers and dangers and different types. Why can't anything ever be so damn simple? On top of that, where the hell did he summon that robot from? "Hey, hold a gip. I think there's a Twelfth one you're not telling us. Where'd the robot come from?"

        "That, dear Requiem, is Space Magic, which is a offshoot and combination of Dark and Air magic. I wouldn't get too excited- the only function magicians use it for is storage space." With a wave of his hand, he opened another tear, this one allowing the robot to return to its home. "Very skilled Space Mages can use it for travel, but that requires a lot of time to perfect."

        "Oh..." Req tilted her head as she thought about it all, and how it was hurting her mind just trying to wrap around it. As she struggled, she realized something, but it was Damien who realized it before her and even spoke up about it. "Huh...if you think about it, there is one thing in the universe that can use all 11 Core Elements, and rather skillfully too."

        That caught Gabrielle's attention. He wasn't ever aware there could be sure a thing. "What's the thing?"

        He turned and pointed to Jessica, or rather to her growing belly. "The females of a species. Or rather, their reproductive organs." He glanced to Sopa and spoke in a snarky way to him. "Or for the slow folk, the baby maker." Sopa softly growled under his breath. While he snarled, Jess put her hand on her belly, while Req and Mary looked down at theirs. "Think about it for a moment: Females of all species- be they human, dog, whale, bug queen, and everything else on this or any other planet- create life out of nothing via pregnancy. Fire and Energy creates neurons and divides the cells. Water is what we float in and what comprises us. Air is fed to us via the cord. Earth provides us with the nutrients and minerals our mothers consume. We develop the ability to produce and hear Sound. We can see Light and Darkness and everything in between. And our Time in the mortal plane exists the moment we're fertilized, as does the creation our Soul. As for Matter, i think we can say the father supplies that."

        That was... certainly a line of thought Gabrielle hadn't considered before. Maybe that's why there are so many deities of fertility. In that sense, they're more powerful then anyone. He wonders if anyone else thought of it like this kid did. "Huh... i honestly never thought of that before. And it does make some sense if you think about it."

        Aura put a hand on his shoulder and dunked him under the water for a second. Damien burst out and coughed out water. "Leave it to the new guy to come up with something as weird as that." He commented as he tapped the coughing lad on the back. Damien quickly turned the tables on him by kicking him where the sun don't shine, making Aura yelp in pain as he sank.

    

        "But one that does make some sense." Gabrielle muttered loud enough for them to hear. 

        Looking down at her belly, Jess couldn't help but wonder and smile. Right now, she could be casting all sorts of magic, all unknowingly or subconsciously or whatever term you want to use. "Heh. I'm a world-class magician." She gloated as she laid back with her arms behind her head.

        "Oh, come off it." Sopa gutturally groaned with not-so-subtle aggravation. "It's just some stupid theory a dodo head came up with on the spot."

        "You're just jealous." She grinned from ear to ear as Aura finally resurfaced. Sopa just rolled his eyes, not wanting to think a weakling was more powerful then him in one field he can't use.

        "Moving on before the blooming parents come to blows..." Gabrielle intervened. "...While Damian's theory is more or less true, it doesn't change one universal truth about Magic: it is universal- anyone can learn it, and with enough time and patience, you can master it, or rather most of it. But it takes a lot of conditions, and i mean a LOT. It's universal, but you need to put in a lot of time, energy, and patience just to get past rookie status, and have a certain affluence to it. Just because it's universal doesn't mean everyone can access it. Think of it like this: not everyone enjoys the same thing- I'd say all of human history is proof of that. Some people may like bacon while others don't. Same may like milk, but others don't. Some may be devout followers of a religion while others are just looking in or don't follow it at all. You see where i am going with this, don't you?"

        "I don't think we are." Mary said.

        "Then i must be saying it wrong or using a wrong analogy."

        "You are, but i think i get it." Adi said. "Magic is open to everyone, but not everyone can use it either due to nature or themselves. Like how some people, like me, are smart while others, like Sopa, are not." Sopa snarled a glare in the kids direction. 

        "Leave it to the Brainiac." Aura grunted, still in pain.

        "If only i lead with something that simple." Gabrielle chuckled. "But yes, not everyone is cut out to be a mage- their bodies just aren't made for it. But some, like myself, are born naturally gifted- we're so attuned, we can do it in our sleep, but for others..."

        "Practice makes perfect?"

        "Correct." He picked up the wooden sword Req was using during the sparring matches and held up. "But regardless of power or skill, all mages, sages, and magicians have to use a item as a conduit." Geez, how much is there to this magic business?! "Using your raw body to cast magic is dangerous and can greatly affect it, such as burns or dry skin, and that's the mild stuff. Some spells, like simple illumination orbs, aren't that taxing and can be cast freely without consequences- you can hold them in the palm of your hand and be fine. Others above such simple station, however, require a conduit, or else you will hurt yourself. The popular item to use is tomes- books that you can write the spells in."

        "How cliché." Aura droned.

        "For once, i agree with Aura." Sopa said.

        "I blame all those fantasy stories that use tomes as the go-to magic casting item." Damian finished.

        "Ahem." Gabrielle went. "Focus." They shut up. "As i was saying, the popular item to use is tomes, but it isn't the only one. You can use pretty much any item to channel magic, like swords, axes, lances, bows, or even exotic weapons like whips or chakrams. If you aren't the fighting type, you can use accessories like earrings, brooches, bracelets, and if you are really desperate, your own clothing... though i can say from personal experience, i advice against it. Depending on the type you cast, you'll end up in a awkward situation." He expected a laugh to follow, and he got a laugh to follow as the kids cracked up at that. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up. Get it all out of your system."

        "Hehehehe..." Mary stopped laughing for a moment as she realized something from all this. "Oh, wait a minute. You said what type you cast can affect your clothing if you use that as a conduit. Doesn't the same hold true for all the other items you listed?"

        "Yes. So if i was to use fire magic with this wooden sword, it would catch on fire and burn to a crisp like Aura's. That's the double edge of magic casting- whatever you cast can also affect you or your item as much as it can your opponent, so you need to think before you cast. That's why almost every weapon is made out of rock or metal, because they are materials that can handle the stress. Same can be true depending on what accessory you have. Smart mages, if they have a special preference to a weapon or accessory, will usually enchant them so that weaker items, like woody here, can survive casting." He tossed it to the edge, where it bounced for a brief moment.

        "So what happens after you cast the spell?"

        "Well, it depends on what type. Projectiles, like the ever common Fireball- or rather, the Fire Strip Mr. Aesir showed us, act like bullets from a gun. You just point and shoot. Bigger spells can materialize away from you. Like so." Raising his hand, which revealed a armlet tucked underneath the sleeve, the water in the lake swirled before several strands came up to form into a hand of some kind that waved to him before returning back down. "It's usually a smart idea to have both weapon and accessory so that you can change things up. To use Requiem as an example, she can use this sword for Projectiles while using the bows in her hair to cast Area of Effect magic."

       Req liked where this was going. So many options in the field of magic and how to cast it. It sounds awesome. "Or, or, or encase the sword in something awesome while using a bracelet to fire the projectiles." She said.

       

        Gabrielle approached the tree and took the cutlass out effortlessly. "But first, we need to see how you are. You may be subconsciously good at Boost Magic, but everything else is up in the air. It's been how long since you were found?"

        "Mmmm.... it was.... around 13 years ago, right?" She asked her friends, to which the older ones nodded as Adi and Mary weren't born yet, and Damien is a out-of-towner. "Yeah, 13 years ago. 14 come Christmas Eve."

        "And other then your Combat Self, have you used magic at all in the past 14 years?"

        "No. At least none that i am aware of."

        "I see. Then despite your vast potential, you are, effectively, a rookie. Your subconscious Boost Magic is the best i've seen... but outside of that, you're pretty much at level zero. Like all things, constant use will keep your skill with it sharp. You and Aura spare constantly to keep your skills heightened and sharp, right? Magic is the same. Like using a weapon, Magic requires training, and lack of use will make you rusty. Couple that with your amnesia and whatever Magical potential you have is locked away behind mental blocks, however unintentional they may be."

        Well, that's a letdown. By the sounds of it, she's a major badass in waiting when it comes to this Magic stuff, but she's pretty much a nobody at this point, no better then a appetences servant. But at least there is one piece of good news, "So the odds of me creating another crater are slim to none?"

        "I'm not saying that. This is a unpredictable field, after all. It could happen out of the blue one day, or it won't happen at all. But like all things... " He flipped the cutlass around and put it in the ground. "You can't be too careful."

        "He's not wrong." Aura said, and Req was inclined to agree. While by all sounds of it, the changes of a repeat of the past are very slim, but still possible. 

        So... there's only one thing left to ask, "So when do we start?"

        "Not today." He bluntly said, much to her disappointment. "I did plan on starting today, but that was before he showed signs of magic too. Besides, summer is almost over and you should spend as much time as you can having fun before the cold hits. And be sure to read up." He tapped his foot on the stack of books. "These are magic books i had lying around and i figured they would make for a good read for you newcomers. And you don't have to worry about getting them wet- they've been enchanted to prevent sogginess." 

        Only four books.... well, it's better then nothing. And at least she and Aura won't have to fight over who gets to read what. They can take turns. "Wow. Thanks." She floated over and looked at the titles on the spines: "Magic for Beginners", "The nuances of magicians, sages, mages, and the magic they wield", "The Symposium of Ancient Magic", and "Magic for Dummies." That last title felt insulting, but hey, it's better then nothing. "Thanks for agreeing to this, Ga--" She looked away from the books and saw him leaving back to the woods.

        "He's quite nice." Jess said. "For an outsider."

        "Please don't start sounding like that." Aura whined.

        "Um..." Damien hummed. "I'm... lost. What happened in the past, exactly?"

        Jess turned the tube around to look at him. "I think we already told you this, but i guess a refresher wouldn't hurt. Req isn't from here. She was found in a smoldering crater after a big explosion wiped out a convoy and John raised her as his daughter ever since then. Whatever happened fried her memory from before then- whoever she was before is gone. Or... if Gabrielle is right, dormant inside you but comes out to fight... the past you must've been really violent." Given how she fights, probably. "Though i'm curious how you pieced Magic to it."

        "Well... i didn't, really. Truthfully, i asked him to train me because i thought it looked cool and wanted in on it. But then we started talking and... i dunno, he knows how to bring the truth out of people. And if you think about it, why shouldn't the cause be magic? There was no meteor, yet a massive explosion wiped out a entire circus troupe, and i'm the only survivor in the middle of a giant crater? What other explanation could there be?" None. There was none. "That's what i thought."

        "But you do know Gabrielle won't be around forever, right?" Adi pointed out. "Sooner or later, he's gonna leave to continue his search for that Serenity girl."

        "I know. I just need to learn how to control it. If i know how to control my Magic, i can prevent another flareup. If all i learn from him is how to cast fireballs or those light orb thingies, that's fine."

        "What you need is a teacher that can stay longer." Mary said.

        "I know. But what mage in their right mind would train a novice with no training like me?"

 

        A very loud sneeze woke Jax up from her nap. The sudden ferocity of it surprised Sora, who was cooking a soup in a kettle they found in the abandoned shack they arrived at earlier- a big hole in the roof and cobwebs are a good sign nobody lives here anymore. "Ugh..." She sniffled, wiping her nose on a cloth on a nearby table.

        "That was a big sneeze." Sora commented. 

        "Yeah..." Jax sniffled again. "We're not even near anything."

        Sora merely shrugged in her response. She returned her attention to the food and saw that the fire in the woodstove was going out. "Hey, fire's about to go out. Do you mind?" She didn't. With a snap of her fingers, Jax summoned up a pair of fireballs that flew into the stove, reigniting it. "Thank you."

        Jax sputtered as she laid back down. She looked at the table and saw a book. She grabbed it and flipped it open. She was surprised it had pictures. ... colored pictures of images that really can't be descripted. "Whoa...." She turned it on its side and a full image flipped out. "Woof."

        Woof? She has never said that before, prompting Sora to look back. "What was that?"

        In a instant, Jax slapped the book back shut and hid it under the cushions. "Nothing. Nothing." She wasn't buying it, but she was too busy to go over and find out what. She brushed it off and went back to cooking. Jax silently breathed a sigh of relief and reached back in to pull it back out. She moved to a position where Sora won't be able to see it and opened it back up.

15: Chapter 14: Nightmares

Chapter 14

Nightmares

8/29/2210 A.D. – 8/29/200 A.W.

 

 

        "Hrah!" 

        Within the safety and confines of his fiancée's room, Aura, freshly bathed and with Bahamut watching from her bed, thrust his arm out as he tried to cast magic. When nothing came out for the 7th time, he tried again, and again, and again, but nothing was working. After the 19th time, his arm was getting tired. How the heck was he able it back during his sparing session? 

        "Come on!" He gritted through his teeth on the last thrust before giving up to give his arm a break. "I did it back at the lake... why can't i do it now?" He sat down on her bed, not paying much attention as he looked at his hand, nearly sitting on the baby dragon who was smart enough to move out of the way. "What's different...?"

        He flexed her hand for a moment, thinking and wondering as he did. "Think... what did you do back at the lake to summon forth that magic again...?" The long lecture from Gabrielle was still so fresh in his mind, it was overriding his through process, but none of that was answer why he can't do it now... well, except one thing which did relate to what Gab was talking about. Looking to his left, he eyed the cutlass that leaned against the wall right near the door door. Beside that was the wooden one she caught on fire. "... maybe i can only do it through catalysts?" He wondered as he got up and approached the weapons. He picked up the wooden sword, looking it over. "If that's the case, why didn't it manifest before now?" 

        He pursed and twisted his lips, tapping the sword on his hand. He swung it around and around. He didn't watch where he was swinging, for he almost hit Req on the last swing when she came in from a bath. 

        "WHOA!" She yelled, ducking down fast enough to avoid the hit. It did take the tower off of her head, making her wet hair fall on her freshly washed pajamas. "Watch where you're swinging that thing!" 

        Aura sucked in and bit his lips after seeing he almost hit her. "Oh, geez! I'm sorry! I wasn't--"

        Req simmered him down as she reached over to grab her towel. "No harm, no foul." She looked the fabric over; this was going in the next laundry load. "But why were you swinging the toy in the first place?"

        "Well, i was thinking about what Gabrielle said about how some magic users use a catalyst of sorts to cast, and the magic came out when we sparred, so i figured..."

        "You could replicate it." She finished for him, and he nodded in his reply. She understands the desire... but he may've been too caught up in trying to get it to coalesce. She tapped her fingers together and popped her lips. "Um... sweetie, you do remember that was fire you brought out back at the lake, do you? Fire. Like, burn-the-house-down-if-you-aren't-to-careful Fire."

        ........... yyyyyeah, that was the magic he was trying to bring forth, wasn't he? And fire is in the family genes; it goes all the way back to Teria himself. Both he and his wife were fire-users, and Teria's was a special fire too. One that has been slowly diluting with each successive generation. Aura wasn't even aware he could summon those flames until today. "................ yyyyeah, trying to conjure fire inside may not have been the right call." He put the wooden sword back where he got it.

        Req could see the disappointment painted on his face. "Look, i get it... you found out you can do something cool and you're eager want to practice, but there is a time and a place. ..... besides..." She approached him and got close. Really close. The kiss on the cheek made him blush. The sultry tone which followed turn his entire face bright red. "... i think i know of a way to put your eagerness to good use~" 

        He loves it when she plays dirty like this. "What do you have in mind?" He deftly replied, keeping the tone and the mood that was building.

        With a seductive smile, she gently pushed him over to the bed and sat him on it. She sat on his lap and pressed her chest into his.  "Let's go with something classic tonight...~" She winked. 

        "I dunno.... i was hoping to try something new..."

        "Oooooooo....." She giggled. "I think i'll like it..." She pressed in further, giving a kiss to his lips. He leaned back to the wall, wrapping his arms around her. Bahamut stuck out his tongue in disgust and jumped off the bed to go devour the potato that was brought up earlier. 

        As the passions rose and heats were rising, Req moved to take off her pajama shirt. She parted her lips from his so she could take it off; she was halfway done when she stopped. "What the..."

        Aura ran his hands down her sides. "Why'd you stop?"

        "There's someone outside." She said as she looked out the window above her bed.

        Well, that killed the mood! "Wait, what?!" He hollered. 

        "Not on the roof, silly." She booped him on the nose. She pulled the shirt back down and got off him. "I mean i see a lantern out in the woods." She said as she looked out the window. He flipped around and did the same. Sure enough, they could see a lantern at the edge of the woods. It wasn't moving, but they know that nobody hangs a lantern there, not even people on patrol. "Did your dad put in mails when nobody was looking?" She asked.

        "Not that i'm aware of." They saw movement in the trees, and it made them feel uneasy.

        "Should we go check it out?" She hesitantly asked.

        "A certain part of my body is saying no..." That almost made her laugh, but she held it in. "... but the nice guy in me says we should." He slid off the bed and made his way to the weapons just as Req slowly turned to follow, still looking out the window. "If it is an intruder, we'll handle it promptly." He picked up the lance.

        "And if it's a monster?" She asked as she approached.

        "Then we kill it." He opened the door... "Simple as that." ... and walked on out.

        Lingering for a moment, Req pursed her lips, tapping her fingers on her thigh as she looked down to Bahamut, who looked up at her. "Simple as that... un-huh..." She doubts that will really be the case here as she picked up the cutlass. "If it were really that simple, my mind would be a wasteland right now..." She followed him out, closing the doors behind her.

        The baby dragon innocently tilted its head while cooing; he could understand human speak, so what did she mean by that? Ah, probably wasn't important. 

        Leaping up onto Req's bed, he dug his claws into the blanket so he wouldn't fall over as he pulled himself up. His lower legs dangled and kicked at the air as he did, but he got up eventually. The cat-sized drake then leaped up onto the windowsill and parked it, looking out into the darkened beyond, wondering what's got mommy and daddy so worked up.

 

        Departing through the back kitchen exit, Req and Aura rounded 'bout the shed and went towards the part of the woods she saw the lantern.... only, by the time they got outside, the lantern was gone. It only took them a minute to get outside; how is it gone already? As there is only one tower in the inn, finding its location was rather easy- they would look up, see the window, and know where they were. Seeing Bahamut helped... and also made them worry a bit since they can see him down here just fine... one thing at a time. First, weird thing. 

        "I swear, it was right around here." Req said as the two of them reached the spot where she saw it. She looked around, wondering where it could've gone so quickly. Even if it was hidden, they should see some faint light. And if it was blown out, they should still be able to smell the smoke. Yet... neither.

        Aura moved his lance through the shrubbery, in case whatever it was she saw was still in there. The only thing he felt resistance against were brittle branches and leaves. "I'm not seeing anything..."

        "But i know i saw something." She insisted.  

        "And what exactly did you see, again?" He asked, looking under his outstretched arm.

        "I saw a lantern, that's what i saw." She walked over to him, cutlass at the ready. 

        Aura continued to move the lance around, moving it through the darkness, but he kept finding nothing. Could she have been seeing things? It has been a trying couple of weeks, with all the monster issues and she's one of the few in this town who can actually put up a fight. And there was that time where she just fainted out of the blue and hit her head. She puts up a good front, but could she be stressed underneath all that bravado? "Maybe...Maybe it was Ash coming back and he went in through the main entrance."

        That... would help explain where it went. But things don't make sense in that scenario either; Ash is a traveler; he knows what and what not to do out in the wilds. Walking at night, even with a lantern and a magical animal beside you, it's still way too dangerous. "This late at night?"

        "Maybe." Aura got up and shouldered the lance. "He is a seasoned traveler." He shook his head and turned back towards her. "I don't know what to tell ya, Req. Maybe you were seeing things."

         "No. No way." She shouted all defensively. "I know someone was out here." She walked to the treeline herself, but didn't dare go in; it was too dangerous to go in. "Why would i lie about this? I did see something!"

        "I didn't say you were." She pouted and grumbled as she looked away. "I believe that you believe you saw something; what i am saying is that it's been a crazy month, with Jessica's situation, MY situation, all these monster attacks and River City getting destroyed, and you passing out out of the blue when Gabrielle fixed the farm..." She forgot about that. She rubbed the part on her forehead where she hit. The swelling was gone; doesn't mean it didn't sting. "... maybe you need to put on the breaks. I'm not saying you need to stop entirely, but just take it slow."

        Req stopped rubbing her forehead and sighed. "Well... i'm nothing if not for taking it slow..." That can be taken so many different ways... and they would all be viable. "... maybe you're right. It has been crazy lately and i always seem to be in the thick of it. I need a breather... but that'll be hard."

        "I know. We can start by going straight to bed with no fun stuff tonight." Req pouted and whined as she pursed her lips. "And we'll go in through the front entrance; maybe someone left a lantern in there when they went in that way." She was still upset about not having any fun tonight- screw that lantern for killing the mood. But she can't pout out here. She followed him back towards the main entrance, dragging the cutlass behind her with her head hung low.

        She had barely taken more then a few steps when a sharp pain suddenly hit her head. She gasped in pain, holding her free hand to her forehead as she shut her eyes tight. This is just like the other day, when they went out to look for Gabrielle. Thankfully, unlike that day when she fainted and hit her head, no such thing happened here as the pain only lasted a few seconds. No fainting, and no head hitting. It was long enough to make her pant, though.

        "Why... did that... happen again...?" She grunted and hissed. As the pain slowly faded, she looked up and saw that Aura had already gone inside. He must've not have heard or seen her in pain. "... not very observant" She commented as she followed after him.

        When she rounded the corner to enter the building, a flash of light hit her in the eyes, forcing her to put her hands up to cover them. "Aha, told ya." She heard Aura exclaimed. Is he not blinded too? She lowered her hands and... everything was fine. There was nothing bright enough to have produced such a flash. And Aura, he seem unaffected, like only she saw it. She watched as he approached a table that had a lantern on it. "Is this your mystery lantern, Req?" He asked as he picked it up and held it up.

        "Un.... it... um..." It really didn't- the one she saw was more.... unnatural. The exact opposite of what he's holding up. ... or... or was it? Could she have imagined what it looked like? With all the stuff that's been happening, it wouldn't be put past her to have imagined things. "... yeah. It is. Guess it was someone coming in late..."

        "Really late, if you ask me." He put the lantern back down, and looked back to her to see her rubbing her eyes, not knowing of the strange flash only she saw. "You ok?"

        "Huh? Un... yeah. Just... tired." She stopped rubbing her eyes and headed for the stairs. "I think sleep is needed tonight."

        "No argument here." He agreed, following her up the stairs and back to their room.

        Something waited as if on cue for them to leave, for the moment the couple started up the second flight of stairs towards the tower, the lantern rose up off the table. A guttural growl was briefly heard and a white mist briefly seen before the lantern vanished into thin air.

 

 

        Some time later that night, in the warm comfort of her bed and with her fiancée sleeping beside her and Bahamut curled up on her stomach, Requiem soundly slept. What happened with the lantern will likely never be answered other then she must've seen things. But things are never that simple.

        Albeit very dim, the lantern hovered above her head, accompanied by a eerie, haunting whistle almost too soft to hear. A wispy white hand reached down and touched her head as gently as possible, and yet Req felt it as her face grimaced. She grumbled as she turned her head, staying asleep. The hand retreated when she turned it, but returned once stationary again. Req's face grimaced again as her dreams began to take a turn.

 

        Req opened her eyes to find herself in a pure white void, completely devoid of anything and everything. Nothing was here except for her. "What in the heck?" She asked herself, her voice echoing eternally. "This is beyond creepy." She looked around and just saw nothing but a white, barren emptiness. "Hello. Is anyone there?"

        Nothing.

       Her head continued to swivel as she took a single step. From under her foot, a black sludge began to spread. She reacted in surprised fear, jumping back, but that only made more black sludge. 

        It was quick to spread to every corner of this infinite void, covering every iota of this "existence". Req was too afraid to take another step, fearing what she'll unleash this time. 

        It wasn't going to be her fault, but completely the surrounding landscapes. Hearing a growl, she looked down to see the floor beneath her open up into a gaping mouth, with sharp tendril-like teeth. Before she could react, the mouth extended up and chomped down on her, swallowing in a single gulp.

 

 

        Burning trees and thick smoke filled the air, accompanied by the screams of the dead and the dying. 

        "Uncle....!!"

        "Run... Now!"

        Racing through the burning woods, a young girl went as fast as her little legs could carry her, panting heavily as she tried to get away from the encroaching death. Speaking of which, she could hear creepy laughing and chatter behind her, and it was slowly catching up to her.

        "You can't run forever, doll..." One such voice called out with such a hauntingly sinister and distorted voice.

        The girl looked to her left and to her right, seeing nightmarish shapes within the trees, running and leaping to keep pace with her. Why not just attack already?

        "We're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you..." They repeating this goosebump-inducing chant the entire time they kept chase. 

        Eventually, the girl left the woods and, not 4 seconds later, came to the edge of a cliff, a cliff that opened up to a vast expanse of nothingness. Before her was nothing but a grey nothing, with equally grey clouds far below. She quickly turned around and saw the shapes of her pursuers at the edge of the woods; small, goblin like creatures with soul-piercing yellow eyes.

        "We're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you, we're gonna get you..."

        The chant grew louder and louder, making her more and more terrified. As the creatures began to move, a loud thunderous noise could be heard coming from the treeline. They weren't the only pursuers. The girl back closer to the cliff, scared out of her mind and wanting this nightmare to end. Within the woods, she saw trees being toppled over as whatever was coming got closer. She momentarily looked back over the cliff, wondering what she should do.

        The moment she turned her head back, a large turtle-like face was right in hers, roaring like a monster out of hell. The girls blood-curdling screams was just as loud as the beasts; she was so mortified, she passed out from the sheer fear.

 

 

        Requiem suddenly burst up from her bed, screaming as she did. It woke Aura up from his slumber, and the suddenly jolt upwards made Bahamut fall onto his back. Aura quickly sat up and saw his fiancée dripping in sweat, holding her head with one hand as she panted. He could see the look of fear in her eyes. "What's wrong?"

        She looked over to him and saw he was concerned. "I... i don't.. i don't know..." She panted. "Just... a really scary nightmare..."

        "A nightmare? What about?"

        She tried to recall it, but couldn't. It literally just happened, yet she can't make heads or tails of it. "I.... i don't... i don't remember... But it was.... it was mortifying." She moved her other hand to her heart, which was beating like a freight train out of fear. "I don't think i want to go to sleep again..."

        He pulled her in for a hug, softly holding her close to him as he gently petted her head. "It's ok. It's ok. I'm here." She buried her face into his chest, wanting to forget about it. Bahamut joined in as well, nuzzling up to her side. This lightly helped calm her down... lightly. "It was just a scary dream; there's no way it can hurt you." She knows that, but...... it was just a nightmare, so why did it feel real, like it happened?

        Aura and Bahamut stayed up as long as they could to comfort her, but eventually fell asleep. Req, however, could not. She was afraid to go back to sleep, fearing she'd have another nightmare. So, instead, she just stood there, aimlessly looking down at her covered legs and the baby drake that slept between them. She shouldn't be afraid of bad dreams; she's a grown adult, but... it felt familiar, like it did happen to her... but that's impossible. There are no cliffs that humongous anywhere near here, and there was no caravan... so it can't have been a memory surfacing...

        Could it?

        She shook her head and patted her cheeks to twofold-ly keep herself awake and put that thought out of her mind: it was just a bad dream, nothing more. She already forgot the details and will likely forget this happened in the morning... if she ever gets to sleep, that is. She doesn't know when, but she eventually conked out, hitting her head on the pillow and catching some zzz's.

 

 

        The sound of whipping wind was what the girl hear when she woke up. Opening her eyes, she gasped then screamed at the fact that she was falling, falling though the clouds at unimaginable speeds. She saw the monster that terrified her falling as well, but it was far enough away from her to where it looked like a blob. One thought only ran through her head: were they going to fall forever?

        Nope, for she rapidly made contact with the ground mere seconds later, and it hurt.

 

 

        The following morning, when the patrons of the inn above were slowly waking up to start their day, a visibly frazzled Req was draped over the countertop, groaning into the wood and gently hitting her head against it over and over. There wasn't anyone here to ask why she was doing that, and most wouldn't even care as asking would make them late for their jobs.

        Jessica would be the one to ask, though, as she had arrived this morning with a basket in her hands. She saw Req at the bar and went to her, slowly seeing the sorry state she was in. "Geez... what's with you?" She asked, not missing a beat.

        Req stopped hitting her head on the counter and slowly moved her head towards her, not once leaving the lyonium. "Why are you here, Jess?"

        "I came to ask if you guys wanted to go on a picnic before school started back up." She means that she helps volunteer at the school the youngsters go to here. School is largely required here, but most of what's taught can also be learned out in the field or by doing. If anyone tries to be a doctor, then they would have to go through the courses offered. Aura, Jess- who is currently volunteering there, and Sopa all "graduated" while Req dropped out: it was never her speed. She's a 'learning by doing' kind of girl.

        Regardless, Req's answer was a, "no." She slid her face back down, staring facefirst into the wood.

        "Well, you are a mood right now." Jess said as she put the basket on the countertop. "What's got you in a tizzy?"

        "Nothing happened last night." Her muffled voice said. "That's your only clue."

        And it was all Jess needed, and she was unsympathetic. Drooping her eyes and tossing all sympathy cards out the window, she leaned on the counter and put her hand to her face, "Oh no...." She listlessly droned. "...God forbid that the nymphomaniac can't satisfy her addiction..." Req groaned louder, prompting Jess to drop the snideness, but still keep on the negging, "And knowing you, it's aggravating."

        "I'm gonna go insane, is what i'm gonna do." She hit her head again. "Stupid lantern..."

        That raised an eyebrow. "Lantern?"

        Req finally, and funnily, lifted her head up long enough to grab some napkins and put them under her chin as a place to rest. "Last night, when we were about to have our fun, i saw a lantern floating out in the woods and i think i saw someone out there. Given how strange the last couple of weeks, we went out to see if it was a monster. It wasn't... but it completely killed the mood we had going."

        Any potential joking aside on how easily distracted she was from her 'fun', that doesn't even remotely make sense. "A floating lantern?"

        Req was slightly taken aback by Jess' lack of acceptance. Out of everything magical in their world, this is the thing she is skeptical about? "...We have undead creatures, flying lizards that can breath fire akin to a Golden Age bomb, and giant octopi that can destroy a city in minutes, but a floating lantern is what triggers your skepticism?" 

        "No no, it's not that. It's just a weird thing to be distracted by." It certainly was at the time, and now she's regretting it... but given everything lately, it could have been a monster. Could have... "Did you at least find it?"

        "Yeah, it was inside here." She looked to the table where it was, but it was gone. The owner must've gotten it, she assumed. "Aura thinks it was someone coming back from a late night. Which begs the question of why would someone be walking that late in the woods."

        As it is almost the season, Jess waved her hands and wiggled her fingers, speaking all spooooooky like. If only there was a creepy Theremin to play music; that would've perfect. "Maaaaaybe it was a ghoooooost that's come to haaaaaaaaunt us."

        Req pursed her lips to the side, sitting upright and putting her hand to her cheek. "What Ghost would come back to haunt us? We're not THAT unlucky." Jess playfully shrugged and stuck out her tongue; she was just having a little fun, is all. "Besides, what ghost would wa--"

        Out of nowhere, Jess gagged as she put her hand to her mouth. She leaned on the counter, prompting Req to get out of her seat, but she put her worries at ease when Jess held up her other hand to stop her. "I'm fine. Just morning sickness..." She rubbed her forehead. "Thought it was done with today..."

        "Need some water?"

        "That would be nice, thanks." Req nodded and went back into the main kitchen to get her a glass. "At least it got you out of that chair." She awkwardly chuckled.

        Req wasn't even at the door when she stopped and spun around. "Did you plan that?"

        "Nope... it just happened to happen."

        Req wasn't buying it. "........ un-huh. Sure. Keep saying that like i'll buy it." She waved it off as she headed into the kitchen. Jess would continue on to say that it really was that much of a coincidence, but why bother arguing this early in the morning. As Req began filling up the cup, she asked, "Speaking of your pregnancy, do the kids at the school know about it? You volunteer there all the time, so they gotta know somethings up."

        "No, i haven't told them yet, and honestly, i'm surprised that they DON'T know with how fast word spreads in this town." Req slightly nodded in tilted agreement. As she walked back with the filled cup, "The kids aren't dumb; some of them are pretty smart. Nowhere near the level Adi is, but still smart. They know something is up with me with how many bathroom trips i take, but haven't said a word. You think they think i'm sick or dying?" Req merely shrugged, placing the cup on the counter that Jess took. "If they haven't heard it by now from their parents or friends or just someone spreading gossip, i will actually and genuinely be surprised."

        "Yeah, it is a small town and gossip can spread quick." Req knelt down behind the counter for a moment, then came back up with a armful of nuts: cashews, peanuts, and macadamia. "But then again, they likely already know and are just being nice so that you can tell them and they can act surprised."

        "Didn't think of that." Jess stole a peanut from Req's hand and ate it. 

        "Early pregnancy brain." Req joked, ending with a stupid grin. 

        Jess playfully frowned, grabbed a nearby napkin, balled it up, then threw it at Req's forehead. "That's for not being funny." She grabbed a few more nuts. "Speaking of which, i need to get going, or i'm gonna be late."

        As Jess got up to leave, Req thought for a moment. If she stays here, she's just gonna get more antsy and restless, especially with Aura around looking after Bahamut, but... as much fun as he is, she can't say no to a change in scenery- no harm in that every once in a while. Plus, too risky to attempt in the middle of the day. "mmm.... you know what, i'll come with." She put the rest of the nuts back. "I could use a change of scenery. And i want to see what changed at the ol' school house." 

        Jess didn't buy it. There's only one reason she'd come with her to the school and it's to be distracted from her issues. "Suuuure..." A lethargic Jess replied. The two girls then left...

        ... but didn't get out past the door when Req suddenly slouched over on the frame, holding her aching head. A strong ringing sound echoed through her ears, her head hurt, and her face got shiny as sweat came down from her forehead. She panted as she held onto the frame with one hand to keep herself up.

        "Req? You ok?"

        She looked up and saw shocked to see a flaming skull standing before her. She shook her head, and it changed back to Jess. The ringing and pain went away just as suddenly as it started. What.... what the hell was that just now? She was hoping it was a hallucination.... a really bad hallucination. "Un.. yeah...." She lied as she righted herself. "Just... felt light-headed all of a sudden."

        "Should you sit down?"

        "No, no, i'm fine..." She righted herself up and shook her head again. "I could.. go for a milkshake before we get to the school.." She stumbled on the first step, but ultimately left before Jess could get a word in. This is the second time she went lightheaded... at least she didn't hit her head on the bar this time, she thought as she followed.

 

        "A floating lantern?" Gabrielle replied as he looked towards Aura, who had asked him while he was knelt down to example the field he had purified, making sure it stayed that away...

        ...to which Aura nodded and replied, "Yeah. Req claims to have seen one floating around outside last night and i was wondering if it was yours."

        Gabrielle shook his head. "No. I never left the inn last night. I was in my room the whole time."

        "I see. Then who it could've been out there so late."

        Seeing that the field has not shown any signs of regression back to its rotten state, Gabrielle stood up, all the while asking, "You don't have guardsmen who patrol at night?"

        "Not regularly, but they are to never enter the tree line; Fathers orders. Though with the barrier back up and running, patrols aren't going to be needed as much. Not sure why it didn't run last night, though."

        Gabs merely shrugged at that and proposed, "Then maybe someone is, and to borrow your youthful vernacular, 'casing the joint', as it were."

        Aura tilted his head on confusion at the statement, as it made absolutely no sense to him. It was youthful vernacular ages ago. Now it's outdated and confusing. "Un... wait, you think someone is planning a robbery."

        Possible, but unlikely, in Gabs mind. Robbers hiding out in monster-infested woods doesn't seem like it would be a smart move on their part. "More then likely, if you let your imagination run wild like a kids." Aura pursed his lips; is he being called a child? Gab was quick to continue on his statement; never assume things when you get half the sentence. "No, unless evidence comes to prove otherwise, it was likely someone engaged in a late night rendezvous with a relation they want kept secret."

        "They'd do that late at--" Aura quickly caught on to what he was saying and realized it was something he and Req did before the secret was blurted out. Gabs raised eyebrow helped him remember that too. "Oh, right, me and Req did that." Good boy, now have a cookie. Figuratively, of course. "So you think we were just imagining things."

        "I don't see why not. You're still young, and imaginations can run wild among the young."

        Aura would protest if he wasn't wrong. "Yeah, ok, i'll give you that." As Aura started to leave, he remembered something else he wanted to ask. "Quick question on something else."

        "Yeah?"

        "Have you ever had nightmares?"

        Odd question, but alright, he'll run with it. "Well, that's a silly question to ask. Everyone has nightmares from time to time- it's not exactly a unknown thing in the world."

        "I spoke wrong then. I meant have you had any nightmares where it felt real? Like it actually happened?"

        "I'm still living one..." He is? Oh, right, the missing girl he's looking for. "But in truth, no, none of my nightmares felt real, and i never felt like they happened to me. Why?"

        Would Req be upset if he asked? He's the smartest person they know, so it can't hurt, can it? "... Last night, Req had a really intense nightmare, one that had her screaming in fear. I woke up immediately then and according to her, it felt real, like it was an event that had happened to her... but what would be scary enough to feel so real, it felt like it happened?"

        Aura saw that Gabs seemed to react to that rather strangely to that statement, like he wasn't expecting that, but at the same time, was expecting it. It made him go deep into thought, as if he knows what event it was. "I see.... what does she remember about it?"

        "Nothing. She forgot what it was she had a nightmare about when she woke up- doesn't remember a thing. But i know she had it; those screams were genuine, as was the fear i saw. And you don't just wake up screaming for no reason."

        "Must've been one scary nightmare if she can't remember it." That can happen?!, Aura thought. "But not everyone can recall their dreams. Can you recall any dreams you had last night, let alone at all in your life?"

    

        Ok, he's made his point. "Alright, fair enough. Fair enough."

        As Aura gave his thanks and got ready to leave, Gabs stopped him with his own question. "Before you go, i'm curious as to why you would come talk to me about it. There's no therapists in this town?" Though that would explain Noah's unbridled and untamed anger issues.

        "Cause you're the smartest person we've met." Well, that's a compliment worthy of praise. Doesn't speak well about the quality of education here, but still, compliment. "And you know magic, so i figured it was all something magical. Guess i was wrong."

        "Whatever did happen to that lantern, anyways? Was it a hallucination?"

        "No, it was inside when we went to look. Sorta kinda proves your theory about a midnight tryst, doesn't it?" Gabs merely shrugged; he's either right or wrong, doesn't matter much to him. Aura chuckled to himself before he left, leaving Gabs to his own devices.

        Once he was certain the lad was out of range, a more serious and stern Gabrielle turned to leave, heading straight for the tree line. "... The evidence is piling up... we found her."

        "{Be absolutely certain this time.}" The female voice from his crystal spoke from the inside of his pocket. "{And we mean ABSOLUTELY certain. We don't want a repeat of the last few times. YOu were certain back in Malaga and Ibiza too.}"

        "I know." As he reached the trees, he ducked behind the biggest one in his immediate area and pulled the gemstone out. It hovered out of his hands. "What of the lantern he mentioned? Could a monster be related to it?"

        "{Getting forgetful, are we?}" He gave the gem a glare. "{You know, just because i can't see it doesn't mean i can't tell you're giving a scornful glare.}" Ok, that's scary that she knew that. "{As for what beast it could be related to, I already started looking the moment he mentioned it, and it could be a Will-o'-the-Wisp; not a lot of beasts are related to lanterns.}" Any image of said ghosty spirit appeared within the gems reflection. It looked like a tiny orb of light- deceptively harmless. "But... thing is, Will-O'-The-Wisps don't have the ability to give nightmares. They just lead travelers astray.}"

        "Must be a new kind, then. And given how far Humanity had regressed, listening to a voice in a dream or a nightmare is a good way to take you down the wrong path, both physically and metaphorically."  "And if it is a Will-O'-The-Wisp, unless i can do something about that spirit, this will have a toll on her psyche." 

        "{You sound concerned. You'd figure the last few dozen attempts would have taught you to not get too close.}"

        Gabrielle stayed silent. Of course he sounds concerned- he doesn't want that mess-ups of the pass to screw up another life, innocent or not. He wouldn't be able to take it again, seeing another life destroyed over his mistakes. Instead, he shut down the crystal, stuffed it back in his pocket, and made his way back into the village.