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Chapter IV Rising Flames

-PHENIX-

Lilac and I found ourselves in a hideous orange room, hidden beneath the trap door in the large house we had been investigating, with seven cloaked men inside. The room was drenched in blood, I almost vomited upon catching the smell of it all and that horrid odor was making it incredibly difficult, as someone who relies heavily on their sense of smell, to remain focused.

I heard a woman screaming for help, her voice muffled by a gag, and I could partly see her feet, struggling furiously, tied to the blood soaked stone altar elevated in the center of the room.

I admit I had a bit of a weakness for women, I didn't relate well to them, and my instinctive desire to protect them tended to get on their nerves more than anything. But that same protective instinct did not bode well for those that would put them in danger. Ever.

I motioned for Lilac to stay back, thankfully she obliged, and I walked up the steps to the altar, trying my best to remain calm, despite the fact that inside I was furious at what these bastards were going to do. I happened to see North out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't pay much attention to him, I kinda had bigger priorities at the moment.

About midway up the staircase, two men in red cloaks wearing silver masks and brandishing swords moved to stop me from reaching the altar. I stood there for a moment, sizing them up. Neither one made a move, so I hoped for a moment that I might have been able to resolve this issue peacefully enough, maybe make them not want to fight, and just bring the seven men to the Disciples of Strength and let proper authority in Caldera deal with them.

"Move. Now." I growled. I drew my sword and began to tap into my Ether, the spiritual energy that allows one to create magic, and the red flames that always accompanied my magic began to flicker in my eyes.

The two men did not heed my warning and instead moved to attack, but they may as well have been moving in slow motion, before either of them knew it I had lit both on fire with my magic, a fire that would continue to burn and cause pain as long as I allowed, but would not be fatal.

They stumbled away and collapsed on the floor, their screams of agony not being met by any response, not from me and not from their apparent comrades. As I reached the altar, the rest of the men stepped back, afraid to face me.

Now originally, I planned on not seriously hurting anyone here. As I said, I wanted to just let this situation be resolved at least somewhat peacefully and without any serious injuries or fatalities. But when I saw that the woman on the altar was Elin, bound to the disgusting, bloodstained altar and stripped of her clothes, I somewhat lost my shit.

I was very angry that these monsters had kidnapped any woman, but they went the extra mile, they kidnapped my woman.

With a wave of my hand I burned the ropes that were binding Elin and turned my attention to the four other men left standing, staring them down with eyes that were, quite literally, burning with rage. There had been five robed bastards a minute ago, one had seemingly bolted, which did not do good things for my aforementioned rage.

"Elin, are you okay?" I took her in my arms and carried her down the steps, figuring that the men would still be too afraid to attack after seeing their allies burn faster than they could think, and taking care of my own was much more important than bloody, righteous vengeance or whatever.

"Yeah, thank you." She said after removing the gag from her mouth and wrapped her arms around me.

-NORTH-

I watched Phenix deal with the cloaked men without interfering. I had seen that look in his eyes once before, and it took several men to restrain him, I didn't want to get in his way.

I cursed under my breath, realizing that one of the men had escaped, most likely fleeing when Phenix's flames caused a distraction. There were four men left active, and they moved to attack Phenix as he carried Elin down the steps.

I leapt up to the altar to cover my comrades, throwing the men against the wall with a gust of wind created by my magic. To my surprise, the bastards simply got up off the ground and charged again. These were no ordinary men, even if I hadn't planned on killing them with that attack, no one should have just been able to get up and charge after being thrown into a stone wall.

It didn't matter though. These men's lives were very rapidly nearing an end. I didn't know if Phenix intended on killing the two men he burned or if he used his magic to keep them alive somehow, but it didn't matter to me either way, these kidnapping curs were going to die by my blade.

The first of the four was met with a stab in the chest as it charged at me. I didn't know the lengths of its endurance, so I slashed out of its chest as well and then threw it into another of the creatures with wind magic, promptly knocking both to the ground.

The second of the cultists raised an axe to attack me, I simply thrust my sword upwards into its neck, causing it to drop the axe harmlessly on the ground and collapse in a quickly growing pool of its own blood.

The third beast was met with decapitation, my superior speed granting me a chance to kill it before it could even reach me with its own pitiful blade. The last one standing had managed to get the bloated corpse of the first mongrel off of it and stood back up.

I gave a relishing smile as I stared the last of my offerings in the eyes. Even from behind its pathetic mask, I could see its fear. This monster was only going to be alive a few more seconds and it knew it. It tried to run, but its sad attempt at escape was met only by my sword in its back. These beasts were out of shape, endurance be damned, they were not meant for combat.

"W-what the hell was that?!" Phenix shouted from behind me. In the rush of the battle, I had honestly forgotten that he was present, and the whole thing seemed to have ended before he could properly discern what was happening.

I looked back at him and smiled, darkly chuckling at the fallen beasts laying on the ground.

"It was sacrifice." I shrugged.

-LILAC-

I watched in awe as the steel blue Fionbri made quick work of the four men who tried to attack Phenix. Seeing someone kill so easily and so efficiently was something that would probably terrify most people, but I had seen my dad commit war crimes, so yeah, kinda desensitized.

Phenix wasn't happy though, and started yelling at the man, who didn't seem to be taking him all that seriously. It seemed like the two knew each other, but their conflict wasn't very high on my list of priorities at the moment. I needed to find Tel and Aiden.

As I looked around the room to see if there were any other doorways, the girl Phenix rescued off the altar, a green cat Fionbri, held out her hand to me. She had a very cute face and short, wild hair that was quite pretty. She had a very slender, sexy frame with wide hips and was standing completely naked in front of me, not that she seemed to mind and I certainly didn't either.

"Come with me, we're gonna go rescue some people." She said cheerfully, a great big grin on her face.

I took her hand, hoping the people she was talking about were my friends. She led me into a hall off the side of the orange room, one filled to the brim with dank cells. It looked much more like you'd expect an underground chamber to look like, with dirt walls and the like, but just being in this place sent shivers up my spine, not helped by the sickening smell of blood everywhere I went, made even worse in this room by the potent aroma of decaying bodies. I couldn't help but throw up on the floor as the scent hit me.

"Are you okay?" The cat girl asked concernedly, rubbing my back as I stood hunched over, my hands on my knees.

I couldn't speak but I nodded and tried to regain my composure. I looked up at the girl and she still had that same endearing, playful smile on her face. Is this girl for real? Is she insane!? There wasn't really time to dwell on those questions though and she seemed like she really wanted to help me, so I didn't pay her oddities much mind. Besides, my instincts told me I could trust her, and I always followed my instincts.

The cell room was almost completely silent, it seemed that any captives they had either died in their cells or were sacrificed on that altar. Just the thought of that was horrifying to me and it took all I had to keep myself focused on the task at hand and not just start weeping for all the poor souls who were dragged down here.

The cat girl, a slightly disconcertingly peppy spring in her step, led me to one cell down the hall though that had very much alive captives, and I was quite happy to see them.

It was Aiden and Tel, sitting on their knees, bound and gagged, inside the disgusting, foul smelling cell. Tel started moving around and yelling through his gag, clearly very happy to see me too. Aiden just looked away, seemingly embarrassed by the rescue.

"Hold on one sec you guys, I'll have you free in no time!" I happily reassured my companions. I can't adequately express just how relieved I was to see them safe and sound. Well, safe at any rate. "Can we get in?" I turned to the cat girl.

"No problem!" She cheerfully winked at me before sliding through the bars of the cell. "Ta-da!" She held her arms above her and smiled at me but I just cleared my throat to get her focus back on the right track. "Oh right, yeah!" She lightly conked herself on the head before scratching at the ropes binding my two friends, quickly freeing them.

"Are you alright, Aiden?" Tel concernedly asked Aiden.

"Yeah, no problem." Aiden stood up, stretching his arms and legs. Tel soon did the same.

"Hi! I'm Elin!" Elin, standing between Tel and Aiden, held both her hands out to the two guys, oddly crisscrossing them for no apparent reason.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Elin!" Tel joyfully shook the girl's hand, although Aiden just walked over to the cell door.

"It is indeed a pleasure to meet you, miss, but we have more important things than introductions to deal with right now." Aiden said, inspecting the bars.

"Right, whoopsie! Sorry!" Elin bowed bashfully.

"Ok, so Elin was able to squeeze in, but how are you two going to get out?" I asked. There was very little space between the bars, and even with Elin's unrealistically and infuriatingly slim figure she barely managed to squeeze through.

"Isn't it obvious?" Aiden smiled and knelt down to grab a small rock off the ground, carving symbols into the dirt with it. "We'll use magic."

He touched the symbols and they started to glow orange, and in a flash of light and loud noise there was a huge dent in the bottom of the cell door, one that the three of them could easily crawl under.

Aiden was the first to crawl over to my side of the gate, standing up right in front of me and giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. There was so much seemingly happening at once that it took a minute to sink in, but I nervously stumbled backwards a few steps and blushed furiously when I realized.

"So how'd you guys get all tied up here?" Elin asked as she and Tel crawled through the opening, Tel having crawled through first and giving Elin a hand as she rose to her feet.

"Well when me and Aiden walked into the orange room, all these weird guys were chanting and doing some sort of ceremony, that we seemed to interrupt." Tel explained. "Needless to say, they weren't happy about it. We were really lucky that they didn't just kill us, they just subdued us, tied us up and threw us in that nasty cell."

"They were going to sacrifice you guys." I said, shivering at the thought. "That's why people have been disappearing!"

"That seems to be the case." Aiden shrugged. Compassionate as ever, I see "Welp, I think we've overstayed our welcome here." Aiden said nonchalantly, heading back toward the orange room but looking back at us. If I didn't know better I would've thought that Aiden wasn't even phased by this whole 'kidnapping and almost being sacrificed' thing, but I knew in my gut he was really bothered by it and just didn't want anyone to notice. "Any objections?"

"I need to get back to my friends!" Elin quickly raised her hand. "We're on an epic quest!"

"I see. Well, we'll hand you off to them on our way out." Aiden shrugged.

"Aw, you guys should totally join us though." Elin pouted, putting her hands on her hips.

"Sorry Elin, we have our own business to take care of right now." I put my hand on Elin's shoulder. Come to think of it, I had no idea what our business actually was. All I was told, all Aiden and Tel seemed to know too, was that we were supposed to go to Caldera, and now that we were there we hadn't seen hide nor hair of Vatra.

"Well maybe our journeys coincide?" Tel suggested, his fluffy tail wagging and brushing up against Elin's leg. "After all, isn't it a little weird that another group of Fionbri are in this city the same time we are?"

"You and your friends aren't from around here?" I asked Elin, my hand still on her shoulder and sliding down her back.

"Yup yup!" Elin nodded vigorously. "We're just stopping in this city for now before we head off on our aforementioned epic quest!"

"Guys!" Aiden snapped, getting our attention. "Introductions later, let's get the hell out of here now!"

The three of us agreed with Aiden, following him out of the cell hall and back into the orange room.

-NORTH-

"Sacrifice!?" Phenix yelled, apparently taking umbrage with the destruction of our enemies.

"Something like that." I put my sword through the skull of one of the remaining creatures, one that had been lit aflame and was writhing on the floor, no doubt putting it out of its misery. "It's hard to accurately explain."

"Try." Phenix growled. His concentration had left his spell, disabling it and relieving the last monster of its fiery torment, it didn't take long for me to kill that one either.

"It's like this." I was trying to come up with the words to explain as I executed the last of the cultists. "I deliver tainted souls to the Lord, so that She may cleanse them of their sins."

"Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Phenix said, completely deadpan. I didn't think that explanation would go over well with him. "This is some ridiculous religious thing?! Your god commands you to murder people!?"

"She does not 'command'. She allows." I replied calmly. I didn't want things to escalate. "She does not wish for her children to be killed, but the way I see it, if they continue committing atrocities like the ones that clearly went on in this room, they deserve to be punished."

"So what, you just take their 'punishment' into your own hands?" Phenix clenched his fists and walked toward the altar, retrieving his sword from where he'd dropped it.

"Someone has to. Why not me?" I shrugged. "I admit, the 'sacrifice' thing was my idea, not something that God ever said to me. But I believe I would administer justice to these creatures whether I believed in Her or not. It takes a great burden off my soul however, to know that they are going to the embrace of our Mother."

Phenix stood silent for a moment, staring down at me from atop the steps to the altar, holding his sword in his hand. I half expected him to use it against me. He eventually put it away and gave a raspy sigh instead however.

"You are fucking insane." He growled.

"Then what are you going to do, Phenix?" I stared back up at him, directly into his eyes, and pointed my sword in his direction. Normally Phenix was one to avoid eye contact, but this time he had no problem staring right back at me. "I understand that you, and many others, have a problem with killing. I do too, which is why I've stopped these monsters before they could harm any more innocents."

"By killing them!" He tugged on his ear as he spoke, something he often did when he was at the end of his rope. "You do hear yourself, right?!"

"And what would you have done in my stead, Phenix?" I sheathed my sword and waited for a response, but Phenix didn't seem to have anything to say. "I want you to understand that I do not kill easily, it's not as if that's my first response to every crime that I see. But look around yourself!" I pointed to the walls, the floor, especially the altar. "These monsters were responsible for so many deaths! And if they hadn't been stopped, who knows how many more would have died at their hands?!"

"That doesn't mean you have the right to take their lives into your own hands." Phenix growled, almost under his breath.

"Then answer me. What would you have done?"

-PHENIX-

"I don't know." I mumbled. North was right. I didn't have a plan. Not one that would stop them for good at any rate.

"Then hold your tongue." North growled, turning his back on me.

I didn't know how I could refute him. I thought that if I came up with something, I could make him see how I felt, but maybe he was right. I don't know, I don't have all the answers, I wish I did. I guess I could've fought him, but that thought was completely ludicrous. If my ideal to protect everyone's live was more important to me than my desire to keep the peace within my clan, I wouldn't have let North kill those last two cultists.

"North, just promise me one thing." I walked down to where North was standing before speaking. North looked back at me, waiting for me to continue. "Promise me that you'll at least let me try to make peace from now on. That you won't resort to violence unless we have no other options."

North contemplated it for a moment and then took a deep breath.

"That is always my policy, Phenix." He sighed.

"I still think we could've talked them down." I said, looking at North with a concerned frown.

"Do you?" North scoffed. "Do you really think they would have listened to us? What would you have even said?"

"I don't know." I sighed bitterly. "But I believe that we at least need to try_peace before resorting to violence. I realize that I was a bit quick to attack them myself, but I needed to save Elin and I didn't _kill them."

North took a deep breath and held his cross necklace to his chest.

"Fair enough, my friend." He sighed, giving me a weary smile.

Friend? Yeah, that sounded right. North was my friend, hell, one of my _only_friends. I didn't want things to fall apart between us, but between what I saw today and our fight over Elin the day before, I started to wonder if I could really trust him. But honestly, whether I could or not didn't matter. He was a part of my clan, and that was that. I don't turn my back on my own.

"Are you two gonna kiss and make up?" An orange Fionbri sarcastically remarked from the other side of the room, sticking out his tongue. Behind him were Lilac, Elin and a sky blue Fionbri boy I didn't recognize.

"You guys totally should!" Elin said, jumping excitedly. She still hadn't clothed herself, so watching her bounce up and down was... distracting, to say the least.

"What do you think, North?" I stepped up to North and grabbed his shoulder, leaning in close to his face and making him blush. "It'll make the lady happy." I smirked and licked my lips. I could be a bit of tease when I wanted and I could see Elin out of the corner of my eye, looking on eagerly.

"Anyway." North pushed me away, wisely ignoring both me and Elin, much to her disappointment. "We should probably leave now, before things get worse around here."

"How on earth could things get worse at this point?" Lilac bemoaned.

"The Nichts that are caged up in the next room could get loose and attack!" Elin exclaimed cheerily.

The whole room was silent for a moment as everyone just stared at Elin, who looked bewildered why we would all be looking at her.

"What?" Lilac flatly said.

"The Nichts that the mean cultist guys summoned." Elin explained. "That's why they were sacrificing people, to summon those things."

"That..." Lilac was holding herself and started shivering. "That's horrible!"

"Yup, but a lot of the sacrifices didn't pan out." Elin was disturbingly calm as she explained these things to us, still having the same perky smile and tone of voice as always. I'm not sure what exactly it was, but clearly something was lodged loose in her brain at some point. "The whole time I was in captivity, they must've sacrificed at least like five or six people, and only one Nichts was made! And that's not even counting the people who died in the cells cuz of malnutrition or suicide."

"Ok, I think we'd best step away from the crazy girl." The orange Fionbri grabbed Lilac's shoulders and gently pulled her away from Elin, grabbing the blue one's wrist and pulling him away as well.

"Where are these Nichts now?" North said sternly, drawing his sword again.

"They have 'em in a big ol' pit back there." Elin pointed to her left, to a relatively small but ornate door that was just barely opened, it must've been where the cult leader escaped to.

"How many of you can fight?" North asked the others as he headed for the door.

Lilac and the orange man both raised their hands, North instructing them to collect weapons from the fallen cultists and then taking Elin and the blue Fionbri aside to give them instructions.

"Elin, take Tel and go through that door." North pointed toward the door that he had come through. "You should find Vatra waiting in the bar that's at the end of the hall, up the ladder."

"I'll go get her and come back." Elin nodded, saluting.

"Atta girl." North playfully tussled her hair and sent her on her way, Tel following behind her. "You coming, Phenix?" I was still standing at the foot of the steps leading to the altar.

I nodded and ran up to join North's group, drawing my sword.

I hadn't ever told anyone before, but this was not the first time I would do battle with the Nichts, and I knew from experience that my sword was more effective against them than ordinary weapons for whatever reason. They were going to need my help, and I had no qualms about destroying those monsters.

We went through the fancy door and through another hallway, briefly introducing ourselves to our new comrades before finally reaching a room with a giant pit in the center. The room was less decorated than the orange room, having simple dirt walls and ceiling. There was far less blood in this place as well but it still smelled absolutely horrendous, like rotten meat and shit, the trademark stench of the Nichts. From the pit came loud sounds, the gnashing of teeth, clawing against stone and demonic roars and yelps that were unnatural and pierced right through my ears.

North motioned for the three of us to stay back before inching up to the pit and looking down, being wary of any demon that might try and jump at him.

"There appear to be four down there." He said. "None of them seem to be able to get up here."

As he said that though we could see one of the creatures crawling up out of the pit, a disgusting, pus oozing, eyeless brown monster, two mouths full of sharp teeth and barely being at waist height. North could hear the monster behind him and turned around, blasting it with a gust of wind that barely fazed the creature.

I used my own magic, pointing my sword in its direction and releasing a burst of flame. The demon's tortured screams as it burned and fell back into the pit were nearly unbearable.

"Alright, Lilac and Aiden, stay back." North commanded. "Phenix, come with me."

I followed North up to the pit and watched as my flames spread to the other three creatures, I briefly felt relieved, thinking this fight would be far easier than I'd originally imagined. Then one of the creatures, still burning with red flame, revealed its insectoid wings and flew out of the pit.

North blasted another gust of wind at it, much stronger than the last one, sending it flying into a wall. The creature again was seemingly unfazed, and the first Nichts started climbing back up the pit. All four demons were letting out piercing cries of agony as they continued to burn, their leathery flesh boiling visibly, but they continued to move as if they couldn't even feel it.

As the insect demon flew at me and North for another attack, it was shot at by a bolt of orange lightning that ripped right through the monster, tearing it in two. North and I turned around for a brief moment to see Aiden crouching on the ground in front of a glowing rune, smiling at his success.

The first Nichts managed to crawl out of the pit again, swiping at me with a skeleton thin claw. I thrust my sword into one of its mouths and created a torrent of flame around the blade, incinerating the creature. The other two demons really didn't seem to have any way out of the pit.

I looked to North and gave him a plan to destroy the remaining Nichts. North created a small tornado inside the pit that consumed both of the demons, and using my own magic I lit it ablaze, making a flaming vortex that burned the two monsters to ashes, their hideous shrieks actually being music to my ears this time.

"Is that it?" Lilac started to approach, North motioning for her to stay back just in case. "Are they all gone?"

"Seems so." I breathed a sigh of relief. "Good work everyone."

"You mean 'good work Aiden and North'." Lilac sighed, putting her hand over half of her face. "Sorry I couldn't help."

"Don't worry about it." I walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder, trying to console her. "What's important is that everyone's safe." She nodded and smiled, but still seemed rather disheartened.

Suddenly there was a loud rumbling sound coming from underneath us.

Of course there would be another one, why wouldn't there be, especially after what I just said?

"What the hell is that?" Aiden put his hand down on his rune again, preparing for a fight.

As if in answer to his question, a large yellow slug-like monstrosity rose out of the pit, the force of its ascension knocking North to the ground.

"Oh." Aiden chuckled nervously, saying what I'm pretty sure all of us were thinking. "Shit."

The slug monster's size was more than twice that of the other four Nichts combined, brushing up against the ceiling. If it moved in the wrong way it could very easily have brought all of the structures directly above us on the surface crumbling down.

North got up off the ground, striking with a gust of wind, I followed suit with my flames and Aiden with his lightning. None of it affected the huge beast though. The creature let out a deafening roar that shook the room, and slammed its body into the ground, knocking the four of us away and down onto the cold stone floor with great force, the collision causing no small amount of pain.

"Phenix! The vortex!" North yelled, rising to his feet and started to summon another tornado, one that was aimed directly at the slug monster's gaping maw. Trying to ignore the pain of hitting the ground a second ago, I struggled to my feet and wreathed the whirlwind in flames as it reached the demon, but even that seemed to just glance off the monster.

"Well, we're fucked." Again, Aiden said what everyone was thinking.

The Nichts moved slowly, we could easily have outrun it, but with its earth-shaking attacks it would have brought down the whole city if it wasn't stopped. With no city to escape to, there was no point in running.

We tried to come up with a new plan as the beast approached, but suddenly it lit up in pink flames. There was no piercing shriek or deafening cry, not even a whimper out of the creature as it simply was burnt to ashes.

The four of us stood and watched the Nichts' demise with silent awe, turning around to see Lady Vatra standing behind us, Elin and Tel in tow.

"You're welcome, my friends." She said, bowing her head and wearing a satisfied smirk.

-AUGUST-

As Scarlet dragged me to the inn, Kavik merrily hopping along behind, we saw that Noble was waiting for us inside with Sylvia and Grayson, standing in the lobby.

"Ah! I'm glad to see the three of you!" Noble greeted us enthusiastically, waving his paw in the air.

"Wait, you knew there was going to be three of us?" I asked, jerking away from Scarlet's grip. Knowing Noble, it wouldn't have surprised me at all if he did.

"Well no." He chuckled. "But there are three of you there, and I'm happy to see all of you!" He beamed at us, showing his shiny white teeth.

"I'm happy to see you too!" Kavik waved back. Well not so much as 'waved' as 'flailed his arms madly'. "Random talking dog who I've never met in my life!"

"How the hell can the dog talk?" Scarlet whispered, looking to me for an answer, and receiving only silence and disappointment.

I still wasn't sure how Noble's speaking didn't seem to bother anyone else. The foyer of the inn had a few people in it and no one seemed to notice or care about the talking dog, although Kavik's yelling about it got everyone's attention and people started staring at him like he was out of his mind, which was more appropriate than any of them knew. Both Kavik and Scarlet could hear him though, so I briefly theorized that maybe only Fionbri could hear him, but that couldn't have been right as Sylvia and Grayson had no problem interacting with him.

"Listen, all of you. I'm going to be taking the six of us out to dinner." Noble said politely. "I have already paid for a room for you August, so we'll go as soon as you all are ready."

"Wait, the six of us?" I was going to state a point...

"Woohoo!" ...before Kavik interrupted. "But hey, we're gonna need three rooms, man." Kavik pointed at himself and Scarlet, apparently he was part of our little group now.

Although I wondered for a moment about Sylvia and Grayson, were they not going to need a room? Did they already have one? I had assumed that they were permanent additions to Noble's expedition, but I was beginning to realize I didn't have any actual proof of that.

"Of course." Noble bowed his little head. "I will make reservations for the two of you immediately."

Kavik gave me a thumbs up and a satisfied grin, because of course he would do just that.

"Two rooms." Scarlet held up her middle and index fingers. "I'm rooming with my brother." She put her arm around me, smiling suggestively at me and making me slightly embarrassed.

"Are you alright with that, August?" Noble grinned at me teasingly.

"Yeah." I sighed, walking away from Scarlet. Being so close to her, I started to feel... well let's just say it's not a reaction I wanted to have to my big sister.

"Fantastic." Noble smiled. "Let Sylvia take you to the restaurant, Grayson and I shall meet up with you there. But before then, Sylvia will take you three to get dressed."

"Dressed?" Scarlet asked with barely veiled enthusiasm. She liked to play dress up.

"We're going to a nice place." Grayson said, his voice very polite and reserved. "You'll have to look the part." He smiled serenely.

I wasn't really pleased about it, I didn't like getting dressed up or going to places that required it, but I saw the joy on Scarlet's face and I couldn't deny her the chance to go somewhere actually nice instead of the shitholes that she usually ate at due to her dismal pay.

"The dressing rooms are this way." Sylvia led Scarlet and I to two rooms off to the side of the foyer. "There are only two, so you'll have to wait, I'm afraid." She said to Kavik, bowing politely. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Kavik shrugged it off. He didn't look the type to take fine dining or elegant dressing, or anything, all that seriously anyway.

"Look dapper!" Scarlet giggled, before she kissed my cheek and slid inside her dressing room.

I went into my own without a word, rubbing my cheek. Inside were a few racks of clothes, many suits and nice dress shirts and the like, all formal wear of course. I wondered for a moment why this inn even had this room, but after a second's contemplation I realized I didn't care.

I very rarely dressed formally, and it had been a couple years since I'd done it at all, so I was rather uncomfortable looking for an outfit. I looked through the racks of clothes trying to find something that I wouldn't look completely ridiculous in, but everything I saw looked more flamboyant and nonsensical than the last.

I considered giving up entirely, just going to the restaurant in my street clothes or staying in my room while the rest of them left, asking that they bring me back something to eat. But then I realized I was bitching over goddamn clothes and I needed to stop being such a fucking crybaby.

I finally settled on a rather plain looking old suit, something a stereotypical 'gentleman' might wear, and I have to admit I picked it out mostly because the outfit came with a fedora and those kick all kinds of ass. I changed and exited the dressing room, mentally preparing myself for the ridicule I was sure I'd receive.

"Ooh, you look really great." Sylvia said cheerfully. Despite her praises, I still felt like a jackass. "Scarlet's waiting for you outside, ok?"

I nodded, not feeling comfortable enough with Sylvia to speak to her directly or even look her in the eye.

"Great. Me and Kavik will join you shortly. Wait for us, alright?" Sylvia smiled at me and winked, slipping into the dressing room herself. I blushed a little, thinking about how great Sylvia was for not getting on my case about my weird people issues.

As I walked outside, thankfully avoiding Noble and Grayson on my way out, I saw Scarlet standing in front of the inn waiting and my jaw nearly dropped to the floor. She was wearing a stunning black dress, elegant but sensual and flirtatious. It fit her to a T.

"You look..." I tried to get some words out, but stumbled over them, unable to think of anything to do her beauty justice.

She came towards me and kissed me on the cheek again. "You look ellipses too." She smiled at me.

We waited for about five minutes for Kavik and Sylvia in complete silence. I was really uncomfortable, not just about the clothes but also about how damn hot she looked. Scarlet seemed to notice and took quite a bit of enjoyment from it, standing right up next to me and occasionally touching the back of my neck, rubbing my shoulder or holding my hand before I would jerk away from her out of embarrassment and she'd laugh.

Despite my protests, I didn't really mind her teasing me. I was so happy to see her again, and especially seeing her being so playful and cheerful. It reminded me of when we were younger and we'd play together. Even when we were kids, she always enjoyed making people uncomfortable and teasing people. I even remember her flirting with people, with adults no less, when she was eleven. I'm not sure how she learned about sex so quickly but I could fathom a guess and I really didn't want to pursue that disturbing thought train.

Sylvia and Kavik finally came out of the inn, leaving the building together and chatting like they were old friends. Sylvia was wearing a slender, form fitting blue-green cocktail dress and Kavik, who cleaned up surprisingly well, wore a traditional contemporary suit.

"Damn, Scar." Kavik eyed Scarlet up and down, practically drooling all over the goddamn floor. "You look frickin' sexy!" Kavik beamed, clearly aware of how ridiculous he sounded.

"Why thank you." Scarlet replied, stepping in front of Kavik and tracing a finger along the side of his neck up to the bottom of his muzzle. He seemed to appreciate it. "You look pretty sexy yourself, Kav." Not sure what the hell is up with the pet names, but whatever.

"Are you both ready to leave?" Sylvia smiled sweetly at Scarlet and I, holding her arms down in front of her in a very ladylike pose.

"Oh god yes." I growled, glaring at Kavik, who just looked back at me with a faux-innocent smile. I sighed and then stepped aside, motioning for Sylvia and Kavik to move ahead of me. "Lead the way."

Sylvia held her arm out to Kavik, who happily took locked arms with her. The two of them lead the way to the restaurant with Scarlet and I staying a reasonable distance behind them, partly to keep Kavik from hitting on Scarlet anymore, although I'm sure she was rather liking it, as she often does, it was pissing me off, but also because I honestly had no idea where we were going.

Kavik and Sylvia were still happily chatting with each other. The two seemed to get along quite well. Scarlet, walking beside me, decided to put her arm around mine, as if she were trying to act as my date to the restaurant.

"What are you doing, Scarlet?" I asked, but I didn't try to pull away.

"This is how a proper gentleman escorts a lady." She smiled at me innocently, and I couldn't say no to that.

Even if I could, I liked having her on my arm. Not only did I enjoy the touch of her soft, warm fur, but I liked feeling like an actual man for once. A few people looked at us as we walked through the city, they assumed that she was with me, and having a woman as beautiful as Scarlet as my companion made me look to them like a very strong or successful man.

As shameful as it may have been, men tended to be judged by the women they escorted, the women being more like a valuable accessory than a person. The more beautiful the woman, the more respected the man. And there were few, if any, women in the world more beautiful than Scarlet, especially that night. At the very least, I definitely detected some bitterness and jealousy from some of the younger men we passed by, and that alone made my night.

We went into the restaurant and were seated at a large table near the corner of the building, my preferred place to sit. The waitress brought the four of us drinks, although Scarlet asked for a non-alcoholic beverage for me, despite my protests.

"This is nice." Kavik looked around the restaurant and smiled widely. "I haven't eaten like this in too long."

He was right of course. We were in a very high-end establishment. Scarlet and I would never have been able to eat here if it weren't for Noble, and I noticed that Scarlet was actually mildly uncomfortable being in a place as fancy as this, shifting around in her seat. I tried to comfort her by putting my hand on her shoulder and it seemed to calm her down.

"Oh, so you've eaten like this before, sir Kavik?" Sylvia was seated next to Kavik, with an empty chair on her other side for Grayson to sit. "You told me you didn't even have a place to stay."

"Like I said, it's been a long time." Kavik shrugged, obviously trying to dodge the question.

"How about you two?" Sylvia smiled at me and Scarlet. "Have you eaten at a place like this? I'll admit I've only been once or twice in the past."

"Nope!" Scarlet took a drink from her wine glass as if she were taking a shot. "Me and Auggy are as ghetto as they come! We're basically like hobos." She grinned, trying to mask her anxiety.

I put my face in my hand as Scarlet spoke, she was obviously getting very nervous and the alcohol she was about to ingest wasn't going to do anything to help matters.

"Well yer some pretty fancy ass hobos." Kavik took to Scarlet's method of drinking. This was not going to end well. "Gotta give ya that!" He raised his glass, Scarlet enthusiastically banging her glass into it. Sylvia seemed rather amused by the whole spectacle, but all I could do was put my face into my hand and shake my head.

I was actually rather relieved to see Grayson and Noble approach the table, and then slightly amused to see Noble was wearing a tiny suit.

"Well aren't you just precious?" Scarlet, by this point already somewhat tipsy, noticed the suit as well.

"I'm afraid I might just be." Noble smiled at her bashfully.

"Did I keep you waiting long, my dear?" Grayson took his seat next to his lady, the two sharing a short, passionate kiss as he sat down.

"Not at all, my love." She answered, putting her hand on his knee.

It was actually rather sweet to see two people who actually seemed to be in a _happy_relationship, but it made me rather jealous, even if I didn't want to admit it. Scarlet seemed very bemused at the pair's obvious affection for one another, glaring at them with her head on the table, and it seemed Kavik couldn't have cared less, simply enamored by his alcohol and calling out to the waiter for a refill.

"I am glad that we are all here." Noble put his front paws on the table, something you'd think would be frowned upon in this sort of place, but maybe his adorable little suit convinced the staff to look the other way. "May I propose a toast?"

"I'll drink to that!" Scarlet took another swig of her rapidly diminishing wine.

"Smae here!" As did Kavik.

"What do you propose, Master Noble?" Sylvia wisely ignored the two.

"Simple." Noble smiled. "To a brief moment of respite."

"Hell yeah I'll trink to that shit!" Kavik grinned, raising his glass.

"Same here." Scarlet weakly raised her own glass, laying her head on the table. I gently pet her hair for a moment to comfort her.

I was hoping Noble meant 'brief' in a relative sense, but I figured I'd take what I could get. Without a word, I raised my glass, the rest of the party following suit. Except for Noble, because he doesn't have thumbs.

-LILAC-

"Vatra, how the hell did you do that?!" Aiden looked at Vatra in shock and I was certainly surprised as well. Who knew the little pink dog could make frickin infernos?

"Aiden, you've seen me use magic before." Vatra smiled innocently at him. Aiden gave her a bemused look back but, perhaps wisely, decided not to argue with her.

"I'm glad you're all here." Vatra said, smiling brightly. "Now I know this might be a bit sudden, but I believe we should leave the city and head to our next, and last, destination as soon as possible."

"Already?" I sighed tensely, lightly tugging on my hair. "Listen, maybe it's just me, but I don't even know what the hell's going on here! I mean, this is the first time you've actually spoken to me!" I scowled at her.

"Ah, yes." Vatra looked down at the ground ashamedly. "I'm sorry about that, I was... no, I shouldn't make excuses. I apologize, Lilac." Vatra bowed. I was a little surprised she apologized so easily and that she really seemed to mean it, so of course I accepted it.

"Now, I'm willing to shed some light on matters if need be." Vatra said, regaining her prim demeanor. "How many of you have questions you'd like to ask me?" The entire group raised their hands, Elin and Tel walking away from Vatra and over beside us. "Ok..." Vatra sighed exasperatedly. "We really don't have time for all those questions, but I'll take one question from either group, sound good?"

I wondered for a moment why we were suddenly in such a hurry, but asking that would've been a waste of my group's question so I let it go.

Our two groups huddled together for a moment, again wisely deciding not to argue with Vatra, and after a moment, North was the first to speak up.

"Vatra, you knew this place was here." He said.

"That's not a question, North." Vatra smiled sweetly.

"Fair enough." North chuckled. "But why didn't you just tell us about it when we arrived in the city? We could've acted faster if we had known."

"I needed you to find it on your own." Vatra took a deep breath. "And before any of you bitch at me, let me tell you why. There's a lot going on that none of you known about, that nobody really knows about. Do you think I just plucked all of you out of your homes and lives and what not on a whim? Of course not. There is something extremely important that I've gathered you all together for, and I needed to make sure that you can actually handle it. If you couldn't find this place on your own, and let's face it, the cultists didn't exactly do an immaculate job at keeping themselves hidden, then recruiting any of you in the first place was a waste of time."

"But if you hadn't been sitting in the bar in just the right spot, I would never have found this place." North argued.

"Once Elin got captured I needed to nudge things along." Vatra explained. "And before any of you gripe at me about that, there was no way I was going to let her be hurt. I was watching over her."

"You still could've sprung me out, though." Elin grumbled, crossing her arms.

"And then what, burned all the cultists to death with my magic?" Vatra scoffed. "Then this whole exercise would have been worthless."

"Well what about all the people who died while Elin was in captivity?!" Phenix barked, stepping ahead of North and glaring at Vatra. "We could've saved them!"

"Even if their bodies were still alive, those people were long since dead, Phenix." Vatra shook her head somberly.

Phenix obviously didn't like that answer, clenching his fists and gritting his teeth in anger, and I wasn't sure if he was angry at Vatra or the cultists. North put his hand on Phenix's shoulder and asked him to take a deep breath. Phenix complied and seemed to relax, and then put his hand over North's.

"So why exactly did you recruit all of us anyway?" Aiden asked.

"That, Aiden, is an excellent question." Vatra's compliment made Aiden smile. "One that I will gladly answer once we've reached our next destination." Pretty much the whole group took umbrage with that answer, Elin even grabbing a few pebbles off the ground and throwing them at Vatra.

"What the hell, I thought you were going to answer our questions!" Aiden said irritably.

"Listen everyone." Vatra looked sternly at the whole group, commanding our full attention. "The reason I can't give you that information now is because even still our group isn't fully complete. There's still one man missing, and I would like to explain the specifics of the mission to all of you at once."

"So why should any of us even go with you at this point?" Aiden sneered. "You're asking us to really go out on a limb here and you're not giving us any information to work with."

"I just need you all to have a little faith in me." Vatra said, closing her eyes.

"But faith isn't about just putting your trust in some mysterious force, no questions asked, and just hoping really hard that it works out for you!" I argued, stepping in front of the group instinctively. "You need to give us something to work off of so that we can have faith in you, otherwise we're just blindly following you around like puppets!"

Vatra opened her eyes and looked at me incredulously. I hadn't meant to go on a rant or anything, and no one was saying anything else so I started to feel somewhat self-conscious. I stepped back bashfully before Aiden grabbed me on the shoulder. I turned around to look at him and he nodded at me and grinned before lightly pushing me forward again, making me feel much more confident. After a brief moment, Vatra sighed wearily.

"You raise a fair point, Lilac." She said. "I really can't tell you everything right now, but I will tell you all what the mission is. Will that suffice for now?" The group looked around at each other briefly before nodding collectively. "You're all going to end the Nichts plague." Vatra spoke her completely ludicrous statement so matter-of-factly that I honestly couldn't tell if she was being serious.

There was a moment of silence as we all tried to wrap our minds around what Vatra had just told us.

"I'm sorry, what?" Aiden asked, running his hand through his hair agitatedly.

"That's a pretty tall order, don't you think?" Tel added, sounding completely bewildered.

"Yes, but I have faith in all of you." Vatra replied, smiling. It was like she didn't even hear what she just said. "And I have faith in my instincts that picked you all out."

"How is that even possible, though?" Phenix said, slapping his forehead. "The Nichts have been around for thirty years. Even the forming of the Disciples have only put a dent in their presence! How can the six of us, or seven I guess, even hope to stand a chance at stopping them?!"

"Phenix, all things are possible through faith." North said.

"I'm not having the fucking god argument with you again, North." Phenix growled.

"I'm not just talking about God though, Phenix." North replied. "You can have faith in people, like family and friends, or yourself or a lover. Or in things, like one's talents, skills or tools. I know that having faith, in my case in God and in myself, makes it possible for me to do things I could never have even hoped to do without it."

"So what, the harder I believe in something, the more 'powerful' it is?" Phenix asked mockingly.

"That's right." North smiled, seemingly unaware that Phenix thought he was completely nuts.

"North, that's...." Phenix sighed, putting his hand over his face. "That sounds crazy. I don't think that life works that way."

"Phenix, people have done impossible things simply because they believed that they could do it." North said. Phenix just sighed, shook his head and stopped talking.

While Phenix may not have been convinced, North's words resonated with me quite strongly. I was the only member of my family to believe in God, and my father outright mocked that belief. But I still held it in my heart, even if I didn't tell anyone about it, and that belief was my primary source of comfort through all the things I'd been through in my life.

Whenever I felt worthless or depressed or whatever, I'd turn to God and He would make things better somehow. I didn't even know how it happened, sometimes nothing would appear different on the outside and yet I would still feel better inside.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, North." Vatra said, grinning ear to ear. "Now I'm afraid that's all I can give you right now, but I promise that everything will be explained once we reach St. Augustine. However, if you don't want to join me, I can easily transport you back home."

"And that's it?" Aiden asked. "You'll just leave us be?"

"I will." Vatra nodded. "If any of you don't want to be a part of this anymore, you can go home right now and no one will speak even one more word to you about it. Otherwise, let us head out to St. Augustine. And if any of you don't like the terms of the mission once you're fully informed, you will have the option to leave then as well. We're nothing if not fair."

"So really, we can just leave whenever we want?" Phenix asked, Vatra nodding in return. Phenix was quiet for a moment before he sighed and shook his head. "Well I'm not leaving. I may have a hard time with some of the things you're saying, but I know that being here is the right thing for me to do."

"I'm staying as well." North said, putting his hand over his heart. "There's no way I'm going to turn back now."

"Me too!" Elin excitedly added, jumping between the two guys and grabbing both their hands. "I'm not abandoning all my friends no matter what!"

"Count me in too!" Tel said, hopping up beside the others and raising his fist into the air. "A hero doesn't back down just because things get difficult!"

"I'd like to go too." Aiden turned to me and smiled, extending his hand. "If you're going, that is."

"I, um..." I blushed and smiled back demurely. I already knew that if I could take care of the rest of these guys who seemed so nice, then I needed to do that. And I believed that I could take good care of them, so I already decided to go, but hearing Aiden say that he'd go if I did made me so happy inside. "Count me in." I said joyfully, taking Aiden's hand.

"Good, then let's get the hell out of here." Vatra sighed in relief.

"Nope, not yet." Aiden's words caused Vatra to twitch and she glared up at him, looking like she was going to pop a blood vessel. "I want Piera to know about these cultists or whatever before we leave."

"Aiden, she'll find out soon enough. Trust me." Vatra sounded annoyed but slightly afraid while she spoke, which put me somewhat on edge. I wondered if there was something more she wasn't telling us.

"Maybe, but I'd like to tell her myself if that's okay." Aiden shrugged, clearly not giving a shit what Vatra thought.

"Aiden, we don't have time for you to go sleep with her." Tel groaned, shooting Aiden a vexed glance.

"That's not why!" Aiden yelled, lightly smacking the poor boy upside the head. "I just think she deserves to know before everyone else finds out, that's all."

"Fine." Vatra sighed gravely, clearly distressed. "You have twenty minutes, after that I will come and retrieve you. Understood?"

"That's more than enough time!" Aiden said excitedly, grinning. After that he was off like a shot, quickly heading to the manor where Piera lived.

"Vatra, why are you in such a hurry to leave?" I was starting to get anxious myself. Vatra was acting fairly suspicious and Aiden just bolting like that really bothered me, especially since I agreed with Vatra that Aiden shouldn't have gone to her. Something about Piera really rubbed me the wrong way, I just didn't like her for some reason.

"General Ferro is on his way to the city." Vatra said coldly. "He has recently been made aware of the cultists in Caldera and he is not happy about it. For obvious reasons, I'd like to be far away from here before he arrives."

Hearing that name sent a shiver down my spine and the others didn't seem to feel much better about it. Ferro was the head of the Disciples of Strength, a notoriously ruthless soldier who reveled in killing. The only thing that rivaled his prowess on the battlefield was his devotion to his home. If he heard that cultists were murdering his city's people, there was going to be a massacre.

"I say we go right now then!" Elin said frantically, waving her arms about wildly and clearly beginning to sweat. "I don't want to still be here when he gets here either!"

Elin sounded desperate to leave all of a sudden so I wondered if she'd seen the man before, I'd only ever heard stories. My dad, who was a notoriously violent fighter himself, always said that Ferro's brutality was unbelievable if you hadn't seen it firsthand, that he was capable of causing more destruction than the Nichts he fought.

Dad told me that if it weren't for Ferro's loyalty to the commander of the Disciples of Reason and to Humanitas, the supreme commander of all the Disciples, Ferro would likely have gone off on a violent rampage into the Ravaged Lands, destroying everything in his path.

"Don't worry, Elin." Vatra said soothingly. "He's still quite a ways off, we'll be long gone by the time he's here."

"Okay, I guess." Elin sighed, rubbing her arms nervously. North and Phenix inched closer to her, Phenix rubbing her back and North tussling her hair, to calm her down. Judging by her giggling and hugging, it seemed to work quite well.

"Now everyone gather around me." Vatra said, closing her eyes.

We all did as she asked, because we all learned by this point just to do what she says, and once everyone was standing around her a bright pink circle of light, a sun symbol in its frame, appeared on the ground around us. In a sudden flash of pink light, we were transported instantly to the cart stop.

-AIDEN-

I knocked on the door to Piera's manor and waited for her to answer. I was somewhat anxious, I didn't like being on a time limit. She opened the door wearing a long black dress, one with a generously, and distractingly I might add, plunging neckline. As I saw her, my stomach was suddenly in knots. I chalked it up to her enormous beauty, but something still didn't sit right with me.

"Oh, hello." She said, giving me an inviting smile. It looked like she was headed somewhere, probably somewhere important given the elegance of her attire and I didn't want to stall her, but I figured I would only take a moment of her time. "How can I help you?"

"I found the source of the disappearances." I told her, trying to ignore that uneasy feeling.

"You- you did?" Something in her voice sounded off as well, she almost sounded disappointed. "Please, come in." She stepped inside and beckoned for me to follow, her movements incredibly graceful and smooth.

I knew I had no business coming inside, but I couldn't resist. It's hard to say no when a woman invites you into their home, especially one as gorgeous as her.

"What did you find out?" She asked, leading me to the sitting area and looking at me with a gleam in her eye and a smile on her face. She had an enchanting, dark beauty about her tonight, a far cry from the shy maid I met this afternoon.

"There was a group of cultists under the refugee settlement." I took a seat in one of her fancy chairs as she went to the kitchen to get drinks. "They kidnapped people from the city to sacrifice for..." I stopped myself short. Telling her that they were summoning Nichts would have been a terrible idea, it would've just panicked her and that's the last thing I wanted. "For some sort of odd, pointless religious ritual. We think most of them are dead, but the leader escaped."

"I see." Piera came back from the kitchen with drinks and a cleaning rag. She sat in a chair across from mine, separated only by a very small glass table. "And where are your friends?"

"They're leaving." I took a sip of my drink, tea I think. I didn't really like tea, but it felt relaxing on my frazzled nerves. "I'm leaving too, I just wanted to see you one more time."

"And why is that?" She put her hands on her knees and leaned slightly forward, a cute, innocent smile on her face. She was giving me very telltale signs that she wanted me, which was somewhat infuriating since I had to leave town in about ten minutes, not nearly long enough to properly enjoy a woman like her.

"I think you're beautiful, and I would like to get to know you better." I returned her smile, resting my head in my hand and putting my elbow on the arm of the chair.

She didn't say anything, just came over to me, sat on my lap and kissed me, still holding onto the cleaning rag, which I found slightly odd but didn't pay it much mind.

She was a surprisingly forceful kisser, and somewhat aggressive too. It was not what I expected from the demure girl but I suppose it made sense if she didn't get out much, which was likely the case. It took me by surprise, but I quite liked it.

"Thank you." She arose from the chair and stood behind it, putting her arm around the chair and onto my chest. "Good night." She pressed the rag up against my mouth and nose. I tried to struggle but felt tired and weak, I think the drink she gave me must have been drugged.

Before long, I blacked out.

-NORTH-

The cart stop in Caldera was enormous, at least compared to the one near Gnosis. Even in the middle of the night, people were coming and going, or sending messages, supplies or what have you to various cities and towns. It was an interesting sight to see, and it made me wonder why Caldera was such a popular city, especially given its proximity to the Ravaged Lands and the presence of the universally feared Disciples of Strength.

We had been waiting at the cart stop for over fifteen minutes, Tel and the girls sitting inside the cart while Phenix and I stood watch, for Aiden to meet us there before Vatra left to retrieve him. After a few more minutes passed, she came back seemingly empty handed.

"Where's Aiden?" Lilac poked her head outside the cart upon hearing Vatra's return, but she sounded concerned when she didn't see Aiden.

"He wasn't at the manor." Vatra sounded on edge as well. "I suspect he may be in danger."

"How do you know?" Tel asked, the worry starting to get to him as well.

"Instinct." Vatra stated calmly. "I just know."

"Well we gotta find him!" Elin, now clothed again after the incident in the orange room, jumped out of the cart and was starting to panic, Phenix put his hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down. "He's one of us now!"

"Elin is right." Phenix stepped forward, Elin grabbing his hand. "We've got to take care of him."

"I know, but we can't be sure where he is." Vatra sighed, clearly trying to keep calm and not doing particularly well.

"How can you not know?!" Lilac snapped, banging her hand on the cart's lip. "Aren't you supposed to know everything?!"

"That's not a claim I have ever made." Vatra growled and coiled back, Lilac's tension wasn't helping matters.

"Well then where do we start?" Phenix was keeping remarkably calm and focused, I was quite proud of him.

"The orange room?" I suggested.

"Close." Vatra sounded as if she had just come to a realization. "The refugee settlement."

"Are you sure?" Phenix asked, his voice relaxed but serious.

"Yes." Vatra nodded, staring Phenix in the eye.

"That's good enough for me." I said. I was quite familiar with the sensation Vatra described, to know something without knowing how.

"I agree." Phenix nodded to me and stepped toward Vatra. "North, Vatra and I will head there, the rest of you stay put."

"I want to go too." Lilac started to climb out of the cart, but I put my arm in front of her to keep her back.

"If Aiden is in danger, we can't risk letting a lady get hurt." Phenix's voice suddenly became only slightly more than a whimper. I suspected it had to do with the lady.

"A lady? What difference does that make?" Lilac barked. It sounded like that was a touchy issue with her.

"N-nothing!" Phenix stumbled backwards a few steps. "It's just that-"

"-that only Phenix and I can use magic." I stepped into the pointless argument that was brewing, we didn't have time for it. "The rest of you won't be able to defend yourself from demons."

Lilac gave a begrudging sigh of acceptance.

"I will teach you when we return." I took her by the hand as I spoke.

"Yeah, alright." She seemed to perk up a bit.

"Me too!" Elin hopped excitedly, grabbing both our hands.

"Of course, Elin. You too." I smiled and ruffled her hair, Elin giggling in response. "Now we have to go."

"We'll stay here in case Aiden comes back!" Tel gave a salute. As I walked toward Phenix and Vatra, I returned the gesture.

Phenix and I stood on either side of Vatra and she summoned the pink circle with the sun symbol in it from before. In a flash of pink light, we were gone.

-AUGUST-

Our room at the inn was on the second floor, and I had to carry Scarlet up the stairs, since by this point she was too drunk to walk up them. I somehow managed to get in the door by handling the keys with my incredibly dexterous feet and set Scarlet down on one of the beds.

"So now are you going to ravish me?" She whispered, batting her paw at the air, and I really hoped that was the alcohol talking.

"Go to sleep, Scarlet." I sighed, grabbing a blanket to cover her.

"I can't sleep like this!" She sprung off the bed, stumbling forward and almost falling over before I caught her. "I need sleepy time clothes!"

"Yeah, okay. Pretty sure you can find a robe in the bathroom." I took my coat and hat off and lied down on the bed while Scarlet went into the bathroom to change. I thought about changing back into my street clothes but I was too tired, I'd do it in the morning. I considered just keeping the hat though.

It had been a long day, my mind boggled when I reminded myself that I only woke up at sunset. I saw Scarlet for the first time in too long, and she hadn't changed at all on the surface. She did seem a lot more relaxed though, not quite as high strung as she used to be, which I thought was good for her.

I met Kavik too, which was... interesting. Despite every fiber of my being desperately wanting_to hate him, I just couldn't. Thinking back on some of his antics, I couldn't help but laugh. And he honestly seemed to like me a bit, which is something that _never happened.

Noble said we would leave for our next destination as soon as I was ready to go, and that I was free to stay for literally as long as I wanted. I thought about it, thought about maybe just staying here in Balmora for a while. I'd get to be with Scarlet every day, and I would be able to eat good food and this inn Noble put us up in was a nice place as well. Everything here was better than what I had back in Dalo, did I really just want to give it all up so easily?

Damn it all, I did indeed. I kinda hated myself for thinking it, but this place was 'just' good and my soul demanded greatness. Which was bullshit. I come from Dalo of all goddamn places, what claim did I have to greatness? What right did I have to greatness?

Fuck it, I dunno. But I have to try. I cannot _ _settle for mediocrity. I let out a harsh, audible sigh, covering my face with my hands like I was trying to scratch out my own eyeballs, which I had half a mind to do. No use arguing with myself, I guess. But one thing I was certain about, I wasn't leaving Scarlet behind this time.

As those thoughts entered my mind, Scarlet came out of the bathroom wearing a silk, black nightgown. It was far too short and showed off far too much of her generous cleavage for her to be wearing it around her brother.

"S-Scarlet?" I jumped up and scurried to the back of my bed, against the wall. I was starting to feel really hot. Like temperature hot, not sexy hot!

"Yes, dear?" She leaned against the side of the doorway and I couldn't tell if that was because she was teasing me or because she lost her balance.

Scarlet had been acting oddly ever since we ran into each other, being oddly, uncomfortably flirty with me. It wasn't unusual for Scarlet to flirt, even with me. She always used to like to tease my childish hormones with her developing body when we were younger. But she used to know where the line was, when to stop, and tonight she just kept going. I was starting to feel really uncomfortable with her, but more to the point I was starting to feel uncomfortable with myself.

"Where did you even get that?" I asked, incensed. I mean exacerbated!

"I had Noble send a few of the things from my dressing room up here before we left." She smiled and walked closer to me. Even when drunk she knew how to pull off an alluring gait. "Do you like it?" She put her hands on the corner of the bed, giving me quite an eyeful of her... um... yeah actually I don't think I really want to think up a 'clever' euphemism for my sister's breasts.

She crawled up onto my bed, coming closer to me and putting her hands on my knees.

"It's uh..." I couldn't think of anything I could say that would make this moment less uncomfortable. "Scarlet, you're drunk."

"Yeah, but what man wouldn't want to have a drunk woman in their bed with them?" She started lightly scratching my knee with one finger.

"A proper gentleman?" I figured my ironic callback would be lost on her, but sarcasm was my foremost defense. "Also that drunk woman's brother." I flatly said.

"I suppose you're right." She took her hands off me and sat up with her arms crossed. "We are siblings after all. This kind of behavior is 'improper'."

She smiled teasingly at me. I honestly couldn't tell if it was the alcohol that was causing her strange behavior, her natural affinity for teasing or... something else.

NO NO NO NO NO. You're her brother , August. You don't get to think those things! What the fuck is your problem?! "Scarlet, what's gotten in to you?" I figured I may as well ask, although being direct was not something I was very good at with her. "You've been acting strange all night."

"I dunno. I guess it's just because..." She put her finger to her lips as she paused, making me blush slightly. I suddenly wondered if I could learn some kind of magic that would help me control my body temperature. "... I've missed you a lot. I'm really happy to see you."

"I've missed you too." I smiled at her. Was that really all that was? "You're a good man, August." Scarlet gave me a doe-eyed look, her old signal for when she wanted a hug but was too embarrassed to ask. And how could I say no to that? I crawled up to her and wrapped my arms around her, and she began rubbing my back. "Probably the only good man I know."

"Are you talking about your father?" Even if that man was supposedly my stepfather, I didn't consider him as such. He was Scarlet's dad and that was all.

"And the men who come to me at work." She pulled away from me, tensely running her fingers through her hair. "I guess it's not a big deal, I really enjoy what I do..."

"What's wrong, Scarlet?" I could always tell when something was bothering her. Mind you, I think anyone could've told in this case.

"I guess I'm just lonely, Auggy." She put her hands down on her knees and stared right at me, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Then come with me." I put my hand on hers.

Scarlet tilted her head, looking at me with confusion for a moment before asking me to clarify.

"What the hell now?" She said.

"Join me on my journey." I held my hands out for her. "Come with me to St. Augustine, we can go together."

"I-I don't know, Auggy." She looked away from me, inching to the far corner of the bed and almost falling off.

"Why not? What's for you here?" I came a bit closer to her, trying my hardest to look her in the eye.

"I'll sleep on it." Scarlet gave me an almost sickeningly insincere smile. "Okay?"

I pulled back away from her, breathing a slow, heavy sigh of defeat.

"Okay." I said coldly.

She gave me another fake smile and slid off the bed. I knew she was just blowing me off. I knew she was scared, she didn't want to make waves in her life, but I also knew that the life she'd be leaving behind would be nothing compared to the life she could have if she just came with me.

I wanted to say something, try harder to convince her but the words just clotted in my throat. I cursed myself, and my damned inability to stand up to the women in my life.

"Auggy?" Scarlet bent over the bed and put her hands on it, putting her large breasts directly in my line of sight. "Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

Whenever Scarlet or I had a hard night as kids, and that was depressingly often, we would sleep in the same bed, keeping each other company, keeping each other safe.

"Of course." I smiled at her, taking her cute little hand. It was a bit odd now that we weren't kids anymore, but fuck it. If sleeping in my bed would make Scarlet happy, than I was going to do that for her, no questions asked.

She slipped underneath the sheets and patted the empty space on the bed next to her, calling me over to lay down. I did just that, getting under the covers myself, and she snuggled right up next to me, I could feel her soft, warm body up against mine. I turned over and covered us with the extra blanket. I was having a difficult time trying to justify the reactions my body was having toward my sister, but part of me didn't want to justify them, just wanted to enjoy them. And I think that thought made me feel sicker than the feelings themselves.

"Good night Auggy." She said, holding me close to her and already falling asleep.

"Good night Scarlet." I whispered.

As I closed my eyes and began to fall asleep, one final thought crossed my mind.

I love you, sis.

-PHENIX-

Vatra's teleportation brought us to an alley a short distance away from the refugee settlement. She said she didn't want to risk people seeing us appearing out of nowhere since teleportation was not a common feat and her advanced magic should be kept on a 'need to know' basis.

We quickly made our way to the settlement, stopping in our tracks and looking on in shock as we arrived. The place had been all but destroyed. Buildings were crushed and burned, some even still burning, and the sounds of crackling fires and snapping wood was all around. Bodies, broken and torn apart, littered the ground and there was blood everywhere, the smell of their burning flesh making me feel like vomiting. No one, not even women and children, was spared.

The first thing that entered my mind was that whoever, or whatever, caused this atrocity needed to die, which made me feel somewhat hypocritical after giving North such a hard time about killing. I couldn't help thinking it though, staring at this horror show.

"Who the hell is responsible for this?!" My eyes began to burn with red flame as I drew my sword, my anger rising the further we walked into this wasteland of death.

I soon got my answer. Beyond the flaming buildings and piles of ravaged corpses stood a mountain of a man, standing on all fours like a beast and yet he still easily towered over North and I. He was a canine, although I couldn't tell what species, dressed head to toe in bronze armor decorated with the symbol of the Disciples of Strength.

He flashed a sickeningly satisfied grin when he saw us approach, his piercing, blood red eyes seeming to stare right through me. My instincts were telling me not to engage him and it took all I had to listen to them.

"Who the hell are you!?" I yelled, but wisely refrained from pointing my sword at him.

"Phenix," Vatra muttered from behind me, her voice quivering with fear "that's Commander Ferro, the head of the Disciples of Strength."

"You're a Disciple?!" Even though I saw the emblem proudly emblazoned on his chest, I just couldn't believe that this man, this monster, was a Disciple. I couldn't believe that any self-respecting soldier would commit this kind of brutality on their own people, the people they swore to protect.

"I am." His voice was fitting for a vicious monster, deep and gruff, like his throat was a bottomless pit of broken glass. "What is it to you, kid?" "How the hell could you turn on your own people like this!?" My stomach turned just looking at this creature. He seemed so calm, not even calm, but pleased, with this massacre.

"These people!?" Ferro rose to his feet, standing tall but hunched over. His massive size coupled with his furious anger was a truly terrifying sight to behold, even more frightening to me than the Nichts. "These people plotted against my people! They would have my beloved city destroyed , and for what!?" He paused for a moment, letting out a growl like you would hear a wild beast make. "And above that, they have wronged my family. For that there was no other option than this!"

His speech made me feel physically sick. Not just because of his insane logic or his excuses to justify his unforgivable act, but because I could hear his words coming out of my own mouth. This man represented everything that I hated and feared to become.

I simply stood there silently. I had no words to argue with him.

"Now if you'll excuse me." His face, hidden behind a steel mask, twisted into a grotesque grin, showing his bloodstained teeth. He turned around, getting back on all fours to walk away. He seemed to be far more comfortable that way than he was standing. "There is one more that needs to be dealt with."

He bolted toward the large house, the only building still standing. His speed surprised me and North, a man that size should not be that fast on his feet.

I wanted to follow him, but the man terrified me. As I stood there, panic welling up inside me, I could feel a dry, cracked red hand on my shoulder. It was cold, freezing, and yet it burned at the same time. I could hear the sound flies buzzing, drowning out the crackling of the fires all around me, and smelled the distinct odor of rotting flesh. I could taste blood in my mouth and my vision began to blur and turn red, causing me to lose my balance.

"Phenix?" North caught me before I fell to the ground, snapping me out of my trance. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." I stood back up with North's help, trying to realign my vision and catch my breath. "What do we do?"

"We need to follow him." Vatra said sternly.

"I agree." North didn't waste any time and just ran ahead of us. "We need to make sure that Aiden is safe."

Without another word, Vatra and I were off, following behind him.

Aiden was a part of my clan now, and although Ferro might have completely terrified me, that wasn't going to stop me from taking care of my own. Nothing would.

-NORTH-

I started lagging behind the others as we followed Ferro through the wreckage of the refugee settlement to quickly pray for the souls of the people who were murdered here. While I was no stranger to violence, this monster's brutality disgusted me. There was no excuse imaginable to execute children, and the gruesome ways in which these people lost their lives was heart breaking.

And for what, because of the cultists? Obviously not everyone in the settlement was a member of the cult, so why go this far? I knew the Disciples of Strength were indifferent to the refugees, but I couldn't believe they would do something like this.

I knew that Ferro far outclassed me or Phenix in physical strength and there was no use trying to fight him. Even if we could somehow managed to defeat him, all the Disciples of Strength would rally around him and overpower us. It made me sick to be so completely helpless.

We followed the beast to the large house, the one that led to the orange room. Ferro obviously knew about the room, but I wondered how he found out and how long he had known. The cultists were clearly around for some time, so why just now did Ferro take it upon himself to destroy the refugees, did he just find out, and if so how?

None of that matters right now, I need to focus on the task at hand.

Ferro knew we were following him but didn't seem to mind, thank God. When we got inside the house, we saw a small trap door, the entryway to the orange room. I had no idea how Ferro expected to fit through such a small opening, but he answered my question by using some kind of magic, without needing to draw runes, to rip the floor apart so he could jump down, the rest of us cautiously following behind.

We entered the orange room and saw an old bison man standing in front of the altar who turned around to face us. He was the chieftain of the refugee settlement and leader of the cultists, wearing the same robes as the other cultists, with a gold mask hanging from his neck. There was a slender, busty fox woman in a black dress standing beside him and a man tied to the altar, I could just barely see him, struggling weakly against his bonds, but couldn't make him out clearly, although I had a hunch I knew who it was.

"Solomon." Ferro growled at the old man. "How dare you bring my family into this insanity."

"Father, I am here by choice." The woman in the black dress spoke, trying to sound calm and steady but obviously terrified of the hulking monstrosity staring her down.

"Silence, Piera!" Ferro barked at the girl. "I will not hear another word out of you tonight, do you understand?!"

The woman stayed silent, looking at her father. The old man was equally quiet and I could tell from the look in his eyes that he knew death was upon him, I'd seen the same look many times, even once earlier that day.

"Any last words, vermin?" Ferro's quiet, guttural growls as he glared at the old man and got ready to strike were almost as frightening as his yells.

The old man said nothing, evidently wishing to face death with some measure of dignity. Ferro grinned, a psychotic look appearing in his eyes as he lunged toward the man, violently tearing at his midsection. The woman, Piera, looked on in horror and shock, covering her mouth and bursting into quiet tears. The monster continued to rip apart his hapless victim, whatever dignity the man had was marred by his shrieks of pain.

" This..." Ferro stood hunched above his conquest, covered in the man's blood and shaking furiously. " This and no less... is the price of harming my daughter."

"And you..." Ferro turned toward his daughter, who lost her calm demeanor along with control of her piss. "You are no longer permitted to leave my manor."

Piera stood still, not responding.

" Understood?!" Ferro yelled, grabbing the woman and lifting her off the ground. She burst into tears and nodded frantically, begging her father to put her down with her weak, strained voice. Every single thing this man did made me hate him more and more.

I looked beside me to check on Vatra and Phenix. Vatra was holding herself together alright, not really seeming that emotional in any way. I suspected she had seen far worse things than this. Phenix was barely managing to hold back his anger. He was shaking visibly with his fists clenched and his shoulders tensed, staring at Ferro with almost palpable rage. I was somewhat worried he might do something rash.

"And this!" Ferro put his daughter back on the ground and grabbed the man on the altar, holding him by the head. It was Aiden, naked, bound and gagged, clearly humiliated and terrified by the monster holding him. "What shall I do with this one?"

"He belongs with us." I stated calmly, stepping forward.

"Does he now?" Ferro glanced at Aiden and tightened his grip, causing Aiden to let out a muffled yelp. "Perhaps I should kill him as well?"

"Please, just return him to us." I bowed politely, using great reserves of inner strength to do so without vomiting in disgust. "After that, we will leave this city immediately, I swear."

"After seeing what you've seen, you'd think I would just let you leave?" Ferro looked me in the eye. I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed before, but he only had one good eye, the other was covered by his mask.

I took a deep breath and clung to my cross pendant to steady my nerves. I had absolutely no clue what we would do if this confrontation turned violent, but I knew we would be protected.

"Yeah, alright." Ferro threw Aiden at me, I managed to catch him but I fell to the ground with him in my arms.

"You're just letting us go?" Phenix growled, still clearly holding back rage.

"I don't care who knows about what happened here. The people will know that this village was run by cultists, cultists that brutally sacrificed their women and children." The monster's apathy and lies disgusted me and I couldn't imagine Phenix felt much better about it. "They will know that these cultists kidnapped my daughter and I was forced to retaliate. Anyone who tries to say otherwise will meet the same fate as these wretched whelps."

This man infuriated and sickened me. He needed to be brought down, but there was nothing we could do now. We had Aiden, he was safe, and that was all that mattered at the moment.

"Then we will be on our way." Without another word, I turned to walk away, still carrying Aiden and shooting Phenix a glance to make sure he was alright.

None of us could have been more relieved to be out of the presence of that bastard, and when we were safely out of sight, Vatra teleported us out of there.

-LILAC-

I was getting extremely anxious waiting in the cart for word from the others and I'd lost track of just how long North and Phenix had been away. I sighed bitterly without realizing, but that sigh drew the others' attention.

"Are you okay, Lilac?" Elin asked, her tone soft and cheerful.

I didn't really know what else to say, so I just nodded, although I could tell that Elin and Tel both saw right through it. The two seemed unreasonably relaxed, with Elin idly combing through Tel's fluffly tail, batting and clawing at it when he twitched it around. They were just playing together, completely calm, and here I was worrying my head off.

"How are you two so calm right now?" I asked them, twirling a strand of hair around my finger.

"I dunno." Elin shrugged and smiled at me. "Just instinct."

"Don't worry, Lilac." Tel said sweetly, crawling over toward me and grabbing my hand. "Aiden and the others will come back okay. I just know it!" He closed his eyes and smiled brightly, and that actually did make me feel a lot better.

"Thanks, Tel." I said, coyly retrieving my hand.

"Yay!" Elin squealed as she jumped on Tel, hugging him tightly from behind. Tel was caught off guard and gasped when she grabbed him, but then he just smiled and let Elin glomp him. They were too cute together.

After what felt like hours of waiting, I smelled something curious and poked my head out the cart window. Just as I suspected, it was the scent of hickory and applewood smokes, Aiden's scent. I looked out the window and saw him and the others on the horizon. As they got closer I noticed that Aiden looked really beat up, and he was wearing North's clothes for some reason. This of course meant that North was naked, something which I was entirely unopposed to.

"They're back!" I joyfully exclaimed as I hopped outside the cart, running to meet the others. "Is everyone okay?" I said as I stood in front of them, Tel and Elin catching up with us shortly afterward.

"We're holding up alright." North said, a weary smile on his face. I could tell by his voice, and Aiden's bruises, that something was wrong though. "We should go now. We'll tell you on the way."

I nodded, taking Aiden's hand and helping him limp over and into the cart, with him staying oddly and distressingly silent all the way.

"Are you okay, Aiden?" I asked as everyone was inside, North giving the driver the okay to start moving. Oddly, the cart was conspicuously spacious. You'd think it would've felt very crowded with six of us and a dog in there, but it really didn't.

"I'm fine, don't worry your pretty little head." Aiden smiled at me like he always does, but I could tell he was lying. I wanted to say something, to console him or make him feel better, but I was always such an idiot with stuff like this, always saying just the right thing to make everything worse, so I figured I should just keep my stupid mouth shut.

Elin didn't say anything but just snuck up next to Aiden and gave him a big hug. He tried to fight it at first, but it made him smile.

I was just glad we were all together again, safe and sound.

-AUGUST-

I woke up in the midmorning, thinking about the previous night. After speaking with Scarlet I'd decided it would be best if I just headed off to St. Augustine immediately. I really wanted to stay with her, but the longer I stayed here the harder it would be to eventually leave, and I needed to leave.

I glanced around the room and realized that Scarlet was nowhere to be found. I was irritated, but honestly not that surprised, she had a tendency to be somewhat flighty and I definitely wasn't the only guy to go to bed with her and then wake up alone. I... I'm not sure that came out quite right.

I got out of bed and changed back into my old casual clothes, before heading down stairs, holding a small shred of hope that Scarlet was there waiting for me in the foyer. Instead I found Noble and Kavik, two people I much less desired to see.

"Has anyone seen Scarlet?" I asked the duo, my frustration with my sister coming through quite clearly in my voice.

"She said it would be too hard to say goodbye." Noble replied mournfully, looking down at the ground.

Damn that girl. I knew she would run off on me. I clenched my fists and teeth and let out a heavy sigh, apparently so heavy that the two other Fionbri present felt the need to take a few steps away from me. I had presumed that Scarlet was gone, but hearing it confirmed really hurt.

"And what's he doing here?" I growled, pointing at Kavik while looking at Noble. I figured I already knew the answer, but I hate jumping to conclusions.

"Kavik will be journeying with us from now on." Noble smiled.

I growled under my breath. I didn't honestly mind Kavik joining us for a while, but I was so pissed off that I was looking for pretty much any excuse to lash out, which for me just meant growling and sighing and other forms of completely impotent anger.

"But only 'till Verla." Kavik added with a bemused expression on his face.

"Yes yes, of course." Noble sounded less than convinced by Kavik's statement. I briefly wondered what happened between the two of them, but then realized that I didn't really give a shit.

"Do you want to see Scarlet before we leave?" Noble asked solemnly, still not looking directly at me as he said it.

I thought about it for a moment, but quickly decided that doing so would be a completely pointless waste of time. I so desperately wanted her to join me, to be with me, but I knew that she wasn't going to come with us and there was nothing I could do to change her mind then.

"No." I grumbled, putting my newly stolen fancy hat on my head. "Let's just leave."

"I'm sorry, August." Noble's sadness sounded genuine, but mere words weren't about to make me feel better. "We will head out right away."

I didn't say anything back, I just hung my head and walked out the door.

Whatever is waiting for me in St. Augustine had better be fucking worth it.